Loose dips surprisingly often into the ballad well, not always to great effect. “Showtime,” however, is one of its most stunning moments, beautifully changing up the pace without losing the harder edge of the album’s beat-driven sound. With an extended show business metaphor that lends an air of old Hollywood glamor, Nelly pleads with a timid lover to fully give in to her. The cascading harmonies of the middle eight, carrying Nelly away on her own fantasy, are a revelation—topped only by the heartbroken final refrain of “It’s not fair to love you in chains,” in which she realizes that she may not win this fight after all.
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Originally posted by Ace Reject
"Harmony." Something revered in traditionally black forms of music, misunderstood if not reviled in almost every other form of the popular American diaspora. Why? Perhaps multi-tracked vocals sound too "inauthentic," too "fussy," too "belabored." Having grown up with the idea of vocal stacking, then falling into indie rock in my late teens, I've not been too sure which position I'd willingly fight to keep.
Until I heard “Showtime.” Slept on by almost all listeners of Loose, it is the album's crown gem. The beauty of the album is that it's not thematically linked at all; it's the sound of Nelly stepping back into her comfort zone while trying out new things. “Showtime” does this perfectly—Nelly inhabits the role of a R&B crooner, with the very specific strengths and limitations of her voice. Her range, her timbre don't naturally suit the music underneath, and that frisson makes the song just short of transcendent. The bridge, in particular, is a wonder—sound and fury crashing together.
If you didn’t figure it out from the first two singles, this opening track makes it abundantly clear that listeners are in for a whole new Nelly on Loose. Kicking off with a glitch of static, like a microphone recovering its connection, “Afraid” is a moody, yet propulsive, shot of synths and self-doubt unlike anything on her first two records. Dealing directly with Nelly’s fears about how her change of sound will be received, it clears the air between artist and audience, putting everyone on the same page to enjoy the music to come.
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Originally posted by prézli
"Afraid" introduces us to one of the classic pop albums of the last decade, "Loose." Not just because it's the first song on the album, but this is the first time when you meet Nelly's transformation into the R&B-sexual-chick style. It’s another side of her: she's a confident woman in this track.
It speaks about Nelly's fear. She had changed her musical style and was "afraid" what people would think about her after that. She sings with no lack of confidence: "We all have the choice to take the lead or follow, I want to feel the light shine on me." "I'm a survivor look how strong my mind is." BANG! What's this if not a huge self-empowering anthem?
The best parts of the song are definitely the verses. Attitude is featured in the song, but honestly, no one really remembers him even after 100 spins. Nelly ROCKS and that's all that matters. She's the Versatile Queen of Pop. Timbaland adds his signature beats to the production that we can hear in almost every Justin Timberlake song, but I'm now talking about Nelly. Behind the serious message, the instrumentation is very playful and broadcasts a good feeling. Lyrically, it was ahead of its time, but Timbaland pulls it back to 2006. Oh, and let's not forget about the guitar riffs at the beginning of the song. Gosh, I miss those times!
I like this song because it's so very personal to her and this can be felt through her voice. She actually continued this line with her best album “The Spirit Indestructible," but that's another story. “Loose” has lots of filler, but this is definitely a standout. Too bad that it was never a single...
Showtime has grown on me massively through the years. I used to hate it, then I didn't care for it and a few years ago when I revisited the album I found it cute. When I listened to it for this one I fell in love with it and right now it's in my top 3 along with All Good Things and Say It Right
Edit: Afraid is cute, but it shouldn't be above Showtime and Wait For You
Average rank: 6.10 #1 votes: 4 (Shaliydah88, Conatus, Reverie, Girlicious)
Nelly talked about Loose as an album born of ‘80s inspirations, from Salt-n-Pepa on “Promiscuous” to Eurythmics on “Say It Right.” Nowhere is it more apparent than “Do It,” with its bubbly video-game synths and keyboard hook. The storyline even sounds plucked straight from one of the decade’s sex comedies, as Nelly reconnects with an old crush and tries to work up the nerve to finally, ahem, do it. A Missy Elliott-assisted remix was released as the fifth single, but failed to spark renewed interest in a waning era. It missed the top ten in most markets, bombing out of the Hot 100 after one week at #88, though it did become the album’s fifth-straight dance chart topper.
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Originally posted by Reverie
What I love about “Do It” is how playful it is. Her stumbling over her words in the beginning (so corny but I’ll take it), to the stuttering “yea-yea-ye-ye-ye-ye-yeah,” to her voice at its absolute girliest in the verses because she’s shy and unsure. The way she blurts out her feelings in the pre-chorus because she can’t keep up with her thoughts is my favorite part of the song. It’s so fleeting I almost expect more, only for her to cut to the chorus. “With your beats, with like an emotional vocal? Dope!” in her own words. I love how rushed, almost frantic the momentum of the song is. Two verses and two choruses are completed within one-and-a-half minutes, then the remaining two minutes is just a reiteration with Timbaland playing around a bit. It’s so frontloaded but feels so right. Just like love! Not that I would know. The second verse comes around again, and she’s so giddy she’s running out of breath. You can easily get a sense of how much fun the two had together playing around with tracks like these.
M.I.A. would be jealous.
