Album Review: Jason Derulo – Tattoos
3 min read
Jason Derulo has never been my cup of tea. Sure his songs are catchy I guess, and his dancing is phenomenal, so watching his performances are great, but 9 times out of 10 I would change the station if his song came on the radio. His new album though is a totally different story. Every song he has released from Tattoos I cannot get enough of. And after listening to the rest of the album, that’s not going to change.
At the beginning of 2012, Derulo broke a vertebrae in his neck when rehearsing for his tour, putting him in hospital and almost paralyzing him. This injury, however, brought him and at that point in time, new girlfriend Jordin Sparks closer together, cementing their relationship, and one can’t help but think that this album is almost entirely about her. It’s the first album since this serious injury, and all but a handful of the songs are romantic in nature.
Tattoos really sticks to what Jason Derulo knows best: fun, catchy dance tunes with a hip hop edge. The first single is the album opener. The Other Side is, of course, allegedly written about Sparks, and is a perfect electronic/pop/r’n’b single for the top 40 charts. It’s catchy and upbeat, with powerful vocals and lyrics to make anyone’s heart melt: “And I know/ We ain’t friends anymore/ If we walk down this road/ We’ll be lovers for sure”, it’s all about when friends become something more, a situation I’m sure a lot of people can relate to on some level. The second track is the second single from the album, so listeners are already familiar with the material and, considering how well these singles have been doing on the radio, are probably hooked. Talk Dirty features rapper 2 Chainz, and is in my opinion, the most fun song on the album. Not to be taken seriously, with lyrics such as “Been around the world, don’t speak the language/ But your booty don’t need the language/ All I really need to understand is/ When you talk dirty to me”, it’s a catchy and sexy song; something to dance and fool around to.
The rest of the album weaves through serious love songs, such as Marry Me, a slower, seductive and romantic pop song (surprise surprise), and Rest of My Life, a perfect upbeat pop song that leaves listeners feeling incredibly happy and loved up, to really fun songs that feature a lot of brass and witty pop culture references such as Trumpets, and more hard core EDM songs such as On Fire, featuring Pit Bull and Side Effects, which has a cool Spanish twist.
Throughout the whole album though, the recurring theme of love, romance, and sex is really prevalent, but it never gets boring. It’s actually just the opposite, you’re left feeling like you’re included in Derulo’s love, probably due to how fun and relatable all of the songs on Tattoos. What I thought was especially cool was that in quite a few tracks, tattoos were mentioned, which shows that the album title was not just chosen because of the title of a track, but as a subtle theme.
All in all, Tattoos is a great album that will get pretty much anyone in a great mood due to its smooth, seductive lyrics, catchy pop songs, and fun dance tunes. Jason Derulo, you have finally won me over.
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