Stephanie McIntosh - Mistake

~Pop Song of the Day #62~

Meet Stephanie McIntosh, a 25 year-old Australian actress and singer, whose acting career was much more successful. She's one of the international pop music artists that I would have never heard if not for pop music blogs (like mine). She released her debut album, Tightrope, in 2006 following a successful debut single, Mistake, which reached #3 on the ARIA singles chart. After a few less successful singles and a failed attempt to cross-over to the UK, she has decided to re-focus on her acting career. I love her album though, and Mistake is one of the most awesome songs ever! I recently re-discovered it after not listening to it for a while & it's been stuck in my head all week.

Asia Cruise - Selfish

~Pop Song of the Day #61~

Meet Asia Cruise, a 19 or 20 year-old American contemporary R&B singer signed to Hitz Committee/Jive Records. I always love listening to Asian singers, especially since there are so few of them in America! Unfortunately, Asia Cruise's debut single Selfish (released in 2008) did not make its mark on the Billboard charts. According to her Wikipedia page, she hasn't released anything since, but I really hope she does soon. Selfish is a really nice R&B song, and America needs more Asian singers! I mean, there's BoA and Utada Hikaru, but they're superstars in Korea / Japan that have "crossed-over" in the US... just my opinion.

Joanna - Out from Under

~Pop Song of the Day #60~

Meet Joanna Pacitti, also known as Joanna, a 25 year-old American singer and RECENT lead vocalist in the band City (Comma) State. You may have seen her on the eighth season of American Idol, but I had heard her songs much earlier on a BUNCH of soundtracks. Her debut album, This Crazy Life, was released in 2007, but did not achieve mainstream success. Out From Under originally appeared on the Bratz Motion Picture soundtrack, where I first heard it, before Britney Spears snatched it up to record for her Circus album. I liked Circus, but I prefer Joanna's version much better! Out from Under is a nice, slow pop song, but Joanna's vocals put a lot of heart-breaking emotion into it.

Why I Love #9: Pop Music Artists with Personality

No, "pop music artists with personality" probably does not mean what you think it means. I don't mean artists with a bad reputation or criminal history- like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. And before you say anything, I am huge fans of both of their music. I don't judge songs based on who sang them, I judge songs based on their content regardless of who the singer is. So yes, I do have "Nothing in this World" and "Ultimate" on my list of fave songs ever.

Pop Music Artists with Personality actually refers to pop songs themselves. I <3 when I hear a song and can tell who the singer is immediately without knowing before. This could be because of the singer's distinctive voice, or because their songs all have a certain "style" to them. Seriously, I doubt anyone would confuse a Ke$ha song with Taylor Swift one- or even a Lady Gaga song despite both being dance music. (By the way, I'm a huge fan of Ke$ha... I might devote an entire post to her one day.) I love artists that let their personality seep into their songs.

So the reason I'm bringing this up now is because I mentioned "personal style in music" in the past two posts. CRITICAL WARNING: Miranda Cosgrove fans should skip the rest of this post. Okay, I love teenage singers just like everyone else. And Miranda's songs are admittedly very catchy. I do have her CD in my collection because the songs are awesome. However, I recently read an interview where Miranda stated she tried to put her "own personal touch" on all the songs. Wait up! This is the girl whose biggest hit, About You Now, is a Sugababes cover! In fact, in her debut album, she covers Avril Lavigne "Daydream", Ke$ha "Disgusting", and my fave song on the album "Shakespeare" is also a cover- though of a less-known singer/songwriter.

When she only co-wrote one song on the album "There Will Be Tears", it's pretty hard to put a personal touch on an album. Her singing voice, though pleasant, is not very distinct by the way. So now you're thinking, she's just a manufactured teenage pop star- like Miley Cyrus. She can't help it. BUT SHE CAN. One of my fave singers is Keke Palmer, who is also a teenager star with a Nickelodeon TV show. One listen to Keke's album "So Uncool" and you'll instantly realize what her style is like. Whereas Miranda's album is just a mix-and-match of a bunch of random pop songs, Keke's album is actually cohesive- the songs work well together as well as being catchy. Though both of these stars are similar in ways, Keke managed to show her personal style on her debut album, and that's why I like her songs better. I hope you understand now the type of singers who I consider to be true pop music artists with personality. Thanks for reading!!

Photo credit: GenusPhotography
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Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

~Pop Song of the Day #59~

You should know who Katy Perry is already. It seems like it's been forever since I heard her amazing song Hot N Cold for the first time. She was never one of my fave singers though. Personally, I thought she lacked a distinct personal style- besides for her suggestive song titles, of course. To be honest, I didn't like California Girls much at all. Sure, it was catchy like most disposable pop songs are, but there was absolutely no point / feeling to the song. Even dance-pop singers who sing with absolutely no emotion still need some sort of subject matter for their songs. Teenage Dream, her new single, is the exact opposite, and I <3 it. The lyrics are instantly relatable and personal, and there's actual emotion behind it- unlike CA Girls. Listen to it if you haven't heard it on the radio already.

Jessica Jarrell - Up and Running

~Pop Song of the Day #58~

Meet Jessica Jarrell, a 15 year-old American singer that is a new-comer to the pop music industry and has collaborated with Justin Bieber. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a Wikipedia page yet, and her Myspace bio was pretty uninformative. I actually first started listening to her debut single, Almost Love (24/7), which I like better than Up and Running. But I decided to post her current single since she definitely needs the publicity. Her songs (of which I have heard 2) are absolutely amazing, and she definitely has her own style to her songs. Hopefully, chart success and a debut album are not far off. Listen for sure!!

Good News & Bad News

What's up, readers? I'm really sorry for not updating in most of July and August. Well, it is summer after all, and I've been really busy with a lot of things -___- . Among other things, I'm about to enter my senior year of high school, so it's college application season! I'm taking a bunch of AP's this year, but I'll also have at least one free period. Hopefully I will be able to survive and not be completely sleep-deprived like I was last year (junior year). I'm more stressed out about college applications though. Anyway, that's just what's on my mind right now.

GOOD NEWS: I'm still listening to awesome pop songs and reading amazing teen fantasy books. Just because I'm not updating the blog, doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying doing the things that I love most. I have a TON of new books & music artists to fill y'all in on.

BAD NEWS: Like I mentioned before, with school starting, this may be a very stressful year for me- especially near the beginning. There may be days that you view this blog, and wonder "When is he going to update?!" However, keep in mind, that if you feel it's been too long, you can always let me know by commenting on a post or using the shoutbox. There's no greater incentive to blogging than a bunch of impatient readers ;)

Thank you for viewing my blog! I will try my best this year to consistently update =D
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