‘Don’t Call Me Angel’ is Fun but Flat

“Don’t Call Me Angel” combines the vocal talents of three of the music industry’s top female players: pop princess Ariana Grande, indie darling Lana Del Rey, and musician Miley Cyrus. Even though these singers aren’t from the same genre and have wildly different vocal ranges and styles, the song surprisingly works. This is due in part to the slick production by legendary producers, Max Martin and Ilya, who crafted Britney Spears’s “…Baby One More Time” and Ariana Grande’s “Problems,” respectively. The title single for the rebooted “Charlie’s Angels” movie, “Don’t Call Me Angel” is a fun, if formulaic, bop that excels in its promotion of shallow girl power.

The first two-thirds of the song, sung by Grande and Cyrus, embody pop and grab the listener after Grande’s first utterance of the word “boy.” Where Grande owns the beat, Cyrus’s voice is not as compelling. The chime of bells on top of a booming bass line that brought Grande success in the past on “7 rings” and “The Light is Coming,” delivers once again. Miley, fresh off of a lukewarm attempt at a pop/hip-hop crossover in her recent EP “She is Coming,” is not as successful at embodying the single’s high-energy and almost erratic rhythm. In contrast, the tempo slows down for Lana Del Rey, allowing her to croon in her signature whisper over production that is more in line with her style. Her part is less “Summertime Sadness” and more “Summer Bummer,” and it fits well with the rest of the song.

Where the single disappoints is its uninspired, shallow lyrics. Grande kicks the song off with the chorus, singing “Boy, don’t call me angel / You ain’t got me right / Don’t call me angel / You can’t pay my price.” Although these lyrics are characteristic of Grande’s songs (think “God is a Woman” and “Knew Better/Forever Boy”), they do nothing to evoke the sexy, kick-ass power of Charlie’s Angels. For “Don’t Call Me Angel,” lyrics such as “You better stop the sweet talk / And keep your pretty mouth shut” and “So don’t you try to come around me / Might work with her, but not me, oh yeah” reframes this power of the female singers — and by proxy of the Angels — on their ability to be unavailable, unattainable, and even unpurchasable by men (or boys, as they are called in this song). This is a tired and disappointing take considering the iconic girl power anthem by Destiny’s Child that heralded “Charlie’s Angels” in 2000.

“Independent Women, Part 1,” casts a large shadow over “Don’t Call Me Angel.” Whereas the lyrics of “Don’t Call Me Angel” are addressed to a faceless, interchangeable male character, the lyrics in “Independent Women, Part 1” are directed towards the female audience. Lyrics such as “All the women, who are independent / Throw your hands up at me / All the honeys, who making money / Throw your hands up at me” celebrate the Charlie’s Angels of the audience: women who are strong, not because they can kick-ass, but because they work hard, make money, and own their own life. One might criticize the materialism in the song, but in a world where cash is king and material goods equate to power, women who want to be independent seem to have to strive for both. The “Don’t Call Me Angel” of today should take note.