The Singles Jukebox

Nearly but not quite exhausting our stocks of Xs for use in artist names…

[Video][Website]
[4.38]

Hannah Jocelyn: Ever since “Problem” came out, I’ve been so used to expecting a quiet post-chorus drop that the louder, fiery drop here comes as a genuine shocker, and even refreshing. It seems to aurally break the fourth wall, reaching out of wherever it’s playing to engulf the listeners. The jump in volume here is also great because Garrix hasn’t had a hit since “Animals,” and he achieves something much better here by letting everything else but the drop breathe, rather than the non-stop assault of that other song. (Also, whoever produces Bebe’s vocals on songs like “Me, Myself, and I” and this one deserves recognition.) 
[7]

Katie Gill: So something that I didn’t expect when I started reviewing for Singles Jukebox is the fact that there are so many interchangeable songs that feature a b-list DJ, an up and coming female singer, and a terrible drop. It’s the music equivalent of spam emails: it’s trash, you know it’s trash, you might skim it over because it’s interesting or amusing, but it’s gonna get deleted or forgotten about in a matter of seconds no matter what. Anyway, here’s another for that pile.
[3]

Alfred Soto: The high-pitched female vocal cushioned by sawtooth synths would’ve sounded contemporary at the peak of rave culture in 1993, but the production second guesses the ecstasy and release. Martin Garrix has pop ambitions, you see. 
[4]

Thomas Inskeep: Does anyone seem to love ultra-generic sub-greeting card “I will love you” lyrics more than the lowest common denominator of EDM producers and/or their fans these days? I can only assume these lyrics are easier to scream out when you’re keyed up on [favorite substance here] at [favorite festival here]. Bebe, I hope you’re investing these checks wisely, because being the favored hook/singer of this gen of boosh-boosh ain’t doing wonders for your career critically speaking.
[2]

Will Adams: Dance music’s mission to concentrate a lifetime of emotion into three to four minutes has been all but distilled to a science by this point. “In the Name of Love” sounds like its logical, final evolution; how much more contrast can one wring from near-acapella verses and a drop that was already gargantuan before adding the wailed vocal hook? Calculated as it sounds, it’s still effective, thanks mostly to Rexha’s performance, which reaches those emotional heights even without the help of Garrix’s blustery production.
[7]

Juana Giaimo: I wish the sorrow and tension of the drop were present in the rest of the song. Instead, Bebe Rexha tries too hard — especially in the bridge — to sound genuine with her trembling voice and lyrics that are too abstract, and therefore generic. 
[6]

Katherine St Asaph: Bebe Rexha: singlehandedly keeping whistle register in the charts! Mariah ain’t doing it anymore. If you can find anything else interesting about this song, please share.
[3]

William John: Garrix’s oscillating dolphin drops mimic the unsteady giddiness of an angsty youthful romance. Unfortunately, Rexha, an American Rita Ora without an “I Will Never Let You Down,” stretches her mouth around the verses like she’s performing for a speech pathologist, distracting from the melodrama.
[3]