Don't you forget it, don't sweat it

South African singer Loyiso surprised absolutely no one by picking up a SAMA (South African Music Award) this past weekend for last year's Blow Your Mind album (if you're curious, Best English Pop Album went to Tasha Baxter, who beat out Wafeeq, Jacques, Caelee "Nikki Webster [and Guy Sebastian and John Sutherland and probably more] covers," and a seemingly kids-oriented group called Atom I've never heard of--not a surprise, at least for me, either)--two if you count the one the album's producer won. The lead single, "I Want You" (the video for which was recently finally added to YouTube), a breezy R&B song that sounds made for summer, was a bit hit last year, and as a followup he went with a song that features none other than that aforementioned Best English Pop Album winner as well as winner of Best Newcomer--yup, Tasha Baxter, who's had several radio hits of her own, which might have something to do with why the song was chosen as as single. Then again, Loyiso's more of an established artist than Tasha is, being several albums into his career, so it could just be because it's a good song.

Blow Your Mind (feat. Tasha Baxter)--I know this is Loyiso's song and I've written about Tasha--and my reservations about her--before, but I think it's worth getting some of my concerns out in the open but in brief first: it's interesting to have someone on the South African pop music scene like her; no one else there--to my knowledge, and at least on a big successful scale--is doing electronic pop music like she is, and so I am glad to have her around. On the other hand...well, for some reason I've never been able to fully love her as an artist (though I think she's got at least a couple of good to great songs and if she keeps going and developing she's got the potential to really be great and worthy of attention outside her home country--maybe I'm just holding out because I've got high hopes?). I'm not sure if her guest appearance here is going to help me sort through that particular issue, but at least in this case I think I know why I don't necessarily love everything about her performance: there's something about the way she sings that just irks me a little bit--her tone feels kind of like...put-on petulance or pouting at times.

That's just one small complaint, though, because in general, I think Loyiso and Tasha's collaboration is a good thing: Loyiso brings his R&B-pop and Tasha brings her electronic pop, and they mesh really well into this playful but laid-back song with Tasha's synths and Loyiso's horns and melody and...well, I don't know who's guitar part; probably Loyiso's (I say this in terms of who they "spiritually" belong to, not who actually contributed them). For all Loyiso's boasting in the song, though, and its catchiness, it's not really that in-your-face, which kind of makes it even more charming--more coolly flirtatious than aggressive, even if still just as lusty.

To buy Loyiso's album Blow Your Mind, go here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: maybe something Belgian.