ARTIST: Allison Iraheta
TITLE: “Friday I’ll Be Over U”
WEB DEBUT: Oct. 5, 2009


ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: The first single from American Idol’s magenta-tressed fourth-place finisher starts off with a spiky guitar line that’s straight out of the Le Tigre back catalog. (No, really.) But it’s sort of distressing that once her vocals come in, “Friday” could be a kiss-off anthem from any spunky young starlet out there. Why saddle a young woman who has undeniable pipes with so much ex post facto processing? To hedge bets? To “blend in” with the increasingly virtualistic pop-radio landscape? To make Allison sound like she could break out into a “Party In The USA” cover at any moment? It’s a good thing the riff is as propulsive as it is—it almost-singlehandedly saves the song from its drowning in cheese.


WHERE TO HEAR IT: PopEater has the officially sanctioned stream, although in their infinite “wisdom” Jive decided to cut it off just as the song hits the bridge. I guess it’s to stoke some sort of Pavlovian effect that will result in people proceeding directly to iTunes, but still, gah.