Queensberry - No Smoke

I like these girls, they have character and lots of kick. Not in the Monrose way, I think they're more R&B, these girls are pop all the way but they're different.

I said during one of my new music posts that the idea of releasing three different albums with three different girls as the fourth member of the band was genius. Not only will they sell thrice as much, the band will really have three albums on the charts at the same time. Can it get any better? Yes, it can!

The album is actually good! I've heard maybe half of it but what I heard was strong!

Yes it's a cover but the mere fact that they chose this one over all the possible ballads or generic songs is a plus for me. I mean, if you're gonna launch a new reality show-winning girl band, better do it the Girls Aloud way, unconventional with lots of kick. It worked for GA so why not?

But you see, I don't think they're anything like GA music-wise.

They're going for the 40's/50's/60's route with this, I think. Just a guess though. Even though this is a sort of radical song, the album's somehow cohesive, and it's clear in telling us listeners what it wants to.

The only thing that confused me about this single was the video. There were six girls, how was I supposed to know who was in the band and who was vying for a place in the band? Still, I love the song, love the vocals and love how these girls are being launched.

I'll be watching out for them, that's for sure.

4.9/5

# 24: HSM 3 Cast - A Night To Remember

Ah yes, the phenomenon that is High School Musical. I must admit, I was a huge fan, when I was in the sixth grade! I don't know, I suppose this is the style that's already marked my generation for the next ones, but it's not like I'm complaining, there are some amazing songs that've come out of it.

A Night To Remember is one of them.

I ADORE this song, it's this huge show-stopping uptempo and it's catchy as hell. Melodically it's probably one of the strongest songs over the three movies and arrangement-wise, it's new and fresh. Can this get any better?

Oh yes it can.

I love the fact that the cast's nasal voices aren't highlighted too much on this track compared to the others. Could it be because they're kind of screaming during the chorus? Maybe.

Still, I won't deny that I sort of grew up with this movie, and it's going to be remembered for years to come, no matter how cheesy some of the songs get.

# 25: NLT - Karma

We're getting closer and closer to my favorite song of the year!

Read my initial(and a bit negative) review of the song here.

NLT is one of those acts who had a string of singles earlier this year, but for some strange reason the album never materialized.

I stand by what I said a few months ago that NLT are lacking that extra bit of talent needed to succeed in this industry. They don't know who they are yet so they resort to copying other styles. Yes, the melody of this song is brilliant, but I've heard this all before. It's a standard R&B song without that extra thing that gives me goosebumps.

Even so, we've got to give these guys a chance. The song has potential, even if it does sound like every other song that's been released in their genre. These guys are new, and they're bound to make mistakes at the start but tweak this song a bit, change up the arrangement, alter the melody a bit and I assure you, this song will explode.

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!!!!!!!!

# 26: Duffy - Mercy

Strangely enough, I first found out about Duffy through Westlife. Apparently around the time that Mark did an promotional interview, he was loving this song. I got curious, mainly because the guys don't really talk a lot about what new songs they're listening to, and listened to the song.

I loved it.

I love the 60's vibe she's going for and when I finished listening to her album, I was in awe. I also once again predicted her post-album single, Warwick Avenue! I absolutely adored that track the first time I heard it.

The melody of this song is so catchy that after listening to it once, I was practically humming the chorus! Her vocals are something else though, smooth but rough but beautiful. Just right for the kinds of songs she's singing.

# 27: David Arcuhleta - You're the Voice

I must admit, I was extremely disappointed with the albums that the two Davids released this year, I was expecting genius albums from at least one of them!

In my opinion, even if the judges didn't really like this performance, I still think he did it well, and I think there should've been songs like this on his album, because from what I heard on it, the songs all sounded the same(and I think they murdered Cook, where's that amazing arranger/singer/rocker guy we so wanted to win?) and there was no effort whatsoever to think about his album whereas during American Idol, the song choices were criticized so much. You know what? I think we should start putting pressure on Archuleta. It worked during Idol, so why didn't it work on his album?

He's got a voice, somewhat like a less powerful male Katharine McPhee with that smoothness that's gorgeous to listen to. He works amazingly with ballads, but I like to hear variety in an artist, it shows how much he/she knows about him/herself because with variety you need something to tie everything together, something to keep people excited.

If he released something like his performances on Idol, I'd certainly buy it over his debut any day.

New Music!

So what's been going on these past few days?

• I've finally found a physical copy of Liberty X's second album, Being Somebody! haha. I haven't listened to it in all it's glory yet though.
• Now there's this girl group called Ai that I recently discovered. I got a copy of their album at this huge CD warehouse sale and when I tried googling them, I only got like three pages that made sense. The album's amazing, I might review it sometime this month..
• Alexandra's new single is out. It's OK, nothing special, mainly because she's bound by X Factor terms but it really shows that she deserved to win, her voice is impeccable.
• There's a new girl group from the German version of Popstars as well called Queensberry. I must say, that PR stunt to release three versions of one album with three different girls taking their place as the fourth member is genius. Not only will the band sell a massive amount of records, but they'll have three albums on the chart at the same time! Genius, I say. I've heard the lead single as well, it's OK. It's growing on me so give it some time, alright? haha..
• Lady Sovereign's new track is definitely growing on me. She's different, but she manages lay down these very simple melodies into very common beats. Her voice is still there, and the delivery gives that edge to the song. Her image has changed a whole lot as well, and I'm glad she got rid of that side ponytail, it was horrid to say the least. Image-wise she looks more like a singer now. All in all, I'm liking this new Lady Sovereign! Will be waiting for her album.
• The Saturdays are reportedly ready to battle Louis Walsh's new girl group, who I've said are amazing, when they release their album next year. I don't know who's side I'm on! The two girl bands are different, you've got The Saturdays with amazing songs and an amazing image then you've got the new girl band who have Louis Walsh behind them, the guy behind Westlife. Garr. Let's just see next year, shall we?
• I don't know why but I'm suddenly listening to Rascal Flatts' Life Is A Highway. Not sure why, but I love the song! haha.