Tuesday 25 August 2009

so this is the new Alexandra Burke single...

Anyone who is aware of my X Factor obsession will know that from very early on I was pushing for the tear stained yet loveable Alexandra Burke to plough on through to victory in the competition last year. This she eventually did to my delight following a battle of the lungs performance with queen bee Beyonce during the final... it was quite the epic moment I must say.

And so I have been waiting with baited breath for the new material which she has been busy working on over in America (obviously as a result of the Leona Effect) and finally the new single has leaked...



eh... hmmm.

Its ok I guess... its not the most mind blowingly original choon of this genre I've heard recently... there's something missing.

There are good qualities I suppose. Its quite early Whitney-ish in parts which is good because there is no point wasting a voice like Alexandra's on shit like some of the stuff Ciara has been churning out these days that she can barely even sing herself. So yes, overall there is substantial use of the voice. I suppose its just that even that substantial voice usage still doesn't quite convey the full range and general amazing-ness of her voice as a whole. I'm not saying we need another god-awful bombastic Mariah/Whitney/etc type ballad of vocal histrionics with no discernable tune of any kind... just something a bit more distinguishable. Its also not the most immediate of hooks either - I've listened to it 3 times so far and it hasn't quite stuck in my head yet. And of course there is the obligatory "middle eight rap by useless and inarticulate rapper" bit, this time provided by Flo "apple bottom jeans song" Rida, which isn't the worst I've heard but certainly doesn't add to the song. It merely serves as a profile booster.

In conclusion, I suppose as a pop/ r nb song in 2009 it fits the mould fine and I don't hate it or anything... but I don't see any repeat listenings in the offing either...

I am of course hoping she will score a top 10 with it however! She definitely deserves it with a voice and work ethic like hers. Lets just hope she gets a chance to grow into and improve upon her sound once she finds it...


6 comments:

The Great Mortomer said...

It's really not catchy... And I DESPISE Flow Rider (that's how I'm spelling it), so I think I'll leave it with one word...

...meh. :-|

sodthemachine said...

yeah... its quite unfortunate really... but I'm holding out for my Alexandra a little longer before I write her off entirely.

Sinister said...

I know there should be a video there but all I'm getting is a breached term of use warning... am i alone in this?

sodthemachine said...

ah damn clearly the big wigs shut down my link... i'll post a different one.

sodthemachine said...

i've figured it out!! its that major key change when the chorus kicks in thats throwing me off! it doesn't work with what comes before it... oh wait, i'm the only person who cares about this right?...:( ps just for the record scott, hes doesn't spell flo rida cos hes a gimp who likes to mis-spell the words flow rider... its actually a play on the word Florida where he comes from (Flo-Rida... see?):)

The Great Mortomer said...

I know that, but that still makes him a gimp. :P Yeah, the change for the chorus really doesn't work. Like we agreed before, nearly all R&B songs have great choruses, but they tend to have shite rapping for verses. So I'd usually like the choruses, but not the verses... Unfortunately, this has shite verses like the rest of 'em, but the chorus has failed in my eyes too... Maybe her next single will be better?...