Remembering the Greats......

There are many great musicians out there today that I am in awe of right now who are hitting the mark but I have to confess that I am a bit of an ‘old skool’ girl and I believe in celebrating all the greats that have come before that has inspired all these new artists.

On Sunday 12^th February, I woke up to the news of Whitney Houston’s death. This I find to be a great loss to the world of entertainment despite her troubles I believe that Whitney Houston has been a remarkable force within the music industry and her music should be remembered. So let us not dwell on all the encounters that came upon these artists but reflect upon the music they left us with.

                                                       Whitney Houston 

                      

                                                               

 "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" was the first single from Whitney's second album Whitney, released in 1987. It became a commercial success and won her a Grammy award for Best female Pop vocal performance at the 30th Grammy awards. 

This has to be one of my favorite Whitney songs, it always has the instant ability to make me smile. I remember falling in love with this song from the first moment I heard it, I used to put on my best Whitney style and dance away. This song has a great up-tempo beat, with that feel good feeling and a disco vibe that leaves you instantly wanting to get your groove on. So thank-you Whitney for making us want to dance with that special somebody. (R.I.P. Whitney Houston) 

                       Michael Jackson

"Remember The Time" was released in 1992, as the second single from Michael Jackson's eight studio album; Dangerous. The video was showed as a short film, featuring appearances by Eddie Murphy, Iman, Magic Johnson and The Pharcyde. 

OK, so this is not the most obvious of choices of songs but what can I say it blew me away, mid-tempo beat with a combination of piano and guitar instrumental. Watching the video I was mesmerized by Michael Jackson's ability to create magic on screen, and personally I have a thing for Egyptian culture so I was in awe of the great fashion pieces put together, entwined with the imaginative choreography. 

                             ETTA JAMES 

"At Last", was released in 1960. The song became her 'signature song'. What can I say about the remarkable Ms Etta James, she had pure soul. When I first heard this song, it just touched me..the vocals alone was pure class. This song is beautifully sang and arranged, with touching lyrics. A true classic. 

Music Review....

Am sure if asked of highlights of 2011 in the entertainment world the tragic death of Amy Winehouse and Beyoncé revealing her pregnancy during her performance on the VMA would probably go down on the list, as the news that everyone was talking about but I would say there were other interesting factors. Here is just a few that I recollected. 

·         Return of Jenny from the Block.

Ok so I admit that by now after all the comebacks this one was not an utter surprise. But J.Lo has always been able to deliver catchy upbeat tunes that have been a commercial success. She returned with popular smash hit On the floor ft. Pitbull fused with the sound of dance, electro pop and Latin beats. This is a great up-tempo dance tune  and I enjoyed the collaboration with Pitbull and even though it has been cited as one the most popular songs of 2011 it took a while for it to grow on me and that was mainly because it is such a catchy tune, it’s hard to get out of your head. I much prefer her hit collaboration with Lil Wayne; I’m into you, a mixture of pop and r’nb, also a hint of her Latin background. Am feeling the deep beats and the clever wordplay employed through both Jlo’s and Lil Wayne’s lyrics. By the way did you know I’m so into you is also written by Taio Cruz.

·         Kelly Roland

Ok so everyone adores Beyoncé but I have to admit Kelly has always been one of my favourites too. Often enough not really given the credit she deserves as a star of her own making. In 2011, Kelly brought us the XFactor, in this I mean in literal and metaphor terms. Placed as one of the judges in Xfactor, Kelly wowed us with her own “swagga”; who could forget her styled comebacks “Putting it down”.  She also released her third album, Here I am which penned out successful hit Motivation ft Lil Wayne (who by the way looks the guy to make a collaboration with), a smooth r’n’b slow jam, slightly up-tempo during Lil Wayne’s rap. The song has also been remixed several times by other artists such as Busta Rymes, Trey songz, fabulous, R.Kelly and Mario. And I must say that this has to be one of the sexiest songs of 2011.

·         Jessie J

This has to be one of my favourite female artists of 2011. Sassy and bold, she modernised the Spice’s girl’s ‘Girl power’ with her debut single “Do it like a dude”, a combination of pop, r’n’b, Hip-hop melodies.  This was followed with another smash hit, “Price tag” ft. B.O.B mixing elements of pop, r’n’b and reggae. She released her debut albulm “Who you are” in febrauary, which featured a string of up-tempo, positive and inspiring songs, such as Nobody’s perfect and titled album Who you are.

·         Dappy

Ok this is not the most obvious act for me; after all he has been more famous for his funky dress sense and controversial behaviour. But it looks like Dappy is all “grown-up” now and after taking a break from band N’Dubz, he made his debut solo single with ‘No regrets’; a fusion of R’n’b and hip-hop and I got to admit I was impressed. The single features inspirational lyrics (which I said was a surprise), blended with a gospel production and piano melodies. This is a feel good song; it will be interesting to see if he can keep on this path.