The video for Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield” made its way to the Internet over the weekend, and on the day that newly minted American Idol winner Kris Allen made his inevitable record deal with 19 Recordings official, it’s somewhat instructive to see what happens to people who stay in the 19 fold for their second albums. Sparks’ Ryan Tedder-produced track, which has co-written by ex-Color Me Badd dude Sam Watters on its four-man songwriters’ roster, is OK enough and it’s getting raves from people whose opinions I respect. But it still sounds somewhat odd to these ears, like her voice has been dosed with a double shot of Splenda because that was the only way it could match up to the bombast surrounding her. The video, on the other hand, is a simple affair that allows her to get into maximum drama mode. [YouTube]
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Jordin Sparks Is Out Standing In Her Battlefield
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Classic verse-chorus problem on this song. The verse is borderline-excellent, but there’s no there there on the chorus — that’s your bombast problem right there. (I even like the build to the chorus; it’s the refrain that leaves me cold.)
P.S. Come to think of it, this is a Ryan Tedder problem — he writes decent verses and shitty choruses!
It was the exact same issue I had with Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”; loved the melody on the verse and the build, and then the “Keep bleeding, keep, keep…” was like air being let out of a balloon. (I seem to be the only critic who feels this; never seen another review of the song making this distinction. Everyone either loves or hates “BL” in toto.)
Even “Apologize,” whiny as it was, had a decent verse. But oh, that mewling chorus…made me wanna blow my brains out.
On the plus side, that’s a pretty sweet Pantera she’s sitting in.
Yeah, I was really excited about this after Popjustice went on about it being the greatest thing to ever happen ever, and I totally don’t see it.