Category Archives: Music

Skyscraper (Single Review) – Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato is not a typical artist that I’d listen to. On the contrary, she’s quite far from my cup of tea. Disney star, you automatically assume she’s in the same group as Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and other stars of the same franchise. However, unlike them, life hasn’t always been peachy for Demi. I refuse to believe that Miley’s current “problems” are really problems and Selena Gomez having to suffer because of Justin Bieber’s rabid fanbase doesn’t exactly count.

Demi, however, has had to fight bulimia and body issues and bullying, which led her to cutting. Keep in mind that she’s only 18. And it’s in that context that the artist presents her latest single: Skyscraper.

She starts the piano-driven song with a weak whisper: “Skies are crying, I am watching… catching teardrops in my hands. Only silence as it’s ending like we never had a chance. Do you have to make me feel like there’s nothing of me?”

But even with her pain and weakness, she tries to say that nothing can bring her down on the chorus: “you can take everything I have. You can break everything I am, like I’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper. Go on and try to tear me down, I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper…”

As she finishes the first chorus, she gains strength that goes into the song’s second verse: “As the smoke clears, I awaken and untangle you from me. Would it make feel better, to watch me while I bleed? All my windows, still are broken. But I’m standing on my feet,” before delivering a stronger rendition of the chorus.

Then she goes to the song’s bridge, which is also another step up in the vocal strength department. “Go run, run, run, I’m gonna stay right here, watch you disappear,” she fiercely sings. “Go run, run, run, yeah, it’s a long way down but I’m closer to the clouds up here,” before she goes into a final rendition of the song’s chorus that starts off with a whisper before she goes full on vocally in what could only be described as an overwhelmingly emotional conclusion. You can feel her voice somewhat break off in tears towards the end.

And it’s precisely that. Skyscraper is the progression of the person who has been wronged. You start off trying to make sense of your problem, rightfully convincing yourself that you’re not the one mistaken here. But even though you’re the one in the right, you are still weak. But as you go on, you gain strength. You realize that you’re not a two-story house that anyone can bring down, you’re a full-blown skyscraper that touches the skies. You realize your own strength.

And it’s because it’s deeply personal that Skyscraper simply works. And it works brilliantly. Demi Lovato emotes with ease because the song reflects her struggle. Even without hearing the lyrics, you can deduce the song’s contents from her impeccable delivery. And it is precisely from her pain and anguish that something like Skyscraper can raise.

Skyscraper may not be the most radio-friendly song for any artist to have as their lead single. But with something like this, who cares? For all matters and purposes, one would be proud to buy a song like Skyscraper, a song that is brimming to the tip with essence and emotion.

Demi recently tweeted that this single is more than a song for her. She said the strength the song represents of the journey she has been on would give other people who are going through dark moments as well the faith and inspiration to face their problems like she did. And even though it’s just a song, the power that Skyscraper represents is the ability to make you feel better. The best analogy for this song would be a phoenix rising from the ashes. By the end, it flies away to the clouds where no one can try to damage it.

Listen to Skyscraper:

CMA Announce 2011 Award Show Hosts: Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley

The CMA have announced the hosts for the CMA 2011 country award show, set to air on ABC on November 9th.

This marks the fourth consecutive year both artists were chosen to host the prestigious country award show.

Carrie and Brad are known for their hosting dynamics and their ability to truly entertain when hosting, as exemplified by CMA chief executive Steve Moore who said both Underwood and Paisley “have the unique qualities of humor, talent, credibility and natural rapport that makes them a hit with fans and the industry audience.”

Interestingly, both artists are rumored to be performing together as well on the show, which would be their single Remind Me’s first televised performance. The announcement was also broadcast via Facebook from the set of the music video for Remind Me.

Remind Me is currently #12 on the country charts, having been released a few weeks ago. It’s already shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest hits. And 2011 has had many big hits on the country charts so far. You can read my review and listen to Remind Me here.

Meanwhile, you can watch bits of Carrie and Brad hosting:

Scorpions Concert In Byblos (Jbeil), Lebanon – Part 2

The original dates for the two Scorpions concerts in Lebanon took place over the past 2 days, on July 6th and 7th, whilst a third one was added on a prior date on July 4th, the overview of which you can see here.

While I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to attend either of the three concerts, I’ve had relatives attend both concerts.

My cousin attended the July 6th one. He’s a die hard Scorpions fan and even taught himself how to play the electric guitar to their songs. His SMS ringtone is their lead guitarist Matthias Jabs playing a riff and his usual ringtone is for their hit: Wind of Change.

He reported that it was the wildest and most astonishing concert of his life. While he might be biased, that was the sentiment that most people attending the concert came out with. Drumsticks thrown by drummer James Kottak were picked up by the lucky few who were close enough to catch them, as well as lots of guitar picks thrown by Rudolf Schenker.

Their setlist was comprised of the same songs as their July 4th concert, although they replaced their song Dynamite by their hit “You and I” to the joy of many.

Meanwhile, my brother attended the July 7th concert and while he is a big fan, I can’t say he matches up with July 6th cousin. He said they had a blast at the concert and while some of the songs were unfamiliar to him (he’s more familiar with their classics than with their newer hits), he was still able to have a good time. He said the ambiance was electric with the heavy music that was playing and he said that even twenty years later, Scorpions are better able to entertain a crowd than many common bands today.

The setlist for July 7th was similar to the July 4th concert except “Dynamite” was replaced by “Always Somewhere.”

Here are pictures taken by both my brother and cousin of their concerts. I will update this post with video when they’re done uploading. More pictures will be posted as well.

Scorpions Concert In Lebanon

German rock band Scorpions chose Lebanon to be part of their international farewell tour with 3 concerts taking place at the Byblos International Festival on July 4th (a date added later due to overwhelming demand), 6th and 7th.

The first concert ended today and social media users who attended are reporting it to be extravagant. According to twitter user Rodrigue Saad, more than 40 drumsticks were thrown to the crowd, as well as countless guitar picks. Moreover, they had 4 encores to satisfy the hungry Lebanese crowd.

The band sang their some of their most famous songs such as Wind of Change, Still Loving You as well as songs from their newest album.

This is the complete setlist:

Sting In The Tail
Make It Real
Bad Boys Running Wild
The Zoo
Coast To Coast
Loving You Sunday Morning
The Best Is Yet To Come
Send Me An Angel
Holiday
Raised on Rock
Tease Me Please Me
Dynamite
Kottack Attack
Blackout
Six String Sting
Big City Nights

Encore:

Still Loving You
Wind Of Change
Rock You Like A Hurricane
When The Smoke Is Going Down

These are pictures taken by a Facebook user of the concert.



And this is a short video courtesy of Twitter user MWNader:

Someone Like You (Single Review) – Adele

Adele - Someone Like You - Single Cover

Adele recently announced Someone Like You as her US follow-up to her mega hit: Rolling In The Deep.

Already released in the UK as a single off her international multi-platform monster of an album, 21, Someone Like You got to #1 after a brilliantly heartbreaking show-stopping performance at the Brits. Why review the song now? Well, what better opportunity to write an extensive praise of such brilliance than when this unconventional choice for US radio is preparing to hopefully become a hit there as well?

Someone Like You is a song about the regret that you feel but cannot share. It’s a deeply personal song about all the words Adele couldn’t say to the person to whom this song is meant. Someone Like You starts with things Adele heard about him. He settled down, found a girl and married her. She tries to feign courage by asking him why he’s shy, since it’s very unlike him. And then she confesses that she she had hoped by turning out of the blue, uninvited, and by seeing her face, he’d be reminded that for her, it’s not over.

And then Adele sings the heartbreaking chorus: “Nevermind, I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you two…” You can feel the desperation in her voice as she sings those lines. Her voice breaks when she wishes nothing but the best for them two. And then she begs: “Don’t forget me, I beg. I remember you said, sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.”

The song proceeds to the path of memories. “You’d know how the time flies, only yesterday was the time of our lives… we were born and raised in a summer haze, bound by the surprise of our glory days,” alluding to a summer romance that took place between the two before she apologizes again about showing up out of the blue uninvited, hoping that when he had seen her face, he’d be reminded that it’s not over.

Someone Like You is not a song about Adele being bitter. It’s about her being in love – so in love, in fact, that she can let the person go and wish nothing but the best for him, regardless of how much that might hurt her.

Someone Like You is a hypothetical song that Adele is singing to herself, not her former lover’s face. She’s imagining herself standing in front of him and giving her heart away. The whole scenario of how he would act and how she would response is in her head, sort of like the countless times when we imagine scenarios and play them out in our imagination before trying to act on them. But she knows acting on the plot she set up with “Someone Like You” is not the correct thing to act on. She cannot show up out of the blue and have such a confession for him. It would be wrong from her part. So even though she wants him to remember her and even though she still loves him, she hopes, in the song, to hopefully find someone like him, someday, to make her feel that sensation of love. With whom she can share her memories, her moments and her life.

Rolling In The Deep was a song that basically said: “you’re leaving? fine. Go. I don’t care.” With Someone Like You, Adele is crawling back slowly to her former lover, acknowledging that she’s not as strong as she thought – “who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?”

On Someone Like You, Adele delivers a brilliantly chilling vocal performance that is so full of nuances that it delivers the lyrics without much effort. There is a sense of vulnerability with her delivery that channels the pain she’s feeling when she was recording this masterpiece. And she makes it look so easy. How so? Every single performance she has delivered of this song was even better than the album version. Her Brits performance got this song to go to #1 in the UK almost overnight due to the massive sales she generated after bringing people to tears.

What’s more of a testament to the strength of this song is that it’s deeply personal. The lyrics were written in a way not to let it seem open-ended. It was written for a specific person, with no intention of making it something that everyone can relate to. At least that’s what Adele said. But everyone related to Someone Like You because everyone found something that struck a cord within the specific vulnerability conveyed among the lines of that song.

With Rolling In The Deep, US pop radio took a bold step in the correct musical direction. It gave a deserving and great song the chance to be a huge hit and it ended up staying at #1 for 7 weeks at the Hot 100. With Someone Like You, one only hopes pop radio would also give a gut-wrenching ballad the chance to be something big. Simply because Someone Like You is one of the greatest songs released this year.

Listen to the album version of Someone Like You here:

And the Brits live performance: