Catch or Caught | 5ive Songs

On the 40^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with CATCH or CAUGHT in some form or fashion.

Welcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  On the 40^th edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with CATCH or CAUGHT in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Rina Sawayama, “Catch Me in the Air”

💿 Hold The Girl • 🏷 Dirty Hit • 🗓 2022

“Only took nine months and a lot of love / Carried all our dreams and she’s ready now, ooh.” 🎙 Rina Sawayama follows up her first single from 💿 Hold The Girl, 🎵 “This Hell”, with another terrific record, 🎵 “Catch Me in the Air”.  In “Catch Me in the Air,” the Japanese-British singer/songwriter gets personal, singing about her relationship with her mother.  There is undoubtedly a special bond, particularly considering her mom was a single mother.

“I ran away where clouds kiss the mountain peaks,” Sawayama sings in the pre-chorus, continuing, “I was afraid, but you put the wings on me / Feet on edge.” Ah, such great lyrics! Throughout “Catch Me in the Air,” the songwriting, as well as the vocals, are on-point.  Besides the honest and thoughtful lyrics, the production is well-rounded, successfully capturing a pop/rock vibe. “Catch Me in the Air” showcases Sawayama’s artistic range as well, separating itself from the first single from Hold The Girl.  Besides strong vocals, strong songwriting, and impressive instrumentals, shout out the harmonic progression too.  While “Catch Me in the Air” has some standard chords, there are also some harmonic surprises, which keep things interesting. All told, Rina has another gem on her hands with 🎵 “Catch Me in the Air”.  The theme and lyrics are marvelous – I love the personal nature of this record.

2. dvsn, “If I Get Caught”

🎵 “If I Get Caught” • 🏷 OVO Sound / Warner • 🗓 2022

“It’s fuckin’ them girls, I was gon’ / I was gon’ get right back…” Say what, 🎙 dvsn? The Canadian R&B duo comprised of vocalist 🎙 Daniel Daley and producer 🎙 Nineteen85 are back with a hot single, 🎵 “If I Get Caught”.  Sampling a 🎙 Jay-Z classic, 🎵 “Song Cry”, Daley suggests the fact that he cheated doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his main squeeze.  It’s an interesting perspective, one that many women are probably rolling their eyes about, but that’s what he asserts in the chorus, nonetheless.

“If I get caught cheating, that don’t mean I don’t love you

… Don’t let one little fuck

Mess all this up

Don’t let one mistake

Take all this away.”

Is Daley really convincing? I guess it depends on the kind of person his lady is. Maybe she takes truly ponders lines like “Would you rather be the girl that cry in a Corolla or a foreign?”  Regardless, I think Daley plays a character who’s not repentant and too full of himself.  Even if you love to hate the scenario he serves up, it’s incredibly compelling.  In addition to strong vocals and an entertaining theme, Daley is aided by colorful production by Nineteen85, 🎛 Jermaine Dupri, and 🎛 Bryan-Michael Cox.

3. Beyoncé, “Pray You Catch Me”

💿 Lemonade • 🏷 Parkwood / Columbia • 📅 2016

“You can taste the dishonesty / It’s all over your breath as you pass it off so cavalier.” Two words: Oh, snap! Two more words: Holy shit! 🎙 Beyoncé continues singing on 🎵 “Pray You Catch Me,” “But even that’s a test / Constantly aware of it all.” Hmm, we’ll come back to that in a moment. 💿 Lemonade, where the song at hand hails, marks the R&B/pop superstar at her most experimental.  “Pray You Catch Me,” the opener, serves as the first indication that Lemonade isn’t traditional, one of the reasons it was one of the best albums of 2016 (and under-awarded at the Grammys).

Generally, on Lemonade, Beyoncé digs deeper and speaks personally. “Pray You Catch Me” exemplifies the personal nature of the album, prefacing what’s to come. “Prayin’ to catch you whispering / I’m prayin’ you catch me listening,” she sings. Uh oh… trouble in paradise? It seems that way.  Revisiting earlier excerpted lyrics it seems that Bey sees HE is lying through his teeth. The question is, who is HE? *Cough, cough* 🎙 Jay Z.  “Pray You Catch Me” commences a pop buzzsaw.

4. Mathew V, “Catching Feelings”

🎵 “Catching Feelings” • 🏷 604 • 📅 2019

“This year, I’m going big or going home – and I certainly have no intention on going home!” That is that awesome, ‘go-getter’ attitude expressed by Vancouver pop artist 🎙 Mathew V in regard to his love of being a musician and spreading and sharing “that with as many people as possible.” Mathew kills it on his 2019 single, 🎵 “Catching Feelings”, in which he envisions listeners recalling their high school crush. Mathew, who’s previously been featured in the Billboard Pride column saw “Catching Feelings” appear on the mag’s monthly LGBTQ playlist, Queer Necessities, for April 2019.

From the onset, the vibe of “Catching Feelings” is killer, in the most positive way possible.  He works alongside award-winning songwriter and producer 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Ryan Stewart whose excellent production includes an infectious groove and slick synths. This makes “Catching Feelings” ready-made for the dance floor.  Mathew V drops absolutely sickening vocals, showing off his sexy, playful lower register in the verses while ascending higher and packing a mightier punch on the catchy chorus. The production combined with his pipes and incredibly fun songwriting makes “Catching Feelings” a can’t-miss PRIDE-beaming bop.

Appears in 🔻:

• Totally Awesome LGBTQ+ Songs Beaming with PRIDE (2019)
• A Compendium Comprised of 100 Notable LGBTQ+ Songs (2020)

5. Jay-Z, “Caught Their Eyes” (Ft. Frank Ocean)

💿 4:44 • 🏷 Roc Nation • 📅 2017

💿 4:44 was an album chocked-full of hits by 🎙 Jay-Z that sadly, failed to win a single 🏆 Grammy award it was nominated for.  Jay-Z would later diss the Recording Academy (among others) in the song 🎵 “APESHIT” from 💿 Everything is Love: “Tell the Grammy’s fuck that 0 for 8 shit.” But, that’s a separate matter, and has nothing to do with 🎵 “Caught Their Eyes,” featuring a fellow 🏆 Grammy-winner, 🎙 Frank Ocean. 4:44 marks the second consecutive project where Jay-Z has collaborated with Ocean.

🎙 Nina Simone (🎵 “Baltimore”), notably, is sampled on “Caught Their Eyes.” “Caught” encompasses deception and shadiness on the first verse. On the second verse, Jay-Z takes shot at the estate of Prince following his death, calling them “greedy bastards.” Also, he takes a shot at his former little brother, Kanye West. “Don’t big bro me, don’t ‘Big Homie’ / I’ve seen pure admiration become rivals.” Hova has no shortage of fire, while his bud Frank holds things down as well, specifically on the chorus:

“Ready for it, deep breath, fill up the void

Eyes open them up, check off the coins

Still stingin’ from tears, they try to see you

I’m ready for earth, ready for real

Solipsistic, admit it, I see you there

So it seems, so you seem

I can’t tell if you’re image or are just the flare

In my dreams, in my dreams.”

Appears in 🔻:

• 11 Songs That Are Sure to Catch Your Eyes

Catch or Caught: 5ive Songs No. 40 (2022) [📷: 604, Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, Columbia, Dirty Hit, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, OVO Sound, Parkwood, Pixabay, Roc Nation, Warner, wendel moretti]