Besides her awesome Q-Tip and GoonRock collaboration on the 2013 Great Gatsby soundtrack, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Fergie. A long while… I was in middle school last time she put out an album. When I saw that she released a brand new single yesterday, I figured it would be pretty D to the E to the L-I-C-I-O-U-S.
The new track, “L.A.Love (la la),” would probably be really cool in two scenarios: a live performance or a drunken party. On its own, it feels a little silly, like listening to the Macarena or Mambo Number 5 alone in your car. Fergie leans on that partying-all-around-the-world trope (Hi Pitbull), with lyrics that list out a bunch of cities and countries and their apparent “la la la la la”ing. I’m all for global partying, but this hometown shoutout thing has been done to death.
I’m sure this single will see a lot of clubs, with the inevitable squealing and raising of roofs when Fergie sings someone’s location of origin. This seems to be the main goal, since she keeps instructing, “better represent when we come to your town.” The song features the following locations: SoCal, Hollywood, California, London, Brazil, Quebec, Russia, Venice, L.A., Brooklyn, Halcyon, Vegas, Rio, Tokyo, Down under, Miami, Jamaica, Atlanta, Texas, France, Kansas City, India, Puerto Rico, Moscow, España, Kingston, San Diego, Chi-Town, Germany (okay, fine, woooo), La Punta, Ibiza, Amsterdam, ‘Frisco, Switzerland, Sao Paulo, Joburg, Mexico and Stockholm.
After I had listened to “L.A.Love (la la)” a few times, something funny happened. Out of nowhere, I had Cobra Starship’s “You Make Me Feel” stuck in my head. Suddenly, I realized that it wasn’t out of nowhere. The “la la la la la”s in Fergie’s new single sound very similar to the “la la la la la”s in Cobra Starship’s hit. It’s mainly because they both use something close to a dotted eighth sixteenth note rhythm on their “la”s. But it also has to do with the way Fergie’s melody resolves at the end of each chorus.
That being said, the single is pretty catchy. It’s fun listening to the way she firmly articulates every word that flies by, and I can almost forgive the way she randomly picks up an accent and pronounces France like “Frawhnce.” But all in all, “L.A.Love (la la)” lacks the confidence of some of her other songs. I was expecting an explosion of Fergaliciousness, but it kind of feels like the Dutchess just shrugged her shoulders and said, “Okay, I guess I’ll make a song.” Don’t be afraid to take it up a notch, Ferg. We’re glad you’re back.