The 9 Best Albums of 2009: #9 - #2

Last year I didn't really re-write anything for my list of best albums - this year I've given it a lot of thought and while I'm waiting to complete my best songs list with December, why not run down the 9 best albums of 2009?


But before everything, the rules:

1. An album may be a studio album, a greatest hits package, a compilation, a live album or in Korea's case a MINI-ALBUM (EP). As long as it has more than 10 tracks for standard studio albums and more than 4 tracks for mini-albums, it qualifies.
2. It must have been released in 2009, like duh - doesn't matter if it was digitally or physically. In the case of repackaged albums, they only count if more than one-third the number of the original tracks are new tracks. Confusing? Let's say you have a 12-track album released in 2008. If there's a repackaged version out in 2009, there must be at least 4 new tracks, remixes allowed. If the repackaged album was released in the same year as the original album, then there's no problem, both qualify.
3. If I previously reviewed it, it should have gotten a score of 4/5 and above - no less. If I didn't review it, then the rule doesn't apply.

Now that we've got the rules all sorted out - the criteria.

Albums are a songS put together - a group of songs strung together in a cohesive and entertaining way. No one song carries the album and no one song brings the album down - they all have to contribute to the over-all sound of the album because album tracks are just as important as singles. If the singles are good but the other tracks fail, it's a NO from me.

The album should show one sound and one sound alone. It's not constricting and it's not 'conservative' because one sound can mean a lot of things, the artist just has to know how to manipulate the sound into different styles. There is a difference between sound and style.

That's it, actually. The list is RANKED so #1 is my favorite album of the year.

Legends:
(+/- *insertnumberhere*) - how much the score increased or decreased in relation to my first review
(retain) - That means the score now is the same as the score I gave when I first reviewed it
(UR) - un-reviewed so there was no previous score

#9: 2PM - 01:59 PM The First Album

This album is sort of representative of everything that's happened to 2PM this year, the good and bad. It has the singles off their previous mini-albums and it has new tracks - there's the 7-member and 6-member 2PM. I think JYP hit the nail on the head with 2PM when it comes to the music but he wasn't so lucky with the Wonder Girls (DON'T get me started on them, PLEASE). One, it doesn't sound like he's trying to relive his ex-protege Rain in them, two, the songs sound fresh and not recycled but three, they sound distinctly like something only JYP does. The thing with JYP and 2PM is that they make the smooth, sophisticated R&B.

A few days ago I was listening to Another Level's Summertime and I had a flash of enlightenment. I don't know if JYP knows who Another Level are but I'm pretty sure that's the sound he's going for with 2PM. Heck, even their vocals are reminiscent of the UK boyband - to a certain extent.

The new tracks off this album are really good, if I may say so.

The Best: All Night Long, I Hate You (Lounge Remix), Back 2U
The Bad: You Might Comeback (Bossa Nova Mix)
The Rating (as of now): 4/5 (UR)

#8: The Saturdays - Wordshaker

Despite doing a complete 360 change with Forever is Over, I think Wordshaker as a whole was a pretty competent album. But I think had Girls Aloud been around this year, this would be thrown to the wayside. Just a thought though.

There are tracks on this just go right through me but there are now songs that seemed like they went through me at first but listening back, they're pretty good. There's the epic, the serious, the GA-like and the songs that I think will become pretty synonymous with The Sats now and that's what I needed from this album - didn't get it entirely though.

Wordshaker was supposed to give us material that will scream THE SATURDAYS, it didn't, but the songs as individual songs were pretty good. It may not work as a whole album but the singles work as singles and the album tracks work as songs.

The Best: Here Standing, Open Up, Denial
The Bad: 2 a.m. sounds very out of place. It's nice and all but it's not right for the album.
The Rating (as of now): 4.4/5 (-0.4)

#7: Leona Lewis - Echo

I'm not the biggest Leona fan, you guys know that, and Echo was one of the gambles I took this year - thankfully it turned out brilliant.

There are a lot of things I like about this album but the main thing that kept me listening was the fact that the entire package is epic without being heavy and boring - Leona has managed to sustain my attention for more than a few songs.

Echo is one of the best this year because one, I like it and two, it was actually a hit - it's rare in Western music that I put those two statements in one sentence.

Notable highlights of the album are the string section after the middle 8 of the Paula Cole-esque I Got You, the hook of Can't Breathe, the out of place but not out of place Outta My Head, the bridge of Love Letter, Naked and The Oasis cover Don't Cry Your Heart Out

The Best: Naked, Don't Let Me Down, I Got You
The Bad: Lost Then Found it's more of a OneRepublic song than a Leona song.
The Rating (as of now): 4.5/5 (-0.1)

#6: Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

I like Jordin Sparks now, I honestly do. I didn't like her on Idol (STILL bitter about Blake not winning) but I like her now.

Battlefield was a solid album - it had one sound and it had cohesion between the songs. Her vocals were good, the arrangements were interesting and the songs themselves delivered. Although very mainstream American, it's the type that kinda sounds like everything else but doesn't sound like anything at all.

But more than that, it successfully transitioned Jordin from first to second album - the hardest shift to make musically. She was her on her first album but she grew up on this one. She knows how to pick songs, she knows how to sing them and she knows how to deliver now. Like I said when I first reviewed it, it's epic in a gazillion different ways.

The Best: No Parade, Walking On Snow, Was I The Only One
The Bad: Emergency and Battlefield I've gotten a little too sick of OneRepublic this year.
The Rating (as of now): 4.5/5 (-0.1)

#5: Alicia Keys - The Element of Freedom

As I've said numerous times, Alicia Keys was instrumental in building my foundations in pop music - back when I knew virtually nothing I knew her. It's always been about the music for her and that's one of the things I learned to always look for in a pop star but have found in only a few.

Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart gave everyone a dose of Alicia Keys for this year and she means business with this album. It doesn't fail to impress - listening to it is literally like a breath of fresh air. There are single-worthy tracks and album-worthy tracks, everything was just put together seamlessly and you can really hear it.

Sweeping melodies, gorgeous instrumentals and epic explosions make The Element of Freedom a brilliant, brilliant album.

The Best: Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart, Doesn't Mean Anything, That's How Strong My Love Is
The Bad: Put It In A Love Song
The Rating (as of now): 4.7/5 (UR)

#4: Britt Nicole - The Lost Get Found

My love for the beautiful melodies in CCM is still alive - Britt Nicole's 2009 album is stunning. If you strip off the Christian lyrics and all, you get a pop album in it's purest form.

I love the melodies, I love the songs and I LOVE her vocals. Deserving of the praise.

The Best: Have Your Way, Like A Star, Welcome to the Show
The Bad: I'll get back to you on this.
The Rating (as of now): 5/5 (retain)

#3: Super Junior - Sorry, Sorry

Unlike offerings from SNSD, SHINee and a ton of other bands, Sorry Sorry is one of the few kpop albums this year that actually delivered - it wasn't just the single(s) taking center stage. I think that shows to a certain extent how "smart" kpop buyers are, a heck of a lot of them bought the album and as of now it's swept the award shows.

No matter how much you say Super Junior can't sing (actually that's more of me), it's time to face the truth - you don't have to be able to sing well in pop. Heck, can Britney sing well now? (she could before but NOW? Puh-lease.)

The lead single turned title track Sorry Sorry is addictive, annoying (in a good way) and everything kpop stood for this year - processed like hell, dance-worthy and to a certain extent brilliant. It pretty much started the whole autotuned like hell thing within the more popular boybands and girl groups this year and it's either a good thing or a bad thing.

BUT, the track that I never, ever get sick of listening to even if you drum it into my head is the second single It's You off the THIRD repackaged version of the album. (Tes, THIRD. What a way to milk the fans' money.) It's a more epic and subdued kind of catchy but catchy nonetheless. It's not the fearlessly addictive/annoying type like Sorry Sorry but it's epic and that's enough for me. You have to remember that I happen to like epic songs.

The rest of the album is standard kpop - ballads, the occasional uptempo, guest appearances by Lee Yeon Hee (Club No. 1), Yunho and Yoochun DBSK (Heartquake), the added tracks for Version C (in short the third repackaged version) and Super Junior's so-so vocals. Oh, and the brilliant Why I Like You.

And in case you're getting lost with all the kpop, here's something I think you'll be a little more familiar with. SM is known (by me at least) for taking Western (more like European) songs, adding Korean lyrics and putting them on their acts' albums. Super Junior are no exception. Guess what they got - A MONROSE SONG. Yes, Monster on Sorry Sorry is actually a cover of Just Like That off Monrose's 2007 album Strictly Physical. *bangs head on computer table*

The Best: It's You, Why I Like You, Love Disease
The Bad: Shining Star, She Wants It
The Rating (as of now): 4.8/5 (+0.1)

#2: Kevin Borg - The Beginning

No matter how adventurous I am and how I get when it comes to my taste in music (I think.), I still love and look for a solid pop album year in and year out. I want an album filled with pop masterpieces - that's what started my entire music addiction. I got that this year with Kevin Borg's debut album.

After all, Swedish make some of the best pop music.

I won't write about every track anymore because it'll be too much of a pain for all of us if I do so I'll just quickly run-through some of the songs. Note that I think all the songs are great though.

Street Lights has the most gorgeous string section laced with a brilliant melody and his capable vocals - I mean, this is like the most perfect pop song. Epic but not serious - fun. Paint It Black seriously sounds like something fit in a Darin album, which is good. The Last Words is rock-y epic and it's gorgeous. I love it. His Idol winner's single With Every Bit Of Me is very Idol but very European as well - I couldn't imagine this being sung by an American winner.

More Than I Do Now is one of my two other favorite songs on the album apart from Street Lights. It sounds Swedish, it is Swedish and for crap's sake that just spells brilliance. I love the melody and although the instrumental is a slightly cheap-ish, AAAAAHHHHHH. Brilliance.

The Light You Leave On has the stereotypical 'girl running in a deserted/haunted mansion' piano loop but then the percussion comes in and I was like "oh shet" - the song sounds so different because of it. But the main, main, main point of this song is the melody - I honestly can't stress how beautifully stunning it is. Like, it's beaten out all the other beautiful melodies of the year with that chorus. It's simple but gosh, I faint every time.

The Best: The Light You Leave On, Street Lights, More Than I Do Now
The Bad: Can't really think of any.
The Rating (as of now): 5/5 (UR, unrated but not unreviewed)

I'll reveal my favorite album of 2009 tomorrow. Guesses, anyone?

Best of 2009: November #12 - #7

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!! Hope you guys have a lot planned for tonight and tomorrow - I do! LOL.

November was the month I was most worried about - about 2 weeks in I only had maybe 4 songs on the list but towards the end all the music started flowing it. Turns out it's the month with the most entires, tied with June. (let's just see if December can beat it.) Let's start, shall we? There's a lot to cover.

#12: Taegoon - Step by Step

Taegoon is one of those guys I know by affiliation - he's Jaejoong DBSK's best friend and one of his music videos also featured Jaejoong so I had to check him out. He makes standard kpop, nothing new or groundbreaking and he doesn't exactly have the most beautiful voice in the world but something about this song just makes me want to listen to it more and makes me curious about just what exactly this guy can do, given good songs.

#11: Secret - 3년 6개월

I decided against putting in their debut single I Want You Back because one, it sounds like a 2NE1 rip-off and two, it just bored me to death. This song though did the trick and triggered me to add Secret into my best of list. Of all the girl groups from the smaller talent companies that sprouted out along with them (including HAM), I honestly thought and still think that Secret have the best vocals and the most potential if they just get a good songwriter. This song in particular isn't any different from all the other crap coming out at the moment but what it does is show off these girls' voices. They're OK, better than a lot, and they can do a heck of a lot better. BUT, if this is what they've shown with just their first release, then they have the potential to compete with more talented groups in the near future.

#10: JLS - Only Tonight

JLS, JLS, JLS. With all the hype surrounding them and their talent, I got into them because of the brilliance of the singles they'd released but when the album was released my expectations weren't met. The spark that their two previous singles had just wasn't there anymore and the songs weren't up to standard. When I reviewed the album this is from I named Private as my favorite song - but the more I listened the more I got addicted to this track. It's a pretty song and the vocals are good, as usual.

#9: Leona Lewis - Don't Let Me Down

I gave Leona a chance this year and might I say, I enjoyed Echo, I really did. Consistent with my review of the album, Don't Let Me Down has still got to be my favorite track. It has elements from US music but it also has an unmistakably British sound - I love it. The gorgeous string section (like duh), the gorgeous piano, the brilliant melody and Leona's vocals make it deserving of it's spot on my best of list this year.

#8: U-Kiss - OK!

U-Kiss were back this year with a whole new sound - like a whole heap of other groups they went the generic, processed, eurocrap loop-infested way. Despite the heavy processing courtesy of their production team the Brave Brothers (think the RedOne of Korea - big hits that all pretty much sound the same), OK! turns out to be a very good song. It's got everything a kpop staple should have delivered surprisingly well, if I may so. It's happy without being cutesy - very lively. I don't know if it's single material (it might be) but I can listen to this a few times straight without getting bored.

#7: IU - 기차를 타고

IU is one of my frustrations when it comes to the Korean industry - she's got so much talent yet it doesn't show until you listen to the tracks that never become singles, most often ballads. She debuted as a ballad singer with a beautiful, epic ballad but it didn't sell so her talent agency forced her to go cutesy - the result is that now she's singing in a mustache about marshmallows. It's sad, I know. Seeing talent like hers going to waste makes me so damn angry. I mean here you have a 16/17-year old girl who sounds her age and who can actually sing as opposed to this 20-something pop star who needs processing and studio tricks to sound somewhere near decent - of all people to turn into a laughing stock with stupid, cheap, crappy gimmicks WHY the one with talent?

Leona Lewis - Echo

If you know me and my taste in music really, REALLY well, you'll know that Leona is not someone I like and she's not someone I jump up and down over. However I gave Echo a shot because I'd heard a lot of fellow bloggers comment on it and I was curious. Very, VERY surprisingly - I have good things to say about the album.

For me the ultimate test of a pop song is if it can catch my attention when I'm doing something other than listen to the song. I rarely listen to albums like this because most of the time I don't notice them and end up re-listening to the album anyway but I did this with the Leona album (you could say it was to give the album a hard time but it wasn't intentional) and dammit, it caught my ear. I was in the middle of shopping and then BAM I heard the tracks and was like "Oh dear, this is good."

So I like the album as a whole but my one complaint is that this album is how every other pop album is with me - crappy singles, great album tracks. I don't like Happy, I never will and if I hadn't seen the reviews and just based the whole thing on Happy I would've still been really annoyed with Leona.

Echo as a whole in one word is heavy. The melodies are serious, instrumentations sound epic and Leona's vocals are very, very heavy to the ear. I honestly haven't heard an album like this in quite a while because I'm not a fan of albums that don't have any 'breather songs' or those songs that just give you a break. To a certain extent this was what I was expecting from Leona but I didn't expect the heaviness to be done pretty damn well. The reason why I don't enjoy a lot of these really serious and 'heavy' songs is because they're not done well and leave me with the headache after. The stuff on Echo aren't like that. I'm not saying that the entire album is musically the best thing since anything - it's not - I'm just saying that the execution of the songs (not the vocals) is really good for what they are.

My one problem with Leona is a problem I've had for a long time now - I don't like her voice. It's not that she's not good or that she can't sing, if you've read my vocal commentaries you would've noticed that I don't necessarily favor big, excessive voices. It's a personal preference that I don't like voices like this but I don't know, if the album had been sung by a person with a predominantly smooth voice and a nice timbre, I would've literally fell at it's feet.

Here's a quick rundown of the songs I haven't talked about yet. I've already said my piece on Happy, right? OK.

I Got You was the first song that made me stop what I was doing, turn up the volume and just listen. The feel of the entire thing reminds me of something straight out of a Paula Cole album - the guitar and keyboard sections in the instrumentation, the arrangement and the actual melody of the chorus all point towards a certain singer named Paula Cole. I think that's why it caught my attention in the first place.

Can't Breathe is one of those songs that if done the wrong way can sound very resonant to the ear, mostly on the melody side. I'm glad to say it was done right. The song seems to me like a show-off song - one that's meant to rub it in our faces that Leona can go that high that many times. I'm not impressed though - so what if she can hit high notes like that? But I gotta hand it to her, the verses sound phenomenal.

At the start Brave sounded like a song I wouldn't particularly enjoy and it takes time to turn into a brilliant song - you have this Indian-y thing going in before the melody of the chorus just makes you melt. The whole song has an Indian-ish vibe and I'm not feeling the verses but the chorus is pretty good. Outta My Head is a little resonant to my ears but the more techno-ish arrangement and the hook will stick. I wouldn't listen to it over and over again though.

My Hands is the obligatory simple-turned-epic ballad. The start is a little iff-y but the chorus onwards is beautiful - I can imagine her singing this on an X Factor Results Show. Am I right or am I right? Love Letter is a little out of place on the album with the heavy electric guitar part and the stomping beat during the bridge. The chorus is a little anti-climatic but the melody is pretty good. Nothing to gush about though.

Broken is the 'girl trapped in a castle playing the piano running around in a big, black gown' song - that's basically what the music video will look like if the record executives had their way which they do. Big, epic, has a piano part and heavy drums. What more do you need for a castle in the music video? Naked was the only track I listened to twice while I was out - it's fresh, the guitar part at the start sets the mood and the chorus just explodes. Love the melody, love the arrangement and the girl can take on Taylor Swift's Picture to Burn any day with the chorus of this song. Brilliant.

Now the Oasis song. It's epic, it's beautiful and it builds up slowly - it's not my type though. Musically it's very, very good but if I were to just base it on my personal preferences, this is a NO. It's beautiful though. Don't Let Me Down is my favorite of the ballads like this on the album - epic, gorgeous melody and Leona's best vocals are on this track in particular. Once again, brilliant. Alive is another ballad, it's gorgeous and the start reminds me of a Coldplay song. if you put it beside Don't Let Me Down though, it pales in comparison. ALTHOUGH, it's a lot more rock-based so it's not really a valid comparison. And lastly, the OneRepublic song is a OneRepublic song. Enough said.

So, to sum up the album:
Best Track: Don't Let Me Down
Better Tracks: I Got You, Naked, My Hands
My Least Favorite Track: Personally? Lost Then Found. Mainly because it's more OneRepublic than Leona.
THE RATING: 4.6/5

New Music!

A lot has been happening and I haven't had the time to properly digest everything since I got sick. I'm feeling a lot better now - better than yesterday but I'm stuck at home for the next three days.

• For those of you who loved the severe pop-y-ness of BoA's Milky Way during the KPOP special and Etude - the song I featured a few days ago, there's another song in that category. My Boy is honestly like a mix between Milky Way AND Etude so do check it out.
• So Kristinia DeBarge has covered Varsity Fanclub's Future Love. I was surprised, to say the least but I do love the version now - it's so, her. The girl is continuing to impress me as I hear more of her stuff - I just hope she gets some attention at the very least.
• Since yesterday Leona Lewis songs have been leaking like crazy - three full songs and one clip but I haven't heard the first Ryan Tedder song that leaked (mainly because Mediafire is being a pain..). Perfect Stranger's not my type, Brave's nothing special but I Got U has the potential to blow me away. It hasn't done the job yet but I think once we get the whole song I'll start going crazy. The melody reminds me something songwriters here would give a band, surprisingly - let's see where the song will go.
• OLA! I adore the guy - reminds me so much of a male Agnes Carlsson. Sky's The Limit is armed with lyrics that can make your cringe but don't because the song is just so pop-y that you don't mind. That's what I call pop music.
• There's a new Brown Eyed Girls teaser out and even if they made a song with the most brilliant bridge ever, I'm not impressed. Will have to wait for the whole song, then.
• Daughtry has covered Poker Face. Haven't heard it and I don't have any intentions to - unless someone tells me it's any good.
• Whitney Houston has a new song out? Haven't heard it either but I think I'll give it a shot later - it's bound to be decent at the very least.

What to expect in the near future:

• I've set up a few interviews with some indie artists so that should come through most probably in the next month or so. YAY!
• Apparently it's new single season in Korea and US and UK artists are slowly leaking new stuff so that should keep me preoccupied.

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.

New Music..

Let's take a break from the countdown, shall we? Just a quick one though, there are still heaps and heaps of songs to write about and my brain, eyes and fingers are getting tired(I wrote like six reviews last night and another seven a while ago after I came from doing some experimental make-up on my classmates..)!

• Darin's new album is out, and I'm loving some of the tracks. I'll get to writing that review sometime in the next few days, I've got too much to do at the moment!
• Believe it or not, Orlando Brown(That's So Raven?) has an album. Gui over at Pop Music Zone posted it, and I'm surprised. He can sing! But the songs all sound the same and I haven't listened to the whole thing yet.
• The new Same Difference album is out tomorrow so if you liked my review, go out and BUY IT! You know you want to...
• I just posted it a while ago, but let me say it again, I CAN'T BELIEVE AGNES CARLSSON'S SECOND SINGLE IS RELEASE ME!! Haha.. freak out mode, sorry.
• Speaking of singles, The Saturdays' third single is Issues, a gorgeous song. The Sugababes are releasing No Can Do and Girls Aloud are releasing none other than The Loving Kind. Amazing stuff, can't wait for the second part of the battle of the girl groups!
• Leona Lewis' new video for Run is out. Nothing special, I don't really like the song to start with and she's getting too popular and compared to Mariah and Whitney too much for me.
• The Westlife DVD is number one in Ireland, HURRAH! And Sony BMG Pilipinas better bring it here now, or else face the wrath of a whole mob of angry Westlife fans who demand for their beloved DVD, me included!
• I've already written about my favorite song of 2008, and I can assure you, it's gonna be amazing. Haha..

Things have been quite slow for me this week..

Seriously.

I got sick, missed out on 3/4 of the school week(my school week has four days in it, Mondays off!) and apparently, I missed out on some cool and not so cool stuff in music... check it out. Oh, and also included in this post are some of my re-discoveries and recent musical findings...

• Why did it not surprise me when I heard that Britney Spears is releasing an album and a single this year? Oh, right... MOVING ON,
• The new Leona Lewis song off her UK re-release is nothing special. I'm not a big fan of the rap at the start, but the chorus is not bad. Still, for me, 'Misses Glass' is the better track. You can hear it on the UK re-release of 'Spirit', which hits shelves on the UK on November 17 so get your copy, OK? OK.
• The single, 'Forgive Me', is nothing special as well. I kinda liked it when the album just came out last year but I'm afraid it doesn't quite cut it for me.. 
• I cannot get the new Christina Aguilera song out of my head! Seriously, it won't go away! Which prompted a look back at her music over the years, which I might write about in the coming week.. might.
• I found the European edition of Atomic Kitten's 'Feels So Good' in a bargain bin at my local record store yesterday. Just how lucky am I?
• I'm eagerly awaiting BoA's US debut, the song is absolutely phenomenal! Could we have another Leona Lewis(in a different way, I think Leona got too overrated after she cracked the US) in our hands? We'll wait and see.
• New HSM3 Songs are slowly leaking and coming out on iTunes, even a sampler has made its way into the blogs.
• I haven't listened to the new Pussycat Dolls album yet, but I'll get to doing that one of these days. Although I'm not really hot about them, they're worth one listen at the very least.
• Some cool new single/album covers just in(click to enlarge), I adore them! The colors on the Agnes one remind me of the new iPod Nanos(I'm getting one day after tomorrow!):

What to expect this week:

• Maybe a flashback to Christina Aguilera's debut album, it's definitely one of my favorites from the late 90's/early 2000's.
• A review of The Saturdays' new single, 'Up'?
• More random, spur of the moment, short reviews..
• And some unexpected stuff!

Leona Lewis - Misses Glass

Artist: Leona Lewis
Album: Spirit - US Release
Year: 2008
Rating: 4.1/5

So, Leona Lewis, the new Mariah/Whitney or whoever, as everyone's saying. She has the people and the songs to lead a generation but her voice is not quite Whitney. Give her some time, maybe two or three years and we might see small changes and by 2013 maybe, she might just follow in their footsteps.

Leona Lewis is only the sixth female UK artist to top the Billboard charts, a feat in itself. 'Bleeding Love' was number one in the UK for seven weeks, making it the longest running number one single by a female artist in the UK. Obviously, it was the biggest-selling single of 2007.

Ok, we have all these records for just one single. 'Better in Time/Footprints in the Sand', her second single from 'Spirit' wasn't as good as 'Bleeding Love', only reaching number two on the UK charts. Which makes me wonder, can she really be the next big thing? Can she sustain her success? Well, based on 'Misses Glass', she may just be able to salvage her career if it goes all wrong.

'Misses Glass' is a mid tempo on the verge of an up tempo song which screams R&B. Everything about this song is R&B and clearly, it's aimed at the US market, one of the two songs which will be added to her US release. 

The song is kinda like 'Bleeding Love', the anxious and/or 'tight' verses that seem like she's rushing to the chorus and short high notes which can get a bit annoying at times. Then the chorus is jam packed with background vocals and compression like any R&B song and I get annoyed at times.

She should be thankful that the melody of the song is above average, which is why I will actually listen to the song. Over-all, the song is fine, there are the 'required' high notes from her, just to boast about her range and the compression mixed with rap and a few lines. 

Want it? Buy the album in the US when it hit shelves on April 8.