Love on Top, Beyonce
So this might be a shamelessly mainstream song for an music blog post, but a good song is a good song. Beyonce has been one of the most magnetic, compelling, and flat-out absurdly talented stars of the past decade. Her hits have truly universal appeal. Seriously, find one person who doesn’t like “Crazy in Love.” Her recently released fourth album, the aptly titled 4, hasn’t made quite as big of a splash as her past three efforts. Maybe it’s because the majority of its material is more low-key than the brassiness of her past hits. However, there are some truly great tracks on this album, most notably the old-school throwback “Love On Top.” The song first garnered national attention when she performed it on the VMA’s, only to then reveal her baby bump to the world. It appeared on the iTunes singles chart for about two days afterwards and then plummeted back into obscurity. And what a shame, because this song is one of her all-time best. Riding a classic chord progression and soulful horns, Beyonce delivers some of her smoothest, most soulful vocals to date. The chorus is insanely catchy, and just in case it wasn’t successfully lodged in your head after the first two go-arounds, Beyonce repeats it five times at the end through a truly absurd four key changes. Just when you think she can’t possibly sing any higher, she just keeps going. What a song – filled with loving emotion, soul, and true musical talent. I hope you love this track as much as I do, because I’ve played it about twenty times in past 24 hours.
