Comments on: Jordin Sparks – SOS (Let The Music Play)

By: Frank Kogan

Frank Kogan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:04:50 +0000

Not to mention Jordan Pruitt's beautiful version of "We Are Family."

By: Frank Kogan

Frank Kogan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:35:06 +0000

Chuck, I'd probably have given this a 5 or even 6 for its sonics, but I'm pissed not only at the song not doing something better with the concept, but at the drabness of r&b/dance over the last few months (I know, you'd say over the last decade) and so about this song being reduced to that. Jessica, I know little about evangelical Christianity in general or Jordin's church in particular, but if there's a prohibition against disco pop, I never heard about it, and it didn't seem to inhibit Katy Perry back in her Christian music days, or Amy Grant in the '90s, or Aly & AJ and Krystal Meyers now (none of whom have done disco per se, but then this song isn't disco per se either, and surely if there were a prohibition it would extend to all of dance-pop, not just the dance-pop that sounds disco). By the way, Krystal Meyers' "Beautiful Tonight" is eerie gothy dance-pop that lives up to its song title.

By: Martin Kavka

Martin Kavka — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:20:45 +0000

Al’s comment above has made me imagine a version of “Give Me Tonight” by the Mael brothers.

By: Alfred Soto

Alfred Soto — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:13:14 +0000

The best part of Shannon’s song is the “we started dancing and love put us into a groove,” followed by the voice going up an octave in the next line. Goosebump-inducing. She has no persona but she’s got personality: she understands the song.

By: Chuck Eddy

Chuck Eddy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:12:42 +0000

And right, she’s “pretending a dance is just a dance,” exactly like Shannon had warned not to. But I didn’t grade this on its faithfulness to the original; I graded it on whether I wouldn’t switch the station if it came on the radio. Which would probably be a first for Jordin, if I don’t. (Plus, I’d just given Mariah a 7 for her Foreigner cover, and I wanted to be fair!)

By: Chuck Eddy

Chuck Eddy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:35 +0000

My slight overrating here is probably a result of me thinking wishfully this record is a harbinger of a return of dance music that actually sounds like dance music. Not that this record necessarily does itself. (Also, I don’t think Gaga covering Expose’ is such an awful idea, myself. And I’m pretty sure I don’t think I care about pop singers communicating “personas” all that much; lots of my favorite disco always struck me as entirely anonymous. Actually, come to think of it, I’m not sure even Shannon had a persona. Though right, as Frank says, she found meaning in this song that Jordin doesn’t — I always took “When the music changed/The plan was re-arranged/He went to dance with someone else” as as much a comment on the music changing as the guy dancing to it.)

By: Alfred Soto

Alfred Soto — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:28:11 +0000

Shannon would have been better served had Sparks covered “Give Me Tonight” or “Do You Wanna Get Away.”