I'll be honest up front - I didn't think Cameron Whiley would be my cup of tea. Being the ageing dinosaur I am, I (unfairly) thought that this would be out of my demographic & not in my line with my usual brand of perky pop. However, I'm nothing if not open minded, sometimes diverse and open to persuasion. One listen of his brilliant new single Reh Reh Reh (out now on iTunes don't you know) and I have been completely won over by his often cheeky, often witty but always charming brand of modern day life pop music. Here are ten very good reasons why I'm pretty sure this is the start of something pretty darn tooting big for the ridiculously talented 19 (!) year old...
- 01 ~ I'm pretty sure Reh Reh Reh kicks off with a bassline sample of Rebel MC's 1989 smash single, Street Tuff (though actually that could have been sampled from something itself). Anything that reminds me of the line "rough like a ninja, stinging like a bee" has to be admired...
- 02 ~ Kid is funny as - the entire tune is filled with quotable lyrics that are delivered with true charisma and personality. Plus he's hit on something genius with the "reh reh reh" hook. When you are getting earache from everyone around you, that's exactly what it feels like...
- 03 ~ Cameron also has a knack for putting every day life problems into entirely relateable situations - his girlfriend blaming him for her crappy day, queue jumpers, smoking in public, etc. Taking these every day mundane things and making them entertaining is a real art - and makes me eager for more music from the young fella...
- 04 ~ There are some hilarious rhyming couplets in the song ~ e.g. "She finished work/not very happy/the look in her eyes/she might wanna slap me/.../not my fault I try to tell her/Nothing to say that can compel her/I told her I could be dead/But she wouldn't listen so I'm going to bed" :) Now who hasn't had a variation on that argument??!
- 05 ~ The video is bonkers ace. One of Cameron's mates appears in a onesie to represent the "beef" he is having with some other bloke. Amazing.
- 06 ~ Also of note in the video is the Billie Piper lookalike that plays his girlfriend. She does a rather blinding job - her distaste and pissed off mood positively radiate from the screen. Brillopants!
- 07 ~ The whole video in fact is like a high brow, musical episode of Jeremy Kyle (only with less DNA testing and better tattoos). There is also much much more leaf throwing...
- 08 ~ By now, you will have probably listened to the above video at least once while you were reading this. Try and get that "Reh Reh Reh" chorus out of your head! Just try!! You can't. It's stuck there. MAYBE PERMANENTLY!! The repetition of the hook at the end ensures that it earworms it's way into your brain but also is the musical representation of what the lyrics are trying to achieve - that getting verbal jip all day can be this ongoing, relentless drone. Only far far more enjoyable in this blooming catchy tune :)
- 09 ~ It also works very well in a more stripped back format. Check out the Dropout Live UK version here. It seems even more vibrant and energetic in a live setting and Cameron has this instantly mesmerising stage presence that is hard to resist.
- 10 ~ I like his red hat...
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