This week it’s a whole new round of kpop with HYPNOTIZE by XG. I hadn’t listened to anything by this group before, so I was really excited to check some of their stuff out. Just the vocal alone was such a cool vibe, I knew whatever the original sounded like was going to be good, but it also left a lot of room to go in so many different directions when it came to producing my own version.

Subscribe now

🚨 new release alert 🚨

I recently produced a track for a new artist KOLBY R3ECE - check out his latest track It’s 3AM for some good pop-r&b 💗

After trying to make a track for Dopamine earlier in this series, I decided to try out Robyn’s new single Talk To Me this week. This time I tried to go in a different direction from what I’d expect Robyn’s original track to sound like. With her music being a strong source of inspiration for my production style, it was definitely a challenge to not go that way and I don’t know that I was all that successful, but it was still fun to make! Take a listen and see what you think <3

Subscribe now

Last week Madison Beer released her latest album - locket - so this week I’m seeing what it’s all about. I loved Make You Mine when she released that single back in early 2024, so I was really hopefully we’d get some more dance-leaning tracks with the rest of this project and I gotta say I wasn’t disappointed. Check out this week’s producer challenge featuring the album’s focus track, bad enough, and stick around for my full album reaction and track-by-track ranking below. Did we have the same favorites?

Subscribe now

This weeks track came from a TikTok request - today I’m taking on Kingston by Faye Webster. This was my first time listening to anything by Faye, so I was truly going in blind this week. My version ended up coming out so different from the original. Take a listen and catch up on the rest of this series here <3

Subscribe now

This week it’s KATSEYE ROUND 3! I’m taking on Gabriela and this has to have been the most challenging KATSEYE track so far.

Check out ROUND 1 featuring Gameboy here

Check out ROUND 2 featuring Gnarly here

If you missed it, over the weekend I upload my first “DJ set” - a 32-minute continuous mix of pop/dance tracks I created throughout 2025 in these various producer challenges. Put it on in the background while you’re at work or at the gym, it was a good time <3

Subscribe now

We made it to day 12 and what a fun ride it’s been. This was my first time doing any sort of daily series like this and it ended up being really interesting to go through the creative process from one song to the next with such different tracks and artists. Some of them felt like they came really naturally and others were a lot more challenging, but no matter what the outcome I think I still took a lot away from the experience.

In the final episode I took on X by Lexie Liu. This was an artist who was completely new to me, I knew nothing about her at all going into this challenge, but wow, she turned out to be one of my favorite discoveries of the year. Not only did I really enjoy making my own track for her vocals, but the original was really cool! and so much different from where I was expecting it to go.

If haven’t already, catch up on all 12 episodes of the series HERE <3

Thanks everyone for tuning in! I’ll be back with more new producer content in January!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Subscribe now

Today marks the start of my 12 Days of XMAS producer series! Every day I’m taking vocals from random music videos I find on my YouTube homepage, ones for songs I haven’t heard before, and trying to make tracks to go along with them with zero context.

For day 1, we’re starting out with Not Cute Anymore by ILLIT! Come back each day to see which track I’m diving into next 💗

Looking for more?

Find all episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

BONUS: JADE - THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY! - THE ENCORE - Ranking and Reaction

Subscribe now

I touched on this a bit last week, but Robyn is back y’all! One of my favorite artists is finally releasing new music again and I couldn’t be happier. Check out this episode where I take a stab producing a track for her latest single Dopamine before hearing the original version.

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Listen to Body Talk Pt. 2 With Me:

While we’re on the topic of Robyn, let’s listen to another one of her iconic albums - Body Talk Pt. 2. Last week we took a deep dive into part 1, which I think gives us Robyn in her purest form. In part 2, we get a more polished evolution of that. Take a listen through with me as I rank each track from my favorite to least favorite and let me know if our top picks align <3

Leave a comment

Looking for more?

Check out my ranking of Body Talk Pt 1 from last week:

Find all previous episodes in my producer challenge series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

Last week, Tate McRae dropped the deluxe version of her latest album - So Close To What???, so this week I had to use one of the bonus track for my weekly producer challenge. I took the vocals from Nobody’s Girl and made a track to go with them without hearing the original first.

After finally listening through to the original version of the album last week, I was pretty sure we were in for more of the Y2K thing she’s been doing as of late - big drums, minimal production hook, etc. I didn’t really want to go that route with my version, so I tried to bring in a bit of my own style and go for a more electronic, synth-heavy approach. The vocals on their own weren’t giving me much of a hint in terms of direction either, but something in the verses reminded me of some of Sabrina Carpenter’s recent releases - I think they shared some writers on these projects actually.

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

When I finally heard the original, I was pretty surprised with where the production ended up going. The whole thing was way more orchestral than anything I would have expected. Lush strings over the same Y2K-type drum beat made for an interesting juxtaposition, somewhat reminiscent of something off Addison Rae’s last album. Take a listen and let me know what you thought of these two versions!

Leave a comment

Listen to Body Talk Pt 1 With Me:

Another comeback in the works this year is from Robyn and in anticipation of my producer challenge featuring her latest single Dopamine (stay tuned for that next week), I figured why not take things back to her masterpiece of an album Body Talk Pt. 1. This week I’m listening through to the first of the three part release and ranking the tracks from my favorite to least favorite. This project was a huge inspiration for me when I first started producing and still remains a major reference for a lot of what I work on. I’m really looking forward to whatever else she has coming up in this new era. Which tracks were your favorite off Body Talk?

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

Who else has been waiting for this comeback?? After teasing her return for a while now, Hilary Duff has finally given us new music with the release of her single Mature.

It’s probably been about 10 years since we’ve gotten new music from Hilary, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect in this new era. With her husband Matthew Koma’s pop songwriting success, I was hopeful he’d be on board to ensure she had a hit. With that said, it’s a hard task to write something that stands up to the likes of Come Clean, What Dreams Are Made Of, and So Yesterday, so I was trying to keep my expectations realistic.

Listening to the vocals on their own, I was initially getting Carly Rae Jepsen a la I Really Like You. I’m thinking - big synths, pulsating bassline, bright, electropop fun, so of course, that’s the direction I went in. And honestly, I wouldn’t have been too surprised if the original had ended up being that as well, it felt in line with what I’d expect for Hilary Duff’s sound, but I was pretty off base with that guess. Her version leans way more indie pop with acoustic drums and electric guitars, giving something much more reminiscent of beachy-pop-rock.

Was this the track you were expecting from Hilary?

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Deep diving into Tate McRae’s latest album:

Tate McRae is about to release the deluxe version of her latest album, So Close To What, that came out in February of this year, so what better time to finally listen to the original tracks.

With the success of singles Sports car and It’s ok I’m ok earlier this year, I had high hopes for this album - especially after how much I enjoyed THINK LATER. Some more Tate x Ryan Tedder collabs sounded like the perfect storm, but what we ended up with was, in my opinion, a bit lackluster. While that formula worked great on her 2023 project, the majority of the new tracks on her more recent release left me feeling underwhelmed and wishing for something fresh and new. From a producer standpoint, I felt like I could hear the same plug-and-play arrangement from song to song and very few stand-out hooks, which was pretty surprising after their last collaboration. The songs that broke that mold rose to the top of my ranking pretty quickly after listening straight through from beginning to end. Highlights for me included bonus track, Siren Sounds, and the acoustic final track, Nostalgia.

Come listen with me as I rank the tracks from my favorite to least favorite and let me know if our rankings match up.

Leave a comment

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

Stay tuned next week for my take on one of Tate’s deluxe add-ons

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

This week’s track was a request by t-recx914 on YouTube - I’m taking on Sweat by Melanie C.

I’d consider myself a Spice Girls fan, but tbh I haven’t kept up a ton with their individual solo careers post-girl group, so when this track was requested, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was in for. I had a guess it would probably be pop-oriented, being that she’s a former Spice Girl and based on some of the visuals I had seen prior. I was expecting something Kylie Minogue adjacent.

Just from hearing the vocal alone, the topline wasn’t overly complicated. It flipped back and forth between Mel’s vocal hook and a Diana Ross sample for most of the 3 minute track, making it feel very fit for a DJ/house mix. I wanted to add a little more edge in there, so I went a bit more rave-y/acid/artpop with my sound choices, which I think ended up being a fun switch up from the original production.

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

One thing’s for certain - this song and music video are very on-brand for the Sporty Spice moniker. My god, this woman is in shape. Regardless of what was happening musically, her physicality in this video is impressive on it’s own.

As I was working on my version, I could pick up some of the electric guitar tags cutting through in the higher frequencies of the acapella vocal track, so that was giving me some hints that this might lean towards the nu-disco style that’s been every so popular as of late (much to my dismay 😴). But I was pleasantly surprised to hear a good mix of heavier synths in the original version as well.

I’ve seen some critique that the song is too generic, but after doing a bit of a deep dive into her recent career, I feel like this direction makes a lot of sense with all the DJ gigs she seems to be doing. I could 100% see a song like this fitting into one of those sets so easily. I’m excited to hear what else she has coming with the 2026 album.

Listen to Crash with me:

For this week’s album ranking, I’m doing a little throwback to Charli XCX’s 2022 album Crash. This album was a bit of a slow burn for me originally, not complete grabbing me right from the first listen, but the more and more I heard it, it really grew on me. A few of these tracks have definitely made their way into some of my favorites from Charli’s catalog. Come listen along with me as I rank each track from my favorite to least favorite and let me know how our rankings compare!

Leave a comment

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

Stay tuned for next week where I’m taking on Hilary Duff’s recent comeback single - Mature

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

Another one of this year’s most unexpected drops has got to be Lily Allen’s latest release - West End Girl. Who knew we were in for so much drama?! Prior to sitting down and listening through to the whole thing, I took the vocals from her track Ruminating to use for my weekly producer challenge.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear something with such hard tune and vocal processing (my fave). The vocal alone was giving hyper pop, glitchy drum and bass, so I knew I had something fun to work with. I can’t remember Lily ever releasing anything this affected in the past, but I was here for it.

Cut to, of course, the bane of my existence with this series, weird timing issues. Idk what was going on when they pieced this track together, but woah, this one was literally off the grid. A challenge to figure out with no track underneath, but I think I was able to get there in the end.

Check out my version and let me know what you think!

Leave a comment

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Listen to West End Girl with me:

I loved the direction of Ruminating once I was finally able to listen to the original. It was definitely different than anything I was expecting after making my track, but I loved the mix of lofi keys atop a drum and bass beat. Something about it was almost reminiscent of James Blake in a way. I couldn’t wait to see what the rest of this album sounded like.

This week I went through and made my official track-by-track ranking of West End Girl. I can easily say, none of the other tracks were quite like Ruminating, but there was a lot to enjoy about the rest still. This album feels like a deep dive into Lily’s diary at a moment of full on crash out, fully immersing the listener in every nuance of her experience during this messy divorce. From an Old West stand off in Madeline to 2000s indie rock guitars in Nonmonogamummy, this album was a wild ride.

Take a listen with me and let me know which tracks were your favorites!

Leave a comment

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

If you missed last week full of Demi Lovato - here’s a little sample:

Fun Fact: Demi Lovato and I have almost identical birth charts 🔮 (don’t ask me how I know that, but yes, in a past life I was a big fan and these were things I looked into) so to me, it makes sense why I get her music so much. Could that also be why I was surprisingly tuned into the production of this track? Idk, someone who’s an astrologer can lmk if there’s a correlation there.

This past week Demi released her new album It’s Not That Deep and so of course, I had to pull out a week full of Demi content (hope that’s ok with y’all). Today’s episode features the third single off the album - Kiss. I’m making a track for this one just based off the vocals alone, as usual, and I think it actually turned out pretty in line with the original. Check out the full track break down and let me know how you think it came out in the comments!

Leave a comment

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Listen to the full album with me:

I loved the first three singles so much, I had to do a full listen through to this album as soon as it came out. If you want to listen along with me, check out the video above. I went through each track and ranked them all from my favorite to least favorite based on my first impressions.

Some other recent album releases have been a bit of a let down when it comes to the album cuts beyond the singles, but I have to say, Demi and producer Zhone did not disappoint on this project. Frequency, Little Bit, and Say It all bring single-level catchiness and unique production qualities that I was so happy to hear. Plus, you can’t have a Demi Lovato album with out a raw, emotional ballad, and this project was no exception. Ghost hits all the marks with top-notch songwriting and a vulnerable vocal performance, it’s on par with the likes of Skyscraper and Stone Cold. I wasn’t sure they’d feature a track like that after hearing the earlier club/dance cuts on the album, but I was so glad they did.

Send through your thoughts on the album and let me know if our favorite tracks matched up!

Leave a comment

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

SURPRISE - A Bonus Remix:

If you made it this far - here’s my version of Here All Night - the way I think they should have gone with the production 💌

Subscribe now

This week I’m making a track for an artist I’ve never listened to before! I haven’t done too many of these in this series so far, but it was a lot of fun to go in completely blind without much of a reference. Today’s video features i-dle member YUQI and her recent single M.O.

Here’s the acapella if you want to play along and hear what I heard first:

This track had so many things going on in the vocal alone, from rapping to gospel-leaning choir backgrounds, I honestly wasn’t sure where to start first. Beyond the array of vocal performance styles, there were a couple weird timing things going on in different sections that required a bit of reworking. Somehow I think I was able to come up with a cohesive sounding track in the end though.

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

The music video was just as all over the place as the vocal (not complaining, but there was definitely a lot going on!). From mowing the lawn to searing burgers with her shoes, YUQI took us on a journey. While I went more dark electropop, the original track was much more early-hip hop inspired, laid back and cool with moments of hard hitting choreography and a bit of rebellion. It definitely didn’t go anywhere near what I was expecting, but that’s part of the fun in this challenge. Was this what you were expecting from YUQI?

Leave a comment

Let’s listen to i-dle’s latest EP!

While we’re on the topic, this week I also did a listen through of i-dle’s latest self-titled EP, a quick 5-track project that, again, was nothing like what I was expecting. Besides not having listened to YUQI’s solo project in the past, I’d also never really listened to i-dle before either. They recently dropped this EP at the beginning of October and after hearing YUQI’s single I was curious what the group was all about. Wow, was this a different vibe! Come listen with me and let me know if you’d rank these tracks the same way.

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Here’s a taste of last week’s Slayyyter feature:

Subscribe now

I’ve had this song on my to-do list for this series for a few weeks now and FINALLY I’m getting around to it - this week I’m making a track for BEAT UP CHANEL$ by Slayyyter. She’s been a fave of mine for awhile now and when I saw she had some new singles out, I thought I’d trying taking a stab at one of them. Her music is always edgy, hard-hitting, she’s like a mid-west Kim Petras - what’s not to love?

Here’s the acapella if you want to play along and hear what I heard first:

I think I managed to actually make something not that far from the original. I had the context of her prior music to work with, but her style isn’t generally that different from what I normally make, so it was fun to hear that I went in a similar direction once I finally got to listen to her version. Some of the sound choices were different, as could be expected, but I think the overall arrangement had the same vibes. What do you think?

Leave a comment

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Cannibal - 15 Years Later

When I first started learning how to produce, Kesha’s early music was definitely amongst some of my biggest inspiration. I loved the rawness of the synths, the unhinged lyrics, the catchy hooks. This week I went back to her 2010 album Cannibal for the first time in a while and did a ranking of all the tracks from my favorite to least favorite. It was such a trip to hear those songs in the context of 2025 - let me tell you. This album features iconic tracks like We Are Who We R and Blow, alongside a few I’d definitely blocked from my memory (yes, I’m referring to the slightly problematic Grow A Pear). Revisit this pop classic with me this week and send through your top tracks!

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

Ever since I heard her single Midnight Sun back in July, I’ve been so curious to hear what else Zara Larsson had waiting for us on this new album. The production on that track was so unexpected (I think we have MNEK to thank for that), I had a feeling we were in for something a bit less mainstream.

Now that the album is finally here, it’s time to dive back in! Queue Zara Larsson ROUND 02 🐬

This week, I made a track for Pretty Ugly, another single off the album, without listening to the original first. This time I had at least the context of the first single to let me know not to expect some sort of Ain’t My Fault remake, but regardless, I was still going in blind.

Immediately, the hook vocals alone were giving full-on cheerleader chant, so I knew I could do some fun things with that, I was thinking drumline - punchy rhythms, we’re coming to you live from the field. Meanwhile, the verses felt like peak pop-r&b Zara - her voice always reminds me so much of Rihanna when she’s on tracks like that. So right from the first listen, I knew there could be some sort of switch in the production between those two different vibes.

Here’s the acapella if you want to play along and hear what I heard first:

Just from the process of making my own track for this one, I could tell I already liked it a lot more than Midnight Sun. That second verse is just so satisfying! The music video made the whole thing even better - a mud wrestling, girl power anthem? I’ll take it! Pretty Ugly made me even more ready to hear the rest of this album if the other tracks were going to be anything like this one

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Listen to Midnight Sun with me:

Feeling pumped after working on Pretty Ugly, I went straight into a full Midnight Sun album listen-through, ranking each track along the way. The first 5 tracks really had me sold, this could be Zara’s best album yet, but the back half had me questioning some things. Listen along with me and let me know if you agree with my favorite and least favorite tracks.

Leave a comment

🔎 Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

If you missed last week’s HUNTR/X episode, check out a preview of the track here:

It’s time, I’m finally seeing what this whole K-Pop Demon Hunters thing is all about and it feels very timely that it’s we’re heading into October with this one. This week I’m making a track for one of the HUNTR/X songs - Takedown. What was I in for from this animated girl group that’s taking the world by storm at the moment? I haven’t watched the show and really had no context for what it was all about other than that everyone’s been saying the music is great.

Starting out with just the vocals alone, this track was immediately giving badass, warrior vibes, which makes sense given the title of the show, so no disappointments there. I’m immediately thinking K-Pop Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Hannah Montana.

Here’s the acapella if you want hear what I heard first:

It felt like this song had a bunch of different sections, so it was fun trying to come up with how to make them all unique but still cohesive. When I finally listened to the original, I felt like my track wasn’t actually that far off in terms of how the arrangement flowed between each part. Their’s was definitely a bit more laid back in that it mostly went with the half time beat and it had some extra cinematic depth, but I think I was able to catch on to the ebbs and flows of the energy levels just from the vocal alone. Mine definitely leant more electronic whereas their’s seemed to take on more pop-r&b tendencies.

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

Listen to the soundtrack with me:

Once I finished working on my track, I knew I had to hear what else was on this soundtrack. I had seen Golden and Strategy sitting at the tops of a bunch of charts and playlists the last few months, so I knew those had to be good. It was fun to also get to hear some of the tracks from the boy group of the show (or at least that’s who I’m assuming they are). I really loved their track Your Idol, all the choir backgrounds and chants were just so cool. As per usual I went through and ranked each song on the album from my favorite to least favorite, so come listen with me and let me know if you’d rank them the same.

Leave a comment

🔎 Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

If you enjoyed last week’s JADE content, here’s a bonus remix for you 💗

Subscribe now

JADE finally released her debut album, That’s Showbiz Baby!, and I couldn’t be more excited. She’s quickly become one of my favorite artists over the past year and I love the pivot she’s made in defining her artistry since being with Little Mix. I took a random look through the album cuts and landed on Headache for this week’s production challenge. I was a little nervous going in blind here just because after her first single Angel Of My Dreams, I wasn’t sure how straightforward the rest of her songs were going to be. Luckily, this one didn’t seem to have such crazy different sections, just based on listening to the acapella.

Here’s the acapella if you want to hear what I heard first:

I ended up having so much fun making this track. Based on how my version came out, I think it was pretty obvious I had just recently listened through ARTPOP, or maybe it being super fresh in my mind just made its usual influence on my production style even more apparent. Let’s be honest, that album is the pinnacle of the style of music I hope to be able to make someday. But wow, was I surprised when I finally got to listen to the original. From hearing her prior singles, I was really expecting the rest of her album to follow suit and be heavily dance-pop infused, but the album version harkens more to the 70s disco and funk influences that have been ever so popular as of late. Take a listen and let me know which style you prefer!

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

The album as a whole blends genres in an unparalleled way - everything from 80s new wave to 90s RnB to 2000s scandipop makes an appearance throughout the tracks, and somehow she still manages to build a cohesive sound across the project. I spoke a bit about this in my video reacting to and ranking the full album, but I think that’s truly a standout quality of JADE as a solo artist. Her vocal ability is hard to beat and her talent at arranging vocals shines in every track, creating an easily identifiable sound that carries her seamlessly through without being overshadowed by the production. Regardless of the genre from track to track, her delivery provides cohesiveness, solidifying her personal artistry. You can pick out the references from Diana Ross to Depeche Mode to Robyn, but you never forget that this is, in fact, a JADE album during the entire listening process.

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now

We got a surprise Lady Gaga single/music video, so of course I had to jump on it ASAP. This week I’m making a track for her latest Wednesday feature, The Dead Dance. Just based on the title alone, I was immediately thinking dark pop. I started off listening to just the acapella vocals and WOW her performance is unbelievable. It’s something that’s always been a strength of hers, but after listening through MAYHEM and then this track, it felt really next level - she sings with so much conviction.

Here’s the acapella if you want hear what I heard first:

I was initially thinking the original version would lean more electronic in the production, something reminiscent of Disease or Abracadabra, but when I finally listened to it, it wasn’t all that surprising that it ended up pulling more from funk/disco. It felt very in line with several of the other MAYHEM releases.

Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:

The music video was also so fun to watch. With Tim Burton’s direction, it felt very much like Gaga as Helena Bonham Carter a la Sweeney Todd. It was dramatic and creepy, but also still a little bit camp. The way she commits to every moment with her entire being is so impactful, she radiates the essence of this character so dynamically from start to finish.

Listen to ARTPOP with me:

If you want even MORE Gaga, I took a listen back through ARTPOP this week and gave my ultimate track-by-track ranking. I love this album and feel like it was so ahead of it’s time. The production is innovative and genre-bending and some of my favorite moments happen in the fine details of the vocal arranging. Plus it features what I think is probably Gaga’s most off-brand song of all her releases. Take a listen and drop your top 3 tracks in the comments <3

Leave a comment

Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Stay tuned for next week where I’ll be taking an in-depth look at JADE’s debut album, That’s Showbiz Baby!

Subscribe now

Sabrina Carpenter came out with a brand new album, Man’s Best Friend, as I’m sure you’re all aware since it seems to be the big talking point these past couple weeks. I had to see what it was all about, especially after already featuring Manchild earlier this year.

The focus track is one of the few disco pop attempts off the album and not gonna lie, this track has some of the worst verse lyrics I’ve ever seen from a songwriting perspective. When I sat down to start working on this track, my first listen through the acapella was a little bit shocking to say the least. “Assemble a chair from IKEA” has to take the cake as the most clumsily phrased line of the song for me.

Putting my feelings about the technical aspects of the writing and topline aside, the vocal was at least fun and upbeat. I knew I could get past the lyrical content and still have something to work with to make a decent track. Fun twist though - I quickly realized the verses and hook seemed to be in different scale modes. WOOHOO! But that’s nothing I haven’t had to deal with before when it comes to these remix challenges. I got down to business and I think what I ended up with was a decent track.

Having only heard Manchild prior to this, I was really surprised to learn that the original production for this track pulled so heavily from disco. I definitely preferred this to the over-the-top, on-the-nose country direction of the first single, but it still left something to be desired. If you’re going to include a “dance break” section in a track, at least amp up the production in that part to give people something more to get excited about. For as much as was going on, this track still felt rather one-note. Thank god for the music video, because that alone had to be this track’s one saving grace. I’ll take full on Camp any day.

Take a listen through to the acapella to hear the same version I heard first:

And get the full experience of the original track here if you haven’t already:

As if listening to this single wasn’t enough, I also decided to rank the full album, track-by-track, this week. Wow, did I have a lot of thoughts about this one.

I think my main takeaway from this release is that streaming services will really push anything if the money is behind it. Independent artists with great songwriting and production struggle to get platform support, while major artists with big names get thrown to the top without much consideration for quality.

Tears lead every Spotify New Music Friday playlist on release day, while album cut House Tour also made several appearances on various international iterations of the the playlist as well. In no way did I think these were the best tracks off the album, nor did I feel that they were at all representative of the project as a whole. As the only two disco-leaning tracks included, they lead the listener astray as to what to expect from the rest. It was giving false advertising.

The majority of the remaining album cuts are mediocre, retro-inspired ballads that I honestly had such a hard time differentiating between. Plus, the narrative across the project feels meandering and unfocused. Are these tracks supposed to be about the same guy? It’s hard to follow her perspective as an artist and understand how these tracks fit together other than revolving around feeling disappointed or objectified by men, which feels a bit like grasping at straws in terms of establishing a solid conceptual foundation. I get that these tracks are all meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but still, what is she trying to say?

At the same time, I can acknowledge that my lack of an interest in anything centering a straight man makes me a less than ideal candidate for this album’s target audience. It’s not a subject matter I can fully relate to. However, that didn’t keep me from enjoying Short n’ Sweet, so what makes this album so much more lackluster?

Is it just me? What did you think of Sabrina’s latest release?

Leave a comment

I will say, I absolutely LOVED When Did You Get Hot? It was such an unexpected inclusion and so reminiscent of late 90’s, early 2000’s Christina Aguilera. It felt like it had no relation to the other tracks stylistically whatsoever, but it was one of the few tracks I’d actually recommend checking out.

🔎 Looking for more?

Find all previous episodes in this series here

And make sure to check out my original music wherever you like to stream: https://snd.click/uh8r

Subscribe now