Awesome Collaborations

PRINCESS OF CHINA ( Coldplay featuring Rihanna)

We’ve had Princess of China around for ages but seeing it performed at the Paralympics Closing Ceremony just sort of reinforced it and it is definitely one of my favourite Coldplay songs. I kind of fall in and out of love with Charlie Brown, Viva la Vida, Paradise and Yellow but this one always makes me smile when I hear it. OK, so it’s not as deep as The Scientist (which is my all time favourite) but somehow that kind of adds to the appeal. And from the Rihanna side, almost all of the time, I prefer it when she collaborates with other people rather than does solo singles. Like Only Girl and What’s My Name came out at around about the same time and I just thought What’s My Name with Drake was so much better. All of her songs are like that. We Found Love (ft. Calvin Harris) versus Where Have You Been is a no-brainer for me. And her all time biggest hit was Umbrella which as we all know was with Jay-Z. And it’s the same story with Princess of China: the sound of her voice doesn’t annoy me, it actually makes me smile. And with Coldplay… it’s like perfection.

GOOD TIME (Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen)

I think Carly Rae Jepsen is Canadian, right? Anyway, before her huge #1 hit aka Call Me Maybe, I had never even heard of her. And when I saw that song at the top of the charts I was like ‘Huh?’… ‘Who?’ but then I heard it and I loved it. It’s sort of random, kind of meaningless but just one of those songs that makes you smile and sing along (no matter how bad your singing is.) As for Owl City… I thought they’d fallen back into the masses. Fireflies was the last I heard of them and though that song is firmly in my Top 25 Most Played, I sort of forget about them. Now they come out and do this awesome hook-up with Carly Rae Jepsen and it’s brilliant! I don’t even know the names of the guys in that band but the main one’s voice is so unique…I love it. The best thing about this single is that it’s not like one of the artists is just doing the chorus or having one verse, it’s a PROPER  group effort and it is such a feel-good song.

HALL OF FAME (The Script featuring Will.I.Am)

I was insanely excited when I first heard this song. It just came up on Capital FM and it’s brilliant! The funny thing is that this hook-up probably wouldn’t have even happened if it wasn’t for The Voice UK but I’m so glad it did! The video… sort of predictable, kind of clichéd, you know, the boxing and the showing everyone you’re perfect with the ballet but the lyrics are awesome which kind of overrules everything else. I love Danny O’Donoghue’s voice, it’s kind of raw if you get what I mean and Will.I.Am sort of adds ‘coolness’ or ‘dopeness’ which makes it great. I’m glad it’s different to the kind of soft-rock/love genre that The Script usually follow, what with The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, Breakeven, Nothing, Long Gone & Moved On… it’s more upbeat, more inspirational. It’s like Live Like We’re Dying which most people usually associate with the American guy who sang it, though it was The Script who wrote it. Anyway, enough of that, Hall of Fame makes me REALLY excited about The Script’s new album and I cannot wait to hear what else they’ve got!

PAYPHONE (Maroon 5 ft Wiz Khalifa)

OK, I know that Payphone is sort of older than the previous two but I still think it’s sort of recent. It’s still in the charts, right?! Anyway, I think Payphone totally trumps Maroon 5’s last collaboration (which I downloaded) and that was Moves Like Jagger (featuring Christina Aguilera). I didn’t like that one much at all because I’m not really a fan of Christina, only her huge Beautiful hit. Apart from that one song… she’s just kind of annoying. And I know people may have heart attacks when they read this, but the whole Mick Jagger idolisation annoys the fuck out of me. I’ve never been a fan of the Rolling Stones and when he did T.H.E with Will.I.Am and J-Lo, he sort of ruined the whole song. Anyway, so Payphone is like a million times better than Moves Like Jagger. I think the video is pretty good too, though I never understand why he steals Wiz Khalifa’s car in the first place OR why he leaves the girl behind. But the vocals are great and I love Wiz Khalifa’s part too (for once I can actually make sense of the rapping.) Definitely one of the best collaborations this year.