In honour of the X-Factor, and so I can work in another X-Factor recap, here is the first single from an eliminated contestant. Let's start by saying that there was a reason why Simone got kicked off the X-Factor. She was one of the less interesting contestants with average talent, as L.A. pointed out, it was a surprise that she made it as far as the live shows.
"He Likes Boys" isn't helping Simone's problem; like her, it's boring. The tune offers absolutely nothing new, there's nothing special at all put into this song. Then there's the lyrics. This song makes Katy Perry look like an advocate for homosexuality. The idea seems to be, how many gay stereotypes can fit into this song? And there's no meaning behind it whatsoever. It's just like a story about a girl who's boyfriend is gay...that's it. What it seems to be telling us is: A) You can tell if a guy's gay if he listens to Lady Gaga and watches Deseperate Housewives; and B) Real straight boyfriends can't be tender and sweet. Completely pointless and boring, no effort was put into this song.
After that downpour of disappointment, let's move onto the X-Factor. In the first of the Live Shows the judges had to reduce their groups to three each. Most of the decisions were pretty predictable, with a few that I don't agree with. I feel like Phillip Lomax got screwed; earlier they tell him he's good but he needs to stop sounding like Frank Sinatra if he wants to sell, so he does a pop song and they say that's not him and he gets kicked off. He was bound to lose eventually anyways, but they could have given him a better chance. Best moment of the show was when L.A. siad that the reason he was proud of Stacy Francis was because she wasn't crying. Ha, yes! My new favorite act is inTENsity, they're so adorable and actually really catchy sounding. But for my actual prediction of who's going to win, I'd say it's probably going to come down between Chris Rene and Drew Ryniewicz. Drew is obviously the leading favorite and she's a young, white, female pop star so I'm guessing that she's got a big market waiting for her.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Katy Perry - The One That Got Away
Believe it or not, this is the first Katy Perry song I've ever posted on. It's clear that they're just trying to set a new record for number one singles, and I was initially against the idea of another single from Teenage Dream, but "The One That Got Away" actually works quite well.
She slows it down and keeps it simpler this time, but she still has to usual Katy Perry effect so it probably won't suffer the same fate of Rihanna's "California King Bed." The sound is actually more similar to Katy's One of the Boys album which is a nice sound to hear again. It's not the kind of song to get you dancing, but she's had enough of those songs anyways. And this song is still catchy enough to get your head bopping. She starts with a prominent sound and continues the verses in this style, while during the chorus she chants, "The whoa-whoa-one that got away." I think that it's a good choice for the next single, something a little different to give us a chance but not too risky.
The lyrics this time are also something a little different, regret for a previous relationship that ended. While Katy's been mostly partying and bubbly so far, this shows a more emotional. The emotion isn't exactly present in this song, so Katy's not going to be competing with Adele and Bruno Mars for most moving song. However, like i said it still has a catchy tune so it's not completely dependant on emotion.
The question now is, will it go to number one and break the record? People are getting a little tired of Katy and this song isn't offering anything revolutionary. However she's had so much success so far and this song doesn't lack anything so I'm thinking it will at least be a top ten hit. So far it's had a low debut on the billboard, but I thinking will see a bit of a rising soon. I'm not sure if it's quite number one material but we can keep our fingers crossed.
She slows it down and keeps it simpler this time, but she still has to usual Katy Perry effect so it probably won't suffer the same fate of Rihanna's "California King Bed." The sound is actually more similar to Katy's One of the Boys album which is a nice sound to hear again. It's not the kind of song to get you dancing, but she's had enough of those songs anyways. And this song is still catchy enough to get your head bopping. She starts with a prominent sound and continues the verses in this style, while during the chorus she chants, "The whoa-whoa-one that got away." I think that it's a good choice for the next single, something a little different to give us a chance but not too risky.
The lyrics this time are also something a little different, regret for a previous relationship that ended. While Katy's been mostly partying and bubbly so far, this shows a more emotional. The emotion isn't exactly present in this song, so Katy's not going to be competing with Adele and Bruno Mars for most moving song. However, like i said it still has a catchy tune so it's not completely dependant on emotion.
The question now is, will it go to number one and break the record? People are getting a little tired of Katy and this song isn't offering anything revolutionary. However she's had so much success so far and this song doesn't lack anything so I'm thinking it will at least be a top ten hit. So far it's had a low debut on the billboard, but I thinking will see a bit of a rising soon. I'm not sure if it's quite number one material but we can keep our fingers crossed.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Nicki Minaj - Fly
Nicki Minaj has displayed quite a bit of talent with her rapping skills and she's just had one of her biggest hits with "Super Bass." "Fly" contains the usual aspects that make her interesting, but by now the novelty is gone and there's nothing that makes "Fly" stand out.
As usual Nicki's got her quick bouncy rapping verses going on, but, like I said, we've heard this all before now. You could take the rap verses off of "Super Bass," "Right Thru Me," and "Your Love" and they'd all sound pretty similar to this one. It's been about a year since Nicki's been making an impact and by now she needs to try something different.
Adding Rihanna to the track was a good idea to spice it up a little, but Rihanna isn't particularly new either. She takes a slower approach to the chorus, but it's just the same thing over and over again with no feeling. By the end of the song it's just so boring and bland that it loses all meaning.
Speaking of the meaning it's also pretty lacking. It's the same old thing about keep on fighting. Really we already heard the same idea with another one of Nicki's song, "Moment 4 Life," so I don't see why we have to get it again. I think that Nicki's running out of material and it's time for her to go away.
This is a sign that Nicki Minaj is getting old and she can't rely on her unique style anymore. She's going to have to try something new if she wants to get another hit and maybe use some collaborations that aren't as overplayed as Rihanna.
As usual Nicki's got her quick bouncy rapping verses going on, but, like I said, we've heard this all before now. You could take the rap verses off of "Super Bass," "Right Thru Me," and "Your Love" and they'd all sound pretty similar to this one. It's been about a year since Nicki's been making an impact and by now she needs to try something different.
Adding Rihanna to the track was a good idea to spice it up a little, but Rihanna isn't particularly new either. She takes a slower approach to the chorus, but it's just the same thing over and over again with no feeling. By the end of the song it's just so boring and bland that it loses all meaning.
Speaking of the meaning it's also pretty lacking. It's the same old thing about keep on fighting. Really we already heard the same idea with another one of Nicki's song, "Moment 4 Life," so I don't see why we have to get it again. I think that Nicki's running out of material and it's time for her to go away.
This is a sign that Nicki Minaj is getting old and she can't rely on her unique style anymore. She's going to have to try something new if she wants to get another hit and maybe use some collaborations that aren't as overplayed as Rihanna.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The X Factor - Boot Camp
I'm doing something a little different today since there hasn't been a lot of interesting music this week and I've got a lot I want to say about The X Factor's Boot Camp portion.
My first thought was that they made it a little confusing at certain parts. The first bit showed quick clips of contestants singing and by the end the judges revealed the remaining 100. However since there's so many people it's hard to tell who exactly got it. Take Tora Woloshin for instance, I was disappointed since I didn't think she'd made it. All it showed was the judges nagging her for a poor performance and then you never saw her again until the very end of Boot Camp when it was revealed that she was going on to the next level. Also unnecessary and confusing was showing the judges debating, we have no idea who they're talking about so all it does is showing that there is debate going on, which is really quite obvious anyway.
But it definitely wasn't all bad. The acts were divided into groups and given a song to sing together, it wasn't very interesting seeing them all work together.
Now a look at some of the most noteworthy contestants. First off I just have to say that Nick Dean is the cutest thing ever; if he sticks around he's going to have lots of fans drooling over him. Then there's Stacy Francis, does that woman ever stop crying? I can forgive the death of her father since that really is something serious, but everything else is getting to be annoying. The judges give her some praise, she sobs, "They were so nice to me." The judges give her some critique, she cries, "If I get sent home I don't know what I'll do." When Stacy actually does lose she's going to have a serious meltdown. Quite the opposite, lovebirds Brock & Makenna were quite calm about their departure. Although personally I would have rather kept them and tossed the boring group, The Anser.
One of the best surprises was when it was revealed that a group of acts that didn't make it would actually be formed into two groups so that they could continue. This allows for a lot of the favorites to stick around while we can lose the less talented groups. Overall I think that that was a good choice and it's nice to see something unexpected for once.
Lastly my predictions for the finalists, Boys: Chris Rene, Girls: Caitlin Koch, Groups: The Stereo Hogzz, Over 30s: Tiger Budbill.
They're really running through this show fast, it'll be over in a couple of weeks. I personally think it would be better if they slowed it down so that we could get to know the contestants a little better and just eliminate a few each week. But at least it won't be long till we see the winner.
My first thought was that they made it a little confusing at certain parts. The first bit showed quick clips of contestants singing and by the end the judges revealed the remaining 100. However since there's so many people it's hard to tell who exactly got it. Take Tora Woloshin for instance, I was disappointed since I didn't think she'd made it. All it showed was the judges nagging her for a poor performance and then you never saw her again until the very end of Boot Camp when it was revealed that she was going on to the next level. Also unnecessary and confusing was showing the judges debating, we have no idea who they're talking about so all it does is showing that there is debate going on, which is really quite obvious anyway.
But it definitely wasn't all bad. The acts were divided into groups and given a song to sing together, it wasn't very interesting seeing them all work together.
Now a look at some of the most noteworthy contestants. First off I just have to say that Nick Dean is the cutest thing ever; if he sticks around he's going to have lots of fans drooling over him. Then there's Stacy Francis, does that woman ever stop crying? I can forgive the death of her father since that really is something serious, but everything else is getting to be annoying. The judges give her some praise, she sobs, "They were so nice to me." The judges give her some critique, she cries, "If I get sent home I don't know what I'll do." When Stacy actually does lose she's going to have a serious meltdown. Quite the opposite, lovebirds Brock & Makenna were quite calm about their departure. Although personally I would have rather kept them and tossed the boring group, The Anser.
One of the best surprises was when it was revealed that a group of acts that didn't make it would actually be formed into two groups so that they could continue. This allows for a lot of the favorites to stick around while we can lose the less talented groups. Overall I think that that was a good choice and it's nice to see something unexpected for once.
Lastly my predictions for the finalists, Boys: Chris Rene, Girls: Caitlin Koch, Groups: The Stereo Hogzz, Over 30s: Tiger Budbill.
They're really running through this show fast, it'll be over in a couple of weeks. I personally think it would be better if they slowed it down so that we could get to know the contestants a little better and just eliminate a few each week. But at least it won't be long till we see the winner.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Bruno Mars - It Will Rain
Bruno Mars has been powerful in almost all of his singles with the amount of emotion that he puts into his words (let's pretend "Lazy Song" never happened.) He showed affection in "Just the Way you Are" then betrayal in "Grenade" now he's turned to sorrow and loss.
The emotion is clearly present in this song too. Bruno begs someone not to leave him and sings about the pain he's feeling. Between verses there's a lamenting vocalizing which also emphasises the powerful feeling of sorrow. The lyrics are original and not just the usual stuff, it's believable that this could be a song about a breakup and not just a song for the radio/Twilight soundtrack.
The problem with the song, and most of Bruno's other songs, is that it gets old really fast. The lamenting song is beautiful the first time around but it's not really worth listening to again. Even by the end of the song it's hard to keep listening to the words. The song is a slower ballad so it's not as catchy, and it doesn't have any particular points to keep you hooked. So, while it's a good song I'd rather not hear it more than once.
Bruno seems to have had a miss with his latest single, "Marry You," but he might be able to redeem himself with "It Will Rain." All of his songs tend to get old after a while, but "It Will Rain" is by far the worst so I'm not sure how it' s going to fare.
Also a note about music in general, at the start of the year I was focused on the war of divas, well it seems like we'll have another one this fall. Kelly Clarkson has lead the way with "Mr. Know it All," but Rihanna's made quite the impact with "We Found Love." Britney's got "Criminal," and Gaga's got "Marry the Night;" and Katy Perry's hoping for a new record with "The one that got away." Ke$ha, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera are holding out for next year. And as for Beyonce I have no idea what her next single will be, I've heard that it'll be "Party" and "Love on Top" and "Countdown" so I'm going to just wait and see.
The emotion is clearly present in this song too. Bruno begs someone not to leave him and sings about the pain he's feeling. Between verses there's a lamenting vocalizing which also emphasises the powerful feeling of sorrow. The lyrics are original and not just the usual stuff, it's believable that this could be a song about a breakup and not just a song for the radio/Twilight soundtrack.
The problem with the song, and most of Bruno's other songs, is that it gets old really fast. The lamenting song is beautiful the first time around but it's not really worth listening to again. Even by the end of the song it's hard to keep listening to the words. The song is a slower ballad so it's not as catchy, and it doesn't have any particular points to keep you hooked. So, while it's a good song I'd rather not hear it more than once.
Bruno seems to have had a miss with his latest single, "Marry You," but he might be able to redeem himself with "It Will Rain." All of his songs tend to get old after a while, but "It Will Rain" is by far the worst so I'm not sure how it' s going to fare.
Also a note about music in general, at the start of the year I was focused on the war of divas, well it seems like we'll have another one this fall. Kelly Clarkson has lead the way with "Mr. Know it All," but Rihanna's made quite the impact with "We Found Love." Britney's got "Criminal," and Gaga's got "Marry the Night;" and Katy Perry's hoping for a new record with "The one that got away." Ke$ha, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera are holding out for next year. And as for Beyonce I have no idea what her next single will be, I've heard that it'll be "Party" and "Love on Top" and "Countdown" so I'm going to just wait and see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)