ahzark97 Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 Somebody Told Me is amazing. Never get tired of listening to it
KasioKas Posted December 17, 2018 Author Posted December 17, 2018 (edited) Albums List (10-06) (Each album featured on this list will include two of my favourites) 10. Liberation - Christina Aguilera (After waiting an eternity for new music from this powerhouse vocalist, replaying songs from Burlesque and her previous hits, I've finally acquired new music to add to my library, and what great music some of it is! I'll have to admit I only use about 75% of the album. She dominates vocally, and it's so refreshing to hear a female blow like that again because it's becoming rare in an industry where everyone seems to prefer whisper singers over belters with the foolish claim that it's "screaming". She steps up here by choosing great features to collab with, Goldlink on "Like I Do" helps her flex her bed experience in a sexy pop song, she belts along with Demi but still outshines her as the more experienced of the two, and picked the perfect duo to add the to the "Right Moves" Caribbean-esque mid-tempo track. But after listening to the album.. I want more, and not in a good way. This felt like a decent comeback after so many years, but Xtina can do better, something was missing here, it wasn't extremely cohesive and the promo was so bad that nothing ever really became a hit for her. I hope she doesn't take as long with the next one. Recommend: Unless It's With You // Like I Do (feat. GoldLink) 09. Bloom - Troye Sivan (Troye, Troye, Troye. My My My! hit me like a ton. of. bricks. It is a masterful pop song. The level of energy he exudes!, the lyrics!, and his voice is explosive here! This is perhaps my most played track by a male this year.. and yet.. the album was a 180. 98% of the other tracks maintain a base tone, with Troye almost refusing to be melodic, give higher notes or runs, harmonies, all of that is mostly in-existent here. Though he still sounds great in his lower register (especially in the sexier songs like "Animal" where he almost whispers his desires into our ears), a mass of people, myself included, realised that the lead was extremely misleading, because there's nothing else like My My My! to be found on the album. (Perhaps most closely being Dance To This, where he fought to maintain control over Ariana that almost certainly stole the show. Nevertheless they sound great together.) It's redeeming quality that got it to #9 on my list then? The excellent, excellent writing. Every song is written so well here; where he lacks creativity in his singing he more than makes up for with writing and production on this album, and 2 out of 3 ain't bad. The album would've placed much higher however, had he aced it all. Recommend: My My My! // Lucky Strike // What a Heavenly Way to Die // Dance to This (feat. Ariana Grande) 08. Life After Love, Pt. 1 - Victoria Monet (Victoria's Pt.1 EP is in my opinion superior to Pt.2. Here she sings more of heartbreak, and is often ruthless in her lyrics. The writing here is great, but her voice is better! Similar to Ariana, she's not afraid to add a myriad of harmonies and background vocals to her songs (never over doing it) in order to elevate the song to a higher quality, and makes for a much more enjoyable experience. "Waterfall Out of Love" in particular, written about Tommy Brown, is a really cleverly written song about the shear amount of tears that she cries, that she hopes he drowns in, for the pain he's caused her. You can't help but smirk at how snarky she sings it, yet clearly with a sad tone, which lingers throughout the EP. This was on repeat for a long, long time because everything comes together really well. She's really good and deserves alot more recognition in my opinion. A lot more. Recommend: Water Fall Out of Love // No Good 07. All Blue - Jade Novah (Jade Novah has an impeccable voice. I'M SO GLAD I found her this year because this album has brought me SO much joy. Her runs are EFFORTLESS and intricate, almost at a level of Tori Kelly . I'm so shocked she only released this debut album this year because she sounds like she's been making music for a while. The album has a lowkey theme of cosmic, space and love and the lyrics are beautiful, dreamy, and fun. She experiments with a bit of her own rapping, and it pays off well, but her vocals, she excels with her beautiful voice. I can't get enough of it truly. I love the female voice so much and she's been added to one of my faves with this album alone . I look forward very much to the future of her career. PLEASE give this one a shot. Recommend: Cosmic Love // Try // Bulletproof // Intuition // All Blue 06. Voicenotes - Charlie Puth (What I love about Charlie is that he's extremely creative. He regularly posts instagram videos playing the piano, coming up with new instrumentals, trying new sounds, and puts so much effort into the final product he releases. Voicenotes is an extremely enjoyable listen from start to finish. The lyrics and especially the production and instrumentals are great. His runs are great too, although I wish he'd do more there, it's leaps and bounds above the other male releases I've heard this year. Charlie isn't afraid to go higher with his voice, to try different melodies, and I appreciate that, and the songs included here cover the usual topics of love, heartbreak and sex but was my favourite male release of the year. Recommend: Somebody Told Me // The Way I Am // Done For Me (feat. Kehlani) TOP 5 COMING SOON! Edited December 17, 2018 by KasioKas
KasioKas Posted December 17, 2018 Author Posted December 17, 2018 20 hours ago, Remmy said: #80-61: Hold Tight + I Like That Taste Twice and better off Lie for Love "the only song I use from this soundtrack" Ummm you tried iT! Screwed and Lucky Strike #60-41: Good Form is decent. thank u, next and Fall In Line Solo + Crazy, Classic, Life everytime mmm, a great bop Like I Do whew Definitely my favorite from Liberation sweetener and get well soon being this high is a tragedy by the way! Oh it is, with very little competition Ariana_andwhataboutit?.gif Hold Tight is excellent, Sweetener and GWS are great pop songs and I hate you. 20 hours ago, kelly-clarkson said: So many great songs!!! Think About Us, Fall In Line, Solo, Done For Me, Like I Do Thanks! So many great pop songs this year! 20 hours ago, Jet said: Ayy more Sweetener I'm shocked Blazed is above Everytime tho. I thought everyone hated Blazed 16 hours ago, Tsareena said: the blazed stanning Anyone who disagrees is trash 10 hours ago, Maddox said: Confidence was my song of the summer Like I Do is a jam too! Woo! Did you enjoy the Side Tape EP? 4 hours ago, TheWayWeWere said: Like I Do is direction that I would''ve like from Xtina so glad for it's recognition Solo, Everytime, TUN I like Get Well Soon lyrics, but song kinda didn't hit me GWS is extremely encouraging and positive. 4 hours ago, ahzark97 said: Somebody Told Me is amazing. Never get tired of listening to it Ditto! Charlie did great with that one. 4 hours ago, Superpower said: Yaaaass at Good Form. My favorite here Woo! More Nicki soon! Queen was a dope album, and there's just one song I like more than good form. 4 hours ago, Bxtch said: Everytime, thank u, next and get well soon
ATRL Moderator Tsareena Posted December 17, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted December 17, 2018 great update... liberation was good, bloom I didn't listen to life after love pt. 1 much but found pt.2 much more accessible I really liked Jade Novah's album.. there were a few duds for me but I'm really hype about her. I listened to voicenotes like once but it was pretty cute
Remmy Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 Liberation is nice, I agree that there's a little something missing though. Accelerate should've been removed, too. Like I Do is the best song for sure, she and GoldLink really went off on that. Bloom Troye snapped again. Your top 4 is pretty great, especially My My My! + Lucky Strike Quote Sweetener and GWS are great pop songs and I hate you. We must have different definitions for "great" Join the club!
lhdang2000 Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 Liberation has grown on me a lot. I used to hate it when it first came out. Somebody Told Me is not something I would recommend from Voicenotes, but I'm happy to see people are appreciating his recent effort.
Jet Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 Voicenotes is definitely one of the best pop albums of the year. So many bops
Blue Rose Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 Bloom is a flawless masterpiece Can’t wait to see your winner
ATRL Moderator madonnas Posted December 18, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted December 18, 2018 Liberation wasn't perfect but it's definitely her most mature album.
TheWayWeWere Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 Liberation was amazing didn't really expect such a good work after Lotus fiasco Bloom has some cute tracks, but I don't like it overall
Maddox Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 21 hours ago, KasioKas said: Woo! Did you enjoy the Side Tape EP? Yeah i liked it, she's slowly becoming my fav of the new UK girls! Liberation
Bxtch Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 Bloom he really did that I don't really like Charlie, but I like some of his sings
KasioKas Posted December 19, 2018 Author Posted December 19, 2018 SONGS LIST (40 - 21) 40. Jade Novah, Kevin Ross – “Bulletproof” (This is my third favourite collab of the year. These two sound inseparable together singing of their invincibility because they've found one another. This ties in with the space/cosmic theme of the album nicely and noone oversings the other and both sound great running together in the chorus) 30. Sabrina Claudio – “Cross Your Mind” (Prior to the backlash I discovered this song by her on the soundtrack and it became one of my favourite songs of the year. She declares her jealousy of an ex lover being with someone else in such an odd way; nonchalant yet extremely sexy. The picture in my head is of a messy drunk girl overlooking her ex in a bar with someone else and clumsily screaming into the microphone. She sets the imagery in the first words of the song "I'm a mess, I admit it, I'm addicted to anything that's not good for me" and then sexily cries out in the chorus, "Do I ever cross your mind? When you're touching her, kissing her, looking in her eyes". It's so well sung and written. It's SO well put together when a song tells such a clear story like that. It should've had a MV.) 39. Nicki Minaj – “LLC” (This is my favourite song on the album, Nicki makes a complete fool of the subject, declaring she's literally made them into a money making venture, by evolving a fued as fuel for creativity in writing bars in multiple songs that she can profit from. It's brilliant, and was evidenced by the sheer number of songs she hopped on after the Shether incident, which I can only assume is who this was about. The beat is excellent and the chorus is the highlight! Well done.) 29. Victoria Monet – “No Good” 38. Todrick Hall – “Heaven” (Say what you want about Todrick but this song is excellent! The lyrics especially, where he's practically screaming at God, crying out with SO MUCH emotion, that if anyone's watching from above we're missing something because this world is a complete mess, and if he dies tomorrow, he'll send the message from Heaven himself. It's a song sung by someone who's fed up with the state of the world, and demands a sign. It's different, unique, and powerful. The final chorus especially is haunting in its desperation. "I'm convinced this complicated game of life is just a simple riddle. The answer isn't do or die, or wrong or right, it's hiding in the middle. I will fight to stay alive just like a candle burning in the window. I'm told when it's your time to go you'll know but I'm not finished yet" 28. Madison Beer – “Fools” 37. EriAm (Haben Abraham) – “L A S T C H A N C E” (Haben sings of a love that's on the brink of ending, she's on the edge and sings "Here's a bit of tough love, if you mess this up love I'm gon' find another!". It's beautifully sung, with well arranged harmonies and runs, but still sounds firm and unyielding and beautiful.) 27. Todrick Hall – “Painting in the Rain” (Another great solo track by Todrick. "At this stage in his visual album, Todrick and his love interest have lost everything, including each other. He compares their love to “painting in the rain”, pointless and impossible." It's a clever comparison, and once again he sings with a great deal of emotion, on a song that can also be relatable to someone trapped in a situation where every effort feels needless. The final high note in the chorus is shaky but fits really well in this deeply emotional track.) 36. Sabrina Carpenter – “Bad Time” ("Bad time for a good time" Kinda clever, and the story she tells of flipping the script on a guy who only calls her for a good time and leaves her high and dry with the excuse of a bad time when she wants to meet up, clever. I'm still surprised she's as young as she is because this is a mature song, especially the lyric: "Everything's so clear to me now Wish I could have seen it before You were sitting comfortable and I was busy kissing your floor" It could mean she always had to go to him while he never had to make the effort to meet up with her or do what she wants to do... or, it could also mean a sex position, and her being tired of being in that.. less dominant position.. during one of their "good times" while she never got to have her way because he wasn't up for it. Maybe that's a stretch, either way, great pop song. ) 26. Tori Kelly – “Soul’s Anthem (It Is Well)” (Tori shines here, with the help of a beautiful choir from start to finish, singing a legendary gospel song I remember growing up with. What I LOOOOOVVEEEE about this girl is the exceptional control she has of her voice. She freely does the most intricate of runs and makes it seem effortless. It's remarkable . She is incredibly talented and I will forever be a fan of hers.) 35. Lauv – “Chasing Fire” (This is the most pop-centric song on the album, and although it slightly comes across as a boy-band song, Lauv makes it work and it's one of the more fun, upbeat tracks on an otherwise slow-tempo, deeply moody album. (Don't let that put you off listening to it though.) 25. Charlie Puth – “The Way I Am” (The second I heard this I related to it 1000%. That's why I love it. The lyrics describe me perfectly. The entire 1st & 2nd verse is spot on, word for word.. Charlie states "I realized that I hadn’t put a record out that was about my anxiety about my insecurities, that I’m pretty sure a lot of people in this world share with me, so why not put a record out like that, that people can sing along to?" You've done just that Charlie, and I LOVE it.) 34. Ariana Grande – “R.E.M” (This is the epitome of the album and Ariana's persona, dreamy. It's a dreamy song, with dreamy vocals, dreamy lyrics, and the title references a dream. She even samples "Mr. Sandman", a song about asking to be brought a dream in the form of a perfect man. It's quintessential Ariana, and brilliant. The chorus background vocal in particular are my personal fave part of the song. "Waaakkeee Uuupppp". Beautiful.) 24. Little Mix – “Forget You Not” (Best song on this pop album, no argument. The low notes in the chorus, the final pre-chorus harmonies, the production during the verses? They'd be making a huge mistake not making this a single. This is a cut above the rest.) 33. Jessie J – “Not My Ex” 23. Lauv – “Paris in the Rain” (This is, in my opinion, the best song on his album. It's a quaint love song, simple, beautiful. He'll give his love anything and everything because being with her is his most enjoyable experience, like "Paris in the Rain". It's such a lovely song, written well and sung even better. The production and instrumental is very minimal. You just hear him, and it's enough.) 32. Madison Beer – “Home with You” (Madison demands respect. She sounds bad*** here and it's such a brilliant pop song that should have easily been a massive hit for her. Unfortunately america failed her. I love the message of this song, it's empowering but also something you can dance too and the best pop track on her EP. I hope she can outdo this with her next release! More woman should hear this and scream it at intolerable men.) 22. Madison Beer – “Heartless” (Here Madison quietly tries to hold herself back. The song is aided by a great instrumental and production but I love the way she sings here. She doesn't try to go to high, keeps it very mellow to match the mood she's trying to portray, and it works out really well. The second I heard this I knew it would be one of my favourites for a while. The lyrics are pretty good too, I think everyone assumed a different message from the title than what the chorus actually reads.) 31. Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey – “The Middle” (This grew on me so much, the vocals in particular are explosive and it's what I enjoy the most, and Zedd does a great job producing a pop record that while slightly generic, is still extremely appealing and addictive. I'm slightly surprised by the grammy noms but not really, because this is the biggest ear-worm of 2018.) 21. Tori Kelly – “Masterpiece" (feat. Lecrae) (This song is where Tori goes off vocally on her EP. She demolishes this song and it's become one of my absolute favourites by her. She holds nothing back vocally, declaring her gratefulness for what she has and love to the Lord. It's extremely powerful and enjoyable. The rap feature isn't bad but you forget he even makes an appearance after Tori returns and ends the song on quite literally a high note and brilliant final run. Exceptional.) TOP 20 COMING SOON!
lhdang2000 Posted December 19, 2018 Posted December 19, 2018 The Middle + Home With You + The Way I Am + Bad Time. The Madison Beer's slayage.
Blue Rose Posted December 19, 2018 Posted December 19, 2018 Only moderately like REM. The Middle being so high... a choice was made
Bxtch Posted December 19, 2018 Posted December 19, 2018 The Madison slayage Bad Time the lyrics are amazing and the beat is so catchy
ATRL Moderator kelly-clarkson Posted December 19, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted December 19, 2018 Finally I see Tori in a list that's not mine Bad Time is my favorite song of Sabrina, she did that The Way I Am, Forget You Not, The Middle are bops
Remmy Posted December 20, 2018 Posted December 20, 2018 LLC is decent... only listened to it once or twice though Same for most of the Queen tracklist. R.E.M. is a cute one. We have The Middle in the same spot on our lists, slay! Bad Time, my fave from Singular
KasioKas Posted December 20, 2018 Author Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 10:18 PM, Tsareena said: great update... liberation was good, bloom I didn't listen to life after love pt. 1 much but found pt.2 much more accessible I really liked Jade Novah's album.. there were a few duds for me but I'm really hype about her. I listened to voicenotes like once but it was pretty cute You should try Pt. 1. Just be warned it's more mellow, she sings more of heartbreak. I was flawed by Jade's album, she's a very talented singer! On 12/17/2018 at 10:53 PM, Remmy said: Liberation is nice, I agree that there's a little something missing though. Accelerate should've been removed, too. Like I Do is the best song for sure, she and GoldLink really went off on that. Bloom Troye snapped again. Your top 4 is pretty great, especially My My My! + Lucky Strike We must have different definitions for "great" Join the club! Thanks! Also I agree, Acceleration is trash. On 12/17/2018 at 11:53 PM, jamesfog said: Liberation and Voicenotes On 12/18/2018 at 12:04 AM, lhdang2000 said: Liberation has grown on me a lot. I used to hate it when it first came out. Somebody Told Me is not something I would recommend from Voicenotes, but I'm happy to see people are appreciating his recent effort. Come to mention it, i'd also recommend "How Long". Did you not enjoy Voicenotes? On 12/18/2018 at 2:53 AM, Jet said: Voicenotes is definitely one of the best pop albums of the year. So many bops Absolutely, Troye did that On 12/18/2018 at 2:46 PM, Mark Rih said: Voicenotes and the STM stanning taste! Whew! Yas thanks! On 12/18/2018 at 4:12 PM, Superpower said: Bloom is a flawless masterpiece Can’t wait to see your winner Wow thanks so much! Hope you're not disappointed nn On 12/18/2018 at 4:17 PM, prézli said: Liberation !! On 12/18/2018 at 5:39 PM, madonnas said: Liberation wasn't perfect but it's definitely her most mature album. Absolutely! I agree with you. On 12/18/2018 at 6:18 PM, TheWayWeWere said: Liberation was amazing didn't really expect such a good work after Lotus fiasco Bloom has some cute tracks, but I don't like it overall I agree re: Liberation! Like I said in my review, Bloom works in the writing and production departments. In that snese I think it's great! On 12/18/2018 at 7:17 PM, Maddox said: Yeah i liked it, she's slowly becoming my fav of the new UK girls! Liberation Ditto! She keeps making really good pop songs i'm very excited for her future! On 12/18/2018 at 8:16 PM, Bxtch said: Bloom he really did that I don't really like Charlie, but I like some of his sings Tbh I didn't even know him before Voicenotes, so this was a welcomed surprise!
ATRL Moderator Tsareena Posted December 20, 2018 ATRL Moderator Posted December 20, 2018 cross your mind is a bop yas llc fools bad time the way is am is pretty fun r.e.m. really has grown on me the madison slayage
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