JoJo - The Other Chick

I've made it no secret that JoJo was the very reason why I got so addicted to pop music - she was why I watched the local music channel, why I'd go to record stores almost every day, and ultimately led me to discovering so many other acts. She's the reason why I've gotten so far, and why I'm still in music - I've been waiting for her for 5 years. Yeah sure she had a mixtape out last year, and it was really good, but for the first time in a long time I will be holding my breath, waiting for a chart position - waiting for her to succeed. And of course, waiting for the album.


This will be the first Western-style full promotion cycle I'll be watching over in years. And it only makes sense that it's of the act who started everything.

Like I said, it's been 5 years since "The High Road" in 2006 - obviously a lot of things will change, and a lot did. JoJo was 16 when THR was released - now she's 21 - her voice will have obviously changed a hell of a lot. Funny how even if I didn't have solid opinions in place, I still managed to be able to "invest" on acts who eventually really matured well vocally. Her smooth, silky voice is still there, but it's matured - she's obviously picked up technique over the years, but her voice itself has really grown. The squeaky-ness of her voice back then has been replaced by a gorgeous, deep timbre and her high notes have more body, more punch.

And that's utilized very well on the song. The song's SO SO SO JoJo - I heard the first line and it sounded like my childhood. Literally. Instead of being confused by entering the industry at such a young age, JoJo took advantage of it - "JoJo" taught her the ropes and by "The High Road" she knew who she was, and when that happens it's hard to ever let go of it. Of course the song sounds different from everything else she's put out, but that spark she had back then - it never disappeared.

We've heard those synths before, we've seen those dynamics so many times already, and the melodies are nothing new - the song is so familiar yet so fresh. She's matured but she hasn't lost what made her, her.

The verses start out strong, they're very packed, then slowly the song escalates at the bridge - you'd expect the chorus to explode, but all the explosions are on the melody/vocals side. The middle 8 is strong - it didn't blow me away, but it fits the song and it's a very logical middle 8. A melody like that would tend to make the vocals scream-y and shrill, but on this they're not - because this is JoJo we're talking about, the girl knows how to SING her head off properly. Not scream - SING. Her voice is melodic and deep, but it can and will go up if it needs to.

I must say, this whole pop/rock thing is working for her, and her vocals. The song is very punchy, somewhat choppy - but her smooth vocals give it the needed contrast and smoothen everything out - it allows her to let loose, but not loose it. There's something like a harmonious contrast going on, and it works. Very well.

Words cannot express how much I adore the instrumental arrangement of this. Everything is sharp and smooth but with conviction - the drums are stunning, the synths are appropriate and give the song color, and everything thrown together is mind-blowing. You know how I call Korean production a chocolate chip cookie with nuts and Japanese production a cheesecake - this is a cross between the two, and my god does it make me want to faint. Stunning.

She's back. Truly. BRING ON THE ALBUM!

Listen to the song here.

5/5

#17: JoJo - Boy Without A Heart

If you were with me from the very beginning, you'll know that I acknowledge JoJo as the one who started, and fueled, my love for pop music - she's the reason why I write about music, and why I want a career in it. She's also one of the reasons why I feel the way I do towards the industry.


It's story time. LOL. During the summer between fourth and fifth grade, I'd spend afternoons with my dad at our local record store (which is now gone. D:) and I, not knowing a lot about music, would go over to the listening booths they used to have and listen to JoJo's debut album. I'd listen to it everytime were were there, until my dad bought me the album, along with Alicia Keys' The Diary of Alicia Keys. Everything just took off from there, and Christmas 2006 came around - I got my first iPod (1st gen nano, white, 1GB) and was buying physical albums to fill it with. Obviously, The High Road was the first one I got.

So why tell you guys part of the story of my life? Because JoJo always manages to come out with new material during turning points of my life. In 2005 she was the turning point, in 2006 I was going through what was the best year of my school life, as well as learning more and more about music by the day, and finally now, in 2010 - I made a lot of decisions concerning my future, so of course, JoJo had to come out with her free mixtape. And this gorgeous song.

Can't Take That Away From Me had a truckload of gorgeous songs, but for some reason Boy Without A Heart stuck the most. Why? Because strangely, it reminded me of 6th grade, and even that summer I first heard her. This is a new song we're talking about, and it brought back memories it never even witnessed.

It has a very simple arrangement (how many times have I said this before), but it's not only JoJo's now more mature and gutsy vocals that stand out, it's the drum line. The stunning drum line that makes me smile like a madwoman - it's very sharp but it sounds very real. That put below the gutsy but in-place electric guitar and thrown together with a well-done arrangement makes for a drop-dead gorgeous song.

A few random "new"-ish songs..

.. or songs I haven't talked about yet but so want to.

I still haven't found/though of a decent title for these posts with a few singles thrown together here and there. Although, in an attempt to make things a little spiffier here (emphasis on the attempt) and fill the archives with more posts now that I'm far too busy to write music show recaps, I'll try and write these more often. If you have any suggestions for a name whatsoever, the comments section is all yours. And I'm in dire need for them.


But before I start with all the songs, it's time, once again, for me to lay down my schedule for the next few weeks/months. My birthday's coming up (YAY!), among other things, but this month and maybe even next month, I'll be in "training" for this national speech contest I have to represent my school at. Why I was chosen for it is completely beyond comprehension at this post. BUT ANYWAY, me being "in training" means that I'll obviously have less time than the little time I have now, and when I do get the time, I might just go sleep or laze around reading fan fiction. Add the fact that I'm flying to China in November (And there's no Google there, so I've heard. Boo.) AND preparations for my senior yearbook, the last few months of 2010 are going to be hectic as hell. I'm starting to put together that "best of" list already, so don't worry about that, worry about the regularity of my posts! But now that we've cleared my schedule for the rest of the year, let's finally get to the music! I rant, I know, but you guys seem to like it so whatever!

Cheryl and Nadine Girls Aloud both have new leaks out. YES, THIS IS ONE OF MY MANY ATTEMPTS TO UPDATE MYSELF WITH NON-KPOP RELEASES. You should be proud of me! Cheryl's got Promise This, and Nadine's got Insatiable. Promise This is very Cheryl - very commercial and generic but well-produced. It's got what I presume is French in it, and it's catchy without going overboard. Solid effort, but nothing new or ground-breaking. I'm not feeling Insatiable that much though, even if I do think it's got a lot more character and conviction than the Cheryl song. These songs just don't appeal to me that much, but Nadine does sound fantastic. WHERE IS MY NICOLA SOLO ALBUM?!



Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu's rather controversial theme song for Yoochun's drama Sunkyungkwan and Scandal (they added and "and" to the title after it premiered - I'm so not used to it) is finally out in all it's glory. It's a nice, cheery, happy song with a pretty melody and a sweet piano line - a contrast to what's happening to them behind-the-scenes. I don't wanna talk about it. I won't. Their voices were gorgeous on the song. See? I'm not talking about it.

The Wanted. I never talked about them here, right? Well now I am. I. LOVE. HEART VACANCY. I really do. It's epic in all the right ways, but once again, it doesn't hit you over the head when it does get epic. Bring on the album - I'm in dire need of some Western boybands, and they might just do the trick.

It's now time to profess my love for the new The Sats video for Higher. I love it, I really do. What seems to me like choreography during the first chorus, the whole "we're a girl group, we're fun" vibe (that really should be mandatory on a girl group video) mixed with the brilliance that is Higher has just, successfully, made me want to start listening to more British stuff again. A girl group video at it's finest. With GA in limbo and all the members out doing their own things (like a certain Korean boyband.. *sniffles*), The Saturdays are probably they next best thing. And they're pretty damn good. ;D


Aaaaand we're back to Korea. My beloved BEAST released a ballad last Friday, and although I'm not head-over-heels over it to the point of me listening to it for entire dayS, it is a gorgeous song. And I mean it when I say gorgeous - it's still a risk for a band like them, I think, a risk that has worked. Even if it sounds a bit like a theme song for this romance drama on KBS, they pull it off rather nicely. At least they have the chops to do it. I'm slowly starting to like these guys, after their decent attempt at 4-part harmonies towards the end of promotions for Shock, they're safely my third favorite boyband.


I heard the JoJo mixtape, Can't Take That Away From Me, WAAAAAAAAAAAAY back, but I was far to busy to write anything about it. And you guys know how big a JoJo fan I am - she's practically the reason why I'm writing about pop today. I have my favorites from the package, and let me tell you, I'm head-over-heels for them, but there's a part of the mixtape that I'm not liking. Yet. They're the types of songs that take time to grow on me, but when that time comes you'll be the first to know. My clear favorites right now are Running On Empty, Can't Take That Away From Me, the Travis Garland duet, and Boy Without A Heart. Brilliance I say, brilliance. If you haven't yet, download the mixtape here (for free!) - and I suggest you do.

Best of 2009: June #12 - #7

June marked my slow but obvious shift to kpop but from #s 12 - 7 there's only ONE Korean artist. Can you guess who?

#12: Ariel Moore with Alexandria Moore - Stronger

Ariel Moore was the other Clique Girl - she left the band sometime this year and it caused them to become inactive, at the moment I don't think they have any new material slated for release. The girl can sing, not outstandingly well but good enough and the song has its gorgeous moments.

#11: Yohanna - Is it True?

In addition to being the very first song I added to my iTunes library in June, Is It You is a gorgeous, gorgeous song. The entire song and the arrangement in particular remind me of something straight out of an album from The Corrs and knowing that I absolutely adore them, there's no way I wouldn't fall for this song.

#10: Ashley Tisdale - Switch

It's Alright, It's OK may have been quite a big fail but there was one song that I chose to listen to after giving the album a run-through - Switch. It sounds Disney but not too Disney, it's catchy and it's pop/rock-y. I love the verses though and how everything just explodes and becomes a big party during the chorus.

#9: Se7en - Girls

Yes, it's Se7en. This was the time when I was the most focused on Rain and everything that revolved around him - including his rivals and comparisons where Se7en falls in. Earlier this year he, along with his talent company YG (home to Big Bang and 2NE1 to name a few), began an attempt to crack the US with this single. It was later halted but Girls stands to be one of those songs that made my kpop addiction - these were the stuff I was listening to early on. And it's a landmark for kpop because Se7en is still one of the few kpop artists who've actually had official single releases out. So there.

#8: Demi Lovato - Gift of a Friend

The version of this song that I like better was the one that was leaked a while before the actual track, mainly because I find the one on the album too Demi-like and I don't like Demi. The Gift of a Friend that made me stop and listen doesn't have Demi breathing every few words and she doesn't scream as much as the album version. Gorgeous melody, somewhat epic instrumentation and kudos to Demi for trying. LOL. BUT, I can't find that version on YT anymore so you're stuck with the mastered track.

#7: JoJo - 25 to Life

Listening to this months after it got overthrown by a ton of other material makes me remember exactly why I'm a JoJo fan - this girl knows what the crap she's doing. She knows how to grow and how to mature but she knows who she is musically and she knows what she has to do. An album release may be far from happening any time soon (record companies. STUPID record companies) but this is the song that gave me hope earlier this year and until now I think it's gorgeous.

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.

JoJo - 25 to Life

I don't know why I'm so emotional about this new album. Maybe it's because JoJo was the first artist whose career I followed from the very beginning and I bought both of her albums within months of them coming out. JoJo shaped my taste in music - her first album allowed me to explore what American pop/R&B sounded like and showed me how a beautiful melody could make me melt like butter.

I said this when the clips were released but it's true. Her sophomore album was out, promotion ended and The High Road took a backseat in the music library - I discovered thousands of other songs until I eventually stopped listening to her for months. I learned to live with the fact that it's taking ages for her new album to finally be released but now that I've heard this song I can't imagine how I survived.

This is what I mean when I say a kid's voice will grow over the years. Her first album showed that her voice was just a bit on the squeaky side and her had less color and depth - a kid's voice. There were times when she tried to sound like a 40 year-old but the young qualities of her voice were still there, you knew she wasn't old. Once The High Road was out her voice got a little deeper and developed some color - like how a proper teenager should sound. Suddenly you heard power when she hit the high notes that you didn't know existed but she still had some soft spots and squeaky parts.

The difference of her voice on this new song from her first album is gigantic though - she sounds like a young woman. Her voice has color and when she hits the high notes the squeaky-ness is gone, replaced with certainty and confidence - this girl knows what she's doing now and she's not afraid to show it.

This new song is an absolute pleasure to listen to. It's everything JoJo is as an artist and it makes you want to tap your foot along or snap your fingers. The hook isn't infectious and a lot of people in the Philippines most probably won't like it because it doesn't sound like crappy Rihanna or overrated Lady GaGa. The song at certain points can become the most gorgeous thing in the world but at other times it's probably the most brilliant thing ever. It has the ability to suck you in and make you worship the song and that's what makes me like it so much.

You know what angers me the most though? If JoJo needed three years to make an album I'd understand that - as long as by the end of those three years we'd get an album filled with songs like this but she finished the album in a year in a half. So what happened? Well she switched labels which shouldn't take another year and a half to fix(it would take some time, yes but not A YEAR AND A HALF.) but you know what went wrong? Watch JoJo ranting about it below.

Damn you Universal Music. You think Rihanna's one of your top priorities? She's nothing compared to this girl and even if the album wasn't JoJo's, you can't make someone wait that long without reassurance.

Sorry about that. Like I told Ken on Twitter last night, I'm a JoJo fan first and foremost. My opinions on her may be prejudiced, I may freak out when she has a new song and if someone is preventing her from putting music out I'll become a very angry fan girl - record labels haven't seen the worse of me yet(I don't think they've even heard of me but whatever.).

Naturally, 5/5

I interrupt the special(again) for something BIG.

JOJO JUST RELEASED THREE ALBUM CLIPS YESTERDAY.

For me they're not just album clips of an artist I like, they're album clips from the artist who fueled my love for pop music - the first pop album I ever bought was hers. Hearing clips of an album that I've been waiting for since The High Road was released(three years ago) made me tear up a bit.

Because the wait was worth it. JoJo might have said herself on her MySpace that the clips may or may not be on the album but anything is something after 3 years.

Over the years I've gotten addicted to many other artists who've been more productive than JoJo but she's instrumental in my love for music, sooner or later I would've gone back to being the JoJo fangirl I once was. I think that's now.

She's grown an awful lot, Touchdown sounds like an even more serious and more R&B-based The Way You Do Me mixed with This Time. I wasn't surprised to hear something like that though - it had to happen sometime because she's not that fourteen year-old who first burst onto the charts, she's turning nineteen this year.

The song that made me tear up a bit though was Fearless. No, it's not the Taylor Swift song - it's an R&B/Pop mid-tempo gearing more towards the R&B side. Although I do think that Underneath is a better song over-all. Same thing - it's an R&B/pop mid-tempo but with less of the pop. Think Coming for You mixed with say, a bit of Battlefield.

Looking ahead...

I said that 2009 would be an amazing year for music and quite a number of new albums have been released now even more new songs are slowly circulating so what's in store for the pop scene over the next few months? Here are some artists who've given us a little taste of what's to come(and a few who haven't.).

• A bonus track off Kelly Clarkson's new album has leaked and although some people are speculating that it's not really her, I do think it's her. It sounds like her and the song is just divine so even if it isn't, I'd like to know who it is! haha. If this is what we're getting(plus some demos by other artists have also surfaced, haven't heard them yet..) in the full-length album then my calendar will have a big, fat red mark on the release date! haha.
• Marie Serneholt's Melodifestivalen song is not bad but as long as I have an I Need A House-esque track on it, I'm happy.
• This year's Comic Relief single(which I'm getting really addicted to.. it's brilliantly catchy!) was secured by The Saturdays and it's everywhere already! Late last year Digital Spy bashed all hopes of getting a re-release of their debut album(I'm too lazy to look for the article but I will). I do think they need a few original albums just to plant their existence firmly into people's minds. Maybe on their third or fourth albums they can do a re-release but now's not the time. I wonder what's in store for them this year, after the Comic Relief thing.
• Fight For Love is the reported first single from Elliot Yamin's second album(rumored to also be called Fight For Love) and along with that a few rumors have come up that he's teaming up with Stargate and even Diane Warren(she can write one heck of a ballad..) for the album. I do like the two songs out now, so will be following the development of this. haha.
• Also rumored are the follow-up singles from Lily Allen's new album. Apparently they're Not Fair and Back To The Start.. hmm.
• Armed with a mind-blowing voice(which sounds a lot like JoJo), a Stargate-produced lead single whose video was directed by the guy who brought us the videos to Rihanna's monster singles Unfaithful, We Ride, Disturbia and Take A Bow, Beyonce's Irreplaceable and heaps more, Bayje better come up with that album soon. It's been at least a year since I've heard of her and the tracks on her Myspace are brilliant so this is definitely one of the albums I'm anticipating the most this year.
• It's been three years since her last album and JoJo hasn't given us anything, nothing, not even a little taste of what her new album's gonna sound like. I'm not angry or anything but I've been waiting three years for an album from the girl who started my music addiction and I'm really, really excited! After a label change, early last year rumors were that the album would be out in time for her 18th birthday but apparently, All I Want Is Everything will be out this year instead. Oh, and her website's being revamped..
• Lady Sovereign's new album is apparently coming out this year. I love her drastic but not change in sound and her new grown up image, it's working! I Got You Dancing was like a Ting Tings song(although not as good..), annoyingly awesome, it was stuck in my head for weeks, it still is! The follow-up single is So Human and although I prefer the first one, it's a nice preview of the album! yay!
• Just when I was thinking of what happened to Keke Palmer, wiki is saying that Sony has apparently signed her and the album is scheduled for a spring release. Hmm(when's spring, btw? don't blame me, we only have two seasons here!), no new singles out yet? tsk. tsk. They better have this really huge PR campaign if they want the album to sell..
• So I'm guessing that because of the Rihanna incident, Chris Brown's career has come to a screeching halt. Radio stations have pulled out his songs from their playlists, his ad campaigns have been suspended and the Sesame Street episode he did won't be shown again, ever. I feel sorry for his career, it's come a long way but he is going to court for beating Rihanna up so it's both their careers down the drain for now(at least.. Rihanna may be able to bounce back faster than him..). I'm also guessing that there won't be any new releases from him(or her..), at least this year if he can get his act together quick enough for people to not loose interest in him and not go crazy or something. Shame, he was starting to get close to Craig David in my books.

There's tons more new stuff to talk about so a part two might follow! haha.

Hello 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope yours was filled with noise and food and alcohol and more food and whatever else!

Well it's official, 2009 has begun! If this year is anything like 2008, then it'll be full of amazing releases form amazing established artists and hopefully some amazing debuts this year as well. So what am I expecting this year? Here's the lowdown on what I'm expecting this year:

• First and foremost, THE NEW WESTLIFE ALBUM! I cannot believe I survived 2008 without a Westlife release(well we got a DVD, but still, NO ALBUM!) but if I waited a whole year to get an album that should've come in 2008, then I expect only greatness from the lads and that greatness means NO COVERS! As much as they've given them big hits and all, they've shown us with Back Home that they do have the ability to release amazing originals so we better get some more. Apparently, there are rumors that their version of this song will be on the album, but as of now they're all rumors. Bring on the new album, lads!
• She's given us two amazing pop songs so I'm sure Natalie Bassingthwaighte's new album will not fail to impress. If the songs are anything like Alive or Someday Soon then we're in for an amazing, possibly mind-blowing album. I've heard some Rogue Traders songs as well, it was a relatively big jump for her genre-wise, if I may say so. I wonder what the cover'll look like...
• After three long years if waiting, JoJo's new album is slated for release this year! YES! YES! AAAHHHHHHHHH! We got one song from her this year, a cover of T-Pain's(was it T-Pain? I'm not sure..) Can't Believe It. I like the song for her, and she's sounding good vocally as well. I absolutely adore the girl, her first album was amazing, her second album cemented her in the industry and I think this album will blow us all away. I'll be waiting!!!
• Just a few days ago, Corbin Bleu's first single off Speed Of Light leaked and I was in awe, Celebrate You is an outright amazing song! Although I'm a little disappointed with the title track, I think if there are at least four or five good tracks and two or three amazing ones then I'm OK. Can't wait!!
• So I heard that Aly&AJ are planning their third release(typo! sorry!). We haven't heard any new material from them since Insomniatic and there are no rumors about this and that or no snippets of songs so I'm still very clueless about the release. Still, I loved their previous two albums so as long as they don't do a 360 change then I'm OK.
• I'm waiting for albums from Samantha Jade and Bayje as well, those two girls are amaaaaaaaaazing! The leaked Samantha Jade songs are amazing and Bayje's carrier single's brilliant. Love it! haha.

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.

Flashback: JoJo

While most pre-teens care about school, friends and fashion, JoJo was making her debut album at thirteen, something only a select few get to accomplish, let alone start. By the time she was fourteen, she had a US platinum-certified adult contemporary number one single('Leave'), beating Britney Spears as the youngest solo artist with a number one single in ANY US chart.

Only months after that feat, her debut album was released. It hit the top five, coming in at four and selling nearly a hundred thousand copies in it's first week alone. JoJo was suddenly on top of the world and at fourteen, she was probably just as overwhelmed as she was successful.

The album itself is a cool mix of R&B and mainstream pop, channeling JoJo's strengths and conveniently hiding her weaknesses, like what I think an ideal debut album should sound like. It should show people who the artist is, what he/she can do and most importantly, hide all possible flaws in production, songwriting and the vocals.

Before I heard her second effort, I thought this was all the work of the producers, except for maybe one or two songs but apparently not. Her second album was different, very different but I heard the similarities, I heard the transition of a girl to a teenager, of a new artist to an experienced one.

So what does that all mean? It means that even if she was just a young girl when this album was made, she had as much creative input with the album as she wanted to have. The album was a reflection of who she was at the time, and maybe even who she wanted to be.