Scarlett Johansson + Holly Miranda + Kendra Morris + Julia Hatig
“Candy”
Federal Prism
Can a ‘supergroup’ be formed by artists from different mediums? Typically, a supergroup consists of musicians coming together who are already successful in their own right. But what about, say, an actress and a bunch of established musicians? Longtime A-Lister Scarlett Johansson and four musicians teamed up to form The Singles. (The generic name may be in jeopardy; more on that in a bit). In addition to Johansson, the group features Haim bassist Este Haim and singer-songwriters Holly Miranda, Kendra Morris, and Julia Haltigan. The band released their first, and likely only, single “Candy” a month ago. The three-and-a-half minute driving, synth pop jam starts with Johansson singing “boy, you got me cravin’ sweets again/ ‘cuz boy my tooth be achin’ for your skin.” The lyrics continue in same gooey vein. Layered voices coo “you’re the candy to my heart ohhh ohhh in the chorus over a sweet, fluttering riff.
Johansson succinctly described the band’s sound to Rolling Stone as “ultra pop but also a little ironic, a little in on the joke.” She also told the magazine that “the idea was to write super-pop dance music written and performed by girls.” TV on the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek produced and recorded the track at his Federal Prism Studios. Interestingly, Este Haim noted on her Twitter account that the song was recorded almost three years ago. That’s a long time to keep this sort of supergroup a secret, but this isn’t Johansson’s first foray into music. She released an album of Tom Waits’ covers seven years ago (also involving Dave Sitek) and collaborated with Pete Yorn a year later for The Break Up. Those projects went along without a hitch. That’s not gonna happen with The Singles. A few days after “Candy” dropped, a 16-year-old garage rock and, ironically, power pop group named The Singles issued a cease and desist to the “Candy” makers alleging trademark infringement. There has been no update since.
