In Pop Music, there are always a slew of records that are so popaliciously delicious that no matter you're opinion on the artist, the genre or the rest of the album, you find yourself falling in inexplicably in love with that particular song. This has unabashedly happened to me more times than I can count (Jonas Brothers, anyone?) but I must say that quite a few have cropped up recently that have seen an obscene amount of plays over the past few weeks...Let's discuss, shall we?
Miley Cyrus - Party In the USA
I've briefly mentioned my surprise love for this song before, but the sheer amount of plays this has been racking up while I'm in a semi-malaise at work is really starting to frighten me. It may never surpass the pop perfectness that is "See You Again", but I will put the kudos to the incredible Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly for making yet another pop masterpiece. I do have to say, there's just something about Miley's voice and attitude that just makes these ridiculously lyrics incredible. After a perusal of the rest of her new EP, I have to say -- this kid is gonna be around for awhile, and I think I'm alright with that. Her new-er release, "When I Look At You", mimicks the feel of "The Climb" -- she is proving her worth in the ever-difficult transition toward more adult material. I find myself pressing repeat for "Talk Is Cheap" as well. Every song (including the Jonas Brothers duet, "Before the Storm") is worthy of a listen, and while at times Cyrus' voice verges into cartoon-ish, almost Muppet-like stretchs, I feel like Disney definitely got it right with her. Who'da thunk all those years ago when I was a wee little thing, watching in hilarious amusement as my relatives drunkenly danced along to Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart" that his daughter would really steal the show? Crazy.
Selena Gomez & The Scene - Falling Down
Keeping with the Disney train, "Wizards of Waverly Place" star Selena Gomez has unveiled the first single from her inevitable music project, but unlike her Disney cohorts, she is apart of a "band", dubbed Selena Gomez & The Scene. I would have preferred if she had the band name be Selena & The Scene -- I think that rolls off the tongue better, but I'm assuming her full name is included by desicion by Mickey Mouse and his brethren. I give her credit for attempting to be a bit more different than the multitude of female pop/rock projects that have come out of the Disney machine, most notably that by her best friend Demi Lovato. While comparison's to Miley and Demi will most definitely fly with this little piece of teen-pop/punk, I have to admit, to say this isn't one of the catch-iest effing things ever would be a total lie. (Best line: Your eyes are fixed/You're smile is so elastic/You give me roses but/They're all just made of plastic -- is this a dig at former beau Nick Jonas, perhaps? Hmm) It really is the epitome of pop guilty pleasure to me -- because I feel kind of silly playing a Selena Gomez song, knowing all the words and kind of rocking out in my cubicle. But I do. ::sigh:: I'm such a sucker.
Michael Bolton - Murder My Heart (feat. Lady Gaga)
I think even those who aren't so keen on Gaga were pretty curious about this track when it was announced a few weeks back that the New Princess of Pop has penned a track for Michael Bolton (what didn't surprise me was Bolton's apparant cluelessness about who she even is). Even writing that now feels completely random and strange that you just have to listen. What surprised me most is that it sounds very Bolton. I was fearing it would be some strange Gaga bastardization that would just make me shake my head at how pervasive Gaga's appeal has become literally overnight, but it's not. The song sounds like typical Bolton -- the sweeping, 90's-esque power ballad, with his rich and velvety vocals -- but the cherry on top is you can hear Gaga supplying limited background vocals. The song is very stripped down (just piano and strings with limited synth) in comparison to what you would think of when you think of a Gaga production -- all electro and madness. It's just the kind of thing that they eat up over at the Adult Contemporary radio format, and is a true testament to Lady Gaga's talent...only time will tell on the song's monetary success, though. Dang, I really wanna hear "When A Man Loves A Woman" now...
Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Casanova
I'm not trying to label Ms. Underwood as any kind of throwaway guilty pleasure here -- her talent is truly undeniable and that voice of hers is surely a doosey. However, country just isn't my thing except for a few exceptions and even then it's usually just a few crossover-style songs. With that said, Carrie has a penchant for producing country-style ballads, which is all good and fine for those who enjoy that kind of thing. But when she puts out a floor-stomping yee-haw uptempo pop-crossover stunner, I tend to get sucked in with no apology. So far, it seems there's one song from each album era that I tend to repeat over and over with no sign of it getting old. Some Hearts had "Before He Cheats" (can you believe that was released as the fifth official single from that record? Crazy!), Carnival Ride had "Last Name", and her upcoming third album Play On will have "Cowboy Casanova". It's hardly breaking new ground, but it feels so darn good to sing along to. I downloaded the song for a lark and found myself a goner. Considering Ms. Shania Twain has been out of the pop relevancy picture for quite a while, there is no question Carrie has no problem filling up her stilleto cowboy boots.
Alexandra Burke - Bad Boys (feat. Flo Rida)
Unlike so many bloggers, I feel like I have a pretty unbiased opinion on Alexandra, mostly because I have never seen any of her "The X Factor" performances. Upon first hearing of "Hallelujah", I felt she was an adequte new entry into pop, but worried about her obvious comparisons to "The X Factor"s best winner, Leona Lewis. I was pleased (although a bit blindsided) by her first official solo single, "Bad Boys", which was unveiled a few weeks back. The intro almost turned me off, and then it launches into that chorus and the sheer poppiness grabbed my ears and wouldn't let go. Even Flo Rida's throw-away rap which has seemed to be included on literally ever interesting female project in the past two years isn't unbearable. I think it's the "ooh wey ooh wahh"s that do me in completely. That added to that pulsating back beat, and I'm done. For sure. The album's production lineup is not to be denied, so if the full record has a few more scorchers, I may be officially on her team.
Michael Bolton - Murder My Heart (feat. Lady Gaga)
I think even those who aren't so keen on Gaga were pretty curious about this track when it was announced a few weeks back that the New Princess of Pop has penned a track for Michael Bolton (what didn't surprise me was Bolton's apparant cluelessness about who she even is). Even writing that now feels completely random and strange that you just have to listen. What surprised me most is that it sounds very Bolton. I was fearing it would be some strange Gaga bastardization that would just make me shake my head at how pervasive Gaga's appeal has become literally overnight, but it's not. The song sounds like typical Bolton -- the sweeping, 90's-esque power ballad, with his rich and velvety vocals -- but the cherry on top is you can hear Gaga supplying limited background vocals. The song is very stripped down (just piano and strings with limited synth) in comparison to what you would think of when you think of a Gaga production -- all electro and madness. It's just the kind of thing that they eat up over at the Adult Contemporary radio format, and is a true testament to Lady Gaga's talent...only time will tell on the song's monetary success, though. Dang, I really wanna hear "When A Man Loves A Woman" now...
Carrie Underwood - Cowboy Casanova
I'm not trying to label Ms. Underwood as any kind of throwaway guilty pleasure here -- her talent is truly undeniable and that voice of hers is surely a doosey. However, country just isn't my thing except for a few exceptions and even then it's usually just a few crossover-style songs. With that said, Carrie has a penchant for producing country-style ballads, which is all good and fine for those who enjoy that kind of thing. But when she puts out a floor-stomping yee-haw uptempo pop-crossover stunner, I tend to get sucked in with no apology. So far, it seems there's one song from each album era that I tend to repeat over and over with no sign of it getting old. Some Hearts had "Before He Cheats" (can you believe that was released as the fifth official single from that record? Crazy!), Carnival Ride had "Last Name", and her upcoming third album Play On will have "Cowboy Casanova". It's hardly breaking new ground, but it feels so darn good to sing along to. I downloaded the song for a lark and found myself a goner. Considering Ms. Shania Twain has been out of the pop relevancy picture for quite a while, there is no question Carrie has no problem filling up her stilleto cowboy boots.
Alexandra Burke - Bad Boys (feat. Flo Rida)
Unlike so many bloggers, I feel like I have a pretty unbiased opinion on Alexandra, mostly because I have never seen any of her "The X Factor" performances. Upon first hearing of "Hallelujah", I felt she was an adequte new entry into pop, but worried about her obvious comparisons to "The X Factor"s best winner, Leona Lewis. I was pleased (although a bit blindsided) by her first official solo single, "Bad Boys", which was unveiled a few weeks back. The intro almost turned me off, and then it launches into that chorus and the sheer poppiness grabbed my ears and wouldn't let go. Even Flo Rida's throw-away rap which has seemed to be included on literally ever interesting female project in the past two years isn't unbearable. I think it's the "ooh wey ooh wahh"s that do me in completely. That added to that pulsating back beat, and I'm done. For sure. The album's production lineup is not to be denied, so if the full record has a few more scorchers, I may be officially on her team.
2 comments:
I'm actually quite fond of 3 of those songs. I sort of forget the Miley song exists then it pops up on my mp3 player and i'm in love all over again. Michael's song is rather decent and could be a massive hit. And despite all the fake snot she blew all over Beyonce, I have put aside my prejudices and quite fallen for the Alexandra single!! Shame Cheryl Cole's song is so Victoria Beckham trying to hard :/
The new Alexandra single I still think is brilliant--I can't wait until its released to see how well it does in the charts (meaning if it can match the success of "Bleeding Love") It is genuinly(?) a good song. Ooh! Nyycee write up, yo!
ps--your word variation thingy was fishkin, it just made me laugh so i thought i'd share lol.
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