albums and tracks

Sometimes you don't need to have been in the room to know how a song came about. Brainstorming sessions for Usher's latest LP, Here I Stand, reveal the need for a producer with 'a name' and 'a chart presence'. Turns out Timbaland's busy, so in steps Black Eyed Pea Will.i.am, whose real name should probably be Will.i.am.everywhere.

'What's Your Name' isn't the masterstroke they must have hoped for, but it has sticking power. A looping, bassy synth, reminiscent of the hook from Eurythmics' 'Sweet Dreams', skillfully holds the track together as both parties twitter on about "getting digits" and flirting with technology.

Like most commercial r'n'b that's been shipped in across the Atlantic, this is likeable but utterly mindless.

Picture: Wenn