Posted by Nick Minichino on 02/22/2011 at 2:00 PM Reviews

The Popdust Files: Jasmine Villegas, ryan leslie

Ryan Leslie is really hyped about the new Jasmine Villegas song he produced—so much so, in fact, that he previewed the hook with an in-studio video four months ago. But his excitement is not entirely warranted:

Leslie’s cornball intro, in which he raps that he’s someone’s new man in terms of a “status update” and that his gold is “Coldplay yellow,” gets the track off on a bad foot. And the hook just isn’t quite dense enough, though it’s drastically fuller than the razor-thin beats he produced for the icy Cassie. But Leslie should be producing dancier tracks for Diddy Dirty Money, not this sort of middling R&B.

For her part, Villegas has a great voice but no way to play to her strengths here. In fact, despite American Idol and Glee, pop music of late doesn’t really have any sort of showcase for women with vocal range, which may be why Villegas is better known for portraying Justin Bieber’s love interest in his videos for “Baby” and “Eenie Meenie” than for her own songs. It doesn’t help that the chorus hinges on the phrase “You had me at ‘hello,’” which originates from a film that hit theaters the week Villegas turned three.

Leslie may be hoping that his collaboration with Villegas takes off the way his and Cassie’s did in 2006 (though he ultimately reaped more of the benefit then) but this song just doesn’t quite have what it takes.

POPDUST SAYS:
[starreview tpl=16]
2 BOLTS