Words cannot describe....
...How fucking DISAPPOINTING "Standing on the Sun" is.
Was genuinely (GENUINELY) looking forward to this track. I figured if anyone could make Beyonce tolerable to my picky palette, it would The GODDESS, Sia. And, to be fair, the song starts off great. The first verse gives me Bahama realness, and the lead-in to the chorus is everything. I also love how Sia pays attention to the little details when she's working with a producers. I love how there are just random bits of ocean sounds scattered throughout the production (waves crashing, throwing sand). Really drives home the production's Caribbean theme but remains subtle enough to not be obnoxious. I can tell this is part of Sia's contribution to the track, because she does it often in her own music (Gurl, WHERE IS THAT ALBUM!?!?). I also love how the laid-back production in the verses gives way to the relentless POUNDING percussion of the chorus.
But the song just COMPLETELY falls apart after that.
The second first is garbage. It feels lazy and last-minute, and ends so abruptly. It doesn't carry on the spirit of the first verse at all, it just imitates it. In fact, I'm willing to bet any kind of money that the first verse is ALL SIA, and that poor excuse for a second verse is probably Bey's one attempt at a legitimate writing credit. Awful. The song just completely fizzles out at that point.
I agree with what other's have said: Rihanna would have sounded much better on this song. And not just because she's Rihanna, but because I feel like this song really calls for a voice with a naturally exotic affectation. Rihanna may have limited vocals, but she knows how to evoke the waves of the Carribbean Sea with her voice. ANYBODY with that exotic quality would have sounded better (Sia, Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, fucking Shakira). Beyonce doesn't have that natural affectation, and this song proves that she does a piss-poor job even imitating it.
Ugh, after listening to this crap I'm more certain now than ever that the reason we haven't gotten any music from Bey yet is because the label heard it and told her to go back to the drawing board. Seriously, EVERYTHING we've heard has been total shit.
