Single review: Toni Braxton - I heart you

When I'd heard that Toni Braxton had gone all dance, I rolled my eyes and was full of scepticism. Do I really want to listen to this label hopping, bankrupt flop, TV series pimpin' woman try and jump on the dance bandwagon? But upon pressing play I was surprised. Toni does dance and does it well. So well in fact that you wonder why she hadn't done it sooner.

"I heart you" is dance through and through. Everybody is doing it. But what makes this work is that it's not the same type of dance these vocally talentless skanks are putting out at the moment, overrun with vocal effects and over produced to such a degree that the girl singing on the beat doesn't even matter and you may as well listen to an instrumental. "I heart you" heralds back to an era when ladies with vocals tamed dance music, to give their gay worshippers something with a tempo to work with in the clubs when their album cuts were too slow to pop an imaginary p***y to on the floor. In this sense, "I heart you" feels a little bit classic and also timeless. It could be something you'd heard 10 years ago, 10 minutes ago or something you'd hear 10 years from now.

Toni Braxton is one of the few women in music who emerged in the 90s with a strong and distinct vocal game who is still around today and is able to sing now how she was back when she debuted. It's this which gives this song greater weight and likeability. Toni isn't doing dance to mask her deteriorating vocals, because her vocals are still one of the forces which carry the song.

"I heart you" is endearing because it has no agenda. It's not trying to keep up with the younger hoes, it's not trying to re-invent a wheel - it's just Toni having fun, letting loose and just putting out a really good dance record. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, it's clichéd. A love gone wrong, with the solution being to let it all go on the dance floor. The production isn't revolutionary. The lyrics are nothing special. But it works. It's short, it's sweet and despite the ramped up tempo from what Toni has often delivered with her singles, the song is still undeniably her. It doesn't feel alienating or strange. Just a gear or two up from "Make my heart". And how's this for a slight mind f**k, the song was written and produced by Toni and her ex-husband Keri Lewis. Lawd.

Dance music being ever popular right now, gives Toni a greater chance of global chart success with this song. And the song being a winner certainly won't hurt. The only thing I fault the song for is its name. All it's missing is a hashtag. It would have made more sense to have just called the song "I love you". Dodgy 'try'na be hip with dem online kids' song name aside, "I heart you" is a great song.

RATING: 8.5 / 10