Battlefield by Jordin Sparks is probably one of the worst singles of the year. Lets start with the chorus because it’s the most horrendous part. The repetition of “battlefield” and how it gradually gets lower each of the 3 times she says it is so boring and unoriginal. “Why does love always feel like a BATTLEFIELD (high), a BATTLEFIELD (lower), a BATTLEFIELD (lowest)?” After this, unfortunately, it repeats.

Jordin has a nice voice, and this song doesn’t suit her at all. When she screams “BATTLEFIELD,” she sounds like she’s again a contestant on American Idol (not a successful recording artist). She can’t pull off the high and loud punk/rock sound like Kelly Clarkson. It comes natural to Kelly, but for Jordin it sounds forced and like she has to scream to get her voice to be decent. The chorus is just so lackluster and the tune so old-fashioned. 

I don’t like the transition (or lack thereof) between the bridge and the chorus, and the verses are just decent. The only 2 parts of the song that are successful and unique are: the way she draws out the 3 syllables of bat-tle-field in the beginning, and when she says, “I don’t want to fall for it nooooww.” Everything else is mediocre or worse. 

Ryan Fedder wrote the song (he also wrote “Halo,” “Bleeding Love” and “Apologize”) so you know he has potential. He just really dropped the ball on this song, and he needs to move away from the one-word repetition in the chorus (battlefield, halo, bleeding). He goes way overboard with that. 

The song might’ve had more potential if it were sang by an artist whose voice better suited the loud, harsh chorus. But it will never be a great song no matter who sings it. The tune isn’t catchy, it’s not memorable and it will never be a hit. 

After a little more than a month on the air, the song hasn’t caught on and it’s already down to #33 on the iTunes Top 100. It’s been on the Billboard Top 100 for 7 weeks and it’s peak position is #30 (where it sits right now). 

Try again, Jordin.