Zedd’s ‘True Colors’: DJ Drops New Album, Performs On The Empire State Building, Sparks Dating Rumors?

Zedd is a busy man lately. Not only did he release his new album, True Colors, but he also performed on the top of the Empire State Building. The German DJ is still finding the time to date as he aggressively promotes his new album.

Zedd, 25, released his sophomore album, entitled True Colors. He’s known as the hardest working DJ in the world. Unfortunately for the successful producer, the reviews are in — and they’re not good.

The most recent review of Zedd’s new album comes from SPIN magazine, which says the DJ “lacks direction,” unlike his contemporaries.

“While it’s admirable that Zedd is making an active effort to avoid tried-and-true formulas of other, older superstars like Calvin Harris and David Guetta, sometimes it sounds like he can’t see the audience for the crowds. True Colors zigzags between the piano-led reckoning that is “Papercut” (featuring YouTube star Troye Sivan), chest-beating thumper “Bumblebee” (with Botnek), and the anthemic violin arrangements of “Daisy.” Though each song is single-minded in its pursuit of musicality — something Zaslavski reveled in without previous distractions, like recording with Lady Gaga while he was making Clarity — the album as a whole lacks any direction other than the ambition to be more than it winds up being.”

We Got This Covered also agrees that Zedd’s sophomore album is disjointed and out of place. It sounds like True Colors is not as as cohesive as Clarity was from beginning to end.

“Colors’ disjointedness begins at the very first track, ‘Addicted to a Memory,’ which Zedd used as a teaser for the album a month ago. The song showcases his signature fusion between rich instrumentals, chugging electro house and serene vocals (by Bahari, in this case) – but sometime during the second breakdown, it embarks on a perplexing tangent. The melody froths up into a pretentious keyboard solo too terse for the rest of the song, and outside the range of what the synths really ought to be used for. The result is that the second half of the song sounds more like a video-gamey Savant track and doesn’t fit well with the first. Earlier in the year Zedd remarked that he wanted everything on the album to sound good when played on the piano, but this part likely only sounds good played on the piano.”

Is Zedd’s True Colors starting to fade before they appear? Contributor Chuck Campbell believes so. In his review, he believes that most of the tracks are forgettable, and that the album’s name will only make fans think of Cyndi Lauper’s iconic “True Colors” track.

“True Colors begins and ends only serviceably – with fragmented opener ‘Addicted to a Memory’ featuring the girl-group Bahari and vaguely familiar closer ‘Illusion’ featuring Echosmith. And the in-between cuts include a few clunkers that never get going. Also, even on the better songs Zedd’s trumped-up trickery loses its oomph over time.

The True Colors title probably doesn’t help Zedd either. Because anyone who thinks of the tender Cyndi Lauper hit of the same name is likely to wish something like that was on this album.”

YourEDM, the official source for electronic dance music, gives Zedd’s album high marks for originality, but low marks when it comes to flow. Meanwhile, Empty Lighthouse Magazine believes that True Colors will take fans on a “mystical EDM journey.” They believe that it flows perfectly and picks up where Zedd’s Clarity left off.

“The first four tracks are a mystical ride featuring amazing choruses of love and the declaration of it. ‘Addicted To A Memory’ explores the images of a love that was so deep yet lost. ‘I Want You To Know,’ is a declaration of love while ‘Beautiful Now’ is a celebration of that love. The three singles work quite nicely in a colorful narrative that listeners will be able to appreciate.

Overall, True Colors is solid and full of future club anthems. It picks up right where Clarity left off and it’s almost as if Zedd has his foot on the gas the entire time. It’s bass-heavy, with beautifully arranged build ups and the perfect vocals to match it.”

The poor reviews haven’t stopped the DJ from promoting his album. In fact, Zedd even performed on the top of the Empire State Building. The building even lit up in the colors of the rainbow. There, the musician performed acoustic versions of his new tracks for the lucky fans that were able to see him.

In between recording and promoting an album, Zedd has found the time to date. He’s making rumors swirl by creating a Tinder profile and taking a selfie with Nina Dobrev.

Now, don’t get carried away just yet. Zedd is taking a page from Hilary Duff’s promotion tour by using the dating app to promote his new album.

He’s also making the most out of single time by hanging out with former Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev. The two shared a selfie together on Instagram.

The musician wrote: “Thank you for teaching me your selfie tricks @ninadobrev. My eyes couldn’t find the camera lens though.”

It’s been rumored that Zedd finds Dobrev attractive and is establishing a relationship with her. This comes after the news after he said he couldn’t deal with high-profile relationships because he believes that tabloids are a distraction. It also doesn’t help matters when Dobrev is good friends with his ex, Selena Gomez.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Zedd is dating Nina Dobrev? Do you like his True Colors album? Sound off below in the comments section.

[Image: Angela Weiss / Getty Images for Delta Air Line]