Niall Horan - Slow Hands
I have to admit, I didn't really like Niall's first single as a solo artist (This Town) but I can get down with his new single, Slow Hands. It's got a good groove and easy lyrics to sing along to. I love a song I can sing along to in the car.
Matthew Heath & Grady Griggs - Slow Down
I have no idea who these people are but they sing my current favourite TV theme song. It makes me so happy to hear it every time Terrace House starts. Sometimes when I listen to it on my commute, I picture a montage of clips with my name, age, and profession listed below me hahaha. It's strange that the Japanese version of the show uses Taylor Swift's "New Romantics" instead - it threw me off when I first saw it. Terrace House isn't the same without hearing "Slow Down".
Shawn Mendes - Ruin
I have to give Shawn Mendes some love on my blog. I remember when I first heard him on the radio, I didn't think much of him. Then he performed at Niagara Falls for a New Years Eve' TV special and he did not sound good live, especially when he performed with Nick Jonas and you could easily hear the difference in skill. Fast forward a few months, I decided to download his album and give it a listen. The second I heard "Ruin", I fell in love with the song (and the rest of the album too). The kid actually sings with a lot of heart and you can tell that he's worked hard to improve his live performances. The fact that he's a good Canadian kid from Pickering makes me happy that he's getting well-deserved success now.
I know it's officially Tuesday now, but I started writing this post on Monday so here's 3 songs for my Music Monday that I've been loving lately.
Harry Styles - Sign of the Times
Being the One Direction fan that I am (no shame!), I was originally sad to hear that the band was going on hiatus but it's actually worked out well. I'm liking all of their solo projects. It's interesting to see all of them have such different musical styles. I like this rock vibe that Harry is going for. The song is a little repetitive but the ending makes up for it. Now we're just waiting for Liam to release music...
Lorde - Green Light
I can't believe it's been 4 years since Lorde's last album. I didn't even realize how much I missed Lorde until this song came out. Every time I hear this, I want to break out dancing - weird, Lorde-esque dancing - punching my arms in the air and whipping my head back and forth. This song is especially fun to sing when you're in the car and you happen to be at a red light: "I'm waiting for it - that green light, I want it!"
Beyonce - All Night
(For a better version, click here - starts at 3:00. I couldn't upload the official video to my blog.)
This might be my favourite song from Beyonce's Lemonade album. I actually didn't think much of it until I heard it playing on an episode of The Mindy Project one day. Beyonce just has a way of making me feel the feels.
It's been a while, whoops. So much for updating this blog on a regular basis. School stresses me out too much. Here's 3 songs I've been loving singing along to and dancing to.
The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
It's my Calgary trip theme song! Makes me miss hanging out with Becky.
Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
Her new album dropped and I already knew I would love it before I even heard it. Carly Rae Jepsen has a way of making me want to dance all the time.
One Direction - Drag Me Down
First 1D music video without Zayn...I still love them. This song is so easy to sing along to and then it gets stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
I'm not sure how it happened but I've become addicted to YouTube. Every night before I fall asleep, I usually spend at least half an hour catching up on all my subscriptions. My top 3 favourites are: essiebutton, Claire Marshall, and itsJudysLife.
A few months back in one of her Favourites videos, essiebutton mentioned a YouTube channel called TheLineUp. They're made up of 2 Swedish-Asian girls, Maya and Julia. I love their minimalist style. But perhaps what I love the most about their videos is the music they choose. I recently found out they have playlists on soundcloud. I've been listening nonstop to Julia's playlist. It's the perfect music to play in the background while I work on school stuff. I don't know any of the artists but that's kind of the beauty of it. It's got a good beat to keep me motivated to work but it doesn't distract me. Click here to check it out.
Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do I haven't gotten around to watching Fifty Shades of Grey yet but I heard this song for the first time yesterday and instantly fell in love with it. It's one of those songs that's fun to sing along to in the car at the top of your lungs.
Lennon & Maisy Stella - Boom Clap (Charli XCX cover)
You might recognize these sisters from the TV show, Nashville. (On a sidenote: ugh, how annoying is Maddie Conrad?!) I first fell in love with the Stella sisters when I heard their cover of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend". Their voices work so well together. I hope they put out an album together sometime down the road.
Keira Knightley - A Step You Can't Take Back
I used to dislike Keira Knightley but she's grown on me over the years. I didn't know she could sing! I love this song from the film, Begin Again. I actually really liked the movie; I'm surprised it didn't get much attention. I don't even remember it being in theatres for very long...
Every Saturday, I PVR Saturday Night Live. The episodes have been consistently bad for the last few months. Even Jennifer Lawrence couldn't make it funny and I love that girl. So when it was announced that Adam Levine would be hosting, I had low expectations. He's not really an actor but at least he would be hot to look at. Who knew it would end up being one of my favourite episodes of the season so far? A large part of it is due to Andy Samberg making a guest appearance. I didn't realize how much I missed him and his digital shorts. I also find him really attractive in a dorky way. Just me?
Here's The Lonely Island's "YOLO" featuring Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar. I'm already hooked on it. Time to find an mp3 version!
It's official. I've turned into a 13 year old girl. The last 3 albums I downloaded were One Direction's Take Me Home, Taylor Swift's Red and Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss and I have no shame. I love all three.
My love for One Direction isn't even a guilty pleasure anymore. I've picked out a favourite (Liam recently ousted Niall for the top spot), I've researched past girlfriends, I follow a One Direction tumblr page - I've become a Directioner. Help!
Taylor Swift has become increasingly irritating with her sickly sweet act but I still love her music (except her single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" ie. the worst song on the album that I still sing along to in the car. The chorus is so damn catchy!). Her music is getting less country and much more pop though.
If I'm ever in the mood for a spontaneous dance party (it's been known to happen when I'm home alone) or on the rare occasion I muster up enough motivation to work out, my first choice in music is Carly Rae's new album. It always puts me in a good mood.
I have found my new favourite music website: Songza!
It started off with procrastination from writing my advertising/digital marketing report (only 1 more day of school, woohoo!). I was lying in bed looking for new apps to download on my iPhone and I came across Songza. I didn't think much of it when I pressed the download button but when I opened it, I thought wow, this is too good to be true. FREE MUSIC! No annoying pop-up ads, no commercials in-between songs, just straight music.
The coolest thing about Songza is the process of picking a playlist. It's called the Music Concierge and it's got a playlist for any mood you're in. Waking up, working out, studying; it's got it all. I've been listening to a lot of new music and it's been great finding songs to add to my iTunes list. It's also been fun listening to old music I forgot all about.
After a few hours of dilly-dallying, I ended up picking the Epic Film Scores playlist under "work/study (no lyrics)" and got to work writing my report. I felt like I could conquer the world! Or y'know, at least conquer a school project. Same thing. So really, what started off as procrastination ended up motivating me to finish. Win!
Whenever I'm in a dance mood, I put on some Robyn. It's impossible not to move when her songs are on! One of my favourites is "Call Your Girlfriend". If you're looking to procrastinate from work or have absolutely nothing to do, check out SNL's Taran Killam re-creating the music video.
I recently found a cover version of "Call Your Girlfriend" by 12-year-old Lennon Stella and 8-year-old Maisy Stella and fell even more in love with the song. Their voice sounds so beautiful and the harmonies are gorgeous. I wish I could sing like that! It doesn't hurt that they're adorable too. And now I'm jealous of girls half my age...haha.
Paul McDonald - Now That I've Found You (Ft. Nikki Reed)
Paul McDonald was one of my favourites from Season 10 of American Idol but once he was eliminated, I never really followed up with his music. He ended up getting married to Nikki Reed (from the Twilight series) and they made this really cute song together. Makes me wish I had a boy to sing this to.
Boyce Avenue - Somebody That I Used To Know (Gotye cover)
The other day Danette texted me and told me to check out Boyce Avenue's cover songs. I've had their version of Katy Perry's Teenage Dream on my iTunes for a while but I never really looked into any of their other covers. Turns out they have 7 albums of acoustic covers! I went on a downloading spree and now my Boyce Avenue songlist has jumped from 1 song to 60 songs. I'm a sucker for acoustic covers.
Other songs to check out: Glad You Came (The Wanted cover), We Found Love (Rihanna cover)
Robyn - Dancing On My Own
I know I'm late on the Robyn bandwagon. I was watching an episode of Girls the other night and this song was played at the end ("All adventurous women do"). Yay for the Shazam app! It's introduced me to a whole bunch of songs. Robyn's songs are catchy and really fun to dance along to while I get ready in the morning.
Other songs to check out: Call Your Girlfriend, Indestructible
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
I can't hide it anymore; I've become a full-fledged One Direction fan. I blame Tumblr, I really do - my dashboard was being flooded with funny interview moments and I could no longer resist anymore. It doesn't help that their songs are really fun and easy to sing along to. I'm still waiting for a karaoke Girls' Night Out just to sing One Direction. P.S. My favourite is Niall, haha.
Other songs to check out: One Thing, Gotta Be You
DWW! From L-R: Diggy, Tyler, Marty, Cam, Bucky, Pat
My dorky self with Down With Webster.
Fun Fact: I blinked when the picture was taken and looked like an even bigger doofus than usual so I photoshopped eyes from old pictures of myself into this one, hahaha. It looks creepy.
For weeks I've been helping plan the JUNOS Live Music Labs - liaising with the marketing team, ordering catering, organizing parking, planning logistics, the list goes on. The big weekend finally came last week and for the most part, everything worked out well. The crowd wasn't as big as we were hoping but what can you do?
Carly Rae Jepsen and JRDN composed a song on the spot with suggestions from the audience. The verses may not have made the most sense (since the ideas were from the crowd) but I have to admit, the chorus Carly Rae came up with is really catchy. "Kiss me, if you want too. I've got butterflies-eyes-close my eyes, I'm flying."
Carly Rae is so energetic and adorable and I loved that she was really into the whole process. JRDN is surprisingly cute in person! They both seemed genuinely nice and were down for pictures and autographs with their fans. I have a newfound respect for the two of them.
Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida also came on Saturday to talk about their songwriting process and they brought their 3 sons with them (so cute!). It was interesting to me to see how different Chantal and Raine's personalities are from each other. The highlight of my day, hands down, was hearing Raine Maida singing "Innocent" with just his acoustic guitar. That man's voice is hauntingly beautiful.
Kardinal Offishall came on Sunday. The audience was the smallest out of the four Live Music Labs but Kardi was really humble and kept thanking the crowd for coming. He's also got some pretty funny stories and a great laugh.
Down With Webster came in the afternoon and the minute I first saw them, I couldn't help but smile. I don't know what it is about them that makes me act like a teenager. I met them briefly in the Green Room and was my usual quiet dork self. It's kind of funny that as I shook their hands, they each introduced themselves to me. I'm well aware of who they are but it's nice that they're polite and still down-to-earth guys. As I took a picture with them (which I'm still waiting to get from the OSC host!), Tyler was next to me and his phone was making noises - he was playing Draw Something and across the screen were stick-figures and the word "whores", haha. I wonder what the word was.
Pat & Cam may have become my new favourites...
Look what I saw parked next to my car ;)
Going on at the same time was a JUNO Children's Concert with 2 groups: The Bee's Knees and the Monkey Bunch. I pretty much organized the entire event by myself and I'm really proud of how well it went. The little kids seemed to have a great time dancing along to the music. I missed the second half of Down With Webster's Live Music Lab since I had to help with the Children's Concert load-out but they were so appreciative that I didn't mind. I even got hugs and bananas from the Monkey Bunch!
It was a tiring weekend and the Science Centre is a really awkward venue to load-in band equipment (especially at 8am when I'm not even functioning yet!). I definitely got a mini-workout running up and down 5 floors. It was really cool to see all these artists but honestly, I'm glad that's all over and done with. Once I got home, I spent the rest of the day lying on the couch in front of the TV. That's my paradise, haha.
One of the best things about Tumblr is finding stuff that I never otherwise would have known about like the fact that Hunter Parrish released an EP! I knew he could sing but I never thought that I would love his original music so much. It's pretty much all I've been listening to (and singing along to) all weekend.
I've never been a religious person and I have no interest in seeing "John the Baptist gather a diverse band of youthful disciples to follow and learn from the teachings of Jesus" but I may have to watch Godspell just to see Hunter Parrish perform as Jesus on Broadway. And it'll make up for the time that I missed him on Spring Awakening, *knock on wood*.
Kris Allen - We Found Love / Firework / Just Dance
I can't believe it's already been 3 years since Kris Allen won the 8th season of American Idol. When I first found this video of Kris Allen performing cover songs at his Los Angeles concert, you can't imagine how happy I was. I liked his self-titled album but I really think Kris Allen shines when he's performing covers. His versions of Kanye West's "Heartless" and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" were once on a constant repeat on my iPod. If he ever released a recording of "We Found Love", that would climb straight on to my Most Played list.
I'm sure there's only a handful of Kris Allen fans in Toronto but if he ever had a concert here, I would be there in a heartbeat. And I'm dragging Alexandra along (don't think I've forgotten about our promise!).
This is the first of hopefully a recurring theme of Music Mondays. I won't be posting weekly but on the Mondays that I do remember, I'll post songs that I'm currently liking.
The Civil Wars - Poison & Wine
Even if you haven't heard of the band, you might've heard the song before without even realizing it. It's been played on Grey's Anatomy and The Vampire Diaries recently. After seeing them at the Grammys, I downloaded their album "Barton Hollow" and it's all I've been listening to lately.
Other songs to check out: I've Got This Friend, 20 Years
Young Empires - Rain of Gold
After seeing a short commercial advertising Young Empires' album, "Wake All My Youth", I decided to check out their music. It's fun music that gets your head bobbing and makes you want to dance. I like listening to them when I'm getting ready to go out. The fact that they're from Toronto just makes me like them even more. Right now, their single "White Doves" is playing on the radio. If you're a fan of Foster The People, definitely check them out.
Other songs to check out: Enter Through The Sun, Against The Wall
Bon Iver - Holocene
I've been meaning to check out Bon Iver for a while now but for some reason I never got around to it. In a way, I think it was meant to be because if I had listened to Bon Iver three or four years ago, I wouldn't have liked them. They're definitely not for everyone but it's my go-to music when I want to listen to something mellow on my commute. And maybe it's just me, but I think it's kind of cute that their name is derived from the French phrase, "Bon Hiver".
Other songs to check out: Calgary, Beth/Rest
