Tory Lanez has made a name for himself by making other people’s songs his own. His latest project, Chixtape 5, takes some of your fave songs from the early 2000s and remakes them into his own version of the perfect GTD playlist. It’s only natural that he should show up at ELLE’s "Song Association." For those new to the popular YouTube game show, celebrities are given a word and given 10 seconds to sing a song that contains the word. Mr. Lanez definitely came to play with answers that were a little bit country, a little bit rock n’ roll and even a bit dancehall.
Like most "Song Association" episodes, the clip starts with a freebie in the form of a word from an artist’s biggest hit. This time it was “more“ from Tory’s debut track “Say It,” which samples Brownstone’s “If You Love Me.” The next word was “time,” which Lanes adroitly followed up with a song from Brownstone’s mentor Michael Jackson, “Remember The Time.” Just when we thought Lanez would stay on his smooth R&B tip, he threw us a curve, singing Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice” for the word "cold." Lanez would go on to quote songs from Styles P, Pretty Ricky, Taylor Swift and others. But we have to give props to him for paying homage to Ashanti, the cover model for Chixtape 5, and her contributions to mid-2000s music, as well as big upping Jamaica by singing Serani’s “No Games” and hitting a quick Dutty Wine in the chair.
Coming through with a perfect score of 15/15, Tory Lanez has bested the last four contestants, including Doja Cat, Lewis Capaldi, Finneas and Yuna. But, in addition to winning, Toronto’s other favorite son also managed to keep things fun and lively with a few dance moves and random factoids. Hit play and see if you have the range like Mr. Lanez.
