Single Music Review: Voodoo by Badshah & J Balvin

Badshah is finally breaking into the international scene with his first global collaboration called Voodoo. He has been sampling and playing around with Spanish vibes for some time now so this seems to be a natural progression for him for a collaboration. The great thing here is he has roped in the main man and hit maker J Balvin for his Latino melody with Puerto Rican producer Tainy delivering the beats. What would be interesting in this production is to see if Badshah goes mainstream delivering English raps or if rather this is a song for the desi market and thus making J Balvin a household name. Either way, one expects this to be a big tune in the typical 100bpm tempo synonymous with RnB and Latino tunes.

The song opens with the synth melody which has a flute kind of sound but with a lot of airy echo to it to give it that haunting character. To top this Badshah adds his very low deep vocal that gives it that dark vibe, especially on the chorus. The vocal is at the lowest low for him and always dissolves in the background bass in parts. But the song changes course when the typical Spanish beat drops in and it layers beautifully with the continuous melody. Balvin’s vocal adds a good range to the song as he sounds a sparky and upbeat in contrast to Badshah’s low range vocal.

The music is the typical programmed studio mix but the haunting melody is quite unique and new to the dancefloor that will give a new dimension to club nights, especially around Halloween. Beyond that there is very little variation or change in the music track that consistently flows through the song with some good drop points programmed in that give it a bit more excitement. The totally Hindi lyrics makes this a desi market targeted song and is clearly not Badshah’s entry into the international market. The lyrics are decent but not amazing which could be the biggest downfall for this song. The songs that have become iconic for Badshah have clearly done so on the back of standout lyrics that have a brilliant flow, and this song is not one of them.

The vocals by both artists are quite average too. The video is quite interesting and different in its look, locations and its choreography. The whole Voodoo concept of the video merges the Indian and Latino cultures well with the strongly prevalent in both cultures.

Overall, this is an average song that is banking hard on a unique melodic sound and its international star power to become a hit on the airplays and go viral. This is a marketing song rather than any special musicality to it, but it sure has some merit for the dancefloor and it could work for a short stint in the clubs across 2022.

BizAsiaLive.com Rating 3.5/5

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.