Only one night after the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance, Jason Derulo's fourth studio album, aptly titled Everything Is 4 was finally released. This album comes just slightly over a year after his previous album Talk Dirty officially launched him into the spotlight with five chart-topping singles including the incredibly catchy Wiggle featuring Snoop Dogg. Since then Derulo has parted ways with his once fiancee Jordin Sparks, completed the Talk Dirty tour, and landed his gig as one of the judges on Fox's dance show So You Think You Can Dance. So how is his latest album? I break it down track by track.
1. Want You to Want Me
Released as the first single off the album on March 9, Want You to Want Me made clear that with Derulo intends this new album to be something entirely different than he has done before. Gone is his usual R&B style; this song sounds like something right out of the '80s. I could easily see a band like Maroon 5 singing something like this as Derulo shows off his voice in a way we have come accustomed to hearing only Adam Levine sound. It is no surprise that Want You to Want Me shot up the charts; with its sunny sounding synth and catchy chorus it is easy to love.2. Cheyenne
The third single released Everything Is 4, Cheyenne is a steamy pop-infused electronic R&B song about Derulo and a girl who are trying to just have fun but keep falling in love. While it gets back to the R&B style which Derulo is so used to, it leaves out his signature "Jason Derulo" in the beginning in favor of a long "Cheyennnnnne". The bass is really great on this song so make sure you either have a good set of headphones or a nice stereo when listening to this track. Oh, and definitely make sure you have a lot of room around you: this song may make you attempt to spontaneously bust out some Michael Jackson style moves.
3. Get Ugly
This is by far one of the oddest songs on the album and though you may at first be repulsed by it (as I was), you will find yourself humming in no time. Released ahead of the album as the second single, Get Ugly definitely lets Derulo's fun side show through as he puts on a slight accent for the verses which allows him to rhyme "god", "not", and "Cîroc". The repetitive "diddly, diddly, diddly" on the chorus will make you feel dirty in all the wrong ways along with the long and over-dramatic "Bruhhhhhh" which leads into the second verse. However, the song is redeemed by the pre-chorus and the random sound effects which help make the song more interesting.
4. Pull Up
If Get Ugly has competition for weirdest track on the album, Pull Up is definitely it. The chorus makes the song — let's say unique — starting with the line: "You know I had to skrr, pull up" (which incorporates a 2 beat pause) before transitioning into the electronically driven, "hey!" punctuated, "I'mma make you mine bu-bu-baby, make you mine bu-bu-baby, Make you mine bu-bu-baby, make you mine bu-bu-baby" second half of the chorus. This song is great for Bernieing to and like most of Derulo's songs is very catchy and showcases his vocal talent. Strangely, the break before the final chorus sounds almost exactly like the one from Heart Attack by Demi Lovato. I don't know whether this was purposeful or not (as Derulo likes to sample a ton of songs) but either way, I couldn't help but notice it even on the first listen through. Also, this was one of the two tracks on his album that Charlie Puth (featured on See You Again by Wiz Khalifa) helped to write and produce.
5. Love Like That (feat. K Michelle)
While definitely not my favorite song on the album, R&B fans will certainly appreciate this slow jam which sees Derulo dueting with K Michelle (who I knew best from her song Can't Raise A Man). This song sounds like a cross between something be Drake and The Weekend, but still fails to captivate me. I guess if you like slower songs this could be for you, but otherwise it is just a chance for two very talented R&B artists to show off their vocal-gymnastic skills.6. Painkiller (feat. Meghen Trainor)
Co-written with the young singer/songwriter from Nashville, Meghen Trainor, Painkiller is probably the best song from the album which wasn't released early. While it is hard to tell who is really featuring who, the song has everything needed to be a summer hit: a good thumping bass line (reminiscent of his previous hit, Bubblegum), two great artists, a huge chorus, and a "oh-ohhh-oh-oh" in the background on the chorus. I like the start of the song especially: bass line comes in, Derulo yells "M. Train!", she responds with his signature "Jason Derulo", and we get right into a back-and-forth verse. The chorus starts equally as well, with a nice build followed by the two of them singing "Baby I'm back" together over a dancer-freezing pause in the instrumental. I know this song sounds a lot like some other song, but so far the only one I have come up with is It's My Life by Bon Jovi (due mainly to the bass line on the verse).7. Broke (feat. Stevie Wonder & Keith Urban)
Though some people (my sister mainly), may think that Jason Derulo, isn't good enough to be singing on a track with Stevie Wonder, I think that everyone can agree that both Derulo and Keith Urban are outshined by the legendary 25 Grammy winner Stevie Wonder. Neither Wonder or Urban actually sing on the track, but they both make their distinctive styles heard via the instruments they play; Urban strumming his guitar/banjo and Wonder doing his thing with the harmonica on instrumental break during the chorus. Charlie Puth produced this song entirely and it is the second track written by both him and Derulo. I really like the crossover of styles in this song, combining country styled instrumentation with a Top-40s dance tune and beat. This song is definitely going to be a summer hit so get ready for people everywhere to be humming "More money more problems so I'd rather be broke".8. Try Me (feat. Jennifer Lopez & Matoma)
Produced by the incredible Norwegian DJ Matoma (who I had never heard of before, but wow he's got skills) and featuring the always talented Jennifer Lopez, Try Me has all the markings of another summertime hit. The sound is a bit of a throwback for Derulo, as it reminded me a lot of the sound of his second album Future History. While it lacks the instrumental break-filled chorus which Derulo has popularized starting with Talk Dirty, the xylophone-synth filled, piano-backed track, is very simple and to the point, making it easy to listen to and hard to forget.9. Love Me Down
Love Me Down is like the distant less popular cousin of Want You to Want Me. It retains its sunniness and the incorporation of a bright sounding riff, but that is about it. With plenty of references to global warming, the end of world, and armageddon, Love Me Down is all about Derulo asking a girl if she would "oooh-ooh-oooooh" with him since it's the last night on earth. With vibes similar to Bruno Mars' super-popular Uptown Funk, Love Me Down is a good sounding song but probably just doesn't have what it takes to stand out on its own as a single.10. Trade Hearts (feat. Julia Michaels)
Of all the songs on the album I feel like this song could be one of the biggest surprises. Featuring Julia Michaels, who has written for Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Cash Cash just to name a few, Trade Hearts is taken to another level by the realness which resonates from Michaels' voice. In one of the few interviews with her, Music Connection calls her "Pop's Mystery Girl" because while she has written many of the hits you know today (and even sang uncredited on two of Zedd's new tracks), she remains relatively out of the public spotlight. Don't believe me? She has less than 6k followers on Twitter. Well known or not, her voice and Derulo's will literally send chills down your spine on this track. Backed with a piano, strings, and a deep heartbeat-like bass drum, they take you on a beautiful journey from uncertainty to proud soaring harmonies. If you can listen to this song and not feel something you might be a robot.11. X2CU
As the last song on the album, X2CU doesn't promise much especially with its fun acronym title. With lines like "Girl I just want my ex to see you" and "Started as a sexy rebound, now you're sleeping next to me now" it's not hard to guess who this song might be directed at a certain someone (cough! umm, Jordin?). At 5:14 secs long this song is by far the longest on the album, mainly due to a switch-up in styles which occurs about 3:30 secs in. This switch in style sees the song go from a slightly '80s sounding pop song through a slightly latin sounding section only to end up with Derulo singing some slow R&B over a bed of soft synth strings. The latter part oddly reminds me a lot of Ariana Grande on some of her slower songs. While I think that X2CU could've had more mainstream popularity if it didn't have the epilogue of sorts on the end, true Derulo-er's will appreciate his willingness to let his creativity expand beyond the confines of the standard pop song structure.Conclusion
Overall, while I think that Everything Is 4 has less chart topping singles than Derulo's previous album Talk Dirty, it is still going to have at least four songs which will climb high in the charts. Besides that, the album also shows his maturity and sophistication; branching out into several genres which he has yet to touch upon. On top of that, this album marks his departure from the signature "Jason Derulo" which sprinkled in the beginning of nearly all of his previous songs.Listened to on V-Moda Crossfade M100 headphones and a Beats Pill XL bluetooth speaker.
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