18 August 2011
Only a few weeks earlier, Cher Lloyd had topped the UK charts and reached no. 2 in Ireland with ‘Swagger Jagger’. Now here’s the dreadful Maroon 5 also name-checking the Stones front-man. Was there a mini cult-of-Mick in the summer of 2011? Not that I can recall. We’ll just have to put it down to an unfortunate coincidence; Cher Lloyd was just looking for a rhyme to fit the bolshie EDM-pop of her debut single, but Maroon 5 are trying to leech some rock cred and pop-cultural relevancy.
‘Moves Like Jagger’ is a nothing of a song. The verses are aerofoam filler. The hook is that twee, annoying whistle. Christina Aguilera fulfils some sort of contractual obligation. But what really stinks this thing out is Maroon 5’s inherent dreadfulness, typical of post-All That You Can’t Leave Behind U2-aping arena-filling ’10s bands who combine soft-rock naffness, radio-baiting cheapness and an awe-inspiring lack of self-awareness. The Jagger bit merely serves to make this transparently contrived attempt at a rock-pop crossover hit function on the level of a novelty dance record – like ‘The Hucklebuck’ done by The Script featuring Will.i.am.
Irish Number Ones 