…a remake?
Digital Spy has the exclusive preview of Shayne Ward’s new single, and normally that would be a cause for celebration. However, the initial internet reaction has been less than receptive.
Let’s be honest…Nickelback doesn’t exactly spell credibility with the folks that are rooting for Shayne to succeed, let alone a Nickelback song that has recently been a hit. It would be one thing if he covered a song by another artist that didn’t make it big (see Joe McElderry’s “Ambitions” or Kris Allen’s “Live Like We’re Dying“), but unless Shayne’s bringing something so earth-shattering to the song that it’s basically a new song, the record-buying public probably won’t respond too enthusiastically. Part of the excitement in relaunching an artist is hearing NEW music, and that’s not what Shayne’s team has brought to the table, despite all of the promising leaks we’ve heard the past few months.
So here’s the deal…we are judging 60 seconds of a song that we haven’t heard in full, and feeling let down. And by “we”, I mean the folks who have already posted their opinions on forums like Digital Spy and Popjustice. Sex sells, and so the pics that have come out recently, combined with reports of a sexy video being shot next week, are taking Shayne in that direction. Who am I to complain about that? But at the end of all this, it’s a music career, not a modeling career. Unless he’s planning to be the new Calvin Klein model (which he’s very qualified to do), all of this is for naught if the music doesn’t deliver. Let’s just hope that happens.
[Update: The full version has now surfaced, and if you didn’t know the Nickelback version of the song, you might not be as jaded. It’s definitely a more contemporary arrangement, and not nearly as bad as the moaners would have you believe. In fact, it fits his voice pretty well.]
“Gotta Be Something” comes out November 7th in the UK, followed by the full-length Obsession on November 15th.
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I was hugely disappointed with the fact that it’s a cover, but I’m not aware of the Nickelback song and this is so different that I’m not really as bothered as I thought I would be. So hurrah! I quite like it!
Situations like these are tough. As Shayne does it, it’s a nice song, and there’s a case to be made that that’s all that matters–whether or not the song stands on its own. Still, for me (and as you mention above), using a song that is so familiar (as well as so recent) robs Shayne’s single and comeback of some excitement.
I guess the good news–temporarily ignoring the matter of commercial success that he’ll find with this release and in the coming time of year and focusing just on the matter of new music–is that the album release isn’t that much later than the single release, so we don’t have to wait forever to hear what will hopefully be wholly new material
I think it’s disappointing that it’s a remake. Yes it sounds fine, but it comes off as karaoke. And this was released in the UK–“Gotta Be Somebody” hit #20 two years ago.
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