Blackground/Interscope recording artist J. Lewis is a little bit Justin Timberlake, a little bit Mike Posner and a little bit Jay Sean all neatly rolled up into one attractive pop package. His new single, “Shut ‘Em Up” actually came out at the end of October and at that time I did download it…I just haven’t really listened to it until now. I tend to do that on ‘New Music Tuesdays,’ peruse through all of the new digital releases and download a bunch of shit. Sometimes I listen to it right away…sometimes I sit on it for a while. In the case of J. Lewis – I sat on it. Watching the Erik White-directed video I’m left a little bored. J. Lewis is a good looking guy with a really nice voice and lots of urban/top 40 radio appeal…but the video and the song just don’t do enough to showcase his talent. As much as I complain about paltry pop ballads, they do a good job showcasing an artist’s talent. I’d kinda like to hear J. Lewis just sing a ballad.
“Shut ‘Em Up” has a rather irritating hook, if you ask me and while it does give Lewis plenty of riffs to sing, it all comes back to the hook. As far as J. Lewis singles go, I’d much rather listen to “Dancin’ For Me” featuring Flo-Rida (Watch HERE). Not only does the song better showcase Lewis’ vocal abilities, but it has Flo-Rida. Done and done.
Whatever your thoughts are on these two songs, I think J. Lewis is someone to keep an eye out for in 2011. He’s currently working on his debut album, to be released in 2011 on Blackground/Interscope Records. Download “Shut ‘Em Up” on iTunes HERE.