Story of My Life is a song recorded by British-Irish Boy Group One Direction. It was released on October 28th 2013 by Syco Music and Columbia Records as the second single from the groups third studio album, Midnight Memories. The New Studio Album has songs written by Jamie Scott, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta and One Direction. The album has been produced by Julian Bunetta.
The song received positive reviews from critics. Sam Lanksy of Idolator called the song 'surprisingly great' and noted it was a 'mature midpoint between the group's signature rollicking pop-rock confections and dreary ballads.' Lansky additionally called the song 'merciful' and complimented it for using alternative folk influences without smelling like spilled beer. Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a 'contemplative acoustic guitar- driven song' and complimenting it for being 'more memorable' than any of the groups previous works. Sciarretto noted that the song would resonate with listeners of many different ages and showed that One Direction 'isn't just a boy band', although noted the song was not as 'crazy catchy' as their previous songs. Lauren Wheeler of TheCelebrityCafe.com gave the song 5 out of 5 stars noting that the lyrics were 'reflective' and 'much deeper than some of their bigger hits.' Wheeler added that the song showed that One Direction 'not only have range, but also have matured through their music.'
On October 31st 2013, the song debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart, becoming One Direction's fourth number one single in Ireland. The song also debuted at number one in New Zealand, becoming both their second number one debut and single on the New Zealand Singles Chart. On November 3rd 2013, the song was slated to debut at number one on the UK Singles chart, however it debuted at number four instead, with Eminem and Rihanna's new collaboration, The Monster, taking the top spot. In Australia, the song debuted at number three on the ARIA Charts. In the United States, it charted at number six giving the band their fourth U.S. top ten single.
The music video for Story of My Life was directed by Ben Winston, who also directed the music video for One Direction's previous single Best Song Ever. The video features some of the band's family members; Zaryn Malik's sister, Harry Styles's mother, Liam Payne's parents and sisters, Niall Horan's brother and Louis Tomlinson's grandparents.
Wow! ... What can I say about this single that already has not been said?
I don't know...One minute you are praising the extraordinary career achievements of urban-pop boy group JLS... then you come across a music video of One Direction's latest single, and suddenly everything comes into perspective.
OK...Let's get to the point here. Most popular music artists (and I guess I am referring to the kind of success an artist has around the world) usually will keep a family member(s), totally away from the artist's music videos. Music Artists are generally protective of family members, covering them away from the prying media that follow celebrity musicians, such as a group like One Direction. Considering the incredible world-wide success that One Direction have had, you would think that by now, they would be completely of their rockers, going off the rails into self destruction as a group. What the British Music Industry and the general public recognised about this particular group though, is that they were a united group on a mission. This fact was even evident on the X Factor Live Shows. When you think back at how united together they were as a group on a mission,(even though you see it in documentaries) you can forget how their individual families have played a part in One Direction's commitment to stay together. This is a group that is built whole-heartily on solid family foundations.
This music video to their latest single Story of My Life reaffirms that point home even more. I once in a review of One Direction's debut album made a reference to how their similarities are to how Duran Duran were back in their day. I am realising now though that One Direction's success is probably even reaching higher levels than even the Duran boys were able to achieve at the beginning of their careers. I cannot rate their success in a nutshell (especially in this early period of their careers), but the kind of success One Direction are having is un-presidented in the historic evolution of modern- music, British Boy Groups. These five boys are following the same kind of music success, the Beatles had, when they arrived on the music scene in the early 1960's. Each single that One Direction seems to release, leaves a very lasting impression , even more so in this fully-artistic age of the music video.
Like the Little Things music video, this music video to new single Story of My Life, is one of the most beautifully and moving music videos I have EVER come across, by a group of 'young' individual singers. Talking about the Beatles; this music video does remind of the music promo for their 'Something' single of 1969, one of the songs that was released before the Beatles broke up. It has that same kind of feeling of sentiment, of portraying the people who are the most important in an individual's life.
The track is beautifully written and beautifully sung by One Direction.
Midnight Memories is the upcoming third studio album by One Direction, due to be released on November 25th 2013, via Columbia Records, Syco Music and Sony Music Entertainment.
The album is described by the group as being edgier and having a 'slightly rockier tone' than their previous efforts.
Midnight Memories has become the fastest selling pre-order album release in Amazon's 15 year history, breaking the record set by their previous release, Take Me Home (2012).
The album was preceded by the release of the singles Best Song Ever (officially released on July 22nd 2013) and Story of My Life (officially released on October 28th 2013).
You can see the music video of the second release from this new studio album, the incredibly beautiful Story of My Life.
Irish Boy group Boyzone celebrate their 20th Anniversary this year with the release of a new single Love Will Save the Day and a new studio album called BZ20. The Anniversary is in celebration of the group forming twenty years ago.
On September 24th 2013, the group performed the new single Love Will Save the Day on The X Factor Australia.
The new studio album BZ20 has an official release date of November 25th 2013 and is available to pre-order now from Amazon.
I am sorry there is not more information on the album so far. The Boys are in the studio with final mastering of the new album.
Brian Rawling has produced the new studio album.
Since Stephen Gately's death in 2009, Boyzone have continued with the group. lastly releasing their previous album Brother, as a tribute to Stephen Gately in 2010.
You can tell by this new single, that there is a new vibrant energy that the group are projecting from the single and music video.
Boyzone have said that Stephen Gately's presence will always be evident in everything they release from now on. You do get a feeling that Stephen's guiding spirit was on the presence of this new single and music video.
Below you can see the music video for Love Will Save the Day, which will be available to download digitally from November 17th 2013,at music retailers like ITunes UK and Amazon.co.uk.
I Hope is the brand new single from X Factor's (2010 Final Runner-Up Contestant) Rebecca Ferguson. The track is the first official single taken from Rebecca Ferguson's 2nd studio album, titled Freedom. I Hope has an official release date of November 24th 2013.
Freedom is the title name of Rebecca Fergusson's 2nd studio album. The new studio album has an official release date of November 29th 2013.
The cover depicts Ferguson wearing a red gown giving her a 70's look. Mike Wass of Idolator (A U.S music magazine blog) wrote that the cover is 'exquisite' and said 'she's raising glamour to previously unimagined heights by channelling Diana Ross on the cover'.
Ferguson's debut album Heaven in 2011, was released to an enormous commercial and critical acclaim, so there is huge anticipation in the British Music Industry for this 2nd studio album release by Rebecca Ferguson.
I predict that with the full critical success that Rebecca Ferguson had with her debut album (with a kind of Soul Music Expression we had not heard in many a year by an artist of colour, in the British Music Industry) and the way this album cover looks; I think we are going to all be experiencing a music dimension of Soul Music Expression, that even eclipses way ahead of her debut album.
Freedom has been produced by various producers including: Aqualung, Steve Booker, Toby Gad, Mr Hudson, Steve Robson, Jarrad Rogers, TMS and Eg White.
American R+B Artist John Legend features on the new album.
The album is released by RCA Records.
Tracklisting For Freedom.
I Hope
Fake Smile
Bridges (featuring John Legend)
My Best
All That I've Got
Hanging On
My Freedom
Beautiful Design
Wonderful World
We'll Be Fine
I Choose You
Freedom
Freedom- Deluxe edition bonus disc
Rollin
I Hope (Live at Air Studios)
Fake Smile (Live at Air Studios)
All That I've Got (Live at Air Studios)
Freedom (Live at Air Studios)
Below you can see the music video for the 1st official single taken from this new studio album.
The music track, I Hope.
Honesty is the third single release taken from Editors fourth studio album The Weight of Your Love.
Honesty has an official release date of November 25th 2013. The track will be released digitally online. The track was written by Edward Lay, Russell Leetech, Justin Lockey, Elliot Williams and Tom Smith.
The music video was directed by Favourite Colour: Black (Yes, that is what this music video director is called). The music video was filmed on September 20th 2013 around Soho and Shaftesbury Avenue in London. It features a hen party, a young streetwise girl and a scary-looking vagrant person.
Editors frontman Tom Smith said in a radio interview with XFM about the music video for Honesty: 'It's all shot from my point of view, and I kind of encounter all these undesirables along the way'.
Below you can see the music video for Honesty.
Billion Lights is the official 'final' single release from British (hugely successful boys group) JLS. Billion Lights was officially released on November 8th 2013.
The track is taken from the group's first greatest hits album, titled Goodbye: Greatest Hits. This will be the fifth album JLS have released as a group. The album has an official release date of November 18th 2013, via RCA Records.
The album will contain a total of twelve tracks, including all of the group's singles, plus the brand new single Billion Lights.
A deluxe edition of the album will contain a bonus DVD with all of the group's music videos on. A super deluxe edition will contain a disc of all the group's B-sides and a couple of mixes. This version will only be available from the group's official store.
The group will tour the album with a 'The Greatest Hits' tour in December 2013.
Well Then!...That's It...the ending of one of the most successful boy groups the United Kingdom has ever produced.
It's sad to see the ending of a very successful group, especially a group that has had the kind of success JLS has had. There is something though, that goes even deeper than what even music can express here, in the ending of JLS. It is a situation that even the most cultured music critics in the United Kingdom have failed to acknowledged, in the ending of JLS.
It is that as a Black Boys Group (or rather a group of Colour) JLS have achieved the kind of success that NO OTHER GROUP of COLOUR in the United Kingdom has truly EVER received.
There impeccable good manners and their complete dedication to their art and craft as musicians have been a true inspiration to ANY GROUP of colour (in ANY music genre) in the United Kingdom.
I have NEVER witnessed a music group (or artist) of colour who have been on British Television (on interviews) as much as JLS. They have been the group that TRULY EVERY GROUP OF COLOUR in the United Kingdom inspires to be as successful, as JLS were.
Yes! and maybe there were lucky breaks for the group in coming out of the X Factor franchise, but JLS commitment was always down to complete dedication and hard work. These are the kind of principles where true original artists such as JLS, become stars.
I would hope that this is not the very last we will see or hear from the individual members of JLS. They are far too talented, to just disappear off the British Popular Music Landscape.
So Thank You Very Much JLS.
Thank You for your hard work and dedication and Thank You for giving the United Kingdom, one of the most Gifted and Original Boy Groups the United Kingdom has EVER Produced.
Track Listing for Goodbye- The Greatest Hits.
Beat Again
Everybody in Love
One Shot
The Club is Alive
Love You More
Eyes Wide Shut (featuring Tinie Tempah)
She Makes Me Wanna (featuring Dev)
Take A Chance On Me
Do You Feel What I Feel?
Proud
Hottest Girl In the World
Billion Lights
You and Me is the debut solo album from former Westlife member Shane Filan. It was released via Capitol Records on November 4th 2013. The album followed the release of his debut single Everything To Me which peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart on the week of release. The album's second single, About You, co-written by long-term collaborators Steve Mac and Wayne Hector, was released a day before the album on November 3rd 2013.
Filan reportedly signed a record deal which would see him cut his first studio album in April of this Year (2013). Filan said of the deal; 'I am so excited to be joining London Records, Universal Music, and being back in the studio in London and Nashville, recording new songs has been amazing. One of the things that pleases me the most about this record is that I've been given the opportunity to write my own songs. I'm so excited for people to hear them. Filan later announced the release of his debut single Everything to Me on July 5th 2013, stating: 'Working on Solo material is something I had always dreamed of doing, and I'm incredibly happy with the results. Everything To Me is a very personal song to me lyrically'.
Filan said of the album; 'I got off to a really good start. Everything to Me felt like beginners luck, but I didn't know how good it was. Then the label were phoning, going 'This is great!'. I'd show to myself I could do this and that took the pressure off. I was flying in those first two weeks and then suddenly I was in Nashville with really famous songwriters, partly thinking 'WOW!' but also 'Right, let's do this'.
The album features writing credits and production from Atkinson, Nexus, Paul Barry, Cass Lowe, Patrick Mascall, Kylie Sackley, Brandon Hood and Martin Terefe, who between them have produced for the likes of Gabrielle Aplin, Lana Del Rey, Enrique Iglesias, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill and Jason Mraz. Filan revealed that he took inspiration from the likes of The Lumineers, Train and Mumford & Sons when writing and recording the album.
The album is available in three different editions.
Standard 13 track CD/digital download.
Deluxe 21 track CD/digital download (physical version features the 8 bonus track on a second disc).
Super Deluxe 13 track CD/DVD (only available physically and via Shane's official store)
Tracklisting for You and Me (Standard Edition)
Everything to Me
About You
All You Need to Know
Knee Deep in My Heart
One Of These Days
Everytime
Always Tomorrow
When I Met You
Everything's Gonna Be Alright
Coming Home
Baby Let's Dance
In the End
You and Me
Below you can see the music videos for debut single, Everything To Me, which was officially released on August 23rd 2013.
Like Ronan Keating's solo career, I do very much believe we shall all be hearing a lot more of Shane Filan's songs in the future.
Shane Filan (of course) because of his association with Westlife, already has a very huge following in popular music, so I think his career will be just as successful as Ronan Keating's solo career is.
Shane Filan taking a music direction of approaching Country and Folk-Rock gives his music an even more wider appeal. You can hear the very close association with Irish music on this 1st released single from his debut album.
If he continues in this way, it will be the musical imprint that sets him apart from his artistic music contemporaries.
Also in this Blog: This Year's (Earlier) Studio Albums from Vampire Weekend, Visage and Spin
Doctors.
Lorde (Aka) Ella Maria Lani Yelich-0'Connor is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Her first EP, The Love Club was released on November 22nd 2012, and her first single Royals, debuted at Number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40, and also reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013, making her the first New Zealand solo artist to have a number one song in the United States. Her debut album, Pure Heroine was released on September 27th 2013. She won the Silver Scroll (New Zealand's equivalent of the UK's Ivor Novello's-given to the year's best songwriters) Award for 2013, for her track, Royals.
Ella Yelich-O' Connor comes from a Dalmatian Croat and Irish Ancestry.
At the age of thirteen, A+R Scout, Scott Machlaclan signed her to Universal Music. At the age of fourteen, she began working with Universal Music's Songwriters. Ella began writing songs with her guitar around the ages of thirteen and fourteen years of age.
I don't know if Ella can continuously play a part on the world stage of popular music, because as of July 2013, Ella was a Year Twelve student at Secondary School, in the suburb of Belmont in New Zealand.
Lorde's debut EP, The Love Club, was originally posted on Soundcloud in November 2012. Officially released digitally in March 2013 and on CD in May 2013, The Love Club EP features five songs, including the number one hit Royals. On May 27th 2013, Royals was covered on national television on the New Zealand version of the X Factor by all-girl group Gap 5, who is mentored by UK's (All Saints member) Melanie Blatt. Royals debuted as a single at number 1 on the New Zealand Top 40 on March 15th 2013 and remained in the top position for three weeks. On May 8th 2013, The Love Club EP debuted in the number 2 position on the album chart. In August 2013 with Royals, Lorde became the first female in 17 years to top the U.S Billboard Alternative Song Chart, since Tracy Bonham with her 1996 hit, Mother, Mother. Following the release of Royals in the United States in June 2013, 85,000 copies were sold during a single week in July. In a subsequent interview Lorde stated (and I quote) 'I had a sneaking suspicion that it might do all right'. The song also peaked at number 1 in the United States on the Billboard Rock Charts. With Royals, Lorde became the first solo artist from New Zealand to top the US Billboard Chart, and the youngest artist to hold the U.S. number one in more than 25 years.
Pure Heroine is the debut studio album By New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on September 27th 2013 by Universal Music. The release of the album came six weeks before Ella Yelich- O'Connor (aka Lorde)'s seventeenth birthday, after being spotted at the age of twelve by A&R scout Scott Machlaclan who signed her to Universal Music. Yelich-O'Connor co-wrote the album with its producer, Joel Little.
The album followed much in the same vein as Lorde's previous release The Love Club EP featuring predominately elements of Art pop, Pure Heroine also touches upon other genres including minimal, electronica, indietronica, synthpop and dark wave. Lorde was primarily inspired by the world she lives in and critics mainstream culture. The albums lyrics touch upon teenage life, 'disturbed suburbia' and 'too-good-to-be-true bland teenage years' with other lyrics on the album making references to teeth 'to signify class, authenticity, and social circle'.
Upon it's release Pure Heroine received universal acclaim from music critics, including praise of Lorde's and Joel Little's production. Other critics noticed comparisons to singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The album debuted at number one in New Zealand being certified platinum in its opening week and topped the Australian charts. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 129,000 copies.
The album was preceded by the release of The Love Club EP single Royals, which peaked at number one in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States as well as peaking within the top five of Australia. Royals was followed by the release of Tennis Court also peaked at number one in New Zealand. In mid-September 2013, the third single Team was released, fairing well in New Zealand and Australia.
The album's opening track, entitled Tennis Court, is a song described as being an 'older, slightly crazier cousin' of lead single Royals is a minimal song of an experimental nature; it incorporates elements from different genres to create a new sound. Along with mainly chillwave, the song is influenced by art-pop, pop , grime and blues. Lorde wrote the lyrics to Royals in only half an hour. She was influenced by hip-hop and singer Lana Del Rey. She Says (And I quote) 'I was listening to a lot of rap, also a lot of Lana Del Rey, because she's obviously really hip-hop influenced, but all those references to expensive alcohol, beautiful clothes and beautiful cars- I was thinking. This is so opulent, but it's also bullshit'.
The track Ribs starts with an 'exhausted-sounding Lorde growing more frantic with each passing second', with the lyrics that include the singer discovering her maturity and 'grown-up problems;. The track Buzzcut Season has a tropical paradise style production with lyrics describing Lorde trying to remain in blissful ignorance to the crumbling world trying to permeate through news broadcasts. The album's sixth song Team contains a crashing, synth-heavy beat and was described by Billboard as being 'darkly melodic.' Lyrically, the song touches up on her disconnect with modern pop music and the difference between onscreen portrayals and reality. Next track Glory and Gore is a song with lyrics that talk about society's obsession with violence. The eighth song, Still Sane was praised for Lorde's voice being described as 'smoky and restrained', with lyrics touching upon the all work and no play craziness of her teenage existence and reflects upon the duality of fame and legacy.White Teeth Teens is a doo-wop style song that speaks on the imperfections of teenagers and the way they present themselves. A World Alone, the album's closing track, includes a roaring dance beat. Its lyrics speak of a world which is composed of haters, existential musings, endless internet chatter and the one person with whom one can escape all the judgements.
Upon release, Pure Heroine was generally given acclaim by music critics. At Metacritic, a review aggregate site, it has a weighted mean review score of 81 out of 100, i.e. categorised as 'universal acclaim'. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard gave the album a score of 94, describing the album as 'immaculate' and stating that Lorde was 'the most vocally striking and lyrically thought- provoking artist to breakthrough in recent times.' He also compared Joel Little's bass, loops and rhythms, on the album, to the dark electronica of English bands Massive Attack and The xx. Furthermore, Lipshutz called the album 'honest and addictive', stating that although the album was not 'ground-breaking' and didn't offer any surprises, it was a 'pure fold' follow-up to her extended play and was a 'strong' debut album. David Farrier of 3 News gave a very favourable review of the album, stating that it lives 'up to the hype' that its lead single Royals created and exceeded expectations. Farrier called Lorde's writing 'so good' and praised her maturity; describing the album as 'sonically delightful', 'utterly unique', and 'timeless.'
What is so incredible about Ella Yelich- O'Connor (Lorde) is a musical persona you can attribute with the Artist, Birdy (Jasmine Van Den Bogaerde). She has a musical maturity vision that defies her actual age. At only 17 years of age, I think for the future, we will be hearing quite a lot of albums by Lorde. This is an artist who is definitely here for a longer longevity, than even she can imagine at the beginning of her music career. In the 21st Century, teenager (Real Lyrical Truth in Music) is still a new kind of music genre demographic,in popular music. The Sugababes were able to capture these very truthful dilemmas of being a teenager with their song lyrics, at the beginning of their careers. There are very few pop acts out there, that can capture the painful realities of being a teenager. As far as Pop Music is concerned, I do think, Lorde is (one day) going to be seen as a leader, in this new movement of teenager reality angst and pain in Pop Music.
In New Zealand, the album charted well where it reached number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums chart in its first week on sale and was certified platinum. Pure Heroine held the number one spot on the album chart for the following two weeks. The album also reached number one on the Australia Top 50 Albums chart in its first week on sale. In its second week on the Australian charts the album fell one place to number two and was certified Gold by ARIA.
The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 129,000 copies in the United States. In its second week on the chart, the album fell three places to number six with a fifty-one percent drop in sales to 63,000 copies. Pure Heroine debuted at number two on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
Tracklisting for Pure Heroine.
Tennis Court
400 Lux
Royals
Ribs
Buzzcut Season
Team
Glory and Gore
Still Sane
White Teeth Teens
A World Alone
Below you can see the music video for the first single released from this debut album, the critically acclaimed Royals.
Joe Kefali directed the music video for Royals.
Yeezus is the sixth studio album by Kanye West. It was released on June 18th 2013 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album began production in the living room of a loft space at a Paris hotel. West gathered various artists and close collaborators for work and production on the album, including Mike Dean and Daft Punk. Yezzus also features guest appearances from Assassin and King L, as well as previous collaborators Justin Vernon, Frank Ocean, Chief Keef, Kid Cudi and Charlie Wilson. West enlisted the help of producer Rick Rubin only 15 days before its due date to strip down the record's sound in favour of a more minimalist approach.
West was primarily inspired by architecture and was particularly interested in the works of Le Corbusier, and visited The Louvre several times while in Paris. Musically, Yeezus is dark and sonically experimental, combining elements of Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. West continues his use of unconventional samples including, most notably, the vocal refrain from Nina Simone's cover of Strange Fruit. Yeezus has no album artwork, and the physical CD edition of the album was released in a clear jewel box with little more than a strip of red tape and sample credits. Initial promotion of Yezzus included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances, and West opted to not release singles out of the album in the United States until July 2013 with the song Black Skinhead.
The album received rave reviews from music critics, who considered Yeezus among Kanye West's best work and praised the different sound. However, it was met with mixed reactions from the public, with divided opinions emerging after the album had an internet leak four days before release. Yeezus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 327,000 copies in its first week of release, but sales soon diminished. It topped the charts of 30 other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia. After less than two months of release, the album was certified gold by the RIAA.
According to Charles Aaron of Spin, Yeezus is 'a hip-hop album, not a rap album' because of how it sounds and subject matter are assembled together, and although listeners can hear 'punk' or 'post-punk' or 'industrial' throughout, 'hip-hop has always been about noise and dissonance and dance music as agitation'. Slant Magazine's Ted Scheinman wrote that 'with the album, West reconceives the 'notion of what kind of music (or noise) can underpin hip-hop.' According to music critic Greg Kot, Yeezus is a 'hostile, abrasive and intentionally off-putting' album that combines 'the worlds of 1980's Chicago acid-house and 2013 Chicago drill music, and the 'avant rap' of Saul Williams, Death Grips and Odd Future. He continues... 'It incorporates industrial music, trap music, avant-garde, punk rock and new wave...the record most closely resembles 1990 industrial rock, during which the genre had a significant pop culture impact, with artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Marilyn Manson gaining success. The industrial scene created a 'vast global underground community,' and Esquire notes that one of its epicentres was in Chicago, where West was raised. Even Rytlewksi of The A.V.Club characterized its opening series of songs as 'electro' and 'industrial hip-hop'.
Yeezus is primarily electronic in nature, and boasts distorted drum machines and 'synthesizers that sound like they're malfunctioning, low-resolution samplers that add a pixelated digital aura to the most analog sounds.' To this end, the album incorporates glitches reminiscent of CD skips or corrupted MP3's, and Auto-Tuned vocals are modulated to a point in which they are difficult to decipher. Esquire cites On Sight as an early example of the album's connection to electronic music, citing its 'droning synthesizer tone, 'which is modulated until the signal starts throwing off harshly treble-heavy spikes and begins to clip, as if it were overloading a digital audio processor.'
Yeezus continues West's practice of eclectic samples: he employs an obscure Hindi sample on I am a God, and a sample of 1970's Hungarian rock group Omega on New Slaves. On Sight interpolates a melody from Sermon (He'll Give Us What We Really Need) by the Holy Name of Mary Choral Family, although the track originally sampled an old vocal track from the original recording. As late as a week prior to release, lawyers were forced to track down the choir director and members of the choir on the South Side of Chicago in order to get clearance for such a sample. Def Jam executives were significantly worried enough the deal would not be in place in time for the record's deadline, and producers re-recorded the vocals with a new choir, as the sample could not be cleared in enough time.
The track I am a God was inspired by a 'diss' from a major fashion designer, who informed West of his invitation to a widely anticipated runway show on the condition he agree to not attend other shows. The track I'm in It began with a different sample and melody, but West removed the sample and Rubin edited the track down from a six-minute arrangement. Blood on the Leaves, which samples Nina Simone's 1965 rendition of Strange Fruit and was the first track in the first incarnation of the track list, is an example of West's signature dichotomy in which he melds the sacred and profane. Strange Fruit, first recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, brought the lynching's of black Americans to a 'startling poignancy,' creating 'one of the most towering, important songs of the 20th Century.' West's anthemic re-telling instead details an MDMA-fuelled hook-up on the perils of fame.
The physical CD edition of Yeezus was released in a clear jewel box with no album artwork, reflecting the minimalist tone. The packaging consists of little more than a piece of red tape and a sticker affixed to the back, with sample credits and the album's Universal's Product Code. The front is affixed with a Parental Advisory Label. The Source (A U.S. Hip-hop Culture Magazine) pointed out a resemblance between the Yeezus CD packaging and a packaging concept designed for a single by the English band New Order in 2001.
Def Jam confirmed in late June that the track Black Skinhead would be serviced to American radio as the album's first single in July 2013, and that a music video for the track was being produced. It had previously impacted radio in the United Kingdom on June 19th 2013. The song peaked at number 69 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Music Chart.
In August 2013, it was revealed that the track Bound 2 would be released as the second single from Yeezus. The single was sent to radio in the United Kingdom on August 28th 2013. Bound 2 features vocals from American soul singer Charlie Wilson, who was the former lead singer of the Gap Band, and incorporates numerous samples into its production, including prominent elements of the song Bound (1971) by soul group Ponderosa Twins Plus One. Bound 2 received general acclaim from music critics, who referred to the song as one of the highlights of the album and compared its soul sample-based production to West's early work from his debut studio album The College Dropout. The song has peaked at number five on the United States Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
Upon its release, Yeezus received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 85, which indicates 'universal acclaim', based on 45 reviews. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, in early review of the leaked edition of Yeezus, called the record 'a chutzpah classic,' elaborating that 'the entire disc rethinks industrial rock of the early 90's for both a new era and genre.' Steve Jones of USA Today called the album 'immediately stunning...he created a polarizing, multi-layered body of work that probably will be debated all summer.' Jon Don of Rolling Stone called Yeezus a 'brilliant, obsessive-compulsive career auto-correct,' comparing it to similarly abrasive records: 'Every mad genius has to make a record like this at least once in his career- at its nastiest, his makes Kid A or In Utero or Trans all look like Bruno Mars.' Pitchfork Media writer Ryan Dombal viewed it a 'razor-sharpened take' on West's fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, concluding that 'Cohesion and bold intent are at a premium on Yeezus, perhaps more than any other Kanye album. Each fluorescent strike of noise, incongruous tempo flip, and warped vocal is bolted into its right place across the album's fast 40 minutes.'
The Guardian's Alexis Petridis was positive in his assessment of the record: 'Noisy, gripping, maddening, potent...Yeezus is the sound of a man just doing his job properly.' Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot wrote that 'West sounds more complicated than ever, an artist willing to throw himself off the ledge not just to get a reaction, but to open up a conversation about, well , just about everything that matters to him.' Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times called Yeezus West's 'most musically adventurous album.... It's also West's most narcissistic, defiant, abrasive and unforgiving.' Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented on the album's mix of genres: 'Deploying anything from a Hungarian progressive-rock band to the rasp of dancehall, the album is one long, efficient, inventive kick in the head.' Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly considered the record a plunge 'directly into the darker crevices of his psyche,' commending the 'dense breathless sound sets the tone for an album that reaches far outside of traditional sample-based hip-hop.' Evan Rytlewksi, writer for The A.V. Club, wrote that 'Even by the standards of an artist who reinvents himself with each release, it's a drastic departure,' calling it West's 'loudest and most impulsive album.'
Within one day of availability on iTunes, Yeezus topped sales in the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany, while remaining at number two in the United States behind J Cole's Born Sinner. Yeezus debuted at number one in 31 countries, while also landing top five spots in 20 more charts. Yeezus debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 327,000copies in the United States in its first week. The numbers marked West's Lowest solo opening week sales in the US. Despite initially being projected to sell 500,000 copies in its first week, the album's leak led to diminished sales figures. However, it still had the third-best first week sales of 2013 at the time of its release and the best first week sales by a hip-hop album since Drake's 2011 album Take Care. The album's second-week sales saw the album fall dramatically: although it still ended at number three on the chart, sales dropped 80% to 65,000 units making Yeezus the largest second-week percentage drop for a number one-debuting album in 2012-2013 and the fourth-largest for a number one-bowing album in the SoundScan era. Billboard's Keith Caulfield attributed the diminished figures to the untraditional marketing, considering that the lack of single and public appearances lead the album to find 'difficulty in sustaining its momentum'. As of August 25th 2013, the album has sold 517,000 copies in the United States. Other chart-topping performances included the United Kingdom, where Yezzus debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on downloads alone, making the album West's first number one on that chart since Graduation in 2007, and Australia, where it became West's first album to top the ARIA Charts. On August 12th 2013, the album was certified Gold for sales of over 500,00 copies.
Track listing for Yeezus.
On Sight
Black Skinhead
I Am a God (featuring Justin Vernon)
New Slaves (featuring Frank Ocean)
Hold My Liquor (featuring Chief Keef and Justin Vernon)
I'm in It (featuring Justin Vernon and Assassin)
Blood on the Leaves
Guilt Trip (featuring Kid Cudi)
Send It Up (featuring King L)
Bound 2 (featuring Charlie Wilson)
Below you can see the music video for Black Skinhead (or by its other title) Blkkk SkkkinHead, which was the first official single from this new album in July 2013.
***WARNING: This Song Contains Explicit Language that May Cause Offence to Some People
Even though this song is shocking in lyrical content, as a music video, it is one of the most visually-stunning, computer-graphic music videos that Kanye West has (so far) released in his music career. The music video may have only been filmed in Black and White, but its choices of having a very black/dark (noir) tone with a brighter contrasting white, create this instant paranoid and disturbed environment for this music video.
Alive is the second studio album from British singer-songwriter Jessie J, released on September 23rd 2013. The album features collaborations with the likes of Becky G, Brandy Norwood, Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal.
Alive was recorded over a twelve month period between June 2012 and May 2013 in London, New York and Los Angeles. The title derives from the Wild song lyric 'Am I asleep, no I'm alive.' Writing partners on the album include the likes of Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler and writer Diane Warren.
Jessie began recording the album in August 2012, teaming up with long-term co-writer Claude Kelly, as well as working with the likes of StarGate and TMS. The first track to be rumoured for inclusion on the album was Strip , which Jessie discussed during her appearance at the Brit Awards 2013. It was later rumoured that the track would feature Tinie Tempah. Wild then premiered as the album's lead single on May 26th 2013. The next track rumoured for inclusion on the album was Square One, after Jessie performed it acoustically on a Google hangout with her fans.
Early reviews for the album have been mixed to positive, with music critics widely complimenting Jessie J's vocals and self-confidence, while others dismissed the album as 'generic' and 'overwrought'. Gigwise gave the album a mixed-to-positive review, rating it 6 stars out of 10 , saying 'The second studio album by Jessie J certainly showcases her singing talent, but while Alive is a mix of good tracks and powerful lyrics- a lot which is too similar to what's been before, or even what is plainly out at the moment'. Virgin Media also gave the album a mixed review, rating it 3 stars out of 5, saying 'Jessie J has overcome the hurdles of being a moderate, singer, bog-standard songwriter and not having an original musical idea in her head to become a bona fide A-list pop star' adding that 'Faced with the challenge of following up her crazily successful, four-times-platinum debut Who You Are, the singer and (ex-) talent-show judge born Jessie Cornish has risen to the occasion and then some. Alive is a better album than its predecessor, with marginally fewer banal four-to-the-floor beats and more chance for Jessie's personality-plus charisma to shine.' London Evening Standard was more positive giving the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling Jessie 'very English response to Kerry Perry', adding that the album is 'thumping, very 21st-century pop, be it the self-help anthem Harder We Fall, the clattering It's My Party or hypnotic standout Square One. She's even fairly funky on Daydreamin'. They continue...'It's short on heart but there's genuine craft here (Conquer the World, a duet with Brandy, oozes quality), plus star quality and a puppy-like need to be liked. She shouldn't fret so: to dislike her would take an almighty leap of mean-spirited faith.' Digital Spy also reviewed the album positively, giving it 4 stars out 5, saying that 'Alive as a whole is an accomplished pop record by an undeniably talented singer-songwriter that results in a natural progression from her debut-and one that can hopefully win some of those haters over', adding that 'There's no escaping the fact that Alive does have a tendency to switch genre throughout its course, but the overall thinking does feel much more cohesive than her debut. They continue...'Thunders mid-tempo, stadium-swaying styling's are a particular highlight, as Jessie concedes her happiness in love over an atmospheric piece of pop. What's more, the funky synths on 'Daydreamin' position it as a future hit, with its 90's Mariah Carey-inspired fervour making it one of the more colourful and lighter numbers'.
The album's first single, Wild, was released on May 26th 2013. The single, which was written by Jessie J and Claude Kelly, features Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal, and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted at 9 on the Irish Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Emil Nava and debuted on May 25th 2013.
The second single from the album, It's My Party', was released on September 15th 2013. It premiered on Capital FM on August 5th 2013. The music video, directed by Emil Nava, was filmed in late June and released on August 8th 2013.
Track listing for Wild.
Its My Party
Thunder
Square One
Sexy Lady
Harder We Fall
Breathe
I Miss Her
Daydreamin
Excuse My Rude (featuring Becky G)
Wild (featuring Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal)
Gold
Conquer the World (featuring Brandy)
Alive
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
14. Unite
15. Hero
16. Magnetic
17. It's My Party (All About She UKG Remix)
Below you can see the music video for first single released from this new studio album , the track Wild- featuring Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal.
AlunaGeorge are an English electronic music duo from London, consisting of Aluna Francis (vocals and songwriting) and George Reid (production and instrumentation). It was announced on December 5th 2012 AlunaGeorge had been shortlisted for the 2013 Brit Award of Critic's Choice. On December 9th, the BBC announced that the duo had also been nominated for the Sound of 2013 Poll, in which they finished in second place.
The duo first met in June 2009, when George Reid remixed Aluna Francis band My Toys Like Me's track Sweetheart. My Toys Like Me (Aluna Francis previous band) were an electronic music act from London.
Tri Angle (part of the Island Records group) released their single You Know You Like It as a digital download on April 20th 2012, followed by a vinyl release on June 11th 2012. The duo's first commercial single, Your Drums, Your Love, was released on September 10th 2012, debuting at number fifty on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2013, AlunaGeorge had their first top forty hit, a collaboration with Disclosure (An English Electronic Duo) with the track,White Noise. The single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Radio presenter Huw Stephens also premiered a new track from the group on his BBC radio 1 show, called Attracting Flies. The track has been included on AlunaGeorge's debut album. The duo performed at the Evolution Festival in Newcastle Upon Tyne on May 27th 2013.
Aluna Francis vocals have been described as 'almost child-like voice' as well as being called 'sugar sweet' and 'emotionally soulful and heart-warming too'. George's production combines sounds from bass, garage and dubstep. The band use techniques of R&B and use 'futuristic pop'. The musical style has been described as 'advanced minimalistic polyrhythmic beats' as well as 'bashment, experimental hip-hop, 90's r&b and house.' The duo cite inspiration from artists including Flying Lotus, Chris Clark , Hudson Mohawke, Destiny's Child and Mariah Carey. the band also cite James Taylor, Van Morrison, Aaliyah, P.J Harvey ,CocoRosie as references..
George Reid was previously a guitarist in indie-math rock band Colour. He has cited American hip-hop by The Neptunes, as well as Lil Wayne, as inspirations. Reid has said his approach to music-making stems from it being 'so easy to get lost in software, you get to a point where so many noises might be carrying the song, rather than the song carrying everything else. So that's my excuse for having nothing in there.'
Body Music is the debut studio album by the English electronic music duo AlunaGeorge. It was released on July 26th 2013 by Island Records. The album includes the singles You Know You Like It, Your Drums, Your Love and Attracting Flies.
You Know You Like It was released as the album's lead single on April 19th 2012 by Tri Angle. When re-released on August 2nd 2013 by Island Records, the single reached number thirty-nine on the UK Singles Chart.
Your Drum, Your Love, released as the second single from the album on September 10th 2012, reached number fifty on the UK Singles Chart.
The third single Attracting Flies was released on March 8th 2013, peaking at number seventeen on the UK Chart.
Best Be Believing will be released on November 3rd 2013, as the album's fourth single.
Icons of Black-American Soul/Funk, Earth, Wind and Fire have released their Brand New Studio Album, Now, Then & Forever. The Brand New Studio Album was officially released on September 10th 2013 In The United States. October 21st 2013 is the official release date of the album in The United Kingdom. The album is released by Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music. This is the 21st studio album release by the group. This Brand New Studio Album is Earth, Wind and Fire's first new studio album in eight years. Their last studio album was 2005's Illumination. This is also the first Earth, Wind and Fire album without musical input from founder member Maurice White, although he did supply the liner notes for this new album. Larry Dunn, one of the original founding members of the group, who is well known for his great orchestrations and keyboard solos; has joined the production team on this new album, lending his signature style as the keyboardist for several tracks.
The first single released from the new album was Guiding Lights, which premiered in 2012. In 2013, the second single, My Promise was released.
The Incredible thing about this new studio album is that (even from the albums the group have released in the last ten to fifth-teen years), this is the first studio album release that TRULY plays upon the group's rich, Black-American and Iconic music legacy.
They have gone back to the drawing board and made an album that draws upon Earth, Wind and Fire's earlier music legacy, while also embracing their current musical world-wide status, as one of the greatest EVER Black-American Soul/Funk groups.
If you are an Earth, Wind and Fire fan, PLEASE! buy this album WITHOUT DELAY! You all need to be prepared for an enormous listening treat, with this new studio album by Earth, Wind and Fire.
Track Listing for Now, Ten & Forever.
Sign On (featuring Daniel McCain)
Love is Law
My Promise
Guiding Lights
Got to Be Love
Belo Horizonte
Dance Floor
Splashes
Night of My Life
The Rush
To entice your anticipation of this Brand New Studio Album even more, below you can see a video ,where the group talk about the making and inspiration behind their Brand New Studio Album. There is also a video with a snippet of the band in rehearsal, practising the track from this album, My Promise.
Word of Mouth is the upcoming third studio album by English-Irish boy group The Wanted. The new studio album will be released world-wide via Island Records on November 4th 2013. The album features production from a wide range of producers and was recorded over the course of two years. The band will tour the album with their first ever world tour starting in February 2014.
The band began working on recording new material in November 2011, shortly after the release of their second studio album, Battleground.
The band confirmed that they had worked with a number of different producers and collaborators whilst writing the material, in order to make something that would appeal to both American and British audiences.
The album will be available in three different editions: standard CD/digital download (14 tracks), Deluxe CD/digital download (19 tracks-CD comes in deluxe gatefold digipack, with signed copies available from the band's official store), and an MP3 badge edition (19 tracks in the form of a clip on an MP3 player with The Wanted logo on it, supplied with a set of headphones).
Track listing for Word of Mouth.
We Own the Night
In the Middle
Running Out of Reasons
I Found You
Show Me Love (America)
Walks Like Rihanna
Summer Alive
Love Sewn
Glow In the Dark
Demons
Could This Be Love
Everything Knows
Heartbreak Story
Chasing the Sun
World of Mouth- Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
15. If We're Alright
16. Only You
17. Drunk On Love
18. Read My Love
19. Satellite
So far, four singles have been released from this new studio album.
Chasing the Sun- released April 17th 2012
I Found You- released November 4th 2012
Walks Like Rihanna -released May 10th 2013
We Own the Night- released August 11th 2013
The fifth single, Show Me Love (America) has an official release date of October 28th 2013.
Below you can see the music video for the 5th release single, Show Me Love (America).
Well Here we are then. Having won 2012's edition of X Factor and having the second fastest selling winner's song in X Factor's history, we now have the added bonus in hearing the release of James Arthur's eponymously titled debut studio album.
The album called (quite simply) James Arthur, is officially released on November 4th 2013, via Syco Music. The album includes the singles Impossible and You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You, as well as collaborations with Emeli Sande and Chasing Brace.
James Arthur becomes the first winner of the X Factor to include his winner's single on his album since Matt Cardle's When We Collide in 2010.
Several tracks on the album feature co-writing and production from Naughty Boy, who said of the album; 'It's really cool actually, it's definitely poppy but with an edge and a bit urban. One of the songs that me and Emeli Sande wrote for him is like a big orchestral piece and it has no drums. It's a real album. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised with his album'.
The album features collaborations with Emeli Sande and Chasing Grace, on the tracks Roses and Certain Things respectively. Impossible, Arthur's X Factor winner's single is included as the fourth track on the album. It was released on December 9th 2012. It became the fastest selling single X Factor's winner's single so far, reaching 255,000 downloads within 48 hours and over 490,000 by the end of the week. The single topped the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release. The song also peaked at number one in Ireland, two in Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland and eight in Slovakia.
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You will be released as the album's official lead single on October 20th 2013. The track premiered on September 19th 2013. The music video premiered on September 30th 2013. James Arthur performed You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You on The Jonathon Ross Show on October 12th 2013, and performed the song on the Australian version of the X Factor on October 14th 2013.
Track Listing for James Arthur.
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
Get Down
New Tattoo
Impossible
Lie Down
Recovery
Roses (featuring Emeli Sande)
Supposed
Suicide
Is This Love?
Certain Things (featuring Chasing Grace)
Smoke Clouds
Flyin
Below you can see the music video for You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You, which is the second release single and official lead single from this debut album by James Arthur
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Porcelain is the third studio album release by English musician Matt Cardle. The album will be released on October 28th 2013 in the UK. Recording locations for this new studio album included London, Los Angeles and New York. The new studio album has primarily been written by Cardle, but as with his previous albums, he worked with various songwriters, including Connor Reeves and American R&B artist Brian McKnight. Matt Cardle has also produced the album and played the majority of the instruments on the album.
The lead single was a duet with Spice Girl Melanie C, called Loving You which was released on August 18th 2013 and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. A second single, When You were My Girl was released on October 13th 2013. The album will be released as a digital download and physical CD, as well as a very limited number of vinyl copies available through Cardle's official website.
On May 14th 2013 at the European Charts Launch Party, Cardle spoke about where he was in the process of making the album at that point, saying for him, it was the 'difficult third album'. as opposed to the difficult second. He also described the album as a lot more diverse than his previous records. In later interviews he revealed that he had been pushing his vocal range more and experimenting with different instruments. In keeping with this, he spent some time in Bury,St Edmunds, close to his home village, recording some church organ for the album.
The Loving You single was premiered on BBC Radio 2 on July 2nd 2013. A Spanish version called Te Amo was also recorded and released. The music video premiered on July 21st 2013 and the single was officially released on August 18th 2013. It reached number 14, on the UK Singles Chart making it Cardle's first Top 40 single since Run for Your Life, from 2011.
The New Album details were released on Cardle's website on September 8th 2013, including details of various tracks on this new album.
Matt Cardle explained about tracks: Hit My Heart begins deceptively with its ethereal intro and stop-start rhythmic verses, but eventually develops into a chorus that's pure euphoria and allows him to demonstrate his skills as an arranger and producer. The track Not Over finds Cardle at his most tender. Co-written with Brian McKnight, the song features a lavish string arrangement and vulnerability in the vocal performance, that he himself admits, caught him slightly 'off-guard'. He mentions that the track Chains has 'trip-hop leanings and tortured lyrics'. This is a song reminiscent of Portishead's early work and certainly finds him exploring new territory.
Loving You was released as the lead single from the album on August 18th 2013. The track premiered on July 2nd 2013, and the video was released on July 21st 2013. The single charted at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and sold 30,000 copies in the first two weeks.
When You Were My Girl was announced as the second single from the album on his official website on September 8th 2013. The video was directed and shot by Nick Spanos in Los Angeles, on September 16th 2013. The single was premiered on BBC Radio 2 on September 30th, and was officially released on October 13th 2013.
Track Listing for Porcelain.
In Chains
Loving You (featuring Melanie C)
When You Were My Girl
Hit My Heart
A Little Too Late
Not Over You
Mouth to Mouth
Your Kind of Love
This Trouble Is Ours
Porcelain
Below you can see the music video for the first single released from this album, Loving You (featuring Melanie C).
Methinks...these two seem, very... very close with each other in this music video...ONLY SAYING!
You can also see the music video for the second released single from this album, When You Were My Girl.
