Vanilla Ice and Whitney Houston make their Rock Band debuts later this week, although the game’s fanbase has mixed reactions about September’s first week of DLC.
The announcement of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” and Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” came from the rhythm game’s Twitter account, which posts the week’s DLC each Tuesday morning. Players are not fully satisfied with this announcement, partly because of the artists’ pasts and overall fit within the game. The community has been vocal about such issues, even refusing to buy songs because of their personal stance.
“Ice Ice Baby,” which is part of this season’s Spotlight Pass, has been criticized for the bass line’s similarity to the one in Queen’s “Under Pressure,” which was released in the game’s music store in 2009 (and rereleased in 2010 to include keyboard peripheral support). This similarity was great enough that it lead to a copyright case between Vanilla Ice, Queen and David Bowie, who was featured on “Under Pressure.” Vanilla Ice lost the case.
Fans on social media have brought up the song’s past, joking about Vanilla Ice’s defense on changing the song’s beat and his lack of crediting Bowie and Queen members as songwriters. Others have noted that some of the instrument charts will be similar to “Under Pressure,” calling the song an excuse to release DLC without putting in as much work.
While Houston’s track was not the main focus of many comments, parts of the community feel the song does not suit the game’s vibe. Other posts welcome the hip hop and pop additions, from being shocked at the reveal or anticipating certain instrument parts.
Additionally, some replies derail the discussion and ask Harmonix for specific songs or artists. Rockers looking to suggest a song for future DLC can visit the Rock Band request page or the ‘request song’ tab in the Rock Band Companion app for iOS and Android.
“Ice Ice Baby” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” will be available Sept. 7 on PS4 and Xbox One for $1.99 each.