'This Time' single: Review

Another former American Idol contestant with generic music? After 10 years, why do so many of them still create boring and uninspired works? The most famous contestants are great singers too, which feels even sadder: talented voices wasted on completely un-talented songs.

Pia Toscano underwent a fairly shocking elimination in season 9 despite being considered a front-runner. Her debut single, “This Time,” follows all the “right” steps, so it’s palatable, but unoriginal.

The lyrics are riddled with clichés. It even opens with “Well I’m mad as hell/I ain’t gon’ take it no more,” a line that was standard when it was used by the Dixie Chicks in 2006. The banalities continue: “You won the battle but you lost the war,” “I’m sick and tired of the games you play,” “I’m gonna do it my way,” “It’s my time,” “Like a butterfly, I’m spreading my wings,” etc.

Apparently, the writer of Rihanna’s “S & M” worked on this song, and it shows. While “S & M” was catchy, it also used old clichés just like “This Time” does. Even the title might not be original. Former Spice Girl Mel C released an album called This Time in 2007.

The music itself isn’t horrible to listen to, but it’s not noteworthy. This song is an echo of the same beats and productions you’ve heard on Disney soundtracks. It’s an empowerment song without energy, and a comfort song that offers too many platitudes to provide genuine comfort.

In short, if Pia Toscano’s “This Time” is supposed to showcase the talent that American Idol failed to tap into, it doesn’t do a particularly good job at all.