Dani Harmer - Free

What's my excuse now? Relaxation. Before everything starts getting manic, let me remember what matters in life - my sanity and my writing.

(the only decent photo I could find, it's rather unflattering..)

Another one of my PopJustice discoveries, she's apparently being compared to Miley Cyrus.

I don't get it.

Yes, she has her own TV show and yes, she sings but this song is more of a Lindsay-like song back when she was still doing movies and not drugs and it doesn't really show us any talent whatsoever. She can't sing - when you watch the video it's like she looks older than she sings, she might be able to pass for a band but not as a solo artist, never.

A debut single is supposed to show us that the artist in question can actually do something - write songs, sing well or play an instrument but this song shows nothing but unoriginality and boredom. If it doesn't really directly show real talent, it should at least show that the artist has potential, that he/she can get somewhere. She's not a very good singer, she didn't co-write or write the song and by the looks of the video, she can't play any instruments. All of this can compensate for a bad song but not only is she incapable of doing anything musically, the song just sucks, period.

Like I said, it's a bad copy of a Lindsay song because one, the song sucks and two, Lindsay has a certain grip on her songs - she has this character and attitude that makes her songs better than they actually are. In short, you cannot make a talentless(music-wise) girl sing a Lindsay-like song because if you think about it long and hard, Lindsay actually has a heck of a lot of talent.

Back to the Miley comparison. I'll be honest, I don't like Miley but she has a certain appeal, there's something about her that makes you want to notice her, makes you want to listen to her stuff and whether I personally like her or not, she has some kind of talent. Dani doesn't have that - she's bland and boring and the song doesn't do any favors for her either.

Everything about this girl is wrong - her song, her voice and her look don't scream "I'm a popstar and you better believe it or else..", they scream "I'm trying too hard to be American and Disney so my song sounds like a Lindsay carbon-copy and I sound bland".

1/5

New Music!

I can't help myself, there are quite a few things out. I'm almost done studying anyway! hmm.

• THE CRAIG DAVID CONCERT WAS SPECTACULAR. I promise to review the whole thing once all my requirements are done.. You had to be there to feel the brilliance.
• I've become a HUGE The Script fan. When I first heard them I thought they were this crappy Coldplay wannabe but then I turned the volume up and heard my dad's production in it. He didn't produce it, obviously, but all the qualities of something he'd produce were there and it made me tear up for some strange reason.
• Ronan Keating's cover album is out at it's number one in the UK. Not a big fan of the covers(Carrickfergus was better when Charlotte Church did it.), but hey - he's got four number one albums so you gotta hand it to him.
• Two new Mandy Moore songs are out. They're OK, but I Could Break Your Heart.... is still the best new song so far. Will be waiting for the album!
• Esmee Denters has a new song out - AND IT'S BRILLIANT. Just when I thought Gia Farrell would never come back, here's someone who sounds a lot like her! yay! hahah.
• Well, Kian Egan and Louis Walsh's STILL unnamed girl band had an Irish TV appearance the other day, singing a Dixie Chicks cover. They apparently have competition now, the new girl group with a girl who didn't get a place in the other band are rumored to record the new Grey's Anatomy theme song. This is WAR.
• Last year's Swedish Idol winner has an album out. There are some gorgeous songs on it but once again, there's no cohesion. They're nice songs to listen to though. I might review it after exams.
• Savannah Outen has a new song for this charity out and she sounds a lot like Jordan Pruitt at the start and though I will forever love Jordan Pruitt(and her utter brilliance), Savannah can be jaw-dropping at times.
• Pixie Lott got her first play Radio 2 some time back! Congrats!!!!!!
• I got re-addicted to Guy Sebastian some time back. I might do a few reviews as well... yay!
• Taylor Swift's song for the Hannah Montana movie has a video out already and may I say, it's the only good part of the whole soundtrack.
• Hold on, I thought the video for Moments That Matter was out already? Apparently not, here's a new one.
• Girls Aloud's new video is out. The album version was amazing, and I love the fact that Nicola sings first but something in the single mix and the video makes me uneasy about the whole thing. I'd love Revolution in the Head as a single though! haha.
  
  
  I guess that's it! Back to studying. Asian economics, systems of quadratic equations, uniform accelerated motion, Newton's laws of motion, Filipino short stories(which are like 10 pages each..), adverbial clauses of concession, congruence postulates, and everything else! UGH.

Break.

OK, so my exams are on April 1 and 2 which is pretty close already so I'll be taking a break from now 'till then. If something major comes out I'll post but apart from that I won't be posting. The awards will be put on hold until summer so I can focus more on that. Hmm..

Will be out for maybe a little more than a week..

EDIT: And by summer I mean summer here, which is in April.

The boyband special wrap-up post.

BOYBANDS!

While we're waiting for all these amazing new releases from our favorite artists, this period of absolutely no new albums will be dedicated to boybands!

Love them or hate them, they're a huge part of music, and with the slow but sure return of them in both the US and and UK, let's pay homage to some new, old, and outright amazing boybands!

What are boybands?

Westlife vs. BSB - Colo(u)r My World

WIN SOMETHING! WIN! WIN!

The A Capella Showdown

1999 in Boyband Land

The 5 Boybands that Demand Your Attention

Four new Boybands

Westlife Vs. Human Nature - She's Back(Again)

The Best Boyband Debut Singles Ever

Nine of the Most Underrated Boyband Songs

2000 in Boyband Land

Westlife - Back Home

Deconstructing the Perfect Boyband Album

Five of the Best Boyband Love Songs from the Most Unusual Suspects

Pick up your battle of the boybands playsheet here! haha.

The Quizzes

Part 1

Part 2 never materialized, sorry!

New Music!

Things have been slow with me lately, so apologies for the lack of updates.. haha. And I know some of these points are older but nothing's been happening! garr.

• Extremely late but pop band RBD are over - their last album was released a little more than week ago. They were sort of a GA for me, didn't like them at first but I kept on seeing them everywhere so I listened again and got hooked. Garr. I do love the last album, good, solid pop songs.
• Well, Untouchable is officially GA's third single from Out Of Control. Loved the song when I first heard it, still love it and I honestly hope to God that it does heaps better than TLK for the girls' sake. I agree with everyone else when I say that the single mix doesn't do any justice to the original version but oh well.
• Oh, and Been Waiting is Jessica Mauboy's third official single! yay! Was listening to it a lot over the past few days and I love the groove of the song, how you just want to bop your head to the beat - it's infectious. THIS is what I call brilliance, I didn't like Burn that much.
• New Elliott Yamin song - not a big fan of it but it's good. What I'm worried of though is that he might give us an album full of standard R&B songs - he better not.
• Idol related news - two of the now top 11 have solo albums/songs circulating the internet. A few songs from Kris Allen's pre-Idol are out and both of Matt Giraud's albums are out. I'm so-so with Kris Allen's stuff, he sounds like an older/quirky-er Teddy Geiger and so far I've heard one song from Matt's album - I don't like it.
• Ruben Studdard has a new song out and it's pure brilliance. I only have three Ruben songs in my library - one from each stage of his career and his atrocious version of FWW aside, Together is the song I personally like the most from him. Brilliant melody and it's a refreshing change, compared to this Change Me is far too 'heavy'.
• Megan Joy has possibly got to be my best bet to win Idol or even just get to the top 3. Yeah, she sounds a bit like Duffy but that's what the US scene is lacking, plus the fact that she's likable and can actually sing. If she keeps on choosing good songs I think she'll go far. Oh, and Adam Lambert can burn in that horrid 'ring of fire' for all I care - I hate him.

Exam week for me is nearing so I'll have even less time to post but don't worry - I'm off for two months after my exams!!! Which means I'll be posting like every day. Oh, and I know I said that the next special would be Soulshock and Karlin but that'll be pushed back because in preparation for the Craig David concert I'm OFFICIALLY going to - it's the Craig David special!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!

American Idol Top 11 - Week 2

It's country week. hmm.

Michael Sarver - I didn't like his performance that much, it was a bit too rushed for me but I don't know if the song's really like that. It's like the song doesn't have any dynamics - there's no high point or low point in it. I'm so-so about the whole thing.
Allison Iraheta - I know she can sing, she has a voice but I'm not convinced. There's nothing really moving about her for me - kinda like Carly last year.
Kris Allen - He's getting better I think. If he keeps on choosing good songs - he'll be a very strong contender. I don't know if it was a technical error or what but the high parts got fuzzy.. hmm. He reminds me a bit of Elliot - he can definitely go the same route as him.(NOTE: it was a technical thing..)
Lil Rounds - Gorgeous, gorgeous voice. The song doesn't match that much but what the heck - BRILLIANT VOICE. She did however, NAIL THE LAST NOTE.
Adam Lambert - I didn't like the arrangement, it's so strange and his voice was a bit weak at the start. He's strange. Plus the screaming at the end was just too much. I agree with Simon! I really don't like him.
Scott MacIntyre - He was so-so this week, nothing outstanding but the performance was OK.
Alexis Grace - Brooke White sang this better and though they have different voices and stuff - I do like Brooke's version better. Not a very good week for her but she better get through!
Danny Gokey - Again, it was so-so. There were high points and there were low points but it's enough for him to get through. yay!
Anoop Desai - YAY! The Anoop we all knew and loved during the earlier stages is BACK! I loved it, it was definitely A LOT better than last week's. yay!
Megan Corkey - BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT! It fits her voice perfectly and the arrangement is brilliant. LOVE IT. She's definitely the most current pop of all of them.
Matt Giraud - Nope. Once again it's nothing special - Carrie Underwood immortalized this song and this is nothing compared to her version. I don't like him.

Almost everyone was so-so this week for me - all but a few. hmm.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

So a few hours ago, it was Irish music's biggest night and yes, Westlife were nominated for their NINTH Best Pop Act award. The run-up to last night was kinda nerve-racking because all the news articles were saying that they might win because Boyzone and the Script are up against them and all.

WELL THEY WOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY! Congrats to them(as if they'll ever read this.) and they better win another one next year!

(btw, WHERE WAS KIAN? what 'special commitment'? he's not doing anything besides planning his wedding(which is apparently almost done and managing a band with Louis Walsh who was there! ugh.) haha.