The Secret (Austine Mahone EP)
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| EP by Austin Mahone | ||||
| Released | May 27, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013–14 | |||
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| Length | 26:59 | |||
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| Austin Mahone chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Secret | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Billboard |  |
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| USA Today | |
The Secret is the second extended play (EP) by American pop singer Austin Mahone. It was released on May 27, 2014.
In an interview with Billboard on November 4, 2013, Mahone informed the magazine that the album would see an additional collaboration with Flo Rida and maybe one or two other to-be-determined guests. He added: "It's coming along amazing – I'm just trying to have every little detail and just make it absolutely perfect for my fans." The direction of the EP reminisces a sound and themes of '90s pop music and has clear influences of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
The album is described by music critics as pop and EDM. According to Mahone, the sound is a mixture of pop, R&B, electronic dance and 90's Backstreet Boys. When asked about the EP in an interview with MTV News, he said that the songs in his upcoming album would "sound like "What About Love" kind of like that EDM, like I said, old school/new school." Writing for So So Gay, David Lim noted the EP's sound to be influenced by Swedish pop producer Max Martin, who created songs for late-90's teen pop stars such as Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Lim later went on to call the EP a "shout of neon-bright tunes" and said: "The catchy melodies and electronic beats suit Austin’s own clean-cut, all singing-and-dancing persona, but at times it puts a wall between him and the listener."
"Mmm Yeah" is a dance-pop song which contains a "swirling" production, funk-influenced trumpets, a percussion-heavy four on the floor electropop beat, and influences of Chicago house, hip hop, and Latin music. The track heavily samples Lidell Townsell's 1992 single "Nu Nu". Lyrically, the song speaks of being rejected by an attractive woman walking down a street: "We can do whatever/ Do whatever we want/ When she walked past me I said 'hey, hey, hey' So tell me where you from where you want to go/ She walked past me like I ain't say a word". "All I Ever Need" is a "breezy" downtempo R&B and pop slow jam.
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