He/Him
#soon! Part Un - The 60s-00s Girl Band Debut Breakthrough Rate
- Thread starter berserkboi
- Start date
He/Him
@unnameable - missing a couple of scores from you too! Please send through ASAP, have PMed you which ones!
Sorry, that's what I get for typing things up at the end of the day before I go to bed.
londonrain
Staff member
Well, it’s either that or Bardot have flopped so hard that nothing @2014 can do will save them from finishing last.
bugger i missed the deadline….
londonrain
Staff member
You can still send your scores in as long as you get them to @berserkboi before the first elimination!
He/Him
I will be generous and give you an hour ;)
He/Him
It looks like my generosity wasn't used at this point in time by @phoenix123 so let's get this roast acookin'!
We have had requests for Bardot and Las Ketchup earlier to be the first casualty of this rate......
Who will fall first????
NEITHER!!!
#60
Xscape - Just Kickin' It
Average Score: 5.427
Highest Score: 10 (@kermit_the_frog)
Lowest Score: 0 (@Filippa)
Well well well, I don’t think we can be too taken aback by this first elimination. The only thing that surprised me about Just Kickin' It leaving first when compiling the list, was the fact that we were losing a 90s band/track first!
I had assumed with the firecrackers and the fact a large portion of the forum (and voters) knew most of this era’s tracks – the 90s would steam roll to the top 40 based on familiarity alone; but that was not to be for poor Xscape (mind you, they are technically the least famous from the list!)
Xscape were brought together by Jermain Dupri and Manual Seal with the aim to be ‘the ghetto En Vogue’ (hmmmmmmm), and included Kandi Burruss is its roster (of Real Housewives of Atlanta & Don’t Think I’m Not fame), so as a band, they were not without star power. The track we are rating however doesn’t really showcase this due to its laidback atmosphere (suitably as per the title track) and lack of punch. The harmonising and the groove are suitable and enjoyable enough, but considering the rate list includes bands that really go all out to showcase their personality (notably Salt & Pepa or Spice Girls here; not to mention En Vogue), it makes Xscape seem quite beige? This is a real shame as the R&B movement was really showcasing how varied, cool and groovy it could be – but the sound of Xscape squared in on generic for their debut instead of using the other qualities as a canvas!
Something I noticed about this rate is how divisive a lot of these acts were but Xscape just received mostly average scores throughout. I can’t imagine lyrics including ‘‘Every man wants a woman that can cook him a good meal/a woman that ain’t good just for lying on her back’’ endeared this track into the voters’ heart; and former group member LaTocha Scott’s response towards critiques of the sexist subtext was "I've heard some females say that the song is unreal and that they can tell it was written by a man, but I don't think it makes it sexist. Shoot, everybody knows a man wants a woman who can cook.", which is a downright mess itself!
If you are willing to give them a go though – Xscape did have some more singles that show a bit more diversity to their overall sound across ‘Understanding’ & ‘Who Can I Run To’. Had one of those been their debut (and potentially a better representation of what made them good) we may have said goodbye to another act first!
What did the rest of you have to say about this?
Let’s start with premiere #R&BJustice member londonrain (6) - I feel like I should absolutely adore the song given the genre, but it’s just so bland compared to what their contemporaries achieved. Yep! Beige is the word!
Empty Shoebox (4) - Maybe it's something about growing up in industrial Scotland, but I just don't 'get' R&B. I can't even tell whether this is a good R&B record or not. Personally, I wouldn't want to hear this again. You and ¾ of the voting public it would seem…
Trouble In Paradise (2) picked his name just so he could self-review his relationship with londonrain - This song is not for me, and I know that, but I still hate it. Joined by Filippa’s take on Pauline Hanson (0) – I don’t like it! ComeOnGloria (5) calls it generic 90s RnB, although considering the genre gave us great standards that era – maybe sub-average would be more correct?
The more positive comments came from (shock) Zar-Unity (6) who decided to come up with his own cool way of rating these songs (score/5 for taste, score/5 for technique) with - A pretty chill pop tune. Well mixed vocals by each singer. Tech: 4 Taste: 2 = 6 points and the sole 10-er from kermit_the_frog - Weirdly forgotten by many, Xscape are legitimately amazing and stand right up there next to TLC and SWV. Further Listening: Who Can I Run To?
DominoDancing (2): Oh God, what even are these lyrics? I don’t know, sis! Iheartpoptarts (8): I love it when pop acts reference themselves. It’s so S Club. It is but I believe they pre-date the iconic 7, 8 or is it 3 nowadays? Ufint (3) has some advice for our songstress - God Kandi, stick to songwriting and being a fabulous housewife. And let’s end with Unnameable (2) who apparently is the voice of the voters – just kickin’ this to the kerb!
I had assumed with the firecrackers and the fact a large portion of the forum (and voters) knew most of this era’s tracks – the 90s would steam roll to the top 40 based on familiarity alone; but that was not to be for poor Xscape (mind you, they are technically the least famous from the list!)
Xscape were brought together by Jermain Dupri and Manual Seal with the aim to be ‘the ghetto En Vogue’ (hmmmmmmm), and included Kandi Burruss is its roster (of Real Housewives of Atlanta & Don’t Think I’m Not fame), so as a band, they were not without star power. The track we are rating however doesn’t really showcase this due to its laidback atmosphere (suitably as per the title track) and lack of punch. The harmonising and the groove are suitable and enjoyable enough, but considering the rate list includes bands that really go all out to showcase their personality (notably Salt & Pepa or Spice Girls here; not to mention En Vogue), it makes Xscape seem quite beige? This is a real shame as the R&B movement was really showcasing how varied, cool and groovy it could be – but the sound of Xscape squared in on generic for their debut instead of using the other qualities as a canvas!
Something I noticed about this rate is how divisive a lot of these acts were but Xscape just received mostly average scores throughout. I can’t imagine lyrics including ‘‘Every man wants a woman that can cook him a good meal/a woman that ain’t good just for lying on her back’’ endeared this track into the voters’ heart; and former group member LaTocha Scott’s response towards critiques of the sexist subtext was "I've heard some females say that the song is unreal and that they can tell it was written by a man, but I don't think it makes it sexist. Shoot, everybody knows a man wants a woman who can cook.", which is a downright mess itself!
If you are willing to give them a go though – Xscape did have some more singles that show a bit more diversity to their overall sound across ‘Understanding’ & ‘Who Can I Run To’. Had one of those been their debut (and potentially a better representation of what made them good) we may have said goodbye to another act first!
What did the rest of you have to say about this?
Let’s start with premiere #R&BJustice member londonrain (6) - I feel like I should absolutely adore the song given the genre, but it’s just so bland compared to what their contemporaries achieved. Yep! Beige is the word!
Empty Shoebox (4) - Maybe it's something about growing up in industrial Scotland, but I just don't 'get' R&B. I can't even tell whether this is a good R&B record or not. Personally, I wouldn't want to hear this again. You and ¾ of the voting public it would seem…
Trouble In Paradise (2) picked his name just so he could self-review his relationship with londonrain - This song is not for me, and I know that, but I still hate it. Joined by Filippa’s take on Pauline Hanson (0) – I don’t like it! ComeOnGloria (5) calls it generic 90s RnB, although considering the genre gave us great standards that era – maybe sub-average would be more correct?
The more positive comments came from (shock) Zar-Unity (6) who decided to come up with his own cool way of rating these songs (score/5 for taste, score/5 for technique) with - A pretty chill pop tune. Well mixed vocals by each singer. Tech: 4 Taste: 2 = 6 points and the sole 10-er from kermit_the_frog - Weirdly forgotten by many, Xscape are legitimately amazing and stand right up there next to TLC and SWV. Further Listening: Who Can I Run To?
DominoDancing (2): Oh God, what even are these lyrics? I don’t know, sis! Iheartpoptarts (8): I love it when pop acts reference themselves. It’s so S Club. It is but I believe they pre-date the iconic 7, 8 or is it 3 nowadays? Ufint (3) has some advice for our songstress - God Kandi, stick to songwriting and being a fabulous housewife. And let’s end with Unnameable (2) who apparently is the voice of the voters – just kickin’ this to the kerb!
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*shakes legs*
I'm hoping el ritmo ragatanga doesn't go anytime soon!
He/Him
I think it leaving most voters ambivalent was its downfall...
He/Him
D
Deleted member 3416
Yeah I haven't delved into Xscape's discography but I'm sure they have a lot stronger songs. Surprised to see it out first but not mad about it either.
MollieSwift21
Staff member
Tiny had her own show to with TI until their divorce too. The song wasn't very good tied for my third lowest.
A bit surprised that Xscape are the first to go (although I really didn't like the song, so...GOOD). Just impressed that it has a > 5 average rating. I would have thought some of the bigger stinkers would get trashed a lot more.
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He/Him
It would seem what are seen as stinkers has a few defenders too so the ones that failed to make an impression either way have suffered the brunt of the mediocre averages...
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londonrain
Staff member
I’m impressed we’re kicking off with a >5 average too! Losing a nineties song so early, though...
Kandi has done such great things since this single (such as the aforementioned solo banger Don’t Think I’m Not and of course writing the likes of Bills, Bills, Bills for Destiny’s Child) but, to be fair, this song is just okay. There’s a lot that deserved to go before it but I’m not too worried about it being gone.
Tiny and Kandi are of course a Grammy-winning songwriting team for co-writing TLC’s No Scrubs (which also means they now have writing credits on Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You dddd). Has any other girl group in this rate produced two songwriters that were this successful at writing for other people?
My favourite thing Xscape has done is actually this feature on Mariah’s remix of her #1 hit Always Be My Baby:
Kandi has done such great things since this single (such as the aforementioned solo banger Don’t Think I’m Not and of course writing the likes of Bills, Bills, Bills for Destiny’s Child) but, to be fair, this song is just okay. There’s a lot that deserved to go before it but I’m not too worried about it being gone.
Tiny and Kandi are of course a Grammy-winning songwriting team for co-writing TLC’s No Scrubs (which also means they now have writing credits on Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You dddd). Has any other girl group in this rate produced two songwriters that were this successful at writing for other people?
My favourite thing Xscape has done is actually this feature on Mariah’s remix of her #1 hit Always Be My Baby:
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