Paak - grooved their way back into the ’70s with their exuberantly sleek seduction anthem “ Leave the Door Open.” Dripping with both humor and sex appeal, “Door” is an instant slam dunk by the R&B super-duo, as they lovingly recreated the lush sounds of ’70s soul, but with enough modern finesse to still conquer audiences not even born until decades later. Instead of leaning into today’s R&B sound, Silk Sonic - comprised of famed retro heads Bruno Mars and Anderson. 1 bows on the chart - and proving that, contrary to the song’s opening lyrics, it was in fact Rodrigo who excelled at moving on really easily. Oh yeah, and “Good 4 U” also arrived atop the Hot 100, making Sour the first debut album ever to score two No. (Rodrigo would later give writing credits to Hayley Williams and Josh Farro for similarities to Paramore’s 2007 single “Misery Business.”) Her songwriting is clever without being congested, and her vocal glides just as effortlessly on top of raucous guitars as it does over a serene piano. How do you get out from under the shadow of a record-breaking, Hot 100-topping debut single that yielded its own Saturday Night Live skit and one of the best bridges in recent memory? If you’re Olivia Rodrigo, you change just about everything: “Good 4 U” smashes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” to pieces, flipping the distraught, heartfelt balladry of “Drivers License” for a middle-fingers-up anthem spiked with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and 2000s pop-punk angst. Taylor Swift, "All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault).It may not be possible to take a vacation from your brain - or from anything else at COVID’s height, for that matter - but at least the view is always nicer from the top of the charts. It was hardly a song made for R&B radio, but it was still undoubtedly what a ton of music listeners wanted to hear as 2020 turned to 2021, becoming one of the first major streaming hits of the early year. The song’s title isn’t a statement or even a prediction, just a blind wish: “Still wanna believe in good days,” the star singer-songwriter sighs along with her backing vocals, while impossibly lush waves of synth and guitar attempt to provide comfort and reassurance. “Good Days” is a languorous, stuck-in-bed slow jam - not the fun kind, though, as its anguished lyrics aren’t focused on getting laid but rather getting outside of your own head just once before the apocalypse. SZA’s first unaccompanied top 10 hit on the Hot 100 wouldn’t have been anyone’s guess for a conventional crossover. There aren’t a ton of breakup ballads you’d consider road trip staples, but “Drivers License” made Rodrigo perhaps pop-rock’s biggest rookie phenom since Alanis Morissette in large part because you could picture her freaking out to it like Alanis from the backseat, shotgun and behind the wheel simultaneously. The heartbreak hymn motors with near-krautrock steadiness and precision, ingenious in every detail of its subtly propulsive production - from the opening car-door-ajar alarm that winds into the song’s primary verse hook to the two-note bass bubble that takes the song from its leveling chorus to its instantly immortal bridge.
But while the teenage torch song was massive enough to loom over practically the entire year that followed, what still stuns about “License” in December is how light on its wheels it remains. It’s been 11 months since “Drivers License” made then-17-year-old Olivia Rodrigo the toast of the music world overnight, becoming 2021’s first true runaway blockbuster and entering into permanent pop lore by Groundhog Day.
0 kommentar(er)
