Here we are: 2009 is over and in order to celebrate it, I want to offer you a retrospect about the 10 albums which smashed my playlist last year; hoping that 2010 will be even better.
The album which had a huge impact on my playlist is surely The Fame. Although this record was released in 2008, Lady Gaga really became famous early 2009, that’s the reason why I allow myself to include it in my list.
Best songs: Just Dance, Poker Face, Paparazzi
02. The Fame Monster
Lady Gaga’s second piece of work didn’t make her fail from her acclaimed status. Full of eccentricity, this 8 track EP is just what the fan of pop that I am needs.
Best Songs: Telephone, So Happy I could die, Alejandro
It was surely the best surprise of the year: Korean singer BoA released her first American album in 2009, and the least we can say is that it was actually amazing. Any song of it is a potential hit. Too bad she failed in the charts.
Best Songs: Obsessed, Touched, Look Who’s Talkin’.
04. Turn it Up
Pixie’s first album was definitely my best discovering in 2009 and also marked my Anglophilia return. Anyway, this record is a decent one. I particularly enjoy the mix of contemporary music and retro influences with a British sound in it. Gorgeous.
Best Songs: Mama Do, Boys & Girls, Rolling Stone
05. Fearless Platinum Edition
Taylor Swift’s reedition album was a pleasant surprise, especially as the new songs are pretty good. But what I like the most about it is the genuineness there is in her songs and the easy way she can express it. Lovely.
Best Songs: You belong with me, White Horse, Love Story.
I didn’t know much about Cheryl until listening her solo album and falling in love with such a lovely singer. That album isn’t that catchy but Love issues are discussed in a relevant way.
Best Songs: Fight For This Love, 3 Words, Stand Up.
07. La Roux
La Roux is the new British electro-pop siren which blew me away in 2009. Their 80’s influenced music cast a spell on me and I’m now looking forward their next release.
Best Songs : In For the Kill, Bulletproof, Fascination
08. Wordshaker
Although the Saturdays disappointed me a lot with her second – impersonal and cliché – album, I feel they deserve to be here because they really did a decent job last year with their first album singles ( Work, I can’t get enough), so I guess it’s like a reward to put them in my top. Besides, Ego and Open Up and Here Standing from their second LP are not that bad.
Best Songs : Ego, Open Up, Wordshaker
09. Overcome
I didn’t pay much attention with Alexandra Burke until the release of her first true single “Bad Boys” in 2009. Her album is commercial, not really personal and it’s a grower, but it’s still a pleasure to listen to Alexandra’s powerful voice. Do not focus on the fact she’s a X Factor winner, you’ll miss something if you do.
Best Songs : Bad Boys, Broken Heels, Hallelujah
10. She Wolf
I have to admit that I was very disappointed when Shakira came back with such a crappy album last year. Except two or three tracks, nothing really caught my ears. But as often, this album grew on me and I occasionally listen to it, especially as USA second single “Give it up to me” is good.
Best Songs : She Wolf, Men in this town, Give it up to me
Conclusion : 2009 has not been so bad. Several hit singles have really had a huge impact on me. Lady Gaga has been the 09′ sensation and my guilty pleasure. Anyway, there is something to remember about that year : electro-pop is the new music trend. Every artist tried it on and this phenomenon keeps on since Ke$ha will surely be the next success story pop star in 2010.
Marina and the Diamonds is the new pop sensation expected to break out into the music spotlight next year as Florence + the Machine did in 2009. Like this group, Marina is an eccentric artist who isn’t just simple pop but it seems that she really has substance. She sits on a fence between mainstream and alternative, which is really great since she is able to show the different sides of her personality without being formatted as a good and stupid pop doll.
Instead of embracing synth pop trend as La Roux or Little Boots, Marina’s music is pretty peculiar and unique, and this is probably the reason why people feel so much excitement towards her. The most impressive thing about her is her unusual voice. She uses it as a specific instrument as she would play the guitar or the piano. Besides, there’s something quite dichotomous about her because she appears as a bit unhinged, playful but she proves when required she can do a serious work, especially vocally speaking.
Mowgli’s road is Marina’s first major label single. This is an amazing pop track driven by catchy beats and her distinct vocals which make the song so subtle and original. Its childish and bouncy sound renders very closely what an imaginary adventure in a jungle can be. This track has actually enough energy to make anyone move and dance with speaking animals or even to swing with a creeper. Listening to Marina is what we can call a second childhood: we manage to dream again, to create our own fairytale. Yes, sometimes that’s it the power of music.
No doubt about it: Marina and the Diamonds will be the name on everyone lips next year. However, it’s hard to know we have to wait until the release of her first album to go further in her magical world.
Grade: B
The United Kingdom got down on its knees to her. Walking down the street, going into the shops, listening to the radio, reading newspapers and magazines, watching TV, looking on the internet, you can’t miss her : Cheryl Cole is everywhere and definitely became the new National Treasure. So when the most beautiful Girls Aloud’s member announced her plan to take a brief break to embark on a solo outing, we had great expectations towards her first album “3 words”. Now is the moment of truth! Is Cheryl’s album as good as expected or is it a repeat of Posh Spice’s r’n’b horror?
Before we even begin, we have to contextualize the release of this album, especially as things have changed a lot for Cheryl Cole. In January 2008, the pop star was humiliated in the Sun due to her husband’s alleged adultery. But, a few tears later, Cheryl Cole kept her head up, reconciled with her husband, became a judge on Britain’s biggest show on TV – the X Factor – ; and eventually gets the Media’s adoration to such a point that she is now probably the most cherished celebrity in Great Britain since Princess Diana’s death. And we have all the reasons to think that these difficult times Cheryl has gone through are the key to understand the theme of her album: “When you want something, if you fight then you’ll get it.”
As the songs go by, Cheryl explores the different sides of Love which indefinitely fluctuates between Happiness and Heartaches; however she eventually gives us an optimist message with her hit “Fight for This Love”. Love is pain…Love is the key; to sum up Cheryl’s final idea , we would say that “Although Love can be painful, it’s required to be happy so you have to do anything possible to keep it running when it’s worthwhile. Positive aspects always prevail over bad effects” .This album actually sounds like Cheryl’s confidence about her self-experience and the recent love troubles she managed to overcome. That’s why it’s so girly and romantic.
For the release of this “3 Words”, Cheryl Cole worked with Black Eyed Peas’ international star Will.i.am who produced and featured half of the tracks. Thus, we can hear the new trendy Black Eyed Peas’s musical orientation which sounds really contemporary by mixing R’n’Bish and dance influences. This can be catchy as it can be really cheap, and we have to admit that most of the time, it sounds like old demos. This is really THE disappointment of the album. To say the truth Wayne Wilkins, Steve Kipner and Syience‘s produced tracks are much better.
The album starts off with “3 Words” which introduces us to a Love celebration anthem. As everyone can guess, the 3 words Cheryl is talking about are “I Love you”, but to say the truth, this song doesn’t sound like a love tune at all or it may be about a withering love since it is really dull and annoying. It’s a decent electro-pop tune you can listen in autumn, when you re depressed but it really lacks of substance to show you how exciting Love is actually. The guitars, the bass, voices never really build up and eventually sound monotonous. Thank God, Cheryl makes up for her first mistake and shows everyone she is able to talk about love without wearying her listeners. Indeed “Parachute” is a memorable r’n’b love song with its military percussions and its sweet choruses. Cheryl is evoking a secret love so brilliantly that we actually wish we could fall in love again. “Baby if I got you, I don’t need a parachute” What a loving metaphor to attest that love is what keeps human being so happy! It’s so nicely narrated that we really want to believe in.
“Heaven” bears out this conception of love as it’s another enjoyable electro tune. This time, Will.i.am doesn’t make it sound bad nor annoying. But the strongest point is undeniably Cheryl’s sugar voice which attests that happiness can be reached on Earth thanks to Love. “I get a glimpse of heaven for every time I feel your lovin” We can really feel how this sentence is true when we are in love. It may sound quite immature, but I think that when you fall in love, it’s like your second childhood so we mustn’t blame Cheryl for such a thing. It just proves its genuineness. Unfortunately, Cheryl Cole sometimes goes too far when she’s talking about love, so that she falls in stereotypes – lyrically and musically speaking – as “Happy Hour” shows…Despite a pleasant message, this track is really a shame. The melody sounds cheap – like a bad 90’s r’n’b tune- and the ridiculous love analogies don’t help at all. Cheryl Cole vocals are easily getting irritating as they are so simpleton. Someone should have told her that the metaphor of love & alcohol is really outdated! Anyway, we are not surprised to learn that Will.i.am produced this track.
“A Boy like you” isn’t much better than the previous song and it even emphasizes how weak Cheryl’s vocals are. Of course, the instrumental still sounds really outmoded, a bit like an old demo. Our favourite X Factor judge continues to tell that love is required to be happy, but it’s getting annoying, even when you are truly in love so what will happen then?
Then, Cheryl managed once more to outshine our disappointment thanks to a beautiful ballad “Don’t Talk About This Love”. In that song, Cheryl stops deceiving us about Love and refers to its double-edged side. “Love is brutal, My Heart is fragile”. Although True Love shows that Heaven exists on Earth, it can hurt you and make you really upset. And we can feel this dimension thanks to Cheryl’s delicate and sweet voice. However, as we can notice, her vocals are sweeter than really fragile, so that it shows that happiness Love brings to us actually prevails over punctual sad moments.
In “3 words”, Cheryl Cole also mentions her heartaches and shows us the other side of Love: Pain. “Rain on me” is obviously the most significant song about this theme, about the way Love can turn out and make suffer a person. It’s a stunning ballad which suits Cheryl Voice more than anyone else, as the chorus proves it to us. Cheryl can actually sing and that’s not her irresistible “Rain on meee” that will refute my thoughts. I have to admit that the first time I listened to it, I found it really bad due to its mediocre synthesized melody, but it grew on me and got stuck on my head due to Cheryl’s singing which is full of emotions.
As far as “Make me Cry” is concerned, it’s really a bad outdated R’n’B song. Guess who produced it? Will.i.am! This tune unsurprisingly lacks of substance and catchiness. But we can find it an asset: it hurts our ears so badly that we can realize how pain love can be. We don’t have to be so upset: Nobody is perfect and Cheryl Cole can make mistakes – especially when she chooses her producers-. As you guess, “Heartbreaker” is also about heartaches but I won’t enlarge on that song since –one it’s uninteresting and doesn’t add something new, two – after such a disappointment about Will.i.am, we shouldn’t take our chance again , – and three Cheryl Cole only sings 30 seconds of it so I even wonder why it’s on her album.
Nevertheless, although Love can be pain, it really worth having since it brings to us happiness so, according to Cheryl, we have to fight to get it and to keep it running. It’s our only opportunity to be really happy, so we mustn’t waste it. I think this is the key message of this album and our favorite singer refers to it with her two best songs: “Stand Up” and “Fight For This Love”. The first one is a great electro/dance upbeat song about the way to get love: If you want it, you have to stand up and catch it. At least, I think that’s what this intoxicating chorus implies: “’Cause I came here to dance I’m gonna put up my hands and stand up – stand up ».
At last, “Fight for This Love” shines above the rest. In fact, this is a treasure among Cheryl’s casket. Its message is really powerful and we can feel that the military beats, its gorgeous chorus and Cheryl’s unique voice is totally proper to render it. There are actually no words to describe how good and intense it is. When we listen to it, we immediately want to believe in love and to fight for it; maybe because it’s like a shout which comes from Cheryl Cole’s heart.
Here is her first single music video :
The United Kingdom is definitely a land smelling of good music. This is a land where each year the most talented pop stars open out. After Leona Lewis’ worldwide success in 2008, 2009 will be the year of the consecration for Alexandra Burke. Indeed, the winner of the last edition of UK television singing talent show X Factor will be releasing her debut album on October 19th. Besides, her first single “Bad Boys” featuring Flo Rida seems to be a good prologue for the apotheosis to come. So check it out!
Whereas her predecessor had chosen to behave like the new British diva, Alexandra preferred the “Bad Girl” character, that’s probably why she’s sitting on one of the hottest pop debuts of the decade. Wearing a sexy leather slip and heels, she wants to show that she’s a “femme fatale” and no one will resist her.
“Bad Boys” is an up-tempo dancy track with a common American feel in it. This is full of cliché synthesizers and sounds categorically speaking like any other song you can hear at the moment. According to my first words about this tune, you must think that it’s pretty bad, but actually it isn’t. Nothing could be further from my mind, just because I think it’s fun to listen to, although it doesn’t bring anything to the music history. Yes, it is not revolutionary but who cares. No one. It has been a while since young people (I mean in most cases) don’t care about musical innovations anymore. They just want to have a track they can dance and move on and I have to admit Bad Boys is typically this kind of song. So I won’t blame it for its lack of originality, I’ll try to judge on its quality instead.
Finally, “Bad Boys” goes brightly with the tide. In my opinion, Alexandra chose the right music orientation because her voice is exceptional and goes well with this urban/dance style. Many of you surely wanted her to do music like Mariah Carey or Leona Lewis did, but I think would have been difficult to establish herself in the same register because there are already great vocalists. So her choice is actually good. The song starts off with a great police siren illustrating Alexandra’s “bad” side, and that’s really cool. It’s dynamic, driving you absolutely crazy about the song “rhythm”. The beats are catchy and make you wanna shake your body. But the strongest point of the track is undeniably Alexandra’s impressive vocals. It really flows well with the dark melody, especially her shouts. Incredible.
To conclude, I’ll say this song is the most striking and danceable song I listened since Womanizer. So, I would say that is a quality product you can consume without any moderation.
Just a thing, I want to underline: Flo Rida does not add anything special to this tune. He just appears so as to create a buzz and make the song bigger than it is actually…
Grade : B+
In the recent years, the United Kingdom became just like a factory of great female pop singers. After Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke or even La Roux, Pixie Lott is the last evidence of such a phenomenon.
Unknown until last June, the pretty blonde definitely established herself as the new British pop siren due to her impressive vocals and her inborn charisma. Coming out of the blue, she arrived like a delicate breeze on the musical market and blew out people boredom and idleness. Her first single “Mama do” topped the UK single chart, making her the first English female singer to get a number one single without any TV reality show background.; a star was born. Pixie Lott is now going to release her debut studio album on September 14th, a week later her second hit release “Boys & Girls”. It’s now available so check it out together!
First Pixie Lott’s album is a brilliant combination of contemporary pop music with retro influences, but still sounding very fresh. This musical dichotomy makes Pixie Lott’s soul come to light and revealed her feelings about teenage life that fluctuates between love issues and enjoying the club scene. Besides, this double dimension is perceptible in Pixie‘s will to make her listeners have a real good time with danceable tracks but also to move them with such beautiful ballads. Thus, this opus shines artistically speaking due to these disparate oppositions. Even Pixie’s vocals are still very different: her voice can be sweet and juvenile but also powerful and mature. This is the strongest point of the album: all its nuances appeal to us and show how serious the work on this musical production has been.
The album starts off with “Mama Do”, the single that pushed her towards the front of the stage and shows to the whole world who Pixie Lott is. Besides, this track is really representative of Pixie’s vocal, image and musical direction. This is a sensational pop track including 60’s soulful elements. Pixie sounds like a mix of Winehouse dark style and Duffy’s glamour in it. The second track, “Cry me out” is a classic 50’s pop ballad where Pixie‘s vocals extent leak out. The chorus high notes are perfectly executed and show how mature and full her voice is. It sounds epic and totally gorgeous. “Nothing Compares”, like the previous one, is a stunning epic ballad whose verses are completely overshadowed by the chorus where Pixie shines vocally speaking; disclosing every nuance she can sing.
Pixie has the sense not to weary her listeners too much with “solemn ballads” and knows how to brighten up their days with sweet treasures like “Band Aid” or even “My Love”. The atmosphere of the album becomes consequently cooler and airier, perfect to take you into an exotic land you don’t want to leave anymore. Her vocals sound a bit immature but that adds a soothy dimension to the songs. Thus, Band Aid with its island feel will make you feel good, whereas My Love will calm things down with its flowy R’n’B-ish melody.
This part of the opus aims to raise love issues and to unveil the different sides of the most powerful feeling a human being is able to feel.
Dancy anthems are also present on “Turn it up” with dynamic tunes like “Boys & Girls” that makes you wanna have a party. Besides, this track is the most precious treasure in Miss Lott’s casket. Pixie effortlessly rides the beat of the song with her impressive vocals. The chorus is really catchy and intoxicating, especially when Pixie keeps repeating “All the boys and the girls (no you just can’t stop)”. “Turn it up “is another danceable track that gets stuck in my head and drives me completely insane.
It seems that RedOne didn’t escape neither from Pixie’s charm since he produced an energetic song entitled“Here we Go again” for her. This is what I can call a hit due to its infectious beats and great arrangements. Pixie Lott gave it a special dimension, so that it sounds both English and so modern. At last, “Gravity” is another gold nugget present on this album. This is a dynamic ballad but sounding still very touching. Pixie’s synthesized voice makes it really powerful and sounding quite “industrial” . However it’s still addictive and pleasant to hear. Indeed, it’s different from the others ballads and I think that is its strongest point. The melodic efficaciousness seems to prevail over the emotion it’s supposed to express, and I can say it works well.
With this second part, Pixie demonstrates she’s able make you dance as well as she can touch you.
To conclude with this review, I will briefly talk about the three disappointments of this musical production. Those are of course “The Way the World Works”, “Jack” and “Hold me in your arms“which are weaker than the previous songs. These tunes are classic, I can even say generic ballads. Pixie Lott sings well, but it’s still quite forgettable, that’s why I won’t enlarge on this subject.
Is this album good? Did Pixie Lott take up the challenge? My answer is yes.
Ps: Hope you won’t care this review is a bit long…
Here is a song you may like :
There is obviously a reason why Paolo Nutini has been greeted with such excitement and critical praising: He’s talented and his musical orientation is quite different from what you have the opportunity to listen to now. Indeed, everybody is currently waiting for electro-pop stars such as Lady Gaga or LaRoux, and many artists from the other kinds of music are whisked away. That’s just unfair, so I want to talk about a soul/folk singer success this time.
Scottish singer Paolo Nutini is surely one of the musical surprises that happened this year. He came back with his brilliant album “Sunny Side Up” in 2009 and peaked at number one on the UK album charts. Nobody was expecting this from him but he made it. He won the British audience over and managed to establish himself as a serious artist on the UK musical market.
So after the well-deserved success of his second album, Paolo Nutini is coming back with his second single ” Coming Up Easy” this summer in order to cast the British crowd once again. Maybe his spell will work on you too, so check out his last music video below!
Bearing it in your mind, Paolo Nutini is the new male prodigy of British folk music. Despite his baby-faced good look, his voice is husky and full of emotions. He sounds really mature, not really sensual but who cares…ok, ok, it’s the only thing we can blame his singing for.
“Coming up Easy” is not really one of the most precious treasures on Paolo Nutini’s album, but it’s still a pleasant slow mid-tempo tune with a folksy retro feel in it. When I listened to it the first time, I didn’t really notice how good his vocal performance was. It first sounded a bit annoying but it kept growing in me, and I can feel now all the subtleties there are in this song. This track is so restrained, sober that I ‘m unable to say it’s striking or even powerful. But I have to say that after several listens; we can really discover and enjoy what the tune gives to us. Finally I recommend it to you – occasionally-. I think actually that you should give this single its chance and do not judge it too fast. It takes time to be appreciated.
After having assured themselves an acclaim status as they scored number one with their debut single “My Baby’s waiting”, Industry is now ready to storm the Ireland charts this fall with their – brilliant- second single “Burn”. And it’s starting well since it peaked at number one this week. I hope it will give Industry the opportunity to establish definitely themselves on the Irish musical market.
Industry is a mixed pop-group composed of four members: Lee Hutton, Morgan Deane, Michele Mc Grath and Donal Skehan. And needless to say that they have everything to succeed since girls and boys are pretty hot. What’s more, their songs are really easy to listen to and everything about this band shows how good music can be. It’s just all good. Check it out below!
The producer/writer of this new single must be put on a pedestal since “Burn” is a gorgeous ballad. I have no words to describe how powerful and intense emotionally speaking it is. It’s just a masterpiece.
It starts off with a sweet piano introduction that gives a soft dimension to the song. When I listen to this part, I was only thinking that it will be a nice lullaby. But then, strong beats are coming to make the song more dynamic so that it becomes a little bit darker. Besides, I really like that we can feel sweetness and darkness in this song. It’s a special atmosphere that makes you fly away. Although the melody has been well-composed, this song strongest point is the vocals, especially Morgan’s one. She can reach very high notes, without quavering. It’s just a pleasure for our ears. Of course the other members’ singing is good too, and the chorus which mixes every voice together is totally addictive. But Morgan is more skilful than anybody else. And I have to say that I enjoy Donal’s voice too due to its common sounding. Anyway, what I love the most about Industry is their total vocal osmosis. That’s just an asset.
“Burn” is undeniably a hit. Nobody can doubt it, so I hope they’ll get a chance to breakthrough in some other parts of the world.
.jpg "Ke$ha")
Ke$ha is an American pop singer that will surely cause sensation this fall as Lady Gaga did before. Indeed, the Media is not indifferent to her urban/dance pop musical orientation. Besides, she featured on Flo Rida hit “Right Round”; and thanks to this media exposition she successfully used, she’s releasing her first single while she’s still under the spotlights. So, after several name changes from Dolla to P.Diddy, Ke$ha debut single finally entitled “Tik Tok” is available since August 7th. It will go for adds at Mainstream Radio on September 15, 2009.
Ke$ha is currently working with the producer Dr. Luke on her album that is set to be released later this year. A new dance pop phenomenon is looming. Check it out her first single!
Ke$ha is just like an anti-popstar figure, in the sense that she is never at a loss for something to say. She’s a bad girl and we can feel this in the way she sings dirtily. She is provoking, rough but I’m not sure that will be a positive point for her because she might play second fiddle to established “bitchy” singers such as Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. The Americans may think she’s just too common whereas she’s not.
“Tik Tok ” is a commercial electro-pop tune but still different from the songs we usually listen to . It has an urban feel that makes it sound so catchy and by the way very nasty and wilful. I really like the way Ke$ha sings as she’s speaking . It’s quite impressive and makes the the song more dynamic. Besides, the hook is totally addictive. The weakest point of this track is the excessive use of autotune which finally sounds noisy. It gives me headache. Anyway, you can listen to it with moderation.
At this rate, nobody can deny that this summer belongs to David Guetta. After the success of his first single “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland that topped the UK single chart, and ” I Gotta Feelin’ “ Black Eyed Peas’ worldwide hit he produced, the French DJ keeps shaking up the dance-pop world. It’s now the turn of his second single ” Sexy Bitch” to set fires in the clubs. This time, he collaborated with an American-Senegalese rapper : Akon.
Anyway, Guetta is able to do anything so as to win fame in the United States of America, and he proves it to us. One the one hand, he invites the most fashionable rapper to sing on his upcoming album, and on the other hand, he entitles his song ” Sexy Bitch”, that is to say something provoking , something about sex in order to sell more copies. Artistically speaking, that is not a praising move; that just shows us that Guetta’s only aim is having a hit. He quite achieved his goal since this single topped the UK and the Australian single charts ( I don’t want to put fuel on the fire, but if Guetta were alone, his single woudn’t be a number one hit).
Fortunately, this tune is not so bad to listen to, weakest than his previous single, but you should give it a listen. Besides the official music video is now available, so check it out below!
Sexy Bitch is a fusion of urban and dance music. It’s darker and sexier than “When Love Takes Over” but don’t have the same crossover appeal than its predecessor. It’s driven by catchy beats and nasal Akon’s voice which mix well with the melody. The chorus is the strongest part of the track due to its energy, its power. But I just can’t stand David Guetta’s accent, because it sounds like he’s saying ” Sexy Fish“. Why does he sing? He does not add anything to the song! Anyway, I can say “Sexy Bitch” is easily listenable to have fun and dance. But it doesn’t have any other interest. The repetitive and generic structure of the tune shows again that Guetta’s goal is having a hit. Nothing else. It’s just like he’s not really involved in the songs he produced. That’s too bad because Guetta is not a poor DJ/Producer.
As far as the lyrics of the song is concerned, I won’t comment on them. I’m sure you know what I’m thinking about it.
