“Friday (Remix)” – Rebecca Black, 3OH!3, Big Freedia, Dorian Electra
★☆☆☆☆
Former teen star Rebecca Black has recently made a comeback after blowing up on TikTok. Her most recent single is a remix of her 2011 hit song “Friday.” “Friday,” as many people remember, was a cultural phenomenon and amassed over 150 million views on YouTube. The viral teen pop song blew up and made Rebecca Black an overnight star. This hyper-pop electric remix rebrands Black and her hit single with a new sound, positioning her in a music genre that is already filled by big-name artists like Rico Nasty, Charli XCX, and Ashnikko. But, ultimately this publicity stunt just led to a bad song. “Friday (Remix),” featuring 3OH!3, Big Freedia, and Dorian Electra, fails to generate the same nauseating excitement as the original hit. It also fails to tell us anything new about Black as a musician. Black’s vocals are strained by autotune and a synthy beat—passing as a sped-up, higher-pitched version of the original song. But her new single, although underwhelming, serves to distance Black from her innocent teen persona, offering her a chance to try a new music style.
“Walk Backwards” – Maude Latour
★★★★☆
Indie pop artist Maude Latour’s latest single “Walk Backwards” delivers catchy lyrics and a fun beat. After the success of her first EP released in 2019, Starsick, Latour has been consistently releasing singles. “Walk Backwards” proves that she is continuing to find her sound, and she gets better with every song.
“Heat Above” – Greta Van Fleet
★★☆☆☆
Greta Van Fleet’s latest single “Heat Above” is reminiscent of classic ’70s rock, with heavy-handed use of electric guitars and blaring drum beats. But, the band successfully creates their own unique sound. “Heat Above” sounds momentous on its own with soaring vocals. But when comparing it to Van Fleet’s previous single releases, “Age of Machine” and “My Way, Soon,” it blends in with a compilation of the band’s work.
Photo Courtesy of RB Records
