10-year career, Trey Songz has an established formula

 

for Pop stardom that excels at being commonplace, but not "common."

Six albums into a nearly 10-year career, Trey Songz has an established formula for Pop stardom that has allowed him to become a brand name performer in urban top-40 music. A consistent hitmaker, three of his now six albums have reached the top five on the Billboard R&B album charts, with his past three (2008’s Ready, 2010’s Passion, Pain and Pleasure, and 2012’s Chapter V) all reaching the top five on Billboard magazine’s overall album charts, too. As well, in an era where everyone decries a lack of album sales, he’s sold roughly 2.5 million copies of his last three releases. However, with the potential for high sales figures dwindling, Trigga, Songz’s sixth album features a simplified, “turnt up” formula for Pop stardom that excels at being commonplace, but not “common,” high-class production for music covering populist topics at play for those for whom wild nights aren’t hooks in songs, but rather a way of life.

One can basically figure out exactly what they’re in for when instead of less salacious fare to start the album, the album instead begins with “Cake,” an ode to cunnilingus wherein Songz compares women to confectionery flavors. “Light-skinned girls” remind him of “red velvet (cake),” “Dark-skinned girls” remind him of “chocolate,” while Caucasian women remind him of “vanilla icing” as a cake topping. While yes, this may appear to be a black mark against the album’s mainstream Pop sensibilities, let’s also remember that T.I. and Iggy Azalea currently have a single on the charts where T.I. refuses to copulate with women who have a “bush down there,” and Iggy wants you to “go 12 rounds with this Million Dollar Baby.” Expecting album-selling kingpin Songz to deviate from what’s moving units is an exercise in futility.

This album, similar to Jodeci’s pop breakout 1995 release, is meant for the show, the after party and the hotel. Both “Foreign” and it’s Justin Bieber-featuring remix advocate for the joys of romancing women coming to America (and visiting nightclubs) in a manner not heard since the days of Jay Z’s “Girls, Girls, Girls.” “Touchin, Lovin” and “Late Night” are club smashes too, as Nicki Minaj and Juicy J show up and drop eight-bar treatises on the liberating power of the female orgasm and the perils of one-night stands, respectively.

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