With a finger in nearly every entertainment pie there is, the announcement of the release of his album Hollywood: A Story of A Dozen Roses isn’t critical to Jamie Foxx‘s career. He has already proved himself to be an Oscar winning actor and a great singer with hits like ‘Slow Jamz‘ and ‘Goldigger’ in 2004. His sophomore album, Unpredictable, sold over two million copies worldwide. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold nearly 600,000 copies in its first week, with its singles ‘Unpredictable’ and ‘Blame It’ both going platinum. In 2005, Jamie shattered records when he became the fourth person to have an Academy Award for acting (Ray) and a No. 1 album (Unpredictable). He’s also the second male in history — Al Pacino is the other — to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies (Collateral and Ray). He has nothing left to prove.
However, coupling the fact that there is no outstanding lead track on this album, along with his performance of the national anthem at the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight earlier this month, critical success of Hollywood seems like a bit of a long shot.
Hollywood essentially follows a loose narrative of a relationship, starting with longing on ‘You Changed Me‘. The sultry R&B track is a good opener thanks to its catchy hook and a fun appearence and verse from Chris Brown; although lyrics like “You mentally stimulate me / I’m really in love, that’s crazy” do let it down. A theme of weak writing unfortunately raises its head again on the Wale-assisted ‘Like a Drum’. While it provides a slinky bedroom vibe in the verses, the chorus, “I’m gon’ beat it like a drum … bom, bom, bom, bom” is a generic R&B line, one in which you may have expected more from Foxx.
Track number five, ‘Tease‘ is a standout. Pharrell Williams pops up and produces his funky edge which carries over into the next song, ‘Baby’s In Love’, another good track which is easily Foxx‘s best shot at a crossover pop hit on this album. He sings in his lovely soulful fashion on two songs near the end of the album, ‘In Love By Now’ and ‘Jumping Out the Window’, both parts by the great Tank, and both featuring Mr. Foxx himself on piano. He sounds passionate yet vulnerable and the tracks easily provide his best vocals from the album.
However, the switch between moods on Hollywood can be quite jarring. Foxx goes from hopeful dance tunes to soaring adult ballads and it leaves you wondering what he could produce if he really knew what to sing about.
Although Foxx has always said that his priority and passion is music, this album is an example of how crucial songwriting is. He really is a talented singer and it is likely that any weak album he makes will simply become a blip on his never-ending wiki page. But when tracks are as disjointed and often as poorly written as they are on Hollywood, it is unlikely that he will be lighting up any chart.
