I’ve had a few things stuck in my head that didn’t really fill a whole entry, but these things must surface or else they will torment me. Proceed at your own risk, because this is in defense of…
…Jay Sean’s “Down” – This song seriously divides my brain, because in some ways, it seems like a copycat single, taking almost all of its cues from Chris Brown’s “Forever” and Ne-Yo’s “Closer”. Having said that, it’s pretty brilliant, and if given a second chance, I would include it on my Top Singles of 2009.
As an added bonus, here’s the version of “Down” performed by Nota that pretty much sealed the deal for them to win The Sing-Off back in December. A capella brilliance, if you ask me…
And because it doesn’t fit in anywhere else, also check out the SoCals’ version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone”. You Glee fans will love this!
…Creed’s “Rain” – Seriously? Creed? Trust…I’m freaked out by it, too. To give you the 10-second update, Creed was huge in the US during the late 90s and early 00s, watering down what used to be alternative rock, mixing in a tad of Christian sensibility, and selling a boatload of records. Scott Stapp left the group, they became Alter Bridge, but neither division did as well as they had when they were together, so this is the first single from the reunited group. I wanted to hate this song, I really did, but I have heard it on the radio a bunch, and it has grown on me. It has a Shinedown vibe to it, and it occasionally pops into my head. Before you write it off, just check out the song and give it a little bit of a chance.
…Jedward? – I despised everything I saw about Jed and Edward during their time on X Factor, and couldn’t believe they got as far as they did, but they performed on the National Television Awards this week in England, and I now get it. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but man, it’s fun. Spoiler alert…Vanilla Ice is even credible!