Didn't wanna want you

U.S. singer Marcos Hernandez might want to reconsider his choice of marketing executives, as they apparently thought it was a good idea to advertise on his site that the title of his 2005 debut album, C About Me, is "a 'pickup line' he uses when asking girls to come check him out." They also thought it was a good idea to really emphasize that, after his group Sons of Harmony broke up, he was discovered by the manager of Vanilla Ice. You might know him from his minor hit "If You Were Mine" (which I didn't think I knew, but it actually rung a bell when I heard it), which was apparently also released in the UK (though it charted outside the top 40). He's also decided to try to break South Africa, though I think he's back in the U.S. now. I can't say he's an artist I'm really going to follow, but sometimes artists that you otherwise pay little attention to manage to win your attention with one of their songs.

The Way I Do--every now and then I get sucked in by one of these mushy sort-of-R&B songs--Mario Vazquez's "Gallery" had me in its grip for a bit, I still think Ne-Yo's "So Sick" is quite good, and now, the not new "The Way I Do" falls in that category. It's got this quality about it that I can't describe but that wins me over--the bridge is great, and there's this build in the chorus (is it guitars that kick in? no, some deeper string, maybe?) that just works for me for some reason. The first chorus is over too quickly, but the song picks up after that. There's just a certain type of instrumentation in it that I love, and the melody of the sung parts complements and enhances it well. It also helps that the lyrics don't put me off quite as much as those of "Gallery" did--yes, they're still of the sort that will draw in girls, but these don't feel quite as over-the-top as those of "Gallery" (or at least they avoid implying that girls will sell their souls for money). The lyrics don't need to be deep, just be sweet enough to allow that amazing music to rise up and through them--it's so pretty and intrinsically comforting (mixed maybe with a tiny bit of inspiring). I actually have no idea what he's saying throughout most of the song (and I think it might detract from the song if I did) because, every time it comes on, I get so swept up by the music that all that matters is that someone is singing, not exactly what he's singing. The only off-putting part are these clicks that sound like a record skipping; at first, I was sure something had to be wrong with my copy, but I've yet to hear a version without them. "The Way I Do" is no work of art, but it works.

To buy the second edition of Marcos Hernandez's debut album, C About Me (the first version was an independent release that doesn't have this song on it), go here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: maybe a Swedish singer, but a woman this time.