Two Jades, two songs - the same rating. Strange, huh?

Samantha Jade's new but not that new offering Secret is a departure from her old and insanely brilliant stuff but thankfully, it's enough to keep me interested in the girl. One thing though - I thought she got dropped by Atlantic? Apparently not.

If she wasn't dropped by Atlantic, may I complain about one thing? I'VE BEEN WAITING 2 YEARS FOR HER ALBUM, WHERE THE CRAP IS IT? I first heard Turnaround in 2007 - at the time her album was expected to be released by the end of the year. Talent gone to waste, if you're to ask me.

The song reminds me of Britney + The Saturdays with more Britney. The redeemers? One, the fact that this girl has some sort of voice and uses the damn thing and two, it's pop - done well and sung right.

The other thing is that the middle 8 has successfully made this whole song the best new song of the week for me. Expect a top 10 debut at the very least next week!

4.5/5

Before (Step Up):

After/Now (Secret):

The other Jade? Jade Ewen. I know it's been ages since My Man leaked but the video came out so it's time to review it.

Jade Ewen's Eurovision entry may have sucked like hell but listening to this song, she isn't that bad. Yes, she's a voice we've heard before and an image we've seen tons of times but amongst all these girls who sound and look like Jade, she's doing quite well, to tell you the truth.

There's nothing special about her voice but it's good. The song as a whole is strong - it has it's good and bad points but altogether it's not bad. The melodies of the verses and middle 8 are exceptional and the chorus for me is a little resonant but bearable.

All in all, not a bad effort, Miss Ewen - top 10 at the very least.

4.5/5

Industry - Burn

I need to unwind - I just finished writing a 24-page paper in my native tongue about how our culture should be ours and no one else's. Great.

Industry are most probably God's gift to pop music this year - everything about this band shows how good pop music can be. I only have one problem though, the girl who sings the most has a voice with parts that I get sick of after one listen. I'm dead serious - if you make the two guys sing one whole song without the girl, I'd fall at the song's feet and never want to listen to anything else again. But her voice can be insanely brilliant most of the time.

That aside, the song is a masterpiece. Whoever wrote this song should be put on a pedestal and worshipped for eternity.

The piano part is insane - whoever thought of making it go on throughout the whole song is a genius. It's a very nice buffer - gives the song another dimension and softens everything up. The processed stuff don't seem so fabricated after all and there are parts that can pass for a lullaby in my book.

The second verse is so-so to my ears but the middle-8 is brilliantly scream-y. Yes, the notes are really, really high but the melody makes me melt every time. Like hell.

My favorite part of the song? The first verse. Before everything gets manic and the girl screams all over the place, this is the reason why I love Industry. They can do big, monstrous and pop all the way but they can be reserved and faint-worthy. That voice - I can die right now and not have any regrets. And it's processed at all the right points. Not excessively, it's just enough to soften and smoothen the high notes. That's what auto-tune is supposed to do.

Will this be number one? I sure hope so - it deserves to be but judging by the fact that I never get these things right, it may not.

5/5

Need new music? It's the Friday night post!

I'm lazy, tired and I have an extremely tiring day tomorrow - will be engineering the recording of like 6 poems. OK. These past few days have been extremely stressful for me but I got through it - time to post some new music! Relatively short tonight, I'm going to write and go to bed!

The Sugababes' new video is out. I've come to be able to bear the song, it's not that bad but I'd not good either. Oh well, I just hope the album's a lot better. If you haven't seen the video yet, here it is:

No Angels have only previously made one song I actually like and would love to listen to over and over again and for the longest time that one song was the only one. I've found another song worthy of my praise though - One Life.

It's new, and we haven't heard it in HQ yet(the version I have doesn't sound very nice..) but I do love it heaps.

The Korean representative this week is Kara. Yes, another girl group but no, they're not like 2NE1 or SNSD - they're the extremely cutesy girl group. It can be good sometimes but most often their voices are crap on the recordings because some stupid corporate dude tells the producer to make their voices really cutesy/baby-like. UGH.

It's their new single. Not bad, actually - if they lost the crap voices I'd actually like it a heck of a lot. Am getting the album as we speak so if it's good I'll review it in the coming days.

2NE1 + Jordin Sparks + The Sugababes = This Week's Friday Night Post

It's been one heck of a week for me but it's by far been the best since school started back in June. I'm way more comfortable with the going to school routine and I'm not sick anymore, the main thing but I also happened to ACE a geometry test about a lesson I enjoyed every bit of - I kinda sort of like studying now. I've also loved every second of my elective this semester and plan to ace this again like I did last year. Music-wise a lot as happened and I have two interviews ready to be published in the next two weeks so watch out for them, OK?

A diverse selection tonight - there's a song I think sucks, a good song and an outright brilliant one. Read away, alright? Alright.

The first matter of this post is from the world of K-pop. I'm sorry for the people who read this because of the Western pop but I'm afraid I've fallen trap waaaaay too deep - there's no turning back and I feature everything I like. Done deal.

For the longest time I've despised 2NE1 or at least found Fire extremely annoying and a waste of my time. Add that to the fact that Sandara Park tried to have a career here and for a while she was big but at the height of her popularity she went back to Korea. Now we know why - BECAUSE SHE'D BECOME THE CRAPPIEST MEMBER IN A GIRL GROUP SURROUNDED BY THREE OTHER VOCALLY CAPABLE GIRLS. Great, just great.
I'm dead serious. The rapper in 2NE1 can hold a melody properly and competently, the oldest member has the most critically beautiful voice - it 'just' has beautiful timbre on the surface but dig deeper and it has the ability to change your life, sort of. Then we have the youngest girl and she reminds me and a lot of other people of my favorite Big Bang member - DAESUNG!!!! Mainly because I think she has an amazing voice that grabs your attention the minute you hear it - it will make you swoon. Like hell.

OK. So they have a new single - I Don't Care. When it first came out I was unimpressed and bored but when I saw the video last night, my jaw literally dropped to the floor. OK maybe it didn't but you get the point, right? Right. It just to happens that My favorite is the 'star' on this song with three solos that aren't the chorus. Oh dear. Of course Sandara's crappiness right after my favorite member's solo completely destroys the whole thing but I've learned to live with it - the song is near-epic. The melodic parts (even Dara's.) are surprisingly gorgeous from a band that brought us the annoying Lollipop and waste-of-time Fire but this is probably the only song on their mini album that makes that much of an impact. Bittersweet.

4.3/5

From what I quickly skimmed through and glanced at, SOS is Jordin Sparks' second single from Battlefield. Countless artists have coined SOS as a song title and the songs have been enjoyable at the very least but Jordin's is above enjoyable. Everything about this song says that I SHOULDN'T like it - that it's way too this or that for my taste but I LOVE IT. There are elements in the chorus that remind me of a bygone era - whether 70's or 80's I'm not sure but it's one of either. The verses are exactly my taste though - beautiful vocals and an insanely epic melody.

If I was to gauge how epic the song is I'd seriously give up before I succeed. The epic-ness of the whole thing spreads throughout the song but the instrumental break before the last chorus redefines the word epic. What makes it better is the fact that the more I listen to the song, the more I fall for it and the more brilliance I find. For lack of words to describe the brilliance of this song even further - just listen to the damn thing.

The rest of Battlefield is looking very, very amazing and the record as a whole including the songs I don't like sounds very cohesive so far. I honestly can't wait for it now - there's bound to be at least one more great song we can milk off the girl. YESSSS.

5/5

I adore the Sugababes - I honestly do but the minute they make a song wherein I only find three lines worth my time but aren't even that good, my adoration will slowly wane. I'm sorry to say but their new single is just that.

Ever since Get Sexy was released and all my fellow bloggers talked about what they thought of it on Twitter it seems like I'm seriously the only one who's disappointed to the point of angered by the song. The intro before they start singing is scary, when they start singing it's not exactly enjoyable, the disjointed chorus without a melody is indulgent in all the wrong ways and the only decent part is when Heidi sings like 2 or 3 lines - that's it.

The song doesn't sound effortless and it isn't epic so it's obviously not beautiful to me. It sounds disjointed, unmelodic and annoying - so un-like them.

1.9/5

SNSD - Genie + Natalie Bassingthwaighte - Not For You (video)

The song is slowly gaining momentum as a single and is poised to be a gigantic hit over the next few weeks. When I first heard the song I wasn't impressed - it didn't make me tick but after a few more listens it suddenly seemed like the most brilliant thing since anything(which it's obviously not but close enough!).

A few days ago I said a few more listens and I'd get sick of it - that's partially true. The only reason why I bothered to even listen to the song again was because of alleged plagiarism. Everyone started freaking out when they found out that Genie sounds exactly the same as a Uzbekistani popstar's single a few months ago. Everything was cleared when SM Entertainment(the girls' talent company) said that they bought the exclusive rights to use the song however they wanted to and somehow the demo leaked and the popstar got it. So everything's fine in K-pop land. Here's the SNSD song and below that is the 'rip-off'.

4.7/5

So I got informed via Twitter that Natalie Bassingthwaighte - Australian pop queen (am I right to call her that?) has a new video out. For a song I absolutely adored the first time I heard it. Here's what I said back in February when I first reviewed the album:

Not For You sounds like something Everlife or Superchic[k] would sing for a Disney live-action movie soundtrack. I love every part of the song, these kinds of songs are usually the ones that I'll listen to a lot when I first get them, get sick of them and I'll forget about it for two months then when I'm so bored, I'll remember the song, listen to it and just smile at brilliance.

Did it happen? Hell yeah.

I came back from a miserable and painful doctor's appointment(Which is probably too graphic to describe.) to find what? THE EFFIN' VIDEO PREMIERE. I'm like - FREAKING OUTTTTT! I honestly predicted both of the girls' post-album singles. YAY.

I interrupt the current special for this announcement..

AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! AH! Do you know how long we've waited and longed for this? I bet you do.

This is exactly why The Saturdays are the best candidates to take Girls Aloud's place if and when they split up. I mean, look at how they've transformed over the year - they've gone from GA's support act to being the hottest new girl group in the UK, that isn't too bad is it?

But they certainly deserve it. They all have competent voices(some brilliant), they have amazing songs and they can dance - that's what girl groups are all about, right?

The single's out in June.

New stuff from Varsity Fanclub.. + BRILLIANCE.

Excuse the rather slow pace of posting - I'm hooked on Rain and everything about him at the moment that it's practically all I do the whole day.

So anyway, they've got two new songs which actually have quite similar elements because - wait for it, one of them's a RedOne song(at least I'm sure it is..) and they've both got that RedOne sound.

I was wondering where these guys were...

Piece of Me starts out with an a capella section I quite enjoyed before launching into a techno/RedOne loop and the melody of the verse seriously blows me away. I have my favorite Varsity songs and this is not one of them but it's a pretty solid track - possible single if I was to call the shots(although now that I'm listening to it more, it sounds a lot more like Jada's American Cowboy.. hmm.).

2.6/5

We Will has a similar a capella thing at the start, although slower and it's rock-er and not as strong as the other tracks I think.

But something else kinda overshadowed the so-so Varsity songs.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Seriously - I've been waiting for this since like forever and it certainly hasn't disappointed. This girl really does have everything she needs to succeed - a record label, a fan base and a heck of a lot of talent. Plus the fact that this song is outright brilliant.

I've talked about her before and I've always had good things to say about her so this is no different. I stand by the fact that I'm anticipating her album the most this year. More than JoJo, Rain, Aly&AJ and even friggin' Westlife - mainly because I want to hear what the crap she's gonna do with all these amazing songs and her mind-blowing voice.

5/5!!!!!

Hmmmm

Sorry for not posting that much, my uncle just died yesterday morning and everything was a blur yesterday. I may not be able to post for the next few days 'coz the place we're staying in doesn't have an internet connection and there'll be lots of things to take care of...

I predicted ANOTHER single? What's with me and guessing all the eventual singles now? ANYWAY, the video's a bit boring but the song is still a guilty pleasure.. hahah.

Am not myself today, sorry about that. Will be back posting when I can..

oooooohhhhh.

See what I mean by the fact that I'm getting better at this A&R stuff(posted a comment on Poster Girl when I found out that Let's Get Excited is Alesha Dixon's third single..)?

I said it already but Let's Get Excited is indeed Alesha Dixon's third single! YAY! I love this song to bits - it's got a lovely melody but it doesn't lose the edginess that it's meant to have. At some points of the song you actually hear REAL instruments which I'm a little more into after watching what it can do to already amazing Craig David songs and the song is fun. It's not fun in the trying hard way and it's not fun because it'll sell more if it is, it's fun just because - it's fun for the sake of being fun.(5/5)

I should really do a review on her album.

The announcement that kind of fueled this post was that 1,000 Stars would be the third single from Natalie Bassingthwaighte!! YAY AGAIN! If you remember my review on the album, this one was my favorite song. I mean, how can you NOT like it? It's epic yet the melody's so simple. You'd think that with that short a chorus the repetition would seem really annoying but everything just falls into place on this song. The clashing of the quieter verses with the epic chorus gives you goosebumps and you'd want to play this over and over and over and over again until your ears fall out but they won't. Brilliance!(5/5 - duh.)

And did I also mention that I said late last year when I first heard Out of Control that Untouchable is one of the stronger songs on the album? hahah.

Tania Christopher - Just Like You

I honestly had no idea who this girl was until today and I'm baffled.

I honestly think 2009 will be one of the most amazing years music has ever had and this girl just solidifies my thoughts. From what I'm getting, she's young(somewhere in the realm of JoJo and Bayje) and she has a good enough voice to compete with the others in her genre. I've heard Hypnotized, it's amazing, I've heard Show Me, it's just as amazing but Just Like You shows me how good she really is and that there's actually a future for her in music.

It's like a mix of a Lady GaGa song(during the verses..) with the fun that Chris Brown's Forever effortlessly has plus the 'empowering' Disney lyrics, in a class all on it's own. Last year's fun hit song was Forever and this is slowly becoming my favorite fun/R&B/dance-ish song of the year, easily. Could it be a US hit? Not sure but if it is, she'll go a long way.

The Rating: 5/5!!!

New Music!

I still cannot believe how I survived January when there's so much new music out now!

• First off, three video premieres. Taylor Swift's White Horse, The Ting Ting's We Walk AND The Saturdays' Comic Relief single, Just Can't Get Enough(will get to that later...)! All amazing! Yipeeeee!

• One of the two main reasons why I'm so excited to day is because...The Confessions of a Shopaholic Soundtrack's out! I'm hyperventilating!!!!!!!!!! I'm addicted to the series(I read all five in a day!) but I've heard a few songs off the soundtrack and I got really excited! Will listen to the soundtrack tonight and watch the movie this weekend when it comes out! haha. I've heard that a couple of RedOne tracks made their way into the album so I'll have to listen.
• There are two new Elliot Yamin songs out, I'm in love with them! Loved his first album and judging by the two tracks, Show Me and Fight For Love, his second album might even be better! Yay!
• There's a new Natalie Imbruglia song out, My God and it's ok. Nothing special and I like Glorious much better! haha. Will be waiting for her album though.
• Now, the new Saturdays' song. It's a cover and it's for Comic Relief so most likely it'll chart within the top three or even at number one. I have no idea what the original version sounds like, I think I knew the song before I heard this but I'm not so sure and from what I've heard, it's not bad. 
• There's a new Michelle Branch track as well. Haven't heard it but will do after I finish the Shopaholic soundtrack! haha.
• Marie Serneholt has a new song as well, Disconnect Me from the Melodifestivalen. It's not bad, but not my cup of tea. I still prefer I Need A House over it.
• Speaking of Marie Serneholt, I was looking through old A*Teens videos yesterday and I'm slowly falling in love with the songs all over again! They kind of lost their spark for me a few months ago but I do love Perfect Match and Upside Down! haha.

I guess that's it, will have to whip up my review of the Shopaholic Soundtrack. yay!

I'M BAAACK!

OK, so I said I'd take a week break but I actually just slowed down on the posting. This was a happy week for me music-wise(DO NOT ask about how my Math 8A and 8G exams were, DO NOT.), mainly because of quite a few new stuff I've discovered and some old sought-after albums finally found. hmm..

• I know I ranted about RedOne recently but I can't help myself, their new song is AMAZING. I'm dead serious. I know the formula is too obvious and repetitive and they can't manipulate it well yet but it's a pretty darn good formula. Jada's American Cowboy is actually quite good, but the title kinda sucks. Oh, and the girls kind of sound like Lady GaGa as well during some parts.
• Speaking of Lady GaGa, I heard somewhere that her next single is Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) but only in Australia and New Zealand. Hmmm. I do like the song. haha.
• There's a new Leona unreleased track out called Stay, and it sounds a lot like a song someone from the Natalie generation would put on an album. You know, the piano-backed R&B ballad plus the thin, airy voices? Yeah. It doesn't actually go anywhere but the melody's nice. Nothing special or ground-breaking though.
• I'm now officially addicted to a Liberty X song, No Clouds. Not in the 'I like it, it's good' then I won't listen to it for the next few months kind of way, I ADORE IT. And it's all I've been playing today(OK, maybe not but it sure seemed like that!) but I haven't gotten sick of it. It's pop, I think that's the best way to describe it. Think a less sanitized Same Difference plus an early 2000's R&B girl group song. BUT, the melody's so addictive that I was actually singing it after like 2 plays. Will have to review it sometime this weekend.
• There's a new Lady Sovereign song out and may I say, I'm liking her new image much more than her old one. She's like Lily Allen mixed with Lady GaGa, at least that's what So Human is telling me.
• Calvin Goldspink, yes Calvin from S Club 8, posted a couple of songs on his MySpace and I'm loving them! I must say though, he sounds nothing like he used to(as if I actually heard him.. OK I did but it's just an excuse 'coz I kind of forgot what he sounded like during the I Dream era..) and the songs are amazing! Think an edgier sounding, smoother-voiced James Morrison.
• I'm addicted to another of these Chris Brown unreleased stuff, Takes Time. It's very commercial, I can imagine it on the ad for some kind of family-related product. I don't know, I think. haha. I love the melody though, even if the song itself is kind of short(2 minutes?).
• I've got a hold on a not so good copy of the Spectacular! soundtrack, am listening to it at the moment and I'm liking what I'm hearing. Will review it this weekend.
• I know it's all over the place but Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You has a video AND is number one in the US! Yay! I think that they're trying too much to re-create Since You've Been Gone with the video and all(look at it, it looks almost exactly like SYBG!), but it's something they'll never, ever, NEVER be able to do. Since You've Been Gone defined the generation and although I do think that this is a brilliant song, it's not as good.

Hmm.. I guess that's it, will get to the reviews now! haha.

My new obsession..

Now why didn't I start listening to this girl when I was intrigued by her album cover last year?

I love the song, she's like a younger Laura White mixed with a drug-free and sober Amy Winehouse. Will remember to review something by her after hell week's over.

I'm off to bed, school's early tomorrow!

ooooooohhh..

Not a big Nick fan, I think Disney makes the more commercial songs but this is just brilliant:

Me like.. haha.

Okkkk...

Now I'm slightly confused but happy, Corbin's new video is out! Not what I was expecting though, for the theme park and all. What really annoys me is the sound of the people screaming that's louder than the actual singing, I get distracted. Anyway, here's the video:

In other news, the new Kelly Clarkson single cover is out. I'm loving the color combination!

Huh?

Two question marks for me this morning, Happy New Year again btw! haha.

Remember when I said that I'm loving Corbin's lead single, Celebrate You? Well apparently, it's not the lead single anymore. I love Celebrate You and all, I think it's brilliant but this is so much better! Sounds even more Disney and even more like a commercial than ever and that's good! I love the piano + beat at the start, it's so friggin' catchy! haha. He looks strange though, I don't like the new look with the sunglasses.

Now as much as I love Ordinary Days and Caledonia, they'll never be singles or if they are, they'll flop. Why? 'Coz I ADORE THEM and we all know what happens to the album tracks that I adore then get turned into singles(I can give you proof if you want!) so I think they correctly picked this one. Whether it'll be successful though, I'm not so sure. I think the X Factor curse is starting but you never know, if it works for someone it just might work for Leon!

Amazing.

Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, I found out that the girl who brought us the amazing song Alive has a new video! AAAHHH!

When I first heard the track, I had mixed thoughts about it but after a few listens, the track grew on me, IT'S AMAZING.

The melody took some time to sink in, but it's amazing and it's got this Euro dance feel to it(I think that's what you call it, not so sure..) and I LOVE her voice on this, it's a bit different from her vocals on Alive, which is great.

This is absolute brilliance, I say. The song somehow suggests that some part of it will be epic and big with a choir and everything when there's actually no part in that song that actually does it. I love that! haha, strangely enough.

5/5!!!!!!!!

oh. my. GOSH!!!!!!!

I went online to find THIS on Poster Girl. OMG!

I have predicted ANOTHER second single(Mariah, Leona, Blake..), YES!

This is by far one of the best days I've had in a while.. I was hyperventilating while watching this.

You HAVE to watch it as well.

Should I make December 'Agnes Carlsson worship' month?

New Videos!

I have class tomorrow, so I might not be able to post but for now, here are some amazing new videos!

The video for Hero is out, we saw a few clips and behind the scenes footage during last Saturday's live show, so here we have the video in full! Amazing stuff.


The new Natalie Bassingthwaighte video is out as well..


A bit off topic: I've heard the new Same Difference single! Bad quality, but I ADORE IT! EEP! *freaks out*

New Music...

So after even more back-to-back releases and the battle of the Girl Groups coming to a close this week, let's catch up on all the new music that's been circulating around the internet these past few days, shall we?

• Well, the version of Hero by the X Factor top 12 that they performed on the results show last Saturday was released earlier this week. It's actually not that bad, although Diana could've sung more, like in the live performance but all in all, it's a not bad version. If I was in the UK, I'd buy the single!
• Britannia High premiered last Sunday in the UK, and I'm slowly getting addicted! It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, and I'm loving the song Lauren and Claudine sang right after the principal asked Lauren if she was gonna give up or carry on with the whole thing. Lemme guess, the title is You Just Wait(or something to that effect..). I just hope it's on the soundtrack!
• Carrie Underwood has a new Christmas EP out and I love it. I'm particularly adoring the arrangement on her version of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, but one every song, her voice is just flawless and really, really smooth. Amazing stuff!
• Taylor Swift has a new song out called You're Not Sorry. The song is strong, it's got a nice melody but the album cover is just all messed up, she looks nothing like herself and her feet look huge in the picture!
• Another David A. song is out in HQ, Angels. I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet, but I'll get to doing it sometime this week. EDIT: I've only realized now that the song is the Robbie Williams cover he did for Idol Gives Back week. Garr, and here I was thinking it was an original. OK cover, but not so hot about him recording a song he did on Idol.
• And the new Hilary Duff song, Reach Out, is also out in HQ. When I heard it in medium quality, it was so-so, but now it's kind of growing on me. It sounds a lot like a cross between Girls Aloud song back in 2003, The Saturdays' Set Me Off and something else, though. That something else it at the very tip of my tongue, but I just can't put my finger on it, garr. I've heard it before but I can't remember!
• I'm loving Amy Pearson right now. After one of my favorite blogs posted about her, I dug up her album from my collection(another one of those albums that I have but never listened to) and played it form start to finish. I love the album, she's like a cross between Stacie Orrico and Christina Aguilera, both vocally and stylistically.
• Westlife's Miss You Nights was covered by an American boyband(thanks to It's About Music) recently and it's not that bad. Still not as amazing as the original(with Shane's flawless, smooth vocals), but good enough. I just hope that if they become successful with that song, it doesn't become another FWW(Flying Without Wings, Ruben of AI 2 stole the song, then murdered it, but it was still a hit in the US..)..
• Ever since the Carrie Underwood Christmas EP came out, I've been looking around for classic Christmas songs with arrangements are gorgeous as hers but I can't seem to find any. Any suggestions?
• And finally, the new Take That video is out, I love the song but the video reminds me too much of Westlife's Fool Again! Still, the song is amazing, when can we get it in HQ? Gar.