IT'S COMING! 'This is Acting' is set to drop in January, but thankfully Sia isn't making us wait for the whole thing. Over the last month or so, she has dropped track after track letting us know that this album is sure to be one of her best yet!
Songs from 'This is Acting' are songs Sia wrote for other artists (Adele, Shakira, Beyonce, Rihanna and more), but when the various artists turned them down Sia wasn't letting them go to waste.
"Alive", the first single from 'This is Acting', was written for Adele. And while I'm sure Adele would have SLAYED this track (because it's Adele and she kills anything she sings), there is something about Sia's voice that makes this song epic!
Another song Sia wrote for Adele but ended up recording herself is called "Bird Set Free". Same thing with this song. Adele would have been great, but Sia's voice MAKES the song.
Sia's "Cheap Thrills" was released within the last 24 hours. The song was intended for Rihanna, but after the rejection Sia realized it was too brit-pop and would have been better suited for Icona Pop.
Stay tuned for more on Sia's 'This is Acting' including a full album review in January!
So Adele's new album is pretty fantastic... And by pretty fantastic I mean it is a masterpiece!
By now I'm guessing you've heard "Hello", her first single. It's both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Lyrically it's a heartbreaking plea for her apology to be heard by an ex-lover. It truly is the perfect anthem for anyone who has ever wished to regain a love they once lost. Vocally speaking it is typical Adele. Flawless. She has her wonderfully sultry, alto sound mixed with her perfectly placed belts that will inspire chills to form.
In addition to her first single, the album is packed with songs that remind us why we love Adele. "When We Were Young" is my personal favorite. It's so simple, yet so complex. The instrumentals aren't overpowering. They're a subtle piano and guitar accompaniment in addition to a drum set played with soft mallets. The song really focuses on Adele, which is why we all buy her albums anyway. Because she is nothing short of perfect! And what's better than an Adele album? LIVE ADELE PERFORMANCES! Check out her performance of "When We Were Young" on Saturday Night Live here:
Adele is BACK and better than ever! As for the rest of the album, it is all sorts of amazing and definitely worth the purchase! I just hope we don't have to wait another four years for her next!
X Ambassadors -- what a talented group of guys! You may know them from their song "Renegades", but there's so much more to them than that one track.
Like this one! It's called "Unsteady" and it is BEAUTIFUL! For starters, the vocals are straight up sexy. Sam Harris has a voice that will make you melt within the first two lines of the song. Lyrically this song is gold. While it may be simple, "hold, hold on, hold onto me 'cause I'm a little unsteady", is such a beautiful line. Take a listen for yourself:
And this last song I'm going to share with you...let's just say, my roommate says the song made her instantly pregnant. I have no idea how that all works, but I believe that to mean it made her feel lots and lots of things. For me personally, I agree this song is a sexy sexy SEXY song. Sam's voice is EVERYTHING! It's called "Gorgeous" and all I'm going to say is wait until the 2:55 mark. THAT VOICE THOUGH!
X Ambassadors have crazy amounts of talent and I can't wait to hear more from them!
I love a song that can make you feel things. This song does just that. "Used to Love You" takes out your heart, rips it to shreds and then leaves you crying in the shower with a beer in hand. Ok...maybe that's just me.
It's no secret, I'm a Swiftie. I think the lady has some mad talent. While some may argue the strength of her vocals, there's no denying her kick ass songwriting abilities.
And just check out that walk! This girl SLAYS!
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know a number of tracks from 1989, like this catchy song:
And most likely this one too:
But in my opinion, neither compares to "I Wish You Would". Taylor hasn't posted a video of this one, but I think the best cover out there is by Cillan Andersson. Check out her version here:
Another thing about Taylor's shows would be the theatrics. Her dancers are insanely good, and they utilize props very strategically. The whole thing is a major production that you have to see to believe.
For those of you who have read my previous posts, you know I have a deep love for all things Kelly Clarkson and Pentatonix. On August 4th they made a stop in Saint Paul and I couldn't miss the opportunity to be inside the arena.
Pentatonix opened the show with their "Daft Punk Melody", which I have to say is one of my favorites. I've shared the video with you in the past, but it is so good I have to share it again. I couldn't find a good quality live version, but the video is so fun that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reshare:
In addition to this amazing mix, the crew wowed the audience with their own version of Omi's "Cheerleader". The video is as good as any cell phone video can be, but you're just going to have to trust me when I say it's amazing in person.
I had to leave the arena for a bit during their set, so I missed a majority of it but no worries because they came out later WITH Kelly to nail "Heartbeat Song"!
Previously I mentioned I had to leave the arena and missed quite a bit of Pentatonix's set. That is because I got to meet Kelly Clarkson! Let me just say, this woman is not only amazing on the stage but off it as well. She was so genuine and took the time to have legitimate conversations with each and every fan that had a meet and greet pass. Just one more reason to love this woman!
Kelly's music is amazing, but what's even more amazing is the fact that she is one of those rare artists that sounds better live than on her album. She hits every note and doesn't skimp on the powerhouse belts she is known for. Get to 2:20 in "Catch My Breath" and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.
A really great feature Kelly has added to this tour is when she brings a hometown singer on stage and lets them do their thing. At this particular show she brought up Jeff Johnson who did Josh Groban's "Remember When it Rained". This man had a wonderful voice, but my favorite part was all of the local support. Everyone stood during Pentatonix and Kellys' sets. They gave Jeff that same respect and cheered him on throughout the whole song. It was a fantastic display of supporting local artists.
For the last couple of tours, Kelly has done fan request numbers. Most of which become trending topics on social media the day after. This night was no different as she took on Prince's "Purple Rain". This iconic song is already a hit in its own right, but Kelly took it and made it her own. This girl doesn't shy away from a challenge and that is apparent with this cover right here:
I mean seriously, is there a song this woman can't sing!?! I fully predict that with a voice like hers paired with her charming and humorous personality, she will continue to entertain listeners for many years to come.
Last night I attended The Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour (Colbie Caillat, Christina Perri and Rachel Platten). Let me just start off by saying that this was one of the most amazing nights of music I have ever experienced. Their success stories, their music and the way they worked the crowd made this night one to remember.
First up: Rachel Platten.
Rachel has been writing music for years (10+). She has paid her dues, so to speak, and the crowd received her extremely well. People were on their feet and the closing number showed some serious amounts of audience participation.
For starters, a little throwback Rachel Platten. This song is from 2011 and is called "1,000 Ships". It peaked at 24 on the US Adult Pop charts. Personally, I love it. I think it's fun and she sounds like Regina Spektor a bit.
One of my favorite songs from her performance last night was "Congratulations". I had never heard it before until last night, and you best believe it's on my iPod as of this morning.
Backtracking a bit to the beginning of the show...
While finding my way to my seat, I noticed multiple people with signs that said "I fight for _________". Cancer, Autism, my mother, my friend, the list goes on and on. I assumed these were for "Fight Song," but I had no idea of the power those signs would carry.
Skipping forward to the final song of her set...
This beautiful crowd held their signs high and proud while Rachel belted her song and I think we could all feel the sense of strength and support in the air. For those four minutes, we were all sharing in the strength her song brings.
I have to say her set seemed a bit short, but I'm sure we will see much more of Rachel Platten in the future.
My woman. I have traveled for this lady more than once and it's quite honestly because she slays every single time she takes the stage.
For starters, her personality. She's just great. She talked to the audience as if we were besties. In fact she asked us how we were all doing more than once, and not in that "HOW YOU DOING SIOUX CITY!!!!" kind of way. In the way that she genuinely just wanted to know if we were having a good time.
In addition to her adorable concern for the wellbeing of the crowd, she had a stellar band. You could tell she genuinely loves them because at the end of the show, she bowed with them. Her name is on the bass drum. Her name is on the album. Her name is on my ticket stub. She is Christina Perri, but she knows she can't do this without them and she praised each and every member of her band at least twice throughout the show.
Now onto the part you're all here for, the music.
As you can imagine, it was flawless. Christina quite honestly has one of the best voices in music today. What makes her the best, you ask? It's simple. She can sing live. She didn't miss a beat or a note and if you know her music, you know she has some CRAZY belts in there.
Now I know what you're thinking. Ok, maybe not but let's just pretend I do. "Christina Perri only writes sad songs." Wrong. Absolutely wrong. In fact, if you attend one of her concerts, she will most likely joke about that right before she sings "Be My Forever". If you listen closely, you may recognize the other person in this song. It's none other than Mr. Ed Sheeran!!
"Burning Gold" will always be a favorite of mine and last night her performance didn't disappoint. She KILLED it! The crowd even got in on the action by singing and dancing along, which made the whole experience that much better.
I'll wrap this up with my favorite part of her set. It's a crowd participation number filled with self affirmations:
"This is not the end of me. This is the beginning."
"Hold on."
"I am still alive."
I could keep telling you about it. Or I could show you. In the video it is amazing, but just imagine being there. The feeling of love is simply indescribable.
Up until last night, I had never seen her in concert. I didn't have any expectations, but let me just say she blew me away with her talents. This girl can sing! Like really sing!
She of course did the songs everyone knows and loves, but she also gave us a taste of her upcoming tracks (which are unfortunately not released on YouTube yet). First up, "I Never Told You". A great showcase of Colbie's talents and a fun crowd sing-a-long.
After this we got treated to one of her newer hits, "Try". There was something about this performance that seemed so genuine. There are times when artists sing their songs, but you can tell they aren't necessarily feeling their lyrics. That was not the case tonight and with Colbie. She meant every line of this song, especially the last one. The performance gave me chills and I'm fairly positive every single person in the audience was singing along. It was a fabulous performance!
Colbie ended the show with "Brighter than the Sun". It wasn't the closer I expected, but I think it was a great choice. The entire show the two women in front of me were screaming for her to sing it, and when she finally did everyone leapt from their seats. Audience participation alone made it a great number to close on.
Rachel Platten, Christina Perri and Colbie Caillat. Three beautiful women who put on one heck of a show! The tour just kicked off, so if you have the opportunity to go -- DO IT! I promise you won't regret the decision!
Karmin is set to release their second studio album later on this year titled "Leo Rising", which by the way looks to be amazing!!!! "Pulses" was flawless, so I'm excited to see how they one-up themselves yet again.
They recently released a trailer for their video "Didn't Know You". The song is currently available oniTunes, and the video looks to be FANTASTIC! Check out the video teaser here:
The duo has released acoustic versions of a few songs set to be on the album. My favorite so far is "Yesterday". Amy has a voice that is borderline indescribable. She's able to hit notes so low and pop back up into a range that causes chills to flow through your body. Her sound is so effortless and sultry. I could listen to her sing for hours on end.
And Nick. Nick. Nick. Nick. He can sing, play piano AND wail on trombone. He is beautiful in so many ways!
Quite honestly, these two are the perfect match for each other. Their sounds harmonize well and I just love them so much!
Check out their acoustic version of "Yesterday" here:
"Sugar" will surely be their next big, radio single as it is pop gold. No seriously. It has all of the things that make a great pop song. Even the acoustic is some of their best work. Check out the acoustic version here:
The main difference I am hearing between "Pulses" and their up and coming "Leo Rising" would be the maturity of their sound. "Pulses" was great, don't get me wrong. I just felt like their sound had some room for growth. I loved the album as a whole and I can already tell I'll love this next one.
First of all, let me just say that Andrew’s sound has
changed significantly from band to band and I love what he is currently
producing. Let’s start out with SmthngCorporate; a fantastic band with a
chill, more relaxed sound. Their musical voice seemed to be marketed to the “average”
teenager (Is there such a thing?) looking to find their own way in life. Jack’s Mannequin was started just as McMahon was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia.
The band had a sound that seemed more mature, as if the person behind the
lyrics had experienced a great deal of suffering (Wow, Sylvia, you’re a genius
with words today aren’t you?). Now we get to Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness;
a solo project. His album’s focus is about the start of a family, the birth of
a new life and love.
While the entire album is Worth a Listen, there are a few
tracks in particular that really stood out to me.
Track 2 is titled “Cecelia and the Satellite” and it is a
song for his first daughter explaining the life he wants for her. Even more so,
the song highlights the struggles McMahon has faced throughout his years and
the excitement he has for their future.
Track 5 is titled “See Her on the Weekend” and it describes
the entire writing process for his self-titled album. McMahon spent his week,
Monday through Friday, in a cabin drinking and writing. On the weekends he
would get to come home and spend it with his wife, who was pregnant with their
first child at the time. The story behind the song is really about finding the
balance and the fight to keep love alive.
Finally, my favorite, “High Dive” (track 3). If it isn't McMahon’s next
single, I will be shocked. Utterly shocked. It starts out a bit slow, but by
the end you’re going to be hitting that repeat button. And if you’re like me,
you’re on your 15th repeat since 7 this morning.
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. Worth a Listen.
AND if you get the opportunity to attend one of his concerts, do so. I recently attended one and it was beyond words!
I can't lie, I had never heard of Halsey until today. She was a random suggestion on the YouTube sidebar and I am so happy I clicked on it!
Her sound is similar to Ellie Goulding, especially in the beginning. She has a tone that is almost haunting, but not in a bad way at all. I will say that I feel the song never builds to its fullest potential. I found myself waiting for a big crash of sound, but it never came. I'm not saying that's a flaw in the song by any means, but I did find myself on the edge of my seat waiting for the climax of the song and it never reached its peak. Maybe that's the culmination of sound after all. Halsey builds the anticipation and then her calm sound comes back in leaving you wanting more and more.
Take a listen for yourself and let me know what you think.
Oh and by the way, the video is HOT! Slightly NSFW, but the artistry behind the video is phenomenal! Check out "Ghost" here:
In the future, I could definitely see Halsey teaming up with Calvin Harris or David Guetta and laying down an amazing EDM track.
Halsey: definitely worth a listen and I can't wait to hear more from her!
I don't usually post trailers for movies as music is more my forte, but this seemed appropriate.
Amy Winehousewas one of the greatest musicians of our time in my opinion. Her soulful sound was enough to cause chills within seconds. The trailer for her biopic was released recently and I cannot wait for the film's official release!
Seeing Amy in concert would have been an unreal experience, and this film is the closest I will ever get to that unfortunately. If you haven't seen the trailer already, take a look:
To add a little more music to this post, I've included a few of my favorite songs because you can NEVER have too much Amy Winehouse in your life!
If this song doesn't reach Top 40, I'm going to be beyond disappointed. Sheppard is my latest and greatest musical obsession. In particular, I am in love with their single "Geronimo". I predict it will be one of the songs of the summer, or at least I'm hoping it is.
People -- get out there and buythis track! Support Sheppard because I really want this group to go places, which they are already by the way. They're currently on the road with Meghan Trainor.
Give it a listen and I promise the words "SAY GERONIMO" will be stuck in your head for days and days. This sounds like a bad thing, right? Not at all! The song is so good that you will be happy to have it as the soundtrack to your day!
Short post today, but still worthy of a listen or view or whatever you'd like to call it.
I've been slightly MIA for awhile now. Perhaps you noticed. Perhaps you didn't, which would be slightly depressing. I like to think you noticed :)
Anyways...I'm beyond excited to show you what I've been working on. I used Betty Who's "Somebody Loves You" and turned it into a project defining love.
If you don't know who Pentatonix is, listen up because they are a capella and they are fabulous. Now I fully realize I post about this group often, but it's because they are just that amazing! Don't believe me yet? Well I am here to prove their greatness to you.
Take Pharrell's "Happy" for instance. Major hit for the year and something not many artists are willing to put their own spin on. Pentatonix has done just that:
The original is fantastic in many ways, but their cover is equally as amazing in my opinion. And let's take a second to talk about Avi (front left with the black beanie). His voice is silky and delicious. Those notes he's hitting are in a seemingly impossible range; however, maybe I only think that because I'm a female? Anyone care to correct me on that? Either way, he is fantastic. And I love him. And I want him to marry me so he can serenade me daily. You down, Avi?
Avi isn't the only one from the group who gets his solo a capella game on (Haha, solo a capella game? I would like to apologize for the ridiculous phrases that come from my mind.). Mitch and Scott, AKA SUP3RFRUIT, make their own videos weekly. My favorite series of theirs are their full album covers in under 5 minutes. How on earth do you cover an entire album in under 5 minutes!? Watch and be amazed:
Solo, duo, together. However they perform, the members of Pentatonix are crazy talented. Oh and not to brag or anything, but I have tickets to their show and I couldn't be more excited!! Expect a full report :)
