Although the next Eurovision Song Contest will take place in May 2015, I would love to talk about this anyway. I don't want songs to die out, after a season's popularity span. I'm happy that artists from all around Europe are being chosen at around this time.
You don't know what Eurovision is? I'll tell you. It is an annual song competition held among members of the European Broadcasting Union. Or Europe in general. Entries from around the continent are posted on YouTube, and then once the semi-finals and finals are broadcasted live on television (BBC), anyone could vote for their favourite songs via text. After all the performances for the night, the amount of 'points' (or votes) are counted on the spot, until all the European countries finished their appearance.
The winner of the contest gets to be the host country for next year's event. Eurovision 2014's winner was Austria, so Eurovision Song Contest 2015 will take place there too. It was official that it would be at Vienna.
Here are some songs I loved, including this year's winner:
Song: "Rise Like A Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst
Country: Austria
Year: 2014
Fact: Conchita Wurst is a drag act. And because of her victory and international attention, she eventually became an LGBT icon.
Song: "Only Teardrops" by Conchita Wurst
Country: Denmark
Year: 2013
Song: "Never Forget" by Gréta Salóme and Jónsi
Country: Iceland
Year: 2012
Fact: This is the only song in the list that did not win the competition, but I loved it anyway. So I'm adding it here!
Song: "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi
Country: Finland
Year: 2006
Song: "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak
Country: Norway
Year: 2009
Fact: He is the voice actor for Hiccup in the Norwegian dub for Dreamwork's How To Train Your Dragon, and its sequel.
When my friend and I attended CosplayMania 2014 at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Philippines, I came across a familiar band; whose fan-base had its own stall inside one of the function rooms. I recognised this famous group, and I'm interested in their music-- so I decided to show them to you guys! They're... different.
If you're into Japanese music, heavy metal, and young girls singing, then BABYMETAL is the perfect band for you to listen to! SU-METAL (Suzuka Nakamoto - 16 years old), YUIMETAL (Yui Mizuno - 15 years old), and MOAMETAL (Moa Kikuchi - 15 years old) perform vocals, along with a talent agency called "Amuse, Inc." The concept of the group was to fuse metal and idol music genres together.
They were the youngest female act to perform at Bukodan, and they sold over 37,000 copies in Japan during on its first week. Their self-titled album also topped iTunes Metal charts in the US, UK and Germany and on March 22 reached number 187 on the US Billboard 200 chart. They had their world tour; which included cities London and Paris as their destinations. Babymetal was also the opening act to five of Lady Gaga's concerts in her "ArtRave: The Artpop Ball" 2014 tour in August along the western United States.
Here's one of their live concert videos.
It's up to you-- whether you like their music or not! Because I sure do!
So for this week-- I thought of posting something that was more recent. Besides music, I also love video games. An American alternative rock band named Imagine Dragons (Radioactive, It's Time, Demons, On Top of the World), collaborated with Riot Games to create a video, to promote the 2014 League of Legends World Championship. This was not the first time the Grammy-award winning band worked with a video game company. In 2013, they released the song "Monster", as part of the soundtrack to Chair Entertainment and Epic Games action role-playing game Infinity Blade III.
"Warriors" is basically my LSS (Last Song Syndrome)!
So instead of a trending or a recent album, I decided to write one of my favourites of all time, which is Daft Punk's Discovery. Although it was made in 2001, it is still listened to people today (in 2014). It is one of those albums when you can listen to it non-stop, since all the songs are connected.
"Discovery" eventually became the soundtrack of an anime film named Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. There were no dialogs. Only the album played along with animation. I believe that Daft Punk will create music that won't be forgotten, unlike most songs that trended and then disappeared. I don't have a favourite song because I loved each and every song. As much as I loved last year's Random Access Memories (Get Lucky, Doin' It Right, Give Back To Music), Discovery (Digital Love, One More Time, 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger') is a record I would never get tired of.
I recently came across this album. Since this reached #1 in the top albums section from iTunes, so I gave it a shot. I was slightly disappointed at first, but as I listened to it over and over again, I found it not bad. Its songs sound awfully alike, yet there were lyrics and several beats that complimented each other throughout the album.
"Souled Out" was calming to my ears. I heard this was singer/songwriter Jhené Aiko's major label debut. It was a combination of R&B and Neo Soul. If you want to hear her single, it is "The Pressure". Despite of repetition of some beats, I found every song interesting, since their themes are different. I found "Brave", "Wading" and "W.A.Y.S." catchy.
One of the songs that caught my attention was "Promises", which was dedicated to her six-year old daughter, and her late brother (who lost to cancer). It showed that things will always be okay, no matter what.
V (pronounced as 'five') was recently released yesterday, I think. I took my time to listen to the entire album, and I could say, it isn't that bad. I thought it was worse because popular songs this year have been sounding quite generic. I also love their album cover. Its name is unique too, as V is 5 in roman numerals.
I pretty much miss songs similar to their Songs About Jane (2002 -- Sunday Morning, This Love, She Will be Loved, etc.) album, but they grew as a band, and as a fan, I'm proud of that. I'm happy for them!
My personal favourites are Leaving California, Coming Back For You, and their second single for V, It Was Always You. Adam Levine's co-coach in "The Voice"-- Gwen Stefani (of No Doubt) collaborated with them in My Heart is Open. I actually liked it in my opinion.
Although this album isn't as memorable as their previous albums, I give them a chance in this one. I miss their bluesy-rock vibes, though!
After her hella cool debut album "Yours Truly", she continue to make another album with R&B! When I first listened to "My Everything", it was like receiving a birthday present. It was an album I looked forward to for a while.
I was impressed with her collaborations with: Iggy Azalea, Zedd, Big Sean (who was also part of her previous album), Cashmere Cat, and A$AP Ferg! I believe that Ariana picked the right music genre! My favourites in the album are "Best Mistake" and "My Everything". I found "Problem" pretty cool-- when I heard it for the very first time. I was also happy that Zedd was involved in her album.
Here are some songs that made this summer pretty cool!
This season is coming to a close, so I decided to list
down some songs that I found pretty cool and catchy!
Fancy — Iggy Azalea (feat. Charli XCX)
Although I did not like this song at first, the Clueless-themed video made me like it even more. I also found it as one of the catchiest songs of the summer!
Rude — MAGIC!
I loved the reggae-vibe with this song! I think it's one of those songs when it’s stuck in your head— after you first listen to it.
Boom Clap — Charli XCX
I heard of this song while listening to The Fault In Our Stars soundtrack. I found it pretty catchy!
Summer — Calvin Harris
I think this is the perfect summer song. I found it chill yet dance-able!
Problem — Ariana Grande (feat. Iggy Azalea)
Ariana’s music reminds me of the 90’s, so this song brought nostalgia into another level! The rap was pretty cool too! But I found her to look too baby-faced to dance a little mature.
Come Get It Bae — Pharrell Williams
This was a pretty catchy song and I surprisingly found them a perfect pair to sing it.
Sing — Ed Sheeran
I absolutely loved this song and ‘X’ (album) in general! I love how he has his signature tunes with his acoustic guitar. This is definitely a must-hear!
Maps — Maroon 5
With their album ‘V’ coming soon, they previewed it with this song. I didn’t think it was their best single, but I found it catchy and radio-friendly!
Don’t Stop — 5 Seconds of Summer
Although they sound like a boy-band, I don’t think they are. It was my LSS one time! I also liked the superhero-themed video!
Really Don’t Care — Demi Lovato (feat. Cher Lloyd)
I felt like this song stood out in many ways. A catchy guitar riff and a music video that took place in LA Pride! This song could either focus on not giving a shit about what people think of your sexuality, or not caring about your ex-lover.
Disclosure — Latch (feat. Sam Smith)
Sam Smith's voice and electronic music are the perfect match for the summer! It's one my favourites as well!
Fever — The Black Keys
This single is from ‘TURN BLUE’— an album that they released a few months ago. I fell in love with their blue-sy grudge vibe.
A Sky Full of Stars — Coldplay
It is the single from their newest album, ‘Ghost Stories’. This song is not as ‘pop’ compared to the other songs in this post, but there’s no way you’ll dislike it.
Love Never Felt So Good — Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake
Although the King of Pop passed away in 2009, the music industry found a way to bring him to the charts once again. He recently released a new album named ‘Xscape”— which compiled his unreleased songs before his death.
Bang Bang — Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj
This unexpected trio has raised up the charts recently. The lyrics aren’t the best in my opinion, but it turned into a song that I can listen to that would motivate me through the day.
Nearly ready to release their third album, Pentatonix promotes it with a music of their cover Ariana Grande's summer hit, "Problem". Along with that, it was announced that they'll join the cast in the sequel to the a cappella themed hit film, "Pitch Perfect 2".
PTX Vol. 3 will compose of original songs, and covers from both the pop and independent music scene. They've reached Billboard charts from both their previous two albums (PTX Vol.1 and PTX Vol. 2). They've sold over 500,000 records overall. After they release PTX Vol. 3, they will release a Christmas album "That's Christmas To Me" a month later.
They mostly raised fame by their "Daft Punk" mash-up cover with over 87 million views, the "Evolution of Music" with over 44 million views, and their cover of Lorde's "Royals" with nearly 40 million views.
I'm utterly excited for their new album coming in September 23rd!
Pre-order the album here! It comes with a free download of "Problem".
So I came across a recently released song that talks about body positivity and self-acceptance. American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor made the song unique with the use of the 'doo-wop' music genre. I found out about this song when it hit "#1" on iTunes last week.
Click here to watch the music video!
Unfortunately, not everyone understood a few of its lyrics.
It was considered a misunderstanding when she sang, "I'm bringing booty back. Go 'head and tell them skinny bitches that. No, I'm just playing, I know you think you're fat. But I'm here to tell you, every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top."
What she really meant was, "Naw, I'm just playing, I know you guys even think you're fat, but I'm here to tell you that you're perfect."
I was unsure about it either, until I had to read the lyrics over and over again. But nonetheless, I found it catchy and I'm glad there are more mainstream songs that don't deal with sex, alcohol, or nightclubbing in general.
My favourite line of "All About That Bass" was:
"Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top."
The message was pretty clear in my opinion. I hope more songs about positivity would be more known to the general public.
"The Voice" season 3 alum Melanie Martinez recently released an extended play last February! It was the first set of original songs she posted in public. Her title song 'Dollhouse' is about 'dysfunctional family hiding behind a picture-perfect façade', says Martinez.
As for the other set of songs from the extended play, she said from Billboard.com:
"'Carousel' is about my feeling in love with someone and being stuck on the same ride and trying to grab them but I never reach them. 'Dead To Me' is the aftermath of 'Carousel' and me trying to eliminate that person from my brain, by killing them in my mind. And 'Bittersweet Tragedy' sums up the whole relationship, which was definitely bittersweet and there were moments where I was only focusing on the sweet parts but not noticing how sour so much of it was. That is the final song, because it also sums up the whole EP."
I enjoyed listening to the album overall-- and I hope to listen to more songs from her! If only it was an album more than an EP. I love the authentic theme of carnivals and vintage dollhouses in this work. I'll give it a 4.5/5!
You can watch her 'Dollhouse' music video here.
Listen to: Carousel | Dead To Me | Bittersweet Tragedy
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy may be a hella rad movie, but check out the soundtrack! Filled with 60’s-80’s songs instead of newly produced music— that was exclusively made the movie. I think that the decision of placing nostalgic hits, had brought a bigger impact to the film and to their market. Young audiences become familiarised to music that their parents grew up with. I also believed that the playlist goes well with the story; especially on Peter Quill / Star-Lord’s perspective. Knowing that he grew up in the 1980s and listening to it since childhood, had influenced him on who is really was. Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”, The Runaway’s, “Cherry Bomb”, and Rupert Holme’s “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” are some of the songs that were included in “Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1”. Mixed with music genres such as pop, rock and soul— there is no way anyone wouldn’t enjoy listening to this ‘awesome mix’! Have fun jamming to Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling"!
Here's the complete list of songs from the album!
1. Blue Swede - Hooked on a Feeling
2. Raspberries - Go All the Way
3. Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky
4. David Bowie - Moonage Daydream
5. Elvin Bishop - Fooled Around and Fell in Love
6. 10CC - I'm Not in Love
7. Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
8. Redbone - Come and Get Your Love
9. The Runaways - Cherry Bomb
10. Rupert Holmes - Escape (the Pina Colada Song)
11. The Five Stairsteps - O-O-H Child
12. Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
If you have a Spotify account-- click this link to listen to this mix-tape!
If you love listening to hip hop, dubstep, electronic and classical music--
Lindsey Stirling's music is what I recommend you to listen to!
She continues to create outstanding songs after her self-titled album in 2010! Her most recent album "Shatter Me"-- which was released in April 2014, sounds much more progressive and dark; compared to her previous set of songs. Stirling said that the album follows a theme of 'breaking free' and it was based on her own experiences. The cover features the violinist as a ballerina inside a glass globe of a music box. This concept and outfit is used in the music video of the song with the same name as the album. It received 1.3 million views on YouTube-- after its first day of release! Her single is a duet with Halestorm's very own Lzzy Hale! Don't just listen to "Shatter Me"! Songs such as "Swag", "Night Vision", "We Are Giants (feat. Dia Frampton)" sound just as good! You definitely won't be disappointed in the "hip hop violinist"!
To those who have a Spotify account, you can listen to the album here!
