Where dreams come true just like they should

I've been hiding this, but...sigh...it's time to come out with it.

I like this song:

(If Only Life Could Be Like) Hollywood

I really do believe that you should just like what you like. This, though, takes cheesy to the extreme. Mega extreme. Which I might be able to tolerate, if everything else about the singer--who's American--wasn't offputting. I mean, just look at this album cover:


Eek. Of course, maybe I don't have much right to speak, given that one of my most anticipated albums of the year has a cover that looks like this:


Plus, everything else this singer has done feels very...try hard, in the sense of "ooo, look at me, I'm innovative! And hip!" (shush at all the rest of you thinking "you could say the same thing about Blake"), and just doesn't work at all for me. Very MySpace-y.


But in the midst of all this "look at me with my stuttery rhythms and electro-pop!" overstyling is this really cheesy (cheesy of a completely different sort to the rest of his image and songs, because make no mistake, calling a song "B'Donkadonk" is cheesy, and in a way I just don't think I'm prepared to handle) upbeat catchy vocodered singalongy pop song. And I can't help it, I like it. Spelling, handclaps, catchy chorus--I couldn't resist. Why someone actually thought it was a good idea to release this as a single to mainstream U.S. radio in 2007 is BEYOND ME, though.

You can buy the album from here (physical) or from any country's iTunes store here.

Next up: maybe a Swedish group that I can't believe I haven't featured yet.

We'd be the most beautiful mess

This post is maybe a little bit of a cheat, as I've already posted one of these songs before, back in December 2006, but there is a difference: it's in English now. And that really does change something about it.

Trying not to jump ahead too much, though, Mexican singer Belinda became a child star with some acting and her self-titled debut album (the second single off of which was a cover of Kim Lian's "Teenage Superstar"), which came out in 2003. She must've decided the light pop (-rock) of most of that album wasn't what she wanted and that she wanted a more mature, "edgy" image, though, because in 2005 she starred in Mexico's resident knowingly-throwback-to-the-'80's rock group Moderatto's music video for "Muriendo lento" and featured on the song (though her collaboration in the U.S. would be with the decidedly less cool Cheetah Girls). In 2006, she released her second album, Utopia, pretty obviously designed to pitch Belinda as "edgier" and less "just for kids," even right down to the album artwork and accompanying photo shoots. This year, she re-released the album, retitled Utopia 2, with some of the songs on it re-recorded in English, and it's two of those I'm posting today (toyed with posting these when the album first came out, but then Electroqueer covered her; I think enough time has passed that it's worth mentioning her again, though).

If We Were--I have to say, I really think I like this a lot more in English. For some reason, the Spanish version didn't feel as catchy to me, somehow felt impenetrable--but, and it's probably just because I'm hearing the song in my native language now, the song feels catchier in this version. The fact that "If We Were" manages to beat out the original is no small feat, though, considering it loses my two favorite things about the Spanish version: the casually tossed off "you were hot...I forgot" (which, yes, was in English while pretty much the rest of the song was in Spanish, making it even more random and even funnier) and the snappy title of the original, "Ni Freud Ni Tu Mama," which is a heck of an awesome brush-off (Belinda's leaving a guy, and tells him she was never Freud [his therapist/someone who could change him] or his mom [someone to take care of him/make him grow up]). When Belinda sings in English, she often has a rough, harsh edge to her voice (not an extreme one, but it peeks through here and there), which can be a little bit of a problem when she's singing something as light as, say, her Cheetah Girls 2 song "Why Wait," but here, it fits the drama and strong dark electro sound of the song. The song's got a nice stompy feel to it that I love and fantastic backing music that apparently still works fairly well even though the message of the song has completely changed (from a brush-off to wanting to be with a guy).

End Of The Day--the English version of "Bella Traición" and, once again proving that I either didn't pay close enough attention the first time around or just "get" the songs more in English, the original version never jumped out at me as much as this one has. "End Of The Day" is a lot lighter and less electro than "If We Were," but it's still catchy and still really good pop, even if the line "I'm not sorry 'cause that would mean I'm not cool with myself" does make me laugh a little bit.

To buy Belinda's album Utopia 2, go here (physical) or here (digital). If you're looking for a dramatic half-power ballad, the English version of "Pudo ser tan fácil," "Takes One To Know One," is worth a listen.

Next up: maybe something else in Spanish, or Italian.

I've got to face the truth, 'cause this just ain't no good for me

JoJo's spawned more than her share of imitators; Katharine McPhee's (admittedly great) "Over It" was a pretty blatant to take advantage of the success of JoJo's "Too Little Too Late." Today's group seem to inevitably draw JoJo comparisons. Also on the "frequently heard about them front" is the "you mean that's more than one girl?" question, maybe more a reflection of the frequency of multitracking and playing with an artist's voice nowadays than necessarily a reflection on the three person group itself, though admittedly the girls don't sound all that different. I also refuse to refer to them by their sometimes-name of LAX Gurlz, which is just ridiculous-looking, and not in a good way, so we'll be sticking with their other name, LAX. Their debut single was released earlier did this year and promptly did nothing in the U.S.. There was still a little flurry of posts about them in blogworld, but I don't think I ever mentioned the song here at the time. LAX's MySpace has snippets of some other songs up, but none of them sounds as good as their lead single, the song I'm posting today (and most of them sound more urban-influenced).

Forget You--I'm not sure if this song would've fared better back in the days when the U.S. was a little more pop friendly--maybe it wouldn't have been the completely flop it was (well, it might have done OK on Radio Disney)--or if it's just not going to appeal to that many people beyond me. Midtempo and, yes, JoJo-sounding, "Forget You" is another one of those "I'm so over you" type songs, but I'd say the girls in LAX, despite singing "as hard as I may try, I can't forget you," sound closer to to being truly "over it" than Katharine McPhee does in her song (not better or worse, just a different, more attitude-filled style). It's also a completely pop song and pretty catchy--good for singing along to, at least.

Residents of the U.S. can buy LAX's single "Forget You" from iTunes.

Next up: maybe that Swedish duet--I'll get around to it eventually...probably.

Like trying to catch a star

A fairly quick post today (note to the world: procrastination = bad), and we're going with something simple, upbeat, catchy, and, maybe most importantly, energizing. I've been in a mood to listen to a certain type of song more often than usual lately--in general, I think we could describe them as modern '80's or early '90's-sampling dance/dance-pop songs with an emphasis on just being ridiculously danceable--Ferry Corsten's "Fire," for example, though good at times, doesn't quite fit the bill for this; it's not quite throw-you-hands-up-in-the-air-and-dance enough. Eric Prydz's "Call On Me," Sunblock's "I'll Be Ready" are both getting there and generally work, Dancing DJs' reworking of "Fading Like A Flower"is good, but probably my favorite of these songs is the one I'm posting today.

Falling Stars--in which the Sunset Strippers take Boy Meets Girl's great late '80's song "Waiting For A Star To Fall" and make it a complete anthem. For what? Well, dancing, I guess, but just about anything you want it to soundtrack. Yeah, part of a sampling battle back when it came out in 2006 (Cabin Crew also released a song sampling "Waiting For A Star To Fall" around the same time)--this is the one I love, though.

To buy Sunset Strippers' single "Falling Stars," go here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: I'm not sure. But I do know the edit/clips of Enrique's "Tired Of Being Sorry" video they showed on America's Top Model today--the ones with the models in it--are definitely not in the original. I wonder...what's the point in refilming (for Enrique) if the single's already been released everywhere it's going to be released? Does that mean it's getting a U.S. release? I haven't bothered looking it up, but last I heard we were getting "Somebody's Me"--heck, he even got a guest spot singing the Spanish version of it on another TV show earlier on. "Tired Of Being Sorry" is by far the better song, but I don't really expect anything on the album to take off here...sadly. Wish something would.

I'm not playin' any games

There was one name I've been surprised to see crop up twice in the "composer" section for Iceland's national finals for Eurovision: Svala Björgvinsdóttir. Good for her, though. I thought we might as well stick with the whole circa-2000 style of pop from yesterday's post, and Svala's debut album, The Real Me, is definitely in keeping with that. I think there was some attempt to launch her in the U.S., but I don't think it ever got much one single, her album's title track (though given the significant number of low-priced copies of it in Amazon's "new and used" section, the album must have been at least partially released here). Still, the 2001 album is, among other things, noteworthy for receiving a frankly shocking 4 1/2 out of 5 stars from All Music. Svala would go on to release another album in her native Iceland, the more country-influenced Bird Of Freedom. Her MySpace makes it sound like she's join a hipster-styled band now, but she must still have time to write up some potential Eurovision entries on her own--assuming it's the same Svala Björgvinsdóttir!

The Real Me--this isn't classic-level teen pop, but it's a good enough example of bandwagon jumping on the teen pop trend that it's worth listening to. Slick, produced, and with a little R&B-influence, "The Real Me" doesn't quite have that same smack-you-in-the-face strength or attitude that, say, Britney's "(You Drive Me) Crazy" does--it doesn't have the highs and lows for that--but it's good pop nonetheless. Actually, that's not the right comparison to make--"The Real Me" is more from the "Genie In A Bottle" school of teen pop than it is the "Crazy" or "Oops!...I Did It Again" school--that'll give you a better idea of what to expect and, with that in mind, it's a really good example of that type of song.

To buy Svala's debut solo album, The Real Me, go here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: maybe that Swedish duet.

Tokyo or New York City; Canada, Paris, Miami

The song everyone remembers from Miss Congeniality is Bosson's "One In A Million," and with good reason--it's a fantastic song. That's not the end of the movie's good pop songs, though--it also features an A*Teens song and the song I'm posting today, which, granted, isn't as good as "One In A Million," but is still a cute little pop song. It's performed by American girl group P.Y.T. who released their only album in 2001. They also got a few songs featured on movies out at the time, including Bring It On, Center Stage, and Miss Congeniality.

Anywhere U.S.A.--let's be honest: from the first time I heard the last minute of this song, I've never been able to listen to the beginning without wishing the whole song was more like that. The beginning is nice enough bubblegum pop with apparently random use of vocoder, but there's just not enough energy or strength or enthusiasm--yeah, I think that last one's it; not enough enthusiasm--in the girls' voices. However, after we get past their obligatory pop-rap thing, chanted backing vocals come in to provide that needed extra strength and fun, and even the main melody line feels stronger for it.

To buy the Miss Congeniality soundtrack, go here (physical), or you can get the same song on the Bring It On soundtrack, available here (physical).

Next up: maybe that Swedish duet.

Hallja meg a világ!

Hungarian singer Lola's latest single may be an ill-advised cover of Transvision Vamp's "Baby I Don't Care," but it'd be a shame if that's all you took away from her music, since she's released at least one truly great single. The nineteen year old singer does have a Eurovision connection--she participated in Hungary's national finals in 2005--but that's not really what she's associated with now, having released two albums and had several big hits. The following song is one of them and was her second single (excluding that national final song).

Hallja meg a világ--for her second album, Lola may have taken to imitating Ashlee Simpson in her videos and covering Transivision Vamp, but if anything, this song from her first album is a little early Hilary Duff-ish. "Hallja meg a világ" is a light bright upbeat pop song, young-sounding but that only adds to its charm. It reminds me just the tiniest bit of Alizée's "J'ai pas vingt ans," but definitely more innocent-sounding. Maybe that shouldn't be surprising, though, since apparently this song was written especially for her and I definitely get the feeling her photographers and stylists were trying to work the Alizée angle during this era, though you can't see that in this more recent photograph (and Lola could very well not be her original name; if it isn't, I'm sure the Lola/Lolita thing isn't a coincidence). Any attempts, successful or not, at fashioning a Hungarian Alizée have been tossed out now, though, in favor of "generic rock chick" styling (though to be fair, her styling in the endearing video for "Hallja meg a vilag" was Avril-influenced) and frequently songs.

Lola's official site has a place to order her debut album Álomtánc, but it's in Hungarian and I have no idea where they ship to.

On an unrelated note, I heard Blake's "Break Anotha" while I was out for a little bit last night and PRETTY MUCH FREAKED OUT, so I think it's safe to say I'm still loving it.

Next up: an American girl group.

So put your hands up in the air

Maybe it was because it came on after what seemed like an endless number of Romanian dance-trance songs--don't get me wrong, Romania does those well, but without having a huge affinity for the genre, I can only listen to so many before they all start to blend together. Maybe it was because it was such an unashamedly stupid catchy song, with its faux-urban vocals, crowd noises (chanting and claps), and electronic beeps lifted from dance music and mixed with some catchy "ohhh, ohhh-ayy"s. Whatever the reason, I was hooked on Romanian group Fly Project's "Tasha" from the first listen. Do I know anything more about Fly Project than their country of origin and that they appear to be made up of two guys? No, and I don't need to. "Tasha" puts a goofy grin on my face, and that's ultimately all that matters. It's not as if this sort of thing has never been done before, but this particular dance-plus-stadium-effects-and-ridiculous-poser-type-singing combination is too much fun for me to pass up. What can I say, I loved Danzel's "Pump It Up" as well. Plus, "I like your sexy on my car" is a line for the ages, no?

Tasha (Radio Version)

To buy Fly Project's second (I think) album, K-Tinne, go here (physical). I should mention that I've never used that store before, but their record label recommends it, so it should be legit. Of course, the album is currently out of stock at that site, so it won't really do you much good. If anyone else has any other recommendations for where to buy Romanian music, please let me know!

Next up: maybe something Swedish and very poppy.

Sorry's not good enough

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I have to. I truly hope other people disagree with me (well, the majority of people will disagree because they don't think this group has ever been any good to begin with), but I am very worried about McFly after hearing their latest material. Preface: for as long as I've cared about music, they've been one of my favorite bands, only ever rivaled by the Click Five, and, after the Click Five's second album and McFly's third album, McFly were very clearly in the lead. In short, I love them. But I'm very worried I may not in the future.

Part of the problem may be that, though conventional McFly wisdom is that Wonderland is their best album, if they had to make a sequel to anything, I wanted a sequel to Motion In The Ocean, not Wonderland--or at least to the best songs on Motion In The Ocean ("Friday Night," "Transylvania," "We Are The Young," "Sorry's Not Good Enough," "Please Please," and maybe you could throw "Little Joanna" and their cover of "Don't Stop Me Now," maybe "Bubblewrap," into the mix; they fit with that style and are pretty good...and though I sort of see why "Don't Wake Me Up" is being called a sequel to "Little Joanna," it's nowhere near as good--it doesn't have any of the playfulness). I don't think that's really it, though--Wonderland's songs are much more enjoyable to listen to than the new tracks on their greatest hits. Where is the fun, the color? Gone.

They're losing their pop. This isn't really what I meant--see comments for more.

I was initially worried by "The Heart Never Lies," but as a one-off, it could work. I just didn't want that to be an indication of their new direction. The style they adopted for their cover of "Umbrella" worried me even more--I didn't even recognize them to begin with. And now neither of the other two tracks on their greatest hits or new Dougie b-side "Ignorance" has that spark for me. "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Don't Wake Me Up" aren't bad songs, but compared to, say, Motion In The Ocean album track "We Are The Young," they just seem pedestrian. Dull. Mild flashes of interesting ideas covered up in pleasantness but nothing that I'd want to hear a whole album of.

I got worried when they revamped "5 Colours In Her Hair" for the U.S. market, but "Just My Luck" and "Please Please" assuaged my fears. I really hope something similar happens this time. I thought the new greatest hits songs might do that. But they haven't--they've made it worse.

McFly, you are on notice.


Prove me wrong.

Edit to say that it's worth checking out the comments for this post!