The Singles Jukebox

Heard this song on Monday, took it for a drink on Tuesday. We were writing blurbs by Thursday….

[Video][Website]
[6.50]

Scott Mildenhall: The hypothetical child of Craig David and the woman in “7 Days” would probably now be in their mid-teens at least, at the rate they were going. What would that song mean to their contemporaries? You could ask them, but they don’t exist. It feels pretty indelible though, and in much the same way that “Mr. Brightside” will be the last and only rock song young people know forever more, it wouldn’t be surprising if it always had its place. So who is this for? It’s far from the same song, but still, it’s “7 Days.” Any given radio station and any given car stereo will be many times more likely to play the original right now, and even more in the future. “Check” is fine, but it does no justice to the grand pop tradition of short-termist piggybacking.
[6]

Claire Biddles: Following up last year’s appearance on Jax Jones’ “You Don’t Know Me” and her superlative (and in this writer’s opinion, severely underrated) single “The Line,” RAYE is proving herself to be a charismatic presence, and a writer who understands the dramatic minutiae of the club beyond the purely hedonistic. She’s the highlight, too, on “Check” — a deceptively low-key track whose Craig David-sampling guitar flourishes and chill vocals belie RAYE’s dominance and assertiveness (“You best pick up when I FaceTime/’cause you know that you’re all mine”) setting her ahead of the usual roster of featured vocalists.
[7]

Katherine St Asaph: Retro Raye again, this time with Craig David, Kandi, and that “you know that would be weak” line from “Are You That Somebody.” The same test applies: would I have kept this on the radio in 2001 over the tracks it’s pastiching? I actually might.
[7]

Alfred Soto: The stentorian boringness of Kojo Funds’ baritone interferes with RAYE’s pointed questions, and the strummed guitar distracts too, as if rescued from late nineties J-Lo.
[5]

Edward Okulicz: “7 Days” was not my favourite Craig David single. It didn’t quite fit with his persona, which was that even though he was sneaking into your apartment to see your daughter and then getting all over her (boing), he was also simultaneously someone mums could look at and go “Aw, Craig David, he’s a nice boy” so he was never carnal enough on record to pull the tricks off on the non-bangers. “Check” corrects that deficit and then some.
[7]

Micha Cavaseno: You know what? Mabel can keep Not3s and the both of them can wallow in mediocrity because the ideal duet partnership of UK Urban Pop has been forged (and ideally will provide more from where this promises to go). The tropicalia of GA The Producer’s Craig David flip and rudimentary percussion is just a light groove for the duo of RAYE and Kojo to assault the listener with hooks. There’s no verses, nor a chorus, nothing but essentially everyone responsible for this record trying to bury you alive in at least 8-10 earworms per person, to the point when they’re fishing you out, all that’s left is your bones after getting devoured by HOOKS.
[7]