The A Capella showdown

I somehow gauge how good a boyband is by looking at their a capella performances because it's very common in boybands that they're able to sing a capella in three to five parts.

So which country produces better boybands in terms of a capella work? This is UK boybands VS. US boybands!

Note: These are boybands that if inactive have produced more than two singles and at least one album. If they're active, then there's no requirement. haha.

The US Boybands..

So BSB are kind of the ultimate US boyband, along with NSYNC. As far as I know, they never recorded anything a capella apart from the tracks that they stripped the instrumental of so I got digging for some live stuff and I came across this:

They're good, but the vocals are a bit weak for me, when someone takes lead that someone has these strong vocals but the people backing him are either not blended well or have really weak voices.

Now since I got a live BSB track, that automatically bans me from judging NSYNC by their recording of O Holy Night in A Capella. Luckily, I found a live performance of it! YAY!

I think NSYNC are definitely better than BSB judging by this, there's more power to their vocals and it's more convincing for me. It sounds amazing as well, they're voices work better together than BSB, if I may say so.

Let's move over to the new boybands of the US, shall we? Mainly because I can't find any live KNOTB or 98 Degrees a capella stuff. If you guys find any though, let me know!

Now Day26 are a fairly new boyband but when I heard this performance, let's just say I'll be listening to their album a heck of a lot more than I already do.

They're gooooooood. Out of all the new boybands right now, I have to say, they're the best a capella-wise.

NLT may have the amazing, mind-blowing melodies but they're not up to par with Day26. I don't know if it's just because they're missing a fifth harmony or if their voices aren't really that strong together. Think BSB of now, that's the best description.

Now V Factory are in between Day26 and NLT in terms of vocals, they're better than NLT but they're just a wee bit not as good as Day26, I think. Amazing song though, I've never heard it before!

Varsity Fanclub however, are just that bit better than V Factory, I think. Better, more distinct and powerful voices and they most definitely blend much better than V Factory. I still love them all though!

So let's go over to my specialty, the UK boybands!

We HAVE to kick it off with Westlife, we just HAVE TO! I've said time and time again that Westlife cannot be beaten in terms of a capella o below is a very popular fan vid of a capella clips of the lads.

Now do you see why Westlife rock so much? The power and the way their voices blend is sheer brilliance people! BRILLIANCE.

A1 were around when Westlife started, and they were nominated for the same award once(The Smash Hits Best New Tour Act.., Westlife won, duh.) and I think A1 are pretty close to Westlife in terms of vocals.

It's a little too fast if you know the original recorded version but vocally they're goooooood.

Lemme just say it, Blue suck when it comes to a capella.

No soul, no power, nothing. They may have some amazing songs recorded but this was just horrible.

So at the moment, JLS are being tipped as the new Westlife, being mentored by Louis Walsh on the X Factor, plus the fact that they sang like two songs that Westlife covered. JLS are lightyears better than Blue though, if I may say so.

Amazing stuff. Still not as good as Westlife, but good enough! They're sort of between Blue and A1.

You guys DO NOT know how much I want to hear D-Side doing some serious five(or three..) part a capella! But I can't find any, so if you guys have seen ANYTHING whatsoever that resembles an a capella performance of them, TELL ME!!! haha.

So, based on the stuff I've collected(which took me about four hours..) and now shown you guys, which country produces the better boybands, the US or the UK? I know my answer..... haha.

Hmmm.

Well it's official, physical sales will no longer count in calculating sales figures of an album in the UK. Here's the article:

Commercial radio chart Hit40UK has announced it is ditching CD sales from its official figures.

The weekly singles chart, which broadcasts across 130 stations, is to be based solely on digital downloads from this weekend.

Its owner, Global Radio, says downloads account for 96% of the data from which the chart is compiled.

The show, broadcast on Sunday and available online, pulls in 1.9 million weekly listeners.

Global Radio's Hit Music Network group programme director Paul Jackson said: "Downloads have now become the driving force for record sales, as the statistics clearly show."

"It makes complete sense to reflect the changes in how people are listening to music."

Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "We are delighted to be working with the commercial radio sector to take the chart into the future."

Hmm, I wonder what'll happen to the physical market? I know it's disappearing and all but this'll just stop sales completely. I guess it's time for that though. haha.

WIN! WIN! WIIIIIIIIN!

Yes people! For the first time ever, we're giving something away!

But I won't tell you what that something is, you'll have to guess. I'll give you guys some clues about the mystery giveaway and you send in your answers along with a few stuff. Got it? Got it.

The Clues:
1. It's related to the current special, so they're a boyband.
2. It's a current single, but which one?
3. Their new album comes out sometime in the first quarter of the year, so that narrows it down a bit.
4. They're not from Asia.
5. I've professed my love for them a few times already.
6. They weren't on my 'Best of 2008' list, but they should have been!
7. I've never posted any of their videos.

Think you know the answer? here's how to enter.

1. You have to be a US resident(I think that's another clue!), because you'll have to e-mail your US mailing address along with your name and of course, the answer to samanthaparkington@gmail.com
2. There will be five copies given away, so only the first five correct answers will get the single in question!

haha. Get thinking and sending people! The contest closes once I publish my last boyband-related post, so you never know when that is! haha.

BSB vs. Westlife - Color My World

So some background on the song itself first. It was written by Andreas Carlsson, Savan Kotecha, Harry Sommerdahl, the first two have written a lot for pop acts like Westlife and BSB(so they're kinda like gods in my book.).

According to my research(haha, it sounds funny..), Westlife were the first to release it in 2005, it was on their seventh album(the first Westlife album I ever bought!). Around the same time, I heard of a version by BSB, and I remember having it in my library but it might've disappeared somehow. ANYWAY, it was supposedly released in 2006 as a b-side or it just remained an unreleased track.

I don't know if both bands got it because they're on the same record company and Westlife are in the UK while BSB are in the US and all, but the fact that both of them have versions makes it all the more better! Let's see how each one squared off for me.

This'll be great, two of the biggest boybands, ever! haha.

The Westlife version:

I've professed my undying love for Westlife from the very start, but this just solidifies the fact that they're amazing vocalists. They don't have wimpy voices like other boybands of their time, Shane has a smooth yet somehow rough voice on this song and Mark is just well, Mark. Soulful yet smooth. Amazing!

I think this song needs some kind of maturity, some kind of rigidness in it, but it also needs what Shane and Mark have when they take lead.

The BSB version:

So the BSB version is a little too rough and/or wimpy for me. Was Nick the one doing the middle-8? It seems a little tooooo rough for me, and there's no smoothness in any of the parts. Plus the fact that some of their voices are just plain wimpy.

The conclusion:

WESTLIFE WIN!(again, haha.)

What are boybands?

So before we get to the posting, let's define the word 'boyband'.

Basically for me, a boyband is a bunch of guys who sing but don't play their own instruments, so bands like McFly DO NOT count. I'm talking Westlife, NSYNC, BSB type boybands.

They may have been assembled by a record company, a manager or by themselves, I don't really care.

I guess that's it. Enjoy the special people!

The new special is...

Boybands!!!

haha. With me being such a huge boyband fan, I though why not raid my library for some of my favorite boyband albums?

So for the next few weeks, I'll be posting all things boyband-y! Watch out!

YESSSSSS!!!!!!

I came home from school today and guess what just leaked?(you probably already know but whatever..)

A CLIP OF KELLY CLARKSON'S NEW SONG!

*freaks out*

I wasn't too keen on the chorus at first but I've loved the verse from the very start! The chorus now has become amazing! The verse is definitely very Since You've Been Gone-ish and the chorus is what Because of You would sound like if it was sped up a bit and rock-ized.

Brillance, I tell you.

BRILLIANCE.

And that's just the clip, what more if the whole song was leaked? AAAHH!!!!