Ricki-Lee - Brand New Day

So I scheduled a post with this title, but I didn't really write anything(haha..), so I'll write something now!(Too lazy to study..)

From what I've heard, Ricki-Lee's departure from Australian Idol was a huge shock, and I think I see why. I mean her voice is huge! But, her elimination caused something good, she's able to make music she wants to make, at least that's what I'm hearing from her albums.

This album blew me away.

All the tracks have something about them, something really cool and relaxed, but her voice gives the songs the intensity it needs. The melodies just makes you want to strangle whoever whipped them up, sugary sweet pop confections with lots of kick and bite that make you want to blast them out and just sit down and listen.

Can't Sing A Different Song and Can't Touch It are the fiercer songs on the album, pop-y but with lots of Beyonce-like elements. The song may be very intense and fierce, but her voice does it justice. It's not flat or too lazy, her voice has aggression, body and lots of kick. Brand New Day comes along right after Can't Sing A Different Song, and it's like a breath of fresh air, with this really saccharine-sweet melody and light instrumentation, the song just relaxes you.

Melody Of Life, World Go By and I Appreciate You all sound like a heavier Brand New Day, with the minor-like melody and the heavier instrumentation, they sound like something, with a bit of alterations, that Natasha Bedingfield or Sara Bareilles can sing. Love Is All Around, a cover of the Agnes Carlsson song, is amazing. The song itself(covered heaps of times..) is just a brilliant pop song that sounds somewhat 'uplifting' or something to that effect. Add Ricki-Lee's powerful vocals and you've got a brilliant combination.

Real Good Time wasn't a song I really liked when I first heard the album, but it's grown on me since. It's got a reggae feel with the instrumentation, but the melody is distinctively pop, down to the very last note. Plus, the transition from verse to chorus is just brilliant, making it one of my ultimate favorites on the album.

I've heard something like Take Me To A Place before, but I can't put my finger on it. Still, the melody shows off Ricki-Lee's voice and just makes you sit back and listen in awe. Alone No More sounds like a song straight out of a Cheetah Girls movie with the melody and the sparkly instrumentation. Oh, and the lyrics really sound like something from TCG.

Clouds is perhaps the cutest song on the album, with the really, really cute instruments and the brilliant melody. Doing justice to it's title, the song is very light, very relaxing but not lazy. It's got dynamics, but it's light and it just floats but you know it's there, it doesn't just float by.

It's Just Life always makes me want to burst out crying. The melody put together with the instrumentation and lyrics just hit the spot. It's probably the most brilliant song she's ever made. I can't describe it more, I might not do it's brilliance justice. Seriously. Just listen to the song, I'm just blown away by it every single time.

So, to sum up the album:
Best Track: It's Just Life
Better Tracks: Everything Else!
Least Favorite Track: None of them.
THE RATING: 5/5(Perfect! YES!)

The Westlife Songs That Should've Been Singles

We all have our opinions about certain songs, if we like a song a lot we say that we want it to be a single, if we hate one, we say that it should've never been recorded but there are some songs that really, in my opinion, should've been singles for Westlife. I'm not so sure if Simon or Louis will agree with me, but from a perspective of a fan who hates the covers and loves the rare songs, here are the songs I really think should've been singles.

NOTE: This post takes a lot of references from the Most Iconic Westlife Songs post, so be sure to read that before reading this.

• On their first album, there was a song called No No on it, and I really, really think they should've given it a shot in the US, or even as the last single from the album(to gear people up for the C2C era..). It's very bubblegum pop-ish, and more on the uptempo side which makes it perfect for the US market(at the time they were promoting this album..), and as I said, it's like a cross between the Westlife era and the C2C era, making it a perfect transition single from the first to the second album.

• My Private Movie should've been the lead single for the US campaign, it had all the makings of the perfect success story. It was recorded especially for the US, it sounded a lot like the stuff boybands there were cranking out at the time, and it had Westlife's distinct vocals and even a bit of their style there. So why wasn't it a single? Gar.

• Dreams Come True should've been the second single from C2C instead of What Makes A Man, it continued the ultra-boyband sound they were going for, and it was an uptempo track, so it should've just worked. Plus the fact that they could've made an amazing dance routine for all the TV performances(not the over the top one they used on tour with the aliens and heavy stuff..) and wow everyone!

• Evergreen should've been a single from WOOO, primarily so they could kick Will Young's butt and people won't equate the song to Will Young because he didn't originally sing it! This is the second time an Idol winner has robbed a Westlife song and made it popular(Ruben from AI murdered Flying Without Wings, MURDERED I TELL YOU!), but Will Young didn't really murder the song. Still, Evergreen is an amazing song, and it really, truly should've been a single, to gradually move from WOOO to Unbreakable.

• Turnaround(the song) should've been a single from Turnaround(the album)! Besides the obvious reason(title track? duh.), it had all the makings of the next WOOO(see the most iconic Westlife songs post..) and it was different, edgy and most of all, Westlife-y! With the cool instrumentation and the amazing vocals(Kian had a solo when they went on tour with it!)

• Hit You With the Real Thing should've been the Christmas single from Face to Face, it's an amazing electro-pop song(see: Pop Poster Girl's review of the song) and it would've prepared the British public for Amazing better than When You Tell Me That You Love Me(the bland duet with Diana Ross) could've ever done. That and the fact that it's just very simply, a brilliant pop song.

• Catch My Breath should've been the third/fourth single from Back Home, for the simple reason that it's an amazing variation of the standard Westlife formula. It's a ballad with amazing vocals, spot-on harmonies and most importantly, a key change but the overall sound of the song is more modern pop/AC than the pop sound that Amazing and No No have.

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!

FEARLESS HAS ARRIVED!

Watch out for my review sometime today or tomorrow

Will give it a listen now!

FINALLY!

Yes people! We Are One is here! I heard the LQ version earlier today but a better quality one just came out.

The release of We Are One marks the return of the pop we've all been craving for, and not just in the good way, this song was done brilliantly. I wasn't a big fan of SD back when they were on the X Factor, I thought their vocals were a bit off, but the recording studio works wonders, doesn't it?

The song sounds a lot like something straight out of the British version of HSM, but has all these elements of pop groups like STEPS, S Club and that bunch. We've been missing this kind of music for a long time now, with people like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse ruling the charts, but I really hope this becomes a gigantic single, it certainly deserves to be.

Every aspect of this song was perfected and done brilliantly, there's nothing else SD can do but sit back and watch people clear shelves of the single while waiting for the chart positions and sales figures. Don't forget to BUY it when it comes out on the 24th, OK? OK. For now, listen to the brilliance that is We Are One!

EDIT: Thanks to Ken for the HQ version, I'M LOVING IT EVEN MORE! I seriously want to die with the level of amazingness this song has. That or turn up the volume really, really high and tune everything else out!

RATING: 5/5!

The Best Westlife B-Sides/Bonus Tracks

YES! B-sides and Bonus Tracks are probably the most unnoticed songs of an artist's career, because they tend to be overshadowed by the single or album. I mean, if I said that my favorite Westlife song was Miss You When I'm Dreaming(just an example..), you'd probably think hard about what the hell I'm talking about.

B-sides are also probably the time when an act like Westlife can let loose, experiment, and get out all their frustrations. Because all their singles follow a formula, the b-side can sound like anything from rock to pop to swing to disco, pretty much anything. That's why I adore them so much, manufactured artists get to let loose for b-sides, and show us the music they like or the music they really want to make.

So, here's a tribute to some of the most amazing Westlife originals ever!

• Don't Calm The Storm was on the Swear It Again CDS and it's probably one of the most brilliant songs they've ever recorded. The first time I heard it, I was in awe, the song's gorgeous, but it wasn't stuck in a time warp. Elaborate? The song could've been released anytime in the past ten years(or even later..) and it would still be absolutely amazing.
• Don't Get Me Wrong was on the UK version of Coast To Coast(and the b-side to When You're Looking Like That, released in Asia) and may I say, it's completely out of place compared to the other songs. I said during the most iconic songs post that C2C was the era when they solidified their boyband status, and they sounded like their rivals(BSB, Nsync..) with songs like My Love, Somebody Needs You and Dreams Come True. You listen to the album now, and when you hear this song at the end, you just want to put it on World Of Our Own! It sounds a lot like a song you'd put on WOOO, ala Why Do I Love You..
• Crying Girl was the b-side to World Of Our Own(the song..), and it could've fit right into WOOO. The album lacked a track like this, the mid-tempo/slow but edgy song. They had the mid-tempo songs like Don't Let Me Go and When You Come Around but they lacked a song like this. Strange title and lyrics, but amazing, brilliant, mind-blowing melody and standard Westlife vocals.
• I Won't Let You Down is one of my favorite experimental Westlife songs. It sounds nothing like what they usually release, it actually sounds a lot like something by Michelle Branch or Ryan Cabrera. No wonder it was on the Hey Whatever single that was just as different from anything else they did before. Anyway, I love all the guitar stuff, and Brian/Bryan's vocals just matched the song so brilliantly. Amazing stuff!
• Let's Make Tonight Special was on the Swear It Again EP, and it's absolutely amazing(again..)! Loving the hints of R&B and the acapella parts scattered all around the song. Plus, Shane's voice sounds so young it burns(just joking.. duh..)! Seriously, this song will make you worship Westlife until you can't anymore. It just shows how amazing their vocals are, and how much they cream all the boybands when it comes to acapella work. On the subject of that, watch this short a capella vid back during the debut album:

• Reason For Living reminds me of a certain M2M song that I can't put my finger on, but it's good to hear everyone on this track! Another song that sounds a bit like I Won't Let You Down, but it's a bit more Westlife-y.
• I'll put Story of Love and Until the End Of Time together, since they pretty much sound the same. Story of Love was on the Japan version of Westlife and Until the End Of Time was on the Swear It Again EP. They're both bubblegum pop boyband confections, Westlife style. You know, the cheesy lyrics, some acapella work, standard boyband 'glitter and glitz' sound and instrumentation, but more mid-tempo than up-tempo.
• Singing Forever and Where We Belong go together as well, with the 'We're not giving up' thing. They were released around the same time as well, Where We Belong was on Tonight/Miss You Nights and Singing Forever was on Hey Whatever. Cheesy lyrics, yes, but once again we get brilliant melodies and amazing vocals.
• Miss You When I'm Dreaming was the b-side to Amazing, and I just want to worship them again for this. Can this song get any better? It's a ballad, but it's more a Catch My Breath(CMB)-like ballad than a Your Raise Me Up kind. If you adore CMB, listen to this and prepare to be blown away.
• Get Away is probably the most outrageous, non-cover, Westlife b-side ever. It's got a very 50's/60's thing going on(someone at TC said that it sounded like the Beach Boys, does it?), but seriously, this song is AMAZING! This was on the Us Against The World single, and when you listen to it after Us Against The World, you just want to strangle their songwriters for making something this amazing! Still, Shane's vocals are brilliant on this song!

New Videos!

I have class tomorrow, so I might not be able to post but for now, here are some amazing new videos!

The video for Hero is out, we saw a few clips and behind the scenes footage during last Saturday's live show, so here we have the video in full! Amazing stuff.


The new Natalie Bassingthwaighte video is out as well..


A bit off topic: I've heard the new Same Difference single! Bad quality, but I ADORE IT! EEP! *freaks out*

X Factor 5 Live Show - Week 5

It was Mariah Carey week, and with that comes a lot of pressure, so how did everything come out?

The Boy: Eoghan was so-so this week, nothing special, but enough to get him through to next week.

The Girls: Let me get one thing straight, LAURA SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE HOME! She had one of the best voices, and I can't believe she was sent home. Diana couldn't perform this week, and it was so devastating to see what she was going through, I know how much laryngitis can affect your voice and your chances of being able to perform. Alexandra's performance was strong, and I think pulling off a song like that takes a lot of time and effort so what she did was amazing.

The Group: JLS were mind-blowing this week, I adore their performance. One note though, if Louis is pushing for them to be a vocal harmony group, JLS have to work on their harmonies. They're there, you can hear them and they sound good, but they need to push their voices, they lack the power that Westlife had during their early days. You listen to a JLS harmony and then a Westlife harmony during the early days or as a four-piece and you hear the difference. Nevertheless, they're amazing singers and with a little more work, they might even claim Westlife's throne! haha. Has anyone else noticed that this is the second time they've talked about Westlife and JLS in the same sentence? haha..

The Over 25's: I just want to strangle Daniel and send him home. Seriously, his voice is so lounge-y(in the negative way, as always..) and one-dimensional. I can take one-dimensional voices, as long as they know how to manipulate that dimension into different sounds and structures. His voice is lounge-y enough and he still sang a song that made the performance even worse! Rachel's performance this week didn't sell for me, because I don't think her voice matched the song, but she went through, so good for her. Ruth was strong this week, I don't think she should've been in the bottom 2.

The results show performance: Mariah Carey's Hero with the final 12 'singing' at the end. No microphones, were they really singing?

The sum-up in one sentence: Almost everyone got past this week, except Daniel, he really should've went.

What I want to happen next week: DANIEL HAS TO GO! I've had enough of the unworthy safe weeks for him. JLS have to maintain, and Diana has to bounce back next week give us the best performance she's ever given.