Beyonce's new single "Déja Vu" (Sony Urban / Columbia) doesn't club you over the head with its hotness the way "Crazy in Love" did. This one's smoother, with a jazzier vocal take over the Stevie Wonder-soul horns and the midtempo groove. Then Jay-Z drops a couple of hot verses ("I don't make the list, don't be mad at me/I just make the hits, like a factory") and knocks it out of the park.
Janet Jackson's new single "Call on Me" (Virgin) is laid back, too - a breezy duet with Nelly that goes back to her breathy, carefree hits "Doesn't Really Matter" and "Runaway." Its slight, sweet melody could be a summer sleeper hit, a welcome change of pace from all the brassy, in-your-face beats out right now.
Jessica Simpson, on the other hand, goes glitzy and retro on "A Public Affair" (Columbia), channeling "Janet"-era Jackson doing a song that sounds like Madonna's "Causing a Commotion" and Diana Ross' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" smashed together. It works, but sounds so unlike Simpson's past, it may get confused as a new song from musical blank slate Paris Hilton.
Full review here.
Listen to Beyonce's "Deja Vu" here.
Listen to Janet's "Call on Me" here. (need RealPlayer)
Listen to Jessica's "A Public Affair" here.