SINGLE REVIEW: Colbie Caillat – “Hold On” (+ Lyrics)

Holdin’ on to the charts.

Ready for the latest hit from Colbie Caillat? “Hold On” is the leadoff single from Caillat’s forthcoming fifth studio album with Republic Records, due early next year. This is not to be confused with a “Hold On” that appears on the singer’s 2010 iTunes Session EP; these are totally different compositions.

The California singer-songwriter has opted to change her sound a bit on this single. This isn’t your typical pop/rock, guitar-driven soft rock anthem. Produced by OneRepublic‘s Ryan Tedder, his band’s sound has essentially rubbed off on this recording mixed with a touch of Florence + The Machine, especially in an explosive chorus with layered background vocals, an organ and drums. The lyric, unfortunately, suffers on this one from a reliance on repetitive phrases, as you can read below. Yes, it’s a bit stale and tired sounding from that standpoint, but the shift is pretty natural for Caillat, and with major crossover potential, this could be the song to return her to the heights of the CHR airwaves as well as her core formats like AC and Hot AC. I do like it; I just wish the approach in the process of creating this song was more focused because it could’ve been so much more epic and career-defining rather than a scribbled note in the margin of Tedder’s discography. Oh well.

Look for a major battle between this and Christina Perri‘s new single, “Human”, in a battle for airtime as both are serviced this week. Who will come out on top? We’ll find out in 2014.

Listen to “Hold On”. / Purchase “Hold On” on iTunes. [11PM on Monday, November 18]

“HOLD ON” (3:35)

[Verse 1]
I’m feeling further, feeling further from you every day
You’re in the stars, in the stars, yeah, you’re worlds away
I’m moving on, moving on, then I hear you say
Hold on, hold on
We’re losing light, losing light, yeah, we’re fading fast
We had a fire, need a spark, or we’ll never last
Just look at me, look at me, I’ve been burning for you
So long, so long

[Bridge]
I should walk away

[Chorus x2]
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I look at you and
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I get the feeling
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I think that I should hold on, hold on

[Verse 2]
I’m losing love, losing you, losing everything
Losing faith in the world where I wanna be
So I don’t care if the one thing that’s killing me
Is so wrong, so wrong

[Bridge]
I should walk away

[Chorus x2]
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I look at you and
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I get the feeling
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I think that I should hold on, hold on

[Middle 8]
Oh oh oh (x2)
And I can’t stop this feeling (x2)

[Chorus x2]
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I look at you and
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I get the feeling
(Oh-oh oh-oh)
I think that I should hold on, hold on