I did a once through of the new album last week. I figured I would allow myself to listen to it just once and get an initial reaction and then wait until the CD came out to buy it and listen again. When I listened to it last week I wasn't all that impressed. In fact, I was a little bored with it. I left it that and waited until last night when I went to Virgin Megastore at midnite to buy it.
I put it on in my car and drove home with the music blasting. This time around I was surrounded by some great rocking songs that caught my attention. I wasn't a big fan of Never Again when it first came out but it really grew on me. I love hearing it now. It's like "Since U Been Gone" part 2.
Next up was "One Minute" which is a 80s sounding pop/rock song. I think this would sound great on the radio right now. I really like this song.
"Hole" is another fast pop/rock song. After these three upbeat catchy songs I was hooked.
Then we get the ballad "Sober". Kelly has said that this is her favorite song on the album and I have to agree. The music is so soft and simple but hearing Kelly's voice slowly crescendo into a full out belting just gives me chills. I love this song.
"Don't Waste Your Time" is another 80s sounding upbeat song that has a catchy chorus. I can also hear this on the radio right now. However, this is the first song where I thought the lyrics were pretty elementary.
"Judas" is an upbeat song that really does nothing for me. Lyrically, nothing stood out. I didn't care for the chorus. And her voice didn't do anything exceptional. This is a skipper for me.
"Haunted" is a crowd favorite from the live shows. A lot of people were hoping she put this on her last album. This song is the most "Evanescence" sounding song on the CD. You can easily hear Amy Lee singing this. It also reminds me a lot of Addicted from the last album. It has a softer verse but a rocking chorus. It's good. However, of the two, I prefer Addicted.
"Be Still" is a ballad. Kelly's voice is very soft on this one and shows some yearning emotion. It's pretty but I feel that it's a little boring.
"Maybe" is another ballad, however this one is much better than Be Still. Again, Kelly's voice really shows off the emotion of the song. This is a strong song.
"How I Feel" is another upbeat song that has a chance at radio play. I think it's a fun song but it does have some twinges of Ashlee Simpson in the vocals (if Ashlee could actually sing). I do like this song though.
"Yeah" kinda bores me so I dont' really know what to say.
"Can I Give You A Kiss" is a midtempo song that never really takes off. I feel like her voice is too big for the song so it sounds a little awkward.
"Irvine" sounds as if it was recorded in a closet. Everything about it is small and cramped; including Kelly's voice. This song is supposed to be very personal but I think it's just a little boring.
"Chivas" is another song that sounds as if it was recorded on the fly outside of a studio. It's a fun little bar type song. I love her little laugh at the end that shows that she's just having some fun with it.
Overall, I like this album a lot more than I thought I would. I can see Clive's concerns with it because it's definitely NOT a radio album (meaning a lot of the songs aren't radio friendly). So for a person that is in it for the money I can see him wanting to make a lot of changes. I feel like this album is much more of a singer/songwriter type instead of pop. Yes, there aren't a lot of radio hits that will have people bouncing around and wanting to sing at karaoke but that doesn't mean the songs aren't good. In fact, about half of the songs are really good. People just need to not be expecting Breakaway again.
Best songs:
Sober
Never Again
One Minute
Hole
Don't Waste Your Time
How I Feel
Maybe
Haunted
Chivas
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Elliott Yamin LIVE - June 12, 2007
I had the pleasure to see Elliott Yamin perform live at the small, but famous venue Slim's in San Francisco. With less than 400 people inside, it was an intimate show where we were all afforded a fantastic view and could easily hear his beautiful voice.
After the show, he stayed as long as he could for meet-and-greets even though he needed to be on the bus ASAP in order to get to L.A. for press at 5am the next morning. I brought my copy of his CD and he autographed it and shook my hand while thanking me for supporting him.
I hope he continues to make music and tour because I am officially a Yaminiac!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The Future of Kelly
There has been so much news surrounding Kelly Clarkson recently that you can't help but wonder how it's going to affect her and her career. Back in April we got word that Clive Davis didn't like her new album and wanted to scrap the whole thing and get professional writers to write new songs for her (Kelly either wrote or co-wrote her entire album). Then, at the Idol finale Clive takes a dig at her by saying that Carrie and Daughtry were so sucessful because of the professional writers they had for their albums. The Kelly announces that she's going to release the new album regardless of what Clive thinks because it's so personal and it's what she's about right now. Then goes on to say in an interview that she's never been in love, never said "I Love You" to anyone, doesn't give a crap about fame, money or celebrity, and is just all about the music. Then her album leaked and people got a sneak peek at what everyone was talking about. And most recently we get the news that her ticket sales are so low that she's cancelled her summer tour. That's a lot that's been happening in two months. And on the eve of her new album dropping we have to stop and wonder "has everyone suddenly turned against Kelly?"
Well from my perspective, I'm glad that Kelly is actually standing up for what she believes in and is trying to do her own thing. It's so hard to do that in the music industry when it's all about sales. Not to mention that she still has Idol attached to her persona. But, having listened to all the official sneaks (basically anything that is on AOL Music) I think I'm actually agreeing with Clive on this one. I liked Never Again, but I didn't love it (but it has grown on me a lot). And the three other clips from AOL Music didn't really impress me at all. In fact, the three clips were so different from each other that it made me wonder if she really knows what kind of an artist she is yet. The styles are so different from each other. While that's not a bad thing if you do it album to album, it's a little distracting when you do it song to song. The album won't have a cohesive flow to it. When AOL released the full version of the second single Sober I listened to it and wasnt' expecting much but i LOVED it. I think that's the song that could save Kelly from falling into a disaster with this album. The song is very heartfelt and the music is simple and gorgeous. I am very excited to see how that one does.
I am concerned about Kelly's ticket sales. Maybe she just isn't ready to sell out arenas. But that really does surprise me when she's one of the biggest artists on the planet right now. Plus Britney can sell out arenas and she doesn't even sing at her conerts. I'm hoping this whole thing is not some sort of backlash against her because of what Clive said. Maybe she just isn't ready yet but once this album drops and some new songs get released she'll be right back up there.
Even though i'm very skeptical of this new album (and I really hope I'm proven wrong) I will be at Virgin Megastore right at midnite to buy it. I am very excited to hear the full product and see what she has in store for us. I hope that she is able to prove Clive and other critics wrong. Good Luck Kelly!
Well from my perspective, I'm glad that Kelly is actually standing up for what she believes in and is trying to do her own thing. It's so hard to do that in the music industry when it's all about sales. Not to mention that she still has Idol attached to her persona. But, having listened to all the official sneaks (basically anything that is on AOL Music) I think I'm actually agreeing with Clive on this one. I liked Never Again, but I didn't love it (but it has grown on me a lot). And the three other clips from AOL Music didn't really impress me at all. In fact, the three clips were so different from each other that it made me wonder if she really knows what kind of an artist she is yet. The styles are so different from each other. While that's not a bad thing if you do it album to album, it's a little distracting when you do it song to song. The album won't have a cohesive flow to it. When AOL released the full version of the second single Sober I listened to it and wasnt' expecting much but i LOVED it. I think that's the song that could save Kelly from falling into a disaster with this album. The song is very heartfelt and the music is simple and gorgeous. I am very excited to see how that one does.
I am concerned about Kelly's ticket sales. Maybe she just isn't ready to sell out arenas. But that really does surprise me when she's one of the biggest artists on the planet right now. Plus Britney can sell out arenas and she doesn't even sing at her conerts. I'm hoping this whole thing is not some sort of backlash against her because of what Clive said. Maybe she just isn't ready yet but once this album drops and some new songs get released she'll be right back up there.
Even though i'm very skeptical of this new album (and I really hope I'm proven wrong) I will be at Virgin Megastore right at midnite to buy it. I am very excited to hear the full product and see what she has in store for us. I hope that she is able to prove Clive and other critics wrong. Good Luck Kelly!
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Moving Forward By Looking Back
Another season of Idol has come and gone. While it was great having our favorite show back on TV it seems like a lot of people that this was the worst season yet. People really couldn't get into the contestants for some reason. I don't really agree with that but I do agree that the excitement just wasn't the same as in past seasons. I think there are severals things the producers can do next year to help rebuild the excitement the show once had.
1) Cut back on the audition episodes. Every year we get more and more audition episodes and we see less and less actual talent. We have to sit through 3 weeks of bad auditions before the show actually starts taking place. That's just way too much. If they want to show that many bad people then I'd rather do it in two weeks with 2 hour episodes rather than waiting a full month before we get to Hollywood rounds.
2) Show more of the Hollywood rounds. It was ridiculous that we only got one hour of Hollywood week this year before we got to the Green Mile episode. How are we supposed to get to know some of the contestants if we don't see their audition and don't see anything in Hollywood? We need to see some episodes of the Hollywood round to get familiar with you is left in the show.
3) Get rid of the guest coaches each week. Idol has become nothing more but a way for current artists to sell albums. The whole purpose of this show is to find new, undiscovered talent not to help current artists make money. We just don't need to see them every single week. Having them on the show takes away from the audience getting to know the contestants a little more.
4) Better theme nights. While it's arguable that every season has its share of bad theme weeks I still think that season 1 has had the best. The themes were broad enough that the contestants were able to pick songs that fit their style but still fit the theme of the week. Choosing themes based on the artist is so limiting it's not even funny. The worst of this was Gloria Estefan week which was a total trainwreck. This year we had Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi and Barry Gibb week. While I actually liked Bon Jovi week I still think that these were too tight of a theme. We need to go back to 90s, 80s, jazz, country, etc. These theme are broad enough to allow the contestants to find a way to work within that theme.
5) Bring back the group performances on elimination night. Rather that have the guest coach perform and take away time from the contestants, I would rather see them perform their group numbers again. I find them fun and a great way to compare the contestants against each other.
6) Get rid of the 1 hr result shows. One hour is way too long for a 5 minute result. And the filler just isn't any good. Read #5 for more. It's a great way to cut the show back down to 30 min.
7) The one thing I did like this season were the singles each week. It was great to finally get a studio version of the song that was sung the night before. Many times you hope your favorite contestants sings that song for the final compilation CD and it doesn't happen. This is a great way to get those songs, plus create your contestant's first CD before releasing something on an official label. I hope they continue this practice next year.
So that's it. That's what I would do to make the show better. Let me know if you agree.
1) Cut back on the audition episodes. Every year we get more and more audition episodes and we see less and less actual talent. We have to sit through 3 weeks of bad auditions before the show actually starts taking place. That's just way too much. If they want to show that many bad people then I'd rather do it in two weeks with 2 hour episodes rather than waiting a full month before we get to Hollywood rounds.
2) Show more of the Hollywood rounds. It was ridiculous that we only got one hour of Hollywood week this year before we got to the Green Mile episode. How are we supposed to get to know some of the contestants if we don't see their audition and don't see anything in Hollywood? We need to see some episodes of the Hollywood round to get familiar with you is left in the show.
3) Get rid of the guest coaches each week. Idol has become nothing more but a way for current artists to sell albums. The whole purpose of this show is to find new, undiscovered talent not to help current artists make money. We just don't need to see them every single week. Having them on the show takes away from the audience getting to know the contestants a little more.
4) Better theme nights. While it's arguable that every season has its share of bad theme weeks I still think that season 1 has had the best. The themes were broad enough that the contestants were able to pick songs that fit their style but still fit the theme of the week. Choosing themes based on the artist is so limiting it's not even funny. The worst of this was Gloria Estefan week which was a total trainwreck. This year we had Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi and Barry Gibb week. While I actually liked Bon Jovi week I still think that these were too tight of a theme. We need to go back to 90s, 80s, jazz, country, etc. These theme are broad enough to allow the contestants to find a way to work within that theme.
5) Bring back the group performances on elimination night. Rather that have the guest coach perform and take away time from the contestants, I would rather see them perform their group numbers again. I find them fun and a great way to compare the contestants against each other.
6) Get rid of the 1 hr result shows. One hour is way too long for a 5 minute result. And the filler just isn't any good. Read #5 for more. It's a great way to cut the show back down to 30 min.
7) The one thing I did like this season were the singles each week. It was great to finally get a studio version of the song that was sung the night before. Many times you hope your favorite contestants sings that song for the final compilation CD and it doesn't happen. This is a great way to get those songs, plus create your contestant's first CD before releasing something on an official label. I hope they continue this practice next year.
So that's it. That's what I would do to make the show better. Let me know if you agree.
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