Thursday, December 3, 2009

New Music Alert: "Who I Am" by Nick Jonas and the Administration

It was only a matter of time.

At last night's Grammy nomination concert, Nick Jonas, a third of Disney teen sensation Jonas Brothers, premiered the new single from his side project, titled Nick Jonas and the Administration. Today, "Who I Am" was released to iTunes, and as 2:13pm, sits at #8 on the chart. You can say that it is proof that the Jonas brand is still a bankable one, even after the disastrous flop that was their latest album Lines, Vines, and Trying Times.

But is the song any good?

A pretty standard pop-rock song, "Who I Am" is very John Mayer-esque, right down to the song's message. It happens to be one of Jonas' most relatable; he simply wants to be loved for he is as a person, not anything else. With just the music and lyrics considered, it's a surprisingly solid effort with some nice sentiments.

Then, we hit the roadblock, which is Nick Jonas' voice.

As I have written in previous posts reviewing his music, Nick's voice is a serious problem that, I believe, is stopping him from reaching the levels of fame that his predecessor Justin Timberlake did when he first broke out. He just doesn't have the range for the songs that he writes. His upper register, which he regrettably uses throughout most of the song, is irritating to listen to, even if he is singing earnestly. When he aims to growl, he almost squeals his desperation for love, which is quite embarrassing, especially for an 17 year-old.

With all of that said, "Who I Am" will most certainly regain the fans he lost with his last album. It it mature, while being appropriate for his age. His voice probably won't add any converts, but let's be honest here: his fans weren't that concerned with that anyway, were they?

Rating: 6 out of 10


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