Hooking Up on Myspace Can Lead to Artistic Pleasure

Hey, we're not above using a little titillation to perk up interest. Heh.

This week, Justin debuted a brief version of a new song on American Idol Extra, called "Eventually." You can watch the video below.

As he explains, he wrote the song with a British writer/producer named Pete "Boxta" Martin. Although Boxta is making a name for himself in England, working some of the best artists in the UK neo-soul movement, Justin didn't hook up with him any old-fashioned way. He didn't have an A&R guy at a record label arrange a meeting; he didn't run into the guy at a concert or some industry function. He saw Boxsta's myspace icon on another writer's page and looked him up.

Myspace, not just for teen angst, garage bands, and dating site spam.

Justin Guarini debuts a new soul/R&B song called "Eventually"


One thing you can tell even from that short snippet is the difference it makes when an artist is part of creating the music from its inception. At the time, it wasn't noticeable, but comparing to now, you can see how little Justin enjoyed singing most of the material from his first album. It wasn't chosen for him as much as tossed at him with a "here, record this." Now, you can see how much Justin loves performing his new material, both this song and those written with Greg Gordon Smith. A light exudes from him on stage.

Something else intrigues us about this new song. If you think about it, "eventually" isn't exactly the most musical word. Among other things, you've got the rhythm issue. Is it "e-ven-tu-al-ly" or "e-ven-chally"? Then, it's just a rather vague adverb. You have to build a story around it because it doesn't exactly tell one on its own.

The title "Eventually" brings to mind a great groove track by Amos Lee called "Sympathize." "Sympathize" is similarly not a particularly musical word, and it needed a good story to sell it. Amos did pretty good, don't you think?

"Sympathize" by Amos Lee

We've only heard a minute thirty seconds of "Eventually," but it seems Justin and Boxta also found a hook that works. Justin the singer tells the object of his affection he's going to stick around because "Eventually" she'll figure out she should love him. Guess we have to wait for the remaining three or so minutes to hear the rest of his appeal, but here's hoping she figures it out by the end of the song. That would be "eventually" enough for us.