28 Feb 2002

george michael: freeek

George Michael is back with a randy new single, Freek, with "enough heavy breathing and moaning to make even the Bel-Ami boys blush", so says Fridae's new entertainment writer, Phin Wong.

After the release of his Ladies and Gentlemen, The Best of George Michael album, the man with the impeccably maintained goatee said in an interview that he really wanted to record a storming dance album while his legs still worked.

Unfortunately, the twit went and released a very so-so collection of jazz covers instead. The world yawned in all that excitement. Ok, at least I did. But everyone's favourite toilet sex celebrity is back, and something tells me the guy hasn't lost his mojo quite yet. Woo hah!

Freeek (no, it's not a typo) is the mucho randy new single from George Michael, who clearly isn't ready to pull up his pants until he's good and done. Now the guy could have easily gone in the same euro-trash direction as the ancient relic known as Cher, or he could have pranced down the fluffy dance floor path like Sophie Ellis Baxter.

Instead, the guy showed he had more balls and teamed up with mystery electronica collaborators only known as Moogymen (who have a sound suspiciously similar to Daft Punk. Hmm).

To a sexy, pounding beat and the buzz of a modem connecting, Georgie gets naughty online, singing about wanting to be "your sexual freeek of the week", wanting to "come on in" and be "your one fuck fantasy". Oh yes, and there's also enough heavy breathing and moaning to make even the Bel-Ami boys blush. And we thought the Brits were shy about these things.
Freeek is a great change in the right direction for Michael, replacing his great but now predictable smooth grooves for a harder, thumping electronic sound. But don't you worry, it's not a completely different George Michael sound. It still sounds very much like him, except beefed-up, souped-up, and most definitely sexed-up.

And if the rumours are true, it's not just the music that's getting the naughty treatment - Mr Michael himself might be naked in the video. I don't know about you, but personally, I'd rather see him in a Gucci suit than his birthday suit.

At this point, it's all hearsay though. The Sun reported that the Freeek video cost 1 million to make, and features the singer as a macho fighter, while Sunday People insist the video cost 2 million, and features him dressed as a dentist. Go figure.

Details of the album are just as sketchy with everything still very hush-hush. In fact, the album currently has no fixed release date. In a landmark agreement with a certain record company, the 37-year-old signed a one-single deal.

If the record company promotes Freeek well, Michael gets to decide if they get the entire album or not. It's never happened before, but as we all know, divas always get their way.

In the meantime, go get your hands on this brilliant new single. It's due out in stores on March 18. But don't wear it out too quickly at home, because I'm pretty darn sure you'll be shaking your gym-toned booty to it in clubs very soon.