30 Days With BTR: Day 11
[mood: 
Celebratory. Fun b-day celebration for a friend tonight, and another great friend is coming to visit tomorrow!]
[music: Jordin Sparks (Featuring Big Time Rush) - Counting on You]
Day 11 - Your least favorite song: ♫ Counting on You ♫
I don't hate the song, but I chose "Counting on You" as my least favorite for a couple of reasons.
1) It really isn't a Big Time Rush song. Rather, it's a Jordin Sparks song written for the show featuring Big Time Rush in a pseudo duet, but they are really functioning more like back up singers. I completely understand why that was the case given that Jordin is the bigger star, the main vocal was written to be female, and I'm sure they wanted to capitalize on said star power to boost the song with her fanbase while boosting the name recognition of Big Time Rush. Clever marketing, surely. That said, I don't consider this song a BTR song in the same way as the others.
2) The "one, two, three, four, to the five" phrase bothers me a little. I enjoy the melodic line of this lyric, but the "to the five" lyric itself has always irked me a little. Yes, I get that the song is about counting on someone and that with Jordin, the group is a quintet, but still, it feels more like the random number hook utilized in plenty of other songs (e.g., U2's use of one, two, three, fourteen in Spanish to kick off a tune).
3) There was a bit too much vocal riffing from Jordin for me toward the end of the song. It starts to drown out the vocals beneath it rather than soaring with the music. I think "ooo-ing" and "whoa-ing" and "ahh-ing" can be utilized effectively in music (see Damien Rice's amazing extended "ow" when singing the word "down" in "Eskimo"), but I think more often than not, it is overused/abused. Especially in pop.
On the plus side, the harmonies are generally lovely, Carlos gets some shining moments vocally, and it was accompanied by an interesting music video concept. I did enjoy the retro black and white nature of the video both in clothing style and film filter. Kendall rocked out black, silk gloves, the boys were suave in their suits crooning into old-fashioned stand mics, and there was some old school back up singer snapping that made me smile. It reminded me of Ben King & The Drifters. :) Though, I must say, I also appreciated the synchronized leg kicks, which were decidedly not retro.
Celebratory. Fun b-day celebration for a friend tonight, and another great friend is coming to visit tomorrow!]
[music: Jordin Sparks (Featuring Big Time Rush) - Counting on You]
Day 11 - Your least favorite song: ♫ Counting on You ♫
I don't hate the song, but I chose "Counting on You" as my least favorite for a couple of reasons.
1) It really isn't a Big Time Rush song. Rather, it's a Jordin Sparks song written for the show featuring Big Time Rush in a pseudo duet, but they are really functioning more like back up singers. I completely understand why that was the case given that Jordin is the bigger star, the main vocal was written to be female, and I'm sure they wanted to capitalize on said star power to boost the song with her fanbase while boosting the name recognition of Big Time Rush. Clever marketing, surely. That said, I don't consider this song a BTR song in the same way as the others.
2) The "one, two, three, four, to the five" phrase bothers me a little. I enjoy the melodic line of this lyric, but the "to the five" lyric itself has always irked me a little. Yes, I get that the song is about counting on someone and that with Jordin, the group is a quintet, but still, it feels more like the random number hook utilized in plenty of other songs (e.g., U2's use of one, two, three, fourteen in Spanish to kick off a tune).
3) There was a bit too much vocal riffing from Jordin for me toward the end of the song. It starts to drown out the vocals beneath it rather than soaring with the music. I think "ooo-ing" and "whoa-ing" and "ahh-ing" can be utilized effectively in music (see Damien Rice's amazing extended "ow" when singing the word "down" in "Eskimo"), but I think more often than not, it is overused/abused. Especially in pop.
On the plus side, the harmonies are generally lovely, Carlos gets some shining moments vocally, and it was accompanied by an interesting music video concept. I did enjoy the retro black and white nature of the video both in clothing style and film filter. Kendall rocked out black, silk gloves, the boys were suave in their suits crooning into old-fashioned stand mics, and there was some old school back up singer snapping that made me smile. It reminded me of Ben King & The Drifters. :) Though, I must say, I also appreciated the synchronized leg kicks, which were decidedly not retro.