Superman - Crystal Kay

…I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of the outfit for any number of reasons. Though it’s always nice to see her smiling on a cover, and it’s always nicer when the person smiling in said cover actually has some hint of sincerity in their faces. So, I’m slightly torn on whether to love it or hate it, but I can stand to look at it.

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Thankfully, my opinions on Superman are decidedly less divided. It was a nice surprise to see her going back to a true R&B sound on her first single under Universal, and it’s definitely a nice start to the next stage of her career. It’s an up-tempo number, though not one that’s exceedingly bright; there’s a hopeful tone to it, and quite frankly, all you can say is that it kind of makes you want to smile. I will admit, while I did like the little breakdown near the end of the song, the filtering over her vocals wasn’t something I was a huge fan of. The ending with all of the beeping over the melodic synth line and the clapping was a bit much too, as it could’ve done without the overlay, but these are small issues. Definitely something I can get behind, and I’m hoping her next release is just as good.

Then Love Road comes along. And it’s a piano ballad, but one of those bright hopeful ones instead of a depressing dark one. I’m not too sure about it, especially when the drums and sparkling sounds come in, though it’s definitely a different side to her sound than what Superman gave us, so at least the single’s keeping things diverse for now. I mean, I don’t really have much to say about it… I’m not a fan of these types of songs. But it’s nice enough, I guess.

Then the single ends with exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear after Love Road… A piano version of Superman. It’s pretty much what the title tells you it is: Superman, slowed down to a proper ballad tempo with nothing but Crystal Kay’s vocals and the piano playing the song. Thankfully, they re-recorded the song entirely for this, because if they’d used her original vocals it would have sounded WAY out-of-place, but this is not something I would put past anyone. Thankfully, she did it the right way. Unfortunately, it’s just not something I can enjoy, even if it was a nice little spin on the cheerful song. I just don’t think it was necessary.

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So, while I really only enjoyed the a-side on this single, it was one hell of an a-side to debut on a new label with. It’s a much better song than anything you would have heard on Spin The Music, unless we’re talking Konya wa No.1 or LOVE or GAME or Thank You For Talkin’ To Me Africa, the only songs I legitimately enjoyed off of the album. It’s gotten me hyped up for whatever she’s going to do next, now I’m only hoping that she won’t keep us waiting for too long for whatever that is.

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