Nicole Scherzinger ft. Will.I.Am - 'Baby Love'
It's quite hard to get excited about Nicole Scherzinger's debut solo single when she has effectively been a solo artist all along. She just happened to be performing under the same name as her backing singers, but none of us ever doubted who was the Diana Ross and who were The Other Two Members Of The Supremes. So her venturing out on her own feels slightly inevitable, and rather timely. After all, if she gets out now before the Spice Girls reunion officially kicks in, she won't be there when The Other Five Members Of The Pussycat Dolls watch them onstage and start asking awkward questions like "hang on a minute, how come they ALL get to sing, eh? Just what exactly is that about, Nicole? EH?"
So, while Carmit, Melody, Kimberly, Ashley and Jessica (see, I did know their names really. Well, I only had to get two of them from Wikipedia, which isn't bad going, right?) flail about wondering who's going to perform nine-tenths of the vocals on their songs when Nicole isn't there to do it, we can get to know Nicole without those other people strutting around in the background and distracting us.
It's just a bit of a shame that this song is so wishy-washy, really. It's perfectly serviceable, in an inoffensive female-oriented R&B sort of way, but it completely failed to excite me in any way. Whether Nicole had the presence and vocal moxy to cope on her own was never in question, but it's disappointing that the material she's got to work with is as bland as this. It's more sedate than a typical PCD track, which I suspect is a deliberate attempt to distance Solo Nicole from Band Nicole, although you can sort of sing the melody of 'Stickwitu' over the top without it sounding particularly wrong, so if that was the intention, it wasn't what you might call an unqualified success.
Perhaps what feels most wrong about this track is the release date. This kind of gentle radio-friendly pop is the sort of song that works best in the height of summer, where you'd hear it blaring out of open windows as you walk down the street. Perhaps it's just me, but in the same way that you start craving soups and stews when October comes around after a summer of salad and sandwiches, I want something a bit thicker from my winter pop, and this won't do anything to stave off the chills.
Still, with a schedule like Nicole's, you probably have to do these things as and when you can, so I'm not going to hold the unseasonable nature of the song against her. I just hope there's stronger material on the album, because this doesn't have the energy or the imagination to rate anything higher than average. Unless this was a deliberate sabotage by the others to hobble her solo career before she even gets going so she has to come back before they all starve, in which case it's a work of genius.
Download: Out now
CD Released: November 5th
(Steve Perkins)
Comments
I dont like nicole she may be the singer onPCD but she dont have the IT thing that singers do
Look ather 1st single and this one it was all flop
just a predictor that Nicole sucks bigtime!!
better luck next time Girl
you never even crack the america how much more europe maybein africa they will like you
cover yourself plsssssssssssssssssss
your not sexy on your vid though ewwwww
hi people
Re. Christina Aguileras NO.1 FAN Is there a sentence in there somewhere?
It really is a shame that this song is so insipid as Ms Scherzinger is a good singer and has to be given credit for Refusing To Give Up. After all, who remembers her time in Eden's Crush (below), eh? Appearances in Sabrina The Teenage Witch notwithstanding.
But it looks like the curse of the Black Eyed Peas has now stricken her low. But given her Refusal To Give Up, she'll be back.
l h8 hr. this sng is soooo mushy
Wasn't Eden's Crush a Pop Stars type band?
I really loved "Whatever U Like" and "Super Villain" is surprisingly fun but this is just a tad too boring for me.
However, I love the fact that she's a pop star who's *my* age (a year older even!) when the "rest of them" are yet to break free of their teens...
I quite agree with the review. She's got a very good singing voice really (she's no Leona, but not everyone can be), they could have produced something much better than this. The chorus is vaguely catchy but the words "my baby love" are also the only memorable part of the song. The video is pretty dire too, a completely obvious attempt to capitalise on Nicole's undoubted beauty but with a sleazy emphasis on her breasts - illustrated by the angle of the opening shot and reaching its pinnacle at the end of the song where she's just covering herself with her hands. Why would she be doing that in any realistic setting?
I love how they're apparently racing across the cliff sides of some paradise island, and yet Nicole's hair doesn't flow back. And neither of them are wearing helmets - see, the video is so boring I started thinking of health and safety!
It's boring. But it's definitely MUCH better than the Pussycat Dolls, argh!!
its bloody awful n i dun even like it!*
(RE: Comment No.1)
excuse me there- you say america n europe cannot tolerate that what makes you think africa will? watch wah you write or rather type.