Drake Bell - 'It's Only Time (Throwback Album Review)

For this review, we'll be going back to a stellar album of Beatleseque goodness that 'Drake & Josh' star Drake Bell released in 2006.
Release date: 5 December 2006
Record label: Universal Motown
Genre: Power pop, pop rock
Best songs: "Makes Me Happy", "I Know", "Fallen For You", "Fool The World", "Do What You Want", "Rusted Silhouette"
Worst songs: "End It Good"
Rating: 10/10
NOTE: Skip to second paragraph to skip background info.

Ah, Drake Bell. Most of reading this will know who he is... because of me. But I don't praise someone without good reason, and this album is a very good example of that. Drake Bell's an amazing musician, showing prowess on several instruments. While he's mainly a guitarist, he's a pretty good pianist as well. And his range is really good, especially in his later works. Now, for those who don't know, Drake Bell's an actor/musician who got his start at the age of 5 in several commercials, notably one memorable one for the video game 'Pokemon Red & Blue', and a nice little role in Tim Allen's 'Home Improvement'. He later, when filming the 2001 film 'Chasing Destiny', got his initial guitar lessons from The Who's Roger Daltery. And Daltery clearly had an influence, as he went on to take guitar as his primary instrument, and his music from 2005-2014, encompassing three studio albums, got major influences from the 1950s and 1960s, and a bit of 1980s as well. He later went on to star on Nickelodeon's 'The Amanda Show', and 'Drake & Josh', where he had his breakthrough roles. Now, to music. Bell's most successful record, it shot him to super stardom in Latin America. While it only debuted at #81 on the Billboard 200, with 23,000 copies sold (it later went on to sell 200,000 copies in the US), and he only had a song reach the Bubbling Under chart, in Mexico, the album was a Top 5 success, and yielded the #1 single "I Know". Which led to him to selling out Auditorio Nacional, a venue with over 10,000 people, and performing to 50,000-60,000 people on several occasions... and that record was 'It's Only Time'.

I didn't understand it at the time, but if this came out from a current Nickelodeon star, I'd be astonished. Most artists from Nick are putting cookie-cutter pop... and here we get Beatles harmonies, references to Norma Jean, Mildred Davis, and Harold Lloyd, and production that sounds like it was largely influenced by Abbey Road Studio. Colour me intrigued. Now let's get to the tracks themselves. "Up Periscope" is a breezy jam that could've fit well in the summer, with obvious references to sex. It opens up with a monologue of a... submarine captain? This guy has been listening to 'Yellow Submarine' or something? And while there are some cheesy lines like "Don't you want to be the captain of your submarine?", which sounds like he wants to ride her, not the other way around, Bell's charisma pays off. The second track, the lead single "I Know", which was promoted at TRL, became huge in Mexico, and reached over 20 million views on YouTube. Opening up with really good instrumentation, the piano diddly is clearly very 60s influenced. It's clear the girl's despreate for love, and she'll take anyone who will fulfill her fantasy. This track's surprisingly accusatory despite it's more upbeat sound. Calling her out as "the pride of every fake that comes around". She's just a groupie who isn't in any way talented and just hangs out with celebrities all the time. But he does acknowledge they're both in the wrong, and that he's in love with her, something not a lot of people can do... I'll give him some credit.

Then we get the track "Do What You Want". Another piano driven song, the relationship doesn't appear to work out after the break-up, as they're pretty angry. He does censor out the cursing, but Bell tells her to just do what she wants, be free, live how you want, if that's what you want. It's clear she doesn't want this anymore. And he just wants to be done with it. The anger really shows here, and it's a pretty damn good song. Now, the title track, has a bigger gear towards guitar on this song. Oddly enough, the lyrics seem to tell that he's cheating, and "It's Only Time till you find out", and it's because she wasn't appreciative enough. Hmm... okay. Not going to typical route of saying "sorry". "Found a Way" is next, of course the 'Drake & Josh' theme song. I'm not too fond on the acoustic version of track, his delivery doesn't fit the acoustic backing. Still decent though. The second single, "Makes Me Happy", reminds me largely of "Baby's Coming Back" by 80s power pop band Jellyfish (believe me, hear the guitar line in both songs), and it's a pretty upbeat love song about how this girl makes him happy, and it's basic, but effective all the same. Damn catchy too. Now I don't even know what "Fool the World" means, but it's piano line sounds so 60s, I just couldn't not love it. "Everyone would love me if I could fool the world", hmm... what I got from this, is Drake doesn't have to be honest about who he is, and if he fooled the world, everyone would love him. Pretty interesting I guess. Now, what followed was a interesting medley.

"Fallen For You" starts it with references to Jelly Shoes of the 80s and 90s... okay. And he name drops Buddy Holly, Betty Page, and Norma Jean. Seriously, I'm just thinking this kid was really born in the wrong era. He likes classic girls, I guess. I do wonder why he should lie about his age, though. Is she older? I mean, he was dating Stevie Ryan at the time, and she was a bit older, so maybe it was her? Sounds sweet. "Rusted Silhouette", once again, loving the 60s feel. Sounds like something I could see Paul McCartney putting out. Drake here, appears to have been friend-zoned, after "Falling For You". He gets cocky, calling her a "lucky one" that he's coming over, but she wouldn't have it. It's a very dreary track for just being rejected, saying he likes her company more than a "sympathy symphony". Now, "Break Me Down" is a medley of both songs, where he takes about him wanting to get his "78s and 45s" back after a break-up... seriously, man. Retro references all over. And finally, we get "End It Good", which goes even more retro and sounds like a ragtime song from the 1910s. And it's pretty good, albeit, short, and really goofy and cheesy, with again, another retro reference, to B.B. Daniels. It also features vocals from the late Stevie Ryan, and does end the album "good", I guess.

All in all, this was a really amazing record that I'd recommend for any Beatles fan, especially of their weirder stuff or records like 'Yellow Submarine' or 'Abbey Road' or 'Rubber Soul'. 10/10, I'll take this over whatever kid pop star's putting out a record now. So, thanks for reading, I will be reviewing Taylor Swift's 'Red' next, so stay tuned for that.

Top 10 Songs From Artists I Hate

So, for my first Top 10 list, I will be talking about my favourite songs from some artists I hate. I could probably do multiple of these, so I might. This will be based on a mix of factors, how much I hate the musician, and how much I like the song. At the end of the day, it's mostly interchangeable. I love all these songs. Starting off with...

10. Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough"

I know, the pitchforks and torches. You don't like Michael Jackson? Burn the witch! Wait, just hear me out before we start re-enacting the Salem Witch Trials. Now it may sound hypocritical coming from me. As I have a feminine voice and I love voices like Mitch Grassi's or Chris Colfer's, his androgynous sound always sounded fake to me. Like a man trying to sound like a woman. Not a man that naturally has a feminine touch, or like Grassi, just straight can sound like a woman, Jackson sounds like he tries too hard. Really evident from the more spoken sound at the beginning of the song. It's airy. And Jackson's voice seems to think volume equals power. But yeah, this song is really good. The 80s production, Jackson's upper range sounding pleasant, and his lower notes sound powerful. I love the six-piece horn section as well.

9. Drake - "Best I Ever Had"
Oh, when Drake was good. Not all that good, mind you. I can't even really point out why I like this song. His singing and rapping doesn't sound lazy, and he actually sounds invested. But he tends to go off-topic, and this song comes off as cocky. No one knows who you are at this point really, and girls think your songs are about them? Please, bitch.

8. Maroon 5 - "Won't Go Home Without You"
Back when Maroon 5 wasn't the worst thing ever, I didn't dread a new song from them, and Adam Levine was a competent vocalist. Neat. Well, I love this song to this day. Getting a very similar guitar line to The Police's excellent song "Every Breath You Take", Levine of Maroon 5 delivers a heartfelt track, that's affectionate. Please, Maroon 5, go back to this. Don't continue to be garbage.

7. Kanye West - "Stronger"
Now, with West, it's mainly his ego. Because he's a very good producer and rapper. But there are times like with 'The Life of Pablo', he can just be terrible. Make more stuff like this and "Gold Digger".

6. Skrillex - "Purple Lamborghini" (with Rick Ross)


Not much to say. Rick Ross is a decent rapper here and Skrillex actually does the production quite well.

5. David Guetta - "Titanium" (ft. Sia)
Now this song's just beautiful. Sia's beautiful voice telling about no matter the hardships in life, whatever "bullets" get to us... that we're bulletproof and they'll just bounce off. You know, after I saw this video, I found the Christina Grimmie cover... and I just got depressed as hell, so let's just end this here, shall we?

4. Black Eyed Peas - "Where Is The Love?"


Such an excellent track before the Black Eyed Peas went to shit. Being an actual hip-hop group rather than EDM, the group tackles issues such as terrorism, racism, war, and even violence against gay people. And it goes along with very good uncredited vocals from Justin Timberlake. If they went back to making music like this... I probably would have been a fan.

3. R. Kelly - "I Believe I Can Fly"
He could be good, but R. Kelly is too garbage of a human being. And that forever taint his music for me. Look, this song was a part of my childhood, and R. Kelly definitely has a good delivery. But since he thinks it's okay to marry 15 year olds and run sex cults... all I gotta say is fuck you!

2. Thomas Rhett - "Craving You" (ft. Maren Morris)
Now, this one's a bit more lighthearted. I always hated Thomas Rhett for the nepotism and the fact country radio gives him hits despite his songs being bottom of the barrel when it is country, and there's some pop disguising itself as country. This song is a full pop song, and I admit, it's pretty good. Thomas Rhett should be focusing on pop radio. Very nice, albeit familiar sounding melody, the harmonies from Maren Morris are pretty good, though I wish she got a bigger part. "Star Of The Show" definitely could have qualified for this list as well.

1. Justin Bieber - "Maria"


I feel like this song is very similar thematically to "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Stan" by Eminem, or "Loretta" by Will Smith. Crazy fans. And I tend to like these songs. And while this one's a bit brighter toned, it's amazing. Bieber has a strong falsetto, the production is catchy. This is Bieber at his best. If he did music like this on a regular basis, I'd probably be a fan. Good work.

Conclusion
So, yeah, that's my list. Let me know of what you think in the comments, and maybe give a list of your own. Thanks for reading!

kirstin expected to dominate next week, as she looks to be debuting all of her EP in the Top 6.

kirstin's 'L O V E' EP appears to be dominating next week.

kirstin appears to be one of the only artists I care about a whole lot releasing an album, her album blitz is coming. If the predictions are correct, "Break a Little" will break "Run Away"'s record for most weeks at #1. Due to this, songs are expected to crash hard next week despite gains in overall performance.

What it's looking like currently:
1. Break a Little (=) - 6500 (+500)
2. Naked (debut) - 5500 
3. Bad Weather (debut) - 5400
4. Something Real (debut) - 5300
5. See It (debut) - 5200
6. All Night (+8) - 5000 (+2500)
7. Rewind (-5) - 4950 (-1025)
8. Leaves (-5) - 4800 (-1150)
9. Glorious (-4) - 4800 (-400)
10. Bad 4 Us (-4) - 4700 (-300)

Drake Bell - Honest (EP Review)

Today, I will be reviewing the new EP from Drake Bell as he steps into mainstream pop, and go through promotion strategy.
Release date: 30 June 2017 (or 5 July 2017?)
Record label: DB Records
Genre: Pop
Best songs: "Rewind", "Honest"
Worst songs: "Leaves"
Rating: 7/10

Let's see... I don't know the details, there are two ways this could have happened. One, you actually did release on the 30th and it somehow flew over my head, and Bell decided not to post about it till the 5th, a Wednesday (note the official release date for music is a Friday). Or Two, you did release on the 5th, and it's mislabeled as the 30th.  Either way, it's only two tracking days for its debut week, but eh.

So, let's get to the EP itself. There is not really a plot line to this that at least I see, except for maybe a failed relationship, but eh, it's an EP. The first track is "Leaves", a nice upbeat track with hints of electric guitar. Now, Drake Bell's falsetto... it's not a Justin Timberlake falsetto. It sounds good, but it doesn't sound heavily supported, and it sounds far brighter than his modal range, as he tends to be dark as a tenor. While his falsetto was never great, I do have a feeling it's gotten a bit worse. Just my opinion. Then we get "Honest", which would have been perfect as a single since the production sounds like "Shape Of You" and "Cheap Thrills", with the synths, it's a pretty by-the-numbers pop song. How he says he's not perfect, but he's still "honest", and he's telling his lover to be honest with him. Which is ironic since this is more of a project made to go mainstream. Then we get "Run Away", and I like the song. It's a decent pop song, and the falsetto sounds better, but still pretty thin. And you can tell the upper notes are a bit harder for him. Has a pretty good drop though. Then we get "Rewind", the closing song, and it has nice organic production, a Spanish guitar, a good pop rock tune that's more of a ballad that could have fit on It's Only Time. But here's my main problem. Lyrical content wise, these songs are pretty basic for him, it seems formulaic, and wanting to be popular again. It shows a musician approaching middle-age who wants his youthful years, his relevancy back. He's basically trying to be Justin Bieber on this project, and while he does show he can do it better than Bieber, from such a talented musician, he can do better.

Look, a VERY light 7/10. It's decent, I guess. Some good writing is still here. And his charisma well makes this project. But for me, I feel like Bell will not do better than his first two albums. Maybe that's just me being petty. I feel like I'm one of those fans who leave the fanbase of a metal band once they start getting popular. That aside, coming from someone who loved his first two albums... look, it still will get into my playlists for a bit, but it's not his best work.. Just saying. And I'm not seeing this is a bad release, far from from it, it's pretty damn good pop music. Also, the short length. I think it being longer would have been a bit better for me.

So yeah, thanks for reading, feel free to comment if you've heard it, which you likely haven't, because it's not like it'll be topping charts anytime soon. I'd like to hear your thoughts. I'm not sure what I'll be reviewing or talking about next, so if you got a suggestion for that too, feel free.

kirstin's "Break a Little" leads for sixth week, while Superfruit debuts at #2

kirstin's "Break a Little" leads for sixth week, while Superfruit debuts at #2 with "Bad 4 Us".

With "Break a Little" leading for a sixth straight week, it goes up to second in longest runs at #1, tying with Pentatonix's "Hallelujah", and Drake Bell's "Run Away", which led for seven weeks. "Break a Little" does face competition next week, and it's coming from the debut at #2, "Bad 4 Us" by Superfruit (comprised of Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying). This follows Avriel & The Sequoias' (Avi Kaplan), debut at #2 with "Fields And Pier". Maldonado's fellow Pentatonix members will be battling her for #1, as their debut EP, 'Future Friends - Part One', will be impacting the charts next week, with all seven songs set to debut in the Top 10. So far, Kevin Olusola is the only member of Pentatonix to not impact the chart at all, much less the Top 10.

Next, is "Coming In Hot" by Diamante, which rises 4-3. It's doing well, but this song, like every song below it, will take falls next week. Niall Horan's "Slow Hands" rises 7-4. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by Pentatonix continues to take losses, falling 3-5. Which takes us to our second new Top 10 entry, "Glorious" by Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey. It rises 21-6, as it's doing extremely well. "Cut To The Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen rises 8-7. "Only One Me" by Ice Cube rises 9-8. Our previous #2, "All Night" collapses down from 2-9. The third new Top 10 entry, and one that's very unexpected, is "Strip That Down" by Liam Payne featuring Quavo, which rose big from 30-10. So far, Louis Tomlinson and ZAYN are the two One Direction members who failed to reach the Top 10 (Tomlinson's "Just Hold On" peaked at #22, and Zayn's "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" peaked at #87).

As noted previously, Superfruit's whole EP is set for a Top 10 debut, and as such, this week, the "Superfruit Theme Song" picks up to 35-16, and Mitch Grassi's "Graveyard" rises 40-31. Also, the new single from rapper Desiigner, "Liife", which features rapper Gucci Mane, debuts at #30.

My Top 50 - kirstin Leads The Top 2; Ice Cube and Jason Reeves Earn Their First Top 10 entry.

"Break a Little" leads for a fifth week, while her follow-up "All Night" debuts at #2. Ice Cube and Jason Reeves both earn their first Top 10 entry.

What I'll start doing is rundowns of my chart every week on my blog, with a prediction post to follow. Hope it's at least interesting. 

kirstin's "Break a Little" leads for a fifth straight week. This is the longest run at the top since "Imagine" by Pentatonix also led for five weeks in April. This also makes the the third longest run at the top, as "Hallelujah", also by Pentatonix led for six weeks, and "Run Away" by Drake Bell led for seven weeks. "All Night", the follow up single from kirstin's L O V E EP, debuts at #2, and missed #1 by a margin of 10 points. For a bit of trivia, kirstin is the only lead female artist to ever lead the chart, and the only artist aside from Niall Horan to lead with their debut single. And aside from her, Pentatonix is the only one to lead the chart with two singles, making kirstin technically lead the chart twice. Expect at least a Top 3 debut from another Pentatonix project, Superfruit (Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying), as "Bad 4 Us" will be debuting on the chart next week.

Pentatonix or its associated members continues to dominate, as "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" rises to #3. It's not really gaining or losing, but sticking around due to longevity. The second new Top 10 (and Top 5) entry comes from hard rock singer Diamante, who debuts at #4 with her first single under a record label, "Coming In Hot". The record label in question is Eleven Seven Music, who also has the likes of Papa Roach, Pop Evil, and Five Finger Death Punch in their roster. Another Pentatonix member, Avi Kaplan, or Avriel & The Sequoias follows with "Sweet Adeline" and "Fields and Pier", which fall from 3-5 and 2-6 respectively. Previous #1 "Slow Hands" by Niall Horan rises 8-7. "Cut To The Feeling" re-enters the Top 10, by rising 21-8. Ice Cube earns his first Top 10 entry with "Only One Me" which rises 19-9. And finally, as previously mentioned, Jason Reeves re-enters the chart with "Just Friends" at #10. The perfect friendzone anthem that describes my life. Further down, Liam Payne debuts at #30 with "Strip That Down", and Macklemore debuts at #21 with "Glorious". The latter features American Skylar Grey, and is the lead single from his second solo studio album. Macklemore previously led the Billboard Hot 100 twice as part of the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Aside from Superfruit next week, expect gains for Macklemore, Liam Payne, and Social Repose, along with debuts from Selena Gomez, Shania Twain, and Shawn Mendes.


Shameless social media plugin: https://twitter.com/Naos210

News Of The Week #1 - Introduction

Outline and Stories Featured:

1. Introduction

2. Josh Peck Does Not Invite Drake Bell To His Wedding

3. Band Thriller 'American Satan' Gets Release Date 
4. YouTuber Austin Jones Arrested on 2 Counts of Child Pornography 

5. Beyoncé and Jay-Z Announce Twins

6. Pentatonix Members Are Releasing Music

7. Conclusion

8. Sources Used

Introduction:

So, a semi-regular segment I often do on the Billboard comments was a little segment. It was often music-only news. This time, I'm expanding it to include any sort of news I may have heard of. Plus, this will be a more pleasing aesthetic. I may miss something, and it may come off as a tabloid to some degree, but fuck your opinion, I do what I want on this blog. So to start us off...

Josh Peck Does Not Invite Drake Bell To His Wedding

Actor Josh Peck, known for his role on "Drake & Josh", married his longtime girlfriend, Paige O'Brien. Attendees to the wedding include his "Grandfathered" co-star John Stamos, and actor Jason Nash. Drake Bell was notably a non-presence. Instead of being happy about his upcoming film, like Donald Trump, Bell takes to his Twitter to let his 3.24 million followers know his feelings. These tweets are: "When you're not invited to the wedding the message is clear", "Loyalty is key, ALWAYS remember where you're from.", and "I'll miss you brotha.". These tweets were later deleted by Bell, then he contacted Peck himself via Instagram, replying to his photo with the message: "When you're not invited to your brothers wedding... cool I get it bro, thanks for the invite." Oddly enough, while this comment could have been deleted by Bell like his tweets, according to one user, other people's comments were deleted as well, implying this could have been deleted by Peck. Josh Peck has yet to formally reply to this, despite this story getting covered by numerous sources. Speaking of that previously mentioned film...

Band Thriller 'American Satan' Gets Release Date

The trailer for the upcoming film, 'American Satan', a film project from record label Sumerian Records, will be released in October, on the 13th. The plot reads as: “A young rock band, half from England and half from the US, drop out of college and move to the Sunset Strip to chase their dreams. Living in a van, their passion and talent exceed their means to survive. An enigmatic stranger sees their true potential and emotionally manipulates them during a time of weakness. Caught in the middle of a Faustian deal, their music and controversial altercations end up influencing society beyond anything this century has seen, but can they take back control of their destiny before it’s too late?”

Cast includes: Andy Biersack, Ben Bruce, Drake Bell, Malcolm McDowell, Denise Richards, Boo Stewart.

YouTuber Austin Jones Arrested on 2 Counts of Child Pornography

YouTuber/singer Austin Jones, who's channel had over half a million subscribers (mostly teenage girls), was arrested for the production of child pornography. This came after 2015, in which he asked his audience for twerking videos, even twerking himself to show them how to do it. Sick fuck. So, recently, he asked a 14 and 15 year-old, telling them what to wear and what to do in the video. Well, he'll be the perfect bitch in prison. First off, he's a pretty boy, guys are going to want his ass... literally. Along with that, most prisoners hate pedophiles. I would say good luck Jones, but no... fuck you.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z Announce Twins

The superstar husband and wife, according to various sources such the Los Angeles Times, TMZ, and CNN, have welcomed twins into the world, on 18 June 2017. This marks the third children for them, after Daughter Blue Ivy.

Pentatonix Members Are Releasing Music

Pentatonix seem to be going the way of One Direction, releasing solo music in a variety of styles after Avi Kaplan's departure. Kirstin Maldonado, or "kirstin" appears to be taking a more traditional pop route, in the way of Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne. Avi Kaplan's "Avriel & The Sequoias" seem to going the way of Niall Horan with folk, albeit far less of a mainstream style. And two members of the original line-up (the other being Maldonado), Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying will be continuing their project, "Superfruit", who actually put out a song in October of 2016. It is as of now, unclear what kind of music Superfruit will be releasing, and if Kevin Olusola, will be releasing solo material at all. It is also unclear whether this will lead to the eventual full-break up of the group despite Kirstin Maldonado's denial in interviews. Further updates will be posted as they come.

So far, these are the release dates for the extended plays:

'Sage and Stone' - Avriel & The Sequoias: 9 June 2017 (already released as of posting)

'Future Friends Part 1' and 'Future Friends Part 2' - Superfruit: 30 June 2017 and 15 September 2017

'L O V E' - kirstin: 14 July 2017

Conclusion:

Sorry for not really being all that interesting this week. This was made from 11-1 at night/morning and it was extremely rushed. It is also extremely hot where I live at the moment. I also apologize for any messiness/formatting issues, it looks different in the editor than it does when it's published. Any feedback would be appreciated. Also, if you would prefer this to be more humourous or just completely serious. That aside, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.

Sources Used:

http://hollywoodlife.com/2017/06/18/drake-bell-disses-josh-peck-wedding-invite/

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/drake-josh-star-josh-peck-marries-longtime-girlfriend-article-1.3257252

http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/watch_american_satan_movie_trailer_starring_andy_black_ben_bruce_and_more

http://loudwire.com/black-veil-brides-andy-biersack-asking-alexandrias-ben-bruce-extended-american-satan-trailer/

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-june-the-holy-trinity-is-complete-maybe-1497825029-htmlstory.html
www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7832832/youtube-austin-jones-arrested-child-pornography

http://www.popmatters.com/post/avriel-the-sequoias-field-pier-video-premiere/

http://www.tubefilter.com/2017/06/15/pentatonix-superfruit-future-friends-ep/

https://twitter.com/SUP3RFRUIT/status/874681371821621248

http://www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/music/article156575114.html

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7833781/kristin-maldonado-new-song-all-night-video-interview-pentatonix

https://twitter.com/RCARecords/status/876139127720124417

Fearless by Taylor Swift - Album Review

The stellar country pop release from Taylor Swift released almost a decade ago, getting only my second 10/10 so far on this blog. 

Release date: 11 November 2008

Record label: Big Machine Records

Genre: Country pop

Best songs: "Fifteen", "You Belong With Me", "Love Story", "Forever and Always"

Worst songs: "The Best Day" (if I had to pick one)

Rating: 10/10

See, I was only 9 in 2008, so I really wasn’t too much into music, and what I grew up was Usher, TLC, 90s-2000s R&B, along with a bit of the classics like The Beatles. Taylor Swift was one of the mainstream acts, one of the first, that I got exposed to. Granted, I didn’t put it together, because again, I was 9. But I loved “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” as a kid, such excellent songs. I didn’t know who they were from - I never kept track of artists. Skip to 2012-2013, and we had “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. Arguably, her sellout anthem that everyone I knew hated, and to be honest, I hopped on the bandwagon. Not knowing that the teenage girl I used to love listening to turned into this. So, we get 2008’s ‘Fearless’. Her best-selling album so far, and getting pretty good reviews. Does it hold up past nostalgia?

Well, it definitely does. I always went back to listen to the two aforementioned singles. But, then I got into “Fifteen”, and it made me want to go back and look at the whole record. And it holds so well. You get the Romeo & Juliet referenced “Love Story”, the friendzone anthem of “You Belong With Me”. Sure, she did it with “Teardrops On My Guitar”, and while that song is good, it came off as a bit petty compared to this one. And the fact I can kind of sympathize with this song (not the having a crush on a jock part as referenced from the video), but feeling that you could be a better match for the one you love. Although, this is where my bit of a crush on Taylor comes in, because who the hell would friendzone Taylor Swift? Like, seriously? Personal feelings aside, it has a surprising bit of energy and a nice build-up behind the melody. Then you get the advice song that is “Fifteen” saying that you may not know who you’re supposed to be, that life hasn’t truly started even though you may think so. And that boy you may love may not be the right one, being told from her own high school experiences. And that’s where she definitely shines on this album. Her charisma, her relatability. This is why I don’t feel good about bashing those who have teenage fanbases, especially when they’re teenagers themselves. If she can emotionally connect with them, then that’s pretty good. The breakup anthem of “Forever And Always” abou Joe Jonas has some good energy and is more a question of why this went wrong. The nice ballad of “White Horse” doesn’t get boring, where she realizes that this boy won’t be sweeping her off her feet, he’s a different person than she thought. And hell, while I can’t relate to the love part, and certainly can the misconceptions about a person. It shows that she can move on pretty well, while other songs show a bit of difficulty at times, this pulls it off really well with a nice guitar melody.

If I had to pick a song I don’t like, it would be “The Best Day”. While it does do a nice sentiment, a song about her growing up, the composition is so basic and dull. It gets boring really easily. Something that doesn’t happen with songs like “Tell Me Why” or even the ballad “White Horse”.

But really, I had to be forced to nitpick at one song specifically, and there’s not really any overarching problem. I love this album, I guess I’m a bit biased as a fan of Taylor Swift and someone who’s also 18, like she was on this album. I didn’t think a musician barely considered an adult could impress me so much, but she showed strength in songwriting, that was at times sloppy, but honest. I had a ton of charm and personality, it had a nice country pop sound, the production was done pretty well. And while Swift doesn’t do much range wise, her charisma sure makes up for it. 10/10.

Drake Bell - Artist Review

Artist grade: B+

Vocal grade: B

Vocal range/type: Lyric Tenor, E2-G#5 (Three octaves, two notes, and a semitone)

Best album(s): It's Only Time

Worst album(s): Ready Steady Go! (though it's not really bad)

Best song(s): "Makes Me Happy", "In The End", "Found A Way", "Bitchcraft", "Big Shot", "Down We Fall", "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me", "Bull", "Somehow"

Worst song(s): "Melina", "End It Good", "Back Of My Hand"

Positives: Charismatic vocals, can portray emotions easily, which is likely helped by his acting career. His voice brings a lot of presence, drawing attention to a song. Sporting a good lower range for a tenor, as the typical tenor range only goes down as far as C3. Able to utilize different sounding voices, allowing for his voice to fit in several genres such as rock and pop. Has received acclaim for what is often mature songwriting for his age, having even won an award from ASCAP. Writing can range from depressing and sad, to happy, showing to be a versatile writer. Can play several instruments, although his primary instrument is the guitar. Refusal to use a ton of vocal effects is appreciated (he even recorded an entire album live).

Negatives: His more rougher sounding vocals he usually presents may not be to everyone's tastes, he can come off as too "try hard" with emotion. Live vocals are often not powerful enough it seems to go through the instrumentation, though that could be due to bad recordings rather than quality of voice. Some songs' compositions can sound similar, though this may be artistic choice. Also, he will occasionally not distance himself enough from his influences, and may come off as an imitator. 

Taylor Swift - Artist Review

Artist grade: B-

Vocal grade: C-

Vocal range/type: Soprano, C3-A5 (Two octaves, five notes)

Best album(s): Fearless

Worst album(s): Red

Best song(s): "Love Story", "You Belong With Me", "Our Song", "Picture To Burn", "Style", "Back To December", "I Heart?"

Worst song(s): "Bad Blood" (ft. Kendrick Lamar), "I Knew You Were Trouble.", "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Shake It Off", "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (with ZAYN)

Positives: Charming, charismatic voice with a lot of personality. Can portray emotion very well through vocals. Despite being a soprano, sports a very good lower range, and has a relatively low tessitura. Has songwriting talent, and writes often basic, but very good sounding compositions.

Negatives: Relatively poor range, has a tendency to be off-key during live performances. And again, despite being a soprano, her upper range is pretty poor, often having to rely on her head voice. As shown in her live performances, her breath support isn't great, as she often sounds tired after a song or two. No vibrato. Despite her songwriting talent, it could be argued her compositions and lyrics are very "safe", with her public presence and mainstream support, she can afford to take risks, and has the potential to do so... but doesn't. Her change to pop has been criticized, as her songwriting seems to have lost a bit of that authentic feel often portrayed in her work prior to the Red album.

Yeah, Taylor Swift. This review was finally put up. I can't give her higher than a B- for now. While she has a few positives, her negatives often outweigh that. Her charisma does help a lot, and the fact she's such a talented woman, to take the sellout switch to pop was disappointing, to say the least. Next, I will be looking to do an anime review, but next on the artist review chopping block is Drake Bell, so stay tuned.

Nick Jonas - Last Year Was Complicated: Album Review

The pop singer faces an identity crisis with his third studio album.

Genre: Pop/R&B

Best songs: "Chainsaw", "Close" (ft. Tove Lo), "Under You"

Worst songs: "Good Girls" (ft. Big Sean), "Bacon" (ft. Ty Dolla $ign)

Rating: 6/10

If we say for the sake of this review, that the Jonas Brothers are a boy band, we've had plenty of artists break from their vocal groups to make great music, and successful music, too. We have Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, and others. And then we have Nick Jonas, who hasn't had massive success, and his music was never exactly stellar.

I assume he called this Last Year Was Complicated for two reasons: his relationship problems and because he didn’t release a full studio album last year (he re-released his self-titled second album from 2014), and that he was planning to release albums every year like he’s Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty. So, if we take these assumptions, how did it turn out?

Well, not that great. The album opens with “Voodoo”, a very dull track, that isn’t impressive vocally, instrumentally, or lyrically. Sure, his falsetto is pretty good like usual, but it’s not pronounced here. And the basic drums machine and synth infused chorus just don’t do it for me. And the pitch-shifting at points in the song just urk me. Then we get the EDM-filled “Champagne Problems” (Side note: What is up with all the songs called “Champagne Problems” this year?). It’s a pretty decent track I’d say, though it’s better as a background track, and you just drown out the lyrics (like most of Justin Bieber’s Purpose). What follows is great. We first get the lead single, “Close”, which features vocals from Swedish singer Tove Lo, who also co-wrote the track. The steel drums sound great, and Jonas and Tove Lo have amazing chemistry. Lyrically, it’s nice too. A song about wanting to be closer to your lover, because why wouldn’t you? After, maybe being “close” didn’t work for them, because we get the breakup song, “Chainsaw”, which is the album’s follow up to “Close” as a single. It’s a deeply personal track telling of Jonas after the breakup, and taking out his anger on anything that reminds him of his ex.

A lot of the middle of this album seems pointless to be here, almost filler. “Touch” is an acoustic track for the most part, and allows Jonas vocals to shine, but it does sometimes sound difficult to understand him, and “touching you with no hands” sounds more disturbing than sexy. Then we get “Bacon” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, which I already get low expectations when I see Ty Dolla $ign as a feature. He’s becoming one of those rappers who will feature with anyone, seems like they have a spinning wheel they throw darts to tell which rapper is going on the next pop song. And “One thing I love more than being with you is date night”... what? And his extended “ohh ohh ohh” makes him sound like Rich Homie Quan. That aside, the rapper is tolerable I suppose (granted he compares a woman to Bacon), certainly better than what we get from Big Sean on “Good Girls”. Also, who believes Jonas wants “Good Girls”? Not me.

Look, he seems really, “bipolar” on this album, all over the place, and sorry, I can’t recommend it, maybe to only Nick Jonas fans. 6/10.

Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman Review

We see the young pop starlet/actress taking on her more sexy image.

Album: Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande. 
Genre: R&B/Pop.
Best songs:  "Bad Decisions", "Dangerous Woman", "Be Alright", "Into You"
Worst songs: "Let Me Love You" (ft. Lil Wayne), "Leave Me Lonely" (ft. Macy Gray) (not on its own, but bad in the context of the album) 
Rating: 7/10.

Preceded by the promotional single "Focus" and the lead single, "Dangerous Woman", American pop star/actress Ariana Grande's third studio album, Dangerous Woman, sees the starlet taking on a more sexy image, but not to the same degree as her peers like Miley Cyrus. You may laugh at Grande for calling herself dangerous, but when she has songs like "Love Me Harder" and "Get On Your Knees", she's seems like a very.. dominant person, to say the least. She's not trying to throw her Nickelodeon image away. She still tries to maintain the cute image with the bunny mask, but it's clear it's not (especially with the latex outfit), and it takes it one step further. She had hints of this, but never anything this explicit.

In October of 2015, Grande released what was intended to be the lead single, "Focus". The single was very reminiscent of 2014's "Problem" with Iggy Azalea, and featured shouting vocals from Jamie Foxx that just... didn't work well. It still debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. But with average at best sales and mixed reviews, Grande had to take a step back and try again. And she did by scrapping "Focus" from all versions of the album but the Japanese Deluxe Edition. In March of 2016, she returned with the now lead single, the title track, "Dangerous Woman". With this, she achieved another Top 10 hit, having the lead single of all of her albums hit at least the Top 10. The R&B/pop track is a song of empowerment, and how the feelings for this guy makes Grande feel like a "Dangerous Woman". The song has nice buildups, and the guitar solo on the bridge is pretty sweet. The second single "Into You" is one of the catchiest songs on here. The EDM banger shows the sexy side of Grande this album is trying to represent. It talks about Grande being so addicted to her lover. Like the title track, it was written by hitmaker Max Martin, who you might know for writing with Taylor Swift and Adele. This is where I see Grande as a little more authentic than some of her other songs, due to the fact she has a writing credit here.

Promotional single "Be Alright" is an extremely catchy track that's just about being optimistic and thinking everything will be fine, that is always gets better. Her vocals on here are great, showing some range going from F3 to C5. The snapping, it was a nice aesthetic as well. Then there's "Let Me Love You" featuring Lil Wayne that does nothing and could've just been left off the album. Or at least taken Lil Wayne off. All he does on this track is pretty much saying he wanting to bang Ariana. And to quote Mark Grondin from Spectrum Pulse here, "it comes across like he's playing the Svengali taking advantage of a girl right after her breakup." Which, no. It's isn't good, it isn't sexy, or anything of the sort. It kinda just makes me dislike Lil Wayne, even more so than he's been for a while.

Now we get to the non-single songs on here. And there are great ones here. We get "Leave Me Lonely", the ballad that features Macy Gray. The track definitely shows Grande and Gray have good chemistry, and Grande can have less dramatic bombast and just strip it down, where Grande sings about how this love is no good for her, and that he should just leave her, cause he's a bad influence. Then we get the very fast paced "Bad Decisions", which pretty much shits on the theme of "Leave Me Lonely". It Has good tempo changes that don't feel sudden and flow well. Grande's vocals are here are decent. The lyrical content, tells of a girl not caring that she's with a "bad boy", that makes her do "stupid things" and make "bad decisions". And those lines about "not fucking with the good boys", and "a'int you ever seen a princess be a bad bitch", while I think those lyrics are in bad taste and she obviously has a lot of growing up to do, hey, the song sounds great, what can you do? But, that's only if looking at the song and not the album as a whole, it contradicted "Leave Me Lonely", and either of them could have been left off, cause it seems like she just gives up on leaving that guy and just says "fuck it, I like the bad boys", even though a few tracks before she says he's not good.

While it's an improvement from My Everything, she can definitely do better. Very strong 7/10. Definitely recommending this for anyone who likes good pop music.