#15: Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything

Thankfully, this Sara Bareilles single is one of those Western releases I didn't overlook this year. Had I not heard this, I would've missed out on one of the best songs of the year!


Sara Bareilles' first album was one of the first albums I'd willingly listen to from start to finish - it was also one of the albums I was avidly listening to when I just started PRN. The ingenious lyrics (even if I don't care about them - they made me notice them), the solid, piano-driven arrangements, the strong and emotional vocals and the drop-dead gorgeous songs all thrown into the glory that was that album just make me want to listen to it again.

After years of waiting, and her first album never really going out of style, she came back this year with this gorgeous song. When I first reviewed this I was all for it - fantastic production, real drums and a distinctly-Sara sound. Now that I listen over to it and write about it again, I'm ready to fall to my feet.

This is the pop I was talking about when I wrote about the Katy Perry song, only without the excessiveness - King of Anything has class, thank you very much. But even with all the "class" I say it has, it manages to capture that same element of fun that mainstream American pop has.

The elements are probably the polar opposites of the ones on the Katy Perry song - trumpets, Sara's staple stomping piano, a lay-low melody and REAL DRUMS with a touch of real cymbals - yet it's fun and an absolute pleasure to listen to. Over, and over, and over, and over again for ever and ever and ever.

Sara Bareilles - King of Anything

Let it be "carved into stone" (LOL) that I'm trying my best to juggle reviewing Korean AND Western music. I'm trying, OK?!

I'm not sure if you all know, but I worship Sara Bareilles - Little Voice is one of the few albums I can listen to from start to finish and not get sick of a single song. I have a copy of the physical album and my money was sure as hell worth it - I still play the album ever now and then.


Sara Bareilles has the uncanny ability to make me actually pay attention to lyrics - they're edgy but blunt at the same time and I like that in a song. I like lyrics with kick, but that don't sound contrived, uncomfortable or trying-hard - they just work.

I. Am. In. Love. With. This. Song.

It's got Sara's now-signature piano treatment mixed with the stomping percussion, blunt lyrics and her gorgeous vocals. That and this song has got to be one of the cheeriest songs I've heard all year. The piano's really bright and sunny and happy, the melody's catchy and sing-along-able and the entire song just made me smile. It reminds me of that Andi song a few years back (I remember doing some promo for that) - happy and bright.

The production on this is really clean, but I LOVE the touch of the real cymbals (but I don't hear any real drums) - they sound so crisp and raw, I like. Reminds me of something you'd do in Japan - the clarity of it all, the smoothness but the attention to small details that really make the song. The transitions just pop - how the instrumental flows from one phase to the other makes me HAVE to, not just want to, tap my foot and sway along to the song. This girl's got groove/swing/whatever!

Sara's like a breath of fresh air in the sea of GaGa wannabes and Gaga who's a Madonna wannabe. She's got her own niche in the industry, making pop songs - solid pop songs you just want to sing along to, songs that make you happy listening to them.

5/5

New Music! EDITED!

Quite a few new releases/discoveries these past few days, so let's get this rolling!

• As we all know, the new Same Difference single leaked in full earlier this week. We Are One is easily in this year's top ten most amazing tracks!
• I got sent over a song by a band called the Melloncollies and I quite like it, actually. The song's called Misery(although I don't see why...), and it's got this rock/60-ish thing going on, which is around the same period they based Westlife's Get Away on. Cool!
• A version of another one of my favorite pop songs this year, Katharine McPhee's Connected(despite it being for a Barbie movie..), was just released. Amy Diamond recorded a version for the Swedish soundtrack and although I think Katharine's version is more bubblegum pop-ish than Amy's, it's a great version, a must listen if you love the original!
• My review of Taylor Swift's Fearless is finally done! Read it here if you haven't already.
• I've heard parts of David Cook's new album since this morning(I had class!) but I'm kind of liking what I'm hearing. I'll give it a listen tonight and possibly review it sometime tomorrow or Sunday.
• There's this song called Stand By You by this Danish duo S.O.A.P that I'm really loving right now(yet another of my favorite blogs featured something about them). It was later covered by S Club, with a more sugary-sweet pop feel and stronger vocals but I adore both versions!
• On the subject of S Club, I've been listening to a lot of them lately, and I've rediscovered my love and ultimate adoration for Alive, one of the most brilliant songs they ever made.
• Well, Taylor Swift performed Love Story at the CMA's. Will watch the video and edit once I've finished, OK?

• I'm loving Agnes Carlsson's Dance Love Pop even more than I already do(and I adore it a lot..)! I've been listening to it a lot these past few days, and I'm loving it!
• I'll put up the new top fifteen in a while, so watch out for it!

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot something important, AGAIN!

• The new Same Difference video came out a few days ago, I'm loving it!

What to expect this week:

• A review of David Cook's new album
• A new addition to the Westlife special
• I might get to finishing my review on the Sara Bareilles live album
• And heaps more!(Maybe..)

New Music!

School for me's starting tomorrow, so let's recap on stuff that's come out since the last post!

• A new Taylor Swift song just came out, and it's confirmed my thoughts, Taylor Swift is going to wow us with her second album. If we all thought her first album was amazing, this one's looking to be mind-blowing!
• Why has almost everyone in the blogging world heard the new Same Difference single in full? WHY? I'll wait, but beware, I'm not that patient!
• New Hannah Montana songs have been circulating, and I absolutely loathe them. She's trying to do something she can't, mix country with Britney-like pop. I know that kind of pop is popular now, but look at Taylor Swift! Hannah/Miley has forgotten how she became popular in the first place, nice, catchy, distinctly Disney songs. Oh, well. Let's hope there's at least one good song on the soundtrack.
• Sara Bareilles has a new live album. I'm loving it! Obviously, I adore the songs! Some new songs were included, and I'm once again loving them!
• Not directly related to music, but Kian Egan from Westlife, Anthony Costa from Blue, Kenzie from Blazin' Squad, some guy from East 17, Jenny Frost from Atomic Kitten, Mutya Buena from the Sugababes, A girl from All Saints and someone from this 80's girl band were all on Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong. I love the part when Ant and Coleen mimed Flying Without Wings in mid-air! Plus the fact that Kian was there(eep!).
• A new Corbin Bleu song's out. It's an OK song, but it's slowly growing on me.
• I'm loving Amy Diamond's Music In Motion. Seriously! I might review it later in the week if I have the time..
• Natalie Bassingthwaighte's new single, Alive is amazing! I wonder if her album will be any good..
  
• Not so hot about this week's episode of Britannia High, but it might get better later in the series. No particular songs that I'm loving, and the dance routine in the canteen was all too predictable. But Nicola and Kimberly(GA!)'s visit was nice. But Danny(is it Danny?) screwed the whole thing up. Gar.
• Mariah Carey has a new song, but I haven't heard it yet. Downloading at the moment, so it'll take a few minutes. Will edit the post when I've listened to it already. EDIT: I don't like the song. It's a ballad, but the melody just doesn't cut it for me. Plus it reminds me a bit of When You Believe or some Spanish-like song(Westlife's I Cry? something like that..)
• The video for David Cook's Light On is out. It's a generic video, with clips of the story and Cook singing, nothing special. The song is OK, but I expected more from Cook. I adored him on AI so what happened to that guy? Right. He got controlled by a bunch of record company executives who know nothing about music!

• Darin has a new single out, and the video premiered sometime last week. The song is nice, I haven't listened to it enough to say it's amazing, but I like it.

What to expect this week:

• MAYBE a review of Amy Diamond's Music In Motion
• My very own countdown to Taylor Swift's Fearless, out next week!
• MAYBE a review of Sara Bareilles' new live album, Between The Lines: Live At The Fillmore
• Something to get us all into a Christmassy mood, maybe?