This week’s Song of the Week comes courtesy of Singapore Idol alum Tabitha Nauser.
Tabitha Nauser’s new single ‘Body Language’ featuring rapper SonaOne both follows up and diverges from this year’s earlier single ‘Bulletproof’ early this year.
‘Body Language’ drowns the atmosphere from her first track in darker beats, while lifting the mood with house-inspired production. The overall effect is a song that swirls around your brain instead of pounding on your heart.
The giddiness is appropriate for a song about… Come on, it’s a song called ‘Body Language’, featuring lyrics like ‘Catch me right before I land/Push my arms to the bed/Arch my back/Bite my lip’ in Nauser’s cooing vocals. What else could it be about?
Nauser’s soft vocals are backed up by a strong delivery, projecting a confidence that complements the lighter quality of her voice. While ‘Bulletproof’ made use of her lower register to match the heavier production, ‘Body Language’ creates the more varied emotion of feeling happy in a dark place, like having a wild night out at the club.
This quiet confidence is also present in the rap verse from Malaysian wordsmith SonaOne. What might sound like a standard luxury rap verse about the rapper’s prowess is actually about how her body language is ‘so paralysing’. He never comes off as bragging; the song is clearly centred on Nauser, and SonaOne is self-confident enough to never mention himself.
Nauser and SonaOne channel their inner Rihanna and Drake in this song, evoking memories of that pair’s 2012 track ‘Take Care’ if you replace relationship troubles with celebration and ecstasy (the feeling, not the drug). SonaOne, especially, fits perfectly into Drake’s ‘I can brag about being the best, but I’m actually soft and reserved’ personality.
Taken as a whole, ‘Body Language’ is four minutes of fun and another welcome entry into the growing local genre of non-depressing electronic dance songs.
‘Body Language’ is available on Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify.