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Ke$ha giggles and then commands, "Dance!" That is how "Blow" opens, and it is a brilliant beginning. Unfortunately, it is all downhill from there. It's not so much that "Blow" is bad as it is all a little dull. When we're speaking of Ke$ha, that is not a good thing.

Pros

• The opening command to "Dance!"
• One raw and rugged vocal shout
• Highly danceable

Cons

• Ordinary
• Sounds like "We R Who We R" part 2

Description

• Written by Kesha Sebert, Klas Åhlund, Lukasz Gottwald, Allan Grigg, Benjamin Levin, and Max Martin
• Produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, and Kool Kojak
• Released February 2011 by RCA

Guide Review - Ke$ha - "Blow"

It is disheartening that "Blow" employed such a large roster of current hitmaking producers and songwriters to come up with something so uninspiring. The song is catchy and has an unmistakable hook, "This place about to blow!" but somehow the song never takes fire. It sounds very much like it is Ke$ha toned down to fit comfortably on our radio. The song is a companion piece of sorts to the #1 smash "We R Who We R" and as such feels very much like part 2. "Blow" seems to have little need for existence other than to extend the party over the next four minutes.

Ke$ha's current EP Cannibal contains a number of better songs than "Blow," but some of them would be difficult to tone down lyrically for mainstream pop radio. "Blow" is proof that when you take the audacity away from Ke$ha we are left with a relatively ordinary dance pop singer.

There is one more great moment on the song beyond the opening. At close to the three minute mark she shouts, "This place about to blow!" with a raw edge to her voice. I wish that could have been followed by 40 more seconds of rough and ragged work taking us somewhere new, but unfortunately "Blow" just fades with repetition.

Ke$ha is riding a phenomenal streak of five consecutive top 10 pop hits as lead artist and three more as a featured artist. Will the ordinariness of "Blow" end that streak? It quite possibly could. That would leave Ke$ha with the task of rebuilding momentum. This is a safe bet for keeping the party going on autopilot, but don't expect the room to erupt in excitement either. Meanwhile, we will wait for the next true dose of Ke$ha attitude.