This…is simply an appreciation post. I’m a music lover at my core. It’s why I like to blog. To go on and on and on about the way a song hits just right with the lyrics, or vocals that soar and give me chills, or the emotions that really make you ache. I miss those kind of blogs and I absolutely fell off them. Not just here but on the TDS Blog as well. So welcome back to the deep dives! I figure I should do this before I go hopping around the US and Canada with Nick’s tour starting next week.
Besides with Nick previewing new music at these upcoming Listening Parties? It got this post idea back on my brain. So yeah, here we are. I still have that post about Nick’s unreleased or bonus track songs in the cooker. But this song was different, it didn’t quite fit there, it was released as a single even outside the States. Why not give it a spotlight all on it’s own?
I asked you guys awhile back if there were songs you thought deserved just a smidge more attention. Mainly because I’ve had this song on the brain for a few days now. Now there’s a good reason this song isn’t known outside the hardcore section of the fandom, and that’s because it wasn’t really officially released in the US. I don’t know if you guys remember Jennifer Page if like me, you’re in the states but she’s best known for her pop song Crush – a song I still bop to to this day to be honest.
This song has Nick listed as a featured artist but I’d argue vocals are equally divided so it really is a duet. It’s a bonus track, yet another reason it’s under the radar, on a 2009 rerelease of Jennifer’s 2008 album Best Kept Secret. Ironic because unless you’re a hardcore fan of Nick outside of Germany, this song is a secret all on it’s own. It actually did pretty well where it was sent to radio, hitting the Top 20 in German charts. I feel like there was so much untapped potential in this song and if given the chance, it would’ve gone farther than it did.
I wish it’d been released here.
When you listen to the vocals, god they blend so well together it hurts. It’s got a very dark vibe throughout the song, which fit the lyrics perfectly. A twisted lie, where you’re used and left standing there wondering if it was ever love at all. Your significant other was nothing but a lie, but then, was any of it real? And if it wasn’t real, did you ever know them? Poignant thoughts carried heavily by the soaring vocals Nick and Jennifer both bring to the table.
I’m a sucker for power vocals and you guys should know this by now. And man, when Nick belts, he belts. Nick accidentally played the demo version once on one of his 2020 peak pandemic Twitch streams (RIP PopKidNick era…) and man, I wish we’d gotten that version too. I’m a sucker for his voice, okay. He really does let go when he wants to on this song, a passionate singing Nick is the best Nick. But my personal bias and love of Nick’s voice set aside for a second, I have to admit that it’s objectively best as a duet. Using their voices really helps tell the story of a twisted back and forth of a relationship that was forever toxic and never meant to last at all, except in their memories.
Jennifer and Nick really suit each other well in this. That isn’t always the case with duets. Sometimes one voice overpowers the other, sometimes they’re just too different, and there’s a lot of reasons really why some pairings just only work in theory. But these two were a match made in music heaven. I wish they’d done more projects in the future. Maybe someday. A girl can dream.
Tragically, thanks to the limited release, we never got an actual performance with Jennifer Paige, but he has sang it. Sort of. It’s been a long time since he’s done it. It was remixed but hell, better than nothing. It’s a taste of what could’ve been, so to back.
What I’d love though, is to hear it live how it was originally intended. I know the chances of hearing it with Jennifer Paige live are next to nothing. But hell, Nick sings Get Over Me without Avril Lavigne on his Who I Am Tour so he could do this here. If I get the chance, I might even ask for it at a soundcheck. Last time I asked for something, he talked about re-recording Now Or Never completely unrelated to my question, so it can’t hurt.
This song is on Spotify, but not in the US. You best believe I double checked before writing this. The only place you can find it now is if you purchased it back when it was released, or you can find it on YouTube. Thank God for the internet, right? Otherwise this would’ve been lost forever. And really, this song deserves to shine.
Just like Nick Carter.
Forever Rebel 