Guetta’s new album captivates audiences

French DJ David Guetta released his sixth studio album Listen on Nov. 21, nearly three years after his last studio album release, Nothing but the Beat, in 2011.

The album includes 14 songs, different from the deluxe edition which has 18, both of which feature five singles. Listen also features artists such as Nicki Minaj, Sia, John Legend, Ryan Tedder, Skylar Grey, Emili Sandé and others.

One of the singles, “Shot Me Down,” features singer-songwriter, Skylar Grey. The song, a cover and remix of the 60s hit “Bang Bang” by Nancy Sinatra, talks about a girl betrayed by her lover. In the music video, the girl fights many opponents, which pays tribute to the Tarantino-directed movie Kill Bill which featured Sinatra’s song. At the end of the video, she fights one more opponent, who ends up being the only man to be able to kill her. The music video, set in the old West, has a comic book feel to it and is different from most. The majority of music videos now use live actors, while the video for “Shot Me Down” is animated. This gives something new to watch, instead of seeing actors and the actual singers.

The single “Bad” along with “Shot Me Down” were both used to promote the album. The single “Dangerous,” featuring Sam Martin, reached number 56 on the US Billboard’s The Hot 100.

According to Guetta, the album’s emotion reflects recent events such as his divorce with his wife and business partner of 22 years, Cathy Guetta. Because of that, Guetta approached the album first with vocals and live instrumentation, as opposed to his usual standards of leading with the beats.

In all, Listen has a different feeling than his previous album. The variety of artists gives each song its own unique sound and rhythm. The instrumentation, in some songs, gives the album a twist to the usual EDM feel. This is a great album for those who already listen to EDM but would also enjoy more live instrumentation.