NADIA OH: HOT LIKE WOW

SCORE: 70/100

'Hot Like Wow' is an album that I had been semi-meaning to get to before my friend (@sexoo) recommended it to me, and I was immediately blown away by the production qualities of the title track. Space Cowboy's producorial talents are in full swing on Nadia Oh's hidden gem of a debut album, and it's clear that she had some massive star potential.

Unfortunately, 'Hot Like Wow' is an extremely top-heavy album, the production takes the front seat in a more drastic manner than it realistically should, making Nadia's vocal performances seem especially lackluster when put up against such a flourishing backdrop. It's a project that is only made worthwhile by its producers - and Nadia had the potential solely due to her producer. Without the striking, spunky production that this album has, it would be just another run-of-the-mill pop project by an artist who doesn't have the right voice for their work.

Nadia's vocals drag the album down a heavy amount. One thing that matters with pop music like this is without a doubt the vocals and how well the person behind the album can sing, and Oh's vocal performances are less than satisfactory. Her singing doesn't register as anything above karaoke quality, and the drastic usage of autotune on her vocals doesn't help her case to any extent. It's an unfortunate downside to what could very well be a perfectly scored pop record (which is due to how spectacular the production is here), but it's one that is near impossible to ignore.

It has everything that a pop album should have and it uses all of the best sounds of the late 2000s to make an album that is splendid on production alone. This album easily has some of the most impressive electropop production you'll find - but it's a shame that it didn't go to someone with a better vocal caliber. 

'Hot Like Wow' is almost frustrating in a sense. It has an untapped level of potential that comes through in some of the most variety-filled, fun, and enjoyable production I've heard recently, but the album as a whole is paled entirely by Nadia's less than favorable vocal performances. Her singing can hardly even qualify as being singing in some cases, and the editing done to her voice just made her situation vocally seem even worse than it is in actuality.

When a wannabe popstar is given material THIS good to work with, it's often the case that it should've been given to someone else. This is the case with this album. Hearing a singer like Lady Gaga over these beats would be an absolutely mind-bending experience, but Nadia manages to drag her own album down by tenfold.

It's without a doubt best described as some level of "camp", but the production is the saving factor that protects this album from being unfortunately bad. There are some saving graces that keep it very much afloat, but there are some moments that make the album a lot less enjoyable than it needed to be.