Davido – 1 Milli

April 6, 2020

A milli, a milli, a milli, a milli…


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Tim de Reuse: A single sonic moment with a single flavor and a single goal. The lush pads, overlapping voices, and purposefully obscured downbeat congeal into a plucky blur. It’s an interesting case, because nothing actually happens, but it’s also kind of forgettable, because nothing actually happens.
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Oliver Maier: Like a clear blue sky, almost too sunny and instantly agreeable to properly appreciate. Luckily Davido’s vocals — both the lead and particularly the ad-libs — are elastic and occasionally dazzling, supplying motion to “1 Milli” where the repetitive beat cannot.
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Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Listening to “1 Milli” is the feeling of smiling at one of your partners’ shameless come-ons — knowing all the while how corny it is — just because you love them. Watch the video and the way Davido looks at his fiancée Chioma Rowland and tell me he doesn’t radiate joy.
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Kylo Nocom: Davido has been an excellent romancer (plugging his underrated collaboration with violinist Demola from last year) and “1 Milli” is no exception. Though the first verse begins with a playful Internet jab that places the song firmly in reality, the song slowly progresses towards a transient, all-enveloping warmth I haven’t felt in pop for years. The outro is the best bit — a subtle choral sample sifting in and out of focus.
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David Moore: Tough times, so I’m a sucker for some modestly aspirational sunshine. Bonus point for making me openly weep with a phrase I possibly misheard as “tell your mommy I’m OK.” Gonna need to unpack that one, but it’s open season on open weeping.
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Nina Lea: There’s an expansiveness to this song. Davido keeps the synths light and the harmonies gentle, evoking not the crowded neon-lit dancehall but something else: open sky, prayerfulness, a rejoicing in love. At a time when so many of us cannot leave our homes, a kind of balm.
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