Best of 2009: April #2 & #1

Who came out victorious in April? The songs are memorable, that's all I can say.

#2: Jesse McCartney - Crash & Burn

Whenever I listen to this song the first thing that comes to my mind is the end of 8th Grade when I was directing a short film and a friend of mine was the scriptwriter - it was our final project for the year, due a week after school ended. At the time I was just starting my Rascal Flatts addiction and my best friend had just left for Japan - it was just before my uncle died and I got addicted to Rain. So you can say that this song was a milestone - it signaled the end of my all-British pop addiction and the start of my kpop phase. Brilliant song.

#1: Agnes Carlsson - Love Love Love

Does this song even need a write-up? I think not. Pop at it's best from the queen of Swedish pop as of now - it's the perfect pop song. According to iTunes, I was listening to this a day before Crash and Burn. Cool.

What's been going on???

I've been super, SUPER MIA these past few days because as most of you know, I'm also a writer for a kpop news site and I had a little crisis with my grades this week (don't ask.) which all lead to me not being able to do any blogging here. That 'elements of a perfect Christmas song' might not go on as at the moment, I have no time to post anything during school days. It's hard enough trying to write one article a day over where I'm writing news, what more if I add in PRN. Apologies and I assure you, by mid-December at the latest everything will be back to normal.

So what the crap has been happening since I last did some writing? A LOT. Ugh. Here's a quick sum-up of everything I think is worth writing about. It'll be super, SUPER opinionated because over at omgkpop I have to remove all opinions and just do facts - I have to let everything out! I seriously miss being able to write like this. Hahah.

• Lady GaGa's Fame Monster was leaked and everyone freaked out. Well, almost everyone. I listened over to the album because everyone seemed to be adoring it thinking it would work like how Leona's Echo did but it didn't - I'm one of those few that thinks opposite the rest of the blogging world. (I believe I'm in this together with Paul!) I just don't find her music interesting. Yeah sure her clothes, her image and everything about her that doesn't have to do with music is a gigantic spectacle to the eyes but I don't care one bit about image - I don't like the songs, they just don't appeal to me.
• A few days ago I tweeted about Glee covering Jennifer Paige's Crush (I cannot stand people who only think Crush is by David Archuleta. PLEASE.) and although I'm not falling over my feet for the version, it's good seeing the song covered because it's so damn good! No really, as a kid I constantly heard it and a few years ago when I was re-acquainting myself with 90's pop I came across her again - brilliant song.
• Nick Jonas (credited as Nick Jonas and the Administration) has a new album slated for release and he's performing at the Grammy Nominations Concert. I should care because? Hahah.
• JoJo. There are tracks leaking almost every day and I'm sick and tired of seeing them - JUST GET THE DAMN ALBUM OUT ALREADY! Hahah.
• Is the Adam Lambert album any good? I mean, will I like it? Because I'm still debating on whether or not to spend time listening to it. Oh, and any new albums that you think are worth my time?
• There's a new Agnes track called You Rain from a repackaged version (is it the US one?) of Dance Love Pop and dammit, it's gorgeous. No really, absolutely stunning. I may have to change Agnes' entry on my year-end countdown - dammit, another round of organizing and UGH. Hahah.
• EDIT: I like the new Alicia Keys song. Hahah.
• The world of kpop has been very interesting lately. Start it off by the state of my beloved DBSK and you already have an entire roller coaster to deal with. Three of them got sued for fraud and are openly defying their talent company who also forged their signatures. They also have a Japanese single out January next year. Interesting? My article on that is here. Fans are at their toes trying to figure out what'll happen next - we thought things were gonna be OK when they released a clip of their upcoming Japanese single but apparently, they're not. Dammit.
• The big year-end awards show, The Mnet Asian Music Awards, although without SM artists (Super Junior, f(x), SNSD, 2 of DBSK) and Korea's Britney (Lee Hyori), are looking promising. No one knows for certain if this repackaging of the MKMF will work but yeah. Hahah.
• Anything else I missed that you think I should know about? I've been so out of the loop lately - apologies.

This weekend I start writing and scheduling the posts for my year-end countdown and it starts on December 1 with the rules and format of this year's countdown. Haven't compiled the November songs yet but yeah.

Interview: Agnes Carlsson

Yes, I know what you must be thinking - HOW THE CRAP DID I GET AN INTERVIEW LIKE THIS? Thank a close online friend of mine, beE (we go WAY back to my pirate blogger days - she was my cover art maker back then) - she runs Pop Nation. It was sort of her 'birthday gift' to me that I could send in questions for Agnes along with the ones made by another close online friend of mine, Mel, who does all the interviews for Pop Nation. And I am thinking OH YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!! Because this is damn big. What kind of 15 year-old gets to interview someone like AGNES!??! This is so cool.
I won't beat around the bush anymore because you all know who Agnes is - I still can't believe it! This is like, the best week of my life. Note that this is my half of the interview, to read the rest go to Pop Nation, and that the answers were really in capital letters when it was sent - no edits were made.

1. What makes your career and music so brilliant are the songs you put out. You have an impressive back catalogue of what I class as some of the best pop songs in the world - what was your choosing process for them like and how do you yourself spot a hit?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORDS. WITH THE LAST ALBUM I WORKED VERY CLOSE TO ANDERS HANSSON AND RELEASE ME IS MY, SO FAR, BIGGEST HIT. WE WROTE IT TOGETHER WITH SHARON. A HIT ACCORDING TO ME IS A SONG THAT AFFECTS ME AND THAT I FEEL I CAN MAKE IT MY OWN.

2. As many people know, you won Swedish Idol back in 2005. What does the 'Idol Label', the fact that you broke into the industry by winning a reality show, mean to you and how did/does it affect your career?
FOR ME IDOL WAS A GREAT SCHOOL. I PERFORMED IN FRONT OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY WEEK AND THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD START FOR ME.

3. Why did you choose that song Release Me as a British single and what was your initial reaction to the success of the single in the UK?
THERE WAS A RECORD COMPANY IN THE UK THAT CHOSE THE SONG AS THE FIRST SINGLE. I AM REALLY HAPPY ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPEND IN THE CHARTS AROUND THE WORLD.

4. What's the reason for your departure from Sony BMG and why did you choose Roxy records after you left?
SONY MUSIC WAS NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ME AND I WANTED TO WORK WITH PEOPLE I CONNECTED WITH. I MET UP WITH ROXY AND WE CONNECTED

5. Your album credits state that you co-wrote a few songs on 'Dance Love Pop' and 'Stronger'. Would you like to further explore songwriting and possibly even record production in the near or distant future?
I WRITE SONGS CONSTANTLY AND THIS IS SOMETHING I WILL KEEP ON DOING

Guess who's NUMBER ONE!

I couldn't believe it either but it's straight off Twitter...

RELEASE ME IS NUMBER ONE ON THE UK iTunes CHART!How long have I been raving about the song, huh? MONTHS. And the British public only agree with me now? Well at least they do - it's better than nothing.

Congrats to Agnes, she deserves it.

New Music!

Quite a number of new stuff. Some not as new but I haven't blogged about them yet so that's new! hahah.

• Everyone's gushing about the new Booty Luv single(which is still set for release later this year..) but I personally don't get it. I don't know if it's because it reminds me too much of something Lady GaGa could and would sing or if I just don't like it to start with. 
• I'm still addicted to Rain. I'm serious - if you haven't heard his 2008 album you're missing a heck of a lot. He puts Justin Timberlake to shame, if you were to ask me.
• Michael Johns' single Heart On Your Sleeve is impressive - but not my cup of tea. His voice is gorgeous and all but it reminds me of a 2006 single I can't quite pinpoint yet. All I know is that it reminds me of 2006 when I got addicted to MTV and the local music channel. Will do my research.
• Mitchel Musso's new single is even more impressive - I actually adore it. He reminds me of a more juvenile Teddy Geiger and that's a good thing(I think I've professed my love for him a few times already..). The melody's gorgeous and if he works a little more on the slightly wimpy voice and stick with an acoustic/piano thing, this song will work. Not a big fan of the very rock parts with heavy guitars and drums - I much prefer the start and the rather short middle-8.
• There's a new NLT song floating around called Magnetic and it reminds me waaaay too much of a Day26 song. Creepy.
• I think I've talked about Esmee Denters before in passing but I just got the HQ version of her single(late, I know. Forgive me.) and the song got even better. Definitely the new Gia Farrell although she better get an album release - the US lacks a big female pop star who makes brilliant pop songs.
• It's Your Dynamite, the b-side to GA's Untouchable is out. The verdict? Not so good. For now, at least. There's nothing special about the song or the melody - it's just a plain old recycled melody put on top of a loop stuck with a strange chorus. I might like it if I listen to it a bit more(ala-The Show) but for now, things aren't looking that good.
• It's all over the place but I should write something about Agnes' acoustic version of Release Me. I first heard it a few months ago(not sure exactly when..) when I was just announced as the second single and I thought it was brilliant. Now we have the studio mixed and 'sweetened' version and it's even betterrrrrrr! This seriously puts all those American pop stars who can't sing a note in tune live on their below-average songs they call 'pop'. hahah.
• One of my recent discoveries is Korean pop star/TV star Lee Hyori. Apparently she's gigantic in Korea and is constantly being linked to Rain(hmmmm.). She doesn't have the most gorgeous voice in the world but the song will stick in your head and refuse to leave, whether it's good or bad. Oh, and even if you can't understand 95% of the song, it's got a great melody.. Her album isn't that bad either - there are some cool R&B staples on it.

That Kevin Borg album review(very short) + two single reviews(THE NEW AGNES SOOOONG!) + two really sad announcements.

Kevin Borg was one of those artists I checked out by association - he's Swedish and he won Idol. To a certain extent having the Idol label helps 'coz people like me who don't exactly watch all the shows around the world will see an artist with the label and get curious - sometimes you discover amazing new music.

So there, I gave this guy's album a listen and I was presented with amazing, standalone songs. If you listen to these songs alone, with no outside factors and blocking out all your knowledge about other songs and music in general it's actually a good album but the thing is, you don't do that. I listened to the album from start to finish and I was a bit put off but I chose the songs with good melodies, listened to them over individually and I was impressed.

He has good songs - they're gorgeous, he knows where to find them and how to sing them 'coz he has a gorgeous voice but they're all so detached from each other.

That's all I have to say about the album - and that Street Lights, Out Of Time and More Than I Do Now are probably the best on the album.
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Jesse McCartney's re-releasing Departure but you all probably know that already. Body Language(which was very eagerly awaited after a live version leaked) leaked a few days back and I was going to write a review for it today but then something better came along - the other song on the re-release. Crash and Burn will probably never be a single but it's such a gorgeous song that I at the very least should write something about it.

It starts out very simple, with a nice melodious verse and a gorgeous instrumentation but then once the chorus kicks in you realize that the verse was nothing compared to what came next. You have a very simple melody, with a gorgeous instrumentation that made me smile just like how Moments That Matter made me smile and I don't usually smile like that when I hear a song.

My only complaint with him is that he doesn't have groove and a mastery of the genre unlike say, Craig David or Lemar. When you listen to the song you won't bop your head involuntarily, you kind of have to think about when or how. But the song's amazing, better than anything on the original Departure so well done Jesse.

Everyone's been raving on and on about Agnes Carlsson's Love Love Love so it's my turn. I had it already the day it came out but I didn't get the chance to listen 'coz of tests and stuff until a little before I started writing. The verdict - IT'S BRILLIANT.

At the start it's very soft and when I first heard it wasn't that into it but my second listen was very pleasant. Then the standard Agnes style kicks in and it becomes a truly amazing song.

The song has a gorgeous melody, yes but it also takes you on a ride. It starts out slow, builds up bit by bit and by the end of the song you're left with something so mind-blowing that you won't know what hit you but you'll want to listen to it over and over and over and over again.

I'm dead serious, it's a slightly new Agnes that I simply adooooore - she should do more of these stuff. Plus the cover's gorgeous, right?
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Two pieces of news - Avenue and Same Difference are no more. Let's take time to mourn.

OK! DONE! haha, really - it's horrible news. Same Difference were dropped and Avenue split. UGH, WHY?

New Music!

Taking a break from the countdown, let's look back on all the great music that's come out in the past few days(before I fall asleep! I'm on anti-histamine and painkillers.. so I'll make it short)

• I've FINALLY heard the Same Difference b-side Like A Miracle, and I'm loving what I'm hearing. Why the crap wasn't this on the album? It's genius!
• I've heard a part of the new Mya album. I LOVE IT! I love how the songs flow from one to the other and the theme of them so far. I'll finish listening to it sometime this weekend!
• Also, I've finally watched the new Westlife documentary. I got goosebumps during 'the walk'. Seriously!
• I still can't believe that Agnes' second single from Dance Love Pop is Release Me. Seriously, I'm still in shock!
• Been listening over to the Same Difference album a lot these past few days. It's slowly going to amazing to brilliant to mind-blowing. Amazing stuff! Is it number one yet? haha..
• And, the news that made my day, the new GA video premiered!!!! I was literally screaming my head off when I saw it on YouTube this morning.. If you haven't watched it yet, YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON SHEER BRILLIANCE! Seriously, it's probably the best GA video, ever. EVER. The best video plus one of the most mind-blowing songs on the earth, what can go wrong? NOTHING!

New Music..

Let's take a break from the countdown, shall we? Just a quick one though, there are still heaps and heaps of songs to write about and my brain, eyes and fingers are getting tired(I wrote like six reviews last night and another seven a while ago after I came from doing some experimental make-up on my classmates..)!

• Darin's new album is out, and I'm loving some of the tracks. I'll get to writing that review sometime in the next few days, I've got too much to do at the moment!
• Believe it or not, Orlando Brown(That's So Raven?) has an album. Gui over at Pop Music Zone posted it, and I'm surprised. He can sing! But the songs all sound the same and I haven't listened to the whole thing yet.
• The new Same Difference album is out tomorrow so if you liked my review, go out and BUY IT! You know you want to...
• I just posted it a while ago, but let me say it again, I CAN'T BELIEVE AGNES CARLSSON'S SECOND SINGLE IS RELEASE ME!! Haha.. freak out mode, sorry.
• Speaking of singles, The Saturdays' third single is Issues, a gorgeous song. The Sugababes are releasing No Can Do and Girls Aloud are releasing none other than The Loving Kind. Amazing stuff, can't wait for the second part of the battle of the girl groups!
• Leona Lewis' new video for Run is out. Nothing special, I don't really like the song to start with and she's getting too popular and compared to Mariah and Whitney too much for me.
• The Westlife DVD is number one in Ireland, HURRAH! And Sony BMG Pilipinas better bring it here now, or else face the wrath of a whole mob of angry Westlife fans who demand for their beloved DVD, me included!
• I've already written about my favorite song of 2008, and I can assure you, it's gonna be amazing. Haha..

oh. my. GOSH!!!!!!!

I went online to find THIS on Poster Girl. OMG!

I have predicted ANOTHER second single(Mariah, Leona, Blake..), YES!

This is by far one of the best days I've had in a while.. I was hyperventilating while watching this.

You HAVE to watch it as well.

Should I make December 'Agnes Carlsson worship' month?

# 71: Agness Carlsson - Release Me

Please note that these songs posted are in no particular order, I adore them all!

View the review of Dance Love Pop here.

I've come to love Agnes Carlsson, and the whole Swedish pop thing. Let's face it, Swedes make the most amazing pop music, and they continue to wow us.

Agnes has once again made an amazing album, and with an amazing album comes the most amazing song she's ever made, in my opinion. Release Me.

Release Me, I think, is everything Agnes Carlsson is, and everything Swedish music is supposed to be. It's an amazing song, with all the elements of a brilliant pop masterpiece and a bit more. You have all these disco-like stuff going on with the ultra-amazing instrumental that just matches the brilliant melody, making this amazing explosion of a pop song.

New Music! EDITED!

Quite a few new releases/discoveries these past few days, so let's get this rolling!

• As we all know, the new Same Difference single leaked in full earlier this week. We Are One is easily in this year's top ten most amazing tracks!
• I got sent over a song by a band called the Melloncollies and I quite like it, actually. The song's called Misery(although I don't see why...), and it's got this rock/60-ish thing going on, which is around the same period they based Westlife's Get Away on. Cool!
• A version of another one of my favorite pop songs this year, Katharine McPhee's Connected(despite it being for a Barbie movie..), was just released. Amy Diamond recorded a version for the Swedish soundtrack and although I think Katharine's version is more bubblegum pop-ish than Amy's, it's a great version, a must listen if you love the original!
• My review of Taylor Swift's Fearless is finally done! Read it here if you haven't already.
• I've heard parts of David Cook's new album since this morning(I had class!) but I'm kind of liking what I'm hearing. I'll give it a listen tonight and possibly review it sometime tomorrow or Sunday.
• There's this song called Stand By You by this Danish duo S.O.A.P that I'm really loving right now(yet another of my favorite blogs featured something about them). It was later covered by S Club, with a more sugary-sweet pop feel and stronger vocals but I adore both versions!
• On the subject of S Club, I've been listening to a lot of them lately, and I've rediscovered my love and ultimate adoration for Alive, one of the most brilliant songs they ever made.
• Well, Taylor Swift performed Love Story at the CMA's. Will watch the video and edit once I've finished, OK?

• I'm loving Agnes Carlsson's Dance Love Pop even more than I already do(and I adore it a lot..)! I've been listening to it a lot these past few days, and I'm loving it!
• I'll put up the new top fifteen in a while, so watch out for it!

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot something important, AGAIN!

• The new Same Difference video came out a few days ago, I'm loving it!

What to expect this week:

• A review of David Cook's new album
• A new addition to the Westlife special
• I might get to finishing my review on the Sara Bareilles live album
• And heaps more!(Maybe..)

Agnes Carlsson - Dance Love Pop

If Brits make amazing R&B(right now..), then Swedes make brilliant, mind-blowing pop. Pop that's all about the melodies, all about the songwriting and all about the vocals. Dance Love Pop, as the title states, is literally a treasure trove of amazing pop songs that just make you go wow. Agnes is already an experienced artist by now, and with that comes some amazing stuff. Obviously, the more you know, the better you'll be able to make an album.

I'm all praises for this album, but that's because it really earned them. Like the Girls Aloud album, every song is different, every song has distinguishing qualities, but every song shows who Agnes is, every song has something about it that ties the whole album together. In short, every song deserves to be a single, every song is amazing.

From the very first track, it's made clear that this is a pop album, a very good one at that. Release Me is possibly one of my favorite songs from her, it's amaaaaazing! It starts out with the amazing violins and all that monumental instrumentation before it launches into a disco-y but not over the top pop song, brilliant. On and On, the carrier single, is another strong song from the album, although I may have heard it too much for my liking. It's an amazing song, and a brilliant single choice though.

Now, Love Me Senseless may sound like a super cheesy disco-inspired track at the start, but it's not! OK, it may be disco-influenced but the songwriters manage to balance out the cheesiness with an amazing melody. How Do You Know isn't disco-influences like the tracks before it, but it's just as amazing. The melody, the instrumentation and the vocals make it one reason why this album is so amazing.

I Need You Now, Sometimes I Forget and Big Blue Wall are the ballads on the album, and they're done beautifully, melody-wise and vocally. I mean, who can write such amazing songs then have it performed by an amazing singer? Garr... I think it's safe to say that Swedish make the best pop music nowadays.

Whenever I hear Look At Me Now, I feel like I'm listening to Love Is All Around Part 2, seriously! The happy lyrics and tempo, the brilliant melody, and the catchy chorus are qualities that this song shares with Love Is All Around. Plus the fact that it's just amazing, like the rest of the album. Possible single choice perhaps? I hope so..

Don't Pull Your Love Out has these Spanish elements in it, but once again, we're given a brilliant song with an amazing melody. If Don't Pull Your Love Out has Spanish elements, the start and some parts of Open Up Your Eyes have Oriental elements infused into them. Amidst all that, Open Up Your Eyes still comes out as an amazing song, up to par with the rest of the album.

Let's take a moment to worship the people who wrote this album. They've done an amazing job, and they've made of of my top albums for 2008! It'll be really, really hard for me to choose my favorites, but hey, it has to be done, so here goes.

So, to sum up the album:
Best Track: EDIT Release Me END EDIT
Better Tracks: Everything Else
Least Favorite Track: I'm not that fond of I Need You Now at the moment, but it's still at the level of the rest of the album..
The whole album in one sentence: An amazing pop album that just proves that people can still make pop like this, it just takes a little effort and a lot of talent.
THE RATING: 5/5(Perfect!)

Click here to stream the whole album before you(possibly) buy it!

Coming soon..

DANCE LOVE POP HAS ARRIVED!

Watch out for my review sometime tomorrow

I adore the album! Big time!

Things have been quite slow for me this week..

Seriously.

I got sick, missed out on 3/4 of the school week(my school week has four days in it, Mondays off!) and apparently, I missed out on some cool and not so cool stuff in music... check it out. Oh, and also included in this post are some of my re-discoveries and recent musical findings...

• Why did it not surprise me when I heard that Britney Spears is releasing an album and a single this year? Oh, right... MOVING ON,
• The new Leona Lewis song off her UK re-release is nothing special. I'm not a big fan of the rap at the start, but the chorus is not bad. Still, for me, 'Misses Glass' is the better track. You can hear it on the UK re-release of 'Spirit', which hits shelves on the UK on November 17 so get your copy, OK? OK.
• The single, 'Forgive Me', is nothing special as well. I kinda liked it when the album just came out last year but I'm afraid it doesn't quite cut it for me.. 
• I cannot get the new Christina Aguilera song out of my head! Seriously, it won't go away! Which prompted a look back at her music over the years, which I might write about in the coming week.. might.
• I found the European edition of Atomic Kitten's 'Feels So Good' in a bargain bin at my local record store yesterday. Just how lucky am I?
• I'm eagerly awaiting BoA's US debut, the song is absolutely phenomenal! Could we have another Leona Lewis(in a different way, I think Leona got too overrated after she cracked the US) in our hands? We'll wait and see.
• New HSM3 Songs are slowly leaking and coming out on iTunes, even a sampler has made its way into the blogs.
• I haven't listened to the new Pussycat Dolls album yet, but I'll get to doing that one of these days. Although I'm not really hot about them, they're worth one listen at the very least.
• Some cool new single/album covers just in(click to enlarge), I adore them! The colors on the Agnes one remind me of the new iPod Nanos(I'm getting one day after tomorrow!):

What to expect this week:

• Maybe a flashback to Christina Aguilera's debut album, it's definitely one of my favorites from the late 90's/early 2000's.
• A review of The Saturdays' new single, 'Up'?
• More random, spur of the moment, short reviews..
• And some unexpected stuff!