It’s clear that kids and teens (mainly girls) love a good boyband! We had the likes of Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, One Direction, and now 5 Seconds Of Summer... But who remembers Big Time Rush? I'm probably the only one because Big Time Rush is the only Pop group that I happen to like, and I can never get sick of them! They have emerged as one of the most prominent successors to boybands everywhere, and they had the crown alongside them. The band released three albums in throughout their time together (2009-2013), and their show on Nickelodeon was a huge success.
When it came to their second album, Elevate, and with the amount of success they were having at the time (2011-2012), has Big Time Rush done enough to cement their places as a band strong enough to challenge the likes of One Direction and The Wanted?
While the album remains very firmly in boyband territory and doesn’t venture out of its comfort zone much, it’s nevertheless a very good slice of pop music at its best – especially considering the fierce competition out there. Tracks like the trailer single ‘Music Sounds Better With U (feat. Mann)’ and ‘All Over Again’ showcase plenty of catchy electro pop and schmaltzy dance-balladry respectively and pull it off, but the album can drift into both, treading on too many bands’ toes – ‘Show Me’ is a piano-led mid-tempo track which reeks of N*Sync, the summery and hazy ‘Cover Girl’ is One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ with a different accent and ‘You’re Not Alone’ is a cookie-cutter ballad that’ll sound great gracing the soundtrack of an emotional scene of a show like Pretty Little Liars.
The main point of contention seems to be the lack of new themes amongst the boys’ songs – all of them are odes to their current girlfriends or objects of desire with little change in subject matter; ‘No Idea’ sees the band dealing with some unrequited love, while songs like the cheery ‘If I Ruled the World (feat. Iyaz)’, the soft and fangirl-satisfying ‘Invisible’, the R&B influenced ‘Superstar’ and the bland, handclap-heavy party song ‘Time of Our Life’ all continue the romantic influence – but if nothing else, it’ll earn them a legion of fans more rabid than the girls (and boys) who worship Harry Styles’ hair.
The points where the album rises highest are when the boys unleash their wild side and engage in some dance-y antics. They go further into the euphoria vein than their predecessors like the Jonas Brothers. 'Love Me Love Me’ is an uptempo tune that proves extremely easy on the ear while the title track is an unashamedly cheesy song that has an infectiously catchy chorus and concept. Best of all are the bonus tracks ‘Epic,’ 'Blow Your Speakers,' 'Paralyzed,' and 'Windows Down' which more than live up to their titles – sounding like some of the greatest songs that no party / club never used, they're the aural equivalent of a double-stuffed Oreo: not particularly good for you, but twice as delicious as anything else out there.
The only track that isn't "original" on this album is 'No Idea.' This song was made by another band, All Time Low, off of their album Dirty Work. However, with lead singer Alex Gaskarth's permission, he helped Big Time Rush put their own twist to the song on Elevate by changing most of the lyrics and adding their boyband charm to it. It's still a good track... I just wish Big Time Rush and All Time Low (as a whole) did some sort of collaboration together! I can just imagine what that would be like... TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
In conclusion, don’t go expecting anything revolutionary or earth-shatteringly awesome from Elevate – but there is a lot on the album to love. Kendall Schmidt, Carlos Pena Jr., James Maslow (whose hair was the one thing I wish I had for myself...don't judge me because I sorta hate my normal hair, haha) and Logan Henderson had nothing to worry about as long as they were producing pop albums as fun as this, which, thanks to their loyal fanbase, seems extremely likely.
Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars
Fun Fact: In the TV Show, their second album was called "All Over Again" instead of Elevate. To this day, I don't understand why they would have different album names between reality and their TV show, but everyone else doesn't understand either.
