Review by Aaron Cloutier & Staff
The W.A M. Awards celebrate the year’s most outstanding independent artists from around the world in multiple genres and categories. "Best Song" and "Best Album" nominations were based on Artistry, Musicianship, Originality, Professionalism, Diversity, and Excellence. W.A.M. stands for "We Are the Music Makers.' Therése Neaimé' song "Dance Love" was the 2020 W.A.M. Award Winner for Best Song in the Dance/Electronica music category.
Upon pushing play, listeners will be greeted with tightly played rhythms of an acoustic guitar as a very latin sounding minor chord progression is plucked out amidst light finger snaps. This lays the foundation before the delicate vocals of Swedish-Lebanese singer-songwriter Therése Neaimé take center stage.
Though subtle in dynamics during the verse, Therése’s voice is warm and expressive as she coaxes the listener to forget all their troubles and live in the moment as mentioned in the lyric “Let’s celebrate this day.”
The production is stellar with crisp clean sounds and expertly delivered arrangements. I particularly enjoy the variety in dynamics and instrumentation as the song progresses. While the verses are stripped down, the song begins to build during the pre-chorus with touches of synth building tension until the listener hears a slight break before jumping into the chorus.
This was a pleasant surprise for me personally as I was expecting a huge wall of sound but rather I found the opposite. The instrumentation is still conservative with a few new additions with the intent of creating ample space for the vocal as Therése sings “Dance Love. Dance forever.” Without a doubt, the focal point of the song and undeniably catchy. To me, it is refreshingly original sounding in the world of contemporary pop.
The combination of this beautiful melody and stripped down instrumentation makes for a powerful hook that simply demands your attention. It’s almost as if the arrangements themselves know this and backed off to give the vocal the space it deserves throughout the hook.
That is until Therése commands “Dance with me” initiating an explosion of rhythm and energy as the full band is brought back into the fold. The acoustic guitars are more lush now with driving beats and bass lines. I can imagine everyone on the dance floor jumping in unison in some dimly lit room somewhere in Miami.
In short, “Dance Love” is an expertly crafted song with strong rhythms and catchy vocal hooks that will undoubtedly be stuck in the listener’s head long after they leave the club.
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For more information on Therése Neaimé , please visit her website.
About Therése Neaimé
Do you believe that anything is possible? That you can live life to the fullest, here and now, daring greatly? Therése Neaimé’s answer to these questions has always been a passionate ‘Yes’.
Growing up in Sweden as the daughter of a Swedish mother and a Lebanese father, the singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and motivational speaker decided early on to take charge of her own destiny.
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