Hannah Hall
Staff Writer
Disney stars are notorious for becoming well known within pop culture once they begin a music career. Big name musicians such as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez are great examples of pioneers of the ‘Disney Channel Star to Pop Star’ course to fame, and have gained massive amounts of radio air time. ‘Liv and Maddie’ and ‘Descendants’ star Dove Cameron, is setting herself up to follow in the footsteps of these stars with her most recent musical release.
Dove Cameron, a twenty three year old actress and musician, is most well known for her roles as the titular twin characters on ‘Liv and Maddie’ and Mal, the daughter of Maleficent, in the Disney ‘Descendants’ franchise. Cameron also has held several stage roles in productions of ‘Les Miserables’, ‘The Secret Garden’, ‘Hairspray Live!’, ‘Clueless The Musical’, and ‘Light in the Piazza’.
As far as music, Cameron had a brief musical career in her group, ‘The Girl and The Dreamcatcher’, with ‘Liv and Maddie’ co-star and ex-fiancé Ryan McCartan. This musical duo resulted in a short four song EP, titled ‘Negatives’, but disbanded quite quickly due to the couples breakup.
Despite her long standing career in acting and almost exclusively harboring roles that require singing, the release of her recent extended play is her first ever body of work as a stand alone project and as an individual musician throughout her entire career.
For six years, Cameron has teased and hinted at the possibility of original music via social media. On September 27, the actor-musician finally released the first snippets of the long awaited and fan anticipated music to the world. As her first non Disney-related musical release, Cameron dropped her debut two song extended play. The two singles, ‘Bloodshot’ and ‘Waste’, display a darker and edgier side to the Disney star.
The first of the two singles, ‘Bloodshot’, puts a twist on your typical breakup song. Rather than the slow and melancholic or fast and angry sound that breakup songs are often associated with, the single has a soft yet upbeat vibe to it. The combination of sadder lyrics and a gentle yet catchy beat make this song unusual in the best way possible. Cameron’s gentle soprano vocals along with the softer pop sound give this song an almost dream-like feel to it. The addition of rough sounding synth effects adds a grittier emotion to the overall vibe of the song. ‘Bloodshot’ is a beautifully tragic and emotional masterpiece that will leave you singing along to the chorus any chance you get.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the second single, ‘Waste’, puts a moodier spin on your typical love song. The song still holds the same catchy and upbeat pop sound as ‘Bloodshot’ while still going the world extra length to sound like a completely different song. ‘Waste’ has a much more smooth, jazz-like feel to it and contains more subtle uses of synth throughout the song. The production of this song gives a darker, richer feel than most generic pop love songs. Cameron’s vocals in this single are a bit deeper and breathier to make the moody vibe more prominent, and to fully carry it out through every aspect of the song. While this is labeled as a ‘love song’, it feels new, unique, and is an amazing example that not all love songs have to be overly mushy and romantic.
Both songs on the extended play are equally unique and beautiful in their own ways. From use of more conversational lyrics to Cameron’s exceptional ability to alter her vocals to better suit the mood of a song, there are so many reasons these singles are excellent bodies of work.
Overall, the six year wait for original music from Dove Cameron was worth it. It is clear that the musician spent massive amounts of time perfecting these songs as to ensure her debut in the music world was true to herself and who she wants to be as a musician. This double single release is sure to be just the tip of the iceberg for what Cameron has up her sleeve. ‘Bloodshot’ and ‘Waste’ are definitely songs worth adding to your playlist.
Categories: Arts & Entertainment
THE CAROLINIAN 
You put it into words!! I love how articulate and well-written this article is, the notes on how she tweaks her voice especially.
On Waste, I did notice that she switches between low tones to fuller and more-powerful chords and breathy whispers which are the perfect accompaniment to describe the agony and ecstasy of this love she’s feeling.
Also with Bloodshot, the reason it doesn’t sound like the typical breakup song is because she specifically didn’t want it to. She told her label that she’s not a fan of breakup songs so she wanted to make it more about general loss than a romantic break, and I wholeheartedly agree that she accomplished that.
Again, love this article and thank you for putting it into words! (☞^o^) ☞
LikeLike