Apple Ad Song - "New Soul" - Freefalls in Charts
While her name may mean "pleasant" in Hebrew, Yael Naim's hit single has taken an unpleasant skydive.
New Soul freefalls this week from spot #7 to #42. Post-Douglas Adams 42 may be the answer to everything, but what led to this drop?
Simple. New Soul is simply not hip-hop. It doesn't have that hot vibe to it that is necessary to please the American audience. It's got that international vibe, which makes sense as Yael Naim is Israeli/French.
At first, I grudgingly supported this song because it was an outside voice making its way through the cutthroat and sometimes crushing world of music.
Then I learned the truth. New Soul is a mac tool. While the song itself is her own work, it's become part of Apple's well-oiled advertising machine.
Which makes sense. The song feels smooth, polished and airy, very much like the Apple brand. But it's depressing. Naim's got some other stuff out there, and they have nifty names mixing languages: New Soul is on the same CD as Pachad, or scared, and Yashanti, or I slept.
...she's also done a cover of Britney Spears, which wins her major, major props.
But while that song got on her CD because its good and she's talented, it did not get to the top of the charts on its own merits.
A victory for Apple.