Yes, this song isn’t new – it’s been buzzing around for over a month now, but I’ve had to come to terms with balancing my split personalities of being a music lover, a DJ, and a music critic. “Hey Now” is essentially a mashup of two of Martin’s biggest singles “Hello” and “The Night Out” with a new top line by the charismatic singer Kyle. With the addition of the Cataracs, it seems obvious that the goal is to make a major crossover single.? The music lover in me fell in love with the song instantly – it has more hooks than Kylie’s “Can’t Get You Outta My Head.? It screams summer fun – heck, it’s about having mindless fun on a vacation.? The dropdown, with the big beat drum, is brilliant pop. The rap bit by Kyle is remarkably fresh and easily the least-annoying guest rap in recent memory (yes, that’s a backhanded compliment), and Martin gets points for not calling in Pitbull, Ludacris, Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj, or Lil’ Jon. The first time I dropped the radio edit, the first version sent, in my club set, the crowd went nuts – cheering and jumping around like crazy.? It has the energy of a big room electro track without the grinding noise and it sounds so familiar that people can’t help but to get into.? Yet, the music critic in me is unsettled – “Hello” was a brilliant club track that sounded fresh and made it onto radio, even here in the US, based off its infectious sounds.? For months, you couldn’t turn on Sirius BPM without hearing one of the mixes of “The Night Out” on an hourly basis (again, not a bad thing). ?As much as “Hey Now” seems like a crass attempt to cross over commercially to the heights of fellow frenchman David Guetta, Martin’s tongue-in-cheek quirkiness (and playful video) convinces me that he is still having fun and still deep in his soul loves making music and isn’t just in this fight for the dollar.? That thought makes even the jaded music critic in me love this record.? So, yeah, thumbs up – and thank you for reading my diatribe and saving me the cost of a meeting with my psychoanalyst.
Image Courtesy of Big Beat.
A second opinion: