You Ruined Me - Review
April 13 2007 - MixtapeMaestro

"Until Yesterday" was supposed to be the song of 2007. A quirky pop treat about discovering your girlfriend was pregnant by another man, the song had interesting enough lyrics and production to be the breakout hit the other lead singer of 'Nsync needed to get his underwhelming solo career going. For some odd reason, his label prematurely ended promotion for it right when it was gathering some critical buzz and opted on the less risky ballad "You Ruined Me" instead. Good thing this new single stands as yet another amazing release from the deserving Chasez.

Follow up:

With a stronger voice and more admirable creative slant than former bandmate Timberlake, JC Chasez should be one of pop's biggest stars. But the approved, eclectic dance-pop oeuvre found on his solo debut, Schizophrenic, was deemed far too ahead of it's time, never quite finding a fit with the urban trends that dominated Top 40 at the time. Scaling back his sound with more focus and an educated dedication to classic pop songcraft, his commercial success should be on the upswing as the public slowly falls in tune with the mastery glow of "Ruined".

A majestic piano-and-strings based love song, "You Ruined Me" soars with a sophisticated lyric concerning a man caught up in the rapture of love. Standing outside his admiree's home, drenched from a storm, Chasez comes to grips with the burning emotions he can no longer ignore. "I can't be with anyone since I felt our worlds collide/ It's like I almost died/ The way you make me feel," he confesses, his heart pacing with anxiety out of the fear that she may not feel the same way. Blessed with a sturdy vocal range, Chasez efficiently succeeds at the dramatic Frankie Mercury-influenced peaks he reaches for, adding rich bombast to a dramatic orchestration that generously fleshes out the song's plaintive melody.

Most other artists would've sabotaged the song's simplistic beauty with needless runs, but Chasez understands the need for the lyrics to be heard and felt, forgoing the typical singer/ producer battle for supremacy by not being too much of a distraction from "You Ruined Me"'s moving soliloquy.

A power pop ballad miles above the shlocky material the tag usually produces, if "You Ruined Me" can't not make Chasez the chart-busting icon he should've been years ago.