So, Leona Lewis’ lead single from her sophomore album has been heralded as an amazing song, people are acting like it’s one of the greatest love songs of all time. It’s not. It’s not even as good as Bleeding Love. But, I have to admit, it does have some good parts. The first line of the chorus is probably the best part of the song. The thing is, Bleeding Love has no climax… just when you think it’s getting there, it doesn’t. Bleeding Love has this amazing bit at the end and everyone is like ‘wow, that’s amazing’ but Happy doesn’t have that. Regardless, Leona gives a very nice performance of it on America’s Got Talent. Although… was she upstaged by SuBo? I think she was… But it’s all down to song choice! At least that’s what Simon would say.
Cheryl Cole – Fight for This Love
7 SepThis weekend has been rather eventful for new music in the UK. Leona Lewis, Robbie Williams and now Cheryl Cole. Cheryl Cole is part of Girls Aloud (<3) and a judge on X Factor but is going solo and her debut solo single is called Fight for This Love. It actually premiered this morning and… I quite like it! Her voice doesn’t sound as weak as it does in Girls Aloud or on will.i.am’s Heartbreaker. The single is pretty catchy, it’s like a Girls Aloud’s song but also not. Chorus is really catchy. I doubt if it will get to number 1; it doesn’t feel like a number 1… but definitely top 3. Bring on Nadine though.
Leona Lewis – Happy
7 SepIt was the radio premier of Leona Lewis’ lead single from her sophomore album the other day and now I’m blogging about it. This lead in sentence is annoying me… Anyways, it’s okay… I’m not sure if I like it or not. A lot of people are talking about how emotional it is and how it’s very tear-jerky. But… I don’t quite agree. It does not have the same amount of emotion that her cover of Run has, or even Bleeding Love. The chorus isn’t as catchy either… and the ending doesn’t soar quite so aurally either. Eitherway, I guess this will be a hit and you’ll probably hear it in karaoke bars soon enough.
The Saturdays – Forever Is Over
26 AugI always feel a small amount of shame when someone looks at my ipod track listing. It’s really gay. That’s not to say that I only listen to girly pop music, far from it, but lots of stuff that I listen to is exactly that. I love me some Girls Aloud and Wonder Girls. One girl group that has really taken me by surprise is The Saturdays.
I can remember first hearing the debut single, If This Is Love, ages ago on a music channel at like 1am. I should have been sleeping but heard this new song. I heard it again a couple of days later – roughly at the same time too. They make really catchy pop songs and are unashamed about it. Pop music is cool! It has such a bad stigma. Anyways! I’m going off track.
They’ve barely finished touring for their first album but already have a new song out from a second album. I guess their record company, Polydor, want to capitalise on the fact that there is no Girls Aloud release this coming year. The lead single from their sophomore album is called Forever Is Over. It’s less pop, more club, more edge. It reminds me of Call The Shots by Girls Aloud, not just sonically. It has the feel of: ‘look, we’re growing as an artist’ when they’re not really growing at all, just a slightly different sound.
I’ll probably end up listening to this loads. So much cool new music coming out of Britain at the moment! Where to find time to listen to it all?
BoA is Beautiful
13 AugAkon is going to be releasing his album, Freedom, in Japan and has slightly altered it and renamed it Freedom+2. As part of this, he has remixed his hit song, Beautiful, to feature BoA. BoA gives a pretty sweet vocal. I’m always left feeling a bit weird about BoA’s voice. She can sing, but I think she sings from a weird place… her voice sounds very mouthy or something. I think she uses her head voice a lot. Anyways! I still <3 her (don't bash me!). Oh, and fact finders, if you ever wondered why Japanese releases of Western albums always have bonuses, it's because the Japanese record companies put it into their contracts that they want some kind of bonus material. A bit annoying for us, I want the bonuses too dangnabbit!
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Jade Ewen – My Man
3 AugJade Ewen was the UK’s 2009 entry for Eurovision. She won a television talent contest to represent the UK with a song composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricised by Diane Warren. The song (which was a bit shit to be honest) managed to finished 5th at the contest which was a great achievement considering our last place results for a while now. Anyway, she’s back with a pretty amazing song! It’s completely different from It’s My Time (the Eurovision song). Tis a thumping dance song which no doubt the gays will love. I do have some reservations though, it’s not the most original sounding song… it sounds very similar to The Saturdays’ Work. However, there’s no denying Jade’s vocal prowess and she rips up the song’s hook with an attitude rarely found in UK popstars. Listen below to a radio rip of the song ^_^
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Click after the jump to hear The Saturdays’ Work song; do you think it sounds similar?
Florence and the Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
3 AugRecently I have been listening to English a bit more. It’s not a conscious thing per se, just when new music comes out and I like it then I tend to listen to it… a lot. I can quite happily listen to one song on repeat for a few hours or so. Is that strange? I don’t think it is. I think people fall into different kinds of music listeners. I play songs on repeat, others put them on random and some listen to their music in order; the latter two I just find so weird… I could never do that. I get albums, listen to all the songs (or sometimes not) and then just play the songs that I like. For example, my playcount for my Candie Payne album reads as follows:
I Wish I Could Have Loved You More – 8
Why Should I Settle for You – 1
Take Me – 1
In the Morning – 23
All I Need to Hear – 14
A Different You – 2
By Tomorrow – 2
One More Chance – 1
Hey Goodbye – 1
Seasons Change – 1
Turn Back Now – 1
One More Chance (Single Version) – 218
That’s a bit extreme, but yeah, I listen to songs a lot. Anyways! I’ve digressed…
Yes, Florence and the Machine. She’s been given a lot of praise and attention (including a Brit Award), however… I’m not sure if it’s entirely warranted. Yes, she’s an interesting and captivating artist and yes, she has an interesting voice but she is not the most original artist I’ve heard. Indeed, I think she fits rather nicely amongst her British, female contempories – not necessarily at the top of them. Below is the video for Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up). It’s a great song really; its storming beat and haunting vocals make the song powerful whilst the melody is enough to get it lodged in your head.
Check out her cover of Beyonce’s Halo for Radio 1’s Live Lounge after the jump. She transforms the song from a power love ballad to an aching lament – very beautiful.
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Candie Payne – One More Chance
1 MarDuring a recent bout of insomnia I was watching a music channel. I can’t remember what the theme was or why they played this singer but I was hooked! Her name is Candie Payne, she released her album, I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, in 2007, but it seemed to go unnoticed. I can’t find it in any shops and news from her is scarce. However, I was taken aback by this jem.
The single version was produced by Mark Ronson and echoes the beautiful motown sound of the 60s. Whilst nothing can compare to The Ronette’s By My Baby, this song does remind me of it. Payne sings longingly for her love to give her ‘one more chance’. It’s very beautiful. Her album, which I downloaded from iTunes, is full of forlorn love songs and heart ache, is also a sweet find. However, nothing quite matches the pop enjoyment of One More Chance.
Check the video!
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Utada – Come Back To Me
1 Mar
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Utada Hikaru more than life itself. I have a poster of her on my bedroom wall, she is the true reason why I want to learn Nihongo. I love everything about her! She can do no wrong! She’s back in the Anglophone world this year with a new release with Island Def Jam. Her first single, Come Back To Me, is very Mariah-esque. It’s produced by Stargate, who’ve made a million uber hot tunes. This is very commercial for Utada, but I wish her all the luck with it!
The video just got released a couple of days ago. It’s exquisite, Utada is looking gorgeous. I prefer her with longer hair, but she looks elogent and beautiful and like the Hollywood starlets of the past.
Click the link to watch!
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The Promise of a Brit Award
19 FebMy favourite girlband, Girls Aloud, won their first Brit award last night! The Brit awards are the British version of the Grammys. They won Best British Single, voted by the public, for The Promise! The song is really catchy, it’s not my favourite but it got to number one, so I’m not really complaining! Their latest album isn’t my favourite (where’s Nadine?!), but it has a couple of cool songs.
They also performed the song, live on the night complete with big pink feather fans and seriously short dresses. To my surprise (and I think the wider public’s as well) Sarah actually sang well, and hit those notes! Let’s not talk about that performance on gmtv… check out the performance!
In other news, what the hell was up with U2 and Bono? Or maybe I should just say Bono. Firstly, the song isn’t all that good, nor does it really make sense. Secondly, why was Bono wearing glasses? and then eye shadow? It really doesn’t make sense! Take That was cool, although their performance didn’t really go anywhere. Estelle and the Ting Tings rocked it. Kings of Leon were amazing, and ever so daper! James Corden and Matthew Horne were probably (read: hopefully) drunk. Duffy sang super good. I don’t know what else to say… It wasn’t my favourite Brits ever, but congrats to Girls Aloud; you totally deserve! Here’s to three more albums (and hopefully more!)
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