By: Sera Akdogan, Edna Batengas
“There for You” – Martin Garrix, Troye Sivan
Sera Akdogan: “This is so millennial,” according to my little sister. Apparently this is not a good thing.
Edna Batengas: From the get-go, I already know that this song will be a hit. The bass and the EDM beats just make this song what it is . . . AWESOME! Summer 2017, we’ve found our summer anthem.
“Self-Made” – Bryson Tiller
SA: I’m not a fan of this unoriginal rap song. Is there anything else to make music about other than money and Gucci? It just seems so generic.
EB: It’s so upbeat. Bryson Tiller is taking back R&B to what it used to be.
“Your Song” – Rita Ora
SA: This sounds like it’s aiming to make pop music that has already come out in the last few years. Rita Ora is a cheesy adult making songs for 17-year-olds. I don’t want to hear her songs anymore.
EB: Welcome back, Ms.Ora. She never disappoints, this is a perfect summery pop song. I love how it promotes positive vibes, that’s all we need. Please keep it coming, Rita!
“Remember I Told You” – Nick Jonas , Anne-Marie, Mike Posner
SA: Was it really necessary to have three different voices in one lacklustre song? This track couldn’t be saved if it had 50 people on it. Just horrible.
EB: Wow, didn’t see this collaboration coming. Props to the house music in this track, but it’s so catchy that you start to forget that it’s a break-up song.
“Adeline” – Alt-J
SA: Oh, Alt-J, stealing my heart again with this lovely little number. I laughed at the “YA YA” part, though. Why did you have to disrupt my peaceful listening with the nonsense chanting?
EB: It was too slow and dreary for me. It’s a six-minute song, not my cup of tea.
“RAF” – A$AP Mob, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert, Frank Ocean
SA: Trap music is not my thing, but at least he’s being polite. Also, where was Frank Ocean in this?
EB: Two A$APs on the same track and Frank Ocean, too. What a collab! So pleased that A$AP Rocky took the lead on this one.
“Another Week” – Eric Saade
SA: It’s like someone borrowed the vocals from any pop song in 2012 ever and re-mastered it terribly. Eric Saade is an awful singer too — he’s not even karaoke-level. Oops, there go another three minutes and 39 seconds of my life I’ll never get back, thanks to this song.
EB: Is it wrong that as soon as I heard this song I thought of shopping in a Forever 21? ‘Nuff said.
“Scary” – Hawkon
SA: He has an interesting voice, but the lyrics are pretty basic, and I feel like the overall beat of the song ruins it for me. There’s definitely some potential here, though. Maybe it will grow on me.
EB: Scary indeed . . . The weird stuff that gets played on Spotify. Their voice was pretty mediocre.
“Symphony” [Cash Cash Remix] – Clean Bandit, Zara Larsson
SA: This track sounds like it’s trying to pick up where Cascada left off, despite the fact that no one asked for it back. I mean, there’s a clear reason why this was left in the early 2000s. It’s nothing but tacky, recycled material, which never ends when you want it to.
EB: I was so excited to see that a remix of this song was done. I mean, who doesn’t love Cash Cash? OK, maybe I spoke too soon . . . I liked the original better because I could sing along to the whole song, but with the EDM beats, I can only just head bop to it now.
“Habibi” – Ghali
SA: I like the way he says “habibi.” I’m not Arabic, so I don’t understand him, but I do know that “habibi” means “my beloved” (thanks, Google). Is this a modern Arabian love song? If so, it sounds pretty sexy.
EB: I may not understand what he’s saying, but from what I understand about Arabic, it’s a love song.
“Mask Off (remix) – Future, Kendrick Lamar
SA: I definitely like this better than Tobey Rosen’s acoustic cover. Although the remix is decent, I do like Future’s original best — it just sounds better in my opinion. Kendrick is very talented though, and I like his addition to this.
EB: The last remix of this left me utterly disappointed, but adding Kendrick and Future to this track may have even made this song better! This collaboration was a match made in heaven.
“Shake It Up” – G-Eazy, E-40, MadeinTYO, 24hrs
SA: This is kind of boring. Even with all of the different voices on the track, there’s no way I can listen to the full four minutes and 50 seconds without wanting to turn it off. I feel like my brother would probably listen to this in his car, though.
EB: This song didn’t even come close to shaking anything up.
