Soundaholic Presents...

Before I start anything, I'd like to wish my buddy Jian Hong a very happy 21st Birthday! Okay, on the the music.



Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry
"I hope you know, I hope you know... That this has nothing to do with you." Fergie has got one of the most recognisable voices in pop music right now. Her face is kind of iconic too, but I've always thought that she looked a little tranny (I'm not trying to insult her because I think she's fab) but her recent video Big Girls Don't Cry completely changed my opinion. She looks great (whoa, that ass!) and very natural in it. Naturally the song has secured a Top 5 placing on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her 4th Top 5 single from her superb debut The Dutchess. She's certainly one of the most consistent artists with solid singles to churn out. Now if she'd only release Clumsy as the next single, it'll be another easy Top 5 for sure!



Lil Mama - Lip Gloss
I have never seen a rapper with moves this cool so it was with great surprise when I got to see Lil Mama in her debut video, Lip Gloss. The song has been causing waves for quite some time but I've been trying very hard to resist its appeal, always thinking that her success is nothing but hype. But Jive has an amazing way of getting its artists out (Nsync, Britney). The track is very catchy, with a thumping bass and a loveable chours. She's only 17! Her video's got references to pop great Britney as she dances in the school coridoor and then there's a line with "Upgrade U", lifted from a Beyonce song. She's certainly a talent to look out for - in fact Avril liked her rapping on the Girlfriend instrumental so much she invited her to do a remix of it! It's crazy!



Rihanna - Shut Up And Drive
When I get started on the ladies of pop, I can't stop! The first Soundaholic entry featured Kelly Rowland, Kelly Clarkson and Gwen Stefani. This week we have Fergie, Lil Mama and Rihanna. Rihanna will find it almost impossible to top Umbrella, but she's giving it a try with her second single Shut Up And Drive. You get a feeling that she's not really talking about a vehicle here. I suppose it's more along the lines of "riding an English mare" that the French King said to the English King while referring to some minister's daughter in Tudors. Oops, it's a little out of point, but with lyrics like, "I'm a fine-tuned supersonic speed machine", "My engine's ready to explode" and "You look like you can handle whats under my hood", you just can't help but think dirrty. The video is terribly bland and predictable. Anyway it seems that she's going for momentum on this album because there are songs way better than this one that deserve to be released such as the stellar Breakin' Dishes (her management should be shot if it doesn't), Don't Stop the Music and Lemme Get That.



Madonna - Frozen
I don't know why I'm introducing a song that needs no introduction but this song brings back a fond memory. I was about to call in to Power 98 to make my first request ever and was shaking nervously. Rod picked up the phone and I asked for this song, Frozen by Madonna. At that point of time I had just started listening to radio and she was already on to her second single, Ray of Light. It was 1998 and I heard on the chart countdown that the previous single, Frozen, was amazing, and there was no other way for me to hear it other than a) buy the CD (I was a poor P6 boy) b) request on radio. There wasn't piracy by means of the internet then! It's a good 9 years ago but the song still sounds as brilliant and as fresh as ever. IMO, it's one of her best singles ever, and even her costume was memorable and iconic. There's a hopeless MADTV parody of the video you might wanna check out here.

Soundaholic Presents

To be honest I'm not really motiveated to post anything on music because there isn't anything good being released lately, unless you count the shizzle that I'm too lazy to hear yet. I don't know how Trent manages to update his blog everyday about celebrity gossip, but I suppose it's because it's bringing him the big bucks. Anyway, there's still music to be introduced.



Justin Timberlake - Lovestoned
It's getting confusing for everyone because it seems that this track is the fifth single to be released as a single from his hugely successful sophomore album Futuresex/Lovesounds. Sexyback, My Love, What Goes Around (Comes Around) were the first three. Then Summer Love got released onto US radio, but despite the long wait, there has been no video for it. All of a sudden, the video for Lovestoned was released this week, with news that it will be the next single in the UK. Lovestoned is one of my personal favourites partly because of how the song evolves from something groovy and nasty to something trippy. I was really excited to watch the video because the original track's too damn long, and I wanted to know how much of the track they'd keep intact! Thankfully, most of it's still in there! The video's pretty simple and you can view it here.



Sophie Ellis Baxtor - Me and My Imagination
On the first listen, it sounds like a track that'd be really suitable for a circus act. On a second listen, the track is unable to save itself. It's harmless, pleasant to listen to but therein lies its fault. What happened to the spirit of the insistent one-track-mind that was her previous single, Catch You? It's about as cheesy as Take Me Home, minus all the cool. She's going to have a big trouble with her comeback if she's releasing such singles. The break didn't do her good, and if her next single's going to be this crap, make no mistake, it'll probably be the last you'll hear of SEB.



LFO - Summer Girls
There's no third new song this week because I'm keeping the good stuff for next week! Nah, I just couldn't find anything worth introducing. Maybe you guys can give me a tip or two? Point me in the right direction? In the meantime, it's Summer so what better way then to take a listen to LFO sing about Summer Girls, NKOTB and Chinese food that makes them sick? It was also creditted to making giving A&F a boost in sales due to the lyrics about them liking summer girls wearing Abercrombie and Fitch. The song was their third single and was nominated for Billboard Music Award for Top Selling Single of the Year in 1999. It's certainly a song that brings back some pretty good memories, so take a listen to it here.

Soundaholic Presents...

Hilary Duff - Stranger
It's amazing and I never thought that I'd say this but I think Hilary Duff (or Fluff as I like to call her) is finally making good pop music. I used to hate her a lot (but then I used to hate Britney way back during the BOMT years). I mean, who the fuck actually thinks Why Not, So Yesterday, Come Clean and Wake Up are actually good songs? I think she's doing a pretty good job picking up where Britney left off. Okay, so she's not exactly there yet and I don't think Stranger is anywhere near the standards of Toxic, but when there isn't anything better on the airwaves and this is the best there is, I'll take it! With Love was funky enough (to reach US Dance #1) with its cool futuristic beeping all over the place while Stranger has a minute bit of Indian influence. It's got a great catchy melody and I guess that's all that matters. If the third single is anywhere near this good, I think I need to get the album.

I deserve to get shot for saying that.



Enrique Iglesias - Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)
Would you go for longevity or being the hottest stuff for the moment? That is essentially the difference between Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias. The 2005 comeback by Ricky Martin only managed a dismal #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 while the latest offering by Enrique, Do You Know (Ping Pong Song) is currently at #33. The Ping Pong part of the song is stinks of cheap gimmick, but his voice more than makes up for it. Yes, I miss the voice that gave us Bailamos, Rhythm Divine, and fine, Hero (for all you romantic nuts out there). I don't know what's all the fuss about his dick size though. There were reports saying that he was unsatisfied with it because it's too small, and then recently he's been quoted to say that it's big.

Damn Enrique, I understand. It never stays the same length all the time, does it?



Timbaland ft Keri - The Way I Are
I love Timbaland and all the shizzle that he's produce, but when he makes an album all about himself, it becomes a bit of an overkill. However it's saved by some gems such as the second single after Give It To Me - The Way I Are. The beats are smokin' and rhymes are flowin'! His heavily vocoderised voice contrasts with Keri's smooth pipes to make magic happen. I was thinking real hard whether to feature this song, but I've got a sneaky feeling that it could probably blow up all over the charts after the success of P.Diddy's Last Night. "Baby if you strip, you could get a tip, cos I like you just the way you are..."



The Cranberries - Promises
Okay, and then there's the song that I've got to recommend from the past. I know I pick songs up real randomly, but this one's one of my favourites from the Cranberries. Promises packs enough punch to come close to being as hardcore as Zombie, yet starts off soothingly as if it were Animal Instict. The track was the lead single off their 1999 album, Bury The Hatchet. Every second of the song is delicious, from the haunting verses to the intense chorus. I love singing along to the yodelling. Wow. Take a listen here.

Soundaholic Presents...

Rihanna ft Jay-Z - Umbrella
When you're in the business of commenting on music, the first lesson is not to argue with popularity. As I mention last week, you're probably never going to win. Coming a close second would be to not to argue with a transatlantic hit. 19-year-old Rihanna's Umbrella is spending a second week at #1 in the UK and vaults #42-#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Unlike any other mere pop song you might hear on the radio, this one will definitely catch your attention with its distinct refrain of, "Umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh". She's a strange one because despite having huge hits (Pon de Replay, SOS, Unfaithful), she's not been a huge album seller. It's probably due to the fact that she releases her albums too damn soon after one another. I hated the song the first couple of times I heard it, but after repeated forced listens (it's everywhere) and her appearance on TRL, I'm sold. It's this summer's anthem. Miss out on this and it's your loss.



Good Charlotte - Dance Floor Anthem
I'm repulsed at how slowly it's been taking the public to warm up to Good Charlotte's current album. Keep Your Hands Off My Girl, which was supposed to an iconic single for the band, didn't quite take off because of the lack of support from punk rock fans in general. Lead singer Joel Madden revealed that the direction for the current album was slightly different, saying that, "We wanted to make it a little more dancey. I have been influenced by doing my DJ gigs, so I wanted to incorporate that energy. It is not a dance album at all, but it is a lot dancier." You can read the rest of the interview here. Dance Floor Anthem is the third single, and in my opinion, should do a pretty good job of getting fans of their previous hits like Girls and Boys, back. I love the track and it gets me hooked from beginning till the end. The video itself is nothing special though.



Linkin Park - What I've Done
If you've been to Lido anytime this week (and chances are that you'd have been because of Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Carribean and Shrek 3), you'll not be able to miss the fact that the huge screen which usually showcases trailers of up-and-coming movies is also plugging Linkin Park's latest single, What I've Done. It took quite some time for the song to grow on me, but what caught my attention the first time I saw the video was that it was highlighting some of the problems that the human race was facing - poverty, global warming and warfare. It's so rare nowadays for music to not be so self-centered. The lyrics are simple and therein lies it's magic.



Five - Closer To Me
If you've been into boybands in the past, surely you'd have heard of Five? They were never astoundingly huge in Asia (unlike a1) but still gave a slew of hits from When The Lights Go Out to We Will Rock You. My personal favourite however, has got to be the ballad Closer To Me, which was released after they decided to call disband in November 2001. It's one of the songs that can make me cry, for reasons I cannot fanthom. I remember being at a class chalet then and the radio was playing this song at 4 in the morning and we heard the song and someone asked me (naturally) who sang it, because it was really good. I broke the news and that guy was pretty stunned! Haha... can't believe I remember all that when it happened 6 years ago. Take a trip down memory lane here.

Soundaholic Presents...

I think it's time to bring back a weekly spot where I talk about music, it's something that I've been talking about for almost a decade. The pop mogul amongst the casual music listeners.



Kicking off this week's introduction to music, it's Kelly Rowland featuring Eve on the track Like This. Kelly's no stranger to stardom being one third of Destiny's Child, but I think her chance to shine is finally here after Beyonce's sophomore material paled in comparison to Dangerously In Love. Don't get me wrong, I love Beyonce, but my favourite DC member was always Kelly. It's just that she never came up with anything that really could really rock it big time (other than with Nelly on Dilemma). With Like This, she's showcasing that she's got what it takes to get the attention she deserves. Her lovely diva-ish voice cruises over the hip(hop) music while Eve brings the street credit. As with all addictive club bangers, there's chorus that'll definitely get everyone chanting along. Showing flesh and shaking booty is all in a day's work for DC, so it was only too easy for Kelly to show all her moves on her video and not look slutty. I'm loving the new hair. Check out the video here.



As a friend once noted, "You could argue with popularity, but then you'd be wrong.". It's been 5 years since Kelly Clarkson was crowned Idol, but no one from the subsequent seasons could top her, or even leave much of an impression. And that's the reason why she could insist on the release of her upcoming record when her boss disliked most of what he heard. Unlike her previous singles which were angsty, Never Again is angry. Lyrics like "I hope the ring you gave to her,
Turns her finger green" and "Does it hurt to know I'll never be there?
Bet it sucks to see my face everywhere" really gives a kick and a spit to lame, modern-day pop rhymes. You might not remember much from a first listen, but the bridge will definitely get your attention. This is the lead single for My December, which is set for release on 26 June.



The last new track is my current favourite. I haven't been at the piano figuring out chords to a song since Everytime was released as a single, which was 2004. Gwen Stefani's 4 In The Morning is probably the strongest single to be released from her album thus far. Wind It Up was no What You Waiting For, and The Sweet Escape only managed to make up for lost time. Hopefully this track will do what Irreplaceable did for Beyonce. Usually a key change in a pop track is used after the bridge for the last chorus just for the sake of sounding more intense. However, Gwen fits one in just before every chorus, really adding flavour to the entire track. Here's a performance of the track she did on tour and was broadcasted live during the finale of AI. In the official video, she's doing the bathtub thing (and so does Kelly in Never Again), and it reminds me of the Everytime vid!

I can never stop mentioning her, even if not by name. What can I say, she is a big contributor to the pop scene!



And moving from tracks of the present to a track from the past, and the fact that this entry needs a bit of testosterone, take a listen to what was probably one of the biggest rock tracks of 2002 by post-grunge band, Puddle of Mudd. This is Blurry.