Chlöe had us thrilled when she announced her upcoming debut album In Pieces and stoked that excitement with the release of the set’s lead single “Pray It Away.” However, when she announced that her new single, “How Does It Feel,” was on its way and that it featured R&B bad boy Chris Brown, it was met with a bit of backlash due to Breezy’s checkered past. The songstress soldiered on, though, and now the single and its video have arrived. So, is it worth all the talk?
Chlöe turned to Hitmaka for the track’s production. He, in turn, leans on a sample of Dionne Warwick’s “You're Gonna Need Me” (which was most memorably sampled by Usher on “Throwback”) to provide the song’s foundation. It’s hard to make a bad song with such quality acting as the base, and this one definitely succeeds in its aims.
Chris and Chlöe play a couple on the verge of a breakup as they try to reconcile their feelings and what’s going on between them. They each have a verse explaining their side of things — with trust issues being the likely culprit of this love’s demise — before they come together to pour their hearts into the chorus.
“I gave you more than you wanted / I gave you more than you needed,” they both sing. “So tell me, how does it feel / To lose the one you believe in?”
The song’s video furthers this narrative, with the twosome starting off in two separate, dimly lit rooms bemoaning their circumstance before the wall slides back to unite them. That close moment between them is intense, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. We then see Chlöe solo in glamorous, artistic shots before we return to the set just as a chasm forms between them, separating them from each other once and for all.
Regardless of the controversy it sparked, “How Does It Feel” is a pretty solid effort from Chlöe and Chris Brown. We might dare to say we like it more than “Pray It Away.” With the March release of In Pieces soon coming, we can’t wait to hear what might be next.
