Thursday, 2 January 2014

Zendaya- Zendaya Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- Zendaya
Artist- Zendaya

The Disney channel is notorious nowadays for producing a range of music artists, with notable singing stars such as Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Singer and actress Zendaya is the latest rising music star from the Disney Hollywood Records label, releasing her self-titled debut album after signing with the label and being one of the stars of the hit Disney channel show Shake It Up. The singer has described her sound as being pop but with and urban edge, but will her music be enough for her to be a prominent music star like her Hollywood Record predecessors?

Track 1- Replay

The first track on the record and the albums lead single, Replay definitely shows of the albums sound as the song is steeped in an electro pop sound that has an RnB lilt and bass heavy groove that sets it apart from typical Disney pop offerings. The song is lyrically simple as Zendaya sings of her feelings for this guy and the idea that their relationship is like a song that she just wants to replay all the time. The sentiment may be quite clichéd, but the simplicity of the chorus is very catchy, and the softness of the verses perfectly compliments the slightly forceful tone of the chorus. The delicacy of Zendaya’s vocal tone is nicely shown within the track, whilst the use of vocal layering adds substance to the track and makes for certain elements to be a bit more potent. The songs best asset is definitely the production, with the glitchy electro beats giving a vibrant and distinct RnB tone to the track that is an addictive sound in its own right, and a sound that may make you want to replay this song a lot.

3.5/5

Track 2- Fireflies

With the thumping beats of the intro and finger snapping grooves of this track, Fireflies continues the urban tinged pop essence of the record and finds Zendaya emanating some of her musical idols in terms of the smooth, lilting quality of her vocal performance, with Michael Jackson being a prominent example in my opinion. The song is lyrically a bit weak, with Zendaya singing of the idea that fireflies are glowing in the air because love is in the world. The message is quite clichéd and is something that a number of her Disney peers could have sung about. However, the heavy beats and scattered quality of the production with the club sounding chorus that then dips into urban based, grinding beats makes for a sound that is quite intriguing, and coupled with the smoothness of the singer’s vocals, the lyrical content is made up for.

3.5/5

Track 3- Butterflies

Coming straight after a song called Fireflies, I was quick to judge that this was just another loved up song that would be a bit too similar to the previous track. However, Butterflies is more of an antithesis song to the former track, with the clichéd idea of getting butterflies when you are in love being nicely inverted, with Zendaya singing of how the butterflies she feels are just lies and she just wants her heart to be closed off too these feelings. The songs message is strong and a little aggressive in a good way, but this time the singers vocals hinder the song a little, because the smoothness and delicacy of her voice makes the tracks sad emotional tone come out in a good way, but at times the singers voice is auto tuned to bring out aggression within the song, and this more just highlights some of her weakness as a vocalist. The songs production is once again really strong, with the heavy bass beats being nicely paired with a really catchy guitar loop, creating this stomping sound that encompasses the songs lyrical theme very nicely.

3.5/5

Track 4- Putcha Body Down

Upping the tempo of the record a little, Putcha Body Down is the records first real dance offering, but this is definitely dance with a strong urban flavouring. The song finds Zendaya telling this boy to show her his moves because that will mean that he has won her heart. The message just comes across as clichéd and lacks the catchiness of the previous tracks, whilst Zendaya’s voice is just vocally processed in a way that doesn’t make the song feel like a natural extension of her as an artist and once again highlights her weakness as a vocalist. The songs scattered beats and quirky vocal distortions post chorus wise gives the track a nice sound, but this is definitely the records first sub-par offering that feels too Disney and also weirdly at the same time feels like a song that in some ways is too grown up.

2.5/5

Track 5- Heaven Lost an Angel

Heaven Lost an Angel sounds like a title that basically reads as an emotional ballad, but instead the song is a smooth RnB pop jam that once again evokes that idea of the singer being heavily influenced by Michael Jackson. The song is all about the idea that Zendaya has met this guy who is angelic and perfect, and she just wants to sing his praises and be by his side. The message is clichéd but wrapped around a catchy pop chorus, and the singer’s smooth vocals make the chorus sound sincere. The rap style vocals of some of the verses will appeal to some people but will annoy others. But with a toe tapping groove to the production, a touch of soul sis brought to the record to create this smooth but also finger snapping musical jam, creating a catchy tune that is once again less typical Disney and more musically innovative for Hollywood Records, aside from the beginning sounding a bit too similar to the beginning of the Miley Cyrus track The Time of Our Lives.

3.5/5

Track 6- Cry for Love

Cry for Love is another title that seems suited to being a ballad, and this time the singer delivers with this mid tempo RnB ballad that features a frenzied electro bassline and finds the singer in an emotionally vulnerable state. Here she tells the listener of how she is crying over this boy who she is desperately in love with and who isn’t treating her right, and she just doesn’t understand how she can be in love and yet be so upset. The message is a strong one, but whilst the singers vocals are smooth and delicate in a way that makes the song emotive, her voice is a little too light and airy to make this feel like a subject matter that she is fully invested in. The snappy drumbeats and punchy synths of the songs production creates this smooth sound to the track that allows for the lyrical content to be more impactful, making a song that is powerful, but is just attached to the wrong singer.

3/5

Track 7- Only When You’re Close

Taking things into more of a bass heavy sound and stomping electro RnB vibe, Only When You’re Close is a forceful electro pop, RnB number that is based in the idea of Zendaya telling this guy that she feels incomplete unless he is not beside her. This idea has been heard many times before in music, but somehow the lyrics are catchy, perhaps in terms of the simplicity of the songs message. Zendaya’s delicate and airy vocals also bring a sense of urgency to the track that makes the song a bit more impactful, whilst the stomping beats and heavy sound of the track with the great dance breakdown makes for a fresh sound that makes this one of the stand out musical offerings from the album, and although in many ways this song shouldn’t work, it somehow does.

3.5/5

Track 8- Bottle You Up

Another mid tempo ballad that was co-written by rising songwriter Olivia Waithe, Bottle You Up is a simple and pure love song that is all about Zendaya wishing that she could bottle up the essence of the boy she has these feelings for, because she doesn’t like to be a part from him and just wants to feel his love despite the tumultuous essence of the relationship. The songs message is sweet and is supported by a solid pop chorus, and with the light tone of the singers voice Zendaya really brings out the songs sweetness, with the singers ad libs adding a further airy layer to the track that makes the song feel more powerful. The stomping bass and scattered electro rhythms of the songs production makes for a forceful but also quite simple sound to the record, and although this is definitely one of the more pop offerings of the record, it is a song that shows that sometimes keeping things simple is the best thing.

3.5/5

Track 9- Scared

Opening with a dramatic vocal performance from Zendaya, Scared is definitely one of the more powerful pieces on the album purely in terms of its dramatic essence. The song finds Zendaya singing of how she doesn’t want to feel for this boy, but at the same time she is scared to be alone. The lyrics are dark and powerful and tap into that post break up feeling of being alone very nicely. The singers vocals are processed and delivered in a way that brings out the drama of the track in a great way, and with the simmering, intense beats of the production and the crazed tones of some of the vocal distortions, this is a really intriguing song that should be considered as a single purely on the basis that it is really different to typical songs by Disney channel artists.

3.5/5

Track 10- Love You Forever

Co-written and produced by fellow Disney star Nick Jonas, Love You Forever is an airy, mid tempo dance pop number in which the singer invites this boy to move with her on the dance floor, because if he does she just might love him forever. The song is vocally strong as the singers light tone is utilised well to really bring out the euphoric message of the song. The vocals are also made stronger by the layering of Zendaya’s voice, and so whilst this could have maybe been too clichéd of a song, the vocals definitely make it seem more sweet and pleasurable to listen to. The simple dance beats and squiggly electronic production creates a swaying dance rhythm for the track that is very simple but effective.

3.5/5

Track 11- My Baby

Final track My Baby is a little flirty slice of RnB pop with a hip hop tinge. The song finds Zendaya singing of how with her man they will be great, and this guy knows that he just wants to be her baby. The lyrics are a bit annoying and repetitive but the lilting vocal style makes the song more flirtatious and impactful, whilst the finger snapping RnB beats create an equally as flirtatious, groovy sound to the track that makes this a nice if clichéd end to the record.

3.5/5

Final Review

Zendaya’s debut album is an interesting piece that infuses a typical Disney pop sound with RnB and hip hop flavourings, creating a much more intriguing and vibrant pop piece. The singer isn’t the strongest vocalist in the world but utilises her voice well throughout the album and knows how to really convey the sentiment of each of the songs. The infusion of genres makes for a fun sound to the overall production of the album that definitely marks out Zendaya as being better than some of her Disney peers. Furthermore, whilst clichés do creep in, the lyrics are catchy and interesting, whilst not compromising on an immediate accessibility for the listener. All in all this is a really nice debut record from a Disney star that might just be the best yet.

8/10

Best Track- Replay

Worst Track- Putcha Body Down

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