Best of 2009: August #6 - #3

August is the month with the least number of entries. Awww.

#6: Jade Ewen - My Man

Before she joined the Sugababes and caused chaos throughout British music, she was Britain's entry to the Eurovision song contest and later launched a solo career. To a certain extent My Man was good and had the potential to be big or bring Jade to greatness but there's still something missing from this song. I like the chorus though. LOL.

#5: Samantha Jade - Secret

Samantha Jade is right beside the Cassies and the Prima Js of the world - a few singles out here and there, leaks but no album and hardly any promotion. Sad, really, because Samantha Jade has leaked some brilliant songs over the years. Secret may be too close to Britney for comfort but at least Samantha has some semblance of a voice. Not outstanding, but good enough.

#4: G-Dragon - Breathe

Breathe was probably the only song off Heartbreaker that I didn't condemn to the deep recesses of my music library after the first listen - you could say that I liked it to a certain extent. So when it became a single I just had to say it - for the nth time I predicted a post-album release single and I seem to be doing it a lot for kpop albums. Don't kill me for what I'm about to say though. A while back I discovered exactly why G-Dragon is as popular as he is and why he appeals to so many people - it startled me.

So I was listening to Breathe one day in between classes and then obviously I put it away when my class (I believe it was Chemistry) started but I couldn't get it out of my head so I started humming it. Then it hit me - the melody of Breathe sounds like a song for an advertisement or a novelty song, the only difference is that it was processed and put on top of a techno-y loop, something people equate to 'chic' or something to that effect. But strip off the fancy computer-generated crap and you have the same cheap melody. Nothing special, nothing different, it's a hit and that's what hits are - glorified novelty songs.

#3: Mya - Paradise (Ryan Leslie Remix)

Gone are Mya's golden days when it comes to popularity but I honestly thought that Paradise was a pretty good single. It took this piano-centric remix to make me adore it though. It's got a nice groove and I LOVE the real drums on this song - gives the entire thing a new twist.

New Music!

Haven't done this in quite a while, let's get this rolling!

• I posted about this already, but let me repeat it. Beyonce's Rock would probably be my favorite song had I discovered it earlier and had it been included on the final album. Seriously, how can a brilliant song like this just be thrown at the wayside? It's much better than Halo, in my opinion.
• Thanks to Anthony over at Luckystar for posting Six's This Is It! Seriously, I'd been looking for that album for ages and no one had it! I'll whip up a review sometime this week as a thank you to Anthony.
• I was beginning to wonder where Lady Sovereign had gone but just as I was about to find out for myself, I found her new song, I Got You Dancing and I'm not a big fan of it. I remember when she had just broken the US markets and was all over TRL, I was a big fan of the show so I always saw her video. At first I loathed it but it eventually it grew on me, there's something about her that makes me curious, so I guess that's a good thing. Who knows, this might grow on me.
• I'm loving Elin Lanto's Speak and Spell even more now. I mean, I loved it before but it's slowly becoming a brilliant song with and even better melody. Swedish really make the best pop music. I mean, where else can you get singers like Agnes Carlsson and Elin Lanto who make the most amazing pop? haha..
• Mya's new album, Sugar and Spice is absolutely amazing. There are some songs that are a bit shaky, but some songs that just blow me away. Highlights for me are Paradise, One For You, Cry No More and All In Your Mind. 
• Kylie and Coldplay did a duet for AIDS day sometime back. I lover Kylie and I love Coldplay but somehow the song just doesn't work for me.
• There are two new Chris Brown songs circulating the music blogs, Save Me and Celebrity. They're good! Although I kind of like Celebrity better, it's got a better melody.
• Speaking of Chris Brown, he's on the new Got Milk? ad, which is cool!

• And lastly, I've correctly predicted yet ANOTHER post-album single! Alesha Dixon's second single from The Alesha Show is Breathe Slow! Remember me expressing my adoration for the song? Yeah. Gorgeous song, although I'm not a big fan of the video. Watch it though, it's worth at least trying.

# 48: Mya - Paradise

So Mya is one of those artists that I'd heard of prior to this year but never really took notice of. I'd seen her previous album, Liberation at record stores here but I never got curious about her.

Around September or October this year, I got curious when one of my favorite blogs posted her new Japan-only single(correct me if I'm wrong..) and I seriously adored it.

That song was Paradise.

I think I talked about it during one of my new music posts, but it's good enough for me to enter the list, so yay! I said that she doesn't have the best voice around, but she knows which songs bring out the better qualities of her voice.

And it just so happens that those songs have gorgeous melodies and cool instrumentations. Paradise, as the title suggests, has this jungle-y sound and the melody has a few jungle-y stuff as well. Coolness!

New Music!

Taking a break from the countdown, let's look back on all the great music that's come out in the past few days(before I fall asleep! I'm on anti-histamine and painkillers.. so I'll make it short)

• I've FINALLY heard the Same Difference b-side Like A Miracle, and I'm loving what I'm hearing. Why the crap wasn't this on the album? It's genius!
• I've heard a part of the new Mya album. I LOVE IT! I love how the songs flow from one to the other and the theme of them so far. I'll finish listening to it sometime this weekend!
• Also, I've finally watched the new Westlife documentary. I got goosebumps during 'the walk'. Seriously!
• I still can't believe that Agnes' second single from Dance Love Pop is Release Me. Seriously, I'm still in shock!
• Been listening over to the Same Difference album a lot these past few days. It's slowly going to amazing to brilliant to mind-blowing. Amazing stuff! Is it number one yet? haha..
• And, the news that made my day, the new GA video premiered!!!! I was literally screaming my head off when I saw it on YouTube this morning.. If you haven't watched it yet, YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON SHEER BRILLIANCE! Seriously, it's probably the best GA video, ever. EVER. The best video plus one of the most mind-blowing songs on the earth, what can go wrong? NOTHING!

Some new obsessions..

Quite a few, actually.

• Mya's new song, 'Paradise', is amazing! She doesn't have the strongest voice, but she knows which songs give her that egde. It's got that African vibe that we heard with Jordan Pruitt's 'One Love', the only catch is that this is heavier on the R&B side. Still, I have a fixation for African-inspired songs that manage to fuse those elements with other genres, most often R&B. That plus those mentions about 'jungle' and 'eden', make the song simply brilliant! I never really took notice of her last album, but now that I've heard this, could her previous effort be this good as well? I'll give it a listen sometime this week. EDIT: I heard Ridin' from her last album and I just have one word, BRILLIANT. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album!
• Why does the lead single of Britannia High(that's being offered as a free download on the site..) sound a lot like the stuff from the I Dream soundtrack? I know a lot of people had been saying this for a long time already, but I just got the chance to actually download the song today so forgive me. Seriously, the song sounds like it could've been on the I Dream soundtrack, and I adore the songs there. This song though, I'm not so sure, it's a bit too camp-y and it's trying too hard to be a modern cross between I Dream and HSM 1. I'm afraid it's failed. OK, there are some good points in the song, like the melody of the chorus, but I don't really like the song as a whole.
• Taio Cruz's album. Let me just say one thing, Brits make some amazing R&B. First Craig David, who's just mind-blowing and now Taio Cruz, who may even follow in Craig's footsteps. All the tracks on his debut album are worth listening to, but there are some that I adore more than the others. My favorites are I Don't Wanna Fall In Love, I Just Wanna Know, I'll Never Love Again and Never Gonna Get Us(which reminds me of a Seal song..). The songs are simply amazing! Seriously.
• Can't Stop Thinking About You from the new Boyzone greatest hits album may be cheesy at the start and sound like something from a musical(I have no idea who's singing, is that Ronan?), but I adore it for some strange reason. The melody just makes me adore the song, but I wish the instrumentation was a bit different. All in all, it's an amazing song and I'm seriously obsessed with it.
• The more I listen to Greatest Day, the more I adore it. As if I never did. When can we get it in HQ? Garrrr...
• I just noticed something. My top five most listened songs for the week are all Sugababes songs! Hurrah! I guess that shows how much I'm adoring the album, and how eager I am for the new GA album!

This is me being bored, again. I don't have school for the next two weeks, face it!