11 Songs Where the Trouble is, Well, Troubling š§ features songs by Chris Brown, Coldplay, Luke James, Omar Apollo & Taylor Swift.
āLike a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down,ā iconic pop duo Simon & Garfunkel once sung on the Grammy-winning classic, āBridge Over Troubled Waterā, from 1970.Ā Two years later, a troubled Marvin Gaye would assert on āTrouble Manā (Trouble Man,Ā 1972), āI come up hard, baby, put thatās okay / Because Trouble Man donāt get in my way.ā Sigh ā those are two awesome, classic examples of troubling songs in music. Ā There are even more examples, in the aughts and beyond.
āIf you (if you) / Wanna know (wanna know) / The real deal about the three,ā Beastie Boys rap on their 2004 song, āTriple Troubleā (To the 5 Boroughs), continuing, āWell, let me tell you / Weāre triple trouble yāall / Weāre gonna bring you up to speed (so check it out).ā Ā Four years later, in 2008, Rivers Cuomo and Weezer informed the world, āIām a troublemaker, never been a faker / Doing things my own way and never giving upā on āTroublemakerā from Weezer (Red Album). Ā Four years beyond Weezerās āTroublemaker,ā Green Day, who later appear on this troublesome playlist, asserted, āWanna be a troublemakerā on the song āTroublemakerā from the 2012 album, Ā”Uno!.
All these examples should make it crystal clear that this playlist is chocked-full of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.Ā 11 SONGS WHERE THE TROUBLE IS, WELL, TROUBLING features songs with some form of the word TROUBLE in their respective title courtesy of Chris Brown (āTroubled Watersā), Coldplay (āTrouble in Townā), Luke James (āTroubleā), Omar Apollo (āTroubleā), and Taylor Swift (āI Knew You Were Trouble.ā) among others.Ā Without further ado, become part of this troublesome playlist by checking out these totally rad, troubling songs!
1. Omar Apollo, āTroubleā
Friends ā¢ Omar Apollo / AWAL ā¢Ā 2019
āItās just nice to meet you anyway / Didnāt mean to scare you yesterday / Though you wanted all that I could bring.ā Sigh, things simply didnāt seem to work out for Omar Apollo and his crush. Why? Well, as the middle line from the chorus of āTroubleā suggests, he came on way too strong.Ā Bummer! āTroubleā of course is no bummer for the intriguing Indiana musician, appearing on his seven-song, 2019 EP, Friends.
While Omar Apolloās music may be best characterized as alternative, āTroubleā lies somewhere between a pop and R&B ballad.Ā This is a well-produced joint, with the lush backdrop giving Apollo ample fuel for the fire.Ā Vocally, he sounds amazing, perfectly capturing what seems to be a rejection that stuck with him for a while.Ā On the second verse for example, heās still lingering on a relationship thatās clearly not reality:
āKiss me one time Iāve been dying to know If this is real life Then Iām down with growing old.ā
On the bridge, he perfectly captures his shortcomings:
āI need to wait Good at rushing Love on my mind Days that I I hope I find.ā
2. Coldplay, āTrouble in Townā
Everyday Life ā¢Ā Warner ā¢Ā 2019
In case you werenāt aware, multiplatinum, multi-Grammy-winning alternative rock collective Coldplay released their eighth studio album, Everyday Life, in November 2019.Ā At one time, the announcement of a new Coldplay album would be the big headline.Ā Unfortunately for Chris Martin and company, Everyday Life was pretty much a F-L-O-P, debuting modestly in the top 10 before losing any sense of Billboard 200 relevancy. Ā The modest start wasnāt the first sign of the trouble for Coldplay, as the promo campaign, consisting of good but underperforming singles (āArabesqueā, āOrphansā, and āEveryday Lifeā) suggested Everyday Life was, itself, going to underperform.Ā Still, one thing thatās not troubling about the project is the fact we get a trouble-titled song, āTrouble in Townā to include on this troubling, troublesome, trouble song list.
āAnd I get no shelter / And I get no peace / And I never get released.ā āTrouble in Townā itself is a prime example of the message of unity that Coldplay seeks to emphasize throughout Everyday Life, tackling relevant societal issues. Here, Chris Martin highlights the unfair treatment that people of different colors and different ethnicities face.
āTrouble in town Because they cut my brother down Because my sister canāt wear her crownā¦ā
Besides the examples he sings about, thereās a telling interlude, laced with profanity, depicting an unfortunate police interaction with a young man of color. Just listening to it, particularly as a man of color, is quite disturbing.Ā Thematically, the band is definitely on-point.
3. Chris Brown, āTroubled Watersā
Indigo ā¢ RCA ā¢ 2019
Beginning in 2017, Chris Brown decided when releasing an album, he needed to throw every song he recorded at his audience.Ā That means the resulting album is fat, bloated, and totally overstuffed with material.Ā Brownās Heartbreak on a Full Moon, in its deluxe version, runs an absurd three hours in duration! Indigo, released in 2019, was shorter, but still runs more than two hours long.Ā Honestly, that makes it difficult to appreciate every song because thereās just too much material.Ā Perhaps that why, when initially reviewing Indigo, I failed to mention āTroubled Watersā ā it just didnāt necessarily stand out at the time.Ā Honestly, itās an enjoyable song with plenty of positive attributes, namely production and vocals.
āAnd baby, when you decide that he just aināt right / I need to now, I need to know.ā Chris Brown definitely desires the girl that he sings about on the 18th track from Indigo.Ā On this smooth, rhythmic, mid-tempo number (produced by Leon āRoccstarā Youngblood, Andre Harris, and Almatic), he tries his best to flatter her and convince her to be his on the pre-chorus and succeeding chorus section:
āBaby, your skin like porcelain Like ocean waves, your mindās amazing, oh Can I be your everything? ā¦ I just came to calm your troubled waters Down to be aligned, I swear I got you.ā
On the bridge, he continues to argue why heād be best suited for her: āBaby, Iāll be your lifeguard / Through everything / If you stay with me.ā
4. Bishop Briggs, āTempt My Troubleā
Church of Scars ā¢Ā Teleport / Island ā¢ 2018
Alternative singer/songwriter Bishop Briggs possess mad pipes and ample potential. Ā If you havenāt heard her cover of the INSX classic, āNever Tear Us Apartā, featured in the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, youāre missing out on a treat. Ā Briggs is no superstar yet, but definitely has all the ingredients to become one. Throughout the course of her full-length debut, Church of Scars (2018), she proves sheās indeed a āforce to be reckoned with.ā That force begins with the not at all troubling, opening song, āTempt My Trouble.ā
āWhy you got it in for me? / Is it ācause I bring me to your knees? / Throw water on electricity / Just to see if the sparkleāll make us feel / The way we used to feel.ā Briggs commences Church of Scars strongly with āTempt My Trouble.ā Here, she serves up breathy vocals on the verses, while digging in on the chorus.Ā āUnchain my ghoul / But donāt you ever let me go,ā she sings on the pre-chorus, before unleashing the centerpiece, troublesome chorus:
āLights go out again You stroke my pain And tempt my trouble Sick how we pretend But weāre not friends And weāre not lovers Weāre just trouble Weāre just trouble So, tempt my trouble.ā
Ultimately, āTempt My Troubleā dabbles in matters of the heart, despite the fact Bishop Briggs assert their neither friends nor lovers.Ā Thereās definitely something there, particular since she asks him to ātempt my troubleā on this sleekly produced, alternative pop record.
5. Josh Groban, āBridge Over Troubled Waterā
Bridges ā¢ Reprise ā¢ 2018
Josh Groban is arguably classical crossoverās it boy ā āMr. Poperaā.Ā For years, heās shown off his prodigious pipes. āYou raise me up, so I can stand on mountainsā¦ā Sigh, doesnāt that lyric just take you back to 2003, when he released one of the biggest hits of his career, āYou Raise Me Upā, a cover that far eclipsed the success of the original.Ā Heās had plenty of great moments throughout his career (āAll Luce del Soleā, āPer Teā, āYou Are Loved (Donāt Give Up)ā, etc.).Ā With the release of his eighth studio album, Bridges in 2018, he added even more great moments to his resume, including a cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, āBridge Over Troubled Waterā.
āBridge Over Trouble Water,ā surprisingly, is the first cover to grace Bridges, arriving as the fifth track. The beloved classic never seems to get old, despite being covered by everybody and his/her brother/sister.Ā Josh Groban does this Grammy-winning record justice, accentuated by a backing choir (Major Tones Music, London, directed by Becky Thomas), as well as the strings (The London Studio Orchestra, conducted by Gavin Greenaway).Ā The arrangement is incredibly successful, arranged by Bernie Herms, who also produces track, co-orchestrating alongside David Hamilton.
6. Luke Christopher, āTroubleā
āTroubleā ā Single ā¢ RCA ā¢ 2018
If you havenāt done so, you should totally check out Luke Christopher. Who is Luke Christopher, you ask? Well, heās a talented rapper, singer, and producer approaching his 27th year (as of publication, of course).Ā Of his 2017 debut, TMRWFRVR, RCA describes his vision as āgenre-less and borderless.ā He first caught my attention the following year, in 2018, when he released the single, āJust Watchā. The record at hand, fittingly named āTroubleā , was also released in 2018.
On āTrouble,ā Luke Christopher both raps and sings, showcasing his musical versatility.Ā Furthermore, Christopher co-produces alongside Chris Rosa with alluring results.Ā Even with trouble being the keyword, āTroubleā itself is quite bright sounding, set in a āhappyā major key.Ā The synths are colorful, while the drum programming is punchy. So, with a sense of optimism, why is there any trouble involved whatsoever? Well, according to Christopher, on the chorus (the centerpiece) itās all on him:
āTrust me, you donāt want me, Iām just trouble Thereās nothing you can say thatās gonna help But Iām not tryna be nobodyās trouble āCause Iām already trouble for myself.ā
Later, he goes on tell a potential girlfriend, āYou might be the one for me / But Iām not the one for you / And everyone else can see / The trouble Iād be for you, ooh yeah.āĀ Well, at least Luke is honest, and honesty is the best policy.
7. Green Day, āTroubled Timesā
Revolution Radio ā¢Ā Reprise ā¢Ā 2016
Green Day has been around since the 1990s ā true vets.Ā Given such a lengthy career, itās not surprising that the 2010s were less commercially lucrative ā FACTS. After a four-year hiatus. Billie Armstrong and company returned in 2016 with their fourth studio album of the decades, Revolution Radio, which followed a trio of albums from punk-revivalist band, all released in 2012.Ā Revolution Radio was by all means enjoyable and respectable, though fell short of greatness the band enjoyed in the aughts with American Idiot (2004) or slightly less so with 21st Century Breakdown (2009).Ā Still, Revolutionary Radio gives us another troubling song, āTroubled Times.ā
In the context of Revolution Radio, āTroubled Timesā dives back into social issues.Ā On the first verse, Billie Joe Armstrong asks the question, āWhat good is love and peace on earth / When itās exclusive?ā He goes on during the second verse to ask, āWhat part of history weāve learned / When itās repeated?ā The point is simple, as stated on the refrain: āWe live in troubled times.ā Ā Fast forward several years after āTroubled Timesā first bowed, and its message remains relevant ā very much on-point.
8. Iggy Azalea, āTroubleā
Ft. Jennifer Hudson
Reclassified ā¢Ā Virgin ā¢ 2014
Iggy Azalea is a prime example of the fleeting nature of fame.Ā She experienced her āfifteen minutesā of it in 2014 with The New Classic, which featured mega hits āFancyā and āBlack Widowā.Ā Azalea featured some additional success with Reclassified, which featured the biggest hits from The New Classic, as well as a couple of additional tracks.Ā Among the additional tracks are āTrouble,ā which pairs Azalea with Grammy-winning R&B singer (and Academy Award-winning actress), Jennifer Hudson.
Thereās lots to like about āTrouble.ā First and foremost, the production is quite funky ā bright and soulful as hell. Maybe, just maybe, this is the best part of the brief, but potent number.Ā Still, arguably, Jennifer Hudson, who is automatic, might be the crowning achievement herself (she sings the chorus and bridge):
āDonāt you come here thinkinā you ballinā Aināt down for it You seem like trouble to me I can tell by the way that you lean And the way that you kiss your teeth And you turn up so fresh and clean Smells like trouble to me.ā
Ā She infuses her funky, sassy vocals, arguably stealing the show from Azalea (you read right). Ā As for the lead artist, Iggy, sheās true to self, bringing ample personality to her rhymes.
āSee, baby, now you fiendinā for a test drive Cuz you donāt wanna lose your ride to the next guy And baby trouble only makes for a good time So, all the normal red flags be a good sign.ā
Sure Iggy, whatever you say.
9. Luke James, āTroubleā
Luke James ā¢ Island ā¢Ā 2014
When Luke James arrived in 2014, it was an incredibly underrated debut album; Ā it sort of fell through the cracks. Ā Even so, Luke James was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance for the albumās crowning achievement, the falsetto-laden āI Want Youā. Ā As much as I could spend time praising āI Want You,ā itās just not applicable to this playlist of troubling, troublesome songs.Ā No worries though, considering James gave us another utterly fantastic record from Luke James, āTrouble.ā
āTroubleā is a well-produced record (Philip Constable, Dominic Gordon, and Jamaica āKahn-Ceptā Smith), yielding a beautiful, lush sound. Vocally, James flaunts his prodigious instrument, namely his flawless, full-bodied falsetto.Ā His vocal performance is quite expressive and nuanced, selling the troublesome nature of this absolutely gorgeous woman. Ā Ā Like another gem from his self-titled album, āDancing in the Darkā, the chorus is catchy, further accentuated by the repetition of the title (ātrouble, troubleā):
āWhen you get lost in just lovinā someone pretty (Trouble, trouble) Youāll always find Youāll always find When you get lost in just lovinā someone pretty Youāll always find Happens every time.ā
When reviewing this song specifically back in 2014, something that stood out about āTroubleā was the modulation (key change) ā more of a rarity in contemporary music. Ā It certainly adds another level of drama and excitement to this stellar R&B cut.
10. J. Cole, āTroubleā
Born Sinner ā¢ Roc Nation ā¢Ā 2013
In 2011, Grammy-winning rapper (finally, sigh) J. Cole released one of the best rap albums of 2011, Cole World: The Sideline Story.Ā He would follow it up, two years later, in 2013, with another brilliant album, Born Sinner. Ā Looking back, I have to ask myself, why wasnāt J. Cole at least nominated for his sheer brilliance on either of these two albums? He nabbed a Best New Artist nomination following Cole World: The Sideline Story, as well as a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for āPower Tripā from Born Sinner, but he wouldnāt be recognized for an album until the nomination of 2014 Forest Hills Drive. But enough about Grammys, letās focus on the trouble with have at hand, āTrouble,ā the sixth track from Born Sinner.
On āTrouble,ā Coleās magna cum laude status pays off ā or maybe, itās just ālife lessonsā: āFirst the text, then the draws, see first the sex / Then it calls cause the birdās obsessed.ā Wow, thatās some colorful, sexual lyricism right there. True, real talk, right? Right! Cole moves beyond sex, rapping about black stereotyping:
āBut Iām back on track, jump shot wasnāt that good Couldnāt sell crack but I rap good Thatās one stereotype.ā
Young black men can only play sports or rap, right? That is, indeed, a popular, totally incorrect stereotype. His intelligence turns threatening, on the bold chorus where ā…Real niggas trying to fuck, fuck niggas wanna fight… Gun shots into the air, but I aināt scared for my life.ā For all of the top-notch lyrics, itās the churchy, choral sample that truly anchors down the sinful, troubling nature of this standout from Born Sinner.
11. Taylor Swift, āI Knew You Were Trouble.ā
Red ā¢ Big Machine ā¢ 2012
āāCause I knew you were trouble when you walked in / So, shame on me now,ā sings Taylor Swift on āI Knew You Were Trouble.,ā a surefire highlight from her 2012 album, Red.Ā Swift later adds on the troublesome chorus of this Max Martin, Shellback production, āFlew me to places Iād never been / Now Iām lying on the cold hard ground.āĀ Swift is no stranger to singing about boys, but in this case, she knows she allowed herself to be played essentially.Ā Hence, āTrouble, trouble, trouble.ā Those dirty boys, OMG (āA new notch in your belt is all Iāll ever beā)!
Musically, āI Knew You Were Trouble.ā Marks one of several transitional records from Taylor Swift.Ā As a whole, Red could be considered a transitional album, released after the country-dominant Speak Now (2010) and her pop breakthrough, 1989 (2014).Ā As the excerpt from the chorus suggests, āI Knew You Were Trouble.ā features catchy, irresistible songwriting.Ā Furthermore, the production embraces dubstep, popular in 2012, and a clear departure from the music Swift had released up until that point. Ā Analyzing the Taylor Swift catalogue, āI Knew You Were Trouble.ā is definitely marks an important moment in her career.