Music Inspiration: Marié Digby

I have always had the liking of good music and good artists. But most of it was listening and singing. Nothing more than crazy screaming sessions of karaoke at home or in the car. But there came a time when playing an instrument was the missing void in my love for music. But still there was nothing to kickstart it. But 'thanks' to the timing of an unfortunate event in early 2008 and Marié Digby posting videos on YouTube, things really got started. It has been quite a journey since knowing Marié, I have connected with her songs and life in a way that it has elevated my love for music. Marié's music has helped me through so many ups and downs in life and I'm pretty grateful for that.

Better late than never, I picked up playing the guitar at 18 and it was because of Marié's music and inspiring story. Her acoustic version of songs just absolutely blew me away. I instantly fell in love with her music and story. When you actually write a song based on a true story, that message gets transmitted in a very very special way. It's not very often you get to see people like Marié or Taylor Swift, putting their life stories into their songs and delivering that message in the most unbelievable way. I don't know how, but at that point of time, I had the feeling and every reason of wanting to learn the instrument.I had so much inspiration in me and most importantly I had plenty of time. It was nothing short of perfect. That period in time will always be a very important point in my life and I am very thrilled to have Marié be part of it. I also got to watch Marié for the first time in her only appearance in Malaysia to date. One moment I am really into her music, the next month I got to watch her live, a moment to saviour.

When someone has the passion for something or anything, magic actually happens. How many famous dropouts made it absolutely big in this world? Marié dropped out of college to pursue a career in music and it has worked out pretty fine so far. Although a recent interview I have read HERE shows that Marié is still finding it hard to make her next big breakthrough, her passion, determination and love for music is admirable nevertheless. I have understood her life as a musician through each of her songs and I actually feel her story in every song, it's another example of how incredible music can be.

I love her music, got all her albums, play her songs all the time,what else was left to do...To meet her of course! It's been quite a year for me, my long wait for Taylor Swift finally ended, I still find it hard to believe it. So, Marié was going to play a show in Singapore, the moment I knew it, there was nothing left to contemplate. I have waited for quite awhile to finally watch a full show of her performance. And how many times in my life will I get to watch her live in a concert hall? The analytical brain of mine matched all the factors together and made a conclusion that it was ridiculous not to go, and it was damn right.

Some four and a half years since she started as my music inspiration, the time finally came for me to meet her. She played a wonderful show, despite a bit of an 'old' playlist, it was an experience that I could only imagine previously. She was absolutely glowing, looked stunning in a beautiful dress while she poured her heart out on some of her best hits. She started off with My Great Mistake, one of my favourites, continued with many songs from Unfold, then a few from her new album Your Love and her two fan favourite covers, Umbrella and Sweet Dreams by Beyonce. She told a lot of her stories in between and really communicated with the audience. It was like a revision for me how she ended up writing those songs. I was practically living in disbelief (in the best way) the whole time, I usually sing along with my computer and YouTube, now I was singing along live. It was an amazing feeling for me, a dream come true is not an overstatement. At the end, I finally got to meet her after her performance. I had my CD signed and had a conversation with her! I've 'known' her for such a long time and the moment finally came. She was nothing different from what I know of her, except she was right there in front of me! I could really see she is very grateful to everyone who has supported her all this while. Another wonderful chapter added to my year. 

Keep it there Marié, you've got our support. Thanks for all the inspiration.

I don't need my senses to know where you are, even in the distance, you're never far 

~deyao~

Here's her Breathing Underwater movie she made 2 years back which describes her album and a period back in 2008/2009.

Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless 3 hour Special

I just completed the 3 hour special about Taylor Swift's journey and her tour. I still got a final exam paper coming up but I don't want to wait any longer because I might not be writing this if I postponed it.

The special mainly showed how she went on tour and the back scenes on how she made it happen. I've watched many documentaries and read tons about her, but watching one of her concerts remain on the "waiting list". It may not happen soon but the 3 hour special was a wonderful insight on her tour which lasted about 15 months. Her journey is something looked upon millions across America and the world. Her lyrics are 'embedded' in people and it simply shows her song's impact on her listeners. It was another tremendous story about a talented musician trying to make it into the music business.

In the beginning, it showed how she convinced her family to move to Nashville to pursue her music dreams. At an age of 11, somehow she did it and credit to her parents for giving her the opportunity to. Ironically, she got spotted in the same venue where her idol Faith Hill also got noticed. Some humour to the story. After she played in that venue (a cafe), a man walked up to her, asking her to be part of his record label. At the time, she was with a big record label but they were seemingly unwilling to offer her a record anytime soon because she was just 14 or 15. He contacted her a few days later and said. "There are good news and bad news. The good news is I want you on my record label.The bad news is.... I don't have a record label yet". And it was sort of destiny, Taylor had such a bright future ahead and this guy saw it in her, the rest is history.The then little known Big Machine Records has now got Taylor Swift selling millions of copies for them. What a story. Introducing Scott Borchetta.

And more recently, Taylor again mentioned how Big Machine Records gave her the freedom of doing whatever she liked on her new album and how she was very proud to be representing them. Obvious reasons why they trust her, she sells half a million copies on the first week.

The special also included full length performances for her concert in Houston. The first hour had You Belong With Me, Tim McGraw, Fifteen,Teardrops On My Guitar and Our Song. The second, Today Was A Fairytale, Love Story, Hey Stephen and Tell Me Why. The third, Fearless, Forever And Always, Picture To Burn and Shouldve Said No. I was pretty thrilled to be seeing the inside of a Taylor Swift concert. I must say she sounds a lot better than many of her performances on awards and tv shows. It's just an incredible experience for people who attended her concert.

Taylor's efforts in the making her concert possible was also just wonderful to watch. How she chose her dancers, designed her stage, customised the effects and arrangement and most importantly how she made her fans feel that more important to her. There's a lot to mention. Go watch it to find out.

Her band and her mother's influence and support was another key involvement in Taylor's career. Her mother was every supportive of what she does and follows her on the road to all of her shows. And like how Andrea (her mum) says, not many people Taylor's age would want to hang out with their mums, but luckily her daughter does. It sets an inspiring example for teens today and Taylor should be extremely proud. She has the coolest people in her band as well and the intimacy of the band was something people could only wish for. Each and every one of them are special in their own way and they are like family to Taylor. It is closest thing to a fairytale for an artist, working with people who actually are your most important people in life.There was a moment in their last show where she said "I trust you..".Again showing how far they've come.

There are not many people I admire in life and particularly not anyone younger than me. But hats off to Taylor, she has become an idol for millions of people and setting the best example for them. She has won Grammy awards at the age of 20 and there will be no stopping her doing more. Speak Now is a just a fabulous album I can't wait to write a review about soon. Ending with some promo pictures and video from the special.





Taylor Swift's 'Journey to Fearless' on The Hub

Taylor Swift | Myspace Music Videos

~deyao~

Drowned in awesomeness

I got two weeks of studying coming up but because of another breathtaking album by Taylor Swift, I can't help but spread the word. It's only my second day listening to it, but it has surpassed my expectations. No surprises the lyrics are again based on true stories but I really feel she has stepped it up another level. Fearless was one hell of a album, generating more album sales than any other albums at that time. Now Speak Now is set to break more records, I am very certain of that. Any doubts can be put to rest because Taylor has done an amazing job for this album.She has clearly shown she has matured and become even better over the last two years. 14 tracks on the original version album and a few others with acoustic versions on the deluxe version (red cover). For her fans, it's another incredible treat. The way she connects her stories into music is quite amazing. If you take the time to get to the meaning of the songs (she wrote every song btw) and at the same time get drowned in the excellent instrument arrangement, it won't be hard to understand why she is right on top in the industry.

~deyao~

Miss Inspirational

I've been re-inspired again, all thanks to the extremely inspirational Marié Digby. She made a short "movie" named after her album Breathing Underwater. It was primarily to describe how she actually wrote her album, how the songs came about. I did remember her mentioning about the sequence of songs throughout the album and the way she presented it in the movie explains many unanswered questions. The videos are based on a true story and to be able to get an insight on this was a great feeling for a big fan like me. She may not be a big star in music but her songs has appealed to many people. Her songs has played a very huge role in my life over the past few years and it has become a part of me. Marié is one of the people I draw a lot of character and passion from and I am really glad her songs has made an impact like she intended to.

After watching the "movie" (made of 17 short videos), it reaffirms everything she has always tried put in her songs. Her drive and passion for music is remarkable. It is not a typical movie but just an illustration of her songs from the album. You get to experience her many acoustic versions of her songs which sound so much different from the original version. Overall, the videos also shows her difficulty during the start and also the people who exists in her songs. I forgot to mention the movie was directed by her too.


The best thing is the videos are absolutely free for streaming on the ABC website. Refer to the picture above for the sequence to make you don't skip any videos in between.

Go to this URL to check the movie out
http://abc.go.com/watch/clip/music-lounge/FK_lilith

The videos were released over the course of the Lilith tour which consists of only female artists. The tour is created for a good cause, Marié was a correspondent for the tour and she got to meet many big artists. She wrote about her experience on the website below.
http://forums.abc.go.com/abcontheroad

Although I haven't written about her in awhile, it is no indication I've lost touch. I'll most probably write about her again when she has new music or an album coming.

Some pictures to end.

♥

Jap look?

Not sure who are the rest
Marié's precious Misty.

♥♥ Marié
~deyao~

SUPER Albums on the way

Tomorrow marks the release of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" album. Her sophomore album is no doubt going be absolutely fabulous. Her first two singles of this album has already done wonders on the music charts. After a successful first album, this album is poised to hit greater heights.

Next is probably the one I have anticipated the longest. I've waited very patiently for this, about 3 years. She has top spot for the best album I've ever listened too. It's no other than the exceptional Sara Bareilles. Her first album just blew me away. From the lyrics, composition to arrangements for her live performances, it was just incredible really. It's her second headlining album titled Kaleidoscope Heart. Although her first single King of Anything has not quite done a "Katy Perry", this album is destined to be tremendous. It will be out on September 7.

And finally to cap it off, there's no better artist to do it. Competing in the ranks with Beyonce and Lady Gaga in the music scene, there's only one artist right up there. It's the very talented and beautiful Taylor Swift!! It's approaching 2 years since her release of the record-breaking album, Fearless. Fearless was a global phenomenon, selling countless number of albums worldwide. Her "Fearless" tour sold out in minutes in every venue. It would take a book to describe Taylor. Her impact on the music scene has been immense and she's transformed into one of the world's biggest artist. Her upcoming album is titled "Speak Now" and her first single "Mine" has already been on the airwaves. October 25th is the release date for her album.

It's really exciting especially as the albums are released so close to each other. Looking forward to some awesome music!

~deyao~

Jay is Back !

Jay is back with a wonderful album titled "The Era". I've heard it a few times and overall I am delighted to listen to Jay's music again. Another tremendous attempt to mix some new material without compromising his style. Really love it.

He mentioned about his interview with CNN on how he couldn't converse in English. So I checked it out and it reminded me how he has inspired the world with his music and being a role model. The video are split to four parts.









~deyao~

TV Theme Medley

I actually had a post planned out for this month but really haven't got the time. We'll see on on the Good Friday weekend. Here's a video my sis showed me. Thought it was quite amazing. Hope you enjoy it if you haven't seen it before. Have a nice day! It's the same person in the video btw.



~deyao~

Somebody to Love

Video wasn't that good but the song is.

~deyao~

Reflections on Britney Spears

A little over 10 years ago, Britney Spears became a pop icon and one of the biggest ever artist in the world. Today, she still is, but right in the middle of that 10 years, there was so much right and also too much wrongs that happened. I am not a big follower of her, but she has made a lot of headlines the right and wrong way. To become so huge at the age of 17 rarely happens,it did happen to her but it was no smooth ride. Just when everything seemed too perfect, the worst of the worst happens.

I attended her concert a few days ago, and believe me she was quite good. Yes, she lip-synchs and there was so much controversy. She has done it over 80 times and it was no secret. But the dancing was great, the performance was so well-planned and the shine in the performance just made the story that was worth writing. She is not a natural dancer, but the amount work she put in really showed. Seeing her right in front, just made me go through a timeline of everything I know abt her, and I just couldn't imagine she was performing right there, I just couldn't believe it.

After "that" horror period, from all the bad examples she set (that was considered kind words) to divorce and battling for child custody, we thought she was finished. And when her comeback at one of the awards went south, many thought that Britney they hoped to regain was gone forever. And yet, miraculously, things turned around, she made two great albums, sold-out concerts, settled her child custody and she is back on top. How old is she? 28 this year. To get all crap sorted out and to getting back on top and be at this age. She is incredibly lucky.

I've always been a fan of comeback stories, and this one is admirable. Getting back on your feet when hit rock bottom, continuing all the way back on top. It is a great example to follow. I think I am bigger fan of her than I was before.


~deyao~

Video Recommendation by Sylvia

It has been real busy for me in many ways for the past few weeks. But it has been mostly good. I've never written about what happened during the day or anything like that before and I think I will keep it that way. This video was recommended by Sylvia yesterday and I thought it was pretty awesome. I have always loved and admired musicians all the time and this video continued to prove to me that I was partly wrong not to continue with the piano a Very Long Time Ago. The piano is the ultimate instrument that touches the heart, hands down.

The video was done by a Jon Schmidt and his friend Steven Harp Nelson. They combined two of biggest hits in the past year, Taylor Swift's Love Story and Coldplay's award winning Viva La Vida. It took me awhile to really appreciate Viva La Vida until I saw Boyce Avenue do a cover which is very impressive.

The composition and creativity on of this performance is quite unbelievable. I shall leave it here with 3 videos.
1. THE VIDEO
2. Viva La Vida by Boyce Avenue <-- Check this out
3. Taylor Swift's Crazier for the Hannah Montana Movie.









Thanks again to Sylvia for sharing.
enjoy
~deyao~

Taylor and Fearless Win Big !

Read the good news in the papers. Congratulations to Taylor Swift for her 3 awards won at the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (AS ARTIST AND PRODUCER) and

CRYSTAL MILESTONE AWARD

The Crystal Milestone Award is awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Country Music. Only Garth Brooks,Tim McGraw and Faith Hill has won this award. Btw, she is also the youngest ever recipient of the Album of The Year at 19 years old.
Not surprising as Fearless has gone Triple Platinum (3 million copies) and is the best selling album in 2008!Videos from the event







More details will be added later like pictures.

~deyao~

2 New Albums

It's been awhile since I updated since I updated on Marié Digby. Well she hasn't updated a lot recently so I was quite clueless about her whereabouts compared to a year ago. A recap of my previous craze is here. But she did explain her absence on YouTube . Well it's very good news, she has come out with 2 new albums. The first has released on the 4th this month and it's called Second Home. It's a full Japanese album consisting of covers of songs by Japanese artists. The album name Second Home clearly refers to her being half Japanese. She spent several months in Japan mainly to record this album and probably to catch up on her family which is half way around the world from where she lives. Well as a huge fan of hers, the album certainly had to be on my collection. So here is it.Thanks to my Ah Chi again.
COVER
BACK .Really like the expression.
INSIDE

I know none of the songs she covers, which is not surprising. I don't understand a single word she sings unless it's in English. For a cover album, it's pretty good. I can't rate her pronunciation, but it sounds pretty authentic to me. A real Japanese could have rated this album more accurately. As for me , there's obviously bias to everything I like. Lol. But the truth is, some tracks are pretty good, all the credit to the original singers of course. 4th track caught my attention so. The chorus sings "Don't you think,I wanna be with you, and then something something...lol".

Live performance of her first song in the album


Some pictures from her photoshoot for the album and promotion of her album.
















FULL CREDIT TO MARIEDIGBY.ORG for the pictures.
Go to the website for more of the pictures.

Can't help but notice the really cute hair!! Marié, pretty as always....

Before I forget, the 2nd album would be out on 27/5/2009 , its called Breathing Underwater. You can check the preview on her YouTube channel (linked on the sidebar). Four CDs in over a year, some accomplishment for the girl on YouTube.

Here's her preforming her song from the album "Come to Life" in Japan.

~deyao~

Taylor's New Video

"The Original Video got banned by YouTube"
This song is called White Horse and it was said to be her favourite song in the album. And also the song she cried most to while singing it.
Btw, she will be on the cover of Teen Vogue this March.
And..........here's a link to a video of an interview and photoshoot with Women's Health
INTERVIEW LINK


~deyao~

Love and Peace

Thats why Sara Bareilles makes music.I have to say sorry to my blog for ignoring it for such a long time even during a holiday. Anyway, after many many hours of downloading, I got to watch Sara Bareilles perform live in the historic Fillmore. Originally I saw it in Amazon and even thought of buying it, 17USD without freight was slightly exp. Oh yea, I am a very big Sara B fan so I got really excited over it. Here's the cover and back. Courtesy of Amazon.

There's only two songs she has never officially performed before and the others were from her album Little Voice which is stunning, 4th best selling album this year. I read this somewhere and I agree, the DVD is not much different from her songs, but there's some story in between songs which she tells why she made those songs and her amazing journey. It's quite a story people hasn't known about her. My take on her based on what I saw was something very natural and extraordinary. From the way she performs, I could really see her "owning" those songs , not many artists have that. I could feel those songs when she sang it and the comfort level she was at was great.
The type of songs she sings like Fairytale, Vegas and Gravity was just so different and I just felt more in love with it. A little hiccup would be her little jokes weren't funny, lol and the use of some words which would be a bit inappropriate for some of the young people watching. "I'm f***ing with you". It definitely wasn't literal(she meant I was fooling with you) and some were a bit stunned (awkward silence)... But it wasn't going to overshadow the brilliant performance she delivered, she got a lot people teary with some of her songs...oops.....
Her band was very very enthusiastic and talented , liked it very much. Plus, a lot of insight what she does off-stage.

The list of songs she performed.
Bottle It Up - Not one of the songs I like but she rocked it.
Vegas - My favourite song in the album, she improvised and made it memorable.
Morningside - She addressed the crowd in the uplifting song.
Love on The Rocks - Her performance made me realised how good was the song. The music is just so damn nice.
Between The Lines - About liking someone and not being being liked back. Emo song.
Fairytale - She calls it a female anthem. Apparently after watching Cinderella, she imagined what happens after the story. Her imagination of what they did lead her to the song. The use of Disney characters and imagining them in the way she thinks. Funny too.
August Moon - She played the guitar on this one. First time shes performedthis.
City - She slowed things down with this.
Love Song - Who doesn't like this song. It was written in anger.
Many The Miles - Nice one to sing along.
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Originally done in 1968 by Otis Redding. Did it only by the piano.1st encore song. She also performed it during the credits with only the guitar.
Gravity - The perfect closing, wonderful.

Rating is 9/10.
You can get the mp3 HERE and the video HERE. A must watch for her fans.

Merry Christmas.
~deyao~

Amazing Taylor Swift !

Exams are done and finally I can do the review on the new Taylor Swift album. Been listening to the album since the release and oh my.... this girl is insanely good. Still days away from turning 19 and she just delivered an incredible album. I thought her debut album was already unbelievable, and now her sophomore album Fearless is at the next level and the world has done nothing wrong for doing this..

I made some screenshots from Billboard and it appeared like that.Yes, the fans all made this happen. Top of the Billboard 200? You can't be serious. I wasn't expecting that either. Now she is top of the world!
So here's the list from the album.

Fearless - The opening song and it is definitely an opening song. Great song.
Fifteen - Taylor teaching someone to love? Not a good idea.
Love Story - Romeo and Juliet theme with a happy ending.
Hey Stephen - Taylor's plain jealousy.
White Horse - This song blending with Grey's Anatomy's scene and Taylor Swift crying over the excitement her song was played, can really feel the song
You Belong With Me - One lucky guy I suppose which is similar to Mr. "Teardrops on My Guitar"
Breathe - With Colbie Caillat, but it was not quite the duet I expected. But it went well.
Tell Me Why - Probably the best song of the album.
You're Not Sorry - The title tells the story.
The Way I Loved You - Another guy...
Forever & Always - Song for that bloody Jonas guy.
The Best Day - Song for her family especially for her mum. Very sweet song.
Change - Written for the US Olympics team

Recommended: ALL tracks.
This album is arguably one of the best albums I've listened to. The songs are just very different and every song just gives you a story. The instruments in most of the songs also just wonderful. Yes, many of the songs about the guys in her life and imagine at the age of 18, there has been so many of them. Lol. I just ran out of good words describing the album...

Rating : 9.8/10

Some pictures to end.

I just can't get enough of those curls.




TAYLOR SWIFT IS TOURING AUSTRALIA !! THOSE IN AUSTRALIA, PLS GO!! I AM GOING INSANE HERE.

~deyao~

Awaiting Fearless Taylor!

In a week's time, Taylor Swift would be releasing her new album Fearless, her second album. Love Story , Fearless and White Horse all have been released as singles and surely the rest would be as good. Previously in my review, I heap praises for her unbelievable debut self-titled album. She is so talented and I am very certain her album would be nothing but top notch again. Not mentioning her great personality too.
Cover of the album
I also can't wait to listen to her duet with Colbie Caillat, one of my other favs recently. It's called "Breathe". Found a pic from Coco's(Colbie) MySpace with her and Taylor during their writing session. You won't find this pic anywhere else.haha.
I love them both! Awesome musicians.

The release is on 11/11/08. Make sure you catch if you can. You are assured of great music. I'm done here......

~deyao~

Capricorn

First impressions on Jay's music always failed me. The last time I heard "Niu Zai Hen Mang" (first song from the previous album), I was like this is a complete disaster, what has happened this time. Then, at the end it turned out to be a great album. The previous album had great hits like Cai Hong, Yang Guang Zai Nan, Wo Bu Pei and the wonderful Zhui Chang De Dian Ying. I've been proven wrong many times and this time I threw first impressions out the window. I told myself, listen to the whole album first. The negative comments were there to be proven and damn hell they are all untrue. The Capricorn album is great! Every song was "very Jay" and he definitely has not lost any of it. Negatives to rest...
So here's the new addition to the collection.


His ninth album so far....erm wait.....did I lose count again....ok...it's 9!
This album has not many surprise elements, as I said it's still very Jay. Maybe a few songs might sound weird at first, but surely it becomes nice as always, don't know why.
Recommended tracks. My translations are bad, so I'll leave it.(edited: translation by JCNET)

2. 給我一首歌的時間 (Gei Wo Yi Shou Ge De Shi Jian) 4.花海 (Hua Hai) - Ocean of Flowers
6. 說好的幸福呢 (Shuo Hao De Xin Fu Ne) - Where Is Our Promised Happiness?
7.蘭亭序 (Lan Ting Xu)
8.時光機 (Shi Guang Ji) - Time Machine
And of course
9.稻香 (Dao Xiang) Paddy Fragrance -How can anyone not like this song I imagine.

The rest are not bad, but are not the ones you can sing along too, so that should be reason.
And also, my Jay collection is complete. Thanks Bin, Sylvia and Loon Hung for the gifts.

They got me Fantasy and Jay. The collection is done. Yay.Wondering how I should arrange all of them for a shot. I'll do it soon.

And finally, an unexpected addition this week.

Marie Digby Unfold Japan version. Never thought I could get it, only available in Japan. Thanks to my Ah Chi (cousin) and her connections, or else I wouldnt think of getting it. 2100yen is like Rm80. Nice booklet and pictures with a another booklet with translated lyrics for the Japan people. Acoustic version of Traffic, Spell, Miss Invisible and Unfold are included compared to the normal version. And obviously a full Jap song called "Kolewa" concluding the album. Sounds a lot like Utada Hikaru and due to her proficiency in Japanese, sounds completely like an ordinary Japanese. haha.

I might have a America's Next Top Model review when the show ends but definitely not the usual long post due to my dissatisfaction with the last season. Lauren Brie has a crazily stunning face but lacking personality =(. Astro is doing a very fine job, showing the current season, very surprising. Interesting week ahead, last week in uni sem 1, US elections, Arsenal vs Man Utd (trouble). And whether the RBA cuts the rate this week.


~deyao~

The New Face of Country Music

It's been rather long since I had my last music album review. I wanted to do this review for some time now but I just haven't got real "spare time". University hours may be short but damn hell it takes a lot more of any free time. I don't think I could even manage 1 post per week for the moment, but hopefully things settle a little more and I can post more often.

That aside, this young and fabulous country singer has really surprised me. I knew her for awhile now but only recently I got to experience her entire album, which was a wonderful experience. When it comes to modern country today, I would say Carrie Underwood rules most of it. Carrie came out with her Some Hearts album and it sold like mad, not sure how many platinums she got for "Before He Cheats". But she has tremendously successful. But now comes a new artists and I feel she IS the new face of country. Already nominated for "Best New Artist" in the Grammys, she is no other than Taylor Swift. Her first album and it is already brilliant. There's just not enough words to describe this album. I'll start with Fantastic? For those who like country music , Taylor Swift would be at the top. Not at the at Trisha Yearwood, Leann Rimes or Faith Hill level yet. But believe me, her songs are unbelievable for a new artist turning 19 only at the end of 2008. There's a huge lag between this album's release and this review. But it's definitely worth it.

Let's go to the album, here's the cover.
It is a pretty nice cover. But pictures aren't audible so you really gotta check the album out.

Now to the songs. We all heard Teardrops on My Guitar. Some of us felt it was quite nice and some may have thought it was bad. I can't represent anyone's view but I liked it.

The album is like many of the new albums around, the young and ambitious ones.
Here's the list of the songs. The ones highlighted in ORANGE are the excellent ones. The others are rated 8/10. Check out the videos too.

1. Tim McGraw
   
2. Picture to Burn Video link
   
3. Teardrops on My Guitar
   
4. A Place in This World
5. Cold as You
   
6. The Outside
7. Tied Together with a Smile
8. Stay Beautiful
9. Should've Said No
   
10. Mary's Song
    
11. Our Song Video link
    

I have listened to it about 5-6 times on repeat to make sure it was how I thought it was. Our Song , Should've Said No has already made it big on the charts. Those songs are just wonderful to listen to. The lyrics are very creative too. It's really amazing for a new artist to start off at such a high level. I am totally impressed. Songs are very uplifting, vocals are powerful and everything in this album seems to just fit in perfectly. Anyone has to check this album out.
My rating would be 9.3/10.

I'll leave it here with some pictures.



Elegance.


The shinny guitar in the "Our Song" video.


Nice curls.


And lastly, a full shot.

~deyao~

Bubbling Talent

I recently realised I've been really into new artists, first it was Sara Bareilles, then it was "the" craze Marie Digby , now it's Colbie Caillat and Taylor Swift. Only girls? kinda realized that too... There's definitely plenty of male singers coming through, but I probably I haven't got any on my list. So after a week of Colbie Caillat's Coco album, I am again thoroughly impressed. Yea as we know, we've heard Bubbly too many times on any radio station, and people especially me are kinda sick of it. Then there's Realize now playing on the waves which is doing quite well.

As you may know, Colbie, like Marie did get a lot of attention and fans by using the power of the internet. Colbie did it through her MySpace like Marie used YouTube. She has taken off since with her album and she is going on tour like every emerging artist. She is no 'One-hit Wonder' for sure, her album is just wonderful. Previously, all I think when I see her was she is that boring singer who sang the sleepy Bubbly song. How wrong am I? I was off the mark by quite some bit. She is blessed with beautiful vocals and she does instruments too. Writing her own songs as well? That has to catch my attention.



Nice album cover too!

Now to the songs. Most of the songs are the slower types except a few which a quite uplifting. Overall , every song in the album is very distinct and and has a meaning of its own. Many of the songs are quite relatable. When you listen to the song Bubbly, you get the feeling of relaxing . Thats how the songs in this album are, more soothing ones. There's not really much powerful emotions taking over any of her songs, but there are a few which are rather sad songs.

Recommendations- Love to say all, but let's be fair.

1)Oxygen
2)One Fine Wire
3)Feelings Show (fav) Watch It
4)Midnight Bottle
5)Battle
6)Tailor Made

Btw, she also has duet with Jason Mraz, Lucky. It's not bad as well. Jason is one of the most talented performers I've seen , I'll try to get his album. Coco is rated at 8.5/10. I haven't known much about her yet, so the information is a little light. Maybe in the future when I do read more about her. I am quite late on Colbie, she's been out for almost a year and even made it to Malaysia. A little late for me but hopefully there's more to come. Claps for the bubbly singer !!



Pictures!



Another picture.

Private Practice is on its way ! I am again a little late, but at least I am ahead of Malaysian TV.

~deyao~