Fall on me, ever so gently
Washing, washing my filthy stains
Shower me with your love
Breathe on, breathe on these dry bones
And break these chains
And break these chains

Set me free, set me free
Set me free, set me free

I'm beginning to understand this song in a different perspective now, especially the chorus and bridge.

Better is one day in Your courts
Better is one day in Your house
Better is one day in Your courts
Than thousands elsewhere

My heart and flesh cry out
For You, the living God
Your spirit's water to my soul
I've tasted and I've seen
Come once again to me
I will draw near to You
I will draw near to You

Taken out of context.

It's every day
I'm in this place
I feel this way
I feel the same

It's every day
I'm in this place
I feel this way
I feel the same

I finally found the video for Christina Aguilera's Impossible / Beautiful live performance at the American Music Awards earlier this week. Prior to the video, I'd listened to the MP3 which is very good. She has good control over her voice and expresses a bit differently from the recordings, but of course, that's expected. However, watching the video took a bit away from it for me. She's wearing clothes though! That definitely wins her lots of points in my book. The main drawback is that she's caked with make-up. Seriously. I don't think any of that is her real face. O_o Also, she dyed her hair all platinum, but in the end, it looks like she's a grannie. :D It's mainly white at the roots, but gradually becomes grey at the tips. It's actually a bit amusing to me. :) She's wearing a dress with a flower imprint on it, which is so 1999-Aguilera. But then again, it's definitely an improvement from the 2002-Aguilera, who doesn't even really wear anything. :P It looks like she's wearing an expensive watch or bracelet or something, too. The singing was nice, but I loved the band! All in all, the performance was pretty good, but .... I don't know. It didn't have that "Eeeeeeee!" quality. (Yes, I know I'm ripping that off Shack, JB) Oh, and at the end of the performance, they cut to a shot of Britney having a moment. Or ... at least it seemed like it. I can't really tell. They're shooting it from a weird angle, so it could look like she's tearing up, or maybe not. It would be funny if she was though. Heh. :)

Okay, that was just weird. I was thirsty, so I got up and went to the kitchen to get a bit of water. But when I was there, I heard my mom at the computer, listening to some of her music, and it was the exact same song that I was listening to when I was in my room. That just freaks me out. Now I don't feel like I can ever listen to that song again ... hehe. I guess I will stick to the Rebecca St. James version of Above All instead of Michael W. Smith's. Pah. O_o

I was channel surfing today, and I ended up watching the MuchMusic Countdown for the first time in a long while. It wasn't that fun, considering that I don't know most of the songs that are popular these days. But I did manage to watch Jenny From The Block, which seemed extremely ludicrous to me. No offense to those of you who like the song, but it's just so weird to me. Even though she claims that she's still the same, it really doesn't seem like it. I mean, she's got so many boats, fur coats, diamonds, etc ... it seems like the song should be called Jenny Bought The Block, but that's just my opinion. :P

I was bored while working on Geo, so I edited our song a little so that there's a lot more Chrissy in it. :) I managed to stretch out the two one-second clips that she recorded into ... a lot. So yes. :) We're planning to shoot a cool music video for our song in the summer! Hehe ... it'll be so cool!! I can't wait!!

I Love Faults 'N Folds (Chrissy's Ow Remix) -- WMA
I Love Faults 'N Folds (Chrissy's Ow Remix) -- RA

Sunny blue skies when my clouds been gray
Glass cold water on a real hot day
Hot cocoa in the mug when it's cold outside
Like change for the bus when you got no ride

One, two, what should I do?
Hurts me to walk with this hole in my shoe
But I can't complain 'cause at least I got feet
And I don't need no shoes just to groove to the beat

One, two, who would have knew?
I ran out of gas, now what else can I do?
But I can't complain 'cause at least I got my car
And I don't need no gas just to sing to the guitar

So let go, let go, let go
So let go, let go, let go ...

Woke up this morning, went to the window, saw a rainy day
Feeling the pressure from all of the things I gotta face today
All of my days are totally crazy
Can't do nothing right
It's an ordinary day

Every minute feels like an hour slowly creeping by
All of this stress, but I do my best to take it all in stride
I need to decide, need to unwind
All these things are on my mind
It's an ordinary day

Things are crazy but it's alright
You make me feel alive again
When it rains you are the sunshine
That lights me up from deep inside
I can finally treasure this love beyond a measure
You've given me the pleasure of an ordinary day

Lately I've been wandering off the narrow path
You've given me so many things that I've never had
And all in all I know it's you that always pulls me through
If you reach deep inside you'll see my heart is true

'Cause I hate the way I feel tonight
And I know I need you in my life
Yes I hate the way I feel inside
And I promise to make the sacrifice

The world I know is pulling me more and more each day
I feel like the odd man out as I begin to pray
Spiteful eyes are watching me with everything I do
In the midst of darkness, Lord, my spirit calls for you

Last year, I was into the original version of the song, but the remix is so cool! It has more of a urban sound ... it's nice. Definitely a switch from the original dance/pop instrumentation. It's up in the radio for those of you are interested ... although I doubt any of you are. I know I bashed the remix album the first time I listened to it, but now that I'm sampling it again, it's actually pretty cool. Well, some of the songs at least. Some still kinda irk me. "Even If" was fine the way it was ... they didn't need to turn it into a techno song. Not that I don't like techno, but it doesn't work with the song.

I've got a secret to tell
A midnight confession
I love the life that I lead
But it's no obsession

Because I'm waiting, anticipating
Watching for your return
You'll come and get me
You know I'm ready
Enjoyed my stay
But you'll take me away

Like a thief in the night
Like a runaway train
Like a first-class lightning fast hurricane
I'll keep my ears to the ground
And my eyes to the sky
I'm ready now but somehow
I know you'll take me by surprise

I went out to Pilgrim's today and it was open! Yay! I couldn't find "Blur", "Mix Of Life" nor "Divine Discontentment", so I ended up picking up "The Fault Is History", which is the debut album from Souljahz. From what I've listened to so far, it's really good! I'm glad I got it ... it looks like my buy-a-random-CD-on-a-whim technique still has not failed me. :)

It starts off with Let Go, which has a great R&B/pop vibe to it. It's a really cool song to listen to when you're depressed, because it shows how things usually aren't as bad as it seems. "It hurts me to walk with this hole in my shoe / But I can't complain 'cause at least I got feet / And I don't need no shoes just to groove to the beat ..."

Next up is All Around The World, which is their debut single that actually made me stop and listen to them. It has more of a Latin feel to it, which I find cool. I suppose the reason for the Latin groove is to bring out the multicultural subject matter. It's pretty much about how we shouldn't discriminate against groups, but just to love everybody no matter who they are; hence the title.

Jubilee is more of a hip-hop/dance track, with the two guys in the group rapping to the beat. There's some girl who sings the chorus, but it's not Rachael, so I don't know who it is. I believe it's Rachael who is rapping in the third verse, but people sound different when they sing and when they rap, so I can't really tell. I don't really see what the song is about. It's probably just some party song.

Same Ol' Game is another rap song, which has some pretty clever lyrics. It's a song for those who find themselves stuck in life, who end up not really progressing to anywhere in their relationship with God. Up until now, the album is extremely strong, with great production in all the tracks.

The next track, Vejea Speaks On Racism is spoken, which is a short opinion piece that talks about how much racism sucks, but of course, in much more eloquent terms. It's a prelude to The Color Hate, which is about the same topic. It has references to Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, borrowing his "Let freedom ring" line and his allusions to the American dream. Especially listening to the original speech in English class really helps me to understand this song better. But one of the things I like about this song is how they don't just talk about white-against-black racism, but also black-against-white actions. I know that the former is a much bigger problem, but the latter still must be resolved too. The same with female-against-male sexism ... nobody seems to really notice it, even though it's obviously not as big of a problem as the opposite.

Reflection slows things down with more of an R&B/pop ballad. It talks about the authors' desire to have more Christ-like qualities in their lives. It's definitely a change from the preceding material in the album, because Souljahz is now revealing more about themselves instead of talking about others.

Child abuse is the topic of Beneath The Surface, where is tells the tale of a child who is often hurts by his father. He's an alcoholic and actually tries to hurt the entire family, but the child has found joy in the Lord, so he doesn't worry so much about it anymore. The song ends strongly with an a cappella chorus by a group of children.

True Love Waits speaks to me because I'm one of the few people that I know who are going to wait to even think about any kind of romantic attachment. The song also talks about how it's really difficult to make this kind of a decision, which I sometimes feel, but it's usually not that big of a deal for me. This song is kind of different from the rest of the album, because it sounds exactly like something that Fox would throw at Kelly Clarkson to record as her first single. It's almost pure pop, which is pretty weird to hear from this group.

Next is another spoken track called Vejea Speaks On Poverty, which shows poverty from the perspective of a poor man on the street. It speaks out on society's view of poor people, which is pretty interesting, since I guess I never realized that it could just as easily have been me who was born as a street baby. Following the spoken track is Poor Man, which wrestles with the concept of treating people with dignity and respect, no matter what kind of social class they belong to.

Souljahz Don't Stop is another no-point fun hip-hop/urban song, but it's less exciting than Jubilee. Why? I'm not sure. I think I'm just getting bored of writing this review.

Worship has a cool mix of hip-hop and funk, which distracted me from the lyrics. After listening to this track, I really have no idea what they said. The ending of the song uses polyphony, which made it even harder to understand the lyrics. But the DJ breakdown at the end is really cool!

Next is The Anthem, which has a cool funky hip-hop beat to it too. The blips in the background kinda remind me of something from Pharrel Williams. The chorus is a little bland though, with the extremely cliché hip-hop line, "Throw yo' hands way up in the air / And wave them all around / Like yo' just don't care." The rest of the lyrics are somewhat scattered, not really focussing on any one topic.

The album ends with a jazzy track called Keep Risin'. It's not really relevent to me because it's about how hard it was for Souljahz to actually get their album produced. And in the end, they say that their success is really cool, but they attribute it all to God.

This is definitely one of the more successful Christian hip-hop albums that I've listened to, especially for a debut artist. The album starts off very strongly, and continues to maintain itself throughout. Excellent production on all the tracks, especially the spoken ones. This is definitely something that I'm going to keep spinning in my CD player. :)

Whoa. I don't know if I'm just really tired or something, but the video for "Breathe Your Name" really hit me. Sixpence None The Richer has pretty much been silent for the past five years or so because of label issues, but I went to their official site on a whim and watched their new music video for their new CD that just came out two months ago. It's so cool! It's highly symbolic, and I don't pretend to completely understand it, but I still like it. Right now, I'm listening to their new album on their site, and it's sounding pretty good to me. I definitely wouldn't mind buying it.

I finally got around to downloading this song, and I've encoded it for the radio. Yeah, I know I'm lazy ... I always leave the same song up for so long. Ah well, new song today. :) I'll try to change it every two days or so. I don't think anyone actually ever listens to it, but I like to have a bit of my own music to listen to during my spare at school. Aww ... this song is so sad. I think I like Celine's version better, though. I just can't seem to find it ... argh. I would ask to borrow Mme. Howell's tape again, but I felt bad about borrowing it, then not reviewing it. Oh well.

I'm in such a boppy mood right now. :) I've been singing this song practically all day, even when I was alone at the bus stop ... I think I scared a couple people that were standing around me. Ah well, they just don't appreciate my wonderful voice! ;-)

For once in my life
I have someone who needs me
Someone I've needed so long
For once unafraid
I can go where life leads me
And somehow I know I'll be strong

For once I can touch
What my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew
Someone warm like you
Could make my dreams come true

For once in my life
I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before
For once I have something
I know won't desert me
'Cause I'm not alone anymore

For once I can say
This is mine, you can't take it
As long as I know
I've got love I can make it
For once in my life
I've got someone who needs me

For once in my life
I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before
For once I have something
I know won't desert me
'Cause I'm not alone anymore

For once I can say
This is mine, you can't take it
As long as I know
I've got love I can make it
For once in my life
I've got someone who needs me

I checked the radio and I'd just realized that I hadn't changed the song in a long time ... so I uploaded "Le Blues Du Businessman", since it's my favorite song at the moment. :)

Oh ... and on an unrelated note, I'm seriously considering entering the talent show in March or whenever it is. I mean, it's our last year, so I might as well go up and take the chance to make a fool out of myself. At least I'll have tried. I highly doubt that I'd win anything, and that's not the reason why I'm going to try out anyways. Maybe I'll play piano and sing to "Blues"? Hehe that would be interesting ... although most people would laugh at me for singing in French. Eh. I dunno, it's just that if I screw up my playing or singing, I can just say that it's because it's so hard to do both at the same time ... hehe. And if I somehow manage to pull it off, it'll look like I actually have some talent!

TheSanDiegoChannel.com - Backstreet Boy Says Next Album Its Last

Awww ... I liked those guys so much. :) But then again, my tastes have changed vastly over the past year, so I don't know anymore. Most of their old stuff was good though ... hopefully they'll go out with a really good final album. But ... I guess, in the end, it doesn't matter if they break up or not. It was eventually going to happen, so whatever. And they've been together for over ten years ... eventually you're going to get annoyed with each other. ;D

I just watched the new Nick Carter video. Why? I'm not sure. I don't like him anymore, and I guess that this video just confirms it. It's got a pretty cheesy storyline, where he's at a café or something, and he's performing this song, which is a recollection of a relationship that he had. It cuts to the relationship, where he's dating this skanky girl who can't keep her clothes on. While he's driving, she won't stop smothering him with her breasts, so he stops off at a motel. Somehow, I'm doubting that he's just stopping for directions. Anyways, Nick sits on the bed while she performs a striptease, then suddenly the girl gets mad. Probably because Nick thought that she wasn't being skanky enough. They start yelling at each other, then she runs off. Nick gets depressed. Somehow I'm just not feeling for him. He breaks a chair. More shots of him performing in the café. Then a quick clip montage of various stages of the relationship. Then as the song closes, skank girl walks through the doors of the café, not knowing that Nick is there. As she listens to the final lines of the song, a stupid grin comes across her face. Fade to black.

Eh, maybe I'm just being too critical. But really, the video takes away from the song, at least for me. Actually, this was one of the few songs that I liked off him album. Too bad he had to go and ruin it. :P Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about how I'm going to pay for his album. I'll save it up for something better.

Yes, I know it was two months ago. But I'm doing my French biography on Kelly Clarkson. :) While listening to the "A Moment Like This" finale, I'm beginning to realize that it's foolish to think that the audience was quiet during any part of the performance. I know I would have been screaming my head off if I were in the theater. :) Yet the final sound mix has only Kelly, and just sparse moments of cheering during various parts of the song, save the beginning and end. I don't know why I'm bothering to write this here. Oh well. It's still so darn cute, though. :) Aww ... I'm even willing to forgive Nikki's horribly flat note at the end.

I've written about three paragraphs of the biography right now ... I should really be getting to work. Most of my stuff is taken from the episode of "Driven" that VH1 did on Kelly, which aired a week or two after she won American Idol. Errgh. I better get back to work, otherwise I'll never finish this.

Wow, I actually sat down and watched an entire half-hour of television today! I think it's one of the first times I've watched a show since American Idol ended. The only reason why I actually watched it was because Justin was watching the Simpsons do a parody on various pieces of literature: The Odyssey, Joan Of Arc and Hamlet, to be exact. The funniest one was Hamlet, where they all end up dying, since the entire story was condensed into about seven minutes. Ophelia's introduction to her death was about a span of ten seconds. :)

I'm digging them so much now. :) My favorite song right now is definitely, "Get Here". Why? I don't know. I think Justin screwed up at the beginning of his first American Idol performance of it. He can't seem to find the beat or something for the first two lines. But nevertheless, ahh ... :) Also listening to Justin's version of "A Moment Like This" too. No ... this isn't right. Whoa, I just realized that I'm listening to more Justin than Kelly. Scary. :P I updated the radio section with "Get Here".

There are hills and mountains between us
Always something to get over
If I had my way, surely you would be closer
I need you closer
I don't care how you get here
Just get here if you can

Ergh ... some of my parents' friends are over, and they're singing karaoke really badly and really loudly. Why don't they just let me sing? ;D Haha, yeah right. Don't want to embarrass myself in front of them. I'll just stick to singing along with Justin here at my computer.

I'm really into Celine right now too. I downloaded "Le Blues Du Businessman" and "I Surrender", which are playing through my playlist too. I don't have Celine's version of "Blues", just this funky one by Claude Dubois. I want to get "Le Fils De Superman", but I haven't been able to find it. Ah well, maybe some other day. :)

Here's my playlist at the moment. About 90% of them are slow songs:

Claude Dubois - Le Blues Du Businessman
Celine Dion - I Surrender
Charmaine - Give Us Clean Hands
Charmaine - Hungry (Falling On My Knees)
Charmaine - I Love You Lord (Inspirational Remix)
Charmaine - I Love You Lord
Charmaine - Only You
Justin Guarini - A Moment Like This
Justin Guarini - Before Your Love
Justin Guarini - For Once In My Life
Justin Guarini - Get Here
Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This
Kelly Clarkson - Before Your Love
Kelly Clarkson - Without You (Live on August 27th)
Matt Redman feat. Sonicflood - Holy Moment
Michael W. Smith - Above All
Michael W. Smith - Breathe
Michael W. Smith - Forever
Michael W. Smith - Purified
Rachael Lampa feat. Souljahz - I'm All Yours (Remix)
Rachael Lampa - Beautiful
Rachael Lampa - I'm All Yours
RJ Helton - Under The Boardwalk
Sixpence None The Richer - Breathe Your Name
Tamyra Gray - A House Is Not A Home

Yay! Kelly DVD out on November 26th! :) Maybe they'll finally recognize "Stuff Like That There"! When I find out what exactly is on the disc, I'll see if I wanna pay for it or not. I might just wait for her CD, which will be out in like eight months or so. At this point, I'm not sure exactly how much I'm willing to spend on her. I don't even know if I'm gonna watch her movie anymore. Only if JB goes, and even then, I'm not sure.

Because:

Kelly DVD -- $25
Kelly movie -- $10
Kelly CD -- $18
Kelly movie DVD -- $25
Total: $78

Ergh ... too much for me.

Hopefully ...

Trouble ain't gonna be here every day
Even though sometimes it seems that it won't go away
After you've done all that you know how
Just to keep from breaking down
Just believe it's gonna get much better after a while ...

As I predicted, Justin's recording of "A Moment Like This" has leaked out onto the Internet. I encoded it and stuck it into the radio section, as usual. :P He sounds a lot different in the recording than in the live versions. But then again, Kelly sounded extremely different on the recording. Even so, I like Kelly's recording better. Justin's voice track is manipulated to make his voice sound really smooth. It's almost as if RJ is singing it. Except that you can tell that it's Justin. Eh, never mind, I'll stop trying to describe it. Just listen to it in the radio section. :D

The very beginning and end are cut off because some radio personalities are talking over it, so I cut those parts out. Just wanted to say that, just in case you were wondering why I faded out so early. :)

And an update about Kelly: Her debut album got pushed back again to some time in the summer of 2003. Yay! :) She's not doing stupid pop ballads anymore. She's working with real producers and she's using at least some of her own writing. She says that she wants to take it slowly because she wants to make sure that she puts out a great debut album, which I wholeheartedly agree with. :) It might be a little weird though, considering that she'll have at least three singles released before the album. Ah well, they can leave "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love" off of it. We've already heard them a million times anyways.

All that I can see is that they're looking at me
But all I've ever wanted was for you to be
The only thing in my life that matters to me

Standing in the midst of a crowd, I cry out loud
Gonna give it all, I'll be living it out loud
You are the king, and the light of my eyes
Lord you know I'm reaching for the prize

If I fix my eyes on you
Will you show me what to do?
I'll lay down my sorrows
I'm all yours

I think I understand why I like Kelly so much. The fact that she was one of the best singers in a music reality TV show is one reason. Of course, that's a more obvious reason, but it doesn't really account for why I still like her now.

Admittedly, pop fans are fickle. Very, very fickle. I liked Velvet Empire way back when, but I got bored of their first single after a week or two. Kelly's two songs aren't exactly much better, but I'm still so intrigued by her. I figure it's because she pretty much single-handedly turned back the wheels of mainstream music. Power ballads haven't been popular for years, but here we find her little double-A side release being the fastest selling single ever. And it's not an isolated incident. Mariah's "Through The Rain" is actually getting spins on radio playlists largely because of Kelly.

The biggest attraction about her is that she doesn't look like a perfect female pop star with a giant chest and abs of steel. Let's face it -- Kelly isn't a sex symbol. I like that! It's so refreshing to see a girl that doesn't need to use sex as a method of getting attention. And besides that, when I think of Kelly, I actually think of somebody with some intelligence. She can be in charge of her own artistic direction, and I think she'd do really well. Hopefully she'll be allowed to write on her debut album. I'm expecting big things from her. :)

I'm hooked on slow ballads again. I never even knew. It hit me just today, right now. Most of the Nick Carter songs that I like are the slow ballads. I love Kelly's two singles. The only material I like off Christina's new album is the ballads. A lot of the Rachael Lampa that I listen to are the slow ones. Which now begs the question -- what exactly is a ballad?

Hm ... I'm being weird and contemplative. Sorta. I think I need more sleep. :D

Hungry, I come to you
For I know you satisfy
I am empty but I know your love
Does not run dry

So I wait for you
So I wait for you ...

I'm falling on my knees
I'm offering all of me
Jesus, you're all this heart is living for

Broken, I come to you
For your arms are open wide
I am weary but I know your touch
Restores my life

So I wait for you
So I wait for you ...

I'm falling on my knees
I'm offering all of me
Jesus, you're all this heart is living for

I'd been anticipating this album for the longest time, since her first album was released way back in 1999. I had high hopes, but when I watched the video for Dirrty, I was extremely disappointed. She's got a lot of talent, and she doesn't need to act like that to be popular. It's sad. Nevertheless, I'm still curious and I took a listen to her album.

The album has an intro track called Stripped Introduction, which starts with a montage of news clips saying negative things about Christina. Eventually, she takes over and sings a little bit about how this album is going to be completely different from before and that it's just her stripped down to the bare elements kinda thing.

The first real track is Can't Hold Us Down, which has an urban edge to it. It pretty much says that guys suck and that we can't hold the girls down. Which is probably true, but I don't like how Lil' Kim raps about how the guys should give head to girls. I mean, come on ... did you really need to say that? That's kinda ... eghh.

Walk Away has a more bluesy feel to it, but there's no vocalization that you usually find in an Aguilera track like this. It does have difficult passages, but no crazy high notes like in Kelly's live version of Natural Woman. It has pretty much the same message as Walk On By. She broke up with some guy and she's hurt, and she wants him to leave. I know that my summary isn't the most eloquent way that you could say it, but I'm tired. Now that I think of it, I could imagine this as an Alicia Keys song. Or maybe I'm just stereotyping Alicia into blue/piano. I like this one much more than the horrid Dirrty.

I heard Fighter a couple months ago because it leaked out onto the Internet. I think that it was redone a bit since then though. Now there are backup singers in the chorus, and it's a harder rock song. It's not catchy and not really radio material, but I think it's a good track nevertheless.

The Primor Amor Interlude is pretty much Christina speaking something in Spanish that I don't understand. It goes into Infatuation, which I heard a while back during the Olympics. It's about her first real love which I'm assuming is her dancer, Jorge Santos, with whom she is no longer seeing. It's peppered with a cool Latin beat, yet adding to her diversity.

Love's Embrace Interlude is a soft, feathery introduction to the soft, feathery Loving Me 4 Me. This is probably as close to her old work as it gets on this album. It's a happier track, celebrating how somebody loves her for who she is. I found it kinda boring, myself, but maybe it's because it's late and I'm tired.

Next up is Impossible, which is a collaboration with Alicia Keys. It's a strong, bluesy, piano ballad describing Christina's woes about love. It's a great track, though nothing I can really relate to.

Underappreciated is a bit weird, because she's complaining about how she's underappreciated, yet it's got such a jazzy, gospel feel to it. Some of her vocals are not polished at the beginning, although it might possibly be intentional. I like how it works, although the bridge with the background singers taking over seemed kinda weird.

Next, we have the amazing track, Beautiful. It's a simple piano piece, but it's so powerful. It's got everything: great vocals, good orchestration and above all, awesome lyrics. I can definitely imagine this as the next single. "You are beautiful / No matter what they say / Words can't bring you down" It's simple, but it goes so well in the song. The point of the song is to be plain, yet be brimming with beauty within it ... okay I'm going all flowery. Let's move on.

Makeover is a folk rock song with a couple elements of Eastern influence, in my opinion. I'm not quite sure what she's talking about mostly because I'm still thinking about Beautiful. The singing style is kinda weird for her, and I don't quite even really want to listen to it either.

Another piano ballad with Cruz. She's leaving because she's free or something. It's a bit bland because of the huge amount of repetition. Practically every line has something about "leaving" or "living it".

Soar is about how you should be free and uncaring about what other people think. Even in the low times when you're filled with insecurities. It's a nice track, finally helping me forget about Beautiful from three tracks ago. :)

Get Mine, Get Yours is a more R&B edged song with a cool beat. Nice to listen to, but I don't like how it's about sex. Pretty much, it's about how you should go around sleeping around with lots of people and not having any strings attached. Right. I could go on a long rant about this, but I won't.

Dirrty. Sucks.

It moves into Stripped Part 2, which is pretty much the same thing as the Stripped Introduction.

The Voice Within is an inspirational piece which sounds very much like something that could have been on her last album. Kinda sounds like an I Turn To You style ballad. It's a nice song that I'll probably enjoy as a single, although she probably won't release it since it's too poppish.

So many songs! Nineteenth track is I'm OK, which is about how Christina's dad used to be abusive towards herself and her mother. It's solemn and very heartfelt, and it makes me feel sorry for her. But at the same time, I picture her in that horrid Dirrty video and can't understand the juxtaposition.

The album finally ends with Keep On Singing My Song, talking about how she's independent and free. The end of the song has a rather pointless conversation with some producers being relieved that the album's finally over. I dunno, at this point I'm kinda tired, so I'll just end off with my summary.

This release is much more personal than her debut, since she actually has something to say now. The problem that I have with it is her dirrty image. It's disgusting and icky. Just wear normal clothes and people will actually respect you. The other thing is that she's branching off into way too many directions, and it's kinda confusing. There's blues, Latin, rock, folk, hip-hop, gospel, pop, jazz, R&B and more. It sounds like I'm describing an infomercial. No two tracks sound alike, and it's not very focussed. I'm all for experimenting with different styles of music, but I think that this album is pushing it a bit. But as a final note, I'm not going to buy it solely because of Dirrty.

I was pretty excited when I got word of Nick recording a solo album, and I've been following its progression ever since then. Naturally, even before his first single came out, I had already downloaded it and practically memorized the lyrics. :) Because of it, I was really anticipating hearing the rest of the album, and finally I've had the chance to do that.

Help Me is his first single, which I absolutely love. It has much more honest lyrics than usual Backstreet fluff, and it really connected with me. I like the pop/rock sound that he uses, and it goes well with his voice. The video didn't really go with the song too well, and it was more of a way to show his change in image, rather than trying to enhance the lyrics of the song. But nevertheless, this is one of my favorite songs at the moment. It's a great choice for a debut single.

My Confession is a more guitar-driven song, contributing to his new sound. But even though it has a generally happy-go-lucky feel, it's a pretty personal thing to him. It's about him trying to understand a friend of his because he's acting very strangly. I can relate to it, especially the line: "I wanna see what you see / When you cry those tears" I watched him perform it live, and it's kinda sad that he has none of the intimacy that he does when he does it on the album.

Third track is I Stand For You, which kinda embodies his new movement out of teenybopper pop. He wants to go out and do what he wants, rather than just being a manufactured pop doll out of the Lou Pearlman Factory Of Pop. I just wish he wouldn't make any references to the girlfriend that he doesn't really have. It just makes him look stupid. :P I like the pre-chorus, where he sings: "'Cause I'm free / To say what I want to say / And I'm feeling / That it's time to get away"

The first ballad on the album is Do I Have To Cry For You. It's a largely piano track, reminiscent of I Need You Tonight. The title of the track reminds me The Outsider. *shudder* But anyways, his voice has a slight raspy sound to it, reminding me of Bryan Adams. I didn't really listen to the lyrics too carefully in this song, but from what I got, it's about him not wanting to live his life the way that somebody else wants him to live it. I don't quite understand how that relates to the title, but whatever. It'll probably make sense when I listen to it again. :)

Girls In The USA is the first song on the album that I don't particularly like. It starts off with some weird guy shouting words that I don't understand. Then it goes into an instrumental bit that sounds like mimcry of Joan Jett's I Love Rock 'N Roll. He sings something about girls taking off their clothes and sex appeal, so I just stopped listening. It's pretty obvious that he doesn't have anything important to say.

I Got You is a more reflective song than the last, thankfully. I can relate more to this song, especially the chorus: "The world outside tries to pull me in / But they can't touch me 'cause I've got you" I hear somewhere in the song where he says "baby", which reminds me of the old Backstreet days. Sigh. :) Ooh, the CD's half done. :)

Is It Saturday Yet? turned me off. It's got a weird grungy/funk sound at the beginning, and the vocals are suppressed for a lot of it. The chorus really doesn't say anything. "Is it Saturday yet? / 'Cause I don't wanna get up / Is it Saturday yet? / 'Cause it feels like a Saturday" Wow. How deep. Somewhere in the second he says something about being raised by the television, and then he asks if he'd still be the same if Aaron Carter wasn't his brother. Uh. Right.

Blow Your Mind has a more club sound, probably because the song takes place in a club. It's got really shallow lyrics like "Girl, I saw you dancing / I'm looking like trash / Yet you're glancing / Hello, I'm a rock star / She said, I don't care who you are / Just take me with you / And I will blow your mind" That first verse sure didn't blow my mind. :P Eh. I skipped the track about half way through.

Miss America reminds me of Madonna's rendition of American Pie for some reason. I was hoping for something more interesting than the last two tracks, but I was disappointed when I heard the incredibly deep line: "Take it off, take it off / Let's get it on, get it on" Another skip.

I Just Want To Take You Home has a harder rock feel, probably the hardest on the album. I think that Jive refused to let him go as far as he would have liked. :P I didn't really listen to this song that carefully after all those disappointments before. I'll take another listen later.

The next piano ballad is Heart Without A Home (I'll Be Yours), which actually made me listen. It's about him telling somebody that even though they feel lonely and depressed, that he'll be there to help them out. Awww. :) It sounds like lyrics from a country song, for some reason. Like maybe from Lonestar or something. I don't know where that thought came from, but whatever. I like this one a lot more than the previous few songs.

The First Listen preview ends off with Who Needs The World, although I think that there are actually more tracks on the actual album release. Again, it's another soft ballad, but it sounds more cheesy than his other ones. It actually sounds like something he stole from a Backstreet Boys recording session. Even the vocals sound very different from the previous tracks. It's a huge contrast between the rest of the album. Personally, I think that it would have been better to just leave this song off the CD. Talking about switching "off the sun, stars and moon" are such cliché pop lines. I'm guessing that Jive forced him to do this one.

Scandalicious is as bad as it sounds. It's basically about how Nick goes to a party and some girl asks him to have sex with him. Naturally, he agrees. I was totally shocked at this song. I mean, I'm not naive enough to think that he's not had experience with those situations, but I never thought that he'd be so upfront about it in a song. I mean, the line actually goes: "I entered the party ready to leave / Well somebody offered me sex on the beach". I don't like it.

After listening to this, I've decided that I'm not going to buy it. I like only about half of the songs, and some are so bad that I just don't want to listen to them at all. I guess I expected as much, but whatever. I'm not going to bother to review Justin Timberlake's Justified because if I don't like this one, I'm going to despise his. I'm waiting for the Rachael Lampa remix CD to come out. Maybe I'll actually like something for once.

MTV.com - Music - First Listen - Nick Carter

I found this link from an email message from one of the many discussion groups that I'm on. I forgot which one ... err. ;D If you want to hear Nick's entire full album online because you don't feel like buying it, head over to the link and take a listen. It's actually sounding pretty good to me ... although I think that my two favorites are still "Help Me" and "My Confession". I watched him perform them live, and it's not quite the same for some reason. I think I'll stick with the CD. :) I haven't quite decided whether or not I'm going to buy it or not. I think I want Rachael Lampa's remix album a bit more. And besides, Nick already has enough money. :P

Generally, the album is a bit of a venture from the typical boppy Backstreet Boys sound, which is probably a good idea. It's got a more rockish feel to it that suits his voice well. I really like several of the songs because they're really thoughtful and reflective, but other ones are pretty bland. All of the ones that talk about girls aren't too appealing to me, because I think I got sick of listening to so many of those songs. I don't mind love songs, but ones with lines about "doing it all night long" and such kinda bug me. I didn't use to mind songs like that, but I do now. The album ends with a very poppy ballad that was probably a reject from a Backstreet Boys album or something.

After I listen to the entire CD, I'll write an extensive review of it. I don't know if I'll do that today, since I have a lot to do, especially with thinking about that English essay. Oh well, we'll see how things go.