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 – Happy Feet by Richie Loop

In the summer of 2010 the most popular song undoubtedly was Richie Loop’s My Cupp. The single was one of the first local fusion productions to cross over into mainstream dancehall.

My Cupp was one of the leading reasons for there to be such a prominence. Fast forward to 2012, although Richie Loop has gained moderately successful singles such as Party Like It’s Your Birthday and Summer Spazz, he hasn’t quite stirred he did with My Cupp.

Continuing his persistent work rate, Richie Loop has released another self-produced single entitled Happy Day/Aappy Feet.

As the title suggests, Happy Day/Aappy Feet is a positive party track attempting to beam a “feel good effect” to listeners.

Lyrically, a song of this nature aims for simplicity in order to grant greater ease for listeners of all age groups to sing along, and in Happy Feet/Aappy Day Richie Loop achieved just that.

Production-wise, Richie Loop utilised aptly applied bright synths to reflect an out of season summer vibe, but could have increased the instrumentation’s tempo a tad bit to be more dance floor ready.

TEENage Hitlist believes that Happy Feet/Aappy Day is a noble effort by the producer/singer, and with the right promotion might be his first hit single for the year.

International hit – Fame by Amber Rose featuring Wiz Khalifa

There comes a time in the careers of some celebrities that some may feel the need to step out of their defined box and try a different endeavour.

Amber Rose, a hip-hop video vixen and model is now the latest non-musician to record and release a song. Her first single is entitled Fame and features her boyfriend, rapper Wiz Khalifa.

Fame is about the positive and negative aspects regarding the daily lives of those considered to be ‘famous’. It can also be seen as Amber Rose’s response to those who have scrutinised her attainment of a celebrity status over the years.

Vocally, Amber Rose’s voice is heavily computer enhanced so it’s hard to ascertain her true vocal capabilities.

Surprisingly however, the song isn’t horrendous as critics would have liked to label it without even a first listen. Fame, especially in its chorus and the song’s chirpy dance pop instrumentation, has some degree of catchiness to it.

Wiz Khalifa’s guest verse was relevant to the song’s theme and further’s the track’s marketability.

TEENage Hitlist believes that Fame isn’t a knockout punch, but isn’t a first single of which Amber Rose should be ashamed.