About me:Back at uni, so won't be around for a while, Emma x
Member since:02.04.2003
Reviews:82
Members who trust:64
Review rated by 73 Ciao members on average: very helpful
Jamelia had some success in the late 1990s with her single ‘Money’ with Beenie Man, but left the pop scene to get married and have a baby. After the marriage failed amidst some domestic violence, Jamelia burst back onto the scene with the stonking single ‘Superstar.’ This kind of music isn’t my usual cup of tea, but after seeing the album under my dad’s list of downloaded music and thinking how much I had (unexpectedly) liked the single ‘Superstar’ I thought it might be interesting to have a listen and ultimately review it.
The Tracks:
1. Superstar 2. Thank You 3. DJ 4. See it in a boy’s eyes 5. Taxi 6. Dirty Dirty 7. Club Hopping Rap by Bubba Sparxx 8. Cutie 9. Bounce 10. Bout ft. Rah Digga 11. Off Da Endz ft. Asher D. 12. B.I.T.C.H 13. Bonus track: Life 14. Bonus track: Antidote
The album kicks off, unsurprisingly, with the fantastic pop single that is ‘Superstar.’ This has to be one of the best pop singles to be released in recent years. I think that I’m right in saying that it had one of the longest stays in the Radio One Top 40 for at least a year. It is a brilliant tune; catchy guitar tune, deep bass beats and sing-a-long vocals which are all perfectly matched and honed to make everybody want to dance. Fantastic. 9/10
It seems that things are continuing in a good vein as ‘Thank You’ immediately follows. I like this song, although not as much as ‘Superstar’ and it shows some similar features to ‘Superstar,’ such as a strong bass line and catchy tune. I think the lyrics and vocals are marginally better on this track however, as they tell of Jamelia’s suffering in her marriage and how everything that her husband put her through has only made her stronger and more determined, so she thanks him for this. Its pretty good stuff, so my hopes were even higher for the rest of the album. 8/10
Unfortunately, a low point is hit almost straight away with ‘D.J.’ It sounds similar to Beyonce ‘Baby Boy.’ It has that Eastern feel to it. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of this style of music
and I don’t think that this is a particularly good example of it. Lyrics are repetitive and dull and there is nothing especially catchy or likeable about the song. A disappointment after the good opening. 4/10
This seems to set a trend for the next few tracks, and I’m reminded exactly why I don’t listen to this type of music. ‘See it in a Boy’s Eyes’ is marginally better and might actually grow on me after a while, if I care enough about the album to keep listening to it. It was co-written with Chris Martin from Coldplay, which probably explains why it sounds different to most of the album. It does show a subtle change to Jamelia’s vocals – she sounds higher, sweeter and gentler and so gains some points for this. There are more shades of Beyonce, but this time within the voice. However, the same-old tune drags it down and the addition of some piano a la Alicia Keys does not do a lot to lift the track. 5/10
‘Taxi’ is just dreadful. It sounds like a Pop Idol wannabe who has decided that R’n’B is the way to go. It has a strong, irritating tune with the even more annoying refrain of ‘Tax-ay, tax-ay!’ which just grated on me. Slightly reminiscent of TLC in the way the backing vocals are used, but nowhere near the calibre of some of their finer stuff. 2/10
‘Dirty dirty’ at first sounds like a remix of ‘Taxi’ so you can guess how much I was looking forward to listening to it. However, there are some changes to it that make it better. It is slightly darker in sound with quite a good ‘ghostly’ synth sound behind the main tune and a good beat to it that I found myself jiggling a bit too (I say jiggle as I’ve just eaten a whole Easter egg). The problem with it is, it’s obviously an album filler but could be lifted with a famous rapper in place of the non-entity that is currently having a go and some better lyrics. ‘We’re getting dirty dirty’ isn’t anything new anymore, and after ‘Thank You’ I know that she’s capable of writing some lyrics that are a bit more original and emotional. 6/10
Just the title of ‘Club Hopping Rap’ featuring Bubba Sparxx made me cringe. Nothing like say what you see, or in this case, hear. ‘Hopping rap’ is actually a good way of describing the style of music. It does seem to be a jumpy tune and you can imagine the type of dancers TOTP would employ to jiggle along to it. Unfortunately, I probably wouldn’t be watching TOTP if they released this single, because again it’s another run of the mill, Pop Idol wannabe tune. There’s nothing new to the music and Jamelia’s vocals aren’t even that good on it. Still, it’s better than ‘Taxi’ but that’s not difficult. 3/10
I didn’t exactly have high hopes when I saw the next track was called ‘Cutie.’ I have mixed feelings about this one – on the one hand, I quite like the trumpet-sounding synth synchronised with a booming bass, but on the other hand it has an annoying speeded up voice sound like on the Kanye West song that Radio 1 are playing to death at the moment. It’s trying to be original and a bit different, which is a relief after the dreariness of the previous tracks, but again I don’t think I’d really want to listen to it all that often. 5/10
At the beginning of the album, I was impressed by the strong beats of ‘Superstar.’ But now, as I hit the ninth track ‘Bounce’ it’s just getting a bit boring and monotonous. All the tracks seem to follow the same formula of hit ‘em with a strong beat, build up the vocals to a sing a long chorus, then repeat a few times til the end. Surprise, surprise – ‘Bounce’ follows this formula. It is slightly catchier than some of the others and has the non-entity rapper on it again, but ninth in queue on the album doesn’t help my appreciation of this track after hearing it in different guises earlier on. 4/10
My ears prick up at the start of ‘Bout’ featuring Rah Digga. It incorporates the Rocky theme tune as; who I presume is Rah Digga, raps over the top and introduces the track, Jamelia, her brother, her cat, the Queen Mother, just about every one really. The formula is in play, but surprisingly, it’s better than what I’ve heard before. The trumpet synths are out and they work quite well and provide something different from previous tracks. The beat is slightly different and sounds more like a marching band than the tedious ‘BUM bum bum BUM bum bum BUM’ that has been the backdrop for everything else. I have a feeling that true R’n’B
Pictures of Thank You - Jamelia
The lady herself
fans would probably loathe the tracks I like (judging by my sister’s taste anyway) but I don’t care. I think this one’s better, but I’m still not sure if I would choose it to download… I mean buy as a single. It’s a relief though and stands out on the album. 6/10‘Off Da Endz’ is terrible again. I had sort of managed to raise my hopes in the form of one eyebrow after ‘Bout’ but it went straight back down again after this. Formula, formula – beats, check. Backing vocals, check. Random irritating noise, check. This time in the form of some Windows ‘STOP!’ noise or something similar. I actually cringed when I heard the use of word at the moment ‘Babyboy.’ Even some frantic rapping by Asher D towards the end can’t save it from the Pit of Dullness. 2/10
We now move onto the (almost) final track B.I.T.C.H. Thank god it’s nearly the end. The track begins with ‘I’ll be that BITCH tonight and explore you right’ or something like that. It’s just the same old thing yet again, and even I’m getting bored of typing that in. Strong beats, jittering melody - it’s a little bit like that song from ‘Save the Last Dance’ that goes ‘You can do it, put your back into it’ (any ideas what that’s called, tell me and I’ll put it in) as it seems to borrow some of the sounds, but it’s nowhere near as catchy. It gets better slightly towards the end with another fast rapper from the female non-entity but nothing can save it. 4/10
Now I’m onto the bonus tracks. The thing I don’t understand about bonus tracks these days is that albums happily announce them. Isn’t the point supposed to be that they’re a surprise at the end for you? Anyway…
The first bonus track ‘Life’ isn’t actually that bad. It has some orchestral sounding synths in the background and quite an addictive sounding melody that plays underneath that sounds like a bit like synthesized triangles. That’s the best way I can describe the sound, so I’m sorry. The bass is different to earlier tracks and sounds a bit like a slowed down version of Lumidee’s ‘ooh oh.’ The vocals sound a bit more assertive, whereas in earlier tracks they sounded a bit wishy-washy as if Jamelia wasn’t sure what to sing along to the tune. There’s some gospel choir sounding stuff towards the end along with more of the orchestra, which I liked. Unlike a lot of the other tracks, this sounded ‘put together’ and actually went somewhere instead of continuing in the same spot. This should have been one of the main tracks, not a bonus one shoved on the end. 6/10
Finally, the last track. I think you can guess my feelings on this album by that comment. Unfortunately, ‘Antidote’ sounds too similar to ‘Life’ to impress me any further and I’m disappointed that it finishes the album. This is another that stays in the same place instead of heading towards something. I’m not sure what that something would be, but it has to be better than this. 5/10
Final Opinion:
I really wanted to like the Jamelia album. I admit I’m more of an indie kid – I usually listen to things like Damien Rice, The Music and Badly Drawn Boy, but I thought that maybe this could be the one pop/R’n’B album that I would like. How wrong I was. The two singles that have been released so far are fantastic, there’s no denying that – they are brilliant pop tunes with catchy melodies and lyrics. But what appears on the rest of the album is nothing new or exciting and gets tedious. There’s only so many times you can hear a strong bass and same old tune before you turn it off.
There are a lot of people out there at the moment who make this type of music and to put yourself ahead of the rest you need to release something different - which is what she did with 'Superstar.' Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything else on this album that will help her take on the likes of Beyonce and Christine Aguilera.
Maybe it’s the style of music that requires this from it, or maybe it’s because I don’t usually like it, but I won’t be listening to the album again.
I hated superstar, i hated, DJ, i hated see it in a boys eyes, but i liked thank you at first, but after the third time i heard it, i hated it. Wouldnt have bought the album anyway. My sister ordered it, but the fella told her she wouldnt like it, it was poop. great review. x staz
ely star--has a lot of catching up to do. Thankfully, Thank You extends way beyond where her self assured debut, Drama, left off. If anything, watching from the sidelines a...
ely star--has a lot of catching up to do. Thankfully,Thank Youextends way beyond where her self assured debut,Drama, left off. If anything, watching from the sidelines as R...
![Thank You [New Artwork] - Jamelia](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/92388063.jpg)
by (3%):
by (4%):
24.05.2007 03:07
Hiya great review! Lisa xxx
16.02.2006 10:40
Nice review chuck, but yeh, Im incluned to agree with you. Matt x
16.06.2005 15:26
I hated superstar, i hated, DJ, i hated see it in a boys eyes, but i liked thank you at first, but after the third time i heard it, i hated it. Wouldnt have bought the album anyway. My sister ordered it, but the fella told her she wouldnt like it, it was poop. great review. x staz