This single, Fancy, by Iggy is her first song to chart on the Billboard 100, and thus making it her first song to chart in the Top 10 of Billboard 100(currently at number 7) I cannot turn off this catchy song! She exudes confidence, style, charisma and arrogance in her music video. An overall unique song that no covers of this song can replace!
Her sass from the lines 'don't give a f**k', 'just the way you like it huh' gives me the shivers. I liked the lyrics most because they show the attitude she can have.
I'm neutral to Charli XCX's vocals though. This track can do without her. Nevertheless, I'm still sure Charlie XCX had a part to play as well in getting 'Fancy' to the top 10 in Billboard 100.
I am looking forward to her other albums in the future! You've done well Iggy!
At long last! Ariana performed her highly anticipated single 'Problem for the first time at the RMDAs! I'm glad that she has chosen to improve her stagecraft and try to be a little bit more involved in the dancing.
Dressed very adorably yet sexily at the same time, Ariana wowed the audience by proving that she CAN dance and sing at the same time, after critics have claimed her previous performances were boring because she was hardly moving.
What was missing, however, was the use of her whistles (possibly because she is battling bronchitis). Anyways, it was a really good live performance! With belts that stretched up to G#5, this single is surely to be a hit on the charts.
Although she sounds muffled in some parts of the song, it seems that Ariana does not seem to struggle with both singing and dancing at the same time. Good job Ariana!
Vocal positives:
Her low notes are smokey with the ability to scale down healthily to an Eb3. Her belts are often never shown to have exhibited any strain, and her belts at F#5 usually finds its most resonance and power. She has shown to be able to handle complex melismas. After the release of her debut album, she has proven herself to have the ability to reach whistle notes at D6, Eb6 and even F6/F#6 live.
Vocal negatives:
Her vocals have been panned for being too nasal at points. Because she sings through her nose, her diction has been slightly unpolished and her lyrics are incomprehensible at points. Her most comfortable low note is F#3 live and not the Eb3. Her chest notes lack in resonance as the rest of her belts shine in.
Finally, Shakira's new album has been released! Selling an impressive 84000 copies, this album now sits comfortably at Number 2 in the Billboard 200, losing out to 'Frozen Soundtrack'. Here is my review for her album:
Lyrics: A+
Her lead single 'Can't remember to forget you' may be a moderate success in the Hot 100, but I enjoyed it because of its lyrics - it brings the happy feel in most people. I also enjoyed her promotional single 'Empire'.
Shakira's lead single - Can't remember to forget you
Shakira's promotional single - Empire
Vocals: B
I expected more from Shakira's vocal abilities because she is an accomplished singer. Her voice did not sound liberal in her lead single and was doused with a lot of autotune. In her single Empire, her voice sounded too forced and robotic. Her voice gets more irritating in her lead single when she keeps singing 'Oh...'.
Music video production: A-
I LOVED the production of Empire. There was a creative idea involved in it and Shakira, being the runaway bride, went well with the theme. However, I am somewhat puzzled as to why Shakira and Rihanna would touch each other in 'Can't remember to Forget You'. I heard that she has a husband that does not allow her to film with males, so they got Rihanna.
Both Beyonce and Katy dropped their albums(Prism and Beyonce) last year, in 2013, although not at the same time, both women had their albums debut at number 1 on the Billboard charts and both their albums currently sits within Top 20 positions. So let us see which albums are better!
Katy Perry outdid herself in terms of her vocal range this time, spanning from C#3 all the way to a C6 - almost 3 octaves! Her album also boasts great songs such as Unconditionally and Dark Horse. However, I did not like the fact that she put Roar as her lead single- although it was commercially successful, I felt that she could have done a lot better if she did not rip off the single from Sara Bareilles's song Brave.
Moving on to Beyonce! Beyonce's vocal range spanned from Bb2 to C6. Her album was pretty sexual though, with lots of sexual grunts that shows that her voice has fully matured. It boasts great songs like Partition and Drunk In Love. There's another single that she released called XO, which I did not enjoy because the song was very boring for me. Nevertheless, this was her most successful as well as my most favourite album out of all the 5 albums she has released.
So for the final verdict... The winner is................ Beyonce!
Katy Perry may have two singles that topped the chart and another single that peaked in the Top 20, Beyonce had better vocals than her. Lets face it... Katy Perry can't hit a D5 belt live! I went to listen to numerous performances of Katy singing her lead single Roar live, and my, was it horrible! She avoided the high notes(points the mic to the audience) and cracks at the low notes...
Although Beyonce did not have chart toppers from her album, her lead single was successful and peaked at number 2 in the charts, plus, I have to say Beyonce's songs are getting better and better! Let's hope the next album Katy releases would be better than this.
Lea Michele's album debuted at number 4 in the Billboard charts this week, while Lorde's debut album 'Pure Heroine' peaked at number 3, but has stayed in the Top 10 in the Billboard 200 for quite some time. So let's compare both the singers' debut albums!
Firstly, I never thought that Lea's low notes(around F3) would sound good. At all. But in this debut album, she has proved me wrong. Even though it disappointed me because in its lead single, Cannonball, it showed very little powerful belts, her highest belt being at B4 in the single. Nevertheless, I am going to give this album a generally favourable grade - around B-.
Alright, moving on to Lorde's debut album, Pure Heroine. And my, is it a dark themed song with really deep lyrics. It is like a literature text, honestly, you cannot really take it at face value. Most of her songs require further exploration to her background before coming out with a legit answer to the meaning behind those weird phrasing.
Her debut album has showcased a supposed 3 octave range. However, her notes at the second octave do not sound too believable for me. I believe that she can handle the notes from C#3 to F#5, but as for the rest of the notes listed in the video, she'd probably would have a hard time doing it live. Still, I like this album and some of the songs - Royals, Team, Tennis Court as well as Glory and Gore. Overall, her music is refreshing but I still have some reservations before considering her album to be excellent. I'd give this album a B+.
Overall, I think that the better album would be Pure Heroine - I mean its so good that it's almost scary. Her sound/music is refreshing, her music has rarely been explored and her voice would take her places. I'm not saying Lea Michele's album is not good, its just not better than Lorde's album.
Vocal positives:
Her strongest range is from Bb3 to G5(her mid-range+belts), where they are fairly resonant and carries a slight rasp in it. There are powerful belts that stretch up to F5 to add emotion to it.
Vocal negatives:
She has a tendency to go off-key in live settings and become nasal and shrill at belts Eb5 and above. Her vocals are hollow and she finds difficulty in holding notes at C#5 when dancing and singing at the same time. Her notes are shaky in the fifth octave and her notes in the sixth octave sounds like off-key exclamation marks.
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