Category Archives: Music

My iTunes Festival 2013 Experience: Jessie J and Lawson

It’s been two weeks since I enjoyed my first ever iTunes Festival Experience! It was a night full of music, fun and surprises!

Jessie J with the boys of Lawson

Jessie J with the boys of Lawson (from Jessie J’s FB)

I joined the online promo for the iTunes Festival 2013  just for the heck of it. No expectations or whatsoever. It is the reason why I was amused when I received an e-mail that I got picked and I can bring one friend with me. I originally planned to go with my mom or my cousin, but they both declined. Just happy that my blogger friend Catherine is free that day so yeah, my other free ticket didn’t go to waste!

iTunes Festival - Jessie J

Jessie J encouraging her Heartbeats to sing with her 😀

For some reason, I think Jessie J is my lucky charm. I was also given the opportunity to get involved in a ‘special party’ a few months ago. Now, I am about to see her perform live!
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Excuse My Rude, Roar and Applause!

The week starts anew with three new songs from three of the leading ladies of Pop music – Jessie J, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga!

Pop Ladies: Jessie J, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry

Pop Ladies: Jessie J, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry

Jessie J is undeniably the most popular female pop singer from UK today. After serving as one of the judges of The Voice UK for two seasons, Jessie J quits the show to concentrate more on her sophomore album. The carrier single ‘Wild’ dominated the pop charts a couple of months ago and just last week, she released the official music video for her second single called ‘It’s My Party‘. For me, it is the best summer anthem for 2013. It is the type of song you’d like to sing and dance to when you’re with your closest friends. It’s My Party, I do do what I want! You can also check the viral video featuring the people of London. *winks*

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An Evening with Matt Goss – ‘Life You Imagine’ album showcase

Remember my blog confession about my dream to watch a Matt Goss show? Some might say ‘It’s easy – Fly to Vegas and catch one of his shows at Caesar’s Palace!‘. It’s not that easy for a Philippine passport holder like me. My only hope to see him is if he gets a chance to do a show in Manila (although I am aware that the probability of this thing to happen is just 10%) or just pray that he’ll do a show in London while I’m still here.

Will I be able to see this lovely man in London instead of Vegas?

Will I be able to see this lovely man in London instead of Vegas?

Then something unexpected happened. There were rumors that Matt Goss might visit London to do a show to promote his new album. No specific date given, but the show will take place within the year. Hmmm… When will I, will I see him in person?

While waiting in NAIA – 1 Boarding Gate for my flight to Birmingham, I saw a tweet confirming that tickets to the Matt Goss Album Showcase will be on sale the next day! Wah. Imagine how excited and at the same time anxious I was. With a note that there will be limited tickets for grabs, I simply couldn’t keep still. I NEED TO GET A TICKET AND WATCH THE SHOW!!!

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Viva Forever! The Musical: Reliving Spice Memories

Viva Forever, I’ll be Waiting
Everlasting like the sun
Live forever, for the moment
Ever searching for the one..

It is a dream of ever Spice Girls fanatic to watch the Viva Forever! The Musical. It was launched at WestEnd’s Piccadilly Theatre last December much to the excitement of followers like me. Which 90’s kid didn’t love the Spice Girls (or at least one of them) anyway? It may sound crazy to some, but the Spice Girls did inspire me to do better when I was younger. Just watch their videos, listen to the records and viola, Positivity is in the room! The ‘Girl Power!’ tag motivated a lot of women to aim high and work hard to achieve their dreams.

Viva Forever! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre

Viva Forever! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre

Last month, it was announced that the Viva Forever The Musical is about to reach its final show. The members of the band expressed their sentiments regarding the cancellation of the musical play via Twitter. Geri Halliwell even wrote a blog entry about it. It received mixed reviews from the critics, but the Spice Army who saw the show said they enjoyed it and the presentation is not bad as what the others say.

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Spice Girls Rewind: Schizophonic by Geri Halliwell

“I want to communicate through my music. If you want to know Geri Halliwell listen to my album: it tells you more about me than a documentary ever could.” – Geri Halliwell

Schizophonic by Geri Halliwell

Schizophonic by Geri Halliwell

Geri Halliwell once owned the title ‘Queen of British Pop’. As the most prominent member of the Spice Girls, a lot of fans and detractors were wondering what will be her next move after quitting the most successful girl band in history. I have to say that Geri is my second favorite Spice Girl and I sincerely love her so much. If there’s one thing that I admire from her, it is her determination to succeed.

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The Matt Goss Appreciation Post

I’d love to be considered one of the quintessential British men who hasn’t given up, has seen the world and is strong, healthy with plenty of fire left in him. Maybe after reading my story, you might agree.”

– Excerpts from Matt Goss: More Than You Know

When I arrived home from the 6-hour bus trip from Baguio to Manila, my mind is already programmed to take a deep sleep once I reunite with my bed. I was quite surprised when I saw a big envelope in my bed. One of the books I purchased in eBay arrived. I am still on a high after reading Geri Halliwell’s If Only. Time to read a man’s perspective!

Getting to know Matt Goss through his music

Getting to know Matt Goss through his music

I smiled upon seeing the hardcopy of Matt Goss: More Than You Know. It is the autobiography of ex-Bros lead singer Matt Goss. He may not be popular here in the Philippines, but I believe that once upon a time, he made a lot of teenage girls (and gays) worldwide scream for more.

 

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80’s Boy Band BROS: Will the former pop stars be famous… again?

It’s time for me to feature a boy band that won the hearts of young girls worldwide in the late 80’s. I would like to reintroduce – BROS.

80's Boy Band BROS: Craig Logan, Matt and Luke Goss

80’s Boy Band BROS: Craig Logan, Matt and Luke Goss

I rediscovered Bros through a documentary about British pop. The original Bros line-up includes Matt Goss (lead vocals), Luke Goss (drums) and Craig Logan (bass). Matt and Luke are identical twins and Craig is their high school friend.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOJ8JKZlFZY&w=420&h=315]

I remember stumbling to their music video for ‘When Will I Be Famous?’ as a kid (again, thanks to MTV Classics!). I even thought the lead singer is a woman (try to watch the music video :P). The Bros mania is considered short, but phenomenal in the 80’s. Young girls loved them and mothers consider them as ideal sons.

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The Rise and Fall of East 17 – What Went Wrong?

Twenty years ago, the music world’s perception of boy bands include good-looking young boys who can sing, dance and make young girls (and gays) fall for them. Take That’s marketing strategy worked. Gary, Howard, Jason, Mark and Robbie are the types of guys your mom would want you to marry. The good boy image they project meant they need to follow some very strict rules like no partying in public, do not comment on political or social issues and no girlfriends.

East 17 - The Original 'Bad Boys' of British Pop.. hip-hop and RnB

East 17 – The Original ‘Bad Boys’ of British Pop.. hip-hop and RnB

East 17 did the opposite. Actually, I was surprised when I found out that East 17 were the ‘rival’ group of Take That. While Gary Barlow and the boys loved to sing ballads and revival hits, East 17 were original in the sense that Tony Mortimer wrote majority of their songs (all originals… am I right?), they’re not afraid to speak their mind and they’re sincerely project the ‘i-don’t-care-I-will-live-my-life-just-deal-with-it’ type of image.

People close to my age here in the Philippines might remember East 17 when they became E-17 on the late 90’s for the song ‘Each Time’ (included in the Now 5 compilation album). As a fan of MTV Asia Classic (every weekdays 11-11:30am), I’ve seen the music videos of the boys for House of Love, Deep and Stay Another Day.

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TAKE THAT! – UK’s Top Boy Band of the 90’s are Back For Good

The Big Reunion relived my love for boy and girl bands. I am proud to say that I grew up in an era where pop music dominated the charts and most artists wrote their own material. For some reason, I prefer British acts over the American ones. I wrote a number of posts on how the Spice Girls inspired me to do better as a child and how the music of various artist mold me into an imaginative person like me today.

The Boys of Take That - A Happy Ending

The Boys of Take That – A Happy Ending

One of the Boy Bands who dominated the charts in the early 90’s is Take That. When you do the math, I was just five years old when the five boys from Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent made girls and gays giggle with their charisma. Honestly, I had a big crush on Robbie Williams when he emerged as a solo artist in the late 90’s. The MTV Asia addict that I am, I often catch the videos of Take That through MTV Classic. If the USA have the New Kids On The Block, UK is definitely proud of Take That!

The story of Take That is passable for a telenovela series. An ambitious manager named Nigel Martin-Smith held auditions for the next important boy band. He met Gary Barlow while he’s performing in a local pub. He is amazed with his songwriting and his vocal abilities. He then figured out that this talented fella may not be able to make it as a successful solo artist. The audition for the remaining Take That members was launched

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The Big Reunion: 5ive and 911

It’s all in the number. 5ive and 911 are two of the most popular boybands Britain produced in the 90’s. I figured out recently that post pop bands would do a Southeast Asian tour first before invading their own country and if they make it big in the rest of Europe, they’re set to conquer the United States of America!

5IVE and 911 - British Boy Bands we loved in the 90's!

5IVE and 911 – British Boy Bands we loved in the 90’s!

5ive… when they were introduced to the media before, they were dubbed as the ‘Spice Boys’ by the press because they were discovered by the people behind ‘Touch’ (original name of the Spice Girls). Aside from their good looks and dance moves, their music is a fusion of pop and rock. 5ive is the boy band with an edge. When I got accepted at the school dance troupe in high school, ‘Keep on Moving’ is our ‘premiere’ dance presentation. Good times!

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