WHAT makes a hit? Is it the lyrics, the artiste, the hype at the time? Is it “something special” about the voice or rhythm?

The TEENage Hitlist pinpoints the hits and the misses as soon as we hear both local and international releases.

Local Hit Of The Week

Jah Army by Stephen Marley featuring Damian Marley

Jah Army is Stephen Marley’s first release since his critically acclaimed debut album Mind Control, that won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for the year 2007, and won again controversially in 2009 for its acoustic version.

As the title suggests, Jah Army is about the soldiers of this force and speaks of their roles as his stewards in the world. This represents a stark difference in single choice by Stephen Marley in comparison to other artistes today.

Unlike Traffic Jam, which was his first single release, Jah Army is not an uptempo dancefloor filler. The production Stephen Marley provides here is reminiscent of early analog dancehall, as the instrumentation is filled with heavy bass and echoing drums.

Stephen Marley’s experienced competence as an artiste is present in Jah Army as he shows that lyrical verbosity is not needed to make a good song, and that his message alone can stand on its own. Damian Marley provides a cohesive verse to the song with rapid vocal delivery and relevant subject matter.

TEENage Hitlist believes that Jah Army is a welcomed gift by the Marley clan to not only their fans worldwide, but reggae listeners on a whole.

International Hit Of The Week

Pray by Justin Bieber

Pray is the latest single by Justin Bieber, and is the sole new song on his first remix album entitled My World’s Acoustic, a compilation of stripped down versions of previously released songs.

Although every successful commercial artiste has a “conscious release”, Pray differs as it doesn’t come across as being corny or insincere. Pray is a manifestation of Justin Bieber’s concerns about the world conveyed through music.

Like the other releases on this remix album, the production here is subdued and doesn’t overpower Justin Bieber’s vocals. Pray’s production features a repeated piano loop, a simple drumming pattern, and anthemic violin strings.

Vocally the maturation of Justin Beiber’s voice is present as due to puberty his falsetto has become strained. Despite this biological hinderance, his vocal performance here is still worth being commended.

TEENage Hitlist believes that Pray is a socially relevant single and is an early milestone in Justin Bieber’s career thus far.