Nelly - 'Just A Dream'
But otherwise, you're basically doing alright, yes?
I only ask because there are so many hits around which aim to offer some kind of reassurance or helpful advice in times of stress; Bruno Mars, Tinie Tempah, Labrinth, wearers of hearts on sleeves to a man. And you're the people who are buying their songs.
And now here's Nelly, a man whose most notable hits to date have largely been concerned with going out and clubbing and looking at girls and being hot. And what's he suddenly decided to sing about? Sloppy love stuff. Sad sloppy love stuff about losing someone and feeling the void and wondering what the point of everything is.
Hell, even CLUBBING has lost its appeal now. In a NELLY SONG. WHAT IS GOING ON, WORLD?
(. If you liked it then you should've put a MASSIVE RING on it.)
I can only assume you're in a similar state to poor Nel yourself. You're possibly reading this in three-day-old clothes, at some ungodly hour, wondering what happened to your life. You're eating cornflakes at strange times, if you're eating at all. You're suddenly bursting into tears at the oddest moments - when you stub your toe, when the theme music to EastEnders starts, when the milk curdles in your teacup.
All of the things which used to bring you joy - the smile of a child, the company of friends, the films of Will Ferrell, now feel as irritating as a sandpaper loo roll, and there's nothing that feels real except the endless banging on the same bruise. Why? WHY? WHHYYY??
Nothing except this song. Played 20 times in a row, and then another 20 times, just for good measure. And all you've got to look forward to is the glorious day when you're finally ready to put on the sweary version of that Cee-Lo song, for a solid 29 hour period. That's when you know you're on the mend.
Chin up, chicken. You'll get there in the end.
Download: Out now
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(Fraser McAlpine)
"'Just A Dream' has a slower and less hyper pace than most of Nelly's songs, but it still has that pop appeal."
"This sounds like he's already tired, turning in treacly exit music because it's all he has left in him."
Comment number 1.
At 27th Oct 2010, MassiveFlapJack wrote:**Puts on plasters** I'm in a Nelly mood :-)
Good review Fraser.
My sister is pretty much addicted to this song since it was 'VIP Track' on 4music. Its pretty average and bland for a Nelly song. Hes normally more upbeat.
S Stars for me.
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Comment number 2.
At 27th Oct 2010, MassiveFlapJack wrote:3 Stars sorry. :/
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Comment number 3.
At 27th Oct 2010, OddOne wrote:I like the more ballad-ish feel going on, but I'll concur with Fraser and MassiveFlapJack, it's very... average, and sound like it would be the kind of song that would hit #1 in 2002.
3 stars. It's a nice listen. But keep in mind, it is only "nice".
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Comment number 4.
At 27th Oct 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:Did Nelly used to be massive or was I imagining that? If he was then this single release has been suprisingly low key, maybe it's because the song isn't that good.
2 Stars from me.
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Comment number 5.
At 27th Oct 2010, OddOne wrote:Well the song is heading for Top 10 success this Sunday, and it's #6 on iTunes.
I'm quite surprised to because, like Eminem's 'Not Afraid', it did appear to come from nowhere.
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Comment number 6.
At 27th Oct 2010, spirit wrote:Nelly has had 3 Number Ones in the UK .
Dilemma in 2002 with Kelly Rowland .
My Place in 2004 .
And the wonderful Over and Over with country singer Tim McGraw in 2005.
I also really like Ride Wit Me and Hot in Herre .
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Comment number 7.
At 27th Oct 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:I really really like this. It's radio friendly but actually sounds sincere and doesn't follow the dance trend.
And this has been a Top 10 in the US and is something of a comeback for Nelly.
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Comment number 8.
At 28th Oct 2010, kutox wrote:I quite like it too. Don't love it, but as Randy says - it feels sincere, and also people will relate to it. There's some genuine feeling to this song. It's quite different to most of his other hits like Hot In Herre anyway.
I'm surprised it's doing so well over here - I doubt it had much airplay before it's release, and I thought Nelly had become yet another one of those once-big American singers who just gets forgotten about after a few years without a big hit. Glad he's earned some success with this song without, as Randy says, following this current club-meets-pop trend everyone seems to be doing.
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