Kane Brown & blackbear, Memory | Track Review 🎵

Although an unlikely pairing, country artist Kane Brown and pop artist blackbear successful collaborate on the catchy single, “Memory.”

Why is it that the unlikely collaborations end up being the ones that work?  Never in a million years would I consider pairing 🎙 Kane Brown and 🎙 blackbear on the same song.  Yes, both artists have had ample success in their respective lanes.  Brown has a superb voice and has proven himself to be versatile.  Blackbear, has a unique voice – a bit of an acquired taste – but has done well for himself collaborating, writing, and producing for others.  Still, I didn’t expect this pairing, yet it works surprisingly well on 🎵 “Memory”.

“Memory” is a pop song, first and foremost, so, take the ‘country’ out of the equation.  That said, Kane Brown remains true to his genre, country, in the process.  Still, that gorgeous baritone adorns the backdrop by blackbear and 🎛 Andrew Goldstein superbly (“The bottles on the shelf I’m ‘bout to run through / Doin’ everything I wish that I could undo”). It was the right move to have Brown take the first verse.  They collaborate on the chorus, which is catchy AF, before ‘bear gets his own big solo moment.  Expectedly, he’s a stark contrast, but it’s a contrast that works well.  Blackbear remains true to self, with the verse being relatively quick and rhythmic (“Tryna find things I never said to prove a point / I’ma roll my feelings into a joint”).  Soon enough it’s the two of them dropping that epic chorus, followed by an outro.

“I wanna live fast, I don’t know how to slow down
I wanna get high, I don’t know how to come down
Help me now, I’m runnin’ on empty
And I don’t wanna be a memory.”

Final Thoughts 💭

Kane Brown and blackbear? Still probably shouldn’t work, but hey, it totally does! The chorus is the biggest selling point – you won’t get it out of your head.  Furthermore, I love Brown’s performance, as well as the blend of both.  This two-and-a-half-minute number isn’t game changing, but it’s a VIBE!

🎙 Kane Brown & blackbear • 🎵 “Memory” • 🏷 Sony • 🗓 7.9.21

[📷: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay, Sony]