The 9 Best Albums of 2009: #9 - #2

Last year I didn't really re-write anything for my list of best albums - this year I've given it a lot of thought and while I'm waiting to complete my best songs list with December, why not run down the 9 best albums of 2009?


But before everything, the rules:

1. An album may be a studio album, a greatest hits package, a compilation, a live album or in Korea's case a MINI-ALBUM (EP). As long as it has more than 10 tracks for standard studio albums and more than 4 tracks for mini-albums, it qualifies.
2. It must have been released in 2009, like duh - doesn't matter if it was digitally or physically. In the case of repackaged albums, they only count if more than one-third the number of the original tracks are new tracks. Confusing? Let's say you have a 12-track album released in 2008. If there's a repackaged version out in 2009, there must be at least 4 new tracks, remixes allowed. If the repackaged album was released in the same year as the original album, then there's no problem, both qualify.
3. If I previously reviewed it, it should have gotten a score of 4/5 and above - no less. If I didn't review it, then the rule doesn't apply.

Now that we've got the rules all sorted out - the criteria.

Albums are a songS put together - a group of songs strung together in a cohesive and entertaining way. No one song carries the album and no one song brings the album down - they all have to contribute to the over-all sound of the album because album tracks are just as important as singles. If the singles are good but the other tracks fail, it's a NO from me.

The album should show one sound and one sound alone. It's not constricting and it's not 'conservative' because one sound can mean a lot of things, the artist just has to know how to manipulate the sound into different styles. There is a difference between sound and style.

That's it, actually. The list is RANKED so #1 is my favorite album of the year.

Legends:
(+/- *insertnumberhere*) - how much the score increased or decreased in relation to my first review
(retain) - That means the score now is the same as the score I gave when I first reviewed it
(UR) - un-reviewed so there was no previous score

#9: 2PM - 01:59 PM The First Album

This album is sort of representative of everything that's happened to 2PM this year, the good and bad. It has the singles off their previous mini-albums and it has new tracks - there's the 7-member and 6-member 2PM. I think JYP hit the nail on the head with 2PM when it comes to the music but he wasn't so lucky with the Wonder Girls (DON'T get me started on them, PLEASE). One, it doesn't sound like he's trying to relive his ex-protege Rain in them, two, the songs sound fresh and not recycled but three, they sound distinctly like something only JYP does. The thing with JYP and 2PM is that they make the smooth, sophisticated R&B.

A few days ago I was listening to Another Level's Summertime and I had a flash of enlightenment. I don't know if JYP knows who Another Level are but I'm pretty sure that's the sound he's going for with 2PM. Heck, even their vocals are reminiscent of the UK boyband - to a certain extent.

The new tracks off this album are really good, if I may say so.

The Best: All Night Long, I Hate You (Lounge Remix), Back 2U
The Bad: You Might Comeback (Bossa Nova Mix)
The Rating (as of now): 4/5 (UR)

#8: The Saturdays - Wordshaker

Despite doing a complete 360 change with Forever is Over, I think Wordshaker as a whole was a pretty competent album. But I think had Girls Aloud been around this year, this would be thrown to the wayside. Just a thought though.

There are tracks on this just go right through me but there are now songs that seemed like they went through me at first but listening back, they're pretty good. There's the epic, the serious, the GA-like and the songs that I think will become pretty synonymous with The Sats now and that's what I needed from this album - didn't get it entirely though.

Wordshaker was supposed to give us material that will scream THE SATURDAYS, it didn't, but the songs as individual songs were pretty good. It may not work as a whole album but the singles work as singles and the album tracks work as songs.

The Best: Here Standing, Open Up, Denial
The Bad: 2 a.m. sounds very out of place. It's nice and all but it's not right for the album.
The Rating (as of now): 4.4/5 (-0.4)

#7: Leona Lewis - Echo

I'm not the biggest Leona fan, you guys know that, and Echo was one of the gambles I took this year - thankfully it turned out brilliant.

There are a lot of things I like about this album but the main thing that kept me listening was the fact that the entire package is epic without being heavy and boring - Leona has managed to sustain my attention for more than a few songs.

Echo is one of the best this year because one, I like it and two, it was actually a hit - it's rare in Western music that I put those two statements in one sentence.

Notable highlights of the album are the string section after the middle 8 of the Paula Cole-esque I Got You, the hook of Can't Breathe, the out of place but not out of place Outta My Head, the bridge of Love Letter, Naked and The Oasis cover Don't Cry Your Heart Out

The Best: Naked, Don't Let Me Down, I Got You
The Bad: Lost Then Found it's more of a OneRepublic song than a Leona song.
The Rating (as of now): 4.5/5 (-0.1)

#6: Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

I like Jordin Sparks now, I honestly do. I didn't like her on Idol (STILL bitter about Blake not winning) but I like her now.

Battlefield was a solid album - it had one sound and it had cohesion between the songs. Her vocals were good, the arrangements were interesting and the songs themselves delivered. Although very mainstream American, it's the type that kinda sounds like everything else but doesn't sound like anything at all.

But more than that, it successfully transitioned Jordin from first to second album - the hardest shift to make musically. She was her on her first album but she grew up on this one. She knows how to pick songs, she knows how to sing them and she knows how to deliver now. Like I said when I first reviewed it, it's epic in a gazillion different ways.

The Best: No Parade, Walking On Snow, Was I The Only One
The Bad: Emergency and Battlefield I've gotten a little too sick of OneRepublic this year.
The Rating (as of now): 4.5/5 (-0.1)

#5: Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom

As I've said numerous times, Alicia Keys was instrumental in building my foundations in pop music - back when I knew virtually nothing I knew her. It's always been about the music for her and that's one of the things I learned to always look for in a pop star but have found in only a few.

Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart gave everyone a dose of Alicia Keys for this year and she means business with this album. It doesn't fail to impress - listening to it is literally like a breath of fresh air. There are single-worthy tracks and album-worthy tracks, everything was just put together seamlessly and you can really hear it.

Sweeping melodies, gorgeous instrumentals and epic explosions make The Element of Freedom a brilliant, brilliant album.

The Best: Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart, Doesn't Mean Anything, That's How Strong My Love Is
The Bad: Put It In A Love Song
The Rating (as of now): 4.7/5 (UR)

#4: Britt Nicole - The Lost Get Found

My love for the beautiful melodies in CCM is still alive - Britt Nicole's 2009 album is stunning. If you strip off the Christian lyrics and all, you get a pop album in it's purest form.

I love the melodies, I love the songs and I LOVE her vocals. Deserving of the praise.

The Best: Have Your Way, Like A Star, Welcome to the Show
The Bad: I'll get back to you on this.
The Rating (as of now): 5/5 (retain)

#3: Super Junior - Sorry, Sorry

Unlike offerings from SNSD, SHINee and a ton of other bands, Sorry Sorry is one of the few kpop albums this year that actually delivered - it wasn't just the single(s) taking center stage. I think that shows to a certain extent how "smart" kpop buyers are, a heck of a lot of them bought the album and as of now it's swept the award shows.

No matter how much you say Super Junior can't sing (actually that's more of me), it's time to face the truth - you don't have to be able to sing well in pop. Heck, can Britney sing well now? (she could before but NOW? Puh-lease.)

The lead single turned title track Sorry Sorry is addictive, annoying (in a good way) and everything kpop stood for this year - processed like hell, dance-worthy and to a certain extent brilliant. It pretty much started the whole autotuned like hell thing within the more popular boybands and girl groups this year and it's either a good thing or a bad thing.

BUT, the track that I never, ever get sick of listening to even if you drum it into my head is the second single It's You off the THIRD repackaged version of the album. (Tes, THIRD. What a way to milk the fans' money.) It's a more epic and subdued kind of catchy but catchy nonetheless. It's not the fearlessly addictive/annoying type like Sorry Sorry but it's epic and that's enough for me. You have to remember that I happen to like epic songs.

The rest of the album is standard kpop - ballads, the occasional uptempo, guest appearances by Lee Yeon Hee (Club No. 1), Yunho and Yoochun DBSK (Heartquake), the added tracks for Version C (in short the third repackaged version) and Super Junior's so-so vocals. Oh, and the brilliant Why I Like You.

And in case you're getting lost with all the kpop, here's something I think you'll be a little more familiar with. SM is known (by me at least) for taking Western (more like European) songs, adding Korean lyrics and putting them on their acts' albums. Super Junior are no exception. Guess what they got - A MONROSE SONG. Yes, Monster on Sorry Sorry is actually a cover of Just Like That off Monrose's 2007 album Strictly Physical. *bangs head on computer table*

The Best: It's You, Why I Like You, Love Disease
The Bad: Shining Star, She Wants It
The Rating (as of now): 4.8/5 (+0.1)

#2: Kevin Borg - The Beginning

No matter how adventurous I am and how I get when it comes to my taste in music (I think.), I still love and look for a solid pop album year in and year out. I want an album filled with pop masterpieces - that's what started my entire music addiction. I got that this year with Kevin Borg's debut album.

After all, Swedish make some of the best pop music.

I won't write about every track anymore because it'll be too much of a pain for all of us if I do so I'll just quickly run-through some of the songs. Note that I think all the songs are great though.

Street Lights has the most gorgeous string section laced with a brilliant melody and his capable vocals - I mean, this is like the most perfect pop song. Epic but not serious - fun. Paint It Black seriously sounds like something fit in a Darin album, which is good. The Last Words is rock-y epic and it's gorgeous. I love it. His Idol winner's single With Every Bit Of Me is very Idol but very European as well - I couldn't imagine this being sung by an American winner.

More Than I Do Now is one of my two other favorite songs on the album apart from Street Lights. It sounds Swedish, it is Swedish and for crap's sake that just spells brilliance. I love the melody and although the instrumental is a slightly cheap-ish, AAAAAHHHHHH. Brilliance.

The Light You Leave On has the stereotypical 'girl running in a deserted/haunted mansion' piano loop but then the percussion comes in and I was like "oh shet" - the song sounds so different because of it. But the main, main, main point of this song is the melody - I honestly can't stress how beautifully stunning it is. Like, it's beaten out all the other beautiful melodies of the year with that chorus. It's simple but gosh, I faint every time.

The Best: The Light You Leave On, Street Lights, More Than I Do Now
The Bad: Can't really think of any.
The Rating (as of now): 5/5 (UR, unrated but not unreviewed)

I'll reveal my favorite album of 2009 tomorrow. Guesses, anyone?

This Year's Christmas Playlist

I've been as lazy has hell compared to my other blogger friends when it comes to Christmas-themed posts so I guess I'll just sum everything up into one convenient post with 10 songs. Sound good? Let's start.


Let's set the record straight on what Christmas songs are though before I start.

There are the carols - the songs everyone knows and everyone covers but few get right. Then there are the pop songs written for Christmas - the melodies are built around carols and sometimes even the arrangements are but most of the time they're given pop arrangements. Pop Christmas songs are not pop songs with Christmas-themed lyrics. I repeat, POP CHRISTMAS SONGS ARE NOT POP SONGS WITH CHRISTMAS-THEMED LYRICS. I hate it when that happens, the songs have to SOUND like Christmas whether it be the melody or the arrangement.

When it comes to my Christmas songs I'm very, VERY picky - I like my carols with classic arrangements and I like my festive pop festive, none of that experimental crap. However if the experimenting is done well, I don't have a problem - I just really hate it when people start murdering Christmas songs. And which is why I draw a line between pop and not pop if Christmas songs are the matter because I hate it when the two get improperly mixed together.

So here are 10 (commercial) Christmas songs that one, really sound like Christmas to me and two, are just brilliant songs/versions/arrangements.

1. Carrie Underwood - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
I like the song itself as a carol but I like this arrangement in particular - it's got to be one of my personal favorite arrangements of Hark!. The gorgeous piano part and the REAL drums really make a difference. And one of the main reasons why I chose this arrangement is because Carrie doesn't murder the song (unlike a certain Mariah Carey who murdered Oh Holy Night) and her vocals are just gorgeous. Heck, it sounds like Christmas through and through! Hands-down one of the best arrangements of the classic.

2. Britt Nicole - Last Christmas
I know you guys will kill me for saying this but I have to - Last Christmas is one of the cheesiest, corniest festive songs EVER, I can't stand it. So why include it at all? Because Britt Nicole has managed to find/make an arrangement that actually makes it sound somewhere near good. I like her vocals (always have), I like how they changed up the arrangement and made it a little more tasteful and it's got all the elements of a standard pop Christmas song so it passes.

3. DBSK - The First Noel
You must be saying "WHAT? DBSK has a CHRISTMAS album?" because I was too when I first found out. But before we get to their version, let's talk about the song first. The First Noel is personally one of my favorite carols EVER, beside a few other staples, so I won't just settle for a run-of-the-mill version with a super pop-y arrangement (I'm talking to you, *NSYNC.) - I want a damn good one. Then there's the fact that I like boybands doing Christmas songs. I do, a lot. I like the a capella lines and I like everything about them doing Christmas songs.

This arrangement of The First Noel has a gorgeous instrumental - the violins, the bells, everything is just beautiful. Although the Carrie Underwood arrangement is a close second, I'd have to go with the DBSK one. Then the vocals are spot-on, there's little screaming and the harmonies sound great if you listen to them as a whole but even better individually (although, I like the *NSYNC harmonies better, it's just that the arrangement is bleh). Gorgeous.

4. Varsity Fanclub - It's Christmas Again
I'd rather all these bands do what Varsity Fanclub has done than bastardize all these beautiful carols with crap-ly-executed pop arrangements and excessive vocals. There's a certain kind of song you can do that to but NOT and I repeat NOT to carols. Not only have they done that, they've managed to make it sound like Christmas - the bells and the melody are the main reasons. But I actually like the bells on this song in particular - they're especially Christmas-y. And the way they made it like a pop song without losing that festive thing is just brilliant. You can't listen to this any other time.

5. BoA - 12월 27일
Although on songs like this BoA's vocals tend to be annoying and she's not particularly my favorite singer, this song has sort of become my anthem this year. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous waltz (3/4 time signature - waltz.) with a string section and all but I love how it sounds like a Christmas song but doesn't sound like a Christmas song. There are times when the string section sounds like every other pop Christmas song but then suddenly out of nowhere it turns into something straight off The Corrs' repertoire - that's when I go like WHOA. The melody is a giveaway that it's Christmas and the lyrics (at least the ones I can understand) are even more obvious but I like how it's not in-your-face Christmas.

6. *NSYNC - O Holy Night
You can't have a Christmas post and leave out this song, you simply can't. This a capella arrangement has been used by a ton of other boybands after *NSYNC (including my beloved DBSK when they debuted) and so I think this version deserves a mention. A lot of their other Christmas arrangements are too pop-ized for my taste - this is probably the one that sounds the most festive of them all. The harmonies are beautiful and I mean STUNNING, if there's one thing these guys know how to do it's make the best harmonies. Throughout the song the harmonies are not only gorgeous but really well-executed - they're very tight and it sounds brilliant.

7. SM Town 2006 - Snow Dream
There was a time earlier this month when I couldn't get enough of this song - it's catchy, it's pop and heck, it sounds like Christmas. It may be in Korean and it may sound like an American pop Christmas song but isn't that the point? The bells, the arrangement and the vocals - they threw all the best SM vocalists into one gigantic pot, mixed it together and gave the crap singers like 5 seconds singing time. My ears are in heaven.

And this kinda also reflects what kpop is - you can't not have a rap part, it's criminal. LOL. But really, this is what the genre is and has been for quite a while now so to put it in a Christmas song is pretty ingenious.

8. Libera - O Come All Ye Faithful
Choral music is MY turf, my grandmother formed one of the most influential children's choirs in the country, so when it comes to choirs I know my stuff - sometimes even better than I know pop. But that also means that my standards are much, MUCH higher. O Come All Ye Faithful also happens to be probably by favorite carol - I love how epic the song can get but only if you want it to be.

Libera are to a certain extent commercial but they're to a certain extent not commercial - they're pretty good either way. I've heard better choirs than them but they're a little more well-known so why not.

In choral music less instruments is more - vocals have to take center stage. To a certain extent that's good because then you don't have to worry about the instrumentals not sounding like Christmas, just use a simple piano arrangement and it'll sound great. That is if the choirs is good. I like their harmonies at the end and I like how the vocals are very light - usually if a choir's to sing this song they'll just explode and keep pushing at the end. Solid effort.

9. Aly & AJ - Greatest Time of the Year
There are your usual pop festive songs and then there are Disney festive songs - about 60% of the Disney festive songs scream CHRISTMAS and this is one of them. How this can sound like both a festive song and an advertisement is beyond me. But then again a lot of festive ad campaigns have unmistakably Christmas-y songs so they work.

The instrumental complements the melody and the bells very well, surprisingly. And it's not like other supposedly pop/rock Christmas songs that sound more pop/rock - it is what it is and it's a Christmas song. It ends great though - the middle 8, the break-down and the explosion at the last chorus is brilliant.

10. Girls Aloud - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
Girls Aloud do Christmas. Yay. The now classic Christmas EP boasts of some really great pop masterpieces and some of them really do sound apt for the season but this one on particular gets me every time. It's truly Girls Aloud do Christmas - it sounds like Girls Aloud and it sounds like Christmas. I think the vocals are a little iff-y and lack emotion (don't clobber me!), could be better, but the instrumental is brilliant - it's exactly how I imagined a GA song mixed with a carol to be like.

Best of 2009: August #2 & #1

Who came out victorious this month? Kpop and CCM. LOL. Just read the thing, will you?

#2: Jewelry - Vari2ty

Apart from the horrid rap part courtesy of their resident rapper, I'd have to say that Vari2ty is a pretty damn good song. Seo In Young's vocals may tend to be a little more annoying than her other band mates (Jung Ah has the most gorgeous voice) but she's better off than a lot of other idols. The song is catchy and easy to remember - it's mindless with minimal substance but that's the way pop should be.

#1: Britt Nicole - Have Your Way

I've said it once and I'll say it again - this song makes Jordin Sparks' No Parade seem happy. It's as haunting as haunting can get but when you mix that with the stunningly simple piano part and Britt Nicole's outstanding vocals the song just gets a million times better. This song literally screams "GIVE ME A STRING SECTION" but I like the fact that they didn't go all out with an orchestra or anything like that, it keeps the semblance of simplicity. A beautiful melody and a beautiful instrumentation make for hands-down one of the most stunning songs of the year.

Britt Nicole - The Lost Get Found

I'm partial to CCM/Christian Music for two reasons. One because I'm a protestant in a predominantly Catholic country and about 70% of my 'religiousness' is centered around music and the ability to sing as worship - CCM has always been a part of my music library. The second reason is purely musical - the genre CONSISTENTLY produces some of the most beautifully heart-wrenching and moving songs I have ever heard.

That's what this album is - beautiful in every sense of the word. Even if you're not 'Christian'/Protestant (Christianity includes Catholicism, I don't see why some sectors of Protestantism call themselves 'Christians' - I'm a Christian but my sub-church is Protestantism) you'll enjoy the album - the girl is talented and the songs are entertaining at the very least.

The album opens with Britt's carrier single - the epic The Lost Get Found. When I first heard the song I was speechless, everything about it gave me goosebumps. Heck, even the lyrics moved me to a certain extent! The thing with Britt is that she has the ability to take a pop melody, slap on some inspirational lyrics and not make the song sound the least bit corny. If you put in some lyrics about love and stuff it would still make sense - nothing about the music would change.

I tweeted a few hours back that 30 seconds into How We Roll, I was convinced that The Lost Get Found was going to make my afternoon - even my week. It's a funky, feet-stomping number that's a complete contrast to the previous song. You can't not get up and dance or tap your foot at the very least. The opening piano of Safe is beautiful but not the most beautiful. It's good enough though - the verse will make you listen throughout the whole song. Basically it's that one piano loop that makes the whole song - it's there throughout but you only notice it when it's nice and serene. Brilliant.

The start of Hanging On sounds like it could be the ending theme song to a Lizzie McGuirre-esque movie but as it progresses, heck it can fit into any Disney movie! It's nice a sweet - it doesn't explode, just stays constantly at one level throughout. Headphones puts this girl beside the Katy Perrys and Lenkas of the world but she doesn't hit you over the head nor is she too subdued - she's pop. The track has hints of funky-ness and once again, tapping your foot will become subconscious less than a minute into this song. Yay.

Welcome To The Show doesn't sound circus-y at all despite the strange start put boy are you in for a treat. Her pronunciation is verging on Brit and the chorus just explodes, in a good way. This track shows that she can be rock-y intense and serious and it was unexpected to say the least but it's not uncalled for - if you think about it this makes sense on the album. The middle 8 is clearly the highlight with heavy drums and high notes all over the place - this girl CAN SING.

Walk On Water reminds me of her first album - the piano with the vocals and the melody all string together perfectly but once the bass line comes in and the guitar builds the song up, I realize that her first album is done and over with. She's grown but not completely. The melody is beautiful, worthy of my swooning and the chorus gave me goosebumps. That's what songs should do to people.

Glow is another guitar-centered number with a stomping beat. The electro bits after the chorus make the song cool - love that touch. The middle 8 is epic and the chorus is intriguing - the makings of a good pop song! Feel The Light is another one of those beautiful melodies you just can't get enough of. It's beautiful but overshadowed by these next two tracks.

Like A Star reminds me of something that could be in a Kylie album but no - it's on Britt Nicole's. The song could be on a chick-flick and blend right in and yet, I wouldn't want it to be - I like where it is. What makes this song different from all the others on the album is that most importantly, this was the song that made me smile without realizing it. It's the song that made me stop whatever I was doing (I believe I was reading Tweets..) and just listen. It's the song that made me look at Britt Nicole in a different light now that she's given me a brilliant pop song. Brilliant.

Have Your Way is probably the most beautiful song I've heard all year. All the emotion put into this song is astounding. The start with just her and a bit of piano is so passionate and dramatic and the song as a whole is haunting. I'm not making this up - if you tell me to name the most beautiful song of the year, this is it. Jordin Sparks' Was I The Only One may be the most beautiful on Battlefield but it's nothing compared to Have Your Way.

It was hard choosing my favorite song on the album but in the end, I chose the song that subconsciously made me smile - the one that proves to me that music deserves the massive amount of respect I give it and that it's far more powerful than I think it is. (Was that way too serious?) Even with those criteria - I have 2 favorite songs on the album.

So, to sum up the album:
Best Track: Have Your Way is a notch higher than Like A Star but they're the best of the best.
Better Tracks: Everything else - honestly.
My Least Favorite Track: NONE OF THEM.
THE RATING: 5/5, it's deserving.

Back to normal.

So I'm sitting here in front of the computer after a 13-hour day that started at 6-ish AM with a horrendously hot and uncomfortable flag ceremony in an impossibly small and crowded function hall. For the rest of the morning all the way up to lunch time I had a nagging headache that was throbbing so hard the pain was excruciating. Then after a boring PE class about the history of volleyball I had an absolutely torturous drafting class that involved me drawing all these messy lines in the strangest places followed by a fun journalism class - the only problem was that I have to work with the girl who ruined my freshman year, turned my life upside down and made me swear to beat her at everything she ever loves and wants to do as revenge (which is pretty much writing - I can easily cream her at that.) for the rest of the semester. Probably the best part of my day was when during choir rehearsal we were given this song that made me want to faint while I was singing the melody.

That was my day. Phew.

The point is, I thought I'd unwind first before attacking the mountains of homework I have yet to even start (and a spanking new textbook with the plastic still on.) because it's not use trying to study when I'm this tired. I even drank like two bottles of tea!

So anyway, here's what has happened during my 'lock myself into KPOP mode for the next month' phase that I didn't even bother to mention. I guess this is a long overdue new music post.

• First thing's first. Towards the end of May(iTunes tells me May 27..) I come across a new Pixie Lott song that was probably the most beautiful one out of her current repertoire - Without You. It's a melodic piano riff-based R&B mid tempo but the melody and Pixie's voice make everything that says this is just another one of those songs seem irrelevant. Gorgeous middle 8 as well. YAY.
• I do love Iceland's Eurovision song - it's so nice for lack of a better term. I have the girl's album but I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet. I'll make time over the weekend, I promise.
• I'm slowly falling into the Kristina DeBarge bandwagon. I've never actually heard the first song that came to attention over the blogs but I do love Powerless, it's so much like Battlefield but not in a really good way.
• Ashley Tisdale. Ashley, Ashley, Ashley. I've heard her new album in full and I'm not impressed at all. There's probably one or two songs worth listening to but nothing that'll make me adore her for as long as I live for that one song. These HSM sophomore albums are really disappointing me - first Vanessa with the horrid excuse for a song that was Sneakernight then Corbin with a boring album and now Ashley with no brilliant songs. I still think Headstrong was and still is the best HSM alumni album EVERRRR.
• My beloved Karina leaked a new song - Love Is. I do love this song but she should really get the attention she deserves, she's so freakin' talented and her songs are like really, really, really brilliant. I cannot wait for her second release - if she does get one.
• Really late but I just found ex-Clique Girlz(What's happened to them? I haven't heard anything new.) member Ariel's solo song and it's not bad at all. Not what I was expecting from her but this is certainly better than anything I'd imagine she'd do. It's a gorgeous song but the verses need a little tweaking - over time the chorus has a tendency to be too sharp on the ear but other than that, it's good.
• Oh yes, The Black Eyed Peas(are they still number one?). They were the gigantically legendary group here when I knew nothing about music and only knew what I was being fed over the news and stuff like that - not a very good time for me. Not that I've developed my own tastes in music I'm not so much for them anymore. I despise rap, remember? They're not bad, they make great music if you take the technical and musical aspects but the music just doesn't appeal to me.
• I tweeted this a few days back but I just discovered recently that Usher has a protege. He's Canadian and FOURTEEN. When I heard that I was like 'you have got to be kidding me'. Another one of those YouTube sensations (although he kinda murdered Elliot Yamin's Wait For You) and if controlled a bit the boy can sing. What's more, he sounds his age! Hurrah. I love the song - it's so, so, YEAH.
• One of the songs that really moved me during the special but I didn't have the time to write about was Britt Nicole's The Lost Get Found. I don't know if I discovered it late or something but I absolutely adore it to the point that it was all I'd listen to for a whole afternoon while writing up posts and making homework. This was one of the songs that moved me partially because of the lyrics but more because the melody is insanely brilliant. It's honestly become one of my I'm in a bad mood so I need some cheering up and inspiring songs.
• I've said on a few comment sections that the new Mariah song has not impressed me. I've heard this all before, the auto tune, the melody - it didn't move me.
• I honestly can't believe I didn't bother listening to Girls Can't Catch earlier - I LOVE Keep Your Head Up. It makes me think of Up but it doesn't completely sound like it. Dammit. WHY make songs this brilliant? WHY?! Hahah.

I'm exhausted even after drinking tons of caffeine - I'll just go to bed now and do my homework tomorrow morning. I'm a delinquent student when it comes to geometry, algebra, chemistry, history and pretty much anything that doesn't have to do with English and writing. Hahah. Good night guys!

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!