Avg Rating: 
3.5 ( 13 total votes )
It’s not easy being a male R&B sex symbol. Sure, at first it’s fun to watch girls hyperventilate every time you take your shirt off, but after a while all the screaming gets annoying. No matter how big you once were, it doesn’t take long before the screams subside and the hyperventilations slow down. The harsh truth is there’s always some younger guy waiting to knock you off your sex symbol pedestal. That’s why ultimately, no matter how well you dance or how cut your abs are, it’s still about the music. If you can’t … ...Read the full album review
DJBooth Album Review
It’s not easy being a male R&B sex symbol. Sure, at first it’s fun to watch girls hyperventilate every time you take your shirt off, but after a while all the screaming gets annoying. No matter how big you once were, it doesn’t take long before the screams subside and the hyperventilations slow down. The harsh truth is there’s always some younger guy waiting to knock you off your sex symbol pedestal. That’s why ultimately, no matter how well you dance or how cut your abs are, it’s still about the music. If you can’t consistently make quality albums you’ll just end up hosting crappy reality shows on cable TV (sorry Tyrese, that was uncalled for).
That’s why even though women across the country orgasm at the mere thought of J Holiday singing, he still needed to prove he could be a legitimate and long-lived musical force. Mission accomplished. Holiday shows that he’s more than a sex symbol with his aptly-titled Round 2, the slim singer’s follow up to 2007’s surprise smash Back of My Lac. Round 2 finds Holiday shifting away from Lac’s harder-edged image in favor of a smoother sound, resulting in a well-crafted album that shows that while Holiday’s got a ways to go before he reaches elite status, no one will ever be able to call him a one-hit wonder again.
Holiday exploded out of relative obscurity to the top of the charts on the strength of his smash hits Bed and Suffocate, two slow burners that cemented his status as a baby makin music machine. Since the former was helmed by The-Dream, who we recently confirmed is the motherf**king man, the public can be forgiven if they wondered how Round 2 would fare without the helping hand of the Radio Killer. Holiday’s first attempt to recapture the magic is the lead single It’s Yours, a synth-heavy track that slowly grinds while Holiday lays down the same “can’t get enough of you” lyrics that served him so well on his first go round. It’s Yours is an admirable attempt to walk the thin line between pop and R&B, but it lacks that intangible appeal that make Bed so unforgettable. If any track off Round 2 has the potential to blow up it might just be Wrong Lover, a storytelling cut that brings on Rick Ross for a dope guest verse while Holiday charismatically falsettos across the laid-back beat. I don’t know if there’s another Suffocate-level smash on this album, but I would still expect to hear Round 2’s best and brightest on a radio near year you very soon.
Everyone at the top of the music industry does something better than anyone else. No one can top Ne-Yo on pure songwriting, no one works an auto-tune like T-Pain, and who else can drop heartbreaking soul vocals like Anthony Hamilton? For his part, Holiday sounds like he’s still trying to figure out what his thing’s going to be. Is it going to be Jodeci-esque bedroom burners? If so then Round 2’s got an example of Holiday’s power to inspire heat between the sheets with his bumping Make That Sound, a burner that showcases his ability to ride a rhythm with the same skill that first won his legions of female fans. Or is he going to own the sensitive slow jam? Fly is Round 2’s foray into the full on break-up song world, complete with 90’s rock ballad style drum fills and a teary vocal performance from Holiday. Ultimately, Round 2 covers a lot of additional thematic ground, from the social consciousness of Homeless to the acoustically-oriented Run Into My Arms, but while the range is certainly impressive, I’m still unsure what Holiday’s claim to fame is going to be - and it sounds like he is too.
Make no mistake, Round 2 is still better than 90-percent of the albums that will come out this year, so let’s end this review on a high note (much like Holiday likes to do on his songs). Any true music fan will love Sing 2 U, a track Holiday writes using famous lines from R&B’s past, from R. Kelly’s “I don’t see nothin wrong with a little bump n’grind” to Ginuwine’s “every freakin night and every freakin day.” Similarly exhilarating is the surprisingly rocking I Tried, a track that has Holiday breaking out of the box to deliver one of the album’s most memorable tracks. So is Holiday still a sex symbol? Yes, but on Round 2 he proves he’s something much more valuable, a musician.
Listen to More: J. Holiday Written by Nathan S.
More From J. Holiday
Submit a Review and/or Rating
Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: Total Ratings: 13
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
I think this was better than Back of My Lac'. I like how he went out on his own on this cd and just made it original. This is a great slow jam cd to put on with your girl there with you. J. Holiday is a baby makin' machine like ya said.
My Top 5: 1. Don't Go 2. Lights Go Out 3. Make That Sound 4. It's Yours 5. Run Into My Arms |
| Posted on Mar 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
Nice CD but nothing stands out like his first single Bed dont think he will ever top that but on the other side you can tell he wanted this CD to be a good mix for the ladies and fellas so round 2 came out pretty good...
|
| Posted on Mar 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
thematic ground? please. R2 is pretty forgettable - compared to the catalogue of releases hitting the rounds this year from prince, corneille, chrisette, tonex, kevon edmonds, elliot yamin, maxwell supposedly, R2 will vanish into obscurity. holiday is just one trick pony. r2 is waay too patchy for my liking and clumped together half-hazardly. the album starts off strong bar the intro but then falls lopsided. the intro is a wack attempt at 60s inspired broadway. Versaility was never his strong suit. Dude is just lazy on that track and it doesn’t do justice to the proceeding “Its yours” which is crazy - the standout track for me. the intro should have been scrapped b/c it stands in stark contrast to the rest of the material which is stylistically different. the majority of the lp caters to the bedroom, hence the title “round 2? but if i was @*#$! a girl i would find myself falling asleep halfway through - thats what i felt like listening to this album. Holiday doesnt have a commanding voice and his vocals are suspect (just hear him try to crack his highest register) and they really deteriorate the material from becoming something truly amazing and honest. his voice is never at the forefront and its as if it needs to be propped up by the production, which is pretty amazing, bar Holiday’s whiny husky drawl and coy delivery. Round 2 is detached love-making and flaky on sentiments. Case#1: Use of autotune on “Make That Sound”. Mario would have killed this - Streetlove after all is Mario’s production team and provided much of the production work on the album. Case#2: “Forever Ain’t Enough” tries so hard to be the one track ode to commitment but its laboured and Holiday’s disgenuine vocals stop it short from it ever becoming that. Case#3: “Homeless” is an attempt at a delicate and serious moment but the lyrics and delivery are just corny and lame and showered in irony: there’s a man on the street, he got holes in his shoes, on his feet, we be in the club, spending dough, then we come outside and tell him no. By the time the final track comes into rotation, the jokes name themselves. Thank god the hood sentiments are far and few inbetween.
tyrese - how you gonna act like that/i must be crazy > j. holiday's career |
| Posted on Mar 12, 2009 |
|
|
Rating:
what an incredibly average album! I'm shocked. I thought Back of My Lac was aight, good first step, but this... hella boring! I don't know of any album in my iTunes that lacks a 5-star song! It's Yours is the best track, and even that isn't that hot! Wow man. I think J has a good voice, and he made some really good tracks before, but this is hella lazy! Or he was just playing it safe, I dunno. Major fail here.
|
| Posted on Mar 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
Man what is wrong with yall? This CD is nice and if your really listen to the lyrics he did great. This is a great love making CD for the bedroom if yall are getting any. Doesnt sound like yall are if you are VICIUZURBAN. I Like this CD
|
| Posted on Mar 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
you're right. while yall are busy getting down with this record, id be smashing with prince, bilal, musiq and phil perry.
|
| Posted on Mar 12, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Pretty sure, “every freakin night and every freakin day.” was Jodeci.
|
| Posted on Mar 13, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 269 |
Rating:
Dang, I mean this isn't my favorite RnB album, but it was a really solid effort. Holiday's voice is perfect for the production. Really smooth album. Solid, not great, but I give it a 4 star. You either like Holiday and this album or you don't. It is unique as hell...
|
| Posted on Mar 13, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 76 |
Rating:
hot album love this one 2. too bad the dream killed it in love vs. money but this album is dope as hell. i just liked his first one betta doe!
|
| Posted on Mar 16, 2009 |
|
Tastemaker  Total Ratings: 736 |
Rating:
this is an above avg R&B album. his smooth vocal is perfect for the beats on this album. this is a lady killer album.
|
| Posted on Mar 17, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
I think J. Holiday CD is on fire. I purchased it the same day it came out. I been playing it every morning! Many Blessings J. Holiday!
|
| Posted on Mar 18, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
This album showed a different side to J. Holiday, 1st album he was hardcore, this album he more of a soft thug.This album is on point, i love it. !st albums still betta though.
|
| Posted on Mar 18, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
I'll admit, this album takes a much slower pace that can be sleep inducing and dull. However, it showcases a different direction for Holiday now that he's experienced success. Back Of My Lac was more street thug singing, now he's soft, charming crooner. The first album may be more enjoyable, but I think that this album showcases his musicality and ability to blend with the production. There aren't as many joints for the fellas to be down with, but I think the album will appeal better to ladies. Chill tracks like "Wrong Lover", the soft and tender "Forever Ain't Enough"-similarly in vein "Fly" and the uptempo "It's Yours" are all solid tracks. The baby makers weren't bad, "Make That Sound" I felt was better than "Lights Go Out". Decent album that is as good, possibly better than his debut.
|
| Posted on Mar 19, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
Real good album. I enjoyed J's voice a lot in this album. Some of my favorite songs on this CD was Fly, Lights Go Out, Make That Sound, Fall, Forever Ain't Enough, and Run Into My Arms. Solid sophmore album.
|
| Posted on Mar 19, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member  Total Ratings: 125 |
Rating:
ITS OK
|
| Posted on Nov 13, 2009 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Rating:
1 of the best R&B albums I've listened to. Round 2 just edges it for me ahead of Back Of My Lac, just because I wasn't a big fan of the beginning of Back Of My Lac (Ghetto, Thug Commangments, Laa Laa).
Best Songs: It's Yours Fall Don't Go Run Into My Arms Homeless I Tried |
| Posted on Dec 01, 2011 |
FEATURED ARTIST
FEATURED ALBUM
TOP 20 MUSIC CHARTS
The top rated new Hip Hop & R&B songs on DJBooth, updated every Sunday.
