Singles Round Up: Oct. 16

Singles Round Up – The Arts and Entertainment Department takes a look at some of the recently released singles from the past week.

“trust exercises”- easy life

Indie UK-based band easy life dropped their third single of 2023, “trust exercises,” on Friday.

The “quirky" stylization of their lowercase name and song titles is paralleled with their distinctive sound.

An accented, slightly nasally voice fronts a muted, yet dramatic, R&B beat. The two dueling sounds meet together in the chorus when the instrumental becomes lighter and the vocals dip in and out of harmonizing notes.

Unsurprising from the title, the song correlates opening up one’s feelings to the frequently used trust exercise of a trust fall. This files “trust exercise” under the love song category by default, despite its unique approach.

Consistently releasing an album the past two years, easy life is due for another release within the coming months that has the ability to add to their million monthly Spotify users, if they keep their inventions fresh. – Megan Kelby

“Hands On Me” - Jason Derulo (ft. Meghan Trainor)

Most people know pop icons Jason Derulo and Meghan Trainor, so their release of “Hands On Me” created a lot of buzz. The two previously sang Derulo’s “Painkiller” on his 2015 album, “Everything Is 4” and were due for another collaboration.

“Hands On Me” was mainly marketed through both Derulo and Trainor’s social media accounts within the last few weeks and fans loved it!

While highly anticipated, it did not live up to the hype. The song’s chorus uses the sample from the late Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me." However, it tarnishes the original song’s message.

The original song is based on a gospel hymn and this new song is entirely about sex. The first verse is about a hot neighbor and inviting her over. Then the chorus literally says, “Baby, put your hands (hands) on me (on me)." The tone is quite clear.

Although the song is a catchy, revived version of a classic, it does not uphold the same type of legacy. It’s an ignominy to its predecessor. – Isabel Sweet

Megan Kelby is a fourth-year majoring in journalism. To contact her, email her at mkk5701@psu.edu.

Isabel Sweet is a second-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email ips5219@psu.edu