Cher Lloyd, Activated | Track Review 🎵

Pop singer Cher Lloyd has officially “Activated” her swag. That said did Lloyd forget to activate the cohesion switch on single “Activated”? Perhaps.  

Doesn’t it seem like everybody wants to flaunt their swag these days? What does that even mean? British pop singer Cher Lloyd is the latest to join the “swag club.” Her membership has been officially “Activated.”  What did it take to activate the swag? Simply the good ole bag of tricks that everybody else in the music biz seems to be using.  And to think, we were laughing at Soulja Boy years ago when he told us he was about to “Turn My Swag On!”

“Activated” follows a predictable script.  It features hip-hop oriented production, a popular trend in pop music.  Cher drops the bomb – the f-bomb of course – singing, “No f*cks, swinging from the balcony.” Apparently, no one seems to “give any f*cks anymore.” Chris Brown made that clear on “Zero.” Lloyd’s vocals on the verses are quite gimmicky.  This also fits the script – it amplifies the tongue-in-cheek vibe. The key word is scripted.  “Activated” seems to be perfectly scripted for the times.

Adding some unexpectedness, things completely shift on the chorus.  If the verses were more infused with hip-hop, the chorus is more flavored with urban contemporary/urban pop. As for the lyrics, it’s naughty, catchy, eye-roll worthy all in one:

“They like ooh they look ooh / baby, just wait on it / when I do the damn thing, just watch me…”

Final thoughts

All in all, “Activated” is all over the place. The record is drenched in swag, but clearly disjointed. The idea of the verse is great, as is production/vibe of the chorus. But, the problem is, do all of the great ideas that are separate come together soundly? It’s arguable. Not so sure “Activated” is completely activated, swag or nah, gurl!

Cher Lloyd • ‘Activated’ – single • Vixen • Release: 7.22.16

Photo Credit: Vixen