Enter Marcus Canty.
A favourite on the premiere season of ‘X Factor USA’, the Maryland native may not have won, however still walked away with an Epic record deal with courtesy of on-show mentor LA Reid.
Now, keen to prove himself outside of the TV arena, Canty has served up his first single ‘Won’t Make A Fool Out Of You’. Set to feature on the soundtrack for ‘Think Like A Man’, the cut will also appear on the 21 year old’s album (due later this year).
How does Canty hold up without the X Factor scaffolding? Find out after the jump…
… surprisingly solid!
As with all talent show acts, there runs the lofty risk of being mismanaged or “handed a sound” which neither the artist nor audience believe in.
Yet, with ‘Fool’, LA Reid and Epic seem to have hit a relative homerun. For, the midtempo is the surest of fits for Canty’s creamy baratone and image on the show. Both lyrically and sonically.
The only potential issue with Canty taking on such sound as his own is centres on how he’ll be marketed. Indeed, at 21, he’s arguably too young to be giving the diet-Coke Avant vibe evoked here. And with this brand of R&B struggling to make much of a dent commercially these days, Canty, may want to sprinkle Pop-ier elements on future material. Especially as an act who “needs” to sell to shake off the reality show tag. Longevity is, after all, based on “playing the game”.
Still, a great track.
29 COMMENTS
Shawnee
March 21, 2012 at 10:55 am
Yessssssssssssssssssssss! *screams and faints*
Report this comment
Heh
March 21, 2012 at 10:58 am
Thank God it’s not pop.
Report this comment
millhouse
March 21, 2012 at 11:03 am
He sounds too much like Mario…. and this song sounds like it was on Mario’s lat album… I hope he dances cuz if not this song might end up being a flop… The only thing that saved Kelly Rowland was the fact that she was dancing… I love R&B but the radio is so shady these days… I hope he finds his own sound, and good luck to him…. I like the song I just dont think its gona be a hit… BTW – he was saaaangin at the end of the song…
Report this comment
Stephanie
March 21, 2012 at 11:05 am
I love it!!! R&B is back! Both lyrically and vocally this is the music that I’ve been looking for awhile! I watched Marcus on X-factor and he is just as much a captivating entertainer as he is a vocalist, so I’m pretty sure he will have some great uptempo songs coming up. I can’t wait to see what’s next for him!
Report this comment
eurontay@twitter
March 21, 2012 at 11:19 am
He is fine he don t need to go pop leave that for that bitch yall keep promoting you know who I am talking about sam this site is wack as fuck paid for by YMCA lol…
Report this comment
kimberly
March 21, 2012 at 11:19 am
i LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG. Finally Finally some new artist did not take the easy route. that is the techno dance, annoying shit. I don’t really know this guy, I know he was dropped form x factor but wow that song is good. Brings me back to usher early years
Report this comment
MISHKA
March 21, 2012 at 11:37 am
At last! It took you A DECADE to post about this song, ThatGrapeJuice!!!
Y’all are so infatuated with Rihanna and Nicki, how do you hear about the song just now? It’s crazy!
This is the R’n'B we’ve been waiting for! This is a certified R’n'B singer! After this some established acts need to get their R’n'B certification suspended. For real, they’re lying to us lol.
Nice job, Marcus, you’re THE NEW JOE !!!
Report this comment
Oh Yeah
March 21, 2012 at 11:38 am
Gorgeous. Love the voice and LOVE MARCUS!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!
Report this comment
millhouse
March 21, 2012 at 11:38 am
Why would you say he’s the new Joe? Thats the stamp of death. look at that man’s career now…. smh
Report this comment
EdwardPonton
March 21, 2012 at 12:05 pm
I agree with someone above. He sounds a lot like Mario. (Which may hinder him) Kind of equivalent to Dawn sounding too much like brandy. Smooth R&B though! This is a dope track.
Report this comment
eurontay@twitter
March 21, 2012 at 1:00 pm
DMV stand up its our time eurontay coming soon shout out to marcus.
Report this comment
Jayla
March 21, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Sam feminine ass always pants “pop-ier” elements, shut the fuck up bitch
Report this comment
Real Music Please
March 21, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Nope this shit is typical! Computer beat, boring delivery, just the same boring ass R&B from the 00′s!! I want to hear some real got damn instruments! This is why black artist don’t get shine anymore! It’s like we are afraid to make real R&B, but most of y’all young is fuck, so anything will please you!!! I say fuck no!!!
Report this comment
Kathy
March 21, 2012 at 1:38 pm
I appreciate the fact that he’s staying in his lane. Now, if they want to market him further—a solid r&b track with simpler lyrics would work as well. Good luck to him!
Report this comment
meh... :[
March 21, 2012 at 1:41 pm
There are too many R&B Males that sound exactly like this. Marcus isn’t versatile enough so I dont see a big career.
If I see one more”real R&B” statement…..uhhh
Clearly you dont know what real R&B actually is. this is considered Contemporary R&B.
Real R&B hasn’t existed since the new jack era of music.
As for the track…meh like everything I’ve heard from think like a man soundtrack so far
Report this comment
Real Music Please
March 21, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Well it can be real again, if a bitch stop being lazy, stop trying to please just the black audience , and make a fucking album!1
Report this comment
Real Music Please
March 21, 2012 at 2:03 pm
@ MEH, Well of course you would say that!! Our music is so boring, non capturing , just plain sucks! Then yet people complain when an white artist like Adele makes soul music!! If black artist would get off this boring ass 2000 shit, not give a fuck about what we as a people would say, and just make an “REAL R&B ALBUM” Then maybe our music would be on top again!! This is new decade. It is time to stop this stupid shit and get real music back, cuz CB, Rhianna, any of these mainstream bitches are not going to be memorable in 20 years!! Sorry your faves will forever be generic era artist!! Just fucking deal with it!!!!!!!!!
Report this comment
Arielhoward26
March 21, 2012 at 3:09 pm
The song is great n he sounds good!!!
Report this comment
SBC
March 21, 2012 at 3:15 pm
I’m glad he remembered that he’s black and didn’t try to come out with some euro-pop trash ditty like a gay white boy.
Report this comment
Michael Johnson
March 21, 2012 at 3:38 pm
THis dude is the truth!!! He is a mix of Usher, Trey, Tevin, and Ruben all rolled up in one.
Report this comment
ASAP (As Sincere As Possible)
March 21, 2012 at 4:12 pm
I love how TGJ are pretending to be standing up for r n’b and they even had those “resurrecting r n’ b” posts, but everytime an artist releases an urban song, there come the words “POP” and “SELL”
This is a good song. If promoted right, it could do well enough on urban radio
Report this comment
Labergne
March 21, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Absolutely refreshing & beautiful vocal – exciting about this artist!!!!!
Report this comment
ohhya
March 21, 2012 at 7:10 pm
at least X Factor embraces the Urban market…freaking Idol is all about WGWGs and Country…
Report this comment
glum
March 21, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Not really my kind of music but I’m not deaf. If doesn’t make at least top 40, something’s wrong.
Report this comment
DTG
March 21, 2012 at 9:51 pm
@ASAP.
I agree. Sam is constantly posting all of these articles, pondering the potential for the resurrection of R&B, and then as soon as a R&B artist releases an R&B song, the first thing he tends to do is doubt it’s commercial appeal and then “suggest” than they do something pop-ier to get shine.
TGJ likes to front, but is actually part of the problem, not the solution.
Report this comment
Princess
March 21, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Marcus sound really good. Love the song!
Report this comment
The Real B(randy)
March 22, 2012 at 4:11 am
SO, basically youre saying that he needs to fake his soul to sell records to white people? O. ok. What the fuck is going on with the world?
Report this comment
antertain
March 22, 2012 at 7:21 am
Nice song and Marcus got that strong tone.
The wrong thing with R&B is when artists conform to the “pop it up abit” concept.
It only works for a few and the genre needs a strong movement.
Commercial sounds are fine as long as the core genre sound is kept and that’s what hasn’t been done so much.
Looking forward to more from him
Report this comment
Lana Bell
March 22, 2012 at 10:14 am
Yes!! I love it!! This is real R&B. The song has substance. Good Job L.A.! The R&B genre needs to return to this type of R&B NOT R&B Pop.
Music is all about variety not everything has to be pop. If you love/like this song, support it (I plan to). This is the only way the music industry will realize that ppl want more than just R&B Pop music from R&B artists. You don’t see many Rock and Country artists doing pop, if any. R&B artists should not have to step away from their R&B roots in order to remain relevant in music.
Wishing you the best Marcus!
Report this comment