The “Now That’s What I Call Music!” compilation series has made over thirty CDs, including country and Christmas editions and a Power Ballad album. Each season the team put together a hits compilation that features the best songs for that period. The following review of the So Fresh Hits of Spring 2010 CD will help you get a feel for the series – and the album! – before you buy it.
Hits of Spring features 20 tracks and a DVD. You can also get the lyrics online – might be a good thing for those road trips with your mates!
The album starts with a strong showing – it begins with Enrique Iglesias and his collaboration with Pitbull.
The song “I Like It” is Iglesias’ first number one hit since 2001’s “Hero.” A real favourite with many, in my view the song is competent if not outstanding. I was pleased to see Iglesias broadening his musical appeal and like the combination with Pitbull. It’s a crowd-pleasing, big sounding dance-y track and is going gangbusters on the charts.
Also featured on the album are newcomers Taio Cruz and Mike Posner, who both spent weeks on the top of the charts with their debut songs.
Both songs are young but fun songs that spent so much time on radio playlists that they got stuck in your head whether you liked them or not. You’ll certainly recognise these. Fortunately, “Dynamite” and “Cooler Than Me” are both sleeper hits, songs that grow on you after you hear them more than a few times, which is what you want from a long-playing CD compilation like this one.
Usher’s second hit single of the year, “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” is more of a dance song while “OMG” was a club song, but “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” is a good example of a mature artist sounding mature while still singing songs that perfectly match what all the twenty-somethings are singing.
Ke$ha’s contribution to this disc is her fourth single from her debut album. “Take It Off” perfectly coincides with Ke$sha’s party girl image, yet straddles the line of being sexy and seductive without being trashy. Unfortunately, and perhaps a bit harshly, she is Often called a second rate Katy Perry – if that helps you get a feel for her music a little better.
Train and Rihanna both have songs on this CD, but though great songs, neither of their contributions were their best singles of the year even thus far – Train’s “If It’s Love” was definitely eclipsed by the success of “Hey Soul Sister” and Rihanna’s single “Rockstar 101” was nowhere near as much of a hit as “Rude Boy.” Still, good to have a couple of solid songs on the album by established artists.
Of course, there wouldn’t be a “hit singles list” CD without one, if not more, contribution by Justin Bieber. From his highly successful My World 2.0 album, “Somebody To Love” is the latest release by Bieber, a collaboration with Usher that, like every other single of his, went to the top of the charts.
The good times just keep rolling for this boy wonder! I’ve kind of outgrown it – so for me it’s jarring to see a sixteen year old artist that looks and sounds as though he’s fourteen singing about needing to find somebody to love – but nonetheless this song is in the top three of Justin Bieber singles, so a worthy inclusion on the album and you’ll enjoy it.
All in all, the So Fresh Hits Of Spring Album 2010 is a diverse and upbeat compilation CD with plenty of songs that are sure to please.