Sunny Songs for a Beautiful Day

The weather has been surprisingly good over the last two weeks in the UK and has put me in an extremely happy mood! To celebrate the fact that it is currently lovely and warm outside, I have compiled a list of songs which never fail to put a smile on my face, whether raining or sunny:

1. The Feeling -  "Love It When You Call"

The Feeling are another one of my favourite British bands who never fail to deliver catchy choruses and fun instrumentals throughout all of their songs. This track is taken from their first album,"Twelve Stops & Home", which includes a fantastic mix of fast and slow-paced songs. Without doubt, there is something to suit all occasions on this record! I had the opportunity to see the band perform live last summer and learned a lot about how important it is to connect to the audience and with your other band members. This song got everyone dancing and singing along, which can only be a sign of a great song!

2. Natasha Bedingfield - "These Words"

Can you remember what artists you were listining to during 2004/5? Natasha Bedingfield was my female artist of choice during this time period as she was something completely different to what was already in the music industry. She wasn't a diva, nor did she need to be. Her stunning vocals showed the world what true music was and everyone seemed to agree. Let's roll back to the present day where she is a huge global artist and has had incredible hit songs and collaborated with the hottest stars of the 21st century. She is still one of my top artists of all time. 

3. David Archuleta - "The Other Side Of Down"

I really can't help myself! You may have already guessed that my favourite singer of all time would get a mention on my list of sunny songs. It's probably because his music is just so positive and happy. It certainly is absolutely perfect for a bright, sunny day, or any day for that matter! This song makes me want to go out into the sunshine and enjoy life. The lyrics make complete sense to me and I know that all of his music choices have helped people all over the world to become happier, more confident people. He is incredible.

4. Brooke White - "Phoenix"

This song is one of the best road trip songs on this Earth. It makes me smile without even realising and puts me in a mellow mood, ready to get on with the rest of my day. Brooke White is another artist who radiates postive energy and seems to have her priorities in exactly the right place. She is clearly a unique talent who deserves more praise.

I hope you enjoyed my top sunny song picks! If you read my last post, you will remember that "Choices" by The Hoosiers is also an incredible song for summer. Just as I am finishing this post, the sun is being hidden behind a cluster of dark storm clouds.....

If only the weather was as reliable as these great songs highlighted above!

Music Review: Bumpy Ride by The Hoosiers

I have been eagerly anticipating this occasion for the last few weeks and am extremely happy to be able to review Bumpy Ride, the latest album by the British pop trio, The Hoosiers. 

Any of you who have read my blog since its creation will have read my first post, titled "Inspirational Albums", where I mention my top three albums of all time. One of those albums just happens to be The Hoosiers debut album, The Trick to Life, which was left on repeat on my ipod and itunes for the majority of 2008! As you can probably already tell, I seem to be able to connect to every song written by The Hoosiers, and the new album certainly doesn't disappoint!

True fans of the band will know that Bumpy Ride contains the original twelve songs from their second album, The Illusions of Safety, but four new tracks have been added to create a fantastic album filled to the brim with every emotion known to man.

One of the stand out tracks on the album has got to be "Unlikely Hero", as I feel as if this could be the anthem for all the underdogs who just haven't been given enough credit in the world today. Another feel-good song on the album is "Glorious". I just love the beat of the song and know this is going to sound absolutely incredible live. Moving on to the new tracks, "Sister Sister" includes a great guitar riff which  has given me the urge to learn how to play the guitar, just so I can play this song!

I may be a little bit biased due to the fact that I have been in love with this band since their first single, but I truly cannot fault this album. "Choices" makes me remember sunny, warm days spent in Cornwall  with my family whilst on holiday in the Summer of 2010 and never fails to lift my spirits on the rare occasion when I find myself stuck in a foul mood!

As far as I'm concerned, this is an album which deserves to be bought and listened to thoroughly. It is not hard to see that a lot of time, effort and hard decisions have been made for this album to be released. Some say that the second album (or the 2nd and a half album in this case!) are always the hardest to sell as people can only compare you to your debut work, but this album is strong enough to hold its own in the highly saturated industry that is the music business in the 21st century.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Bumpy Ride, so feel free to leave me comments below. 

Here is the link to my previous article, Inspirational Albums, in which I mention The Trick to Life.

AI - Has The Show lost its Sparkle?

Over the last decade, American Idol has spoiled us with the sheer amount of incredible talent it is able to nurture each season. Some may say that some seasons have been more talented than others, but this could be seen as a highly subjective point!

Last night, I thought I would stay up a little bit longer to listen to all the Idol Results Show commentary straight from the mouths of my favourite US/Canadian tweeters who were watching the show live. This was the first time that I had ever done this as usually I like to watch the show the next day when it airs in the UK with a clear mind, with no previous ideas in my head.

Of course, as the show has been running for such a long time, everyone had strong preconceived ideas about what they expected to happen during the show in terms of special guest singers and who should definitely be in the Bottom Three.

Some of the first surprises of the night seemed to be the presence of the very vocally talented Pia Toscano in the Bottom Three and the guest appearance by Constantine Maroulis, the Idol Contestant from Season 4. I then realised that the worst was still to come as my twitter timeline moved rapidly before my eyes.

I'm still extremely confused by the trip to TMZ. Surely a trip to a well-renowned US weekly magazine for women would have been a better bet? Many said Stefano Langone deserved to be in the Bottom Three but I'm not certain about this.  He may not have the wide vocal range that other contestants have, but he sang very well the night before and has a lovely, happy stage persona. What really surprised me was the fact that Jacob Lusk had arrived in the Bottom Three and that Iggy Pop had been asked to appear as a guest singer!

Many of the people I follow were left very discontented by the many shocking events of the night and had decided that the show did not hold the same value that it once held a few seasons ago.

Can we put this amount of upset and discontent down to the fact that the show has changed so drastically over the last few years? Is it because Simon Cowell left to pursue The X Factor USA and that the judging panel is missing some charisma? Maybe it is just because the show has been going on for so long now that the public at home have seen it all before. We therefore expect show-stopping guest performances by our favourite artists and more constructive criticism given to the contestants.

It will be extremely interesting to find out what the viewing figures for the show were like this week. The producers should react to the figures and do something about it. I suggest listening to the people who vote!