Feedback for POP R&B/FUNK SONG

[WSAO]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some clarification on the feedback for this song:
https://www.taxi.com/members/WJQg0yIBTr ... -i-like-it

Review:
https://www.taxi.com/members/WJQg0yIBTr ... GdjFxHkuEw

Listing:
POP R&B/FUNK SONGS with MALE vocals are needed by an International Label for a Multi-Platinum, award-winning BOY BAND with Global commercial success. This powerhouse group has dominated charts worldwide and is now on the hunt for fresh material!

This Label is looking for Up-Tempo Songs in the general stylistic wheelhouse of the following examples:

"GIRLS" by The Kid LAROI
https://youtu.be/p9wsEOVK4cw

"Moves" by Olly Murs ft. Snoop Dogg
https://youtu.be/wogS2WPp-0g

"It's ok I'm ok" by Tate McRae
https://youtu.be/egMrw9OEags

"Levels" by Nick Jonas
https://youtu.be/taViGR5VT1U

QUOTING THE LABEL: "We are looking for a dance Pop track blended with elements of R&B and/or Funk (please avoid using brass sounds). It needs to have an uptempo and exciting rhythm with a chorus that can be sung by ensemble vocalists (in all parts) The hook should have a simple melody line that’s easy to follow."

Please submit well-crafted Pop R&B/Funk Songs with loads of danceable energy and lots of potential to become this group's next big hit! This Label is looking for tracks with an exciting, up-tempo sound and easy-to-follow vocal hooks that can be sung by an ensemble. Exciting beats, infectious motifs, excellent production, earworm choruses, solid arrangements, and well-crafted lyrics in English are all needed. Instrumentation should stay in the general ballpark of the references and other similar Pop Songs. Please make sure that any virtual instruments or samples you use are high-quality and not dated-sounding. Compelling, well-performed Male vocals are needed.


This track has been forwarded three times before for similar listings with comparable references, each reviewed by different screeners.
Regarding the listing references:
Two of them (The Kid Laroi and Tate) have choruses with less energy than the verses.
The other two (Olly and Nicky) don’t have a dramatic energy shift between the verse and chorus.
Given this, I found it a bit confusing when the screener mentioned that the song was returned because the hook "lost energy." None of the previous screeners mentioned concerns about the chorus, and the song does have a noticeable shift in groove and intensity from the pre-chorus.

Could you provide more insight into this feedback?

Thanks!

[douglasricketts]

Hey Andre, I hear it too. Modern boy band songs get bigger & bigger for each chorus. After all the fun syncopation and rhythm of the verse, the energy drops.

It's a boy band, you'll have at least four or five voices to play with, right? I'd take this bit of the screener's comment to heart: "Perhaps something more rhythmic in a higher range would keep the energy up."

[WSAO]

Hi Doug
I agree with you that boy bands often have big choruses, but the references provided don’t really follow that approach.
They mostly just have an extra backup vocal in the chorus, and they don’t sound significantly bigger compared to the verse or pre-chorus.
That’s why I was a bit confused.
Also, if the song gets approved, the band will re-record it and can change anything they want—including making the chorus bigger. It’s really just a matter of seeing if the song has potential.
Thanks!

[eeoo]

Is it one of those where the listing party is the one doing the screening? In that case it's more "we know what we want and this isn't it" and the review isn't really necessary. Just a thought. Sounds well done to me. Only thing that made take pause was I thought the chorus was another verse after that pre chorus. Totally subjective but I thought the pre was catchier than the chorus. Nice work regardless!

EO

[WSAO]

Is it one of those where the listing party is the one doing the screening? In that case it's more "we know what we want and this isn't it" and the review isn't really necessary. Just a thought. Sounds well done to me. Only thing that made take pause was I thought the chorus was another verse after that pre chorus. Totally subjective but I thought the pre was catchier than the chorus. Nice work regardless!

EO

Hi Ethan,

There’s a chance, but they didn’t mention that the screener was the client in this case. I think he just didn’t like the song enough but still had to provide feedback.

Thanks.

[JPhernandez]

Hi everyone,

Great song! Even though they provided references, sometimes it's good to go back to the basics and look at older successful boy bands like NSYNC, Jonas Brothers, and One Direction. Keep in mind that these international multi-platinum labels often have the same executives who signed or worked with these groups in the past or are direct competitors. So they naturally follow a similar structure, just with fresh voices, styles, and lyrics. Meanwhile, producers take care of the modern-era effects.

That’s just my opinion, but yeah, keep the momentum going on those choruses!

JH