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!

# 16: Karina - 16 @ War

Merry Christmas guys! Hope you all get stuffed with good food and even better music! Let's get on with todays songs..

I reviewed her album a few days ago, right after I had written this entry so if you want to read that review, go here.

So 16@War is this R&B mid-tempo, I wouldn't call it standard, there are a lot of elements that separate it from the other song in it's genre. The instrumentation differs, it has this strange instrument that sounds a lot like a synthesizer(maybe it is!) laying the groundwork for the rest of the song. It's cool, actually, it's one of the main reasons why this song just works and why it's exceptional.

The drums as well are kind of a bit different from what I usually hear on tracks liks this, it sounds like a drum you'd use in a marching band. The timbre, I think of the instrument makes the song sound heavy but light. Plus the fact that it's not processed.

Melodically it's quite unusual as well. Not sure if it's more on the melody or the phrasing, but the way this song is sung is edgy, young and I bet you JoJo can't sing a song like this(but she's a completely different artist..). This kind of proves that her voice is smooth, but it can be egdy as well. It's an amazing combination.

Karina - First Love

This girl has one of the most gorgeous voices I've ever heard. It's like Katharine McPhee mixed with Beyonce, Rihanna and Christina Aguilera. She's got the smoothness of Katharine's voice, the tone that Beyonce and Rihanna have and the power and control that Christina has. All in all, I think it's a perfect combination.

What makes her even better is the fact that melodically, her album is amazing. The melodies are tight, they're sure of themselves, they're not a result of different genres all put together haphazardly, they're clear and assertive that's the best way to put it I think.

When I first listened to her album, I knew absolutely nothing about her career or which songs were singles and what stories lay behind the songs. You can say that I listened to the album without biases, I had no idea how old she was, how she got signed, what chart position her album reached and all those stuff I usually like to know about an artist. What I heard was sheer brilliance.

Listening over to the album, there's probably at least one or two parts in each song that scream brilliance, but I'll just highlight my favorites on the album.

I love 90's Baby, believe it or not. A few of the songs on her album have a certain quirk to it that separates them from each other but somehow ties them together, and this one has this tambourine-sounding instrument keeping the beat. Then at the end, there's what sounds like either a xylophone or a triangle taking over. The melody sounds a lot like a mainstream single and for a while, I thought this was the lead single.

Baby, Baby is amazing as well, to tell you the truth. To my ear it's got a very gospel feel to it, but there's a part(the line around 2:12..) that reminds me of another song that I really can't remember. I know I heard that melody before, but I can't pinpoint which song it was. Anyway, this was the first song where I kind of liked the rap part, it accented the rest of the song well, actually. Effortless yet amazing.

Can't Find The Words has a beat similar to another song, I can't pinpoint it as well, but I've heard it on a non-R&B song, I'm sure of that. It's a bit slower than the other two songs and it focuses a bit more on the gorgeous side of a melody, not the quirk. I think it's a gorgeous song.

I won't review 16@ War just yet, because the review of that's coming sometime next week on my countdown so watch out for that, OK?

The song that caught my ear from the very start was Winner. The songs sounds a lot like Rihanna's Unfaithful and her voice actually sounds a bit like Rihanna as well. It's a strong song and production-wise it's amazing.

The Love We Got at certain parts sounds like something Alicia Keys would be interested in. Melodically it's brilliantly stunning, not just gorgeous or beautiful, I think it's stunning. I think that's the best way to describe the song so I'll leave it at that.

All in all, I love First Love. With melodies that are sure of themselves and a gorgeous voice to deliver those melodies, the album was definitely a pleasure to listen to, which is why........

to sum up the album:
Best Track: ALL of them!
Better Tracks: N/A
Least Favorite Track: N/A
THE RATING: 5/5(YES! Perfect!)

Some random, spur of the moment, short reviews...

I haven't really had the time and will to write single, long reviews these past few weeks so I'll be writing a few short reviews for now..

1. New Kids on the Block with Lady GaGa - Big Girl Now

OK, I've been listening over to the NKOTB album these past few weeks but I've only pin-pointed a single favorite track, my favorite of the favorites and it's their duet with Lady GaGa.

I absolutely adore her(although I have gotten a bit sick of her album, I still think it's genius) and this song is probably a more modern NKOTB. I mean, I love the R&B stuff, but they're a bit too generic to compete with the heavyweights and this is probably the song that's most like an updated NKOTB pre-split sound.

Rating: 4.7/5

2. Taylor Swift - Love Story

I. Absolutely. Adore. This. Girl.

I loved her first album, loved 'Beautiful Eyes' just a bit more but I simply ADORE this new song.

Once again, the music industry has gotten someone right, in the form of Taylor Swift. She'll be making the shift from first album to second very gracefully by the looks of it. I mean, this song is amazing. Her first album showed us that she could sing and write good, solid songs well for her age but I think this second album will just blow us away, show us exactly what she's made of and get us hooked on her music even more.

Rating: 5/5

3. Karina - 16 @ War

Has anyone besides me noticed that she sounds like Beyonce + Rihanna + Keri Hilson?

Anyway. This girl HAS TALENT. Not the 'Charice Pempengco(or however you spell it), too big for her age' voice but the 'OMG, SHE'S AMAZING not too old for her age' voice. You can sense that she's maybe two or three years older than she actually is if you listen to the album but no more than that(although the song is a dead giveaway to her age...).

The song is amazing, the melody is priceless and it's just an amazing song. I cannot believe it only peaked at number 51 on the R&B charts...

Rating: 4.8/5