This Week on Billboard: Nelly Furtado - Say It Right

This Week On Billboard is where I unabashedly critique the current no. 1 hit on Billboard.com, the major yardstick for what's "hot" in music today. In order to simplify the review for those who don't want to read the whole article, each song is given a "!" rating, in which the finest grabs five of them.

Weeks in No. 1: 1

Weeks in Chart: 14

From the Loose LP

!!!!!

One can usually plot a downward slope to convey the quality of an artist's single from the same album; Nelly Furtado refuses to follow that norm. Following the club-scorching singles, "Promiscuous" and "Maneater", Nelly Furtado and Timbaland affirms their versatility with this third North American single from Loose. Timbaland spreads an organic soundscape with crisp rolling percussions and reverberating synths operating in mid-tempo. It manages to be serene and buoyant all at once.

Nelly, meanwhile, is comfortable at the tranquil environment. She remains airy in the verses, accented by a ghostly backing repeating her lines. Then, she flames up for the refrain, deploying all-or-nothing threats to whomever she's singing to while soaking you in a downpour of euphoria.

[watch|listen]