A View From The Top #44

Two weeks ago, when I heard about the release of Cold Water through a notification on my phone, I looked at it without much interest, while silently presuming it will be quite popular due to Bieber’s involvement. Little did I know, this track would be so successful that it would end up being the one to rescue this column from the reign of the horrendous One Dance. Before I even talk about the actual song, I must confess, it’s pretty difficult for me not to be biased towards any song that got Drake off the number one spot.

Josh Jewell was right to compare One Dance and Cold Water in his review of the latter last week- as he pointed out, both are dance tracks with “slow and syncopated” rhythms, and a popular male singer performing the majority of the vocals. Thankfully, this is where the similarities end. In my last review of One Dance, I pointed out that a different male singer, such as Justin Bieber, might have improved the quality of the song. Cold Water seems to be great evidence for this. In spite of certain similarities with One Dance, Bieber’s smooth vocals are a welcome change from Drake’s grating autotune. Major Lazer’s involvement improves the song, giving it a relaxed, holiday vibe, and generally uplifting the mood of the listener. MØ’s contribution to the song, however, is disappointingly negligible, and doesn’t really do anything for the track.

The romantic lyrics of Cold Water such as, “I hope you know I won’t let go / I’ll be your lifeline tonight” are pretty generic and not quite coherent with the upbeat mood of the track. Given the standard of lyrics for most of the songs on the charts today, I wouldn’t have been too surprised, had I not found out that one of the co-writers of this track was Ed Sheeran. From A Team to Love Yourself, I personally, have always thought of Sheeran as one of the most talented songwriters in the current pop music industry- Cold Water, sadly, doesn’t seem to live up to his usual quality.

Moving on to the rest of the charts, the second spot this week is occupied by ex-Britain’s Got Talent contestant, Calum Scott, and his cover of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own. The slow, emotional rendition of this track in Scott’s distinctive voice is truly a pleasant break from the dance and electropop numbers which have been dominating the charts lately. Jonas Blue and JP Cooper’s catchy Perfect Strangers is in the third place, and is a vast improvement from his take on Fast Car a few months ago. The track, much like Cold Water, has a very positive vibe to it and, as Ellie Turner pointed out two weeks ago, is the ideal summer track. To be honest, it might actually be my favourite song in the top 10 of the charts this week. Further down, we have Don’t Let Me Down by the Chainsmokers, and Shawn Mendes’s Treat You Better- neither one is outstanding, but both are enjoyable listens.

Overall, as the summer begins to end, the stagnant charts seem to thankfully have taken a turn for the better. Let’s hope it keeps improving from here.