Music Review: Vanessa Hudgens "Come Back To Me"

Vanessa Hudgens

Come Back To Me

Album: V

Year: 2006

            Vanessa Hudgens misses her ex-boyfriend in the general  “Come Back To Me.”

            In the intro, an uncredited man says people are going to be surprised by Hudgens over a  sample of Player’s “Baby Come Back,” setting a cheated tone. (“Ha ha/You all need to get ready to hear/The unbelievable/Indescricable/Vanessa Hudgens/Baby V!”)

           She giggles at the boy’s joke and tells him she likes his shirt. As they walk down the hallway, he talks to her about one of his teacher and she nods. Once she walks into class, she slumps her shoulders and frowns. The current boy may be cute but he’s not her ex. Even talking to someone else isn’t easing the pain. She stares at the poster hanging up in the classroom, wondering if her ex is thinking the same thing about her. (“Everyday, I try to play, another game/But my heart can't take it/I try to find, another boy/But all the while, I can't face the fact/Why do I miss you so much?/I wanna stop this hurt inside/Oh baby please, give us one more try.”)

The sample replays again.

        She continues to say that she sees him at the National Coney Island after the games, slapping his friends’ shoulders, kidding around.  However, his smile doesn’t ever reach his eyes. She munches on some fries, wondering when the best time to talk to him would be. Otherwise, they will remain miserable. (“I see you out with all your friends/Laughing' it up as you pretend/To have a good time, (good time)/I know ‘cause I'm living the same life (same life)/So one of us has got to say/We can't keep living the same way/So I'll be the one/Yeah I'll say it, I'll say it, I'll say it, I'll say it again “)

           In the chorus, she wants to get back together with him. She thinks they will last beyond high school and into their adult lives. She feels foolish for believing the attention from other guys was better. (“Baby come back to me/In my heart I still believe/We were meant to be/Together so whatever it takes/Baby come back to me/I should have never set you free/Love baby/Come back (baby come back.”)

She tells her friends that she will call him, for sure, today after practice. Her friend smiles and tells her she can do it. She sees him in the halls and he avoids meeting her eyes. In the classes they shared, he moved his seat as far away from he could. She wishes he would say something to her. Even if he shouted at her it would mean he still cares. However, she thinks he’s afraid of being hurt by her again. (“I wanna call, but then I stall/Cause after all, I just couldn't take it/Cause if your play was to push me away/You know that day, my heart you'd break it/I know we made a mistake/Can't you stop your foolish pride/And come back to me/Let's try, let's try, let's try, let's try it again.”)

         The chorus is sung again.

         In the bridge, she says (literally) that that they still love each other. She still he’s “Baby V,” the pet nickname he gave her and she’s noticed him looking at her sometimes. She realizes she was dumb to break up with him. However, she now regrets it and has learned her lesson. (“You know you miss your baby V/And I can see that you think about me/So why do you act like you don't care/Like all this love between us isn't there/I know that you're upset/I know I did you wrong/I know you want me to pay for all the pain I've caused/But in the end it all comes down to just one thing/It's you and me/So I sing.”)

               The sample replays again.

             The chorus is sung again to end the single.

             Hudgens’ emotionless vocals try to persuade with an insincere smile and an inappropriate touch. . During the bridge, she clings to whatever sanity is left within her, the deadened monotone signaling that something is really off.

              The unremarkable “ Come Back To Me" seems ready to crack if the right answer isn’t given.