Miley Cyrus-"Wrecking Ball"
So we've all seen the music video, it has Miley licking a sledgehammer, really weird stuff. But we're talking about the song, silly! And actually, it's pretty good. I don't know about you, but I actually like Miley's ballads, she can portray sadness rather well, and she only gets better at doing this as she gets older. During the bridge, you can almost hear her crying, which makes "Wrecking Ball" all the more affecting. In regards to who this song may be addressing, it could very well be Liam Hemsworth, since it talks about breaking-up and the regrets of the relationship. If this is the case, I think Miley has captured her emotions brilliantly, especially with the lines "Don't you ever say I just walked away, I will always want you" and "All I wanted was to break your walls, all you ever did was wreck me". This suggests that Miley wasn't the only one with issues during her relationship, maybe Liam wasn't acting his best, either. Since this song, a mournful tune about love, comes after "We Can't Stop", a peppy song about partying, it's hard to deny that Miley can pull off both types of songs. Her vocals have definitely improved since her "Hannah Montana" days, and she can now carry her gigantic hooks with efficiency. That's the best part of "Wrecking Ball", it's so easy to enjoy just on the surface, but it contains a deep message. Even if Miley isn't talking about Liam, she's made a hooky break-up song that's recognizable the very firs time you hear it. That's hard to achieve for any artist, but it's doubly impressive when you remember that Miley is only 20 years old. Like party queen Ke$ha, she might just be one of the most under-appreciated artists of this decade. She's put out two strong singles already from "Bangerz" (out Oct. 8), so it gets me excited to think about how strong the rest of the album will be.
Katy Perry-"Dark Horse"
To Katy's credit, I know she's trying really hard to vary her sound and dig beneath the crass shallowness of her last two records, and "Roar" was a confident step in this direction, but not every thing she does is going to be captivating. A prime example of this is her latest single, "Dark Horse". The first thing she did was take a Hip-Hop approach, which gives her music a different flavor...but that still doesn't separate it from her tendency to chase every modern trend available. Everybody has been leaning towards hip-hop since "The 20/20 Experience" came out, so Katy doing it really isn't that big of a stretch. She begins "Dark Horse" with a four-note motif that repeats throughout the rest of the song, and it, by itself, sounds good. When the verses start, then it gets pretty stale, and this is the biggest problem with the song. While there are haunting melodies and appealing beats, there are no hooks here, either in the melody or the words. That's not necessarily a bad thing, melodic songs can be just as addicting as pop confections when done right, but "Dark Horse" is undone by its skeletal production and yes, Juicy J. What made "Bandz A Make Her Dance" awful is present here: his flow is too staccato, his name dropping of Jeffrey Daumer is outdated, and he doesn't add anything new to the song. Ultimately, though, what disappoints me about "Dark Horse" is that its a good type of song to theorize about, but when put in practice, is not all that appetizing. Moreover, fans selected this song to be the second single off "Prism", and I am not looking forward to having this blow up the radio. It's just not that type of song that's accessible to everyone, and those who don't like Katy Perry will find more fuel to the fire here. "Prism" is out Oct. 22, but judging by just "Roar" and "Dark Horse", I'm actually pretty nervous about how good it will actually be. Katy could get away with a hype letdown with "Roar" because it was the lead single, but she's released a less than impressive song twice now.
Britney Spears-"Work Bitch"
"You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Mazzerati? You better work bitch!"
That opening line is enough to give this song 4.5 stars on its own. But first I'll address everyone's question: what is with that British accent? I mean, if it's an artistic choice I get it, but she didn't start doing it until this year, so I really want to know where it comes from. Anyway, the reason why this song is so bad ass is because of its message, which is basically: You want something? You gotta work for it! And this applies to anything: fancy cars, a smokin bod, Parisian parties etc. They're not going to come to you, you have to go out and get them yourself. This is a great work-out song, and will most likely be the soundtrack to every motivational speaker from now on. Who knew Britney could be so deep? Well, having will.i.am doesn't hurt, he produced this song and took primary writer's credit. But this isn't "Scream and Shout" part 2, even if it is very repetitive and sometimes banal (the only problem this song has). Will is working for Britney now, so it looks like he went the extra mile to give her the sound she deserves. And he pulled it off too, as he varies the composition of "Work Bitch" between every verse and chorus (also, that bass drop at 0:45: FTW). This is a banger with a good message...say what??! What's really awesome about this song is that Britney has never been a trend-setter nor on the avant-garde, two things that "Work Bitch" is. Furthermore, in the recent EDM boom of 2013, it's so refreshing to hear an EDM track not sound like standard issue pop. Britney's vocals aren't any better than they were fourteen years ago (yes, she really has been around that long), but that doesn't detract from an otherwise, sleek, sexy blast. Her eighth studio album will drop Dec. 3.
Obviously, out of the three songs here, Britney's is by far the best. It illustrates that while Miley and Katy will try their hardest, Britney's stature as a pop princess and a pop veteran will always carry her farther than her competition. This is mainly due to the fact that while Miley and Katy are trying to prove their artistic prowess, Britney has never been that kind of artist. She makes music because she likes doing it, not because she's trying to change the world or expand music's horizons. She can sing whatever she wants at this point, because she has nothing to prove. All three of these songs are worthy enough to add to your i-Tunes library, and in the end, I am still anxiously awaiting their respective parent albums. This is sure to be a fall to remember, man!
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