Battlegrounds

Currently Listening To: Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

The top 12 guys performed tonight, and it wasn't a complete trainwreck!
Now I wouldn't say that they were fantastic, but they were definitely better than I had expected so I say, good job! Scratch that, it's Top 13 not 12 thanks to the addition of the 'Gentle Giant Jermaine Jones'. With the exception of a certain Bieber sound-alike, all the guys sang pretty well. The girls will have hard time this year I think, despite being a rather strong bunch.

All right let's get down to business, 13 guys sang tonight but only 5 will go through. Yeouch that's pretty harsh, getting rid of 7 guys in just one night is a bit too much I think. Can't help it I guess? Anyway...

...let's give it up to the one and only trainwreck of the night:

Eben Franckewitz
Oh. My. God. Why they let this little...kid through to the Top 24 I do not know. Come on there were better 15 year olds out there, why Eben?? I mean seriously. Bad song choice - Adele's Set Fire to the Rain - and also horrible execution. Kid was just completely off-key. I don't think there's any chance of him cracking the Top 12 unless only little girls are voting...forget it I don't think even little girls will vote for him. Goodbye Eben.

It's a bit tough for me to rank the other guys because they were all really decent...I'm still rooting for Deandre Brackensick but he kinda screwed it up with his song choice I fear. He has a really nice upper range but he can definitely do more than that. Too much falsetto and he didn't show his range...oh well, hopefully his looks will get him through somehow?

Same goes for Heejun Han, not a very wise song choice there, with Robbie Williams' Angels. It wasn't too bad I guess, the only problem was his diction but dude the song is just too bland and he didn't do anything with it. Like John Park, his song choices are just ballads and that never goes down well with the voters. I really like the tone of his voice though, if he has someone to coach him and work with him I think he'll go far. There's always K-Pop right LOL.

Adam Brock, Reed Grimm, Aaron Marcellus and Chase Likens were all somewhere in the middle, neither too good nor bad and with decent song choices. I doubt they'll be getting the majority of the votes though, they lacked presence on the stage and they didn't stand out. I don't know about Jermaine Jones, he has this really awesome bass voice but honestly, he just doesn't cut it.

Colton Dixon and Jeremy Rosado surprised me with their performances, I hadn't paid any attention to them although they were more or less shown quite frequently during the Hollywood rounds so yeah, I think they have a pretty good chance of making it through based solely on their performance and their likeability factor. Creighton Fraker was another surprise, he was just so-so for me but after his terrific rendition of True Colors I'm kinda rooting for him too. Don't know much about his appeal to the audience though.

Standouts of the night were Phillip Phillips and Joshua Ledet, the former for trying something different and the latter for having the most awesome set of vocals this season. Phillip chose a really good song that showed off his gruff voice while Joshua just appeared out of nowhere and wowed me. Excellent song choice (Jennifer Hudson's You Pulled Me Through) and vocals.

My predictions for who will be going through: Phillip, Joshua, Jermaine, Colton, Chase/Jeremy

Who I want to make it through: Heejun, Phillip, Joshua, Colton, Deandre

All in all a really good night. Ladies, it's your turn next and Jessica Sanchez, please pick a good song and sing it well I beg you.

~*~*~*~

With The Voice and American Idol both airing around the same time and most probably attracting the same audience, it's gonna be an interesting battle to see which show will pull in better ratings. I'm actually really happy with American Idol's Top 24, and the contestants from The Voice (especially Sera Hill on Christina's team) are pretty good too. I still prefer some of the Season 1 singers but Season 2 is off to a good start too. If I have time I might be blogging about The Voice too

And The Journey Begins

Currently Listening To: 2AM - You Wouldn't Answer My Calls

Finally, after weeks of repetitive and mundane audition rounds (though I must say the second group round was actually quite impressive), the esteemed judges have finally selected the top 24 for the 11th season of American Idol. And so begins my blogging journey again (I'll have to admit that I'm not all that excited though). I'm really happy to see Deandre finally in the Top 24, so here's hoping that he won't crash and burn during the live shows. Team Deandre, Heejun, Phil and Jessica!

Top 24:

Top 12 Girls
1. Elise Testone
2. Haley Johnson
3. Shannon Magrane
4. Baylie Brown
5. Hallie Day
6. Jessica Sanchez
7. Jen Hirsh
8. Chelsea Sorrell
9. Skylar Laine
10. Erika Van Pelt
11. Brielle Von Hugel
12. Hollie Cavanagh

Top 12 Guys
1. Eben Franckewitz
2. Reed Grimm
3. Heejun Han
4. Deandre Brackensick
5. Aaron Marcellus Sanders
6. Adam Brock
7. Creighton Fraker
8. Phillip Phillips
9. Joshua Ledet
10. Jeremy Rosado
11. Colton Dixon
12. Chase Likens

American Snoozefest

Currently Listening To: F.T. Island - Severely

Nothing much is happening on American Idol yet, save for Heejun Han's sense of humour. OMG I'm supporting THE Korean dude *facepalm*

ANYWAY I will start blogging once they've chosen the Top 24 or something.

Peace out.

Stronger Than Ever

Currently Listening To: Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All

I know, I've completely forgotten about reviewing Kelly Clarkson's latest album but after several months, I finally remembered to listen the album so here it goes.


Stronger - Deluxe Edition

Even after 11 seasons, Kelly is still the best American Idol and I think this album more or less proves it. I've never actually listened to her previous albums, only her released singles, so I must say I am pretty impressed with Stronger. It's a solid album, and most of the songs are really pleasant to listen to. If you love Kelly Clarkson, then you will definitely love this album. It's a great pop album, much better than a lot of stuff out there right now.

Track Listing for Deluxe Edition
01. Mr. Know It All (3:53)
02. Stronger (3:42)
03. Dark Side (3:45)
04. Honestly (3:36)
05. You Love Me (4:04)
06. Einstein (2:59)
07. Standing In Front Of You (3:59)
08. I Forgive You (3:04)
09. Hello (3:00)
10. The War Is Over (3:57)
11. Let Me Down (3:24)
12. You Can't Win (4:20)
13. Breaking Your Own Heart (3:49)
14. Don t You Wanna Stay (4:20)
15. Alone (3:01)
16. Don't Be A Girl About It (3:27)
17. The Sun Will Rise (3:33)

Overall: 8.5/10
Highlights: Mr. Know It All, Stronger, Honestly

As for American Idol, I will be blogging about it once they reach the Hollywood rounds. The auditions this year are slightly less eccentric, with more promising contestants so hopefully it'll be a good season.

On a side note...I've succumbed to the Hallyu Wave *waves K-pop banner meekly*
2PM fever still raging high, and of course I went to see F.T. Island live in Kuala Lumpur! That was a great concert by the way, Lee Hong Ki sounds excellent live and the other band members are amazingly talented!

Season 11

Currently Listening To: Florence + the Machine - Strangeness and Charm

American Idol is back!
Looks like my blog will be back in business.

Ceremonials

Currently Listening To: Florence + the Machine - What The Water Gave Me

31st October '11: Florence + the Machine's second album Ceremonials is released!

Sorry but I'm so skipping Kelly's Stronger, reviewing Ceremonials first.




Track Listing
1. Only If For A Night
2. Shake It Out
3. What The Water Gave Me
4. Never Let Me Go
5. Breaking Down
6. Lover To Lover
7. No Light, No Light
8. Seven Devils
9. Heartlines
10. Spectrum
11. All This And Heaven Too
12. Leave My Body

Bonus tracks:
13. Remain Nameless
14. Strangeness And Charm
15. Bedroom Hymns
16. What The Water Gave Me (Demo)
17. Landscape (Demo)
18. Heartlines (Acoustic)
19. Shake It Out (Acoustic)
20. Breaking Down (Acoustic)

Nice album cover, but not as interesting as Mylo Xyloto's cover design. The songs however, sound a lot better than Mylo Xyloto! Love love love her voice, definitely one of the more unique voices in the music industry now.

Ceremonials does not disappoint, Florence Welch has produced a very haunting album indeed, with some very well-crafted songs, but is it better than Lungs/Between Two Lungs? I really can't say that it is, mostly because I find the songs from both albums very ethereal and dramatic, which is something that I'm fond of.

To sum it up, I think she did a great job on her sophomore album, so all hail Florence Welch! *worships*

Overall: Must listen if you love indie-folk music! 9/10
Recommended: Shake It Out, What The Water Gave Me, Never Let Me Go, Spectrum, Leave My Body, Strangeness and Charm, Heartlines (Acoustic version)

Coming up (for real this time): Kelly Clarkson's Stronger

P.S: Oh i forgot - Happy Halloween y'all.

Mylo Xyloto

Currently Listening To: Coldplay - Princess of China

Newly released, Coldplay's 5th studio album Mylo Xyloto.



Track Listing
1. Mylo Xyloto
2. Hurts Like Heaven
3. Paradise
4. Charlie Brown
5. Us Against The World
6. M.M.I.X.
7. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
8. Major Minus
9. UFO
10. Princess of China
11. Up in Flames
12. A Hopeful Transmission
13. Don't Let It Break Your Heart
14. Up With The Birds

Another cool album cover. The album has 14 tracks but it's only about 44 minutes long, with 3 songs lasting for like, only 30 seconds each. I see they took a leaf out of Linkin Park's odd intermissions from A Thousand Suns O.o

Anyway, who would have thunk it, I was pretty excited for Mylo Xyloto after listening to Paradise. Was really disappointed with their last album, so I had high hopes for this one.

So how do I feel after listening to all the 14 songs? Mixed feelings I guess. Mylo Xyloto is like Coldplay + Keane's synths. Every Teardrop is very cheesy but not too bad after a few listens, while Us Against the World (there's a Westlife song with the same title I believe) is just very tedious. It's the Fix You of this album, so naturally I can't stand the song. Some of the other songs have really strange beats, like Up In Flames, which btw, reminds me of one of Keane's B-sides...

Frankly speaking, I think this album has shades of Perfect Symmetry in it, you know, that sort of 80s synth feel. Only a few songs remind me of the typical Coldplay song, the rest of it is like a mixture of various different bands. It is more X&Y than Viva La Vida, don't know if that's a good direction or not, but I definitely dig Mylo more than Vida.

Overall: 7/10 (FINALLY a Coldplay album that doesn't leave a sour taste in my head)
Recommended: Paradise, Hurts Like Heaven, Major Minus, Princess of China, Don't Let It Break Your Heart.

Coming up: Kelly Clarkson's Stronger.

P.S: Keaneofficial.com is having this really weird contest right now. I'm super excited to see updates about the upcoming Keane album!

Evanescence (2011)

Currently Listening To: Evanescence - Whisper

Wow, their last album was released like, five years ago. I'll have to admit that I was pretty excited when I heard about this album. So glad to see them at the number 1 spot on the Billboard Charts!



01. What You Want
02. Made of Stone
03. The Change
04. My Heart is Broken
05. The Other Side
06. Erase This
07. Lost in Paradise
08. Sick
09. End of the Dream
10. Oceans
11. Never Go Back
12. Swimming Home

Love the album cover, it's so royaldarkness =P I think the songs are pretty solid, still very Evanescence-ish. The only problem is most of the songs sound the same. I guess they could have added a little more variety? Anyway, it's still a decent album so do listen to it if you're an Evanescence fan!

Overall: 8/10
Recommended: My Heart is Broken, Lost in Paradise, Made of Stone, End of the Dream

Waiting impatiently for Florence + the Machine's second album and Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto next. (Finally something for me to write about. Blog revival FTW!)