The Last CD I Bought: Colton Dixon- ‘A Messenger’

Colton Dixon is filling my angtsy pop-rock music love right now. He is a 22-year-old Christian artist who got his start on American Idol…and coincidentally, he just performed on an episode of AI this season back in March.

I heard his single off of the album A Messanger called “You Are“ on Christian radio. The album has peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 charts. I was able to listen to his whole album on Spotify before purchasing, and really fell in love with it. He has some really emotionally-charged songs that have a definite rock/punk vibe, that are softened with some piano-pop elements. Comparable to 30 Seconds to Mars…he can belt it like Jared Leto, and mix that with the piano and sweet voice of Andrew McMahon of Something Corporate… you get Colton.

“Never Gone”- An electric guitar and piano-backed power jam. Says Colton about the song: “It’s like one of those things when you’re a kid and you’re in the dark and you want to turn the lights on just to make sure everything is where it needs to be. It’s kind of the same thing, personally, with me and God; I want to make sure he’s always there, and he always responds with, ‘I never left.’ So it’s just that cool picture. And if you’re not a believer, it can be whatever you want it to be. Just the idea of having someone there that’s never left and is never going to leave, it paints a really cool picture and it brings comfort and hope.”

“Rise”- This is a mellow song, piano-backed. All about rising above hardship.”When your heart is cold, and when you feel you’re letting go. You can rise above the world below, Rise tonight.”

“I’ll Be The Light”- An up-tempo piano and electric guitar backed jam. I just love the chorus of this one. REFUGE.

(Chorus)
I’ll be the light
When there’s nothing but night
Till now you’ve had to feel your way
Through the honest lies of yesterday
I’ll guide you in no matter how long you’ve been
Lost in love and all alone
A million miles away from home
And when your dawn refuses to fight
I’ll be the light

That One Band That Always Re-Appears With a Summer Jam: Hot Chelle Rae- “Hung Up”

Who are these guys?!?! No, seriously. It’s like I only ever hear of this band in the summer when they release a pop radio hit that eventually everyone HATES come August. You know…Hot Chelle Rae!!! No. You don’t know. Because nobody knows. It’s what I like to call a radio filler. Take, for example, Lifehouse. They are the filler of any and all soft pop-rock radio stations.

I pose this question: IS ANYONE’S FAVORITE BAND SERIOUSLY LIFEHOUSE?!?! SPEAK NOW. These are the bands that just like, fill up the radio.

So Hot Chelle Rae. Like, what is their style?! Who is their audience?! They look pretty cool and hip…and then you hear the most pop-ilicious song ever coming out of them, and general confusion ensues!

Which brings us to “Hung Up.”

Literally had to give you the lyric video because the actual one is so obnox. But like, alriiiiiiiiiight. This is a summer jam! I picture myself driving with the windows down, singing and being merry to this.

But let’s dive deeper into Hot Chelle Rae’s discography, so you can see what I’m talking about.

“Tonight Tonight”- Loved it when it first came out two summers ago, and eventually the “la la la” chorus became THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. And everyone else listening to Top 40 radio.

How does this video have over 18 million views?! Alright, the New Boyz is helping them out with this one. “I Like It Like That.”

And how does this one have over 7 million views? “Honestly.”

Basically, Hot Chelle Rae is an anomaly. The Lifehouse of Top 40 radio. The one-song-a-season-wonder.

Comparable to RiRi’s “We Found Love”: Icona Pop- “We Got The World”

Icona Pop, the female French duo made famous by “I Like It” has got a dance club JAM on their hands. This is so much better than “I Like It.” To me, there is no comparison. It has a similar vibe to Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” but way more fun and carefree. I am sure it is going to be their next single.

“We can live fast die young, everyday we celebrate just like we won.” Sometimes you just need a jam like that.

You Need to Know These Kids: Y.N.RichKids- “My Bike”

Okay. SO I am behind on this crew of kids. Last summer, they released the song “Hot Cheetos and Takis,” a tribute to these Minnesota youngsters’ favorite convenience store snacks. It was written as a part of the Minneapolis after-school program Beats and Rhymes. As Slate wrote about today, this was given a 4/5 star rating by Rolling Stone.

This week, they released their second jam that is bound to be a hit called “My Bike.”

Slate writer Forrest Wickman nails the references in the Y.N.RichKids’ jamz:

“Whereas before they were turning Kanye and Young Chris into “snacks on snacks on snacks,” here refrains of “swerve” (from songs like “Mercy”) and “pop that” (from, most famously, French Montana) are just references to cycling and wheelies. Later, they turn from jacking hip-hop hits to riffing on the ‘The Wheels on the Bus.'”

But honestly. “My Bike” goes hard. These kids have more swag than actual grown-up rappers, and they don’t need to swear to earn it. Each kid in the crew has his/her own style, and two girls spit their verses while “swerving” with their crew. It’s their own version of hip-hop that is totally relevant and creative. LOVE IT!

will.i.am’s New Album is AMAZING.

Alright. We all know will.i.am as a PERSON is not the greatest. He’s got a titch of Kanye arrogance that can rub anyone the wrong way. But guys. His new album has so many jamz. I have listened to it the whole way through multiple times. I can confirm it. And I can tell you the best ones on the album, BESIDES “Scream & Shout” ft. Brit Brit and “#thatPower” ft. JB. Duh.

MY FAVE: “Geekin.” Get your geek on! AKA Go crazy. Have fun. This summarizes this song.

For Cruisin’ and Lookin’ Hard: “Freshy” ft. Juicy J. Hot beat. It sounds like they are saying “fresh sh*t,” but CLEARLYYY they are saying “freshy.” Clearly.

Clearly the One with Chris Brown: “Let’s Go.” Dance club jam. Reminiscent of “Don’t Wake Me Up.”

The One I Initially Hated: “Fall Down” ft. Miley Cyrus. It was really hard for me to disassociate the whistles in this song from the whistles of Flo Rida’s “Whistle Song.” But eventually I was able to. And now this is one of my fave. Great dance jam.

Diplo Samples Missy Elliott’s “Work It” in “Boy Oh Boy.” Certified Club JAM.

My oh my. Do I love Missy Elliott. And Diplo (with GTA) has made magic with this new one, sampling “Work It” with his own electronic dance and reggae moombahton beats.

“Work It” becomes really prominent at 1:36.

What else can I say about this other than it is so fun and different. It rivals Missy’s original.

WHICH, I learned only this week, that SHE in fact samples RUN DMC’s “Peter Piper.” CONNECTIONSSS. So many jamz.

 

The Fray’s Guitarist Has Struck Out on His Own! Joe King, Band Alias, KING.

Back In February, The Fray teased about their 4th upcoming album on their Facebook page. So randomly I tried to search for any new info on this so-called fourth album. And I found nothing. WOULD THEY GET ON WITH IT ALREADY?!?! Sorry. Anywaysssss, I HAVE NOT FAILED YOU PRECIOUS JAMZ FAMILY. I discovered something even better! The Fray’s guitarist, Joe King, has been making his own music! The man even toured in April! And his single, “Need A Woman (By Friday)”, is a JAM. It’s got a Fray feel to it, but there is no piano in this. Rather, synths and some beats…and trombone. But still could be played on any adult pop-rock radio station with ease. It is very OneRepublic-esque.

Reverb did a great write-up on his new solo work. Remember how I said it was very OneRepublic-esque? Welp, Ryan Tedder took part in KING’s EP:

“‘Need a Woman by Friday'” will be the first single off King’s six-song EP, which he’ll self-release in April on his own King Records. In the coming months, King hopes to finish another three or four songs to create a full-length release later this year. When all is wrapped, the project will include collaborations with many musicians from Denver and beyond including Trombone Shorty, Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic), Pat Meese (Tennis), Matt Morris, Bethany Kelly (Churchill) and others.”

But basically this is all great, but like, what is going on with the status of The Fray? Is Joe helping or hurting his team here? He did say that this solo work has been a long time coming. STILL. WE WANT THE FRAY! WE WANT THE FRAY!

Iggy Azaelea Needs More Credit- “Work” is a Jam

For some reason, she has not blown up here like she has in the UK. But her UK single “Work” is a jam, and was just released April 1st. Iggy is from Australia, and her real name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly. Love it! #funfacts Her first mixtape came out in September 2011. She is 22 at the moment, and her debut album, The New Classic, on Mercury Records, is still missing a release date. But if it keeps up with the likes of “Work,” she will be the next female hip-hop princess. She is gorgeous, and signed on to model for Levi’s jeans. But music-wise, her style is mixes “the swagger of Lana, the brattiness of Ke$ha, the sheer ballsiness of Gaga,” according to The Guardian.

We get it, her name sounds just like Azealia Banks of “212” fame. And she had Twitter beef (lolz) with her as well.

Bad timing. But I am looking forward to more from her. There’s a serious lack in variety right now with women and hip-hop, so hopefully she can mix it up once her album drops!

Concert Conclusions: EDM BREAKDOWN- Benny Benassi, Madeon, and Avicii

EDM= Electronic Dance Music. And this past weekend was FULL of it. I had the chance to see three awesome DJ’s this past weekend, so I thought I would highlight some of their best jamz.

Benny Benassi- He has been around for a while! He is Italian, and he is 45! Still making jamz, good for him. You also might know his first major hit “Satisfaction.”

More recently though, his famous jam is “Cinema.”

I knew the Skrillex version of this one, but he is the originator. Also, BLAH OVER SKRILLEX, anyone else?

Also, on Chris Brown’s “Beautiful People.”

Madeon- He is a youngin’. Born in 1994, he is from France and also, is really young looking. (see below)

“Pop Culture”- This was the song that got him on the map. He mashes up 39 songs in this video, and does it live. SO COOL.

His stuff has some definite Daft Punk elements, like his song “Icarus.”

“Finale” is a more low-key song focusing on vocals, and it is edgy and kind of feels like it needs to be in the trailer of the next summer action blockbuster.

Avicii- “He’s so hot right now.” TRUTH. Ahh, he is my fave. He is from Sweden and also young, 23. He signed a major deal with Ralph Lauren to collaborate on the Denim & Supply line that gave him more mainstream exposure. This past weekend he opened his set with “I Could Be the One,” which is definitely on the European top charts at the moment.

“X You” is also a new jam. No vocals, but just really…happy.

All-time fave though, “Fade Into Darkness.” ULTIMATE HAPPINESS.

I Mean…Chris Brown is Killing It- “Let the Blunt Go”

Yikessssss can’t really parental control the title…and the same goes for the song. Sorryyyyyyy.

CB put this song out last month. I am late to the party. But literally, the beat in this song is off the CHAIN. We’ve already established that we just need to appreciate Chris Brown for his music, and not his being. We’re past it, and now we can love everything he puts out. Ah, there really isn’t much to say. Other than: You win, Chris Brown. You win.