4/5 stars.
release date: June 1, 2010 (officially on Youtube)
Take a good look at this face and get ready to hear a whole lot about newcomer, Sky Ferreira. Just 17 years old, Ferreira is signed with EMI and currently working on her debut album which is slated for a 2010 release. This is the chick that apparently made the late Michael Jackson cry when she once sang for him!
Ferreira has already created an impressive internet buzz with her viral video for “17,” a great introduction to both her music and image. The video and song both make it clear why Disney never wanted Ferreira like the rest of her peers – not that she was barking up that tree to begin with.
The debut single, One, produced by Bloodshy & Avant (amazing producers responsible for a bunch of Britney tunes we all know and love) is electropop like everything else on the radio, of course, but musically offers a bit more than a Jason Derulo or Ke$ha song. Lyrically, this ditty won’t boggle your mind or anything, but the production on this song is incredible. In fact, I feel like it almost may be a little too smart for the radio. Although Ferreira’s sweet, poppy vocals help add the elements needed for a Top 40 radio-friendly tune (if that’s the route Ferreira & marketing co. plan to take), I’m having a hard time imagining One blaring from my car stereo after a commercial. Nevertheless, I can’t wait for an instrumental version of this to be released. It reminds me a lot of the English electronic group, Hot Chip.
The lack of depth in the lyrics (I might be expecting too much from a pop song, though) and the weird autotune/voice effects are what keep this song from being flawless. Ferreira has a beautiful, unusual voice, and sadly, One doesn’t show it off, whatsoever. Here’s to hoping that the songs on her album showcase her voice instead of burying it beneath autotune and effects.
