New Music!

Haven't done this in quite a while, let's get this rolling!

• I posted about this already, but let me repeat it. Beyonce's Rock would probably be my favorite song had I discovered it earlier and had it been included on the final album. Seriously, how can a brilliant song like this just be thrown at the wayside? It's much better than Halo, in my opinion.
• Thanks to Anthony over at Luckystar for posting Six's This Is It! Seriously, I'd been looking for that album for ages and no one had it! I'll whip up a review sometime this week as a thank you to Anthony.
• I was beginning to wonder where Lady Sovereign had gone but just as I was about to find out for myself, I found her new song, I Got You Dancing and I'm not a big fan of it. I remember when she had just broken the US markets and was all over TRL, I was a big fan of the show so I always saw her video. At first I loathed it but it eventually it grew on me, there's something about her that makes me curious, so I guess that's a good thing. Who knows, this might grow on me.
• I'm loving Elin Lanto's Speak and Spell even more now. I mean, I loved it before but it's slowly becoming a brilliant song with and even better melody. Swedish really make the best pop music. I mean, where else can you get singers like Agnes Carlsson and Elin Lanto who make the most amazing pop? haha..
• Mya's new album, Sugar and Spice is absolutely amazing. There are some songs that are a bit shaky, but some songs that just blow me away. Highlights for me are Paradise, One For You, Cry No More and All In Your Mind. 
• Kylie and Coldplay did a duet for AIDS day sometime back. I lover Kylie and I love Coldplay but somehow the song just doesn't work for me.
• There are two new Chris Brown songs circulating the music blogs, Save Me and Celebrity. They're good! Although I kind of like Celebrity better, it's got a better melody.
• Speaking of Chris Brown, he's on the new Got Milk? ad, which is cool!

• And lastly, I've correctly predicted yet ANOTHER post-album single! Alesha Dixon's second single from The Alesha Show is Breathe Slow! Remember me expressing my adoration for the song? Yeah. Gorgeous song, although I'm not a big fan of the video. Watch it though, it's worth at least trying.

So why wasn't this on the album?

This is one of the most brilliant Beyonce songs I've ever heard, right next to Baby Boy, Listen, Ring The Alarm and Halo so why didn't it make the final album?

Melodically, the song is brilliant. Shame I didn't hear it earlier, I would've broken a rule on my countdown just to put it in!

It starts with a simple piano hook and a beat then once the vocals come in, the melody just unfolds itself. The first chorus has the potential to get huge, but surprisingly, it doesn't get as big as I expect it to become later in the track.

I still can't stand why a song as gorgeous as this was just shunned from the final album. I might think later, after I've listened to it more that it's better than Halo, because that's how it's looking up to be.

EDIT: I've listened to it a few more times and I've come to a conclusion, Rock is MUCH better than Halo, done deal.

(The video isn't mine, I just got it off a YouTube search..)

# 60: Beyonce - Halo

So Simon wanted Halo for Leona, but she had no time to record it. Beyonce though, was just in time.

I really don't care if Leona got it instead of Beyonce, because the song itself is just so amazing. It's a very, very well-done, standard R&B ballad-type song, and it just so happened that one of the smoothest and most powerful voices now recorded it.

When I first heard the song, I thought it would be a really, really good song for JoJo. I'm not saying it just because I adore her, a song like this could prove a point, that she's not that 14 year-old who started out four years ago.

Anyway. Halo is a very heavy song, with heavy drums and lots of ins and outs but it's done beautifully.

It's probably one of the best in it's genre this year, I can see this covered countless times in the future.

New Music!

What's been going on these past few days? Quite a lot, actually.

• The new Christina Aguilera album is out, but the only track I'm really addicted to is Keeps Gettin' Better. Oh well.
• The new Hilary Duff album is out as well, and I'm seriously loving Holiday! It's the perfect combination of her old, teen pop sound and her new dance sound(ala-Dignity). Brilliant! Plus, the melody's just amazing, so that's an even bigger plus!
• The new Beyonce album is also out, and it includes a track called Halo. Simon Cowell wanted it for Leona Lewis, but she was too busy to record it. The song sounds very generic, any R&B artist can sing it, but I can't imagine Leona singing it. There are some parts in Beyonce's vocal that I hear hints of JoJo in it, and the song would really, really fit JoJo's voice. Maybe she can record something that sounds like Halo for her new album?
• It's Mariah week on The X Factor. I wonder how Daniel will murder another song for the fifth week in a row and not get eliminated. I'm excited to see what JLS and Rachel did, but Diana couldn't perform! I hope she gets well soon, but she did get in to next weeks show, which is good! Eep!
• WHEN will I ever get to hear the new Same Difference single in full? It's driving me nuts!
• Archuleta's album is out as well. I don't like it, but I don't hate it. Sounds like a pathetic excuse for an album. Seriously? Right now I'm confused as to who Archuleta really is as a singer. I loved him during the early stages of AI, so why didn't I hear anything like that on his album? I wonder how Cook's album turns out.
• Well, Taylor Swift's new album is out this week! I'll be continuing The Countdown to Fearless sometime today or tomorrow. I've got homework! Gar.
• There's a new Deluxe Edition of Alicia Keys' album, but I haven't had the chance to listen to the new tracks yet. Will do in the next few days..
• Strange. The Popjustice X Factor Playsheet hasn't been posted yet, and the show already aired. I wonder why.. 
• It's been out for ages already(I've seen it like a million times..), but the trailer for Westlife's new DVD(shot in front of 80 THOUSAND PEOPLE! Practically the pinnacle of their career) is amazing! Out on November 24! Eep!

• I've adored Bayje since I heard about her(can you believe I actually thought this was a JoJo song? That's what one of my favorite blogs said..), and I really, really adore this song! Have I mentioned that it's got a brilliant middle-8? Brilliant, sounds very Ne-yo - ish with a JoJo edge.