New Hilary Duff – dignity…
[Website]
[4.67]
Jonathan Bogart: Every time see the title I can’t stop singing “I ain’t kissin’ you at all (at all)” in my head, which I’m fairly sure is not the reaction she’s going for. The song as it actually is, rather than as the imaginary John Waite answer song it is in my head, is only okay, a conventional Hi World I’m Ready For My Close-Up from Nickelodeon’s answer to Hannah Montana. And when I say conventional I mean it — this is Taylor without the specificity, Aly without the internal conflict, Miley without the world-weariness, Selena without the Hot Beatz. It’s hard to care about how falling in love feels to her when it’s expressed so generically; come back when your heart’s been broken, honey, and we’ll see what you’re made of.
[5]
Chuck Eddy: “Headphones On” and “Leave It All To Me” on the iCarly soundtrack two years ago proved Miranda can walk on sunshine, which is what she should be doing here — kissing suppposedly making electric sparks fly and all — but I’m not hearing much joyousness. Apparently she’s 17 now; does that already make her too old for bubblegum?
[5]
Martin Skidmore: A mid-tempo pop song with solidly bouncy Dr Luke production. I’m not sure she’s a great singer — she seems to rather throw away some syllables — but she has charm, and I almost always like songs that big up kissing.
[7]
Frank Kogan: Possibly the most colorless teenpop singer ever to get anywhere near the American top 40, Cosgrove has on her résumé enervated covers of Max/Luke songs that had already been done much better by Amy Diamond and Sugababes, respectively. This one is a Luke’n’Claude original, plenty tuneful, with Cosgrove herself on the songwriting credits, and she approaches it with initial energy and a tad more character than before, though the energy seems like a pale knock-off of the twisting emotion of a Skye, a Demi, or a Selena, or, eventually, like not much.
[5]
Erick Bieritz: Structurally a bit of “Since U Been Gone” slowed to Hallmark tempo; but with nothing in common lyrically, it’s a steady stream of sickeningly sweet confectionery factory runoff.
[2]
John Seroff: I imagine this is what people who don’t hear what I hear in Taylor Swift think Taylor’s music sounds like: vaguely inspirational, orchestral country-pop peppered with uncultivated regrets and grammar school valentine sentiment. What’s missing to me on Cosgrove’s track is the subtlety of inflection, the precision of songcrafting, the wholly believable emotion; in short, the Taylor. What’s left is so minimally interesting that both you and Miranda might as well not bother.
[4]