Wednesday, 25 December 2013

Joe McElderry- Wide Awake Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- Wide Awake
Artist- Joe McElderry

Winning a show like the UK X Factor seems like you should be destined for a long career of success, but in many cases the winner has actually had less success than the runners up. Such an example is Joe McElderry, a young lad from Newcastle who, after winning the show, gained a number one single, a follow up top ten single and a top three placing album. Yet his sales were much poorer than they should have been, and as a result McElderry was dropped from record label Syco Music. McElderry has had quite a successful career since, with 3 more top ten placing albums under a new label Decca Records, but his success pales in comparison to other acts like Leona Lewis, One Direction and Cher Lloyd. But was McElderry’s debut album really all that bad, or were people too quick to judge McElderry as actually not that worthy of being an X Factor winner?

Track 1- Ambitions

A cover of a song originally recorded by Norwegian band Donkeyboy, Ambitions was the records lead single and is a bouncy up tempo pop number that is lyrically all about reaching for your dreams and how McElderry is following his ambitions and making his life turn out the way he wants. The message is happy and the pop chorus is good, but vocally the singer’s voice just doesn’t fit the track, as his falsetto just makes the track sound whiny and almost too chipper. The light synths and preppy pop production is nice but ultimately makes this feel like a Mika reject that somebody just told McElderry to record, and it just shouldn’t have been his post X Factor, this is my future sound kind of single.

2.5/5

Track 2- Someone Wake Me Up

Second single Someone Wake Me Up has a slight Wham! feel and finds the singer taking on a mid tempo ballad which really lets his voice shine. The song is more of a comfortable listen than the previous track, and although the lyrics are clichéd, the sentiment of being woken up by the power of love is sweet. The song has a dramatic, playful and passionate quality that allows the singer’s voice to be flexed to the full, with the use of vocal layering making the chorus more impactful and heartfelt. Keeping the production simple with the shoe tapping percussion and strong string arrangement creates a grand tone for the track that lifts the lyrics a little, and the only really annoying bit is the Auto Tuned bridge, which feels very unnecessary.

3.5/5

Track 3- Superman

Superman finds the singer covering a song original by Five for Fighting, and with this track McElderry once again gets to show off his vocals a little more. The song focuses on the singer reflecting that life is not easy but he has to dream and fight through life. The song finds the singer really opening up his voice, giving us soft verses and showing the depth in his voice before launching into the final chorus and giving the song a final, powerful kick. In terms of the sound things are maybe a little safe with the piano and string arrangement, but the sound suits the singer’s voice, and there are subtle electronic elements to the production that adds an extra, vibrant layer to the track. This would have made more sense as a single for the singer over Ambitions.

3.5/5

Track 4- Real Late Starter

Here McElderry gives us another cover song, this time taking on Real Late Starter by singer songwriter Nerina Pallot. The song is a bouncy dance and teen pop number, changing up the original tracks pop rock feel in favour of a more synth heavy sound. The jazzy piano instrumentation is fun but the synths are too powerful and typical of the genre. The singer vocally shows off his range but once again comes across as a bit whiny, with the Auto Tune being annoying, and it is another song which feels like the singer is being put into this mould that doesn’t suit him. The song is sweet in terms of the lyrics as McElderry reflects on his shyness and how he is late to the party, but it still feels all-round to shiny and cheesy.

2/5

Track 5- Until the Stars Run Out

With this track things turn a bit deeper into dance pop, and the song has a cool euphoric essence that is quite fun to listen to. The song has a strange sample of Wham!’s hit tune ‘Faith’ but apart from that the lyrics are quite catchy, as the singer states that this song is for the person who will love him for life, or at least until the stars run out. The song shows off a different side to the singers voice a little bit and has a languid feel that makes the tune more appealing. Furthermore, whilst other tracks have seen the production be more annoying and out of sync with the singer, the dance rhythms and stabbing string notes of the track creates an atmospheric feel that shows McElderry can actually fit into the dance pop genre without sounding like a total idiot.

3.5/5

Track 6- Feel the Fire

A bouncy pop number, Feel the Fire finds McElderry being this over the top character where something is burning inside him and he just wants to release all the energy he has. The song is very poor lyrically as the lyrics are built on dozens of clichéd statements, whilst there also doesn’t feel like there is any real purpose to the lyrics. McElderry’s light vocal tone works well within the track and he has a nice personality that works well within the context of the song. Whilst the snappy rhythm of the production is a bit of a rip off of the sound of pop group Alphabeat, it is a fun pop sound that still manages to work, particularly with the vocals.

2.5/5

Track 7- Fahrenheit

Farenheit keeps the happy, bright feel of the record going but has more of an electronic feel to it. The bubbling synth base of the song is really nice and creates a fun dance sound for the track. Here we find the singer telling the listener of how he knows that the idea of passion is on their mind and they should just let go. It is more solidly composed than the previous track but the lyrics can feel a bit awkward in places, whilst the vocal is slightly hit and miss as the verses are ok but the chorus is pitched to high and just sounds annoying.

2.5/5

Track 8- Wide Awake

Title track Wide Awake is a good mid tempo pop ballad that shows the singer off at his best and shows that his voice is much better suited to ballads. McElderry sings of how he was in this relationship with this person which was great but went a bit too quick, but now he is wide awake to the fact that he has lost this person. The lyrics are a bit more impactful and the chorus immediately captures your attention, whilst the singer shows off his range to better effect within the song and shows more passion. The stomping drums and twinkling piano melody of the song creates a strong sound that brings out the passion of the lyrics very nicely and shows that McElderry can bring some substance to his work.

3.5/5

Track 9- Smile

A cover of a song originally by country music artist Uncle Kracker, Smile is a song that is lyrically pure in its intent as the singer simply tells this person of how they make him smile and just forget his troubles and live life. The song is an inoffensive pop number, but the vocals don’t really grab you and the pitch is a bit annoying. Furthermore, the acoustic production with the shiny guitar riffs just creates a nice but safe sound that makes this song just an album filler track.

2.5/5

Track 10- Love Is War

Love Is War is a feisty pop number that has a slight George Michael feel. The song focuses on the idea that if love is like a war then McElderry will fight for this person, because he is only complete with them in his life. The message is typical pop territory but the chorus is a nice pop moment. However, the vocals are awkward throughout the song. The verses are nice and soft but then there is an annoying pitch and layered style to the vocals in the chorus, whilst Auto Tune also comes into play in some sections to just make the song more annoying. The track features a funky guitar riff and a vibrant pop sensibility that is nice to listen to but which cannot hide the poor quality of the vocal.

2/5

Track 11- The Climb (bonus track)

Final track The Climb was the singers X Factor winner’s single, and is a cover of a song originally by American singer Miley Cyrus. The song focuses on McElderry telling the listener of how he has had to overcome obstacles and there will always be obstacles in life, but the journey is worth it and you can get where you want to eventually. The song works well with the singer’s journey through the X Factor talent show and his fight to win, whilst vocally McElderry sounds passionate and comfortable within the song. Production wise things are kept nice and simple with the arrangement of drums, strings and piano, creating a strong power pop ballad sound that suits McElderry’s voice. Whilst it might have been an obvious choice for a winners single, McElderry puts his stamp on the cover and makes this just a sweet and lovely tune.

3.5/5

Final Review

Wide Awake is not a terrible album but it is not an album that you want from an X Factor winner. There are some decent pop songs in the set, and whilst his voice is naturally suited to ballads, he does produce some nice up tempo pop moments for the record. However, a lot of the time the lyrics are annoyingly clichéd, whilst the singer’s vocals suffer from going too high into his range and using Auto Tune very poorly. The production of each song also feels like a bit of a conglomeration of the sound of different artists, creating a slight rushed feel to the album that makes it seem as if people really didn’t know where to go with McElderry’s music direction. It could definitely have been a worse album, but sadly I can definitely see why people didn’t buy many copies and why he was dropped from his label, although it does slightly feel like it was more the labels fault.

4.5/10

Best Track- Until the Stars Run Out

Worst Track- Real Late Starter

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