The Singles Jukebox

Lukewarm…

[Video]
[4.43]

Iain Mew: More like chill and some more chill, which doesn’t leave room for much else to come through. Well, there is J. Cole on his SoundScan strategy and Balkan hits, but he doesn’t even manage to fit Bosnia-Herzegovina into his bars.
[5]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: J. Cole’s first verse is far too overbearing for the song to achieve its goal. Even worse: you’d think that a minute of his falsely-empathetic bragging would allow for Miguel’s crooning to register as calm repose, but it meanders without satisfying development. If J. Cole’s the exhausting slimeball talking your head off, Miguel’s the tedious smooth talker who’s unaware of how unconvincing he is. Say what you will about Kendrick’s unsexy love songs, at least his lyrics feel like an extension of some recognizable personality.
[3]

Will Adams: Leave it to Miguel to make a 3 a.m. “hey whats up” text sound this good.
[8]

Jibril Yassin: J. Cole delivers some bad J. Cole-isms per usual, but it’s really Miguel who shocks — his vocal delivery is intended to seduce but instead comes off as pleading in the low stakes environment. It’s by no means attractive.
[4]

Stephen Eisermann: Something about the tone that Miguel’s voice has and the control he has of his instrument makes him a musical sex god. On “Come Through and Chill,” Miguel is laid back but engaged in his surroundings; it’s a weird combination, but it works remarkably well. J. Cole slides right in, sounding like the more uptight older brother, but these two work in perfect harmony.  Chill, vibey, and groovy — a winning formula for music you can play to.
[7]

Nortey Dowuona: Miguel sexually assaulted a woman and has still not been called out for it. J. Cole is off beat and overwhelming. This would be a 7 but for both of those things.
[0]

Alfred Soto: I’m less enamored of Miguel’s “searching” guitar tracks (“Pussy is Mine,” etc.) than when a producer is telling him to stop chilling the fuck out. Strong hook untethered to a song. No way is this crossing over.
[4]