"The Fighter" Gym Class Heroes ft. Ryan Tedder

With Travie McCoy as frontman, it's hard to see Gym Class Heroes as anything other than pop radio's biggest jokesters (and perhaps its biggest joke, given "Ass Back Home"). But on new single "The Fighter"—which features OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, reigning king of sentimental ballads—the group tries to show its sensitive side...and just ends up somewhere closer to boring. The song is McCoy's attempt at an "it gets better" anthem, though once again, he seems to have greatly overestimated his own pop cultural worth. (It's hard to believe that "half the population's just waiting to see me fail" when his album sales suggest that they probably don't know who he is.) Sure, you've got to give McCoy a little bit of credit for trying to use his platform to do something good. Unfortunately, weak boxing metaphors like "If you fall, pick yourself up off the floor" can only take you so far. C