William Chong

OK, this has got to be the most inane song ever. I’m talking about it from a musical point of view – from its earthy Dsus9 chord on the piano, it flips back and forth between that and B, giving it a very unorthodox feel to it. If you keep listening it’s definitely complex in its harmonies, and throws interesting modulation to C Minor at you (about 1:41 in the video, Vanessa Hudgens kinda just slides into it; this book explains how odd a semitone modulation is to achieve).

Rhythm and melody-wise it’s somewhat catchy, if you can get past the distraction of a particularly nasal singing quality by Hudgens, who nevertheless is trying her best. Whether it’s an attempt to try a different vocal style/music genre or not, her voice does doesn’t have that depth or soul-feel. I could picture someone like Alicia Keys, Joss Stone or Mary J Blige pulling this off better. But then again none of them would really be singing about shoes, would they?

Thanks to this High School Musical alumna, I’m picking this song to create a fashion-craze that involves young girls going clubbing in sneakers. Bonus points if your shoelaces glow in the dark.

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