Single Review: Prince – ‘FALLINLOVE2NITE’ (Feat. Zooey Deschanel)
2 min read
We can take a couple of things as read before jumping into The Purple One’s latest offering FALLINLOVE2NITE, featuring television and cinemas most “a-dork-able” sweetheart Zooey Deschanel:
Firstly, Prince exists purely in his own world and anything he does is entirely on his own terms; secondly, he must be a fan of Fox’s New Girl as he appeared in the episode directly following the NFL Superbowl to a ludicrously large viewership and finally as ever, he still has a blatant disdain for the conventions of grammar.
His appearance on the New Girl episode in question was a little shoehorned in terms of the arc of the show’s plot, but hey – if Prince wants to be on TV then by gum, somebody better get Prince on TV! FALLINLOVE2NITE first appeared at the climax of a party taking place at his house, culminating in the cast dancing onstage with him and Deschanel’s character Jess tentatively picking up a mic and joining in.
It’s a little strange that this would be released as a single, since it’s a pretty innocuous club-jam that’s pretty middle-of-the-road for someone to whom the term “musical genius” is deservedly applicable. Zooey is no musical slouch herself either having released three albums with M Ward under the name She & Him as well as writing and performing the theme for New Girl. Sadly, her sultry jazzy croon doesn’t really gel with the massive four-on-the-floor beats and intricate synth/brass interplay on FALLINLOVE2NITE and it feels like a bit of a compromise for both artists.
All the way back to If I Was Your Girlfriend from his Sign O’ The Times record, Prince has always been adept at playing the androgyny card by pitch shifting his vocals to take on the feminine role in his songs. It’s a clever trick and definitely makes your ears prick up, but when you arguably have one of the archetypes of modern femininity guesting on your track, do you REALLY need to play the girl?
Unfortunately, the premise of FALLINLOVE2NITE is a little more enticing than the final product. While there’s no doubt that both Prince and Zooey are fantastic musicians in their own right, there’s just something a little oil-and-water about the whole thing that keeps it from reaching the heights either have achieved on their own.
