After a seemingly endless string of blockbuster successes in the movie biz, it seemed as though musician-turned-actor Will Smith would never make his return to the airwaves.
It’s hard to blame him for staying away. The star’s films have grossed a total of over $6.6 billion dollars at the box office — that’s about six times the total annual revenue from paid music streaming services. He didn’t need music anymore, and he hadn’t put out a new record since 2005’s It Takes Two. But now, Big Willie is back at it again with a fresh single.
As his first new track in a decade, Smith has released a remix of Columbia group Bomba Estéreo’s hit Fiesta, in which the 47-year-old attempts a return to form, working towards that same insatiable danceability that he achieved with such classics as Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It, Big Willie Style, and Wild Wild West.
All of those tracks were impressive successes. Smith had a way of moulding otherwise corny dance grooves and lyrics into something clean, fun, and irresistibly catchy. Just like his movies — it seemed as though his music career was untouchable.
Fans of the actor had been talking about a possible collaboration between Bomba Estéreo and Smith ever since he congratulated them for their multiple Latin Grammy awards nominations last month via Facebook. So when the track finally hit the internet, everyone was dripping with excitement.
However, with a mix of Latin grooves, Spanglish, and dubstep-y pop music, Fiesta seems to be a bit off the mark. Those corny lyrics we used to love didn’t age well. “Hola Mamacita/Get me a beer-a.” Um, ouch. And it doesn’t get much better from there. We’re not saying the song won’t be a hit, but it certainly isn’t the kind of jam that we expect from the super star. Then again, neither was After Earth.
Still, even if it is his first track in a while, everyone gets a mulligan. Plus, who knows, maybe the music video, which was recently filmed in Los Angeles, will make it a bit more palatable. Moreover, hopefully the song signals a return to music for the actor that will be more in line with his old, smooth-rhyming ways. In fact, just this year he said he had been working on some music with Kanye West — a project most music fans drool at the thought of.
Until more tracks come, thanks to Spotify we can go back and listen to Big Willie Style, and harken back to the good ol’ days when Smith was still starring in Bad Boys and Men in Black.
In the meantime, he will still be in the movies. Smith will star as a member of DC’s Suicide Squad in 2016, and is aiming towards an Oscar nomination for his role in new football injury film Concussion, which comes out later this year.
