The Singles Jukebox

CRASS patch!!!

[Video][Website]
[6.12]

Rebecca A. Gowns: A nice slow burn. Sleepy, but dreaming of Prince. And Mary J Blige. Together, doing karaoke of Beyonce’s “Start Over.” And it’s 2am, it’s last call, you’re drunk, and you need to call a taxi cab, but for some reason the taxi driver is Miguel?? And your high school teacher astronomy teacher tries to steal your cab? And all of a sudden you’re having sex? One of those kinds of dreams.
[7]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: “Primetime” is a classically-minded lover’s jam that is tickled by the sheer idea of a proposition, which may be down to Monáe. For her many gifts, she is not the type of performer that can make something like “Primetime” glide – she lacks the effortless appeal to flirt, instead overexerting herself to the point of stiffness. It makes sense, then, to have Miguel on her team. He is a true professional at this type of thing, is the type of performer who can communicate lust with a coo or a mumble. Here he’s politely following his duet partner’s lead, which is simultaneously a sweet triumph for equality and a slight disappointment. Monae’s secret weapon Kalenda Parker steps in with a guitar solo that aims to eroticise all that’s come before: it’s pretty cute, which is the problem with “Primetime.”
[6]

Jessica Doyle: I am more of a sucker for Janelle Monáe than some of y’all — a genderbent queer redo of “Hey Ya!”? yes, ma’am — but this feels oddly tame. Does Miguel usually sound so mushy-mouthed? It doesn’t make me want to giggle with glee the way “Bought the house, but I’m allergic to the housepets” did, and that makes sense, but it doesn’t make me want to curl up with a lover, either.
[5]

Brad Shoup: Primetime is the napping hour, with the clock radio alarm set to Listless Snare and the guitar set to Football All-Stars Tribute to Prince at Super Bowl.
[4]

Alfred Soto: Had Miguel or Monáe chosen to sing this by themselves it would still have been excellent: the percussion loop and high background oohs give each performer the space to inhabit this tale of love in bloom. Miguel develops his obsession with the Zombies, Monáe continues to shed archandroidism. After his Mariah Carey collaboration “#Beautiful” he should stick to trad R&B pairings instead of palling around with the likes of J. Cole and Wale. The guitar solo and string bits in the last third are an ideal coda.
[7]

Edward Okulicz: Monáe is clever and talented and inventive, and Miguel’s (on paper) a perfect foil but when you’re upstaged by a guitar solo that you make the listener wait nearly four minutes for… well, I can see myself finding this slick and erotic if it didn’t make me want to go to sleep. All the cute overarching concepts and video treatments to match don’t change that for me, sadly.
[4]

Cédric Le Merrer: In which Team Monáe realises the guy whose style they’re aping is, for once, not a hundred years old, and decide to give him a call. Said guy realizes it’s one of his awesomest songs, even though he hasn’t written it. Everyone agrees it’s only fair he gets to sing on it and have a featuring credit, but of course the real star is the guitarist.
[9]

Iain Mew: It doesn’t feel right that someone could be upstaged on their own single by a guest appearance so restrained, but the secret is that the bass shuffle is on Miguel’s side. The guitar solo definitely is.
[7]