And of course she’s already gone and scrapped this for a Savan Kotecha cowrite…
[Video][Website]
[3.75]
Josh Winters: Goodbye Lizzie McGuire, hello not-so-fabulous!
[6]
Katherine St Asaph: Always the most milquetoast of her Disney Channel class, Duff is at least a novelty in 2014’s pop climate by doubling down on her bland sweetness rather than chasing EDM — but you’d get more concentrated sunbeams from Hoku or Carly Rae, better invocations of sun from George Harrison or Sheryl Crow.
[5]
Will Adams: Chasing the nostalgia, more like. Not only does the chorus make a syrupy reduction of “Soak Up the Sun,” it also lifts its ooh-ooh-ooh melody directly from Hilary Duff’s Lizzie McGuire’s debut single. Unfortunately, Duff’s never quite had the voice to pull off her songs, even when they were at their best. This is far from the best; the lazy melody, terrible mixing and cruel video put this dangerously close to Ark Music Factory territory.
[2]
Alfred Soto: A chorus without heat, verses covered in frost. It’s as if the songwriters started hook first and forgot the rest.
[3]
Micha Cavaseno: You know how there’s a business that locks down albums for not being commercial enough? Yeah, they gave this a pass.
[2]
Brad Shoup: An underbaked chorus, some glaring edits: I guess the sunsplashed vibe made everyone sack off. I dunno if this reggae boomlet will prompt producers to get more cavernous, rather than banging drumsticks on an overturned bucket. Still: sturdy!
[6]
Scott Mildenhall: Is everyone sure this isn’t just an outtake from the first Paris Hilton album?
[4]
David Sheffieck: Far too light to work as a comeback, the weirdest thing about this isn’t that it sounds like a throwback — which would be a weak-yet-legitimate promo tactic — it’s that it sounds like a throwback to before Duff started a music career, nostalgia for a past that predates her.
[4]
Anthony Easton: Is the sun a desperate attempt for a career revival? Because if it is, she’ll have to work harder than this.
[2]
Patrick St. Michel: If I’m feeling sad I can go listen to a sad song, but that’s nothing like sitting in a dentist’s lobby bottling up all sorts of feelings when a seemingly innocuous song comes on and drives you to go catch your breath in the bathroom. “Chasing The Sun,” at first brush, is half watered-down “Soak Up The Sun,” half eyebrow-raising philosophy from someone still raking in Lizzie McGuire checks. It’s an unremarkable song that’s basically like your aunt telling you to “follow your dreams.” But on a personal level, half these lyrics are making me tug on my collar. “Why am I in such a hurry/always getting up too early,” Duff sings, and I look at my alarm clock set at 6:30 and realize I’ve spent half my summer running around and working and being stressed out. Expecting a banal bit of carpool pop, I got something that has me seriously questioning what I do. Well played, Duff, well played.
[7]
Danilo Bortoli: So “chasing the sun” means not “getting up too early” while still realizing that “more means less”? This pretty much redefines Manicheism in pop music, and makes the Sara Bareilles song seem idealistic by comparison.
[2]
Luisa Lopez: Not unlike injecting a can of stale whipped cream straight into your neck: initially sweet but ultimately a terrible idea.
[2]