OneRepublic Waking Up Review

OneRepublic – Waking Up

4.5/5

1. Made For You

2. All The Right Moves

3. Secrets

4. Everybody Loves Me

5. Missing Persons 1&2

6. Good Life

7. All This Time

8. Fear

9. Waking Up

10. Marching On

11. Lullaby

No, that’s not a typo. All the songs are bolded. Early warning: this album is not mainstream material. But it doesn’t stop it from being my most favorite album in 2009, and should be yours, too.

You know OneRepublic since 2 years ago they released a massive hit, Apologize from the album Dreaming Out Loud which was certified Gold (selling more than 500,000 copies). Then, Ryan Tedder, their frontman vocalist, co-wrote Bleeding Love for Leona Lewis which reached #1 in Billboard Hot 100. Since then, Ryan Tedder became the most sought-after song writer in the US.

Released in the massively competitive November 17, Waking Up offers a huge improvement over their debut album. Sure, there are no tracks meant to be big like Apologize. That kind of song is hard to come by. However, it is compensated with great songs all over the album.

Made For You acts as the interlude to All The Right Moves, the first single. It is really catchy and perfect as the album opener. Then comes the batch of greatest songs they’ve ever made. You WILL love Secrets, may love Everybody Loves Me and Missing Persons 1&2 if you are not skeptic of their changes in musical direction, but you WILL love super catchy Good Life and ballad All This Time.

Fear relies on simplicity in lyrics and Ryan’s falsetto, which combines really great. Waking Up and Marching On pick up the tempo and are great sing-along songs. And Lullaby acts as the perfect album closer.

The only drawback in this album is there are only 11 songs in it. When the songs are this good, you will always find yourself ask for more. Even with Deluxe version, there are only 2 new songs and 2 songs previously in the previous album.

Final Verdict: A superb album. Though not all the songs are radio friendly, but they are of high quality. Kudos to them for prioritizing quality over commerciality.

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Kris Allen - Kris Allen Review

Kris Allen – Kris Allen

3.5/5

1. Live Like We're Dying

2. Before We Come Undone

3. Can't Stay Away

4. The Truth

5. Written All Over My Face

6. Bring It Back

7. Red Guitar

8. Is It Over

9. Let It Rain

10. Alright With Me

11. Lifetime

12. I Need To Know

13. Heartless

Kris Allen is the unexpected American Idol 8 winner. Most people expected Adam Lambert to win, but either most Adam’s fans are too overconfident or Kris is actually more popular than Adam remains unknown. But let’s forget what happened 6 months ago and focus on the now.

Kris released his debut album on November 17th. And what a release date, that is! Packed with the likes of John Mayer, Norah Jones, OneRepublic, UK sensation Leona Lewis, 50 Cent, teen prodigy Justin Bieber, popular Christian band Casting Crowns will seriously hurt his album sales, but still he’s the American Idol champion, and the release date had been set long time ago by the record label.

Okay, on with the review. Seriously, when I heard the album sampler, I was like, “wow, this album will suck” because the songs just aren’t strong enough. I really like his first single, Live Like We’re Dying, so I expect more of the same in his album, and from the sampler, I just couldn’t find one.

However, sampler and the real thing is a really different thing. Having given it a first listen, the album sounds great, if not awesome. Every song in the album is a strong candidate for the next single. There are up-tempo Before We Come Undone, Maroon-5-esque Can’t Stay Away, awesome ballads The Truth and Bring It Back, another The Script’s cover Written All Over My Face, Kris’ self-penned track Red Guitar, poppy acoustic Alright With Me, or the massive album closer I Need To Know. All of them have the potential to be the next single.

Kris’ strong point in this album is he stays true to his music, which is soft pop rock. All of the songs, except the ridiculously-arranged Heartless can be played with a guitar or piano, which suits him really well. Not to mention his great vocal. And mind you, Live Like We’re Dying is quite a difficult song to pull off because of the long consecutive chorus, and if you’re not impressed with how he copes with the song brilliantly when he sings it live, I don’t know anymore what you’re looking for in a singer.

There are drawbacks in the album, inevitably. Heartless should be left acoustic, Is It Over sounds like a bland rock song. The bridge of Lifetime is brilliant with “Living doesn't come first try, It takes a lifetime getting it right”, I just don’t understand why they chose to write the ridiculous cliché line “It takes a lifetime to learn how to sing, To find my place in the world symphony, To become the melody, The man I know I could be”.

Early predictions predict his album will sell 75-85K a week, making him the lowest selling Idol winner. The number is quite good considering the massive competition in the release date, though I start to doubt if his album will crack even 500K mark.

Final Verdict : A slow burner, give it a couple of listens to make it grow into you.

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iTunes Chart as of November 18th, 2009

Up till now, I have just reviewed one album of November, which is Carrie Underwood's Play On, which spends two weeks on top of Billboard chart. That's because I somewhat wanna see US (and UK) market reaction to the competition. There are some surprises but the result is quite as expected.

I know it's only one day, so the chart will still fluctuate. But seeing John Mayer at top is not a surprising thing, as I said that his Battle Studies is one of the most anticipated albums in 2009. What's surprising is how well Kris Allen does in the chart. He's holding on against Leona Lewis' Echo and Justin Bieber's My World. I hope his album does well, since it's quite good.

What's surprising is there's no OneRepublic's Waking Up in top 10! This is quite surprising to me, because Waking Up is a massive album. In my opinion, it's even better than Battle Studies. In fact, it only appears in Germany chart (charts at #7) and Switzerland (#10). I hope it will enter top 10 in the coming days. I really hope they'll do well.

That's it. I'm gonna try to write reviews of those albums. Tough job since there are lots of them, but I'll still try to do it.

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Carrie Underwood - Play On Music Review

Carrie Underwood - Play On

Track List:

1. Cowboy Casanova

2. Quitter

3. Mama's Song

4. Change

5. Undo It

6. Someday When I Stop Loving You

7. Songs Like This

8. Temporary Home

9. This Time

10. Look At Me

11. Unapologize

12. What Can I Say

13. Play On

I'm not really a country music fan. However, since winning AmIdol 4, Carrie Underwood has grown to be one of my favourite female artists of all time, and she's a country artist! Possibly because she realizes that to be mainstream / commercial, country music must blend with a little pop, and that's exactly what she's been doing for her first two albums.

After the first listen, I have to say that this album is somehow slightly below her second album's, Carnival Ride, quality. This set of tracks lacks the oomph of All American Girl and Last Name, which are by far the most powerful songs ever done by Carrie. But I gave it more listen. And I have to change my initial judgement. This album is at least as good as Carnival Ride - which is a great accomplishment, since Carnival Ride is a highly critically acclaimed album - just in a slightly different direction.

Cowboy Casanova, Undo It, and Songs Like This are Carrie's songs ala Last Name. Though not as powerful as Last Name, they are hell catchy, with Undo It becomes my favourite of this album. I love the stuttering un- un- un- un- do it! part.

Quitter, This Time, Unapologize, and Play On come as another group. These are pop-country songs. Quitter and Unapologize are great songs, but I find This Time a little bit weak. Play On is just a so-so song, but good enough as album closer.

Mama's Song, Change, Someday When I Stop Loving You, Temporary Home, Look At Me, What Can I Say are ballads. Temporary Home is a massive song, will do really good if released as a single. Look At Me sounds like a filler in the midst of these good ballads.

Overall, this album will not disappoint Carrie's fans. This is a good album, but not really great in my opinion. It's a nice opener and sets the bar high for upcoming albums which will be released in November.

OUT NOW!! BUY YOUR COPY

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November Music Battlefield

It's almost November, and November has, in my opinion, the fiercest competition for bands/artists because a lot of artists will release their albums in November. After the jump, I'm gonna review and make a prediction of how well they will fare.

Below is the list of release date:

1. Carrie Underwood - Play On (Nov 3)

2. Dashboard Confessional - After The Ending ( Nov 10 )

3. Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane ( Nov 10 )

4. Jamie Cullum - The Pursuit ( Nov 9 )

5. Kris Allen - Kris Allen ( Nov 17 )

6. Leona Lewis - Echo ( Nov 13 )

7. One Republic - Waking Up ( Nov 17 )

8. John Mayer - Battle Studies ( Nov 17 )

9. Boyz II Men - Love ( Nov 17 )

10. Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment ( Nov 23 )

11. Rihanna - Rated R ( Nov 23 )

12. Jay Sean - All Or Nothing (Nov 23)

13. Timbaland - Shock Value Volume 2 (Nov 23)

14. Britney Spears - The Single Collection ( Nov 24 )

15. Lady Gaga - The Fame: Monster ( Nov 24 )

16. Westlife - Where We Are (Nov 30)

Whew, what a long list. There are a couple of albums that I can't find the cover. Sorry about that.

Anyway, let's start with my review. Note that I'll only review albums of artists that I do listen.

Carrie Underwood cleverly avoided competition by releasing her "Play On" on November 3rd. Her first single, "Cowboy Casanova" is quite a hit in Billboard chart, peaking at #11, and based on her previous albums, she never disappointed. So I'd say, she will set the bar for other albums after hers, and a high one, I'm sure.

I never listen to Dashboard Confessional, Switchfoot, and Jamie Cullum, but I know that they have their own market. I can't comment about the music, but I guess it'll be hard for them to compete with Underwood.

Leona Lewis' Echo will be released on Nov 13, trying to catch an early start, 4 days prior to a heavyweight date. It is reasonable, sine her first single off Echo, Happy, peaks only at #50, quite a disappointment in my opinion. Despite that, based on the songs that leaked for months, I think this is an awesome album, better than her first album. So, no sophomore slump for her, though I'm sure it won't sell as much as her first one, due to fierce competition.

Then comes Nov 17. At that day, Kris Allen, OneRepublic, John Mayer and Boyz II Men will release their albums at the same time. It's a tough competition, since Allen is AmIdol recent winner, OneRepublic is quite popular due to the success of Dreaming Out Loud, Mayer is a top-list artist since his first three albums gain consecutive multi-platinum. I don't know about Boyz II Men right now, but they are quite popular years ago.

In my opinion, Mayer will debut on No. 1 spot that week, with OneRepublic trailing on No.2. Where Allen will place is still arguable. Though he's the winner, there's no doubt that Adam Lambert is the more popular figure post Idol. Plus, his first single, Live Like You're Dying, though very good, only peaks at disappointing #89 in Billboard chart. It is unusual, because previous AmIdol winners' debut singles always reach top 40. Though I'm sure his album will be in Top 10, I don't think it will do very well, which is a shame, since he's very good.

Nov 23/24. The second music battlefield. This time, Adam Lambert, Rihanna, Timbaland, Jay Sean, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga will compete. Now this is much fiercer than Nov 17. Lambert is a very popular AmIdol runner up, Rihanna's last album was very successful, as with Timbaland's Shock Value Vol 1. Jay Sean's single "Down" tops the Billboard chart in the moment. Spears' Greatest Hits Collection might not compete for top spot but will be fan favorite for sure. And Lady Gaga is hugely popular right now, so re-release with 8 new tracks will be like a completely new album.

I can't predict this one. Lambert, Rihanna, Timbaland, and Lady Gaga will compete for top spot. Sean might be the black horse here. Add to previous contenders -Mayer, OneRepublic, and Allen- we might have these 8 in top 10! Not to mention Underwood's Play On which I'm sure will stay long enough in top 10. Lewis' Echo can potentially surprise too.

Lastly, Westlife's Where We Are on Nov 30. Though this will not be released in the US, it's worth to mention since almost all the albums above will be released in the UK at the same release date in the US. Due to their huge fan base, this will be another #1 for them. Though their first single, Chris Daughtry's cover "What About Now" is not really that different from Daughtry's version, their popularity will do them well.

I don't know if this is the label's strategy, but I think pinning these hugely popular artists to compete seem like a great idea to lower their sales number.

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Finally! Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Review

My second most anticipated game of the year! Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is released and I tried it straight away. This will be a quick review because I've just played it recently, but so far I like the improvement in general gameplay over the past installment.

The gameplay is a bit slow-paced compared to 2009, but it is to my liking. I somehow am annoyed with how 2009 strayed away from realism, since using Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi will almost always guarantee you a win. You can just zap your way with those players and tried outrageous shots that will more likely than not hit the back of the net.

However, that thing is fixed in 2010. No longer Ronaldo nor Messi be able to dance their way through the defence as they see fit. They still can do it, because of the abundance of skills and techniques they have, but not that easily anymore. I'd say, 7 out of 10 times the defence will be able to block them or steal their ball, just like in real life. That's a plus for me.

Some issues still are not fixed, like tackling a player just after he passes the ball won't generate a foul. This is quite a blunder by Konami in 2009 and still isn't fixed in 2010, but it's not really a fatal flaw that marred the gameplay.

I don't want to write a really long review, since I just got into this game, but I'd give it a nice 8.5/10. Not perfect yet, but slowly getting there. Konami should listen to fans' feedback more.

Okay, one week to go. My most anticipated game of the year...

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Chris Daughtry – Daughtry

Juara 4 American Idol 5 ini benar-benar ditakdirkan buat sukses. Walau gak berhasil jadi juara 1 atau 2, albumnya berhasil meledak di pasaran, terjual lebih dari 1,5 juta kopi! Bandingkan dengan album si juara Taylor Hicks yang baru terjual sekitar 600 ribu kopi atau Katharine Mcphee yang lebih flop lagi, 250 ribu saja! Ada untungnya juga sih Chris gak juara, sebab dalam penggarapan albumnya, dia boleh bebas berekspresi. Banyak lagu yang ditulis sendiri, dan jangan lupa akan kesetiaannya pada jalur rock.

Jangan tertipu kovernya, ini bukan album solo Chris. Daughtry adalah Band yang dibentuk oleh Chris. Ini adalah album band sehingga kontribusi tiap personel harus dihargai. Walau tak bisa dipungkiri Chris adalah pentolan band ini.

Banyak lagu bagus di album ini, bahkan saking bagusnya, band ini bisa merilis 7-8 single andalan yang akan tetap sukses kalau mereka mau. My favorite : Used To, Home, Over You, Feels Like Tonight, Gone, Breakdown, What About Now. Wah, hampir semua gua sebutin ya, hehe…

Track List :

It’s Not Over

Single andalan Daughtry. Lagu yang bagus, namun menurut gw, track-track selanjutnya jauh lebih bagus. Mungkin mereka gak mau langsung merilis single terbaik mereka, sehingga yang tersisa cuma track-track yang pasti kalah kelas dibanding single terbaik mereka. Anyway, it’s a great song to start the album.

Used To

Lagu rock yang lebih ringan dibanding It’s Not Over dan Over You. Lagu yang catchy, dan judul lagu yang cerdas karena lagu ini banyak mengandung frase used to.

Home

Highlight of the album. Lagu pengiring pulang kontestan yang tereliminasi di American Idol 6 ini benar-benar bagus. Chris benar-benar menunjukkan kemampuannya menggubah dan menulis lagu di lagu ini. Definitely a must-buy single!

Over You

Rock yang catchy? Lagu inilah jawabannya. Walau vokal Chris sepertinya ngos-ngosan mengejar tempo serta pitch lagu yang cepat dan tinggi, tapi gak bakal mengganggu kenikmatan Anda mendengarnya. Kandidat single berikutnya nih.

Crashed

Mungkin gw cuma demen lagu-lagu yang catchy ya sehingga lagu ini gak jadi fave gw, tapi sebenarnya lagu ini cukup bagus lho. Yang suka rock murni, inilah salah satu dari beberapa lagu yang bisa memuaskan Anda.

Feels Like Tonight

Lagu yang bagus dan bakal membuatmu ikut bernyanyi tanpa sadar.

What I Want

Pure rock. Uniknya, lagu ini bahkan gak sampai 3 menit. Permainan bas setelah refrain kedua

Breakdown

Lagu yang sangat bagus! Lirik yang ditulis sendiri oleh Chris, serta alur lagu yang bagus dimana Chris memulai dengan lembut, dan diakhiri dengan cara rock dengan dentuman drum yang keras serta nada tinggi yang sama sekali bukan jeritan.

Gone

Dengan formula yang sama dengan Breakdown, namun di sini sisi lembut cuma ada pada bagian verse, selain itu, garang man! Patut dipuji juga bakat menulis Chris, “The day you turn on me is the day I die…” Two thumbs up for you, Chris!

There And Back Again

Another rock. Karena saking banyaknya lagu bagus di album ini, gw harus memilih lagu ini sebagai yang paling gak enak, namun bukan berarti ini lagu jelek lho.

All These Lives

Intro yang ngepop, bridge yang ngepop, tapi ini lagu rock man! Liriknya juga sangat bagus dan emosional.

What About Now

Penutup album yang bagus. Lagu cinta yang ngerock, inilah contohnya. Chris gak bermain-main dengan vokalnya di lagu ini dan jadinya malah bagus.

Conclusion

Aplaus dan dua jempol buat Chris yang mampu membuktikan dirinya di dalam dan di luar American Idol. Gw yakin Daughtry akan tetap eksis di dunia musik untuk waktu yang lama. Ini juga promosi bagus buat American Idol yang telah melahirkan banyak artis muda yang brilian. Kelly Clarkson di jalur pop-rock, Clay Aiken di pop ballad, Carrie Underwood di country, dan sekarang Chris Daughtry di jalur rock.

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