Be Safe and Sound with Taylor Swift

Haunting and assuring – these are the main words that you can think of when you hear the song safe and sound by Taylor Swift. Originally, knowing the songs created by Taylor Swift, I thought this is just another breakup song with one of her boys. Don’t give me that look, but I’m pretty sure that you also know Taylor is really fond of writing songs about her previous boyfriends. For example, her song Dear John is obviously dedicated to John Mayer, who used to be one of her flames. Some lines go this way Dear John, I see it all now that you’re gone; Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with? Obviously, we know whom she’s referring to.

Taylor Swift, alongside the infamous countryside and folk song duo, Civil Wars, composed the song Safe and Sound, which is the official soundtrack for the 2012 Hunger Games movie. Just like the movie, the track was pretty intense, bold, and haunting as it manifests every emotions and struggles seen in the movie. Prior to the release of the track, Taylor Swift already gave a hint to her followers that she will release a hit that’s going to blow everyone’s emotions thru the popular networking site, Twitter. After which, the hit is then released to the market and became the top trending song in the US charts as well as other global song lists. Speaking of worldwide hit charts, it reached the 30^th spot in Billboard 100 and got the 11^th spot in New Zealand with just 2 days after its release. It also received positive praises from several critics including Rolling Stone, which dubbed the song as the prettiest ballad. Pop Crush noted that it’s ethereal and not frothy, giving emphasis to the uncanny yet beautiful strumming of the guitar and the icy cold blending of their floating voices.

When asked about her inspiration for the song, she recalled that she had been working hard on a piece entitled Safe and Sound, but she did not imagine that it could turn out so well. She just wanted to create a lullaby that people would love to listen to most of the time. On the one hand, her love for the Civil Wars duo made her more ecstatic about the project. For her, Safe and Sound would have been different without Civil Wars and it would have not probably become a hit without them.

As for me, I think Civil Wars duo is really great, but their collaboration with Taylor in this song is amazing. Two thumbs up for both artists and all the people behind this timeless song.

Titanium

Titanium may have been played on air for awhile, but I only liked it until I watched its music video couple of weeks ago. In it, we can neither see David Guetta nor Sia in it, but we only see the actor Ryan Lee, who portrayed to have supernatural powers. Constantly running away from the authorities, Ryan found himself caught in the end, but he was not fallen as he burst into flames and destroys everything around him.

I am not really fond of listening to pop songs since I love ballad and chill-out type of music. However, I first heard this song during the American Idol 2012 season being sung by Beatrice. I thought her voice is as soulful and bold as the song itself. So I started checking out about it, researching for it, and tumbling on YouTube for its original music video. Prior to seeing its music video, I thought the song is more of standing straight after a breakup until I saw it online. It’s rather more of running away from reality, but in the end, facing it and standing tall after the rough course. Indeed, Titanium managed to stand despite stiff competition in the music industry as it received prestigious recognitions starting from a representative at Windy City Times citing the song as epic and energizing. Meanwhile, a member of The Guardian named Tom Ewing dubbed the album as one of the best hooks in the music industry. Kerri Mason from Billboard also commented that this has been one of Sia’s most epic works to date while Horne from the Border Mail called it as a strong tune. On the one hand, it was nominated as Dance Work of the Year during the 2012 APRA Music Awards but eventually lost to Potbellez’s From the Music.

Despite the loss, it really indeed is bulletproof, or, should I say, loss-proof since it continued to rise through the peak in some of the world’s most renowned hit singles countdown. It landed the third spot in the French Singles Chart on January 2012 and received a platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association. It also bagged certified platinum from The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Nevertheless, Titanium was banned from airing on the radio when the Sandy massacre happened because of its lyrics and composition. While it may really sound cold-blooded, Titanium is definitely one of the best tracks ever produced in this disorganized music industry.

Call Me Maybe

Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe has a tune that could get you stomping on your feet. Well, we can also say that it’s the American version of the tempo of Gangnam Style without its infamous movements as the latter has become popular of its comic acts. Nevertheless, this song has its own beauty, tempo, and lyrics that can definitely enliven your groove and stomp your feet to the beat. Because of this, it received a mixture of criticisms and praises.

Carly Rae Jepsen is a Canadian singer and songwriter who recently released her album, Kiss in the later part of 2012. It was originally written as a folk song by Carlae herself and Tavish Crowe. Both were on tour when they were inspired to write the song, and that made it pretty easy for Carly to finish the song. Because it was produced by Josh Ramsay, who is also the lead vocalist of the award winning Canadian band Marianas Trench, the song was modified to pop, which explains its upbeat tempo despite of it being a folk song. At the end, its genre is more of the dance pop and disco beats. The hit maker was first released by 604 Records in Canada last September 2011. The first ever situation that made the tune arise to popularity is the time when Bieber and Gomez tweeted their admiration about it. In addition to that, Bieber also promoted Carly, which made her rise to stardom since the latter has never really promoted an unknown artist before.

On the one hand, Call Me Maybe received numerous praises from the usual critics in the industry. One example is the review given by an About.com’s representative named Bill Lamb, who said that despite the cheesiness of the song, it’s the kind of music that teens would definitely instill in their minds, and he also noted that Carly’s tune is the current highlight of Canadian music. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone writer noted that it’s a tune about a girl hoping for a guy to call her back, a normal longing of every teenage girl. The said industry also claimed that it’s the 50^th greatest single of 2012. The New York Daily News noted that Call Me Maybe is one of the greatest teen pop songs ever heard. A representative from The Red Eye also claimed that this has been her first time to feel like giving numbers to the guys.

You may love or loathe Carly’s Call Me Maybe, but there’s no denying that this song is definitely one of the greatest pop songs ever heard. Cool, practical, wholesome, upbeat, and totally for teens.

Do you Fall for Adele’s Skyfall

I must say that his song is definitely worth falling for. Strong, crisp, and totally original, Skyfall is the theme song of the latest James Bond film in 2012. The hit was written by Adele herself with the collaboration of J.A.C. Redford for the orchestra. Already renowned for her previously released hit songs, Adele is dubbed to be one of the greatest singers in her genre. Chubby, beautiful, and equally elegant, Adele may not be compared to the likes of Rihanna, Britney Spears, or even Beyonce because she has her own techniques and grace to top off her unstoppable talent. Meanwhile, going back to Skyfall, here are the top reasons to fall in love for this song:

The song received numerous praises from some of the most meticulous critics in the industry including The Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Daily Record, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times. The Huffington Post described it as brassy and soulful while Entertainment Weekly stated that finally a James Bond has come. Daily Record rated the song for a perfect five out of five stars while Wall Street Journal dubbed the song as a hit with the right richness of drama and classic timelessness. On the one hand, Los Angeles Times commends for its boldness and musical departure added with the right grace and elegance to stand on its own in a pool of hit songs in today’s pop songs. Before I forget, Daily Telegraph also commented that the song‘s lyrics are filled with a touch of sinister and drama without overly romantic and ballad. Speaking of pop songs, Skyfall is actually orchestral pop song, which makes it different from the rest of the pop songs that you hear in the music industry these days.

Skyfall has received numerous recognitions and awards especially to Adele, the producers, and the orchestra coordinator who made the song possible and impossibly beautiful. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song; and Best British Single during the 2013 BRIT Awards. Aside from these prestigious awards, it also became the top song at iTunes online stores in UK and hit the 4^th spot in the UK Singles Chart after 48 hours of its first release to the market. As of March 2013, Skyfall has reached over 4 million sales worldwide.

Download the tune today and listen to its power. Indeed, it’s a very James Bond theme.

Psy’s Gangnam Style

If there is a song that brought so much controversy in the industry, it would have to be Psy’s Gangnam Style. With its horse-like steps, unfathomable Korean words, and comic moves, Gangnam Style was a hit in 2012. It has become one of the most popular songs in the world; Britney even danced to it when she was a guest at Ellen de Generes’ show. But who is the person behind this innovative song? Who is Psy and what does the song truly talk about?

The song was first released last July 2012 with a Korean singer named Psy in the vocals. It then scattered wildly all over through the internet in a matter of months as it reached 1 billion views in December 2012. Record shows that it’s actually the first video on the said site to have reached a billion views and was distinguished by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the first video on You Tube to reach 1 billion. In July, it landed the number one position in You Tube 100 Music Videos. Gangnam Style also received numerous awards including Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards last 2012; Best Song during the Melon Music Awards in Seoul; Song of the Year during the Korean Music Awards; Viral of the Year Awards in Brazil and many others. Apparently, Psy’s sensational music overpowered Carly Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe and Justin Bieber’s Baby. Apparently, the song has just created a very strong effect to both music and non music lovers. Its tone and dance moves are so contagious that you just can’t dare miss it when it starts to play on the air. In fact, even notable personalities in the likes of US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon dared do the dance.

To those who are not familiar with the meaning of the song, let me clarify first that the word Gangnam refers to the Gangnam District of Seoul. It is the place where plastic surgeries are rampant and facial and body procedures are being done to achieve superficial beauty. This is the main reason that the women seen in the video are gorgeous, sexy, undeniably flawless, and totally enviable. Nevertheless, they dance comically as they imitate a horse’s movement. Psy stated that the theme of the song is to look beautifully and dance cheeky, which explains their outrageous dance movements despite their sexy outfits.

On the one hand, there are always those who love to pull down people reaching the top and some of them include those who reported about its relation to Nostradamus’ prediction about the end of the world. Do you believe in that hoax? Well, I don’t know about you, but when that hoax came out, me and my friends were busy dancing the Gangnam Style during our 2012 Christmas parties.