Music Review: Little Mix & Missy Elliott "How Ya Doin'"

Little Mix & Missy Elliott

How You Doin’?

Album: DNA

Year: 2013

              Jade Thirwall gives up on her boyfriend in the   hodgepodge  “How Ya Doin’?”

           Part of the che chorus starts the single. It has a lyric sample from Curiousity Killed The Cat’s “Name and Number.”  Thirwall checks her phone. Five messages from her boyfriend. She deletes them all without listening to any of them. She’s done with him. (“Hey, how ya doin' sorry you can't get through/Why don't you leave your name and your number/And we'll get back to you/Hey, how you doing? Sorry you can't get through/Why don't you leave your name and your number/And we'll get back to you.”)

               The actual beat is sampled from The Whatanuts “Help Is On The Way” which begins. She surprised she received any calls from him at all. She thought he wouldn’t notice. Now he starts to pay attention? He didn’t seem to care after all that time. Why should she? (“Ain't got no time for what you think can be described as love/How could you hold on me, you're missing me, I've had enough/It's been so long since you have treated me like I deserved/So long, baby I'm gone, you can leave a message for me after the tone.”)

               In the pre-chorus, she says she presses ignore each time she sees his number. She has no intention of calling him back. (“You called, I missed it/You called, I missed it/You called, and I missed it/Never get back, getting tired of listening.”)

            The full chorus is sung. (“Hey, how ya doin' sorry you can't get through…I know that you keep calling my phone/But baby there isn't nobody home/So won't you leave your name and your number/And we'll get back to you.”)

             She’s not raising her hopes anymore. He’s not going to be the guy she wants him to be. She may have known him for years but it doesn’t change anything. After awhile, there’s no excuse. (“I'm through with wishing things with you and me could be so good/Time to wake up for no make-up's kind of make me a fool/Too much history, now it comes down to one thing/So long, baby I'm gone, you can leave a message for me after the tone.”)

                   The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

                 In the bridge, Elliott reiterates the lyrics. To her credit, though, it’s well-written and descriptive. (“Listen boy you can never play miss got my mind twisted/Whenever I don't answer you be leaving messages/You don't do me right because you got way too many kicks/You get the wrong number "brrr" it's unlisted/I'm change my digits, I'm keep you distant/Oh now you want me back, you want to pay a visit/You get the dial tone "mmmm" click-click (yo)/Brand new song here yeah-yeah Missy with Little Mix/Yeah I used to hold you down, I don't want you around/Because I won't play that, you just saw me the clown/Well it's over now, yeah it's over now/And when you call, I'm send you to my voice mail.”)

             A variation of the chorus is sung to end the single. (“Hey, how ya doin' sorry you can't get through… Never get back, never going to get back/Never get back, never gonna get back/Never get back, never going to get back/Never get back, never gonna get back.”)Caution: You are now annotating this song as

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                 Little Mix, both individually and together, are talented. They have a natural chemistry together that usually takes years for groups have. Unfortunately, the main issue is the sampling. It begins well with the Curiousity Killed the Cat. However, it doesn’t blend well with the The Whatanuts.

                Missy Elliott picks up the single’s energy in the short time she’s there. It’s unfortunate it’s a cameo. She should’ve had a bigger part. It’s been too long she’s been on any track.

               The  so-so  “How Ya Doin’?” lets the samples take over and the talent gets the backseat.

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