Thursday, March 28, 2024

New Music Friday: Katy Perry Swings the Pendulum, Justin Bieber is Like Tofu, Khalid Just Gets Better

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NEW MUSIC FRIDAY….Katy Perry is back. She’s so back that Taylor Swift threw her whole catalog on Spotify to remind everyone she’s the Queen of the Current Pop Pack. But I don’t know. Katy’s “Witness” album is pretty good. Strangely enough I think she should have started the album with its second half. “Chained to the Rhythm” is a great single. “Pendulum” should have been the new single. The non Max Martin songs sound a little more original than the non-MMs. “Bon Appetit” also fares better in context of the album. Katy is a superstar. “Witness” is going to be a hit album with legs…

Justin Bieber is back. He’s like tofu. He takes on the flavor of whoever he’s working with. Last time with Diplo, Skrillex et al with bird noises. This time it’s David Guetta. I quite like “2U” because of Guetta. He’s made good use of Bieber. Bieber is featured on a lot of different singles lately. I think he should just be a guest star on records. It works better…

I am so impressed by Khalid, I can’t believe his album “American Teen” isn’t in the top 10 for weeks. Just 19, this El Paso, Texas R&B prodigy is going to be a superstar. In the vein of Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar, but better I think. The songs– they are original, not sampled– are incredibly smart and catchy. The album was released in March and is no longer on the charts. But Khalid’s tour this summer is sold out. He’s blowing up. His debut album will get many Grammy nominations. But that’s beside the point. GET this record.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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