My heart is achin' and I can't breathe, my soul's breakin', minus 31 degrees

This post is a fragment of something that's been sitting as a draft for nearly two months. Don't let that be an indication of this song losing its impact quickly, though--if anything, it's only become more powerful for me with time.


"Froze" is the latest Chris Brown demo to leak, and it's an excellent one. A ballad, synth-created icy sadness is its aura, with Chris singing about a broken heart. Almost epic and with a chorus I adore in every aspect--its lyrics, the half-processed and half-giant (aided by some layering) sound of Chris's vocals, the whispered backing vocals underneath, the simple melody of Chris's vocal melody (especially the whole "my heart is achin'" section) and the melody of those backing vocals--and a bridge that's fantastic as well. The subdued guitar and the harp-like ripples are just what the song needed to finish it off. If you could float in the middle of an ice cave, this song is what that experience would sound like. If it was ever a single, I'm picturing something like Usher's "Moving Mountains" or the reverse of Grégory Lemarchal's "Le feur sur les planches" for the video...or maybe a reversed version of Ferry Corsten's "Fire," only with, um, no woman in a bikini. Do it right and you could get something that sticks with you as much as the end of Najoua Belyzel's video for "Gabriel." Of course, if "Moving Mountains" wasn't a successful single, I don't know that "Froze" ever will be, but I'm completely captivated by it at the moment.

There's nowhere you can purchase "Froze" yet, but you can buy Chris's latest album, Exclusive: The Forever Edition, here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: maybe something about Eurovision national finals.