Music Review: Conor Maynard "Vegas Girl"

Conor Maynard

Vegas Girl

Album: Contrast

Year: 2012

           Conor Maynard prefers his current hookup to be wild and easy in the distateful “Vegas Girl.”

            A skulking bass opens the single, setting a predatory tone.  Her eyes have grown big and rests her right hand on her cheek. She exclaims that she doesn’t know what to do. He pats her left hand and says he know how he can make her feel better. He buys her a drink and promises her a good time. He takes her onto the dancefloor. (“That there, let me break it off /All the pressure that you got, let me take it off /I swear, we're gonna make it hot /Put your hands in the air, don't stop.”)

             In the pre-chorus, he mentions pop singers and references their songs. She could be like one of them. However, he needs for her to cave and go home with him. (“I’ll knock you down like you’re Keri /Forget your name like Rihanna /You can run the world, Queen B /Be unthinkable, Alicia/We can go so far if she let go/And I ain’t gonna leave without her.”)

           In the chorus, one the dancefloor, she can put on a performance. In her sequined dress cut below her bottom, she may as well be a veteran showgirl from Las Vegas. (with a detour working as a stripper for a while). (“This is for the girl that get down low/The whole club wanna see you go/Shake, shake like you're famous, girl/Head back, lay it down like a Vegas girl/Bass coming down so hard/That little dress breaking every heart/Shake, shake like you're famous, girl/Head back, lay it down like a Vegas girl.”)

      The sweeping beat dusts off the arrangement, bumping into the needle, causing it to skip.

          He repeats “like a Vegas girl.”

       She gives him back his phone where she is now included in his contact list. He gives her a knowing look and winks, saying it’s up to her what she wants to do now. A few of his friends have slept with her and raved about their night. He keeps buying tequila shot after tequila shot for her. (“Roll the dice, I've got your number/Hit the jackpot underneath the cover/Intoxicated, you're like a drug, girl/Grab a glass, girl rain tequila, tequila, tequila.”)

          The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

        She’s regular at the club. For the past month or so, he’s been going there every night to talk to her. (“It feels so right every night/Like you're in Vegas, girl (Like a Vegas girl) in Vegas, girl/ It feels so right every night/Like you're in Vegas, girl (Like a Vegas girl) in Vegas, girl/(“It feels so right every night/Like you're in Vegas, girl (Like a Vegas girl) in Vegas, girl/ It feels so right every night/Like you're in Vegas, girl (Like a Vegas girl) in Vegas, girl.”)

            The chorus is sung again to end the single.

       Maynard’s presumptous vocals leer and have no boundaries, pushing himself onto her. He knows she will put out and is more than happy to get her wasted. He’s a promising vocalist with an appealing beat backing him up. However, coming across as the guy who would likely slip GHB into a girl’s drink isn’t the most preferable route, given his age.

            The random pop culture references to R&B singers do not fit into it the song. Some of the songs mentioned aren’t even current (Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down.”) However, he wants to be seen as cool and act like he knows all the words to know the songs. Little does she know he’s looking them up in a music app on his phone while she’s drinking the shots.

   The sordid “Vegas Girl” implies dangerous behavior, stalking to get it what it wants.