World Premiere: Zendaya & Chris Brown - "Something New" [Full Audio + Review]
“I couldn't hold off til Friday so....here you go #SomethingNew #onitunesnow”, wrote Zendaya on her Twitter last night (Feb. 3), but what she really wanted to say was; “I made a mistake by premiering my new single on radio on Monday because it is now up on spammy download websites illegally and I’m losing money, therefore I’m rushing the digital release”.
“Something New” is the official lead single from 19-year-old Californian singer Zendaya’s upcoming second studio album, due in stores later this year via Republic Records. Zendaya’s eponymous first album was released in 2013.
The new single was co-written by Babyface and it features Chris Brown. The official radio impact date for “Something New” remains to be February 9th.
THE REVIEW
Let’s talk the positive first: The single’s colorful artwork is cool, Zendaya’s vocals prove to be similar to a fine wine; it gets better with age, and “Something New” sounds like a cute mini-bop. Oh, and I’m sure the music video will be something adorable.
Now, the not-so-positive: Why is Zendaya going for the pure R&B route now? “Something New” is all about R&B and (almost) nothing pop – unlike what she had to offer in her debut album back in 2013. I’m curious to know why Republic Records approved/endorsed this change in style from Zendaya. Isn’t it a bit risky and limits her audience? Oh, and if you were wondering “doesn’t the melody sound too familiar?”, that’s because Zendaya’s new single “Something New” samples TLC’s legendary hit “Creep”. And why do I mention this in the “not-so-positive” category? Because it’s my belief that Zendaya relies too heavily on the sample. The final result is cute because overall the sampled melody flows well with Zendaya’s song and it works, but I don’t like the fact that it strikes as a bit lazy from Zendaya’s part because, as I just mentioned, she relies too much on the sample.
To sum up, “Something New” is cute but Zendaya is going to require an amazing music video and some intense PR work/TV-radio promo to make it a moderate hit. I don’t see radios willingly to play her new single so easily (I repeat, it's a cute song but it definitely lacks "certified hit" power). Oh, and if this doesn’t work out for her, she should definitely consider testing the pop-R&B genre again.
Oh, and I almost forgot, what's "Something New" about? Let me explain with an extract from the song: "Don't know your name, but I guess I really don't care / I wanna try something new, all night". Basically, Zendaya explains in a very cute way in her single why it's not a bad thing to be a man-eater.