Posted by Maura Johnston on 02/16/2011 at 10:58 AM Reviews

The Popdust Files: lloyd

The second single from Lloyd’s King Of Hearts opens with big beats and sirens, so you’d be forgiven for worrying that it might be a club banger that wastes his considerable vocal talents a la Usher’s “OMG.” But the Polow Da Don-produced track effortlessly segues into a track that blends the best of old-school R&B (long croons, percussive horns, sweeter-than-candy lyrics) with the boomy, club-ready beats of current pop.

For some reason this song leaked after Valentine’s Day—perhaps to maximize the amount of pump-priming before the 2012 edition of the holiday comes around?—but no matter; he’s on point for the duration, so much so that it would be great to hear him bust out the falsetto that he so impressively showed off on “Lay It Down” during the bridge. Lloyd has boasted one of the best voices in R&B for some time now, and the fact that his most visible appearance in recent months was as the hook dude for Young Money’s “Bedrock” is a crime. Here’s hoping that this elegantly romantic marriage of classic tropes and new-school rhythms gets some shine.

POPDUST SAYS:

[starreview tpl=16]

4 BOLTS