Mike Posner @ The Marquee

If Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke had a less talented baby that grew up, went to Duke University, and joined a frat, the result would be Mike Posner. His music sounds as if it came from an episode of Jersey Shore and is inundated with name-branded shout-outs for such products...

By Lindsey Holder

September 9, 2010

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If Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke had a less talented baby that grew up, went to Duke University, and joined a frat, the result would be Mike Posner. His music sounds as if it came from an episode of Jersey Shore and is inundated with name-branded shout-outs for such products as Seven Jeans, Red Bull, Christian Dior, and Maybelline. Apparently, some people like that kind of thing, because his first album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, has scarcely been out a month and its debut single, "Cooler Than Me," has already reached number six on Billboard's Hot 100 list. The newly minted college grad's songs reflect the experiential range of a 22-year-old — getting laid ("Bow Chicka Wow Wow"), smoking weed ("Drug Dealer Girl"), snubbing a girl who thinks she's better than he is ("Evil Woman"), and snubbing a different girl who thinks she's better than he is ("Cooler Than Me") — but, hey, that's kind of his target demographic. He's got some growing up to do, but in the meantime, his music is synth-y and danceable, and if his new fame flickers and fades, maybe he can use his business degree to license his music to one or more of the brands he name-drops.

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