Written by Angelo Gingerelli
Jason Derulo returns with his fourth studio album in five years with the aptly titled Everything is Four and while the album isn’t breaking any new ground in the R&B/Pop/Dance genre it will provide a fun summer soundtrack.
Since his debut in 2010, Derulo has combined a great voice and skilled singing with fun pop/dance production and the kind of lyrics where it’s hard to tell if he’s actually serious (his last hit repeated the phrase “Turn around and wiggle that big fat butt” several times) that hasn’t been heard since R. Kelly was topping the charts. Everything is Four doesn’t deviate from this formula and adds another solid entry in his catalog.
The album starts strong with the hit single “Want To Want Me” and the soon-to-be-a-hit “Get Ugly.” The other early cuts are similar, in that they all sound like they could be in heavy rotation on pop radio over the next few months. After establishing the surefire hits up front the album ventures into several collaboration tracks clearly aimed at exposing Derulo to new audiences like Pop (Meghan Trainor), R&B (K. Michelle), Latin Pop (Jennifer Lopez) and an epic collaboration with Stevie Wonder and Keith Urban. This is where the album starts to lose steam because while none of these songs are outright terrible, they all sound like the kind of throwaway album cuts that all but the biggest fans of his collaborators will quickly forget. To use a cliche, this section of the record proves that when an artist tries to be everything to everybody they often end up being nothing to anybody.
The record ends with a few solid solo cuts and the fun and somewhat immature “X2CU” about wanting an ex-girlfriend to see a current girlfriend because she’s so attractive. Like most of the album, it’s not overly clever or creative, but it is undeniably fun.
Stand Out Tracks: “Want To Want Me” “Get Ugly” and “X2CU”
Perfect For: A Jersey shore road trip or getting ready for a night on the town
Rating: 7/10
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