Songland episode 2 video: Josh performs ‘Boxes’; will.i.am rocks out
To go along with this sneak peek, we’ve got all sorts of great stuff for you below! That includes some specific advice from will.i.am about what makes a song great, and our own take on it from our YouTube channel. If you dig that, subscribe and stay tuned for more!
Let’s get back to the sneak peek now, as a songwriter comes to pitch a song in “Boxes” that has a fantastic beat and is just oozing with positive energy and a great message about the world. We get why he’d want to bring this to Will, given that his career with the Black Eyed Peas really took off because of “Where Is the Love” — a song that had a powerful message about being good to the world around you.
At the end of the performance of the song, Will and all of the producers deliver some fantastic feedback, and then get super-into the vibe and the beat of the song with the band. It turns into a total dance party! These few minutes show really what this show is all about — a fantastic, constructive look into how music is made, sometimes at warp-speed. It’s watching people jam out and try to make good songs into great ones that can be commercially successful. It’s so creative and so different.
For a great example of what makes this stand out further, just check out Will’s perspective and his words here. We’ve seen this guy on The Voice UK before and while he’s good over there, he’s really limited in terms of how much he can talk about the craft of making music. Will loves making music. He’s a producer in addition to being an artist and he clearly relishes getting into the mechanics, the beat, and every little element of it. while he may not be everyone’s musical cup of tea, he makes hit records and finds a way to deliver something that sounds almost constantly interesting.
Suffice it to say, we’re stoked to see what sort of content the other songwriters are bringing in to Songland for Tuesday’s new episode. In the end, Will is going to record one of these songs — what makes this one different is that since he’s a guy who features a lot of performers, there’s a chance that he’s going to bring in someone else for help — maybe even the songwriter themselves! Anything is possible within this musical world. We also like “Boxes” already, so it does feel like with a few changes, it could be something that could actually find some success in a larger venue. Whether it’s right for Will remains to be seen.
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Check out the link here for some more thoughts on last night’s episode, and be sure to come back tomorrow for another review and all sorts of additional video coverage. (Photo: NBC.)