26 November,2014: After Jordin Sparks and Jason DeRulo broke off their engagement, the 24-year-old “American Idol†winner’s life came to a screeching halt. Oh, wait — no, it didn’t. Within a week, she was back at work, popping by “The Wendy Williams Show†to let everyone know how “good†she was. That grind also brought us a new mixtape named #ByeFelicia, released Tuesday (Nov. 25).
“One, it’s really funny,†Jordin says about the title at the end of the mixtape’s opening track. “Two, it just applies to my life right now. I don’t have time for certain people and certain things, so: Bye, Felicia.â€
The mixtape, her first release since 2009 sophomore album Battlefield, lives up to its “Fridayâ€-inspired title on many of the nine songs contained therein. She is speaking her mind and expressing her desires with a confident ease — a far cry from the damsel in distress she channeled on 2007′s “No Air.†(Which is still a flawless single, don’t get me wrong!) Her sound has taken on a new form here, forgoing belted power-pop for hip-hop-infused R&B that occasionally dips its toe into trap territory.
The standout of the bunch is easily “It Ain’t You,†a DJ Mustard-produced track written in response to Chris Brown’s “Loyal,†Ty Dolla $ign’s “Paranoid†and other songs Jordin says are “dissing women.â€
“They’re great songs,†she explains, “I turn them up. They’re fun. But then, I was, like, listening to them going, ‘Why am I singing this, like, [song] that’s dissing me?’†She adds: “You’re not the only ones that think you know the opposite sex is crazy.â€
Other must-hear songs include slinky callout track “How Bout Now (Remix),†which would flow real nicely into Tinashe’s Dev Hynes-produced “Bet†(I’m just saying), and the trap-leaning “Double Tap†featuring 2 Chainz. The clever lyrics employ a double entendre that plays off the act of double-tapping someone’s Instagram picture and double-tapping the, uh, the actual person.
Oh, and you should probably play mixtape-closer “11:11″ all the way to the end. Spoiler: Sparks reveals that her third studio album, Right Here, Right Now, will “definitely†be released in 2015, and that it will contain every #ByeFelicia track, as well as some as-yet-unheard material.
Source:mtv