to the left, to the left

LEAVIN'
Jesse McCartney
Departure

Rating: A

Aw. Jesse McCartney's all grown up and decided to do a lot more than sing and look cute on his third album, Departure.

With lead single, Leavin' already making good impressions on airplay thanks to its instantly memorable pop/r&b sound. The song was produced by Tricky and The-Dream, the people behind Rihanna's Umbrella and Mariah Carey's Touch My Body. A song is bound to be a hit when it contains simple yet effective feet-tapping beats, cleverly-penned lyrics, a hook that sticks in one's head for days, and the obligatory oh-ooh, ooh, ooh-oh's. Surprisingly, all four are present in McCartney's latest offering - it's like the song that no smart male artist would turn down.

Geared towards urban listeners, Leavin' is likely to reinvent McCartney's wholesome image from being the male Hilary Duff (only that he can actually sing) who was bound for pop/rock stardom limited to Disney's demographics to an actual pop/r&b sensation short of being dubbed as the blue-eyed (or green in his case) Chris Brown (as Justin Timberlake is the white, and younger Michael Jackson).

And just for the ingenious use of Beyonce's "to the left" line, this song deserves nothing but proper recognition as a hit.

*******

Hey baby girl, I?ve been watching you all day. Man that thing you got behind you is amazing. You make me want to take you out and let it rain. I know you got a man but this is what you should say.