Mi¢helle Obama too subtle?…
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[6.00]
Kat Stevens: It feels this lot have handed me a brightly wrapped present tied with an awesome shiny ribbon, that turns out to have a £5 WH Smiths gift voucher inside.
[5]
David Sheffieck: Fifth Harmony are on fire here, powerful and on point, but the production is worth special mention: dexterous and brassy (in both senses), it’s an ideal match for a group performance that demands one. Bonus points for “I pledge allegiance to my independent girls in here,” one of those rare, brilliant lines that on paper seems like it should be meaningless but makes perfect sense in the song’s context.
[10]
Anthony Easton: The horns here are as excessive as the snaps and all of the vocals fronting wealth I’m sure they don’t have. Works too hard for too little fun, but a few points for the Volvo line.
[5]
Brad Shoup: This track was almost certainly written around that hook, which is awesome but still pads this thing ’til it’s barely three minutes. Syncopated clapping, En Vogue-style jitterbugging and half of the Inspector Gadget theme give this a twitchy excitement, but this one’s still very, very desperate to be an anthem.
[6]
Alfred Soto: It’s no “Bills Bills Bills” or “What About Your Friends,” but this “X-Factor” product moves with confidence and doesn’t outstay its welcome. Here’s a rarity: the verses, introducing each member, are stronger than the chorus.
[7]
Katherine St Asaph: Society, much as it loves little girls programming until they become grown women programmers, loves to champion “empowering” teen pop to cheer girls, while it curtails the career paths that’d help them become actual bosses. The better songs work despite this, but “Bo$$” is the Wallpaper. dude and several other men writing women a song about being in charge of nothing more establishment-threatening than their credit card bills. A little “Run the World (Girls),” a little “Trash Me,” a little Little Mix, a little jaunt through the au courant phrases of the day: a lot of nothing.
[4]
Will Adams: Not wacky enough. Vies for potent quotables for the post-Beyoncé generation, instead namedrops Michelle Obama a few hundred times and calls it a day. By the time any charm starts worming its way into your heart, it’s gone in under three minutes.
[5]