Just | 5ive Songs

In the 43^rd edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that feature the word JUST in their title.

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.  In the 43rd edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that feature the word JUST in their title.  Okay, let’s get into it!

1. NEIKID, Anne-Marie & Latto, “I Just Called”

🎵 “I Just Called” • 🏷 Warner Music UK • 🗓 2022

There is a reason that sampling and interpolation are all the rage – the songs being sampled are awesome! Swedish collective 🎙 NEIKID made an awesome choice interpolating the 🎙 Stevie Wonder classic, 🎵 “I Just Called to Say I Love You” on a new record, 🎵 “I Just Called”.  NEIKID is joined by 🎙 Anne-Marie and 🎙 Latto on this two-and-a-half-minute pop joint.  Let’s just say, the girls flip what Stevie Wonder said in his original, just a little bit! The girls are mad!

Anne-Marie draws first blood, introducing “I Just Called.” Following her intro, she shares her beef with this fellow, clearly her ex. “‘Cause, you moved so far away, just like a few blocks / Picket fence and perfect girl, even a ring on your door.” Yeah – she’s not happy.  She prefaces her final statement to the lame-o in the pre-chorus, before unveiling in the chorus, “I just called / To say / I hate you…” She goes on to say she’s moved on, she won’t bother him anymore, etc.  Then, Latto comes through, confident AF, and piggybacks off the Anne-Marie chorus: “How do you bag the baddest, treat it like it’s average? / I could do you nasty, but I’m movin’ past it.” All of this over the exuberant, major-key production work of NEIKID and 🎛 Adam von Mentzer.  All in all, NEIKID, Anne-Marie, and Latto deliver a catchy, exuberant, ex-expunging single with “I Just Called.”

2. Troye Sivan, “could cry just thinkin about you (full version)”

🎵 “could cry just thinkin about you (Full Version)” • 🏷 EMI Recorded Music Australia • 🗓 2021

“Every guy I want looks something just like you…” In 2021, 🎙 Troye Sivan finally unveiled and a full-length version of his 💿 In a Dream (EP) song, 🎵 “could cry just thinkin about you (Full Version)”.  Sivan wrote “could cry just thinkin about you (Full Version)” alongside 🎼 ✍ Teo Helm (Helm produces too).  In its ‘full version,’ the song expands north of two-and-a-half minutes in duration. With added verses, we get gorgeous vocals by Sivan, singing expressively without over-singing.  He sells the music with a sense of poise, as well as thoughtful, emotional, and relatable lyrics.

“We wrote a life all by ourselves,” he sings in the first verse, adding, “Wish I could put it back on the self.” In the second verse, he closes with “But life’s a blackening wave drifting us further than we are / And now, we’re knee-deep in this mess.”  That final line appears at the beginning of the original, by the way.  So, we’ve got eye candy (shirtless Troye on the cover and music video) + a full-length version of a song that should’ve been full-length to begin with it.  What more can you ask for? “Could cry just thinkin about you (Full Version)” is just what the doctor ordered, even if it is a “summer bummer” for the artist himself.

Appears in 🔻:

• Awesome Songs: July 2021

3. Keedron Bryant, “I Just Wanna Live”

💿 I Just Wanna Live • 🏷 Warner • 🗓 2020 

“I’m a young black man / Doing all that I can / …I’m being hunted as prey / My people don’t want no trouble / We’ve had enough struggle.” A moving, viral clip can indeed do big things.  🎙 Keedron Bryant, a Florida teen R&B/gospel singer is a living testament to this. The 13-year-old went viral thanks to a song written by his mom (🎼 ✍ Johnnetta Rayshele Bryant) that perfectly captures the feelings of the black community, particularly black males, given so many incidents of racial injustice, inequality, and police brutality.

Bryant would land a major-label record deal with Warner, which is absolutely impressive given both his age and the impact of 🎵 “I Just Wanna Live” itself. His debut EP, 💿 I Just Wanna Live, features three versions of his viral hit. The main version commences the album.  Here, Bryant sounds absolutely amazing – much more mature and seasoned beyond his youth.  His tone is gorgeous, while the ad-libs and runs only amplify the authenticity, emotions, and investment into the record.  Additionally, 🎛 Dem Jointz gives him a soulful backdrop that’s modern yet throwback.

Appears in 🔻:

• Awesome Songs: September 2020
• 11 Intriguing Songs by Young Musicians Born in 2000 & Beyond
• 100 BEST SONGS OF 2020: 100 – 76
• 100 BEST SONGS OF 2020
• ‘Say it Loud,’ Beautiful Black Voices

4. Ariana Grande, “Just like magic”

💿 Positions • 🏷 Republic • 🗓 2020

“Say it’s tricky at the top, gotta keep a slim ego for a thick wallet / Losing friends left and right, but I just send ‘em love and light.” BOOM! 🎵 “Just like magic” is one of many highlights on 💿 Positions. Positions, of course, is the 2020, platinum-certified album by 🎙 Ariana Grande.

First and foremost, the vocals are top rate – angelic! Ariana sings with ease simultaneously packing a mean punch. “Just like magic, just like magic,” Grande sings in the chorus, continuing, “Middle finger to my thumb and then I snap it.” Even as Ari exudes an attitude, as well as her potty-mouthed ways, she manages to keep a halo on head – at least to some extent.

5. Matt Jaffe, “Just An Echo”

🎵 “Just An Echo” • 🏷 Matt Jaffe • 🗓 2022

“You look at me with such conviction…” Honestly, even sans context, isn’t that a clever, thought-provoking lyric? It instantly piques interest and makes you conjure up an image – imagine a scene.  It graces the second verse of  🎵 “Just An Echo”, the brilliant, must-hear single from independent pop singer/songwriter,  🎙 Matt Jaffe.  Jaffe totally outdoes himself on “Just an Echo,” which will blow you away the first time you hear it.

The musicianship that he showcases is awe-inspiring.  That includes the instrumental, the vocals, and the songwriting.  The palette of sounds is quite impressive. Love the pulsating synths, which fade in at the beginning.  There is also an awesome groove established at the onset – always a pro.  One of the biggest triumphs, instrumentally, is the massive guitar.  Of course, there are also those awesome vocals by Jaffe, who not only has a beautiful timbre but epic vocal production supporting him.  The songwriting is the final piece of excellence, including an awesome melody that is tuneful throughout.  The most tuneful section, as to be expected, is the chorus.  It’s incredibly catchy, and I heart the playful vocals. All in all, the writing is thoughtful; the lyrics are marvelously penned by Jaffe. Have you experienced Matt Jaffe in your life yet? If not, 🎵 “Just An Echo” is the perfect opportunity – seize it, it’s epic!

Appears in 🔻:

• Awesome Songs: July 2022

Just: 5ive Songs No. 43 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, Clovis Cheminot, EMI Recorded Music Australia, Matt Jaffe, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Republic, Tara Winstead, Warner]