Personally, I do not belief Psy’s new song ‘Gentleman’ will have the same popularity as Gangnam Style but I suppose he doesn’t need to be noticed since he is already world famous. This song will do very well just because it is PSY, not as catchy as his hit but sure doesn’t suck, it has already been hit more than 6 millions views within 24hrs of release.
Archive for music
Jazz Theme song for “Downton Abbey”
Right, I’m not a big fan of this soapy TV series but I absolutely love the Jazz version of the TV theme song. Break out the red wine and fireplace now.
100 famous riffs in 1-take
Okay, this guy has some serious guitar skills and why do I know 90% of these riffs???
Tiny speakers that makes big noise: FoxL
I travel quite a bit and loves music, so I’m always hunting for the perfect travel speakers that does not compromise on sound quality. So far, the ones that I considered are either too big, sounds bad (tinny and lack of base) or too expensive (yes, I’m talking to you Bose Music monitors…). After months of search (actually almost 1yr), I finally found something worthwhile of my efforts. Introducing the Foxl V2 by Sound matters, this thing is small, I mean really small, roughly 3 chocolate bars stacked together. The sound… unbelievable, I have not heard anything this small that produces such great sound and clarity, the bass is by far the best I’ve heard from a speaker this size, deep and rich (have to be realistic here, it’s no boom-box). It really takes an rocket scientist to design stuff like this (I’m talk about Owner Dr. Godehard Guenther – a physicist and former NASA engineer). I absolutely love it and have named it Tiny. Check it out here.
Charice: A youtube life
So, this is what happened, one night I had trouble sleeping, around 1am I woke and didn’t know what to do. So why not hit the web and do some surfing. I got onto youtube and see what’s been happening in the Youtube world, that is when I stumble upon an artist name Charice Pempengco, which is quite weird as I’m not into pop music.
It was interesting how I got onto her profile, it was first watching Britain Got Talent’s Paul Pott’s Auditions which lead to Connie Talbot singing “somewhere over the rainbow” which then lead to America Got Talent’s Bianca Ryan. I was fascinated by Bianca’s powerful and yet soulful voice that I searched for more of her performance.
This eventually led me to the Ellen Degeneres show where she showcased Bianca. While on Ellen, I then discovered the even more powerful artist now simply known as Charice. And the rest is Youtube history, I was then able to follow Charice’s career simply by watching her youtube performance during the different stages of her life.
The following is a compilation of some highlights (according to what I know anyway) in her 2yr career so far through the eyes of Youtube.
Her first appearance in the US on the Ellen Degeneres Show (Dec 19.2007) She was 15.
She then appeared on Paul O’Grady show in London, a popular chat show (April 2008)
Then some time later, Oprah Got wind of her and put her on her show. (May 12.2008) She was turning 16. Noticed that Ellen was never credited for showcasing her.
Charice on the “Hit Man” Tour from David Foster, 1st appearance in May 2008 after singing on Oprah.
Filmed by an audience capturing more of the crowd
With Andre Boccelli (June 2008)
Filmed by an Audience with intro from Boccelli in Italian (Translation below)
(Bocelli: I was in a TV program in America participated in by some of the greatest American (singing) artists. Someone approached me in my dressing room and said, “Look, you should come and listen to an extraordinary voice, a young girl with an incredible voice. I went to check and at the end of the song, there was an incredible standing ovation. I went to congratulate her. She thanked me and candidly told me, “I would like to sing with you”. I asked her, “What song would you like to sing with me?” She responded, “The Prayer”. Well, Mission accomplished! Ladies and Gentlemen, Charice is only 16 years old. For the rest, you yourselves make the judgment.)
Back on Oprah with David foster playing piano (September 2008)
On the same show Celine Dion surprised her and invited her to sing with on stage.
Charice with Celine Dion
Same song again with Celine but filmed by an audience, also shows more intro, part1 & 2, there are also many more user uploaded version of this song, so if you have time go check it out on youtube.
Celine talks about Charice on the Oprah show
At the Andre Agassi Grand slam for Children concert (October 2008), she meets Mariah Carey her idol, who I think doesnt seem too impress to see her…(makes some smirky remark).
Film by audience with more intro from Foster part1 & 2
Comments from David Spade, Josh Groban and Jay Leno
Charice and Foster on Good Morning America (November 2008)
Filmed by a audience with behind the scenes.
Charice on the “Hit Man” Tour from David Foster 2009 tour
Charice at the Obama inauguration ball (Jan 2009)
At the Dodgers Vs Giants game (April 2009)
At the Oscar after party, this is a Wow-er… I’m so impressed, even the whole audience stood up and cheered.
Again at the Andre Agassi Grand slam for Children concert (September 2009)
Her new single titled: Pyramid official MV (now over 29 million views!!)
Let me just say I have not been to any of her official site or fan-sites, all these was done purely from youtube in about 2hrs. It’s simply amazing how social media nowadays can generate so much attention to the point of changing someone’s whole life. There are many many more youtube clips that were not included, I mainly focused on those that made an impact that started her career.
To be honest, I’m not a fan of her current music, it’s way too teen idol for me. Also, I think her voice have been way over auto-tuned to sound like the current crop of young singers. Which I think is a great shame as she can hold her own voice more than most professional singers can.
Perhaps one day when she finally releases something along the lines of the power ballad diva album to the likes of her idols (Mariah, Celine & Whitney), I might just become a fan but until then, I’ll stick to what I like. All the best to her too.
This is smart, coffee anyone?
This is a great idea, you have a android phone docked to your coffee machine, scan the code on the coffee capsule, it plays music to the mood of the coffee blends you are having. Cheeky really, I like wery wery much. Check it out here.
Zune HD
Microsoft have officially announced the Zune HD. Now it comes with full OLED 3.3″ touch screen (no more sqwhellie thingy) and can display 720p video (output). Also wifi and Zune Music Subscription service. It can connect to Xbox Live which will mean gaming on the Zune too. Check it out here at Gizmodo.
Sony Sountina
This is sony’s high end speaker, the Sountina, stands 6 feet tall, emits sounds 360degrees for true high fidelity. Awesome speakers but it cost over $10,000. Check it out here.
Scarlett Johansson’s debut album
Ohh… I didn’t know this girl could sing too. Her very first debut album called “Anywhere I Lay My Head”. Check it out here.
Final Fantasy music
I was at a friend’s place and one of my mate who is a final fantasy fan started playing the piano of some tunes from the game series. I was totally impressed and did a quick search today and found this site. Basically you can listen to all the final fantasy tracks in midi format for almost every series of the game. Quite impressive.
