Hong Kong is brimming with talented young souls nowadays, that’s for sure. Perhaps, if you look at Hong Kong as a night sky, many stars are waiting for you to discover (which, in reality, is hard to do)! Everyone wants to be a star because it’s cool, exciting and glamorous, yet pursuing this goal is rarely easy and often filled with doubts, criticism, hate and more. Especially, trying to be a songwriter, singer or YouTuber is even more challenging, considering that these jobs are unconventional and only few can succeed at, let alone online bullying and harsh comments.
In his latest single, Phoenix Broderick sings about being a star, others’ unwanted options and the journey the singer must take as he ventures into the music industry. Thanks to Chris for providing me with this song, and to Phoenix for the early access to the first mastered version of the song — “Stars”. Before diving into this spectacular song, let’s introduce our star in this review — Phoenix Broderick!
Although born in a small village called Paekakariki in Wellington, Phoenix’s journey would later start in Hong Kong. In 2020, his ukulele playing caught his teacher’s attention, whose encouragement would result in an interest in instruments, singing and songwriting and ultimately the creation of his first ever song — “I Don’t Need to Write A Break-up Song to be successful”. Since then, he has graced the stage on several occasions such as The Underground Playful Palooza, The Nextwave Beach Music Festival and DBIS Carols on the Pitch 2023. He plans to perform at Wembley and stadiums worldwide by 2033, an impressive and ambitious goal he’s working towards. He believes in the power of music, hoping to inspire change and spread kindness through his songs.
With all said and done, let’s talk about Phoenix’s latest single – “Stars”! Starting with a general outline and comments about the song, this song follows a rather generic structure (VCVCBC), which suits the vibe and the singer’s style. This song, along with Keisha’s Ammonite, radiates major summer/ beach vibes, and it reminds me of those beach episodes in TV series where they would play sunny, bright songs in the background. It’s not a bad thing! The production is great, the instruments and the singer’s vocals don’t clash and aren’t overpowering. Something about this song I like is that all the instruments are authentic, which makes it sound like a live and acoustic performance by Phoenix and his band instead of a heavily mastered version.
First, let’s analyse the song, which includes its structure, mixing, and relationship between the instruments and vocals. As said in the previous paragraph, this song has a simple structure, known and written as VCVCBC. For music nerds, you might understand what these alphabets mean; for everyone else who’s clueless and knows little about songwriting, it’s a common song structure known in the songwriting community. With this structure in place, the song won’t sound too complicated or experimental, which you do not want for a catchy melody with “major summer vibes”.
Producer Michael Lance did a great job with the mixing and mastering! The instruments don’t overpower the vocals too much, though it sometimes feels cluttered or crowded in some sections with everything blaring. Personally, I believe that this song would sound great live. Nonetheless, there are instrumental solos in this song which sound clear and clean, such as the electric guitar and keyboard, and the singer’s voice does not feel too compressed, loud or forceful. Despite minor issues or personal complaints, the whole song is polished and clean, which is impressive considering that this is Phoenix’s second and latest single. I’m also working on songs, so I have firsthand experience of how difficult it is to record all the tracks, produce the songs myself and ensure a smooth and pleasant experience.
Next, let’s talk about something more abstract, including the singer’s voice, the musicians’ performance, the general gist of the song and more. Since I don’t have the lyrics, I will look at the singer’s voice, style and performance. Although Phoenix’s style leans slightly more on Harry Styles’, his youthful and charismatic tone and style are reminiscent of country or jazz singers from tens of years ago, or perhaps modern pop music for some. To my knowledge, the instruments used include electric guitar, keyboard and drums. They sound great in the mixing, and their lines mostly stay relatively simple when Phoenix is singing. That said, I do appreciate the repeating, simple riff played on the keyboard— it sounds amazing!
As for the lyrics, though this is a personal preference, I prefer a song with lyrics that are easy to understand and sing. The choruses’ last lines end with “Look at your stars”, which is catchy and easy to remember, and it would be what the audience shouts during live performances. However, it would not be fair to compare lyrics from Bruno Mars or Laufey with Phoenix since they both had more experience, so to Phoenix’s credit, this song is a pretty solid and great start!
Okay, now for a personal statement. Funnily enough, I’ve had a change of heart since I first listened to this song. At first, I wrote down that this song was perhaps a bit generic, the production sounds chaotic and the singer sounds young, childish and breathy. You don’t hear this style in Hong Kong, which is relatively new and unique when considered with mainstream, famous band songs. However, as I gave it at least fifty more tries, I found it was not as bad as I thought. Yes, perhaps the mastering could be this, his voice be that, but these are only my thoughts that shouldn’t restrict the song to what I think it is. Phoenix’s style will continue to grow and change, so who am I to judge?
All in all, this song is pretty good! It is a great song to play in front of an audience and at the start of a music festival, and it’s an amazing way to get people hyped and excited. I think the aim and message behind the song are meaningful, though we’ll have to see after the release of the lyrics. Again, as a fellow songwriter and singer, I think this song is a giant step towards becoming a better and great singer and/or band, and it is a solid and unique song in itself! If you’re interested in listening to this song, be sure to check it out once it is released – 11th October 2024 on Spotify and other platforms! You will want to follow Phoenix on his journey to becoming a great singer and performing at Wembley, so here are his Instagram page and YouTube channel. In the meantime, work on your passion and dreams, and I’ll see you guys in the next review!
– Joshua
