The Rundown: Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines
A track-by-track breakdown of the crooner’s new album.
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The Rundown: Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines - For a decade, Canadian singer Robin Thicke has been trying to become R&B royalty with two things standing in his way. One was multi-platinum-selling, fellow blue-eyed soulster Justin Timberlake. The other being Thicke's focus on angst-heavy tunes which, while helping LPs like The Evolution of Robin Thicke go platinum, kept him from reaching the pop crowd. Now he seems to have hit the buyer-friendly formula of party R&B with his smash hit single "Blurred Lines" and his new LP of the same name. Check out this track-by-track assessment and find out why Thicke is ready to be king. (Photo: Star Trak, Interscope Records)
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"Blurred Lines" featuring T.I. and Pharrell - What's to say about the title cut? With its cowbell-infused dance track (inspired by Marvin Gaye's 1977 dance classic "Got to Give It Up") and Thicke's silky falsetto singing about turning a good girl out, it's the pop hit of the year. Add T.I.'s rhyming for a little hip hop flare and this is clearly the most all-inclusive party jam of 2013. (Photo: Stark Trak)
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"Take It Easy on Me" - This booming and prancing track takes the staid electronic Euro-dance sound way down to funky town, with Thicke crooning about pursuing a chick that's hard to get. Simply put, another club banger. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET)
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"Ooo La La" - Thicke resurrects the ethereal groovability of early '80s R&B on "Ooo La La," while vocally blending — ever so gently — Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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"Ain't No Hat 4 That" - Sewing together the melodic feel of Shalamar's 1978 "Take That to the Bank" with the super percussive clanking inspired by Michael Jackson's 1979 "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough," this track undeniably invites us to the dance floor. (photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Get in My Way" - Thicke is feeling unstoppable, belting out how nothing will get in his way while accompanied by the familiar ingredients of a substantial (and pulsing) disco rhythm. Over a 4-to-the-floor kick, horns punch skyward, a piano bangs soulfully and a guitar scratches out an infectious funk riff. (Photo: Derek Blanks/BET)
Photo By Photo: Derek Blanks/BET
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"Give It 2 U" featuring Kendrick Lamar - This track, armed with elastic keyboard blasts and an industrial bounce, finds the soul-stirrer telling the ladies what he, uh, has got for them. Kendrick Lamar joins him for the lust-fest. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images
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"Feel Good" - A booming electro-house beat fuels this love cut where Thicke slyly questions a potential boo about whether she would stick with him through thick (no pun intended) and thin. (photo: John Ricard / BET)
Photo By photo: John Ricard / BET
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"I Go Stupid 4 U" - Thicke goes from the club to the sidewalk for this catcall laid over acoustic guitar strumming and a summertime bass line. "Grab my cardiac, oh my/give a boy a heart attack, call the ambulance/ Girl I fell in love/ Give the boy a chance," he rhymes before admitting, "I can't stop girl, every time you're walking down the block, girl." (Photo: Rob Kim/Getty Images for Music Choice)
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"For the Rest of My Life" - Things are slowed down but you can still feel that thump from a kick drum/rim shot on this track. Here, Thicke is not chasing an elusive love interest, instead he packs his falsetto with an extra dose of passion as he sings about loving his woman for the rest of his natural born life. (Photo: Michael Caulfield/WireImage for BET Network)
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