Nicole Scherzinger - Singles Review

No available in the U.S. to purchase yet, but go ahead and listen

Official Single Cover

Nicole Scherzinger, former lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls, has been trying her hand at being a solo artist, even when we didn't realize it; "Jai-Ho (You Are My Destiny)" was released "The Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger". Her now shelved debut album, "Her Name is Nicole" attempted to garner attention through a series of promotional singles (or rather a slew), none of which really had staying power (though Supervillain wasn't half bad).

In comes one of various producers-of-the-moment RedOne, now synonymous with radio-friendly pop after producing most of Lady Gaga's hit singles (Poker Face, Just Dance, Bad Romance, Alejandro). Synth-pop with a steady bass beat, "Poison" was made for the dance-floor, which nowadays seems to be the mainstream flavor of choice. With his help, there may be some viability left in her solo career. In the U.K. Despite being from the U.S. (yes Hawaii is a state), her single has yet to be released here, though it has fared quite well overseas, peaking at #3 on the U.K. singles charts, bolstered by a series of live television performances, notably a tricked out X Factor appearance (American Idols' U.K. predecessor). However, being that the U.K. is the size of Texas, a #1 there VS. a #1 in the U.S. are two very different things; even a fantastic song can flop without proper promotion so we'll see if she releases it in the U.S.

That beings us to the follow-up single, "Poison" was released October '10. Keeping with the same vibe as her "debut" single, "Don't Hold Your Breathe" is a mid-tempo pop song, not quite a ballad, but for sure containing the essence of a woman scorned, it deals with an ambiguous situation of a guy doin' her wrong, can't we all relate? "What you did to me, boy I can't forget, if you think I'm comin' back, Don't Hold Your Brea-e-eth"

The history behind this song is an interesting one, originally performed by Timberland and Keri Hilson (cause they haven't done enough songs together) and leaked back in 2008, the song had a harder, colder vibe and featured a man VS. woman dynamic and was pretty...like not good, its understandable why he passed on featuring it, presumably on Shock Value. 

No word on who officially produced Nicole's version, but they updated the song in a big way, the demo featured more of a rock-pop-edge and slight alterations to the chorus (and in my opinion, was sung by Kelly Rowland as a demo for HER newest dance-flavored effort, she was rumored to have had it in her hands). There are two versions with Nicole's vocals now circulating the interwebs, the first is in the vein of the demo, opening with sparking synths and overlayed with background vocals "ohh ohh"-ing over her appropriately breathy voice. The noticeable difference between the two is the second one has less emphasis on hard guitar strums and drumming and goes more fully into the synths and dance beat. It is possible that the second version that's out there is Dave Aude's radio edit of her single, as he confirmed he is remixing it, however there are some minor differences in the second half of the songs vocals.

In any case, the verdict is that Nicole has made a smart move in jumping on the bandwagon with every other artist trying to re-invent themselves, though it presents nothing new to the world of music, so far her "new" sound is very listen-able and radio-friendly, so we'll see if she will have a little more longevity this time, after all, she don't got her Dolls to fall back on no mo'.

Made by yours truly, no official cover yet

EDIT: Cover art revealed today, possibly official