(Warner)

Skyrockets in flight

Multiple songs on Jason Derülo’s album, which is called Jason Derülo, begin with Jason Derulo singing, “Jason Derülo!” You see how annoying that repetition gets in one sentence? Imagine it spread over an entire album. It’s like a dog pissing on trees to mark his territory, only it’s happening in your ears. Lead single Watcha Say is catchy for a generic Auto-Tuned finger-snapping R&B number, only he repeats practically every other line in a breathy whisper so you know just how heartfelt he is while berating his special lady into taking him back after he cheated on her. Ridin’ Solo is the same thing only set after the break-up, celebrating the single life and how much Derülo likes masturbating. Really, there’s no other way to read a lyric like, “Loving myself makes me want to sing.” He sounds even more emotional in Love Hangover, which you can tell because he’s so overdubbed listening to it feels uncannily like drowning. Encore – which he begins by singing his name again in case you forgot for a minute how much he loves to do that – uses the musical encore as a metaphor for second-helping sex. “So open the curtains and let me inside for more,” he sings in a cringe-inducing way guaranteed to have the opposite effect. It’s so clumsy in its attempt at innuendo it’s basically the R&B equivalent of Afternoon Delight. Only worse.

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JODY MACGREGOR

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