'No Regrets' is one of those pop songs that works by playing off the public perception of the artists behind it; the listener is supposed to bring with them a pre-existing idea of Dappy. In case anyone reading this doesn't know who Dappy is, he is a member of British urban pop group N-Dubz (alongside his cousin, and new X Factor judge, Tulisa Contostavlos). The general public's perception of Dappy is dominated by what might euphemistically be called 'controversy' - repeated trouble with the law over things like drug use, assault and death threats. With the group on hiatus "for the foreseeable future", Dappy is launching a solo career. 'No Regrets' stands as precisely the shrewd/cynical move - man-in-the-mirror emoting; a big, redemptive choir-and-key-change chorus; Dappy moving on and looking to the future.
'No Regrets' wilfully fudges and blurs a lot of issues, and as such it's a bit of a conceptual mess. There are a few strands going on. On the one hand, we get self-deprecating Dappy, admitting his past failings and looking to change - "I messed my life up", "I'm no longer looking at a reflection that I admire", and so on. On the other hand, we have the far less contrite Dappy of the song's title, victoriously blurting out "I'm just being me!" as a triumphant choir kicks in behind him, and even crooning an emptily self-validating passage from Oasis' 'Whatever' ("I'm freeeeee to be whatever I..."). These two apparently contradictory lines of thought are clumsily stitched together by a third theme, that of triumph over adversity - so we get Dappy musing about being "victimised by the public" but holding his head up proudly anyway, boasting that he has "the heart of a winner". So his own fuck-ups and the criticism he has received are both turned into grist for his egotistical mill, both just obstacles to be overcome. It's a pretty common trope in urban music, a clever sleight-of-hand that allows self-deprecation to co-exist comfortably with self-aggrandisement. It can be compelling, but only when the tensions and contradictions involved are palpable in the music, rather than being casually papered over and studiously ignored, like they are here.
What's irksome about 'No Regrets' is probably crystallised most strongly in a line that Dappy drops early in the song: "you're looking at a changed man - Chris Brown". The line is galling for obvious reasons, but it's unfortunately quite apt. Chris Brown is a person who has done atrocious things, and has done very little to indicate that he has 'changed' other than - and this is crucial - unconvincingly spinning and positioning himself as 'changed' to the media, while releasing mind-bogglingly point-missing records like Chipmunk collaboration 'Champion' in which he tries to frame himself as a victim. (Jay Smooth is good on this, as usual.) This is pretty much the model that Dappy is following here, but needless to say, it rings incredibly hollow. The emotional mood of 'No Regrets' should be - and wants to be - one of humility and perspective, but neither are anywhere to be found. Dappy's admitting his failings here without being sorry for them, trying to have his cake and eat it and hoping no one notices; he's playing a careful game here that feels like it has far more to do with marketing than genuine emotional expression.
(As an aside, for what it's worth, the Chris Brown line is also a good representation of the record because it's one of a series of embarrassing hashtag-rap similes that pepper Dappy's lyrics. Other offenders include "back to the future - Marty McFly", "I'm flyer than the birds - Richard Branson" and "I'll blow the bloody doors off - Michael Caine".)
I actually have quite a soft spot for N-Dubz. Some of their records - especially recently - have been bland; but they have more often been, even when deeply flawed, at least compelling, and they have definitely managed the odd moment of brilliance (début single 'You Better Not Waste My Time', ridiculous pop breakthrough 'I Need You'). Dappy could be compelling with N-Dubz precisely because he seemed so unreflective and disinhibited, like an overgrown child with no impulse control whatsoever; but this persona only worked, when it did, because Dappy's was not the only voice, but was reigned in and countered by his bandmates on records that felt more like hectic squabbles than monologues. Dappy as a hyperkinetic cartoon antihero has worn thin, and he does need to change his on-record persona if he's going to make a decent solo single. But this self-consciousness, this transparently calculated attempt to ingratiate himself to a pop audience, is ill-fitting at best. Dappy has certainly retained his undeniable pop instincts - 'No Regrets' is, if nothing else, catchy. But its forced faux-maturity is excruciatingly ham-fisted and transparently insincere.
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