DESTIN CONRAD – “FAVORITE LOVER”

Destin Conrad understands that being effortlessly cool does not require you to be effortless. He has the voice, the face, the charisma, the song. He could make a tasteful video leaning against a wall and everyone would probably be perfectly satisfied. Instead, he apparently said, absolutely not, call my stylist and get me a chicken.

“FAVORITE LOVER,” from Conrad’s new album ROADRUNNER, slips reggae into something that feels just as naturally at home in pop and R&B, with a warm, loose rhythm underneath one of those vocals that makes seduction sound almost recreational. The song itself is horny, complicated and slightly selfish: he wants you, possibly loves you, definitely wants you in his room, and would also appreciate it if you could kindly leave in the morning. Romance!

That contradiction is part of what makes Conrad so good at this. He recently told Billboard that what he admires about R&B is its ability to make something sound beautiful while the person singing it is being brutally honest. “FAVORITE LOVER” puts that philosophy to work. Everything arrives dressed for pleasure while the fine print gets increasingly questionable. The relationship being proposed has terms and conditions that should probably be reviewed by counsel.

And then there’s the video, which takes an artist who could coast entirely on cool and chooses maximal personality instead. Conrad recently admitted that while writing comes naturally, learning how to be a showman is something he’s still figuring out. We would like to submit “FAVORITE LOVER” as evidence that the investigation can now be closed.

DESTIN CONRAD in the “FAVORITE LOVER” music video