There's no broken heart I can't mend

(Apologies about the picture, but I couldn't find one of the look I really wanted to show--anything half-decent from his time at Eurovision; I would've even screencapped the YouTube video if it wasn't so low quality--which resulted in a "fine, whatever, this is what you get for not putting more pictures on your site, Manuel Ortega!" attitude.)

Austrian singer Manuel Ortega tends to draw Ricky Martin comparisons, and given some of his songs, he might deserve them; "El Amor, La Vida" is, as one might guess from the title, definitely working the Latin vibe and "Fed Up With..." has him sounding very early-English-albums Ricky Martin. However, those Ricky Martin comparisons (which are sort of unfair to Ricky himself, as his sound is much broader than it is stereotyped to be) don't really get across what all of his songs sound like (although if they're both having some of their songs unfairly overlooked, does that make them even more similar?)--he has songs that are more "pure pop" and songs that rely more on electronic backing (though I'm not saying they're anywhere near electronica); "I Don't Wanna Lose" is one of my favorite songs by him, and it falls into this latter category. He's also appeared on Austria's version of Strictly Come Dancing, which he won, but if you know him at all, it's probably from his appearance in Eurovision 2002 with today's song. Very few people like it--most hate it--and that was reflected in his placing (18th), but I do. Though he has other songs I'd like you all to hear, I think that this song is a good place to start.



Say A Word (Radio Mix)--see how easy to please I am? Give me a catchy, boppy, upbeat song and I'm happy. I will admit that maybe the songwriters should've bothered to write more than what essentially amounts to one line for the chorus, but still, it's a fun song; nothing revolutionary, but good. There was some talk about it bearing a strong resemblance to another song, but what other song that was escapes me at the moment. I love the "breakdown" moments in poppy songs that feel like they're designed to be clapped along to with your hands over your head (possibly why I may prefer "Chariots Of Fire" to "Temple Of Love") and "Say A Word" has one, just further cementing my enjoyment of it.

Manuel Ortega is one of those artists whose albums--at least, the first two--I would definitely buy if I knew some place that was selling them for less than excessive prices along with 4 to 6 weeks before it would even be shipped, but until I find such a place, the best deal is probably buying a digital version of his greatest hits album here.

Next up: in case anyone hadn't guessed, "Say A Word" was not the song I spent months in limbo about; that will probably be tomorrow's subject.