SCORE: 6.103
Highest Score: 11 x 1 (@Sanctuary), 10 x 5 (
@ohdenny,
@Mushroom,
@happiestgirl,
@Blob,
@Guy)
Lowest Score: 0 x 3 (
@MollieSwift21,
@2014,
@soratami)
Let me just start off with that yes, perhaps I should have put in 'Bad at Love' instead - I am aware it charted higher, but 'Now or Never' was on the year-end chart and that was what I went with. So maybe that was my bad, but really I was so tired of hearing about Halsey at that point that I just wanted to shut
everyone Halsey's four loudass stans up which of course didn't work anyway so why did I bother?
WHY, GIRLS?!
But - yes - I
do quite like 'Now or Never' and frankly I'm surprised it didn't do better here. Halsey did a good job of getting out of her own damn way this time around - I'm not going to say she stopped doing the most, 'cause she still does a
LOT, but she
did stop doing too much. The production on this track is divine, courtesy of the reliable Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat. But yes, boy howdy does it sound like Rih's 'Needed Me.'
Slice of Life starts us off with a viciously backhanded compliment: "For Halsey's level of talent, this is disgustingly competent. I'm still not gonna check for her but baby steps, baby steps."
Phloo calls for "justice for 'Bad at Love' which *OUTPEAKED* this" Shut up Buttercup.
Trouble in Paradise shrugs, "This song just kind of sits there. Halsey's voice has a great texture to it and the song is genuinely interesting at first. But it never goes anywhere."
RJF gives it a 6 and demands, "Take the points for reminding me of one of the far better songs from last year's rate and get the fuck out of my sight."
"Halsey really drew me in with this album campaign,"
Solenciennes admits. "I like this a lot more than anything she'd put out previously and think the album's got a couple of genuinely great tracks. I don't think this is amazing but it did appeal to me the first time I heard it and opened my mind to the idea of Halsey as a pop star. Also feel like her vocal stylings have been toned down a bit or maybe I'm just growing as a person and being less intolerant?"
dodoriazarbon is similarly longwinded: "A girl I work with looks exactly like Halsey, complete with vaguely anxious body posture. I had no opinion on her bar 'Colours' being incredible but she's really won me over with this album. Song is fine, wish she was producing more memes, but the music being decent is a nice compromise I guess."
Oh my
GOD I just thought I'd accidentally erased the whole writeup WHOOOOEEEWWWWWWW okay we're back we're good.
"Jesus, her voice is terrible," gasps
Raichu, "but I still can’t really deny this dark chill bop. It kind of reminds me of Rihanna’s 'Needed Me'. And while this is irrelevant to my score, I hate this song’s video with a passion. So cringe."
Beautiful Child 2 tries her hand at promo. "It's no 'Strangers', '100 Letters', 'Bad at Love', 'Sorry', 'Alone', or 'Hopeless' (wow that album was great) but it IS a bőp. Frangipane always wins." Okay yes 'Strangers' is a groove. A bisexual biracial bipolar bicycle bicuspid bibiliophile biop. Bums me out that Legend Jauregui's eventual solo EP will probably be boring as all hell and not full of bass-heavy buss botherers.
"You know 2017 was a weird year when even Halsey provided (heavily 'Needed Me' inspired) bops,"
Heartthrob tells us. In response to everyone else's bitching,
citoig criticizes me for putting this in at all. "Legit do not understand why this is here. If number one albums are all it takes, then I'd rather have had Lana, Shania or hell, Kenny Chesney than this." Actually I was putting in longterm hits so that fully removes 2017 Shania and
[any year] Lana doesn't it, sis?
constantino is please to hear "she’s been working on her indie girl kitchen-ness. The song itself is a bit lacklustre but I don’t hate it."
evilsin swears, "FUCK, why did I read that comment that said that it sounds like Rihanna's 'Needed Me' in the chorus? I can't unhear it and now I don't know whether I should give it a point more or a point less for this similarity. Looks like it will have to stay in the middle ground of a 7. Maybe someday I will listen to at least on of her albums in full, hmm."
Playing further into my theory that Ashley would have been mercilessly torpedoed if I'd put the full album,
CasuallyCrazed says, "I don’t understand what someone like Halsey is doing in a big pop girls rate considering she feels like such a minor player, however this song’s actually a minor bop with a decent vocal."
ericcccc gets REAL dramatic. "So many upcoming artists sound like her that if you played me a playlist of them, included this song and told me to pick which one was Halsey or else I’d get shot then I would definitely die." I love Phoebe Ryan.
joe_alouder says, "Honestly this is such a rip off but it also rips off a fucking 9 so it’s still really solid. Like it’s boppy regardless."
Andy French is out here frontin': "If you had told me like a year ago that I would be giving Halsey the time of day, let alone a score higher than 5/10, in any rate I would’ve laughed in your face, but here we are." You're too nice to laugh in anyone's face, my dear.
I traditionally close with the 11 but
Sanctuary didn't say anything, however I am
sure she'll be responding to all that's been stated above. Good luck girls.
