The Saturdays ft. Flo Rida – ‘Higher’
Mollie, Frankie and company exist within quite a strange push-me pull-you existence at the moment, don’t you think?
It’s impossible to get a handle on quite what is going on – whether they’re hitting a firm, purposeful stride or passing their peak – because there’s a constant stream of incontrovertible facts* which support either argument, and it seems you’re not allowed to just shrug and let them get on with it.
To make matters even more confusing, the facts seem to be arriving in alternating waves, like a game of Good News, Bad News.
It goes something like this:
Bad news! ‘Missing You’ isn’t a very good song. Everyone knows it, and they talk about it on the internet.
Good news! Actually it gets a lot better with repeated listens, and has managed to linger in the Top 40 for a period which chart experts refer to as “flipping ages”.
Bad news! ‘Headlines’ isn’t really an album. It’s an EP which has been padded out with old album tracks and singles.
Good news! There are some nice new songs on it. Two, to be precise: ‘Higher’ and ‘Died in Your Eyes’. All the girls need to do is whack one of those out as a single, and all will be well!
(Here’s the video. It’s VERY Sesame Street.)
Bad news! All is not well. Flo Rida seems to have been roped in, somewhere down the line. This is because he has twice kept the girls from the No.1 spot, and there’s an element of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Plus he isn’t exactly choosy about whose records he will appear on. Everyone knows this, and they talk about it on the internet.
Good news! ‘Higher’ is a great single, irrespective of guest appearances or chart placing. It’s been in the chart pretty much ever since the album came out.
Bad news! The video, while charming, does slightly push through the barrier that separates “WOW! I’m REALLY INTO this great song that I am singing!” from “OH GOD I HOPE NO-ONE CAN TELL I’M IN A BAD MOOD.”
Good news! Flo Rida doesn’t seem to be in it.
Dizzying, isn’t it?
So it seems a safe bet that the girls will continue to walk a wobbly line through the rest of their time in the pop limelight. And I have to admit, the more they do so, the more I like ‘em.
After all, what could be more boring than perfection?
Download: Out now
www.saturdays.co.uk
BBC Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
Unreality Shout says: “Higher is confident, fresh and uplifting, and you can’t ask for much more than that from a pop single.”
Digital Spy says: “The lesson here? Never underestimate a Saturday.”
* Not facts. Just strongly held opinions.
View full post on BBC – Chart blog
