Radio Phone Album Review
queen of HIP-POP ~special first listen~
Track One. Queen of Hip-Pop
If you're going to self-appoint yourself "Queen of Hip-Pop," you should probably make sure you reinforce that "title" with your music, no? Apparently Namie didn't get that memo, as she starts off her album with a so-so song where she chants,
"'Cause I'm a queen of hip-pop." While the song is upbeat and funky, it's still only "meh." Namie's vocals on this track are also nothing special. For an album with such a boisterous and cheeky title, the first song should have begun the album off with a bang, especially since it's the title track! Prove yourself! Unfortunately, this song does anything but. (To compare, Beyonce's Radio would have been the perfect song to begin an album with this kind of title.) This song says,
"I'm a beginner, but I want to be queen of hip-pop one day," rather than already being said queen. 3/5
Track Two. WANT ME, WANT ME
Wow. Did it really just get worse?
"Ooh, boy, you are so hot." Ooh, Namie, this song is so not. It's as if the music and Namie's vocals are battling to see who's worse. 2/5
Track Three. WoWa
This song is slightly more catchy than Queen of Hip-Pop. But Namie's vocals at this point are beginning to upset and disappoint me. Namie, do
you,
yourself, have
anything to prove on this album? Or are you just any sub-par voice than can be put on top of a music track? *sigh* Still, the song is catchy. So far, it's the best song on the album. 3/5
Track Four. I Wanna Show You My Love
This is the most hip-hop song on the album at this point. It's alright. Not terrible. Upbeat and pretty groovy. This song and WoWa are having a fierce battle for Radio's top QOHP song at the moment. I'm rather fond of the drawn out, low, breathy singing done in the chorus (
So IIIIIIIIIII, Ohhhhhhhh, Yeaaaaaah, C'mooooon). It's pretty sexy, and meshes really well with the music. Namie also finally gives some real vocal performance in this song, in the last line of the second verse, and in the last line of the first and second pre-chorus, and it sounds good. If you can sing like this, then why
don't you? You don't necessarily have to go (old) Whitney Houston on us, but damn, sing please. 3/5
Track Five. GIRL TALK
A cute upbeat hip-pop song. This song is rather ruined by Namie's refusal to sing. This song would have been
perfect with some good cutesy singing, but Namie seems to think singing is the enemy. Not sure what's up with that. The only times when she actually sings are the ad-libs, and again, they're good. They're also the parts of the song that I really love. It's such a shame. I would love this song if she sang the
rest of the song. 3/5
Track Six. Free
Another song that is very hip-hop. Mid-tempo. But again, the vocals are whack. Sorry Namie, I cannot listen to you talk breathy. If it wasn't for that, I know I would like this song. 2/5
Track Seven. My Darling
Hip-hop/crunk is making a presence on the album! Again whack ass vocals. Bye Namie. 2/5
Track Eight. Ups & Downs
Mid-tempo lighthearted cute song. The only part of this song that I like is the chorus. It's the only cute part vocally. And it's not even that cute. Though, still. 2/5
Track Nine. I Love You
Upbeat cute poppy R&B song that you can dance to. The song is by far the standout song on the album. This song takes the crown AND the scepter AND the red robe AND the thrown. Namie's singing on the song is very reserved, but it sounds good with music, so it's great. 5/5
Track Ten. ALL FOR YOU
An R&B ballad. It's pretty good. I'm impressed. She's singing. Sounds good. Music sounds nice. I can hear the heart in her voice. Oh, wait. She only her good singing in the chorus and during the song's bridge. During the verses it's that stale singing, with a few exceptions. Still, I can overlook that, since the overall song is still very nice. Good job Namie. 4/5
Track Eleven. ALARM
Hell no. Sounds like a corny attempt at making a "cool, hip" song. 2/5
Track Twelve. No
A cool dance song. It's kinda catchy, especially the chorus. But hmm, I dunno. 3/5
Track Twelve. [Hidden Track]
Has Colombia Records slapped Namie with a lawsuit yet on behalf of Destiny's Child for this song? Lol. It's alright R&B song. The only thing keeping me from liking it fully is, again, the vocals, during the verses. The chorus sounds fine. 3/5
Overall, this is an incredibly average to below average album, which is incredibly ironic, considering the album's title. The standout tracks are WoWa, I Wanna Show You My Love, and I Love You.
