J Thoughts: If I Had to Hear a Song 100x…

Every day, I drive an hour and a half to work. And when the work day ends, I drive an hour and a half home.

And every day, I hear the same 10-15 songs on the radio. Over. And over. And over, again.

It’s unclear how radio expects to maintain an audience with such rigid playlist parameters, but I’ll save my top 5 questions I’ve always wanted to ask a program director for another day.

The three songs I never want to hear again, and the ones I would replace them with:

The Worst – Jhené Aiko

Jhené Aiko - The Worst

Initially I was happy to hear an R&B song in heavy rotation, even if it’s one of my least favorite by Jhené Aiko. After replay 2,567 though, I’ve had enough. #theworst

Na Na – Trey Songz

Trey-Songz-NaNa-Bella-Twins

It was tolerable at first. Catchy. Yet and still, so basic. And intolerable after 7 months. Next.

Loyal – Chris Brown Ft. Lil’ Wayne

Chris Brown - "Loyal" Video

Who didn’t love “Loyal” when it was first released? Questionable lyrics aside, it’s uptempo, has an infectious beat and (what feels like) fun wordplay. Even with Chris behind bars during the promotion period  (-___-), the song took on a life of its own. But now that I’ve had AMPLE opportunity to learn and relearn all the words, I mostly cringe when I hear it. *raises hand* Not loyal.

New Flame – Chris Brown Ft. Usher, Rick Ross

While we wait on the new Chris Brown x Drake, “New Flame” can certainly hold us over. Yes, Chris can rap and “sing-talk,” but I love the songs where he is full-out crooning, he has such a wholesome sound, sighs. (Don’t ask me what he’s really saying though.)

The track gets a huge boost from the original heartbreak, Usher. I could do without Rick Ross, but you can’t win ’em all.

Dumb – Jazmine Sullivan Ft. Meek Mill

Jazmine Sullivan fans have been waiting 3 years for new music, so when I woke up to the world premiere of “Dumb” on the Breakfast Club last month, I was too hype. It has a nice groove, the obligatory rap feature — play my girl Jazzy!!

Love Never Felt So Good – Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake

I don’t care what genre the song  falls into by industry standards, it makes you feel good, plain and simple. Everyone should be playing it.  (Not that I agree with the decision to release posthumous projects, but that’s neither here nor there…)

Honorable Mentions *Drake voice* 

Good Kisser  – Usher

Maybe – Teyana Taylor Ft. Yo Gotti, Pusha T

My Girl – Diggy Ft. Trevor Jackson

J Music: The 20/20 Experience Tour (Hartford, CT)

What you didn’t get with the Legends of the Summer Tour, you get 10x over with the 20/20 Experience Tour. As far as overall production — full-band, choreography, spectacular visual element, set list and design, ebb and flow — only show that almost touches Beyonce’s I Am… Tour (the best show I’ve ever been to two snaps). The show didn’t end until almost 12 a.m. in Hartford (on a weeknight) — the arena was still at capacity, with fans on their feet, until the end.

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J Music: Legends of the Summer Tour

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I had been going back and forth about buying a Legends of the Summer ticket for months. I really wanted to experience a stadium concert and who better to see than two of my favorite artists?

The problem? The cheapest seats (in a stadium that holds 50,000) cost around $60-70.

Legends of the Summer Stadium
My view from the ether aka the 400 section.

To me, what is special about a stadium tour is the ability to reach as many fans as possible, and as more people means more revenue (and less intimacy), I would like to think it would also mean a more reasonable ticket price.

But I guess if you can still sell out a stadium charging $60-300+, why not. Moving on.

What I Loved:

• Sold-out show!

• Justin showed the range of his talent jumping on the keys and even pulling out his acoustic guitar. Vocals were on point.

• The Tennessee Kids were showing out! (Would love, love, love to see Justin perform with them in smaller venue – the 14-piece band’s individual sounds get lost with the terrible stadium acoustics.)

• Though they both just put out new albums, Jay Z and JT chose to focus more on a “best of” from their respective catalogs and performed around 40 songs.

• As my Mom pointed out, no one was the bigger star. They were able to take their two different sounds and find the common threads that made for a great show!

My Critique:

• Everyone without floor seats has to rely on the screens on either sides of the stage to really get a feel for what is happening on stage, however, the screens seemed to be positioned for those who can already see what is going on by focusing on close-up shots of the pair.

Favorite Moment:

Bob's Store Shoes
I got those shoes for free at Bob’s! Great find.

I missed the Trayvon tribute, but “Holy Grail” definitely sets the tone for the night! And of course at least 40,000* people singing a mash-up of “New York, New York” and “Empire State of Mind” in Yankee Stadium – can’t beat it.

Words of advice if you are attending?

• I would definitely suggest binoculars, as ridiculous as that sounds.
• Keep it casual and comfortable. It is too hot to do otherwise.

*Estimate