91Èȱ¬

(No video. And you think I'M late with this one!)

Now, before we get into what on Earth happens during the guest rap section, the thing to note about this song is the melody, which is good. It's a Max Martin production, so you can feel the quality of the chorus without having to test the seams. The strange thing is that this is the first song that really exposes the fact that we're starting to run out of lyrics which are just the internal monologue of a man in a nightclub. And it's worse when key words are repeated here and there in order to fit the demands of the tune.

I mean every single time Ush goes for that repeat in the verses - that "eyes eyes eyes" bit - it just sounds weird. Like they never really got the right words to make it sound convincing, but wanted to keep going with the guy-in-a-club narrative so it would match the chorus. The chorus itself, by contrast, feels effortless. When he goes into that "dance-dance like it's the last-last night of your life-life" bit, which should be just as clunky as the verses, by rights, it's smooth and deft and sensical. Most odd.

And then, as I believe I may have mentioned, Pitbull arrives. Here's a full transcript of his bit, which I include so that the rest of the blog will suddenly look fantastic:

"Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil
Get it baby? Hope you catch that like [a word I can't hear]
That's how we roll - my life is a movie, and you just TIVO (heh!)
Mammy got me switchin like a dreadlock
She don't wrestle but I got her in a headlock
Yaba-daba-doo make her bedrock - mammy on fire, pssht! Red hot
Bada-bing-bada-boom Mr Worldwide as I step in the room
I'm a hustler baby, but that you knew, but tonight it's just me and you."

There's another verse doing the rounds which is the same amount of bad, only in Spanish. And this would seem to suggest that at some point he had to go back and have another go, just to really NAIL the rubbishness. That's commitment, right there.

Still, this is what they pay him the money for, and let's face it, when the results are as effective as these, he's clearly worth every penny.

Download: Out now


91Èȱ¬ Music page

(Fraser McAlpine)

"Just the same old GaGa-electropop chart formula that's dominating right now."

"This track is the very definition of a full-bore club scorcher."

"This song is so generic that during my first listen, it reminded me of at least 3 or 4 other recent hits."