You know that she’s no good…
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[4.11]
David Sheffieck: Points to Icky for managing to pull another strong hook and a stronger hook singer into her orbit. If only she’d also found someone who could rap to handle the verses.
[2]
Alfred Soto: Hudson could do gospel runs over piano anytime she wants, but market forces dictate this innocuous collaboration. Might as well have rereleased “Dangerous” with an Azalea cameo and have done with it.
[4]
Anthony Easton: Whoever pulled which strings in which capacity to get Hudson in on this is an act of producer’s market driven cynicism, a triumph of capitalism and making the unpalatable pleasurable.
[6]
Mo Kim: Iggy Azalea is like that girl in class who clearly does not understand anything happening yet somehow always ends up being partnered with mad talented people. On presentation day, she fidgets and mumbles truisms about “bad boy demeanor and tattoos” and “good girl, bad guy” before Jennifer Hudson swoops in and salvages their GPA in just eight bars. Nobody likes that girl, but at least we can all joke about how awkward these two are together.
[6]
Micha Cavaseno: *jokes about Igloos* *jokes about awkward cadences that don’t translate live* *jokes about Cee-Lo style cartoon soul* *jokes* *everybody’s got jokes* *nobody on this song save for Jennifer Hudson deserves recognition* *this song was not worth discussing at all, but we got a theme joke running here folks* *jokes*
[1]
Patrick St. Michel: This is probably the best case scenario for Iggy Azalea. Her rapping remains a bit unsettling, but at least “Trouble” revolves around relationship problems and summery vibes, which is far better than the songs where she tries to trick listeners into thinking she knows what “on fleek” means. Iggy Azalea’s polarizing status guarantees this will inspire more extreme reactions than it deserves. It is OK and inoffensive and completely forgettable.
[5]
Madeleine Lee: Honestly I don’t find Iggy that offensive here in herself, it’s just that she’s not much of anything but some rhythmically arranged vowel sounds. This is fine for one verse, but by the second one it’s clear that she’s getting in the way of what would otherwise be the singalong song of the summer. If this takes off, will we at least get a Jennifer Hudson-only version?
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: Dipping into the ’60s girl group well isn’t a bad idea for Azalea (still talkin’ loud, sayin’ nothin’, but it matters a little less here), especially with J-Hud riding in the sidecar doing her damn thing. This hits some of the same notes as Meghan Trainor’s ’50s doo-wop fetishism for me, but your mileage may vary.
[5]
Crystal Leww: Piano line sounds similar to “Trampoline,” but that piano line sounds less cheap and it’s headlined by better rappers. #FREEJENNIFERHUDSON
[3]