I used to hold my freak back, now I’m letting go And letting go, letting go Falling all over myself like a baby, come on and dance with me” ‘When you’re born, you’re born into this world alone’ The chorus is a celebration of a coming of age – it ends with ‘I won’t waste the chance they gave me to live like I want to’. I know in my heart of hearts this album wasn’t going to be as satisfying as ‘Lollipop’ – but I like this track quite a lot. ‘Just Dance’ was a decent enough single to go with the album, so it seems the marketing types knew what they were doing, although I am wondering whether they should have released the original video for the single. I’m not sure that the original video does the song much justice, at least, as far as ‘Just Dance’ is concerned. It features Jade having trouble at her dancing practice. I am getting tired of the ‘Just Dance’ video, because we’ve seen it before – more than once – and we know what is going to happen. For that reason alone, it is not my favourite video, not even close. To be honest, I think the video for ‘We Found Love’ does a much better job at celebrating the song. But, let’s get to the song itself – and I really have mixed feelings about this one. Firstly, I really don’t think this song has any place in a teen drama. But that’s not the main problem with this song. That’s not even in the top five reasons that this isn’t a good song. The main problem with this song is that it is dull as dirt. It simply doesn’t grab me emotionally or lyrically. There is no character to this song, not even Jade. And that really is my problem with this song – in that it doesn’t have any character. This song is too mainstream. It’s an identikit track, and a bland one at that. It was obviously composed in a similar way to ‘Lollipop’ and ‘Just Dance’ – but not in the same league, because that’s the difference. Now for the big question – Is ‘We Found Love’ better than ‘In Da Club’ or ‘Gimme That Bass’. Yes, I think it is. And I think ‘We Found Love’ is the best track on ‘I Gotta Feeling’. But it isn’t better than those songs. It’s very similar to those songs, but the execution is less perfect in my view. But if you’re going to compare it to those songs, I think you have to be willing to be disappointed if you buy this album expecting a lot from it. This is Jade’s fourth studio album and while I was hopeful for this album, I was surprised that I wasn’t as disappointed as I was expecting to be – and that makes this the first album where I have no problem with the lyrics. The most disappointing thing about this album is that I don’t think it’s a good enough album to stand out from other albums by artists of a similar generation. I think ‘Just Dance’ is a better song than ‘We Found Love’ and it doesn’t have nearly as much filler. There is a lot of repetition here – and while this album has plenty of great songs, it isn’t all that memorable to me. It is just another collection of very ordinary songs. That might be okay for some people – but I was expecting something else. I would like to have seen Jade try and do something more daring on this album, because I think she could have made a much more interesting record if she had. However, I am still looking forward to hearing Jade’s next album because her potential is still so huge – that’s why I’m looking forward to ‘Over the Love’ and ‘Jasmine’. But this isn’t that album. I am not sure this album needs a follow up album, because I don’t think it will improve if it did. However, I hope she goes into another direction and does something completely different, because I think she is a real talent and has the potential to be a big star. I just don’t think she is getting the best out of her potential with this album. Track by track review One Foot Jade seems to struggle with her voice on this track. I don’t know why, but she sounds strained on the lines ‘I know you love me like the moon loves the stars’ and there are also many moments where I don’t think the lyrics work for the song. It’s a catchy, happy sounding tune and it fits in with the other songs quite well – but I can’t help wondering why she didn’t use this song as the first single off this album. I just don’t think the song is that strong – and it feels too basic and uncomplicated for Jade. Get Get Down A fun, upbeat track – the chorus is catchy and there is a good mixture of pop, hip-hop and a little bit of dance music in the rest of the track. I don’t think Jade has really found her niche with this track – but I don’t think it is bad either. In Da Club This sounds like a song she could have written when she was 15, which is ironic because there is only one other song on this album with the same vibe. It’s a track that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Snoop Dogg album, though she does write a decent enough chorus. This song is better than the original, but that is not really saying much. Electric Touch Okay, I really wish this song wasn’t as short as it is – it has that horrible, catchy sing-song structure that every pop group seems to use at the moment, and it just doesn’t fit on this album. At least it has a decent chorus. Good Luck I never thought the ‘Lollipop’ single would have ever been improved on with the addition of ‘Do It With The Lights On’, but I would argue that this is one of the few songs on the album that is worth having a listen to, but that might only be for a few people. It’s a good sounding song, but it doesn’t really do anything for me. It’s like ‘Lollipop’ with some different sections, and that’s not a bad thing. We Found Love Now we have a song that was meant to be played during a dance-off or a lip sync battle. It is a very generic sounding track. We know the chorus has to be shouted out because the ‘in da club’ line, so it doesn’t need to have a special twist to make it sound interesting – which I don’t think it has. Candy There’s a nice little build up to the chorus on this track – but as soon as the chorus kicks in I am just thinking, ‘oh that’s good, the one about me’ and then I am trying to figure out why that is the chorus. The Sweetest Day This song is catchy and I have no complaints about the lyrics, but I really don’t think it is a good song. Romeo ‘Romeo’ is one of the songs that can’t be properly appreciated in isolation – because the rest of the album means that we have to know what came before it. But in terms of ‘In Da Club’ songs, it is quite a nice tune – not as good as ‘Lollipop’ or ‘Just Dance’ but it is definitely in the top three. Luv’d Up I really like the bass in this song – it has a really ‘90s sounding sound to it, but the rest of the song is a bit blah. I don’t think the verse is the strongest part of the track either, but the chorus is fairly strong. If you love ‘Sweet Dreams’ or any other Jamiroquai song, this will probably suit you better. Freak ‘Freak’ is a throwaway track – it’s a good idea for the song, but it feels as if it doesn’t go anywhere. I’m glad the song is over now. We Are Young I love the first line of this song – it makes me smile. Then I am just hoping this song doesn’t get too serious, but I just get the feeling that it will, so I shouldn’t be surprised. But this is a good song – it’s got a good melody and a great chorus. This is where the song gets an extra boost in the lyrics and I have to say that there are some really great moments, particularly the line ‘I guess I am just a piece of a broken puzzle / Just trying to fit together / We are young’ because this whole song is about youth and I like the idea that it is about youth