I’ve got to hand it to Derulo. For a man whose music fame is based on singing his own name, he is surprisingly skilled at being consistently mediocre. His songs aren’t bad, but they’re not good either. He caters perfectly for the disappointingly large amount of people who claim they like all music – inoffensive, moderately catchy and generic. Derulo’s latest offering is no exception. His lyrics, which continue to be rather amusing (“get ugly, you’re too sexy for me”), are delivered with his trademark severity.
The lead single, ‘Want To Want Me’, is decidedly bland, even lacking the customary catchy chorus. Others, including ‘Try Me’, sound a bit like Blue with a new lick of 2015 pop paint – unoriginal and uninteresting. Derulo is at a well-established stage in his career where he should be experimenting, perhaps even taking some risks, but instead he has chosen to use the old tried and tested formula, with the resulting album being an easily forgettable piece of pop/R&B.
Saying that, Derulo does make a half-arsed attempt at a ballad, but it lacks the sincerity to be a true success, turning into a upbeat poptastic track half way. I may have approached this album with low expectations but they weren’t even reached.
