Sunday, November 28, 2004
Album Title: Destiny Fulfilled
Artiste: Destiny's Child
Label: Sony Urban Music/Columbia
The girls are back with a new rockin' album!!! Well... it seems like that. Many things happened since their last album; rumours of them breaking up, Beyoncé appearing in a few movies and made a rockin' album, while both Kelly and Michelle has released 1 and 2 albums respectively. Even their hair colour has changed (Michelle has opted for maroon-red hair, while Kelly went from striking red to jet black).
The 1st track, "Lose My Breath", is such a hit, you just have to stop everything that you are doing and dance it out! It is extremely addictive and really good if you are some top-notch DJ (great remixes) and if you like to dance. Even better if you are some crazy girl who loves to prove to your man that you got it all!
The rest of the album just grows on you, with most of the tracks sounding quite similar to each other. But there are potential hits among the tracks, like "Soldier" (feat. T.I. and Lil. Wayne), "Girl" and "Bad Habit" (my favourite after "Lose My Breath").
Some of the songs have weird titles (have you wonder how they can sing a song about a "T-Shirt"?), while others are arranged in a weird way. I'm still trying to figure out why the girls would sing about being "Through With Love", then suddenly make "Love" (note: both tracks are placed side by side). But the soulful and meaningful lyrics make up for the madness.
Vocally, they still sound great, with the same good blending in the songs and Beyoncé taking some credit for her mad singing. But there is equal distribution of solo singing in each song (note: less catfights), which adds point to them being a united group. An extra track ("Game Over") is included in the album.
Overall, if you are a true blue Destiny's Child fan, you should buy this album. For everyone else, buy it if you are seriously into talented people. Great for repeated listening, especially the 1st track
RATING: 7.5/10
(9:54 pm)
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Venue: Esplanade Recital Studio
Time: 2200hrs
Date: 26th November 2004
Before Singapore Idol, there was Talentime. 2001 gave birth to a lot of new talent (although some of them are not around in the scene now). One of them is overall winner Cherry Chocolate Candy. With great dance moves and Bardot-like vocals, the Destiny's Child-like ensemble are back with a new name called "CCCrush" (it's not C-C-Crush, just Crush...).
I went for the concert with my good friend, Desmond. Both of us are like CCCrush's biggest fans (okay lah... I wouldn't say biggest, but we've been supporting them since they came about)! With all these excitement, I knew I was gonna enjoy the concert.
The concert started off with dancers moving around, with the girls coming up and singing. Despite the small audience group (thanks to the size of the studio), people were cheering for them and the excitement level got high... I mean, think about it. These girls' album was supposed to be out like 2 years ago. What happened to them???
Throughout the night, they performed songs that will be in their new album (or if not, relatively original and new), like:
- "Feel the Groove" (also available in their 1st EP, "Feel the Groove")
- "Sorry" (Avril Lavinge-inspired energy song, nice and catchy)
- "Happy Ending" (written by Cheryl, very nice)
- "Miracle" (written by Cristal, not bad. She cried at the end of the song)
They also performed songs of different genres. Like in the earlier part of the concert, they sang jazz songs individually. Cheryl started off with "All That Jazz" (from the movie "Chicago"), then Claudine came with "Fever", then came Cristal with "Big Spender". It was interesting and nice.
And how can they forget our favourites? The "Dance With Me" Medley (which they sung at the Finals of Talentime 2001) and the "Sukiyaki" Medley (which they sung at the Semi-Finals of the show). Special guests for the show (besides the dancers) were Lily (the deaf girl from Singapore Idol) and her 'entourage' of friends from some Deaf association (can't remember) and Don Richmond, their producer, who belted a song with them. Really impressive.
The girls managed to skim through costume changes (very colourful and impressive) by letting the dancers showcase their dance numbers. Smart, I should say. Not forgetting that they changed a lot, in terms of looks. Cheryl has nice shoulder-length hair, while Claudine looks like Cheryl Fox all of a sudden. And Cristal? The biggest shocker, with her hair extremely short. And I mean SHORT.
The concert ended off with a disco number (for the encore ending, that is). Overall, you have to give kudos to these girls. Their vocals have improved from the last time I heard them. And it shows that Singaporeans CAN sing! We should all support our local talents as much as talents overseas, shouldn't we?
The only downside of the concert was that it was only an hour long. They did well and they were really pleasant to watch and listen to, so I feel that they deserve to stay longer!!! Hahaha! But anyway, there was a mini autograph session after the concert, so it wasn't too bad. They were selling the EP after the concert, which was cool because I can't find the CD anywhere anyway!
Overall, it was a good concert and I'm looking forward for their new album releasing next year. So stay tuned guys...
(p.s. check out www.cccrush.com)
(4:08 am)
Friday, November 26, 2004
Can you believe it??? There are so many new CDs in the shelves!!! I can't decide on which to buy!!! Okay here is the rundown of the latest CDs that are out (I'll give a review of some of the CDs soon):
Destiny's Child - Destiny Fulfilled
Britney Spears - Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
Stefanie Sun - Stefanie
Mandy Moore - The Best of Mandy Moore
Robbie Williams - Greatest Hits
Shania Twain - Greatest Hits
Fantasia - Free Yourself *
Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love
Ruben Studdard - I Need An Angel *
* not sure if they are in Singapore stores, but I know that it's out.
Upcoming Releases By:
Shakira (due early 2005; album title not known)
Mariah Carey (due March 2005; album title : "The Emancipation of Mimi")
Lindsay Lohan (due December 2004; album title: "Speak")
(8:12 pm)
Hey everyone!!! Welcome to Calle Música 101 - the one stop music ave! This is my 1st time creating a blog, so do forgive me if I make any major mistakes in my blogs (or whatever!!!)
Well anyway, here's what I'm gonna do with my blog:
- I give you as much updates as I can on the music scene (I'll try my best *cross fingers*)
- I'll give you reviews on some of the albums that I bought and listen to
- Give you a little bit on movies and TV shows (just a teeny weeny bit)
- I'll give you a little bit about what's happening in my life
Yeah... I hope you will enjoy my blogs... cos the 2nd post is gonna come anytime soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(6:30 pm)
