Pop Idol winner from… 2002… your editor suddenly feels about 60.
[Video][Website]
[5.00]
Kat Stevens: While promoting his stage turn in Strictly Ballroom last year, Will said that he wasn’t sure if he’d make any more pop music again. This feels like an underwhelming way to break his radio silence. The hook is there and the daft nods to Mrs Henderson Presents in the video are fun, but overall it’s just missing the emotional heft that Will’s normally so good at bringing to the tableau.
[5]
Scott Mildenhall: No doubt more than able to survive on Morrisons money alone, it seemed plausible that Will Young really had jacked it in completely. But how could he? The Man Who Stood Up To Cowell has always had more to say, even if this time it doesn’t transcend cliché. “All the Songs” is a safe return to the sound that he took so long to come round to with Echoes, but with none of the fireworks. “Come On,” “I Just Want A Lover,” and especially “Jealousy” held a dark desperation within their at-times muted tones, but here his ever-crisp delivery isn’t quite afforded that tension. The politeness overshadows the pain, but nevertheless, Will Young singing polite synthpop is a winning formula.
[7]
Alfred Soto: Listeners unfamiliar with the Pop Idol champ who’s a British chart scion won’t suffer conversion with “All the Songs.” Taking the smoothie route over house keyboard ripples satisfies the need for kinetics while keeping a firm foot tethered to the mildest A/C ground. Nothing is at stake, nor does he want it to be.
[3]
Iris Xie: I confess that I really want to hate this song, but this honestly ticks off all of my requirements for easy listening pop house. It’s like really good Forever 21 shopping playlist music, like this other song, which means it’s utterly forgettable everywhere else if you’re not trying to figure out whether it’s a good idea to wear a top that is more strips of fabric than an actual shirt. “All the Songs” is a another iteration of 2015-era pop house songs, although definitely not as good or as interesting, due to the familiarity of a forlorn intro with piano house, and then its buildup to an even more high pitched, lamenting chorus. Maybe if Sam Smith and Nick Jonas transformed into a single person, it’d be this entity known as “Will Young,” which I imagine if Tony Stark decided to do an image change and become a sad and awkward pop star that opens for Justin Timberlake, and then has to feign enthusiasm when you realized that you aren’t exceptionally mediocre enough like Justin Timberlake and that in reality, he stole JC Chasez’s career. Aside from that, the “deep in my heart” hook with the throbbing Kygo synths is as flat as caramel made with Stevia — melted and inconsequential. However, the weight of the synths is actually pretty good if you wanted to set this to a contemporary dance routine.
[5]
Will Adams: Young’s voice suggests an even more reserved Sam Smith, which makes the polite shuffle beat — like “Run Away With Me” drained of its blood — sound propulsive and interesting by comparison.
[5]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: The problem with basing your song on the conceit of other songs being powerful vectors for heartbreak and nostalgia is that you’re probably just going to make people want to listen to thise other songs instead of your empty shell.
[3]
Edward Okulicz: I’m still inclined to feel nice about Will Young, because “Your Game” was the very last CD single I ever purchased new. And at his best, he always brought a gentle humanity to his performances that made him sympathetic and believable, a pop star who emoted like an everyman while singing considerably better. Still a fine singer, but he’s now… a bit clingy, a bit whingy, a bit of a loser? This just isn’t a compelling ex-has-moved-on story.
[5]
Claire Biddles: Despite the raunchy video this is very polite Radio 2 sad gay disco BUT I’m extremely inclined towards any and all forms of sad gay disco AND Will Young is the celebrity that I am convinced would be my best friend if we ever met SO it’s still getting a
[7]