Chanteuse-turned-reality TV star Christina Milian just wrapped her E! show, Christina Milian Turned Up, which theoretically gives her more time to focus on her music. If her new track "Rebel" is any indication of that focus, it appears that the singer's time has been well spent.
"Rebel" borrows some of the contemporary tricks being pulled out of the hats of many younger artists, including a reliance on Auto-Tune during portions of the track to give her vocals a distorted, nearly robotic quality. But her voice meshes well with the tune's melody, which — when not fading in an out — maintains a steady sense of seduction and induces nostalgia a la the throwback days of 78-rpm records.
Sometimes a bit "broken" (perhaps a psychological effect of hearing analog pops and hisses?), the music's old-school nature adds to the grown folks quality, especially when some adult talk and a few F-bombs find their way into the sexy poetry of longing, desire and feels-so-good sex. Is the explicit content necessary? That's debatable, but it doesn't distract from "Rebel" establishing itself as a mood-setter.
