Welcome to the fifth installment of New Music Fridays (on Tuesday) with Dylan. It was a bit of a struggle to decide what songs to review this week because of the fact that nothing really stood out to me. After reading my reviews, you will probably understand why it was a challenge. Let’s get to it.
“STOOPID” by 6ix9ine featuring Bobby Shmurda (iTunes, Spotify)
6ix9ine is back with “STOOPID,” his sixth single of 2018. After experimenting with a more Reggae sound on his last single “BEBE,” the rapper returns to his classic screaming style of rapping. The track features a verse, recorded over the phone, from imprisoned rapper Bobby Shmurda, who is expected to be released sometime in 2020.
6ix9ine basically freestyles the whole track, except for the Shmurda verse and the chorus, which is only sang twice. As usual, 6ix9ine sounds very angry and violent, something the rapper is well known for.
Keeping it real, the song is complete garbage. The two and a half minute track opens with vocals from what sounds like a baby, followed by the chorus, and then continued with verses that are just god-awful. The verses simply consist of 6ix9ine yelling like he just murdered someone, while attempting to rhyme as many lines as possible, all while talking about drugs and being rich. Surprising, right?
On a more positive note, the Shmurda verse was decent and actually had a good flow to it, despite the fact that it was recorded over the phone.
In all honesty, 6ix9ine was on a streak of putting out decent songs such as “FEFE” and “BEBE,” until he dropped “STOOPID.” Not only is the track obnoxious, it has no originality to it, and it is just a complete disaster with words being thrown all over the place.
Sadly, this song will probably become a hit only because Bobby Shmurda is on it. Since the rapper has been in jail since 2016, he has not released any tracks of his own, something his fans are feening for. That being said, the track will most likely only perform well with streams, not sales or airplay, due to the fact that 6ix9ine’s music is typically not radio friendly.
“STOOPID” debuted at No. 29 on the iTunes Worldwide chart and No. 14 on the Spotify Global Top 200. Play or Nay: Nay
“Polaroid” by Jonas Blue featuring Liam Payne and Lennon Stella (iTunes, Spotify)
“Polaroid” is the sixth single from DJ Jonas Blue’s debut album. The track consists of vocals from former One Direction member Liam Payne and breakout Nashville TV star Lennon Stella. “Polaroid” was announced the day before its release when the British DJ tweeted a video of the trio on a video call, officially announcing the single together.
“Polaroid,” overall, is generic and lazy. The lyrics were clearly not well thought out, and the beat is boring and sounds like every other EDM drop these days: a slight build up that leads to a complete let down of a beat. Not to mention, Payne and Stella provide vocals that almost made me fall asleep while listening to the track. Monotone, generic and repetitive is what you get when you invite a TV star and one-hit wonder to sing on your track.
That all being said, this track is extremely radio friendly due to the fact that it is clean, and is the perfect length in time for Pop radio stations. However, it will end up becoming one of those hits that people will love at first, but then grow to hate because of the fact that the station will play it 12 times every hour. Besides radio success, this song will probably be a complete flop in sales as well as the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Polaroid” debuted at No. 14 on the iTunes Worldwide chart and No. 133 on the Spotify Global Top 200. Play or Nay: Nay
“Without Me” by Halsey (iTunes, Spotify)
Now for the only good release of the week. Halsey informally announced “Without Me” on Sept. 23 at her show in London, where she teased the crowd with a video containing a short audio clip of the track, followed by the release date. Two days later, the single was officially announced on Twitter, where Halsey tweeted the HD version of the same video played at her show just two nights before, along with the official release date. “Without Me” officially debuted on Oct. 4 at 12 p.m. PST as a part of Zane Lowe’s “World Record” segment on “Beats 1.”
Opening with a suspicious instrumental, Halsey had already caught my attention within the first 10 seconds of the song. “Found you when your heart was broke, I filled your cup until it overflowed,” right off the bat, I knew this was bound to be a “feels” song, despite the fact that it was only the introduction.
The pre-chorus continues to go even deeper in the feels, where Halsey seems to reveal a brief history on her relationship with rapper G-Eazy by expressing: “And then I got you off your knees, put you right back on your feet, just so you can take advantage of me.” Although Halsey and Eazy ended up getting back together after he supposedly cheated on her, their temporary break-up sounds like it was pretty rough, assuming the track was written about him.
Halsey dives into the chorus, asking whomever the song may be about: “Does it ever get lonely Thinking you could live without me.”
The track goes on as the singer lets all her emotions out with a second verse, the chorus, a bridge, and ends with the chorus.
Despite this track having more of an emotional sound to it, it is unique-sounding, and still enjoyable due to the fact that the chorus is very catchy. Halsey knows exactly how to express her feelings without whining and sounding over-emotional, something that I admire in an artist.
Without a doubt, this song will definitely grow to be a hit. Although it is not as upbeat as some of the singers’ previous work, I strongly believe it will be a success on Top 40 radio, as well as the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Without Me” debuted at No. 68 on the iTunes Worldwide chart and No. 13 on the Spotify Global Top 200. Play or Nay: Play
Unfortunately, it was a very boring week for new music. Only one track truly stood out to me, while the rest were generic. Hopefully next week we will be gifted with some better music. See you then!
I’m Dylan Jahnke, and this is my second year with 42Fifty, which I first joined as a staff member. I am a senior at Oswego High School, and I plan to study mass communications/music management in college. I hope to one day have my own radio talk show or get into artist management. If I’m not writing or editing for 42Fifty, I’m either working at Culver’s, hanging out with friends and family, or doing homework. I am humbled to say I began my 42Fifty career my junior year as a staff writer, then Arts & Entertainment editor first semester of my senior year and now Editor-in-Chief.
