| Tuesday 27 September 2005 |
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Shake It Off / Get Your Number
For a while there, I was quite content with "Shake It Off", the first half of Mariah Carey's new double A-side single, released 3 October. As ever, it's a lesson in smooth R&B magic. Mariah's voice effortlessly shifts from sexy low to heavenly high, while the simple keyboard stabs create a tune as catchy and dance-inducing as you would expect. But something is bothering me and I can't quite put my finger on it.
It's the chorus. More specifically, it's the lyrics in the chorus. Not the standard "you keep on playing games" or the "you know I'm here to stay". No, it's the "shake it off, just like the Calgon commercial". That's Calgon, as in the handy tablets which keep the intestines of your washing machine limescale-free, usefully reducing the chances of a breakdown.
Fair enough, if this was Goldie Lookin' Chain, I'd expect an obscure reference to daytime television commercials. However, from the world's number one diva I expect a product range including Louis Vutton and Cristal champagne. Surely, the failure of Mariah's movie Glitter and the troubles that followed haven't lowered her commercial value from Pepsi to Calgon? Are we due an advert where Carey herself belts out the immortal line "washing machines live longer with Calgon" in high falsetto, finishing with a close-up of her glinting smile?
Probably not. Who listens to lyrics anyway? R&B is about getting bodies to rub against each other on a dance floor and "Shake It Off" does the job perfectly. As does "Get Your Number", a breezy hip-pop track featuring Jermaine Dupri sounding extraordinarily like Nelly. So, guaranteed to hit the top 10, this single does exactly what it says on the tin... No, wait, surely not Ronseal too? (NTL World UK)
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