Single Review: Dami Im – ‘Gladiator’
1 min read
Dami Im has avoided the dreaded one-hit wonder status thanks to Super Love earlier this year.
Gladiator is the follow-up and second single off the X Factor Australia winner’s upcoming untitled third album. However, it does not really add anything new to the ’empowerment-pop’ genre. There is a lot of Katy Perry’s Roar in the track, especially with the airy, tribal beats. Despite Im’s soulful, punchy and double-tracked voice being inflected with a bit of vibrato, P!nk’s generic anthems come to mind far too easily.
Nevertheless, the choruses’ sweet yet memorable melody and the vocal harmonies exude uncontainable joy and should allow the track to succeed on pop radio. ‘I will fight for your love, like a gladiator’ is a defiant, decisive line that sums up what the song is all about, even though the lyrics are not that deep.
The bridge then effortlessly segues into the final chorus, which showcases even more of Im’s powerhouse vocals through her ad-libs. It is also a pleasant surprise that Im’s vocals on this single do not sound as auto-tuned as they did on Super Love.
Gladiator may be another generic song about empowerment, but should give Dami Im another hit single that goes hand in hand with her message and image.
