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| Melanie Amaro, winner of the very first U.S. X-Factor competition sure has been taking her sweet time with her debut album. She released her debut single, the incredibly catchy, auto-tuned-to-death dance/pop jam “Don’t Fail Me Now” back in September, followed by the more R&B “Love Me Now,” both of which saw some success on a couple of different charts here in America. Nearly a month later, the music video for “Don’t Fail Me Now” debuted on Melanie’s VEVO page. Now I appreciate the fact that her label (Epic Records/Syco Music) don’t want to rush anything, but come on! At least put out another single for us to chew on while we wait? |
Check out the Benny Boom-directed video clip for “Don’t Fail Me Now” BELOW. The video is your standard reality series winner-debut music video, featuring Melanie play acting with a cute boy, plenty of product placement and Melanie all glammed up showcasing her pop star potential. Not really anything groundbreaking but it serves it’s purpose.
“Don’t Fail Me Now” was written by pop singer/songwriter Livvi Frank and produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. I think it’s smart that Melanie and company are choosing to showcase different sides of Melanie with the first two singles, targeting different radio formats definitely increases her hitmaking chances. Given that she’s the FIRST winner of the X-Factor, there’s a lot riding on her success. Sure, the show has already been picked up for a third season but the ratings haven’t exactly been STELLAR. If X-Factor becomes known as a series that churns out flop-after-flop, who knows what it’s future might hold. That being said, The Voice isn’t exactly producing mega stars and it’s still going strong so who knows what that says. As far as Melanie is concerned, I choose to remain cautiously optimistic. No doubt, girl’s got vocal chops. The question is does she have what it takes to become a global pop star?
“Don’t Fail Me Now” is available for download here in the States (iTunes). Thanks to a series of dance remixes by PaperCha$er, Ferry Corsten, Flexican and Sex Ray Vision, the song became Melanie’s second top 10 dance hit, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Her version of Aretha Franklin‘s “Respect” (featured in a Pepsi Superbowl ad) peaked at #3 on the dance chart. Her debut album is slated for release on December 4th.
Check out Melanie Amaro on the web: