Friday, August 24, 2012

Oh My! What a Sexy New Bridge!



Last night at The Americana, Haley Reinhart performed the two songs she's indicated are top contenders for her next single: Oh My! and Undone. Haley's never been shy about making it clear which one she prefers (Oh My!), and last night she did her best to drive home that point by botching the lyrics and just going through the motions of Undone. It was the first time she'd ever performed the song live, and, based on how unenthused she seemed to be, I'd say likely the last.

My guess: Interscope "powers that be" forced her to perform it against her will, Haley was none to happy about it, and it showed (see video below).


It's an interesting dynamic, really. Despite helping co-write Undone (likely at gunpoint) for her album, Haley has made it perfectly clear that she's really not into that song (neither am I, for the record). It's a somber, somewhat cheesy pop-ballad about the trauma of an emotional breakup, and that just ain't what our girl is about. She's Haley Fucking Reinhart, the torch singing jazz phenom with a rocker soul, not some whiny pop-ballad princess crying about relationship issues!

The blessing/curse for Haley, though, is that Undone is her most popular song amongst teenage girls - and record labels drool over teenage girls. They are by far the most fanatical of fans, and virtually drive the entire pop music industry by themselves.  

Oh My!, on the other hand, is a very adult themed, sexually charged track centered around Haley having powerful orgasms in the sticky summer heat. The music has a Motown vibe with a somewhat distorted horn barrage and heavily echoed vocals.  The overall sound is themed after the James Bond movies of the 1960's. There's also a rap interlude by BoB... BUT WAIT!! Maybe NOT!  HA! Haley substitutes the rap bridge with a new bridge she penned with her dad after BoB fucked her over at Lollapalooza! (see video below)


I think this new bridge of Haley's is pretty damn good. Adding more haunting music and vocal stylings fits much better into the flow of the track than that idiot mercenary rapper ever did. The lyrics also fit Haley and the song much better, so my hope is that she'll get a chance to use this version as a single should they release it to radio.

Oh, and fuck you, BoB!!


Of course, as my readers know by now, I'm not a real big fan of Oh My!, either.  For my tastes, it's overproduced, distracting, and the music can't be replicated live so it always requires soundtrack. I'd much rather see Spiderweb, Let's Run Away, Now That You're Here or Hit The Ground Running as her next single, but since I will not be getting my way on that I'd choose Oh My! over Undone. At least it's somewhat uptempo, fun, light, offers a pretty good hook and has the sex appeal.

Anyway, hopefully she gets a 2nd single, period. The album sales weren't sensational, and STILL no tour is booked as of this posting, so it's certainly not a given. Let's hope that it all comes together, and, more importantly, that Haley is able to book a gig in SE FL so Kenny Poo can see her perform live again!

What say you?

15 comments:

  1. Very well written commentary, Kenny Poo! Now, about not liking Undone... I know that you aren't into the pop ballad thing, but I happen to love it! It's very moving, and I can relate so much with the lyrics and emotions. Her voice is like a dream, too! It makes me cry every time I hear it. I definitely think you're right that she isn't "into it", though. If she doesn't like it it will be hard to promote, so like you said, probably Oh My! makes the better choice.

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    1. Thanks for the comment! Do I know you, BTW? PLEASE, feel free to give me your name in the future so we can enjoy the discussion more. :)

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  2. while she may not like "undone"... she helped write it, and it made the album. she knew what she was getting into. This is a song that america and pop radio will eat up... I'm not against anything that will bring her success.

    with that being said, having one breakout single means her other songs' chances of being played by radio are multiplied. It comes down to whether the radio people are more partial to either Undone or Oh My.

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  3. Gah! Another anonymous! lol. Well, the danger with releasing a song she clearly doesn't believe in or care for is she won't be enthusiastically promoting it. Plus, if Haley wants to be taken seriously as a jazz singer or a rocker moving forward, but becomes labeled an American Idol pop-ballad princess by virtue of Undone, it'll be a real tough stigma problem for her to overcome.

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    1. I don't think one pop ballad will discredit her. at least it's not a HORRIBLE song, like Britney or Rihanna type. I guess we can agree to disagree.

      By the way, the uploader of the videos you posted here deleted them. she uploaded hd versions.

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    2. Thanks for the update! I've replaced the vids with the new HD versions. Agreeing to disagree is fine, because I know we both have what's best for Haley at heart. :)

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  4. Here's the thing Ken- it's clear that Interscope (who I essentially despise) wants her to release "Undone". They've already created a lyric video for it. I doubt they care what Haley thinks about it being her next single- I feel fairly confident in saying it WILL be. I can't even compare "Undone" to "Oh My" because it's like comparing apples and oranges.

    Haley literally sounded like she was singing Undone at knife point- and that's not going to serve her well with Jimmy Iovine and TPTB. If she thinks she's going to fight them and win, I think she's sadly mistaken. From my research, the label generally chooses both the first and second singles- so if Haley wants another release, she best suck it up and start enjoying Undone, because commercially, it's got a far better chance of getting decent radio play.

    A question for you- maybe you know- did "Free" ever get officially sent to radio by Interscope? Or was it only auto adds by individual radio stations?

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    1. A lyric vid is no guarantee it's the next single. It was made because "Undone" was in the movie "Step Up Revolution". I wouldn't say Undone is a "done deal" as her next single. Oh My! is also getting a lot of promo right now. In fact, just last night it was given airtime on "Rookie Blue".

      Actually, there's no guarantee there even will be another single (though I sure hope so).

      Yes, Free was sent to HAC radio for official adds. :)

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  5. Another well written post--and I learned a few things. I guess I haven't listened to the lyrics of Oh My that closely! HA!

    Undone is ok--it's better than a lot of shit that's on pop radio. However, a lot of that is because Haley is such a good singer. It's not my fave either. It's just an ok song. I'd like to hear Haley sing this Undun LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMF5GM0Kt8

    IA that Oh My would make a better single. Like u--I don't love it--but it's got a lot of oomph to it. I don't know anything about BoB--but one day he will be begging to rap on a Haley tune.

    If I were Interscope--Hit the Ground Running would have def been the 1st single. It's one of my faves on the cd. It's a song that I think young girls could get behind--the nobody owns me and I don't take no shit theme. And then I would of followed it up with Spiderweb as the 2nd single. It's another forceful kind of lyric. Laura

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  6. Ken why so negative. Of course there will be a second and a third single and probably more.
    Haley is much too talented and LU too well received and reviewed for her not to have continued success. This honey is the real deal and you can take that to the bank. Her bright future awaits. Grab a chair and watch.

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  7. hear is what i think...first you said she forgot the lyrics--kenny this is the first time she performed it..when she performs undone its like my whole world goes into another space..so to does oh my but in a different way, i dont know why you being so negative, maybe your not a pop ballad fan..neither much is haley but it is her song she must have some love for it..and for haley successive career she must and should release it!! other song i think to make great singles are- oh my, keep coming back,liar, wonderland,spiderweb,HTGR and maybe all :P lol but for me this post was irrelevant

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    1. Don't be so hard on yourself! Your post may have been poorly written, but not irrelevant. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right?

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  8. At this point in time, it looks like Haley is still fighting for "Oh My" enough, that she and her dad wrote the verse to replace B.B.B's rap! Good for her. B.O.B bullshit rap/diss is the reason why it won't be a single. I never hoped for it would be TBH! maybe, they can get Hales in the studio and re-record (and re-produce it!) and release it in the U.K.

    As far as "Undone" goes, yeah it doesn't reflect the album all that well, but like you say, Kenny, girls are connecting to it. Maybe Interscope did twist Haley's arm to get it on the album, but it's on their and it's her song...so she has to OWN it!

    Debuting opening up for Macy Gray was not the right place IMHO. Her set at that concert confuzzled me! It should have been of the R&B/Soul and rock flavor..ie Wasted Tears, Now That You're Here, keep Coming Back and "Oh My"

    Bottom line is that if the label wants it as a second single, then as a fan, I'm completely down for it! Anything to boost sales and gain new fans.

    George @halienNation

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    1. I am with you George , anything to get Haley on the charts & keep her there!

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    2. Well, I think we all can agree that we want Haley to be successful. I think I made that clear in my post. :)

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