The Best You Never Heard: Lady Gaga, Madonna, & JoJo

The Best You Never Heard is back!  Each instalment will once again see That Grape Juice spotlight an array of little known gems. Featuring picks from the TGJ editorial team, we want to know…who chose the best song! Let us know below…

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Lady Gaga – ‘Fashion!’

For yours truly, the idea of popularity being a valid measure of quality has always grated. Especially when it comes to Lady Gaga.

Though on the comeback trail now, the mass rejection of her 2013 effort ‘ARTPOP’ saw many miss out on a number of gems. Case in point ‘Fashion!’

Not to be confused with a song of the same name (housed on her 2008 debut ‘The Fame’), this will.i.am production packed an altogether more potent punch. Melodically it favours Madonna’s ‘Holiday,’ and yet for all its retro still managed to sound fiercely fresh.

Lush production, lyrically light, and laced with hooks, this could have served as a fine wine follow-up to ‘Applause.’ Still, it’ll always earn a standing ovation from me. [SAM]

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Madonna – ‘Love Tried to Welcome Me’

When assessing Madonna‘s impact on Pop culture it’s easy to credit her penchant for shock value as its driving force.

It wasn’t. For, the real force behind the “force” was the entertainer’s bona fide forays into different genres and tap into new audience bases / radio platforms with her sound.

The best example of this can be found in 1994 with the LP ‘Bedtime Stories‘, the studio album which solidified her place in R&B’s history books.

Inspired by Toni Braxton and keen to offer fans a softer and sensual side of herself following ‘Erotica‘, the star sought out Braxton’s producer Babyface and TLC hitmaker Dallas Austin and enlisted them to tell her ‘Stories.’

What they created? A poignant and plaintive Contemporary R&B album soaring through the themes of rejection, abandonment, perpetual sorrow and the price of promiscuity.

One of the album’s greatest triumphs, for me, is ‘Love Tried to Welcome Me.’ Produced by Dave Hall, the song told the tale of a painful secret a sex worker shared with Madonna during a conversation in a strip club.

She’d developed a fetish for rejection. A compelling listen. [DAVID]

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Madonna – ‘S.E.X.’

Despite a disappointing promotional campaign to support it, ‘Rebel Heart’ was easily hailed by critics as Queen of Pop Madonna’s best album since her ‘Hung Up’-led 2005 comeback project ‘Confessions On a Dancefloor.’

Yet, while proof of why could be argued via ‘Heart’ cuts ‘Holy Water,’ ‘GhostTown,’ and ‘Inside Out,’ the unexpectedly bumping bop, ‘S.E.X.,’ shines as one of the project’s clear standouts.

Covering subject matter far from shocking at this point from the middle aged vixen, the tune – decorated with a trap-inspired bass line and some very direct sexual instructions – is the purest definition of what Madge is combatting at this stage of her career – ageism.

Think it’s impossible for a woman pushing 60 to be sexy?

Listen to ‘S.E.X.’ and you may reconsider. [RASHAD]

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JoJo –  ‘Like That’

Following the release of JoJo’s debut in 2004 (which was praised for its maturity, as well as the then 13 year old’s mind-blowing voice), 2006 saw her unleash her sophomore effort ‘The High Road’.

Though ‘Too Little Too Late’ was that album’s shinning diamond, it was filled with many other gems, ‘Like That’ was one of them.

Helmed by Ryan Leslie and Corey Williams (the team behind Cassie’s ‘Me & U’), the track saw the starlet showcase her “grown.”  Through minimalistic production and soft delivery, the mood is set for Ms Levesque to let her love interest that she is ready to take that next step with him.

Recent times have seen the songbird resuscitate the song during her live shows. Fitting, as it’s exactly the flavour of music she releases nowadays (see: ‘Demonstrate’) as opposed to the R&B-tinged Pop numbers from her first LPs.

Re-visiting this (as I do frequently) has me oh so excited for her new album. [JOE]

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Whose Pick Was Best?!

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