Real slick, Nick
WE’VE seen it before. When ‘ N SYNC’s Justin Timberlake first launched his solo career in 2002, he sought to distance himself from his boy band persona and dabbled with R&B.
It looks like Nick Jonas, the youngest of the sibling trio The Jonas Brothers, is taking a leaf out of JT’s book, sporting also a polished soul, R&B sound and a newfound sex symbol image to boot (who can forget that Mark Wahlberg-inspired photo spread in
magazine last October?). And well, it has been paying off. Right from the get-go, this JoBro actually sounds very much at home with this new musical direction. Nick launches into those smoky falsettos in and as though he’s been doing this for a long while.
But perhaps the album’s success (debuting at number six on the Billboard 200 charts) can be attributed to the 22-year-old singer’s ability to still incorporate a little of his past musical stylings – after all, he does have his old fanbase
to think about – and make substantial strides towards discovering other genres (there’s even some EDM and retro beats in the mix) and appeal to a new target audience.
Most importantly, Nick’s new work inspires listeners to simply get up and dance, especially with
and besides his already chart-topping hit
Come to think of it, he has nothing to get jealous about, what with this stellar line-up of tracks, starring as a series regular on and, oh, dating the most beautiful woman in the universe – Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo. THE current number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 charts is so groovy, listeners are already up on their feet before they can even put on their dancing shoes.
by British producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Adele) featuring Bruno Mars, can be summed up in just two words really: fun and funk.
The toe-tapping and hip-swaying resonate throughout Ronson’s fourth studio release,
what with Stevie Wonder playing the harmonica on the album’s intro, and the closing number, a reprised version of
Also, with the help of rapper Mystikal, is easily another one of the album’s strongest offerings, though the expletive-filled lyrics probably won’t work for mainstream radio.
But Ronson proves his tunes can be just as irresistible without purely relying on big names.
Keyone Starr is virtually an unknown, but her charismatic vocals are responsible for another outstanding track, Ronson, who had in mind a young Chaka Khan, shared with he had driven to the South and discovered her at a church.
The rest of the album, though still packing a lot of funk, heads into a more psychedelic direction, featuring Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker on three of its tracks.