"When You're Mad", "Move Along", and "Promiscuous"

“When You’re Mad”, Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo does a great service for men worldwide in delivering one of those songs you can just play for your lady and have them melt in your hands, even when they’re mad.  I like the steady beat and the musical arrangement of this song.  If having an R. Kelly CD makes you feel dirty, Ne-Yo’s a cleaner (although not much) alternative to R. Kelly.  I’m disappointed that I haven’t heard this more on the radio, but maybe it’ll get as hot as “So Sick” did a little while back.

“Move Along”, All-American Rejects

From the creators of “Dirty Little Secret” comes another great hot song, “Move Along.”  What stuck out for me in this song was the lyrics, which are often an afterthought when I’m reviewing pop songs.  The song has a great message of encouragement, and hey, all of us need a little boost now and then.  If you listen closely, you’ll hear the Rejects took a page from Pink Floyd’s playbook.  If your song is missing just that one little thing to make it a hit, add some kids singing in the background.  Works every time.

“Promiscuous”, Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland

Timbaland hooks up with Nelly Furtado to deliver another catchy club banger.  This song is full of surprises (I actually had to look up who the artists on the track were), and it’s sure to be a HOT SONG in the near future.  It is great to see Timbaland establish himself as a producer who can lay down the track and rap on top of it.  How else would an artist finish a masterpiece?  The call-and-response of Tim with Nelly moves quickly but is highly entertaining: “I want you on my team/so does everybody else” is hands-down my favorite line from the song.  Zing!