Review: Matt Terry – ‘Sucker For You’

For any X Factor star, their initial single is critically important. They made Little Mix, One Direction and Leona Lewis. They broke Steve Brookstein, Leon Johnson and Ben Haenow (who? Exactly!). The pressure was therefore on for last year’s winner, Matt Terry. Sadly, this time around, Terry has failed to produce a memorable single. It is bland, uninspiring and – though perfectly palatable – fails to display any of the artistic potential that saw him win the show last year.

The opening shows promise. A soft electro-beat works well against Terry’s pitch, which is then complemented nicely by a semi-acapella moment before the chorus. The main problem, however, is the chorus: it’s overwhelmingly bland. The beat is overly produced, the vocal does not stand out against it and the hook, though present, is completely ineffective. By the end, the repetitive beat is not only monotonous but has failed to excite and therefore leaves you feeling rather unfulfilled. The reality is that, up against the recent powerhouse pop releases of Camila Cabello or Taylor Swift, this pales into near insignificance. Nothing about it makes it stick or – put another way – makes you want to listen to it again.

For me, this is actually annoying. We need not even reflect on his impressive X Factor renditions of James Bond or Grace. The opening 30-seconds of the song shows the possibilities of Terry’s vocal, his unique style and is, in itself, rather exciting. It is just a trainwreck from then on. From a critical perspective, this unfulfilled potential is frustrating. I’d recommend that Terry tries a Sam Smith-style release, even at the risk of being labelled against him because he needs a song that really states his credibility as a unique artist. And ‘Sucker For You’ fails to do this.

To adapt Simon Cowell: “I didn’t like it. No. I just didn’t like it”.

‘Sucker For You’ is out now via Sony Music