Verdict: Just Hanging On

Rating: 3 out of 5

Barely Hanging on

OK, so this song is talking about getting your heart broken. Cool, the lyrics are clear, I know what they're saying.

Baby, from Justin Bieber

Verdict: Just Hanging On

Rating: 3 out of 5

Barely Hanging on

OK, so this song is talking about getting your heart broken. Cool, the lyrics are clear, I know what they're saying. I kind of like the refrain with the "oh-no-oh" line endings. That's pretty cool! It's actually more expressive than some of the more forced lyrics, such as, "shake me till you wake me from this bad dream."

The music is fine also. The chord progression, obviously, is as standard as they come. Nothing fancy, and for a song this simple, you don't need anything fancy. The vocals are done well, expressive and, well, simple.

So everything is nice. It's a nice song. Nothing brilliant here, nothing great here. This song will live a few months, and then it's going to be forgotten. But if you're looking for something simple and, well, nice, to listen to, have a nice three minutes.

Lyrics for Baby, from Justin Bieber:

You know you love me, I know you care
Just shout whenever, And I'll be there

You want my love, You want my heart

And we will never ever-ever be apart

Are we an item? Girl quit playing

"We're just friends"

What are you sayin?

Said there's another and looked right in eyes

My first love broke my heart for the first time,

And I was like

Baby, baby, baby oh

Like baby, baby, baby no

Like baby, baby, baby oh

Thought you'd always be mine, mine

2x

For you, I would have done whatever

And I just cant believe we ain't together

And I wanna play it cool, But I'm losin' you

I'll buy you anything, I'll buy you any ring

And I'm in pieces, Baby fix me

And just shake me til' you wake me from this bad dream

I'm going down, down, down, down

And I just can't believe, my first love won't be around

And I'm like,

Baby, baby, baby oh

Like baby, baby, baby no

Like baby, baby, baby oh

Thought you'd always be mine, mine

2x

Luda, when I was thirteen, I had my first love

There was nobody that compaired to my baby

And nobody came between us

That could ever come above

She had me going crazy

Oh I was star-struck

She woke me up daily

Don't need no Starbucks

She make my heart pound

And skip a beat when I see her in the street

And, at school, on the playground

But I really wanna see her on a weekend

She knows she got me dazing

Cuz she was so amazing

And now, my heart is breakin'

But I just keep on sayin'..

Baby, baby, baby oh

Like baby, baby, baby no

Like baby, baby, baby oh

Thought you'd always be mine, mine

(Now I'm all gone)

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Now I'm all gone

I'm gone]]> Pop http://the-music-zone.com/reviews/index.php?itemid=17 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:45:25 -0700 http://the-music-zone.com/reviews/index.php?itemid=15 If I Were A Boy, Beyonce
Beyonce Knowles
Verdict: go away!

This is a song that could say something, but really says very little. When I first heard the first verse, I was convinced it would say nothing at all. So I guess the fact that it says very little...

If I Were A Boy
is an accomplishment. The title is great, the premise is full of potential, but, alas, almost nothing is done with it.

Music: Absolutely nothing special about it

No clever chord progressions or unusually engaging melodic development. Really quite an ordinary song, could be a commercial.

Arrangement: average.

It follows the rules, so therefore it will sound standard on the radio. I feel that some mistakes were made, though, especially in the transition from the refrain to the verse. Could've been handled with finesse, rather than just stopping and going.

There's a lot of confusion in the lyrics (see below) about what is happening in the message. Perhaps had the arranger created clearer distinctions between those sections, it might have helped. Might have, but I doubt it.

Lyrics: all confused.

Honestly, I love the idea of "if I were a boy" being a way for a girl to really say something about the Venus-Mars gap. If the lyrics would've been consistent, and put in more details and specific things that happen in relationships, this might have gone somewhere.

Instead, it starts off with inane idiocies about wearing whatever and drinking beer with the guys. Who the * cares? There is only one line worth anything in this song, and that is "I'd listen to her cause I know how it hurts." It is true that guys don't listen easily, so that is an important place to start.

And then things get confused. Is she saying how she would be better at being a boy? Or is she saying what boys get away with? In that line, she is obviously saying how she'd be better at being a boy. She would listen. And then, she says how she just be another bad boy, "taking her for granted". And then it switches to third person without any warning, "but you're just a boy".

I really hate it when a good idea is wasted. I hate it when stupid lyrics masquerade as clever pieces of genius. The lesson? Don't waste a single word. Stick to your message, say what you want to say in a creative, engaging, consistent way. Resist the urge to put catchy line after catchy line, without being concerned about what you are saying and what the song is about. This lyricist obviously couldn't resist the urge.

Performance: wouldn't make a difference.

She's got a nice voice, but even if she'd be Barbra Streisand, I doubt she could make this song work.

If I Were A Boy lyrics

If I were a boy

Even just for a day

I’d roll out of bed in the morning

And throw on what I wanted and go

Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls

I’d kick it with who I wanted

And I’d never get confronted for it

Because they’d stick up for me

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I’d be a better man

I’d listen to her

Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted

Cause he’s taken you for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

If I were a boy

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone its broken

So they think

that I was sleeping alone

I’d put myself first

And make the rules as I go

Cause I know that she’d be faithful

Waiting for me to come home (to come home)

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I’d be a better man

I’d listen to her

Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted (wanted)

Cause he’s taken you for granted (granted)

And everything you had got destroyed

It’s a little too late for you to come back

Say its just a mistake

Think I forgive you like that

If you thought I would wait for you

You thought wrong

But you're just a boy

You don’t understand (yea you don’t understand)

How it feels to love a girl

Someday you’ll wish you were a better man

You don’t listen to her

You don’t care how it hurts

Until you lose the one you wanted

Cause you've taken her for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

But you're just a boy…