December 4, 20177 yr Author Well After Laughter is one of the about 10 albums I've listened to all year :P Lots of good songs on there, quite a range of styles as well! Yaass stan Love both of those two recent reveals :wub: I wasn't sure on the new transformation Kesha had undergone when I first heard "Praying" but the album made so much sense on the whole and you could tell she was so much happier making the music she wanted without being tied down to a particular producer. I do still prefer the more carefree party tracks like "Learn to Let Go" but there are some lovely ballads on there especially which really show off how talented she is *.* After Laughter got a bit old fairly quickly for me but there are still some really big highlights on there that I love going back to. "Hard Times", "Fake Happy" and "Idle Worship" are the holy trinity for me :heart: Yaass it's amazing to hear her voice which is insane, especially seeing all these reaction videos and people are like "I thought she was ust talentless" and get blown away by her mariah notes in Praying *.*
December 5, 20177 yr Author 06 Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love! UK peak: #34 US peak: #5 Top 5: 01 Redbone 02 Me & Your Mama 03 Terrified 04 Zombies 05 Riot Just missing the top 5 is the best male album of 2017 (well it was December 2016 but too late for my EOY 2016), from the solid 10/10 in looks/acting/rapping/vocals Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. Whilst he rapped on his other albums primarily with hip-hop and electro production, this is a funk influenced soul album with vocals that will knock your socks off. It's one of those albums that is such an absorbing listen from start to finish due to its overall vibe and the fact its so cohesive, it's a great chill background album. Redbone is such a f***ing astounding song though as a standalone highlight and I NEED it to win one of its Grammys :wub: 05 Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa UK peak: #5 US peak: #57 Top 5: 01 New Rules 02 Hotter Than Hell 03 Be The One 04 IDGAF 05 Blow Your Mind (Mwah) The breakout pop starlet of the year kicks off the top 5 with her self titled debut, which we FINALLY got in 2017! Even though she had solid hits with Hotter Than Hell, Blow Your Mind and Be The One, we had to wait until June this year alongside Lost In Your Light and quite frankly she was lucky it did so well! But then New Rules came and the rest is history... This is a really solid pop debut, showing many sides of Dua without being too try hard or seeming like she's got her finger in too many pies. It's got the all out bangers like Hotter and New Rules, brassy pop anthems like IDGAF and Blow Your Mind, a stunning ballad in the form of Homesick... She's released seemingly all the album already ut there's easily still another couple of singles worth of potential. But I'm also already gagging for new music from her :kink:
December 5, 20177 yr Rainbow, After Laughter and Dua Lipa all brilliant and will be featuring on my album countdown :heart: I need to re-hear Awaken My Love not heard it in ages :o
December 5, 20177 yr I wasn't keen on Dua's album initially but it's probably my fave album this year along with Demi. Such a strong album full of bangers that slowly grow on you. She is taking too long to follow up on New Rules though :'(.
December 5, 20177 yr Actually thought Demi would be higher!! :o Yay for Bebe, Kesha and Dua appearing :wub:
December 5, 20177 yr Love Dua Lipa's album, never gets old for me, still listen to it now occasionally :wub:
December 6, 20177 yr Author Rainbow, After Laughter and Dua Lipa all brilliant and will be featuring on my album countdown :heart: I need to re-hear Awaken My Love not heard it in ages :o It's so good :wub: I wasn't keen on Dua's album initially but it's probably my fave album this year along with Demi. Such a strong album full of bangers that slowly grow on you. She is taking too long to follow up on New Rules though :'(. Same tbh, I did really like it bu it was a bit eh is that it after suc ha wait but ofc with New Rules I just stanned her more and more and it all grew! Dua's album is great! Hope we get some new material from her soon! Fingers crossed for like Q2 2018 after IDGAF :lol Actually thought Demi would be higher!! :o Yay for Bebe, Kesha and Dua appearing :wub: It's not her besr album for me but ofc still fab thus it's here, I probably only prefer it to Confident! Love Dua Lipa's album, never gets old for me, still listen to it now occasionally :wub: <3
December 6, 20177 yr Author 03 SZA - Ctrl dp45V_M4Akw UK peak: #50 US peak: #3 Rate: 08.5 Supermodel 10 Love Galore 09 Doves In The Wind 11 Drew Barrymore 10 Prom 10 The Weekend 07.5 Go Gina 08 Garden 07.5 Broken Clocks 07.5 Anything 06 Wavy (Interlude) 06 Normal Girl 07 Pretty Little Girl 08 20 Something This was a real late surge for me, to the point it actually challenged what I thought was a set in stone top 2 :o As a whole package, this is SUCH a special album. The lyrics are so personal and heartfelt, yet the stories they all still feel relatable and real, tied together by a voice that is like liquid heroin :wub: The music is mostly subtle and chill, but there's a sense of power from the vocals without sacrificing that characteristic R&B smoothness that makes SZA so special, her voice just has that classic, timeless feel to it. Some R&B albums can get tedious and repetitive, and whilst this is sonically cohesive and has a definite vibe uniting the tracks, it is constantly pushing the genre's boundaries with influences from indie-rock, hip-hop, soul and pop, so that it's a total journey throughout both sonically and lyrically. There is a reason SZA is the most nominated female at the 2018 Grammys, and her undeniable talent should surely bag her a couple of them :wub:
December 6, 20177 yr Author 02 Lorde - Melodrama BtvJaNeELic UK peak: #5 US peak: #1 Rate: 10 Green Light 10 Sober 09.5 Homemade Dynamie 06.5 The Louvre 11 Liability 08.5 Hard Feelings/Loveless 09 Sober II 10 Writer In The Dark 07 Liability (Reprise) 10 Perfect Places) This album is a towerin example of excellently written pop, although I still don’t get The Louvre soz ;o Every track is written flawlessly, heart on sleeve style, so you feel everything that led to this record. The production varies nicely between songs so there are songs that make you dance, songs that make you scream the chorus with her, songs that make you weep like she probably did writing them.... Hearing most of it live made it click even more, hearing her talk about writing Liability really made me emotional and its performance made it my favourite on the album. The only thing that beats this was released after I saw her in concert, hmm I wonder what that could be? ��
December 7, 20177 yr Author 01 Taylor Swift - Reputation wIft-t-MQuE UK chart: #1 US chart: #1 Rate: 11 ...Ready For It? 10 End Game 10 I Did Something Bad 10 Don't Blame Me 07 Delicate 10 Look What You Made Me Do 07.5 So It Goes 10 Gorgeous 09.5 Getaway Car 08 King Of My Heart 09 Dancing With Our Hands Tied 07Dress 09 This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things 09.5 Call It What You Want 08.5 New Year's Day Yep of course it's Taylor! Despite fierce competition from Lorde and SZA, Reputation replicates its predecessors Red and 1989 as being my album of the year! There was a lot of hype for this after huge hyped single release of Look What You Made Me Do, as well as promo singles, and it was well worth the wait! It has a darker tone than 1989's mostly joyous 80s vibe, and bigger, louder production for songs like Don't Blame Me, Ready For It and I Did Something Bad, and themes focusing on poking fun at her media reputation, songs about her current relationship with Joe Alwyn, an her raciest song ever in Dress and the most "old Taylor" sounding song since Red in New Year's Day, a country radio single aout appreciating the people who are there in the less glamorous situations as well as the partying and fun. It all feels cohesive to me, just like each Swift album befre it, while maintaining clear highlights that will join her other classics I'm sure. I'm sure in a few months I'll have changed favorites as I often do with Taylor albums, if Delicate gets the single treatment perhaps I'll finally get it :kink:
December 7, 20177 yr Author Full recap: 01 Taylor Swift – Reputation 02 Lorde - Melodrama 03 SZA - Ctrl 04 Pvris – All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell 05 Dua Lipa – Dua Lipa 06 Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love! 07 Paramore – After Laughter 08 Kesha – Rainbow 09 Charli XCX – Number 1 Angel 10 Kelly Clarkson – Meaning Of Life 11 Pink – Beautiful Trauma 12 Vera Blue – Perennial 13 Bebe Rexha – All Your Fault 14 Trixie Mattel – Two Birds 15 Julia Michaels – Nervous System 16 Kelsea Ballerini – Unapologetically 17 Jessie Ware – Glasshouse 18 Lights – Skin & Earth 19 Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me 20 Khalid – American Teen First batch of singles coming given I'm feeling randomly productive at 3am ;o
December 7, 20177 yr Author 121 Mollie King – Hair Down 122 Alma – Requiem 123 Annalisa – Direzione la vita 124 Lights – Giants 125 Hannah Jane Lewis – Raincheck 126 Dua Lipa ft. Miguel - Lost In Your Light 127 Bebe Rexha - FFF 128 Lisa Ajax – I Don’t Give A 129 Jessica Mauboy – Fallin’ 130 Vera Blue – Private Private: our first of a good few BJSC entries, this received my 18 but finished a ridiculous 36th for Hushkanukia iirc. A perfect example of her cool indie-pop quirkiness, Vera has one of those voices where reall only she could pull this off. Fallin': Another Aussie female, and a song that took a while with me. It's probably still hr weakest proper single (Where i'll Stay is deffo weaker as are the Secret Daughter Vol 1 covers that appear to be singles), but once I watched Secret Daughter it clicked a lot more in context! It was her biggest hit in 3 years in Aus so clearly struck something right, it just feels more Billie Carter (her Secret Daughter character) than Jess herself. I Don't Give A: Our first Eurovision adjacent song to appear, ad actually the third reality alumni in a row (her and Jess Mauboy are Swedish ad Aussie Idol respectively, and Vera Blue was Celia Pavey on the Voice Australia, I am bringing those stereotypes x) this was Lisa's second attempt at Melodifestivaln and her second finalist in a row, but sitll only managed to finish 9th. This is a nice little bop, with a sing-along hands in the air chorus given an edge by profanity, but had she not rejected a certain song for Melfest she could have been a fair bit higher in this countdown, more on that later ;o FFF is the first non-single to appear but it really should've been one! This quotable anthem spills the tea on fake ass bitches who pretend to be your friend for their own gain, and leaving them behind to focus on bettering yourself. Lost In Your Light is the first appearance from one of 2017's biggest stars, Dua Lipa! This was met with malign from many fans and flopped, but I don't think it's THAT bad. Sure it wasn't a single at all, but I really like it regardless. Miguel's voice fits perfectly with her, and the "wonky pop" production is wonderful. Rest assured Dua has more to come in this countdown ;) Raincheck is another BJSC entry, this time a runner-up from Ultraviolenceland. This is nothing more than a out and out pop anthem, and doesn't claim to be, but sometimes that nailed is all you need! Giants is BJSC again, coming from Aelandor with their first and to date only top 10! I had known and loved Lights prior to this but this just proved how versatile she was yet again, with this album and this song in particular being much poppier. This song boasts a huge chorus, and changes tempo throughout but all feels so epic. Direzione la vita is the first foreign language song to appear, from Italian pop queen Annalisa! Like her opus Se avessi un cuore, this is an uptempo electro-pop track, but is more tropical and carefree that makes this such a fun bop that feels perfect for summer. Requiem is foreign again, it was France's entry to the 2017 Eurovision song contest. The French language really illuminates this song, which has lovely production that makes it feel light and airy with as much class as the language its sung in. Hair Down rounds off this queen, wd to the queen of pushing her luck in Strictly x Luckily Mollie is doing better at dancing reality shows than she is at musical success, as she eschewed all trends and chances of doing well with an all guns blazing, tits out gay af banger produced by Xenomania. Despite being an awful choice commercially, this is the sort of song we need more in a musical landscape where bloody Despacito can be number 1for 10+ weeks. Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na etc. etc. *.*
December 7, 20177 yr Nice to see Requiem here! One of the better Eurovision entries, I'd heard clips of it before the contest but hearing it in full really blew me away!
December 7, 20177 yr Author 111 Rita Ora – Your Song 112 Kelsea Ballerini – Legends 113 Hailee Steinfeld - Most Girls 114 Molly Kate Kestner – prom Queen 115 Misterwives – Machine 116 Norda & Mike De Ville ft. Joanna Jones - Gypsy (Catch Me If You Can) 117 Miley Cyrus - Malibu 118 Trixie Mattel – Mama Don’t Make Me Put On The Dress Again 119 Kelly Clarkson – I Don’t Think About You 120 Bella & Fillipa – Crucified Crucified: HOW DID THIS ONLY COME 5TH IN ITS MELFEST HEAT?! This is such a sweet little countrified bop, their voices harmonise so well to make this such a lovely song. It puts me in mind of Ward Thomas if they did an early Taylor Swift album :lol: I Don't Think About You: A stunning example of exactly why Kelly Clarkson is one of the best vocalists of our generation *.* Her voice can do anything. Mama Don't Make Me Put On The Dress Again: This project is probably the most credible Drag Race music bh (without sounding snobby with music which you know I'm not given some of the stuff on this list :kink:), this song embodies it all - a really organic folky/country song that just feels "real" and authentic. Malibu: Some more country vibes! After a sexed up era in Bangers and a very odd experimental side project that dabbed with psychedlic pp leading to a free album called Miley And Her Dead Petz, Miley took it back to her more wholesome imae. Befitting to the place it is named for, this is a summery beach ready song, with a chilled counry-ish guitar backing and smooth lovely vocals. Gypsy (Catch Me If You Can): The first BJSC winner to appear is a catchy af swingy dance track! I can see why this won, such a tune that could easily be a UK hit and it doesn't leave your head for aggesss after a listen <3 Machine: Another BJSC track, my winner of its contest and a top 5 finish for Medhelnia! Misterwives never really grabbed me untl this powerful track that has a bit of an indie feel with some soul and power, and an incredible colorful post-apocalyptic video. Prom Queen: The first of my BJSC entries to appear is a Marina/Lorde-esque indie pop anthem *.* Her voice evokes both of the aforementioned as if it's a pastiche but it is such an irresistible song with its scathing lyrics that take aim at popular high school princesses. Most Girls: An underrated pop princess makes her first of two appearances with a low top 40 hit that should've been wayyy bigger! This is bang on trend but has Hailee's charm to it that elevates it above similar songs and makes it so catchy. Legends: Yet more country in this section! This is straight out of an early Taylor Swift album but that is never a bad thing. It's got that whimsical and naive feeling of fairytale teenage romance that's such a lovely listen. Your Song: Shock I've failed the gays putting Rita so low x This took a fair while for me, I thought it was basic and dull for ages :lol: But it creeps up on you, sometimes less is more and it doesn't need that big explosive chorus.
December 8, 20177 yr Hi Liam I am feeling a bit offended at how low Rita is tbh, Anywhere is obviously the better banger but Your Song is such a solid pop song and I'm glad it was such a big hit for her. I don't know if she'll ever top I Will Never Let You Down for me though... Malibu is also one of my favourite songs of the year. The trashy Bangerz era Miley was definitely a lot of fun but she sounds so much more at home on a track like this and it really does suit her. A bit gutted Younger Now has been such a commercial flop of her because both the single and album are fantastic in my opinion :cry:
December 9, 20177 yr I like Malibu and Your Song Awaken My Love and After Laughter are pretty good. Speaking of the former, one of my friends did an instrumental electric guitar reindition of Me And Your Mama in a recital.
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