Music Review: Jordin Sparks "Battlefield"

Jordin Sparks

Battlefield

Album: Battlefield

Year: 2009

          Jordin Sparks and her boyfriend aren’t getting along in the straight             “Battlefield.”

            Anxious synths open the single, setting an uneasy tone.   He tells her that he wishes she could just listen to him. She shakes her head and tells him that she gets what’s going on. She doesn’t understand what’s causing all the tension all of the sudden. She tells him she loves him and can’t be without him. She wants to work things out. (“Don't try to explain your mind/I know what's happening here/One minute it's love and suddenly/It's like a battle-field/One word turns into war/Why is it the smallest things that tear us down/My world's nothing when you're gone/I'm out here without a shield/Can't go back now.”)

              In the pre-chorus, she’s defensless to his insults, They are letting their fears feed into the relationship and destroy it. She hadn’t realized he’d become so sensitive to school. She can’t even ask how he did on a test. (“Both hands tied behind my back for nothing/Oh no/These times when we climb so fast to fall again/Why we gotta fall for it now/I never meant to start a war/You know I never wanna hurt you/Don't even know what we're fighting for.”)

       In the chorus, she wonders why relationships can be difficult. (“Why does love always feel like/A battlefield (battlefield)/A battlefield (battlefield)/A battlefield (battlefield)/Why does love always feel like/A battlefield (battlefield)/A battlefield (battlefield)/A battlefield (battlefield)/Why does love always feel like.”)

             She’s done all she can. However, he says he tried. They don’t want to be at fault. However, if neither talks, their relationship will be over for good. (“Can't swallow our pride/Neither of us wanna raise that flag/If we can't surrender/Then we both gonna lose what we had, oh no.”)

            The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

             In the bridge, she tells him since he won’t change, he should be prepared for continous arguments. (“I guess you better go and get your armor (get your armor)/Get your armor (get your armor)/I guess you better go and get your armor (get your armor)/Get your armor (get your armor)/I guess you better go and get your.”)

            She tells him she wants them to be like they were. Then, they will build their relationship back up again. She doesn’t want to hate him. (“We could pretend that we are friends tonight/And in the morning we'll wake up and we'll be alright/Cause baby we don't have to fight/And I don't want this love to feel like.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

              The bridge is sung again

             The chorus is sung again.

              The bridge is sung again.

                 In the final section, she apologizes to him just to end the arguing. (“I never meant to start a war/Don’t even what we are fighting for/I didn’t mean to start a war.”)

             Sparks’ crisp vocals keep the song grounded in reality, even though the arrangement threatens the histronics. It’s emotionally exhausting to her to watch their relationship die.

             The strong “Battlefield” puts up a good fight.