Blue - One Love

I've only ever written about Blue once before - maybe because I keep on over looking them, thinking that something's better. Come to think of it, they had some amazing singles(and you know I don't like a lot of singles..) and brilliant albums but I think because I got semi-addicted to them during my gigantic Westlife era, they kinda got overshadowed(although I do own physical copies of all three studio albums and a DVD. How that happened will remain a secret).

What's even worse is that I kinda shunned One Love for an extremely shallow reason - I personally think the cover looks ugly. hahah. When I actually listened to the album, it was like going back to second grade(One Love was released in 2002 so yeah.) when I absolutely despised pop music and I was listening to the one album I owned - Charlotte Church's Enchantment. hahah.

One Love was so big here that even I'd heard it before I knew anything about music. I think it's safe to say that this song broke them into Asia(I don't think they had any success or intentions of breaking the US though.) because at one point it was all I'd hear on TV. Come to think of it, it's actually a very good song - the melody's there and it's an actual song unlike everything else that becomes a hit here(*ahem* Single Ladies *ahem*). It's got a really catchy chorus and this 'street' thing going on but it's got refinement - they don't go out and trying to unsuccessfully rap the thing.

I cannot believe I once thought Lee's voice was gorgeous but Duncan was a heck of a lot hotter than him. hahah. I don't care that much anymore.

4.6/5

The A Capella showdown

I somehow gauge how good a boyband is by looking at their a capella performances because it's very common in boybands that they're able to sing a capella in three to five parts.

So which country produces better boybands in terms of a capella work? This is UK boybands VS. US boybands!

Note: These are boybands that if inactive have produced more than two singles and at least one album. If they're active, then there's no requirement. haha.

The US Boybands..

So BSB are kind of the ultimate US boyband, along with NSYNC. As far as I know, they never recorded anything a capella apart from the tracks that they stripped the instrumental of so I got digging for some live stuff and I came across this:

They're good, but the vocals are a bit weak for me, when someone takes lead that someone has these strong vocals but the people backing him are either not blended well or have really weak voices.

Now since I got a live BSB track, that automatically bans me from judging NSYNC by their recording of O Holy Night in A Capella. Luckily, I found a live performance of it! YAY!

I think NSYNC are definitely better than BSB judging by this, there's more power to their vocals and it's more convincing for me. It sounds amazing as well, they're voices work better together than BSB, if I may say so.

Let's move over to the new boybands of the US, shall we? Mainly because I can't find any live KNOTB or 98 Degrees a capella stuff. If you guys find any though, let me know!

Now Day26 are a fairly new boyband but when I heard this performance, let's just say I'll be listening to their album a heck of a lot more than I already do.

They're gooooooood. Out of all the new boybands right now, I have to say, they're the best a capella-wise.

NLT may have the amazing, mind-blowing melodies but they're not up to par with Day26. I don't know if it's just because they're missing a fifth harmony or if their voices aren't really that strong together. Think BSB of now, that's the best description.

Now V Factory are in between Day26 and NLT in terms of vocals, they're better than NLT but they're just a wee bit not as good as Day26, I think. Amazing song though, I've never heard it before!

Varsity Fanclub however, are just that bit better than V Factory, I think. Better, more distinct and powerful voices and they most definitely blend much better than V Factory. I still love them all though!

So let's go over to my specialty, the UK boybands!

We HAVE to kick it off with Westlife, we just HAVE TO! I've said time and time again that Westlife cannot be beaten in terms of a capella o below is a very popular fan vid of a capella clips of the lads.

Now do you see why Westlife rock so much? The power and the way their voices blend is sheer brilliance people! BRILLIANCE.

A1 were around when Westlife started, and they were nominated for the same award once(The Smash Hits Best New Tour Act.., Westlife won, duh.) and I think A1 are pretty close to Westlife in terms of vocals.

It's a little too fast if you know the original recorded version but vocally they're goooooood.

Lemme just say it, Blue suck when it comes to a capella.

No soul, no power, nothing. They may have some amazing songs recorded but this was just horrible.

So at the moment, JLS are being tipped as the new Westlife, being mentored by Louis Walsh on the X Factor, plus the fact that they sang like two songs that Westlife covered. JLS are lightyears better than Blue though, if I may say so.

Amazing stuff. Still not as good as Westlife, but good enough! They're sort of between Blue and A1.

You guys DO NOT know how much I want to hear D-Side doing some serious five(or three..) part a capella! But I can't find any, so if you guys have seen ANYTHING whatsoever that resembles an a capella performance of them, TELL ME!!! haha.

So, based on the stuff I've collected(which took me about four hours..) and now shown you guys, which country produces the better boybands, the US or the UK? I know my answer..... haha.

My Christmas Playlist!

I can't believe Christmas is in TWELVE days! To help you get into the festive season even more, here are some of my favorite pop-ified Christmas songs!

• Carrie Underwood's Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is an amazing song, and it reminds me of Christmas Eve, when we go to church with the whole family and eat and eat and eat! I don't know why, though.
• Blue's Gift is exactly how I imaged a Blue Christmas song to be, R&B. I don't know if it's really a Christmas song, but it sure seems like it! Melodically it's amazing, though it doesn't really feel as Christmassy as the others.
• I've always found Last Christmas to be really cheesy and all, but Britt Nicole's version completely changes that. It's rock-y in her usual style but for some strange reason, it still feels even a bit like Christmas to me. That plus the fact that her vocals are on top condition here!
• Boybands are known for their acapella work(Westlife and Boyz II Men especially..), so it's no surprise that *NSYNC would have an acapella Christmas song. Their version of O Holy Night really, REALLY feels Christmassy, I LOVE it!
• The first time I heard Merry Christmas Everybody sang was during the Popworld Christmas special with Westlife. A few weeks later, I heard the Girls Aloud version, and it caught my ear. It sounds like something that would be playing in a mall, and it gets me nostalgic, since malls are packed during December and I'm frantically looking for gifts.
• I keep on hearing 98°'s This Gift in malls and stores this year for some strange reason. The song's beautiful though, the melody and what seems to be a harmony during the chorus just feels like Christmas to me.
• Yes, Westlife did a version of White Christmas. Don't blame them, they'd just finished their rat-pack album and it seems like it rubbed off on them. Correct me if I'm wrong but this was the b-side to When You Tell Me That You Love Me. Actually, I don't think Westlife's the correct artist for this, it's got to be Shane Filan. Seriously, he's the only one singing! Still, this has got to be the song that feels like Christmas the most, if I was to choose(biases aside.)
• Last year, Josh Groban's Christmas album Noel was a gigantic hit and with that, I found probably the best original(within the 2000's) pop Christmas song, Thankful. The melody's gorgeous, and his voice is in top shape.
• Keke Palmer has a gorgeous voice for what she usually sings, but I never knew she'd have a gorgeous voice for Christmas songs as well! Home For The Holidays was on Disney Channel Holiday, and the way the R&B-ness of Keke was mixed with the holiday elements was pure genius. It's catchy yet it showcases her voice. Brilliant!
• Lastly, a song from Jordan Pruitt. Also from Disney Channel Holiday, Santa Don't Stop is a very fun song that's consistent with Jordan's musical direction yet it's clearly a Christmas song.

As a sort of 'gift' to you guys(corny, much?), I've put up a download link to the playlist! It'll be up for 2 DAYS only. Enjoy!

My Christmas Playlist!

Blue - Curtain Falls

I've listened to countless farewell songs from bands and solo artists but this one stands out. Of course, 'Say Goodbye' from S Club and 'Someone Like Me' from Atomic Kitten were great, but out of all the ones I've heard countless times, this is the song that stands out.

At one point, Blue and Westlife were neck and neck for the title of 'Top UK Boyband', Westlife with double figure number ones and Blue with maybe one or two number ones and the rest in the top 5 or 10. Even if Blue didn't perform on the charts as well as Westlife are still doing, they were more popular than your run of the mill new boyband who only has a one year life span, even though there were a few who deserved the chart success that Blue had and Westlife have.

That aside, Blue was once a top boyband, they were popular in the UK and Asia but not in the US, and they collaborated with the likes Steve Wonder and Angie Stone during their height. All of that came crashing down after their third album, they split up, released a greatest hits album and pursued solo careers(each have had solo albums but Simon Webbe was the only one to release a second) and just like that, one of the biggest boybands in the UK was no more.

This song is certainly very Blue, the sound is R&B with a pop twist and the fact that they can all sing makes the song even better. For me the second part of the verses are the best, the run-up to the chorus but it's really great, and Lee's voice matches the melody, which is killer. Here's the video, which is kinda cool but not quite.



My rating? 4.5