While pleasant enough with a youthful undertone, 'Grow Up' fails to hit the mark.
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In parts slow and reflective and in others youthfully innocent, the latest wholly forgettable cut from Olly Murs’ upcoming 24 HRS provides pleasant enough lyrics through which to reminisce about adolescence as it blends in to the background, failing to challenge other more recent songs in the same vein from the likes of James Arthur and Emeli Sandé. Its best moment is its introduction, beginning with a calming electric violin and a stripped-back vocal which shows the powerful voice that has become lost in some of his recent work. Followed by a youthful beat reminiscent of One Direction, Murs’ calming vocal remains charming enough but fails to leave a noticeable mark, ending up filling time with couplets of “woo.”
Quite typical of Murs’ style, ‘Grow Up’ combines the cheeky-chappy vulnerability of ‘Dance With Me Tonight’ with the youthful innocence of ‘Busy,’ but this identity has somewhat worn thin. 2013’s ‘Dear Darlin” and more recent single ‘You Don’t Know Love’ began to show a more mature approach, and he may be better off cashing out on this. To call this song entirely unoriginal is unfair, but it has a feel of commercial necessity about it: the continuous remarks that it’s “all about you” throughout ‘Grow Up’ hark back to the idea of playground romances that show innocence and cuteness rather than emotion and maturity. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the former, its effect wears off when continuously projected.
‘Grow Up’ is out now via Syco
