“Seems like everybody’s got a price/I wonder how they sleep at night/when the sale comes first and the truth comes second…” Jessie J sang in January of 2011. Listening to the songstress’ “Price Tag” single after hearing her new single “Laserlight {ft. David Guetta)” is nothing but hypocrisy at its finest.
UK Powerhouse Jessica Ellen Cornish, known more famously as “Jessie J,” has redefied the woman’s role in pop music today. Belting at the top of her lungs in the basement of a NYC subway station in MC hammer pants and red lipstick, she became an overnight YouTube sensation. But not only does she have such an incredible raw talent for singing, Jessie J also was offered a songwriting deal set up Sony/ ATV Music Publishing where she wrote hit songs for Chris Brown (“I Need This”), Miley Cyrus (“Party in the USA”) and Rihanna. And who could forget her show-stopping turn as “DJ” for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed with a clunky cast on her left leg after falling off a stage just days before, forcing her to sit onstage for the entire show, and was still raved as one of the most unexpectedly stellar parts of the awards ceremony.
Her music, all self-written and full of remarkable vocal runs, tricks and trills is generally centered around positive messages from self-image to the importance of fame. “I always say that I’m half-artist, half-therapist,” Jessie J has said about her motivational works.
The delectable combination of her incredible vocal talent combined with her ethical lyrics made for an excellent start for her career. But her newest single, “Laserlight,” produced by Top 40 gatekeeper French DJ David Guetta, sounds nothing more than a monotonic synthesized CHR track and is a massive let down after seeing what Jessie J is actually capable of.
The song is corny, the production is sloppy and the vocals are as stagnant as you would expect from any other auto-tuned David Guetta song. Though Jessie J tries to spice the song up by scaling a few notes every so often, it’s nearly impossible to recognize the otherwise-unique artist. In fact, it sounds strikingly similar to Guetta’s recent and equally insignificant “Titanium,” especially without a powerful bridge for Jessie J to show us her chops.
But alas, with such incredible history for producing instant chart-toppers with the likes of Kelly Rowland, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, David Guetta’s dance additive to the track will undoubtedly make this song an instant hit.
Photo credit: thelavalizard.com