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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Sucker will end tomorrow.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 68,548
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Charli XCX - Sucker (8.5/10)
After several successful collaborations ("I Love It", "Fancy"), Charli finally had her own solo success, "Boom Clap", which opened her every door in the industry: she got to collaborate with big producers, and she started writing for huge names.
'Sucker', originally scheduled for an October 2014 release but later pushed back to December (January 2015 in Europe, for some reason), is a complete transformation for Charli: while her first album, 'True Romance' (2013), featured amateur productions and indie beats, her newest work is a solid, perfect pop record stuffed with potential hits. 'Sucker' is that one album that puts you in a good mood no matter what, and you're going to want to play it before going to a party or while driving with your windows down or just when you want to relax.
With this record, Charli proved us that there's room for her in the pop music industry, and that, if she plays her cards right with this era, she's definitely here to stay. But now let's go through the album track by track.
"Sucker" (8.5/10)
An explosive opening track, probably one of the most outstanding this year. Ever since the very beginning, Charli shows her explosive personality and unmistakable style.
"Break the Rules" (6/10)
This is Charli's clear (and failed) attempt to get an easy hit. Despite having genius sassy lyrics, this song's breakdown, its music, and everything about it, is all so 2012.
"London Queen" (10/10)
This song is super replay worthy, other than one of the most outstanding tracks of the album. I love how Charli emphasizes her British accent while singing about how she now resides in America.
"Breaking Up" (8.5/10)
A short, two minute track, that could easily be the follow up to "Sucker", with some of the album's best lyrics ("Everything was wrong with you / So breaking up was easy to do").
"Gold Coins" (9/10)
This song's strength is definitely its carefree vibe. Charli sounds so relaxed while talking about the luxury life.
"Boom Clap" (10/10)
This song is just pure pop perfection. It's probably the catchiest song since "Call Me Maybe", released three years ago, with its easy lyrics and simple yet flawless production.
"Doing It" (9.5/10)
A nostalgic song with that 80s sound that is popular at the moment. Again, Charli sounds carefree and happy. Personally, my favorite song of the album vocally.
"Body of My Own" (8/10)
This one sounds like the second part of "Doing It", except it's a little uneventful and flat. Still a great 80s influenced track, though.
"Famous" (10/10)
We've found Charli's future #1! One of the catchiest songs of the year without a doubt, and with a perfect production, with the whistles giving it Charli's typical careless sound. Everything about this song is on point.
"Hanging Around" (9/10)
Charli goes rockstar on "Hanging Around", the most badass song of 'Sucker'. Serving late 90s American garage band realness, and she does it perfectly! The final part of the song completely sounds like the theme song of an Italian TV show, by the way.
"Die Tonight" (7.5/10)
Definitely not a bad one, but compared to the rest of the album, it falls so flat it sounds at least one minute longer than what it is.
"Caught in the Middle" (7.5/10)
A different sound from the rest of 'Sucker'. Charli abandons her sass to get cute and lovely.
"Need Ur Luv" (3/10)
This song is overall tragic. It sounds like an unfinished demo. The music is terribly produced, and Charli's voice is not valued. The 50s inspired high pitched part is just the pits.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 27,856
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SUCKER
The delay was definitely worth it. Charli XCX's SUCKER is a powerful and on-point album which will rightfully go down as one of my favourite releases of 2014. With a mild Punk-Rock influence, Charli continues to show her talent at incorporating and blending a variety of genres into her music.
An album highlight certainly lies in top 10 hit, Boom Clap (written for The Fault in our Starts soundtrack), which is literally pop perfection with a punching beat and adorable, bubblegum-pop lyricism. Other highlights include some of the more punk-influenced tracks such a Breaking Up and Sucker. Bringing a sassy, carefree and aggressive attitude, Charli shows how diverse her artistry can be, Despite this being completely different from her dreamy sounding "True Romance", she still manages to nail this transition on the head and release an album which feels just as cohesive and impactful. This album certainly proves that there's a place for Charli in the current pop landscape.
10/10
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Banned
Member Since: 10/28/2011
Posts: 21,283
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Can we pretty PLEASE review K. Michelle's Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? and Beyoncé's BEYONCÉ?  (((
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Member Since: 8/15/2012
Posts: 6,964
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Review periods should be like two to 3 weeks with more albums up to review..
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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1 more day for the two albums. 
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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Wait I still wanna do The Pinkprint 
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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holyground: music in review 
8.8
"mature, honest, still poppy"
highlights
the crying game (feat. jessie ware)
get on your kness (feat. ariana grande)
four door aventador
grand piano
| The Pinkprint
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj's first album, Pink Friday, showed her inclination to have pop sensibilities in her hip-hop music. The follow-up album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, took that to the next level and half of the album was dedicated to straight up pop radio fodder. Together with her taking her psycho alter ego too much, she sort of started to lose respect, especially in the hip-hop community (apparently). But over the years, with the Re-Up and buzz single Lookin' Ass, she (apparently) regained her footing in the hip-hop world. Finally, she's back with the final installment of the Pink trilogy. This album is no true hip-hop classic, but she masters and excels in every aspiration Nicki has.
In this album, Nicki finally balances pop and hip-hop, which she failed in Roman Reloaded. The base of almost every song is rooted in hip-hop. Primarily she's rapping, and she's better than ever. She's spitting great verses, unlike her debut album where they may seem tame or her sophomore album where they are too nonsensical or non-existent. She marries them perfectly with pop hooks, recruiting esteemed singers such as Jessie Ware and Ariana Grande to sing the choruses. Even on her solo songs, such as I Lied and All Things Go, where she actually sings the chorus, they never feel like they're trying to steal the spotlight from Nicki's rapped, emotional verses.
That leads me to the lyrical quality of the album. This is her Onika Tanya, her most personal album yet. The opening track is a somber tell-all. She goes deep into personal details, making the album quite an emotional effort. Gone are ridiculous lyrics about hoes and cones (only large snakes this time), this time Nicki is dead serious. Furthermore, Nicki's voice and delivery is strong and confident, even when she's divulging about how she has doubts over a relationship. This simply make the songs radiate even brighter as solid hip-hop tracks with meaning.
The album might be difficult to get into however. The album opener, All Things Go, is a mid-tempo track and the second track, I Lied, is even slower. The first three tracks are basically ballads, nothing soaringly powerful like I'm the Best or crazy exciting like Roman Holiday. Hell, the album ends with another three mid-tempo/ballads. But when you finally understand, you'll understand that this is Nicki at her rawest. It's like a newfound respect for her.
The album still offers enough of other stuff. Braggadocio goes high in Feeling Myself and Only. We have the token crazy song Anaconda, and the token pop radio song The Night Is Still Young too. While the latter two might sound out of place, all the songs come together to form Nicki's boldest and most assured effort. She goes deep, exposes herself, while staying on the top of her game. She is at her peak artistically and is undoubtedly the queen of hip-hop.
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previous reviews
archives
...
1989 - taylor swift - 9.7
love me harder (feat. the weeknd) - ariana grande - 8.0
sucker - charli xcx - 8.0
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| The Pinkprint - Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj | Young Money/Republic | Release Date: December 12, 2014 | Review Period: December 24, 2014 - January 5, 2015
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79 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 9 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
8.0 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 3 Top Critics |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The third album from the superstar hip-hop artist was supported by singles Pills N Potions, Anaconda, Bed Of Lies, and Feelin Myself. | Record Label: Young Money/Republic
Genre(s): Hip-Hop, Rap |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 8 | | d | ....iMixed: ██ 1 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 2 | | d | ....iMixed: █████ 1 | | d | Negative: ? |
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The Pinkprint results.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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I should have written a review. That score is way too high.
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Member Since: 2/27/2012
Posts: 12,567
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That score is higher than a mother****er. 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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*Unofficial*
| Sucker - Charli XCX
Charli XCX | Atlantic | Release Date: December 15, 2014 | Review Period: December 21, 2014 - January 5, 2015
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93 | Member Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 4 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
8.0 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 1 Top Critic |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The second major-label album from the English singer-songwriter was supported by #1 pop radio hit Boom Clap. | Record Label: Atlantic
Genre(s): Pop, Punk |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 4 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 1 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Sucker results.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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ffff
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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And our upcoming review section is completely clean! Does anyone have any requests? I'll shout out a few contenders:
Jealous
Lips Are Movin
Thinking Out Loud
I Don't Mind
Tuesday
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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retrospective review could draw interest and/or be messy
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by bluth
retrospective review could draw interest and/or be messy
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We could do another throwback. Pure Heroine and Yeezus went really well.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Jealous and Lips Are Moving.
I'll be back reviewing as soon as I'm done with my Best Of and my rates (I'm following 3 and hosting one)
Great score for The Pinkprint 
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Member Since: 12/14/2011
Posts: 21,274
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I think we should review Only One
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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i'd be up for only one. maybe.
as for throwbacks, beyonce maybe? or some other grammy-nominated album idk
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