Jamie Lynn Spears came out of hiding and back into the spotlight in 2013 with her debut country single "How Could I Want More" and her EP. After years of staying out of the press and the headlines, Spears came back gracefully and beautifully, by releasing one of the best songs of 2013, in country music and in general. She followed it up with a very promising EP, which was actually one of the first albums ever reviewed on this website. But since then, she's been quiet.
Spears has been spending a lot of time writing and cutting songs, and even wrote Jana Kramer's Top 10 hit "I Got the Boy." Based on how much time she spent working, you would think that she came up with something that topped "How Could I Want More." But unfortunately, she didn't.
In the state of country music right now, the women who succeed are the women who are willing to do something different. Although "How Could I Want More" didn't get a lot of radio play, it did create quite a buzz around Spears, which has helped her. That song was different and honest, and it paid off. "Sleepover" isn't different. It sounds the same as a lot of other songs.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad song. It's country enough to not be accused of mis-labeling, and the melody is nice enough. The lyrics are empowering, and the song overall is a pretty decent song. But there's no spark. With "How Could I Want More," "Shotgun Wedding," "Big Bad World," and the other songs on Spears's debut EP, it was so personal. You could match up some of her lyrics with headlines you had read six of seven years before. You could almost feel her heart and soul in the songs. It was vulnerable and beautiful. But with this song, it's bland. There's nothing in this song that shows Spears is capable of being an incredible artist, which was easy to see with "How Could I Want More.' Maybe this is the weakest song on Spears's next project. Maybe she's written and cut a lot of songs that have the same fire and passion that "How Could I Want More" did. But it's not easy to see that with this song as a lead single.
Overall rating: 2 crowns
In the state of country music right now, the women who succeed are the women who are willing to do something different. Although "How Could I Want More" didn't get a lot of radio play, it did create quite a buzz around Spears, which has helped her. That song was different and honest, and it paid off. "Sleepover" isn't different. It sounds the same as a lot of other songs.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad song. It's country enough to not be accused of mis-labeling, and the melody is nice enough. The lyrics are empowering, and the song overall is a pretty decent song. But there's no spark. With "How Could I Want More," "Shotgun Wedding," "Big Bad World," and the other songs on Spears's debut EP, it was so personal. You could match up some of her lyrics with headlines you had read six of seven years before. You could almost feel her heart and soul in the songs. It was vulnerable and beautiful. But with this song, it's bland. There's nothing in this song that shows Spears is capable of being an incredible artist, which was easy to see with "How Could I Want More.' Maybe this is the weakest song on Spears's next project. Maybe she's written and cut a lot of songs that have the same fire and passion that "How Could I Want More" did. But it's not easy to see that with this song as a lead single.
Overall rating: 2 crowns
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