Chapter Text
TOP 10 LOVE SONGS FOR YOUR VALENTINE
Love season is coming and you need to update your playlists? Fear not! We have a few suggestions for you, no matter in which state of your relationship are, there is a song for you!
- When the last break up is too recent and the heart needs to heal: ‘Waste it on me’
Waste it on me is the lead single of Endless Nights, the fifth album of DJ Rooster. While the album didn’t receive the best critics, fans and casual listeners can agree that Waste it on me is a certified banger, that spend several weeks at number one in many charts. Ideal for dancing, and giving a chance to that rebound lover who can pull you out of a dark place.
- When you don’t need anyone but yourself: ‘Woman’ feat the Dap-Kings Horns
Natasha Trace’s third album opened with this anthem for the ladies and those who want to remain free, independent and brave. The songwriter opened her checky and vibrant era with a natural aesthetic that has had her fans in a chokehold since then. If anyone wonders why she is called Phoenix, this era is the answer, as it followed her worst album to date (no, we won’t talk about Fire).
- When you want to win your love back: ‘Talking to the Moon'
The debut single of COYOTE was a trendsetter. His honey vocals and his lyrics are synonyms of love and relationships. Highly acclaimed by critics and the public, it was a statement, not only for Love, but to differentiate himself from his previous work in the Boyband TheFab5!. How could anyone resist him?
- Test the waters with this banger: ‘Tongue’
COYOTE wasn’t the only successful act from TheFab5! Mickey and Reubens, who now go by Fanboy and Payback made this hit song for those who want something more but they aren’t sure how to say it. Pay this song to your crush and beat the odds. The worst that can happen is a steamy dance session.
- When you want to reaffirm your love why you love them: ‘Addicted to you’.
Natasha Trace can do everything, like charm us in English and Spanish. This addictive track will make sure to celebrate the love you share with that important person.
- A classic for those whose love is still strong after so many years: ‘Ain't No Mountain High Enough’
It’s 1984 and the Mavericks are on top of their game. Their piano man, Goose, just recently discovered his girlfriend was pregnant. So on top of proposing to her, they decide to sing one of the most romantic duets of all history. Now, the couple lives a life away from the Hollywood cameras, but they are one of the few marriages that stay strong after so many years.
- But if your love is about to start and still love the classics… ‘As Long as You Love Me’
TheFav5! might be cheesy, a little bit outdated and cringe, but no one can deny that their songs are still played and loved by many. Some say they are the best boy band ever to exist, some argue it’s not that deep. But everyone knows and loves this song!
- The first dance song is by the baddest boys: ‘Always’
Many are shocked that the most used song for the first dance at a wedding is by the Mavericks. Year after year, this rock ballad sang by the powerful Pete Mitchell still resonate with many.
- But if you want something a little bit more chill in your wedding ‘Thinking out loud’
Robert Floyd started busking and couch surfing until DJ Rooster and Halo made a remix of one of his songs and send him to stardom. This song is one of the favourites for new married couples.
- When you don’t need to get married because you know you’re soulmates: ‘Fearless’
Jake Seresin is the King of Romance. With an eight-year-long relationship with a Spanish footballer, the songwriter has let us knows the ups and downs of their relationship. It was hard just to choose only one song (Autumn Drops was a second close), but this one was the first one that the songwriter published about his True Love.
231 Comments… loading
Why the fuck is Rooster on this list? I like his music for the club, not for a romantic date
2 years ago
And… here we go again w the Media Play including Rooster… I can see why he is in the top 10 songs for getting drunk and party all night long, but romance????
2 years ago
One would think that people know more songs from COYOTE than Talking to the Moon, That's What I Like for example WHERE IT IS?!
2 years ago
worst album to date (no, we won’t talk about Fire) ← and yet, they mention it!!!! MOTHER has released four more albums since Fire, one would think they would stop bringing it!
2 years ago
Best couple ever? Best couple ever is Nick and Carole Bradshaw!!
1 year ago
Nick and Carole might be perfect, but their son is useless, pffffff
1 year ago
(Comment has been deleted)
(Comment has been deleted)
Ppl love to hate on Rooster, but they forget that outside his own music career, he has produced half of the music of your FAVES!!!! YES IM TALKING ABOUT ROBERT FLOYD, Fanboy & Payback, LOGAN LEE, ETC!!! HE IS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
1 year ago
(Comment has been deleted)
If you fav has a fair contract with his label THANK ROOSTER
1 year ago
(Comment has been deleted)
(Comment has been deleted)
Jake Seresin IS the music industry WTF
8 months ago
If only Jake Seresin could come back from war… I need new music from him NOW!
8 months ago
(Comment has been deleted)
(Comment has been deleted)
(Comment has been deleted)
(Comment has been deleted)
Comment section taken over by Seresiners and Chicks… :(( they are the worst!
8 months ago
Well, that last one rec has aged like milk.
2 days ago
RIP The King of Romance. I hope he is king of Vengance next
2 days ago
All my homies hate Spanish footballers. Spanish footballers do not deserve rights
1 day ago
Betrayal doesn’t even start to describe it.
Not only has his heart been smashed into pieces, but it has been done in a very public and humiliating way.
He knew that for the last two years, their relationship wasn’t going well. They have known each other for ten years, and they started to date when they were both relatively young. And then, he bought a house in Barcelona, started to live together. Be closer to each other. Jake has moved countries, hoped for a marriage proposal that never came. Still, their lives were getting more and more tangled together. Living expenses, Jake paying for his in-law's house, Jake stopped touring as often as before to be closer. Just releasing singles and EPs instead of whole albums.
He has prioritised their relationship. He has stopped inviting people over, he has let the man he was sharing his life with control who he talked to. He has showered him with presents, and let him use his black card. He didn’t listen to his best friend Javy, his manager Pete… damn, everyone in his label disapproved of how he was getting more involved in the relationship while the other half was not reciprocating.
The only hope he had for that relationship to work was that his in-laws were always so kind to him. And Jake, coming from a big family with amazing little sisters and two loving parents, couldn’t resist that.
So when he was invited by his in-laws to get away with them, he accepted. Only to find out on his way back that the man he was living with, has done an interview in their home for a program on national TV. He watched the man of his life speak to the camera while in the background, a stranger in his house. And he, like many people watching, discovered that Jake has been cheated on.
By the time he arrived at his house, hell had broken loose.
Penny, Pete’s current partner, has gone to pick him up, while his phone was blowing up. From concerned fans to more concerned friends (all of his three sisters have been trying to contact him and reassure him that their parents didn’t know anything yet) to his own label. Amelia, Penny’s daughter, is with him, and she reads to him some messages his fans leave for him. The best ones, that only say they love him and they are with him no matter what. She avoids any mention of the cheating scandal. She translates some of the Internet jargon so he gets the message across: people are on his side.
Penny reminds him that he is loved and it is normal not to see the signs if you weren’t looking for them.
And in less than a week, he has gone from a clueless devoted boyfriend to an enraged and betrayed heartbroken man.
Not only ten years of history and a relationship were destroyed, but it all has been done in a very public way.
Jake just wants to scream and break things.
In the end, he only requests Pete to get the Fucker™ and his things out of his house and his life. And anything that couldn't be gone in a day, he throws it away. He writes down a note for his fans to thank all their support and passes it to the team so they can put it pretty and post it for him. He can’t look on the Internet without seeing the memes and reactions.
He can’t when he is in their house.
Their house, their witness of five years living together, is now half empty and is a permanent reminder of what he has lost. Of what it could be. Of how blind he has been. His parents are now aware of what happened. Two of his sisters insist on taking days off to go visit him. Javy, who is currently doing the Australian and Japanese leg of his tour, insists on talking to him.
Jake opens one of his most expensive wine bottles and drinks himself to sleep.
Jen is his youngest sister.
She is still in university, the spoiled kid of the family. She came as a surprise fifteen years after their parents had Jake. So, the girl of the house. The spoiled kid. She was lucky enough that she was born when Jake’s career just was about to explode to the stratosphere because Jennifer Seresin never had to skip a meal like his older brother, and she always had someone to take care of her, the twins, her elder brother, or their parents.
She always gets the best. And her parents can deny her anything, and her siblings go out of their way to get her the best.
And that’s why Jen is the only person that reaches out to Jake successfully because his brother in no world is going to shout her out.
Also, Jen doesn’t ask how he is, because he is frankly drowning. But, she tells him that the song he made with Javy months ago is reaching new tops.
“I know that you wrote that song about a hypothetical situation,” she says. “And it sucks that it has become a reality, but people are really on your side brother.”
People pity him in general, so they probably are.
“It’s not a bad song,” he agrees. But he doesn’t recognise himself in it. The character singing those lyrics is quite chilly to the reality of his partner cheating. “But… I feel angrier than anything. I want to crush my heart and I want to break everything and still, the hurt I feel is… too great.”
Jen listens to him. She doesn’t jump to empty threats like his father that has promised to take his old rifle to hunt the Fucker™. She doesn’t start to cry like his mother. Or to curse the bastard like Julieta and Jane, the twins, did when he spoke to them.
“Seems like you need to express yourself with music, maybe?” she suggests.
Pete has made a similar suggestion. But Pete hasn’t done music in maybe fourteen years and now he is his manager. And Jake doesn’t want to work with his usual producers and team because he doesn’t want to be reminded that all of them could see the cracks but him. (‘I’ve told you’ is a sentence he has learnt to hate in the last weeks).
Javy would be his only option, but he is on the other side of the planet and he already has a lot on his plate. And he doesn’t want to bother him.
“I don’t know…” he says. “I don’t want to look more stupid.”
“You aren’t stupid. He is the stupid one. You’re the best brother I have!”
“I’m your only brother.”
Jen clicks her tongue.
“Well, if you don’t want to do what you do all the time… maybe change things a bit.” Jake can be numb by the breakup, hangover and his heart beats without a soul, but that doesn’t stop him to notice the tone in which Jen is speaking. That tone promises trouble and mischief.
“Jen…”
“It is an idea… ok? And I know you won’t like it, at first. But, please, consider it,” she warns and Jake sighs.
“Jen…” he repeats.
“And I know that he is one of the reasons you’re not allowed to tweet or use social media unsupervised,” she carries on. And Jake doesn’t like where this is going. Not a bit. “But, he has done great music sessions in the last months with several artists that are fucking fire…”
“Language.”
“Why don’t you do a collab with him? Get all the rage and venom out, he can do a dope beat and… you know, get a successful hit.”
She doesn’t have to say the name of the person she suggests making a song with.
She is talking about Rooster.
Rooster is a producer, DJ and celebrity. He approaches music as a business. He is the son of former American sweethearts Nicholas and Carole Bradshaw. The poster child of a privileged person that was born into wealth. Rooster starred first in the films that their parents did. He wasn’t a great child actor but he always played his parent’s character’s son. Then Nicholas retired, and he and his mother got a sweet deal with the giant Disney Entertainment Company.
Jake knew about Rooster when he went by his name, Bradley, starring in a cringe TV series where he performed and played instruments. He has gotten richer and richer with his parents' help. And then, he jumped to the music scene when his mother decided to retire from acting.
And that has been the problem.
Because that time was when Pete Mitchel, the best friend of Nicholas Bradshaw, discovered Jake playing the guitar at a shitty bar in Nashville. Everyone has assumed that when Bradley was going to make the jump, Pete Mitchel was going to be there to support him.
But the frontman of the Mavericks decided to go with an unknown talent instead of an already mediocre known celebrity. And even if Jake and Bradley didn’t know each other, everyone could tell that Bradley was hurt that Pete Mitchel had chosen Jake Seresin over him.
It didn’t help that Jake Seresin got the nickname of the Golden Boy, while Bradley changed his whole image to a bad boy.
Drugs, alcohol problems, disturbance in hotels, polemic performances… As soon as the boy was out of age, he was out of control. DJ Rooster was born and he was obnoxious. Jake encountered him a few times during Award Shows, and Rooster has always come across as entitled and proud. After a few glares were taken out of context and the need for the Press for scandals, their rivalry started.
If Jake was in the media thanks to a new record broken, Rooster was there because of another scandal. Things got worse when Disney dropped him and cut ties, breaking their contract. The Press had a feast with him. The critics went all in, now that the power and influence of Disney weren’t paying for good reviews.
And Jake had believed at the time that Rooster was going to disappear.
Except…
The public couldn’t get enough of the Bad Boy that scandalised parents and companies and partied like there is no tomorrow. He published five albums in five years that were a massive commercial success. Critics hated him, but the more they tried to bury him, the more the people loved him.
Is Rooster getting naked during a performance at the VMA? Yes, and the video is going viral, the censored and uncensored one. Half of his songs weren’t even serious and followed the same structure. It wasn’t even innovative. It was commercial, for fast consumption and easy disposal. After Disney, he had five albums that were more terrible that the ones the released under the Mouse Factory.
And Jake, after too many drinks, had lamented the death of art and music on Twitter. Of course, Rooster jumped almost immediately, and both of them had a very public and tasteless discussion online.
After that, Jake’s team changed his passwords to his social media and declared online as just a marketing tool instead of his place for venting. Damage control that Jake is ok with because he’s never seen the point of social media. And since he is away from the Internet, his mental health has improved considerably.
“Jen, that’s crazy,” he says. Because it is. Rooster and Jake have nothing in common. They don’t do the same type of music, they approach the subject in a very different way. And he isn’t sure he can tolerate any attitude from the producer, less when he is still grieving.
“Well, it is unusual. But, in the last six months, he has been dropping collaborations with different musicians and he is doing very interesting things. Like, the song with Javy?” she points out. And Jake has to admit that his friend and Rooster have done a really good and catchy song, but Jake attributes more to Javy’s skills than Rooster’s. “And, also, he has done one with Natasha Trace too, you like her, right?”
Natasha Trace is another songwriter and artist that Jake likes a lot. Like him, she mostly self-produces her stuff. Despite being friends with Rooster since his days at the Disney factory, she usually has a very clean presence. No scandals, a total sweetheart that always has a moment to shout out important causes every time she receives an award.
“Well, she is his friend, so…”
“Listen to it!” Jen implores. Jake takes his computer and looks up at the sessions that Rooster has published. All of them with millions of views, the most popular ones, over 100M. Like the one with Natasha Trace and one with Payback and Fanboy, two ex-members of the boyband TheFive5 that Javy used to belong. The session with Coyote is also on the top three, followed shortly by one with Logan Lee.
“Maybe there are only good songs because of the artists, not him.”
“In that case, your song will be a success because you’re making it,” Jen argues. “But you can’t deny that Rooster has a great platform. Not saying that you need it but…”
But Jake, despite his popularity and success, has been a little bit out of the loop for two years. And Rooster could be a mediocre musician, but nobody could play the press and media in his favour like him. Every time people thought he was going to be cancelled or done for good, he has come back stronger.
“Listen to his latest EP, V O I D,” Jen said, spelling the letters one by one. “And Natasha’s session. I think you’ll find them to your taste.”
But Jake is tired.
“Look, even if I entertain the idea, that I don’t,” he says. “I doubt he wants to do anything with me. Not only does he think I’m a selfish and self-absorbed artist, but do you forget that my manager used to be super close with the Bradshaws and he left them to work with me?”
Jen murmurs a couple of things and then:
“But, big brother… You want to vent about the Fucker™ of your ex, and Rooster has the power to make that song so popular that it will follow him and his lover to the end of the world. And then, you can do an acoustic version and… longevity. I bet you could win awards for it.” Jake is not convinced, but then, Jen says the magical words. “C’mon, do it for me?”
And Jake would do anything for his little sister. Even listening to Rooster and his trashy music (the jury is still out about collaborating with him).
He listens to Rooster’s Session #5 with Natasha Trace and… he hates that he likes it. The touch of Natasha’s genius can be seen in every aspect of the song. But also the undeniable input of Rooster. And the result is… catchy. Later, he realises he has heard the song before but he isn’t sure where.
Pete, Penny and Amelia go to lunch with him every day to make sure he is having enough nutrients in his system and he hasn’t drunk himself to death. And he tells them that crazy idea of Jen. Pete agrees with Jake that both of them have a very different way to approach music, Penny comments that Rooster has been collaborating with many artists in very different genres so it doesn’t sound as crazy as it seems and Amelia loses it.
“YES, you need to do it,” Amelia implores. “You need to do a revenge song with him! I know you hate it, but he can do a small bridge that I’m sure it’ll be viral on TikTok and the Fucker…”
“Amelia, language!” her mother complains.
“Well, that song will be EVERYWHERE, imagine the money you’ll get!”
“It’s not all about the money,” says Pete, and Jake nods, because he is right, is not about the money.
But Jen doesn’t like to be told no. And Jake knows that is because all the family enables her. And late at night, he receives a text message from an unknown number. Jake is too drunk to understand at first.
FYI, your sister is quite scary but resourceful
And she thinks we should collab.
Who are you?
Wait
No
She didn’t
Fuck, sorry
How… how do you have my phone?
She gave me yours, obvs
Well, what do you think? Wanna do a song together?
Well, idk
Jake gets up from the sofa, puts the wine away and goes to the kitchen to drink water.
What’s in for you?
Clout? Money?
Revenge?
Take your pick
Revenge?
Rooster sends a picture of himself and a man looking chill and cool and happy… wait, that was the guy the Fucker™ cheated him with? He looks so different from the paparazzi photos. In Rooster’s the man looks younger, with long hair and a beard while in the photos with the Fucker™, he has shorter hair, clean shaved. More like Jake’s style in the last few years.
We took that photo a year ago.
Been together for two years at that time
And if the press is right, that bastard was cheating on me
With your boyfriend
So, you know
Revenge
Jake’s mind goes into a spiral. He has never paid much attention to gossip and rumours. He knows that years before Rooster was famous for his long list of lovers. He hasn’t heard much about the current ones, but because Jake has made a point to stay away from those types of news. Knowing that he has that type of connection with Rooster… he doesn’t know what to think.
When I heard what happen to you I recognised him
So when your sister contacted me with the idea of a revenge song
Well… needed to give it a try
lets do a record-breaking banger
That will give us so much money
that will put our side and our story
Out there for our fans to learn and those miserable two
Will have to hear about it for the rest of the year, hopefully
Petty, right? I should have gotten over it already, it’s been 8 months since
He disappeared from my life
Petty? I don’t know about that
But I like it.
I have a studio in London if you want to pop in
Whatever you want
Should I get my manager to talk to yours?
Yeah, it will be best
Get everything sorted out before doing anything
But I have a condition
He can feel that the royalties alone are going to be a nightmare to sort out. And figure out promos, if they want to do any. Or even who could have the creative process of decision. Jen’s plan couldn’t work if they couldn’t get those details right first.
Let’s see what it is
Let me be in charge of the marketing
I promise I will make you look amazing executing those two
Of course your team will have the full TL and access to the material
But, you can trust me I’ll hype the f of it and we’ll get a big reaction
He knows that Rooster is good with marketing. He is very controversial and his sales have always been on the rise. Jake doesn’t like those tactics, he knows that Pete hates them. Rooster is the bad boy of the industry, that’s a fact. And if that’s the only condition he can ask to have in their contract that is Jake the one calling the shots creativity-wise.
He checks flights to London and gets a fairly cheap ticket to the British city. He books the flight, knowing that nobody is going to suspect that country and pop star Jake Seresin is using Ryanair. And sends the boarding pass to Rooster.
Sure. Maybe it’s time for me to enter my villain arc
See you tomorrow evening?
Wow, yes, sure
I’ll have my lawyers drafting the agreement and sending it over asap
And I’ll get someone waiting for Hangman
Hangman??
Aren’t we going to execute that bitch?
You need a Cool Name
I want the last saying on the creative aspect
and i want that in writing
Sure, you’re my guest.
It would be rude otherwise ;)
He sends the boarding pass to Pete as well and asks him to check about a possible collaboration with Rooster which he wants to have in writing so that he has the last say on the creative aspect of the song. His manager answers with a lot of question marks, but the next day, he already has in his inbox a first draft of the contract with the amends they want to have.
By the time Jake lands in London, the final draft that is approved by Rooster is waiting for him, so he signs it back on his phone. When he is passing by the border control, he gets the confirmation that everyone is good with it.
“Hi, Mister…” There is a young Asian woman, probably his age, holding a sign with Hangman on it. She blushes as soon as Jake can read on her face that she has recognised him. “Sorry, I… I wasn’t expecting you. He told me to expect a great star, didn’t have any idea it was you Mr Seresing. Why didn’t he tell me it was you ?” she added to herself, agitated.
“I told him I didn’t want to be called like that,” complains Jake looking at the sign. “You don’t have to call me sir, please. Jake is fine with me.”
The relief on her face is visible.
“Thank you… Jake. I’m on Rooster’s team. I have instructions to drive you to the hotel, where you can settle, have lunch if you want and then… do you want to start recording today? We are ready to start recording today if you want,” she points out, guiding him out of the building towards the parking lot where she has a car waiting.
“Yes, starting to record as soon as possible sounds good,” Jake says. He doesn’t want to stay alone for long periods of time. He doesn’t want to start drinking in a random hotel room. Rooster is the one to make those types of scenes, not him. “So, are you his PA by any chance?” he asks. He only had one when he was on tour, and usually was Jane, one of the twins, as she worked on Event Management and she needed to gain experience.
“Yes, sir… Jake. My name is Callie.”
“Nice to meet you, Callie.”
“Thank you! I’m actually one of the three PAs Rooster has,” she informs him. “Then Grace and Frankie. They are all lovely. I don’t think you’ll be able to meet Frankie, but definitively you’ll meet Grace. She has been talking with your team, Penelope could be?”
Jake looks at Callie. The woman keeps talking and doesn’t seem affected that Jake is not very talkative. Jake looks out of the window. For Rooster to have three PAs is not something very strange, almost expected. In line with his entitled and spoiled rich kid image.
He fears he is going to regret his rushed decision to travel to London to do a collaboration with an artist he doesn’t know very well.