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ELLA MAI - BOO’D UP

[7.57]

As far as we’re concerned, you can wife us immediately, Ella.

Julian Axelrod: “Boo’d Up” is an incredible title, and that’s not even the best part of the song. The quiet storm synths and carbonated 808s hit my R&B pleasure centers, and the semi-scatted chorus saves the song from lethargy. But the real revelation here is Ella Mai, who’s tender enough to sell the song’s devotion. Some of the sillier elements (namely the spoken word outro) would have felled a lesser singer, but Mai’s charismatic enough to sell the sentiment. [7]

Nortey Dowuona: Glassy, bouncy synths and prickly piano surf the the low, quietly strumming bass. [8]

Alfred Soto: This English singer is touring with Kehlani, and I can hear the affinities: honesty, precision, an appreciation of space. I don’t hear a false note in “Boo’d Up.” [8]

Tim de Reuse: There’s a charm to the unadorned 808’s and dry casio-preset pads, but it doesn’t really do anything beyond sit there and look pretty. The main pull is hearing Mai have fun around that short loop, but despite her confident delivery she doesn’t have nearly enough ideas to fill four full minutes. Without a good deal of concentration, it quickly becomes pleasant wallpaper. [5]

Katherine St Asaph: A scented, full-blast summer fan breeze of a beat, and Ella Mai fluttering above it. Really, this could go on for hours and still be great. [9]

Edward Okulicz: Putting that unguarded, but decidedly odd, spoken word bit at the end of the song rather than giving it pride of place as a middle-eight is about the only foot Ella Mai puts wrong here. To listen to “Boo’d Up” is to feel blasted by heat and desire at once. [8]

Jonathan Bogart: Songwriter Joelle James ran down the history of the song on Twitter last week. At one point Wale was attached; at another point if Chris Brown had chosen not to hop on “Scream” it would have been a Kevin Hart (?!) song. Those averted potential futures make Ella Mai’s final version sound like even more of a miracle. Joy is precious, kids. Get it where you can. [8]

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On this day in music history: May 18, 1963 - “If You Wanna Be Happy” by Jimmy Soul hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks, also topping the R&B singles chart for 1 week on June 1, 1963. Written by Frank Guida, Carmela Guida and Joseph Royster, it is the biggest hit for the Weldon, NC born R&B singer. Based on the calypso song “Ugly Woman”, it is originally recorded by Trinidadian singer Roaring Lion in 1933. Jimmy Soul’s version also includes a brief dialogue similar to Bo Diddley’s novelty hit “Say Man”. After the record is released, some stations actually ban it from airplay feeling that the line “ugly girl/woman” is offensive. In spite of this, the single quickly becomes a smash, and later appears in films such as “Mermaids” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding”. The song is also quoted by actor Ted Danson in a 1984 episode of “Cheers” titled “Sam Turns The Other Cheek”, when Danson’s character Sam Malone is confronted by the angry husband (armed with a gun) of a woman he’s been fooling around with. Sam manages to disarm the man, tucking the gun in his back pocket, which goes off accidentally, shooting himself in the behind. In spite of the huge success of “If You Wanna Be Happy”, Jimmy Soul does not have another chart hit (having only one other charted single with “Twistin’ Matilda” (#22 Pop) one year before in May of 1962). Soul passes away from a heart attack on June 25, 1988 at the age of 45.

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On this day in music history: October 26, 1974 - “Then Came You” by The Spinners and Dionne Warwick hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week also peaking at #2 on the R&B singles chart on October 19, 1974. Written by Sherman Marshall and Phil Pugh, it is the lone pop chart topper for the Detroit based vocal group and the first for the Pop/R&B vocalist. Producer Thom Bell will suggest the duet after The Spinners and Warwick appear on the same live concert bill in Las Vegas. After they record “Then Came You”, Warwick believing the song won’t be a hit, makes a bet with Bell. They take a dollar bill and tear it in half, each taking half. The loser of the bet has to send their half of the dollar to the winner. Released as a stand alone single on July 13, 1974 (later included on The Spinners’ album “New And Improved” and Warwick’s “Then Came You”), it quickly becomes a smash. Entering the Hot 100 #51 on July 27, 1974, it climbs to the top of the chart thirteen weeks later. The single quickly sells over a million copies and earn them a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group. Warwick sends Bell her half of the dollar back along with an apology for being wrong about the songs’ hit potential. The song also makes Billboard chart history when it takes the biggest fall from top spot, dropping to #15 the week of November 2, 1974, tieing with Billy Preston’s “Nothing From Nothing” which it had replaced at number one and took the same downward trajectory. “Then Came You” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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On this day in music history: October 28, 1972 - “Talking Book”, the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder is released. Produced by Stevie Wonder, it is recorded at AIR Studios in London, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, Crystal Studios and The Record Plant in Los Angeles, CA from March - September 1972. Issued just seven months after “Music Of My Mind”, it is the second album Wonder writes and produces after gaining full creative control of his music. The album also features Wonder playing most of the instruments, assisted by associate producers Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil with the synthesizer programming, guitarists Jeff Beck, “Buzzy” Feiten and saxophonist David Sanborn making guest appearances on the tracks “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love” and “Tuesday Heartbreak” respectively. It produces several classics including the chart topping singles “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” and “Superstition”. It is a huge critical and commercial success upon its release, winning three Grammy Awards including Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. The album is also inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1999. Over time, other songs including “You And I”, “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” and “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”, are covered by numerous other artists. Wonder’s original recording of “I Believe” is later featured in the film “High Fidelity” in 2000. “Maybe Your Baby” is also used in the comedy “Money Talks” in 1997. The original LP pressings feature the title and artist name embossed on the front cover in braille, with an additional message from Wonder (also written in braille) on the inside gatefold that reads, “Here is my music, it is all I have to tell you how I feel. Know that your love keeps my love strong. - Stevie”. The album’s iconic cover and inner gatefold photos are taken co-producer Margouleff. Originally released on CD in 1984, it is remastered and reissued in 2000. The album is also remastered and reissued as a 24K gold CD by Audio Fidelity Records in 2010 (with HDCD encoding). The Audio Fidelity release also includes braille embossing on the CD booklet, replicating the same printing found on original press run LP’s. It is also reissued on vinyl by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, as part of their “Silver Label Vinyl Series” in 2011. High resolution SACD and Blu-ray disc editions of the classic title are released in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Finally, the album is given another vinyl reissue by Motown/UMe in December of 2016, also replicating the original vinyl LP packaging. “Talking Book” spends three weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B Album chart, peaking at number three on the Top 200.

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Whitney performing Loverman and All the Man That I Need at the 1991 Billboard Music Awards

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LADY GAGA // COACHELLA DAY 2

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Tuxedo - 2nd Time Around

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JUANES - HERMOSA INGRATA [4.17] Claire with the buried lead…

Leonel Manzanares: You can sum up the entirety of Juanes’ catalog as rock versions of traditional Colombian musical ideas; it’s pretty much his thing, but recent Juanes hasn’t sounded very engaging, or even fun, in a while. “Hermosa Ingrata” doesn’t even have the time or the energy for a guitar solo (!) and that drumbeat takes a lot from the cumbia cadence. Plus, those lyrics again? I know it’s kind of a Colombian tradition to write songs about deceptive women, but come on, he’s done way too many of those. [5]

Edward Okulicz: Great prowling bassline, not-so-great whingey song on top of it. [4]

Alfred Soto: Typical midtempo reggaeton twaddle about beautiful ingrates and the stupid men who write songs about them. [4]

Thomas Inskeep: A light cumbia with some inspired touches like wah-wah guitar licks works for me. [6]

Iain Mew: The wah-wah is a bit to get over, but I thought at first that “Hermosa Ingrata” at least has a decent swinging groove going for it. They can’t even manage to keep that up, though, opting for additions like the half-spoken bit which break up its progress but are too hesitant for that to be more than a disappointment. [3]

Claire Biddles: I am 100% on board for Juanes’ visual album about a time-travelling Columbian astronaut looking for love (!), but maybe I’ll watch it with the sound down if this is anything to go by. [3]

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Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah, and Lance Bass (1999)

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Joe on stage.

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