Nice young men…
[Video][Website]
[4.67]
Alex Macpherson: JLS’s success has been one of the few heartening developments in a dire year for UK pop: it should be mandatory for every generation of teenage girls to have an R&B boy band of their very own, and the neglect of this over the past decade has been a serious case of chart cruelty. JLS seem to have a tremendous understanding of the form – and the formula, which they execute to a tee. Puppy-dog pleading verses which feel as though they’re being sung specifically and genuinely to you and a lighters-aloft singalong chorus sung to you all, all set to – could it be? yes! – the ’90s R&B revival is upon us!
[8]
Doug Robertson: They’re a hard band to hate, even if they are little more than a slightly distorted photocopy of their own influences. There’s an exuberance and bounce that makes this surprisingly enjoyable, and at least they actually sound like they’re happy to be in love and will surf the endorphin rush for as long as is humanly possible. Of course, the whole thing is as superficial as a Heat-instigated romance and there’s not really anything whatsoever going on under the surface, but it still works, and even I’m not coldhearted enough to begrudge them this.
[6]
Melissa Bradshaw: It’s not as urban as “Beat Again”, but it’s naive, and sounds like the Backstreet Boys (but cuter and with swing). Plus they are all single. That must make it the perfect piece of manufactured puerile pop?
[8]
Kat Stevens: On the UK boyband ranking scale (Take That <-------> Northern Line), JLS currently rank below V and Phixx but above Bad Boys Inc and Damage (prior to this single they were nearer to A1 territory). However if they don’t do a ski chalet video with fluffy hoods and fake snow SHARPISH then they will end up underneath Upside Down. Avalanche optional.
[4]
John Seroff: Opening statement of disappointment at being fed watered-down formula. Brief description of cookie-cutter beats-‘n’-FX and sub-Radioactive Disney melody. Brusque dismissal of vapid lyrics and reality show singers in general. Wrap-up with snide joke about song and band name’s brevity hopefully setting the standard for future releases. Snappy parting comment. And even this boilerplate isn’t as generic as “Everybody in Love”.
[2]
Matt Cibula: This song makes me not want to be in love. Not sure if that’s what they were going for, exactly.
[2]
Martin Kavka: No one would ever accuse JLS of sexist machismo. But their simpering persona — like the faggotry of yore, but heterosexual — is equally sexist. To a tick-tock beat (they’re watching the clock until they’re alone no longer), they express their inability to cope with the fact that women might have lives independent of men. Their next single will no doubt be called “(I Love You) Barefoot And Pregnant.”
[1]
Anthony Miccio: It’s refreshing to hear an R&B group drop an earnest valentine that never once points crotchward, but if this had come out at any other time (with era-appropriate percussion) I doubt I would have taken it for anything more than benign cheese.
[6]
Martin Skidmore: Highly polished by JR Rotem, and completely limp. It’s a serviceable raising the arms and swaying number, sung moderately well, but I was sick of its saccharine feel before it had finished.
[3]
Alfred Soto: The post-Timbo beat and sub-Usher singing confused me. It’s called marketing.
[4]
Ian Mathers: This is blandly, solidly entertaining boy band stuff — JLS might as well be a proof-of-concept for the idea that the boy band form can still be productive, but just as they’re avoiding any major mistakes they’re not hitting any great heights. Equally hard to love or hate, pleasant while it’s here and forgotten swiftly after it’s finished.
[6]
Fergal O’Reilly: This is pleasant and well sung, but stops short of ever becoming actually exciting and gets stuck in a sort of trite, nothing-y middle ground, which is a shame because it sounds like a million bucks, or at least £650,000.
[6]