Audio By Carbonatix
With Missy Elliott missing in action the past few years (fyi, she has a new album coming out in January), her producer Timbaland’s been busy working with Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and…Miley Cyrus.
It sure would have been fun to have been in the studio then.
The teen pop star’s on Tim’s latest album, Shock Value II. Tim has even gone so far to say Cyrus has an amazing voice and he’s leaving hip-hop for pop.
No joke.
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But after listening to both volumes of Shock Value, this is a great move for Tim. On his first album, he brought Elton John to people who may have never listened to the British star on a very pretty track, and on his current disc, the strongest tracks are surprisingly from Cyrus, JoJo, Katy Perry and Daughtry.
He’s already had radio success with his collabos with Timberlake (“Carry Out”) and Furtado (“Morning After Dark”), which is no surprise, but what he produced for the other pop musicians is really neat. While Cyrus’ track, “We Belong to the Music,” sounds like it could be off any of her albums, Perry’s (“If We Ever Meet Again”) is more disco electronic than we’re used to, and Daughtry’s (“Long Way Down”) actually has a groove.
And I didn’t even recognize JoJo’s voice in her song, “Lose Control,” since it has a rapper cameo and a hip-hoppish beat. The song’s definitely more pop, but don’t worry, Tim hasn’t really left hip-hop for good.
I think it’s great Tim’s being innovative and mish-mashing genres. I’d love for him to feature some country, metal or electronic artists on his next album. Maybe he could actually give Owl City some edge.