Missy Higgins!

Yesterday I was suddenly reminded of this singer (thanks to Marcos.... well, actually Justin, but never mind). She is an Australian (Melbourne) singer who was discovered through a competition held by some radio station. But the unique things about her is that she is a singer/songwriter, and she has a very distinctive voice and character to her songs. Very good for bedtime songs or to be heard when you're feeling blue.

Recommended songs: The Special Two, Scar, The Sound of White, Drowning, Nightminds, Drop The Mirror, Hold Me Tight.

music review - september 2006 (indo music)

Well, as usual, every 6 months, when I get back to Indo, suddenly I got lots of new Indo songs on mp3 (thanks Emil!), so here's the review

1. Samsons
Really really like their songs. Very catchy, and the vocalist (Bams) has a very unique voice and pronounciation, especially the 'r' and 'u'. The good songs : Kenangan Terindah, Naluri Lelaki, Dengan Nafasmu, Kehadiranmu, Akhir Rasa Ini.

2. Ada Band
Have liked them from the beginning. Their songs are all kinda sounds the same, but I like it haha. The single "Karena Wanita (Ingin Dimengerti)" is being used as the jingle/theme song for Softex commercial haha. Another one that I really like is "Singgasana Cinta".

3. Ratu
Consist of two female members : Mulan Kwok (not chinese, just a stage name) - vocals, and Maia Ahmad (keyboard, backing vocal, guitar, and basically everything else). Their first single was a huge hit in Indo.... it's TTM (Teman Tapi Mesra). The second one is "Lelaki Buaya Darat". Her voice is just so-so, but the songs are very very catchy haha.

4. other new bands - Ungu (Tercipta Untukku, Demi Waktu), Nidji (Hapus Aku)

5. old bands with new hits - Dewa (Sedang Ingin Bercinta), Radja (Benci Bilang Cinta), Kahitna (not really loving them anymore), Warna (Kisah Terindah)

6. indon divas - 3 Diva (Krisdayanti, Titi Dj, Ruth Sahanaya) - Semua Jadi Satu

7. not yet reach diva status - Rita Effendy (Lagu Tentang Cinta w/ Bebi Romeo, Menepis Bayang Kasih), Audy (Untuk Sahabat), Agnes Monica (kinda like the Indon Britney - great energetic dance performances but absolutely hate her voice and songs)

8. Dangdut!!! Really really cheesy rythym and lyrics, but somehow catchy and quite addictive :P. Jablai (Jarang Dibelai) - Titi Kamal, SMS - Ria Amelia.

music review - september 2006 (western music)

Since I'm back in Beijing, I've been downloading like crazy.... lots of new songs.

1. Beyonce - B'day
Love love love this album. The songs that I like are DejaVu, Sugar Mama, Ring The Alarm, Upgrade U, Irreplaceable, and Listen. Great videos, too! Oh, and I've seen her performances on the MTV VMA and also on Fashion Rocks. Great, great performances. She really deserves her Grammys haha.

2. Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Love Sounds
I only like Sexyback and My Love. The rest of the album just make me have a headache. Not really a fan of this genre. Sexyback is really really great, though. Good for clubbing :)

3. Christina Aguilera - Back To Basics
Another side of Christina we never knew..... well, you know I'm a big fan of her voice, so I still like it, although I still think that "Stripped" was her best work up to date. The songs that I like : Ain't No Other Man, Back In The Day, Still Dirrty, Here To Stay. And if you haven't seen her performances lately.... I recommend the one on Fashion Rocks, and MTV Movie Awards. The one on VMA was just OK, not really up to her standards.

4. Other new songs that I like : Ciara - Get Up, Sean Paul ft Keisha Cole - Give It Up To Me, Evanescense - Call Me When You're Sober, Jesse McCartney - Right Where You Want Me, Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

Australian Idol - Motown Night

Another touchdown for EMILY!!! Woo hoo!!! She totally rocked the house tonight.... go Emily!
Here's the complete picture:

1. Kate - as usual: good but not great..... she just doesn't have that.... (i'm trying to find a word here).... wow factor i guess?

2. Lee - bad, bad, bad, and did I mention.... bad? Finally, everybody can see just how crap he is if he doesn't sing a punk song.

3. Anne - wow as usual, although a bit weird in the beginning... but she brought it down at the end.

4. Daniel Spillane - he's making a good progress.... he's getting better week by week. Not good enough to win, but yeah he can stay for next week

5. Dan England - like kate, he also doesn't have the wow factor..... good but not great. I think he will be leaving tomorrow as Lee has a huge fanbase.

6. Emily - woo hoo! Touchdown! Need I say more?

Tomorrow's prediction: Dan E, Kate, Lee bottom 3.

Australian Idol updates

Hi..... as of now, Milly and James is out, so we only left with 6.... I still think top two should be Emily and Anne, so let's see.

Anyway tonight there was a special show "Up Close and Personal", where the contestant sang their favorite song. I'll just do a review of the girls, cos the guys sucks haha.

Kate sang "Ironic" by Alanis..... she put her own interpretation of the song.... I think she did good... but not quite as good as the original.

Anne.... "Dangerously In Love" by Beyonce.... I was so excited when I heard she was going to sing this.... but it didn't quite blew me away... well, probably cos no one can sing like Beyonce.... it's a good try, but I was so disappointed when she didn't go for the glory note.

Emily.. "How Come You Don't Call Me".... I never knew that this song is originally done by Prince.... I've only ever heard of the Alicia Keys version. Anyway, Emily was GOOD tonight. I just think she did a fantastic job.

And... as a special treat.... there was Anthony Callea singing "Per Sempre". Good job, as usual. A bit too many vocal gymnastics, though. But hey, if you got it, flaunt it :) His hair was weird tonight, and he looks fat from the side.

OK, this Sunday is Motown night..... see ya after the show.

Touchdown!!!

It's BIG BAND night tonight on Idol.... and it's an amazing show.... I really enjoyed it. Here's what happened.

First up is Lee.... well, he did try his best to look the part and sing, but it's just not his thing..... to me, it's a really boring performance. He's the worst tonight.

Second is Milly.... it should've been her night, but she didn't quite deliver it for me. Everybody keeps saying that big band is her thing, but the performance is just so-so. I think Diana Degarmo did a better job at interpreting the song. What a shame.

Third is Daniel Spillane.... his best performance so far... he looks relaxed, and it sounded great.

Next.... Anne Robertson... wow (as usual)... she said that she never sang big band before, but she did very very good.... not a single note wrong.... it's just perfect.

James Kannis.... again, his best performance. The night just keeps getting better. He pick the perfect song for his voice.... one annoying bit though, is his one dance move that he repeats again and again and again every week. At first I think it was cool, but now.... mate, learn a new move!!

First touchdown of the year.... Emily Williams singing "All The Way". Wow wow wow.... really really perfect..... no more of that suddenly belting/screaming like last week.... and I like her dress.... very Emily..... Kyle didn't like it though.

Dan England...... as usual, good but nothing for me. And Mark said it very precisely: "he's consistently good, but there's no emotional depth or connection". It's like he's a singing machine. Weird....

Last is Kate Dearaugo.... well, I really like this girl now..... she's getting better every week. Nice opening silhouette (very Chanel - History Repeating).

Predictions for tomorrow: it's a tough choice, but bottom 3 : Lee, Milly, Dan E. But I don't think it will be that way.... hmmm, let's just see what happens tomorrow.

Australian Idol - Contestant's Choice

Oh My God.... I can't believe what just happened.... OK let's start from the beginning...

First up is Kate - Not That Kind (Anastacia). Well, she's no Anastacia, but at least she looks amazing and sounds amazing too tonight.... might just be her best performance so far, in my opinion.

Next is James - (some song by Luther Vandross).... he did OK, I enjoyed it, but he's definitely in the botton 3 vocally.

Roxane - The Voice Within (Christina Aguilera).... she did better than I expected, but she still screwed up the big note.... too ambitious... maybe she should've sing in a slightly lower key.

Lee - Holiday (Green Day). As usual, crowd pleaser..... jumps and move around a lot... good for him, but not good enough to be a winner.

Emily - Hero (Mariah). Great performance as always... one thing that I don't really like is the transition from the lower notes to the high ones... she need to work on that one.

Daniel Spillane - boring boring boring. Should be in bottom 3 tomorrow.

Milly Edwards - Sunday Morning (No Doubt). She totally butchered the song..... she should be out tomorrow. What a shame... I like her looks.

Dan England - To Be With You (Mr. Big). He should be good on this one, but I agree with Mark that it just wasn't good enough... there's no "moment" on his interpretation of the song.

Anne - Independent Woman (Destiny's Child). I think she is soooo great..... with all the moves, and still strong vocally. But something's up with Mark tonight... he's really cranky..... and guess what? He left the room after commenting. Well, first Kyle said that it's a great performance, then Mark said it was lame, he said that it became like a ballad...... and I was like "what? what the hell is wrong with you Mark? Shut up and leave her alone". Then Marcia defended Anne, and they debate each other, and Marcia said "Well you can just leave if you don't like it". Then Anne said "Well, in the end it's the voters that matters... I'm sorry Mark but...". then Mark interrupted and said "well for now, yes, but in one year, two years time.... you need to be a star to be successful". Then he stand up and leave the room. What an asshole!

So, overall.... some great performances..... you can really see that James, Milly, and Daniel Spillane is bottom 3. So we'll see tomorrow.

Inside Idol - 290905

Wow... I've just seen tonight's Inside Idol, and this Sunday's show is gonna be massive! It's the contestant's choice week, and remember last year when Anthony sings "The Prayer"? Hopefully some of the magic is gonna happen again :)

The song choices are:
James - don't know what's the song, and don't really care, and he sounded just so-so in rehearsal
Kate - Not That Kind by Anastacia. I think her voice IS somewhat like Anastacia, so it would be good for her
Emily - Hero by Mariah Carey. Wow.... very challenging choice. Should be good, but in rehearsals she's back to belting out the notes, so I don't know.... hopefully she can reach the big high note.
Anne - Independent Woman by Destiny's Child. Yay.... so happy with her song choice..... I really do think she's like Beyonce in so many ways..... and this choice is very good for her
Milly - see James above
Roxane - The Voice Within by Christina Aguilera... I don't think this song suits her.... and as usual she goes to that annoying pitch
Dan England - To Be With You (i forgot who sings this song - is it Firehouse?). Anyway it is perfect for him. I think I'm starting to like him.... well OK he can be Top 3 haha.
Lee - Holiday by Green Day. Well, the style suits him, but his vocal range is really limited.... I mean, this song doesn't really have big range, and he's already struggling
Daniel Spillane - don't know what's the song.... it's a ballad, and he sounded good during rehearsals, so we'll see