ALBUM REVIEW: Jennifer Lopez Comes In Strong With 10th Album

Source: Capitol Records

It’s been almost three years since Billboard icon Jennifer Lopez last came out with a new album (her last album, “Love?”, came out in 2011). Now, 3 years later, J.Lo is back with the fierce “A.K.A”. Read on for a track-by-track review of our favorite songs off of the album. 

A.K.A

The album opens with title track, A.K.A. Right of the bat, Lopez wants you to know that “this is not the girl you used to know.” Setting up for the rest of the album to be different from her others, J.Lo sings “you don’t know me now.” An extremely catchy dance track, A.K.A is sure to be a hit in your car’s speakers.

First Love

Next up is one of the album’s first singles, First Love. In a recent Q&A interview we had with J.Lo, she described love as the main inspiration behind most of the songs on the album, and this is no exception. Another dance track, Lopez sings, “I wish you were my first love / Cause if you were my first / Baby there wouldn't have been no second, third or fourth love.”

Never Satisfied

The “On The Floor” singer slows things down for the third track, Never Satisfied. Lopez sings about how she is never satisfied with the love her man is giving her, always leaving her wanting more. She sings “I'm going crazy / For more of your love.” Who could she be talking about?

I Luh Ya Papi

Perhaps one of the most promoted singles off of “A.K.A,”,\ I Luh Ya Papi comes in as track #4, and enlists the help of French Montana. The video for the song was considered game-changing by many. In a typical hip hop video, there is always an abundance of almost-naked women, dancing around men wearing gold chains. In the video for I Luh Ya Papi, J.Lo goes against that image, instead opting for almost-naked men to dance around her. See what all the talk is about below:

Acting Like That

With Australian-rapper Iggy Azalea in tow, Lopez describes her ideal relationship failing. She sings, “Baddest bitch in the world right here / You ain’t even gotta go nowhere / Boy you better watch the way you walk.” Seems like there is a bit of drama brewing!

Emotions

In our recent interview with Jennifer Lopez, she notes that this is her favorite track off the new album. She describes it as “a beautiful love [song] that has a lot of soul and R&B undertones.” Lopez sings “It's the same old thing, not a damn thing changed / You’re playing games, playing games.” Whoever this song is about, sounds like she is done with him!

Worry No More

My personal favorite from “A.K.A”, Worry No More enlists the help of MMG-rapper Rick Ross. With a smooth, R&B vibe, Lopez sings about wanting to have a worry-free relationship, wanting her lover to “Do anything that you can / To make me feel so protected.” Ross portrays his respect for J.Lo, rapping, “Dance like a star, ass shake like a car / She really something special I can tell from afar.”

Other standout tracks are the “twerk-worthy” song Booty, featuring Pitbull and Same Girl featuring French Montana. 

“A.K.A” proves to be a strong 10th album for the latina-superstar, and is available now worldwide. Be sure to get it on iTunes!

ALBUM REVIEW: Karmin Flaunts Unique Style and Sound in Debut Album "Pulses"

Credit: Epic Records

When I first heard Karmin’s cover of “Look At Me Now” in 2011, I knew that something big was coming. Shortly after releasing that cover, the duo of Nick and Amy announced that they had signed with Epic Records. Three years later, their debut album “Pulses” is about to be released. 

After listening to the album for a few days, I really can tell that Nick and Amy gave this album their all and didn’t rush it. It’s been almost two years since Karmin released their first EP “Hello,” so it’s good to hear new music from them.

The album opens with the title track “Pulses,” which actually is my favorite song on the entire record. I especially like how Nick is a huge feature in this song. “Pulses” showcases not only Nick's vocal chops, but more of Amy’s smooth vocals and killer rap. A great opener for the album, it’s obvious that the duo want their listeners to feel their energy, and “raise pulses.”

“Acapella” (debuted as a single in summer, 2013) is especially unique, as the majority of the sounds in the track are completely, well, acapella. Check out their video for the song below:

Other stand-out songs include the disco-sounding “I Want It All,” the extremely catchy “Night Like This,” and “Try Me On.” However, the album as a whole stands out. Nick and Amy have something going for them: they’re different. Many artists in the industry have work that seems repetitive, or have songs that resemble the work of another artist. Karmin just sounds completely different. The fact that Amy can both rap and sing, is something that just isn’t all too common in the rap industry. She manages to bring that unique facet of herself into the pop genre. 

“Pulses” gives Karmin a huge new presence in the music industry. They are the total package. Nick even raps on “Drifter.” The fact that Karmin already is a household name before the album is even released gives them a huge advantage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the album go #1, so keep a lookout for Karmin dominating the charts in the coming weeks!

"Pulses" is out 3/25.

UPDATED: "Beyoncé: The Visual Album"

Credit: Columbia Records

UPDATE 12/17: Apple released a press release regarding sales of the album, and it's absolutely incredible. In the first 3 days of the "Beyoncé" being on sale, it has sold over 828,773 copies- and that's just on iTunes. The album is also #1 in 104 countries. Go Queen B!

If anyone ever asked me if it would be possible to release an album out of the blue, without any prior leaks or knowledge from the public, my answer would have been no. Last Friday, however, none other than Beyoncé proved it to be possible. When I awoke Friday morning at 6:30, I checked Twitter and saw that there was a firestorm of tweets reading “Beyoncé released new album out of nowhere”. Seeing these, I instantly went to the iTunes store and bought it. There went my Friday.

Listening left me speechless. Not only are there 14 new songs, there are also 17 new music videos. Some of my favorites include the extremely sentimental “Heaven”, the Jay Z collaboration “Drunk in Love” and “Mine” featuring Drake. But these heavy hitting collabs were not enough for the Queen. Her song “Blue” features… Blue Ivy? Thats right. Beyoncé had her daughter record parts for the song—so adorable. I feel, though, that “Flawless” should be the last track on the list as the main verse “Bow Down Bitches” is the vibe that is emitted from the album, and for good reason.

Find 30 second clips of all the videos off of her “Visual Album” below. And, if you haven’t already, purchase the iTunes exclusive by going here.

Miley Cyrus "Bangerz" Album Review

Thats right: today is the day that Miley Cyrus’ new album, “Bangerz” is released. This is the singer’s debut album (more on that below) and it doesn’t disappoint.

Credit: RCA Records

The thing is, “Bangerz” is actually Cyrus’ 4th studio release, with this one being the first one with RCA Records. The reason I call this her debut album is because it's the first album with the real Miley Cyrus. With all of her other albums, she was still under contract with Disney, and was forced to create the music that agreed with the “Disney image”, and the difference is evident with this album.

 Below is a run down of three of my favorite tracks:

 Wrecking Ball:

This is one that I had to start out with because I think it is one of the deepest, most meaningful songs on the list. Some may watch the video and say “Wow, how messed up is Miley Cyrus, licking a hammer and swinging around naked” and they couldn’t be more wrong. The song is all about how stripped and bare Cyrus is. Her swinging and the walls breaking is symbolic of her breaking through the “wall” of her old image, going back and forth until it is fully broken.  The media gives her such a hard time for her trying to be herself that she is in turn empty, and naked. Why the wrecking ball and hammer? This is the only way she can truly show us who Miley Cyrus is, by coming in with a ‘bang’. There, now you can watch the video with the right state-of-mind.

Miley also performed “Wrecking Ball” when she hosted SNL last weekend:

Still can’t get enough of “Wrecking Ball”? Watch the extremely emotional directors cut below:

Another very meaningful song off of the album is “Maybe You’re Right”. In this track, Miley sings about how perhaps her significant other’s opinion (Liam Hemsworth?) is correct. Cyrus argues that “You can’t blame me for who I am”. Could this be about the breakup of her and Liam?

Perhaps the most liberating track on the album is the first single, “We Can’t Stop”. While there are references in the song about drugs “tryin to get a line in the bathroom”,  there is an underlying message, “we won’t stop”. Miley is going to keep doing what she is doing, and keep being her self, and it is clear that nobody can stop her, no matter what they say.

 Unfortunately, because of the fact that Miley has had to grow up under the media’s constant watch, we as the consumers have much more material to use in comparison. While I do agree that her VMA’s performance was raunchy, nobody would have thought anything of it if Nicki Minaj or Lady Gaga performed something like that. The fact that it’s Miley Cyrus, the once fake and bubbly Hannah Montana, makes everyone think she is going crazy. Well, this is the real, uncensored Miley Cyrus.

"Bangerz" is available now on iTunes.

Ariana Grande "Yours Truly" Album Review

Credit: Republic Records

This is an album that has been a long time coming for Ariana Grande fans.

A few years back when Grande released her first ever single, “Put Your Hearts Up”, I was kind of disappointed. While it was catchy, it felt way, way too bubbly and poppy. Even Ariana hated it. In numerous interviews following the release, she said how she felt it was a mistake before it was even out.

Now with this upcoming release, it feels like Ariana Grande finally got things right. The album as a whole has a pop vibe, but it’s not all meaningless ‘fluff’ like much of the other stuff out there. Given the album’s name “Yours Truly”, all of the songs are about love in some way or the other. When asked about the title in various interviews, Grande responded by saying she felt the whole album was like a love letter, so the name was like a signature.

Here is a track-by-track review of the album.

The first track off the album, “Honeymoon Avenue”, is a song where Ariana compares being in traffic to a troubled relationship... sounds sweet right? But seriously, it actually is. The Florida native sings “I feel like my heart is stuck/In bumper to bumper/Traffic, i'm under pressure/Cause I can't have you the way that I want/Let's just go back to the way it was”. All she wants is for things to back to same ole’, but they keep “Going the wrong way home”. Just listening to this track, you can really tell Ariana opened up her heart, and tells us how she is really feeling. Actually, Grande even starts crying when she performed this one live in concert in Philidelphia.

This is by far my favorite song off the album.

The next song off of the album, “Baby I”, is a poppy love song where Ariana confesses her love for “thee”. My favorite part about this song though is that it really showcases her talent. It starts of with Ari singing softly, and by the end she is giving it her all and belting out the chorus.

“Right There” is next up and features Detroit rapper Big Sean. In this one, Ari sings once again about love, saying “You know what I need/I know what you like/Put it all together baby/We could be alright”. Definitely much more sexual than the rest of the album, although it sounds great. Take a listen below.

“Tattooed Heart” is a calm, slow love song with Grande singing about how all needs is this boy to love her and “tattoo” her name across his heart so they will be forever together. Really deep - I know.

The next one, “Lovin’ It”, is not much different in terms of lyrics, but it sounds very different compared to “Tattooed Heart”. This one is very happy, fast, and more upbeat. Both are great - it’s just that they give off different vibes.

“Piano” has to be the most catchy and happy song of the entire album. In this 90’s sounding pop song, Ari happily sings “But I rather make a song they can play on the radio/Makes you wanna grab your lover's hand”. I think it would be hard to actually be upset and listen to this one. Take a look below at a video of Ariana Grande singing "Piano" live at her "Listening Sessions" tour (isn't it adorable?).

The next song, “Daydreaming”, has Ariana singing about how she is “daydreaming” about some dream guy, presumably. If I had to pick, this would be my least favorite song. Don’t get me wrong, I still like this song. It’s just something about how it sounds that does not agree with me. Perhaps it will feel different for you? Take a listen below:

The next track off of “Yours Truly” is none other than “The Way”. This song has been extremely successful, being already 2x certified-platinum. It’s totally sexual, as Grande sings about how she loves “The Way” this guy kisses her, etc. But more than just the lyrics of this song, it has an effect on me no other song has. Every time I listen to the radio, this is always played at least once an hour. And unlike every single other overplayed song, I still am not tired of hearing this one.

“You’ll Never Know” is a song about unpredictability, and how you never know what will happen next, or in terms of this album, who you will love next. A very upbeat dance song.

“Almost is Never Enough” is another one of my favorites from the album, and features Nathan Sykes from The Wanted. Both of them are singing to each other how they fell in love with each other, but gave up as they didn’t know about the mutual feeling - you with me? If you look at it lyrically it’s kind of confusing, so just watch the music video of Ari and Nathan singing to each other.

There is not much to say about the next one, “Popular Song” featuring Mika, except it’s extremely catchy. See the video below.

The last song on the album is “Better Left Unsaid”. For this one, the title is pretty much explains the rest of the song. However, this one has a really upbeat dance vibe to it. Definitely has the potential to be a Top 40 hit.

Also included in the album is a "Spanglish" version of "The Way".

After listening to Ariana Grande’s “Yours Truly” on repeat for the past 4 days, I can easily say that this is one of the best albums I have ever heard. This is one of the only albums I can say I don’t think I’ll get tired of.  I cannot recommend enough buying this album. Ariana did an outstanding job on her debut album “Yours Truly” earning it a rating of 10/10.

Be sure to cop it when it drops tomorrow!