I. AM. BACK.

And by "back" I mean back to posting about non-kpop stuff - I've put this post off for way too long now, and I'm not exactly happy with myself. *sigh* Well, I take this as my big return to blogging about American/British pop? This calls for some confetti, and a lot of comments, don't you think? Just saying.

*sigh* I've been gone for way too long to be able to write about everything, so I went and looked for a lot of newer stuff. I kinda missed this hunting for good music thing, since everything in kpop was just handed to me on a silver platter. All the more reason to rejoice being back then!

The fun starts after the cut, so hurry and click for crap's sake!


If you were with me pre-kpop and even a little post-kpop special, you'll remember that I used to do these short "new music" posts a few times a week or month - Well I'm bringing those back. I need to get my "skill" of scouring for good music back, and I'm hoping that these posts do it. Hopefully in a few weeks I write a few single reviews, maybe even album reviews - I hope I haven't lost my touch just yet! Ugh the stress. ANYWAY.

Alexandra's got a repackaged album, eh? Hmm. Start Without You has very rich production but I dunno, I'm not sold - THEN I find out it's RedOne. Oh well, there you go. Everything seems detached from everything else and Alex sounds bored. See, even she doesn't sound like she likes the song. Oh well.

I've been hearing a lot about Sky Ferreira from Ken, Jio and Kat, but I never bothered - was stuck in kpop world. I'm repenting now that I've heard One. She sounds very American, in the sense that everything's so clean (not Japanese clean though, that's like sterile or something) and the accent gives it away. Of course since I'm not head-over-heels for her yet, I can't help but think that something about her is contrived. Trust me, after seeing nothing but contrived and manufactured acts for the past few months, I know how to spot them - she looks to me like an American trying to be Brit/Euro. But this is just one song - I like the melody though, and I sense the autotune trend shifting once again. I'll give her some time, and maybe listen to 17 in a while.

Do I have to say something about the JLS single? *sigh* OK I will - it's crap, I didn't think Louis Walsh would do something that bad, but he actually did. Oh well. There you go, I said something. But seriously now, they put together the most horrid hook and possibly one of the cheapest videos of the year and they got what they wanted - an absolute disaster. I mean yeah the verses are a bit live-able and JLS have the vocals to carry themselves, but that hook was just sad.

Just listened to that Journey to the Regionals EP Glee put out recently, and there're two songs I have to talk about. If I remember clearly, I was one of those people who were crazy about Glee when I saw the pilot last year, but then lost interest when everyone starting gushing about it - the song that did it for me was their version of Don't Stop Believing on that pilot and now that I hear there's a new arrangement, I'm a little disappointed. I mean I love it that more of the cast get solos now and it's not just the two leads, but I didn't get goosebumps when I heard this. It's not the change of arrangement 'coz the instrumental's pretty much the same - it's the mix of the new production and the different vocals. And of course, the purpose, this new version is for regionals - lose the epic, replace it with show. The original one was epic and it was supposed to be just that, the damn song gave me goosebumps for crap's sake! Anyway. And then the Somewhere Over The Rainbow cover - what was that? I mean yeah they changed up the arrangement (a little too much though) and it's not your usual Simon Cowell-fueled performance oozing with cheese, but it's so cheesy in a completely different way.

I'm probably weeks (or maybe just days, it was a Sunday here when they crowned the winner) late in saying this, but Germany won Eurovision this year, and Britain was an epic fail, yet again! Yayyyy. Hahah. I'll get to listening to the British entry when I'm ready, but Satellite, the German one, was definitely good - sounds very European. The vocals, the specific sound of the "funk" or whatever, and the production sounds very familiar to me - oh gosh I really did miss this. OK enough emo-ing. It's one of those songs that grow on you, I'll admit that when I first heard it a few weeks ago I thought it was so-so, but I do love it now. It's like the instrumental's bare, but as a whole if you stop deconstructing everything and just listen, the entire thing sounds very tight and full.

Travis Garland was on AI a few weeks ago, and since Mel's a big fan, I had to watch. He wasn't that bad, but I'll admit that he wasn't perfect. The song is nice, it's got a pretty melody even if it's not he best song ever and he's got a rather unique timbre mixed with that range - I liked him when he was in NLT (mainly 'coz I liked the entire band), I still do now.

I feel like I have some kind of obligation or whatever to talk about Xtina, even if I don't. I listened to Bionic sometime last week and to be completely honest with you, I was bored to death for most of it - I miss the old Christina. Although, Lift Me Up, even if it doesn't really kick in until halfway through, is a gorgeous song - I like the contrast of the real drums and all these techno-ish things running around. Other than that, Bionic bored me. I'm sorry.

Lee Ryan put a ballad out a few weeks back - that's more like it. I mean I don't want him to be singing ballads for the rest of his career, but if Secret Love is what we get from the non-ballad side, then I'll have to go with ballads for now. I Am Who I Am reminds me of something Ronan Keating would have no problem doing, and I see A LOT of similarities between the two of them - I like Lee's voice better though. Everything about the song is gorgeous, and I'm like all over it now that I realize that.

I wanted to write about more songs, but that'll have to do for now. Was my "return" to non-kpop blogging decent at the very least? I hope it was.

# 51: Christina Aguilera - Keeps Gettin' Better

Christina Aguilera may have looked a lot like Lady GaGa during the VMA's but one thing you can't deny is the fact that she is and will always be light years better than Britney. Why?

Because she can sing. Incredibly well.

Christina has the voice, and she knows how to use it incredibly well. Her music, although it changes a lot, always matches her voice, and it always shows just how good she is and how amazingly gorgeous it is.

Keeps Gettin' Better is off her Greatest Hits collection and out of all the original songs(correct me if I'm wrong but there are three of them..), this has got to be the best by a mile.

It's catchy but melodious, it's danceable but singable and most of all, it's very remix-able. Now isn't that the perfect pop song nowadays?

Christina has not only perfected her vocals, she's perfected the music, how to change drastically but retain her identity, like what she did during the Back To Basics era.

I'm looking forward to a lot more amazing music from her, she's got to show Britney that she's not going anywhere because she's got too much amazing music to make(I hope!)

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.

Christina Aguilera - A look back..

My homework's all done! Seriously.
So after I watched her amazing VMA performance, I had this sudden urge to listen back to Christina Aguilera's debut album, which I think is a masterpiece.
Ever since, it's been Britney versus Christina but I don't see the point in comparing the two when clearly, it's Christina who has the voice and it's Christina who hasn't screwed up her career. Think Hilary vs. Lindsay but with a clearer winner.

ANYWAY.

Christina was one of the lucky ones in her generation. Countless others tried but failed, leaving a few unsuccessful singles and sometimes albums, the 'pop princess wannabes' of her generation just disappeared into thin air. Listening over to the album, I realize that she shot to the top not purely because of luck, the songs were phenomenal. 

It was really the right mix of slow, mid-tempo and up-tempo songs to shoot her to the top and show just how better she is than Britney. Songs like 'Come On Over' and 'Genie In A Bottle' are perfect up-tempo pop-y songs, then there are the ultra-amazing mid-tempos like 'Love For All Seasons' and 'Love Will Find A Way' and finally, the songs that make the hairs on your back stand up, 'I Turn To You' and 'Reflection'.

Judging by the success of this album(US #1, 8 times platinum) and how it propelled Christina to the top(a Grammy win for Best new artist in 2000 and another 2 nominations), it has truly become a model pop princess debut album.

5/5

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!

New stuff...

So I'm too lazy to do my homework(I know, I know.. I'm such a bad influence.) so I'll blog instead. Here are some of the new goodies I've discovered so far this week.

1. Just in this morning, LEON JACKSON'S NEW SINGLE! Before Leon, the X Factor has got it right two out of three times, but with Leon, they've got it right again. I must say, this is all I've been listening to all day in school and I just can't get the quirk and 50's/60's but not sound out of my head, it's so damn amazing. His voice got better, it's so friggin' amazing(and quite sexy.... seriously.) and listening to him with an original song(not the X Factor winner's single..) makes me adore this guy even more. The new album's called 'Right Now' and it's out on October 20, not very long from now, is it?

2. Christina's new single, 'Keep's Getting Better'. Now I know it's been out for a week or so already but to be honest, when I first heard it, I wasn't impressed but after I saw her VMA performance, I realized that I actually like the song. The start and some elements have the Britney-like effects and instrumentation but what makes this light-years better than Britney is that Christina has something Britney will never have, the voice. She's also very good at what she does and it's good to know that people agree with that.

3. Boyzone's comeback single, 'I Love You Anyway' is very musical-ish and has an uncanny resemblance to Christina's new song for some strange reason. I don't know what it is, but when I listen to the two of them(one after the other..), I can sense something's the same. BUT, above all, I absolutely adore the new song, it's amazing!



4. I've listened through Ne-Yo's new album, and for me, it's nothing special. There are a few tracks worth listening to more than the obligatory once but right now I'm listening to it for the second time and I'm a bit sick of it already.

5. Katharine McPhee's new song 'Connected' is a pop masterpiece. It's hard enough to find pop like that these days but to find it in the US, land of R&B, Rap and alternative music, is just plain amazing.