Today I will review individually the first seven of the current (7/23/16) “Billboard Hot 100” starting with…
1. One Dance – Drake feat. Wizkid and Kyla
Everybody knew this would be the song of the summer when Drake first released as a single before VIEWS. It gets people to dance, sing, and grove along to the cross between afrobeat and R&B, which is all you want from music you play in many summer environments. Drake suavely sings through another rap which is a skill beautifully exploded in VIEWS. The featured artists are actually what bring this song down. Not to say that each of their respective performances weren’t fine, but the bridge to this song absolutely falls apart, and I blame poor production. But on a more positive note on the production, the backing drums piano and pads are what make this song so groovy. Especially the syncopated sixteenth piano chords…
I would generously give this song 8.0/10 just cause it works perfectly for what it was meant to be, but still has some issues that needed to be resolved to be one of Drizzy’s best.
2. Can’t Stop The Feeling – Justin Timberlake
You have no soul if listening to this song does not fill you with happiness. Plain and Simple. Justin Timberlake made magic with this song, with the help of two phenomenal producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Those two really made this song groove and especially showed off genius in the breakdown and outro. By far the pop summer anthem this year and by far one of the best the genre has released this year. Last note would have to be on JT’s vocals, because it would be a crime not to mention how he pours joy and life into an already vibrant song to bring it full circle into the masterpiece that it is. Fully deserves to have peaked at #1. 10/10 simply because I cannot think of any negative criticism I can say about this piece. Catchy, Lively, Brilliant.
3. Don’t Let Me Down – The Chainsmokers feat. Daya
First off, this is definitely not The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down”. This is not a bad song but there’s really not much to it. Lyrically, this song is simple and lazy (obviously this kind of music isn’t supposed to have great lyrics, but still). The post chorus drop is ok. I’m not gonna spend too much time going into it but mediocrity received too much praise this time around in my opinion. 5/10.
4. This Is What You Came For – Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna
While the third collaboration between Calvin Harris and Rihanna is the worst of the three, it does not mean that this is anything less than a really good if not great song. Calvin Harris is so skilled at what he does that he can easily make songs that would become other DJ’s greatest hits, but since it’s Calvin Harris you expect more. On a more positive note, this is a pretty cool Dance/Electronic song that does what a “pretty cool Dance/Electronic song” should do. It is far better than the song above it, but I think “This Is What You Came For” is still climbing up the charts.
I would rate 7/10 because with all this talent I can’t tell what brought the song down…
Oh. That makes sense.
5. Cheap Thrills – Sia feat. Sean Paul
“I think it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it” was the best compliment the director of the “Cheap Thrills”music video could come up with for the opening of the video. Basically, they did my job for me. The song itself is horrible, but I can’t imagine how much worse it would be without Sean Paul providing the only positive attribute of the song. The Jamaican flavor he adds almost makes the song decent. Almost. Honestly this song really should have been scrapped in the writing process. Overall, the decent backing beat and rhymes from Sean Paul are an attemptive coverup of another lazy pop song 4.5/10
6. Panda – Desiigner
“Hope you killas understand me.” No, we really don’t…
This song is really hype. Like super hype. But in all honesty it’s a shame to rap music. There is not a single lyric that has any wit, depth, or meaning behind it. Desiigner has no skill at rapping (and a really dumb name). All the production team did to help this song is made it super lit, BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT GOOD!
Overall, I score it 2.5/10 and wish that it never came into existence. At least it’s on its way down the charts.
7. Needed Me – Rihanna
I now understand all the hype that was around ANTI.
real quick wanna wrap up this post but this song is killer. Lyrics and vocal performance make Rihanna deserve two tracks in the top seven.
maxmilianreviews 