19; Adele

Adele released her debut album, 19 on January 28th 2008 and it was no doubt one of the two most remarkable debut albums from a female artist. The other being from Katy Perry. Adele proved herself as a rising star in the rapidly developing music industry and definitely earned a spot on the most recent generation of the British Invasion.

Just a few months short of turning twenty years, Adele's debut album is very appropriately titled 19. At a very tender age having released an album which majorly was under her own creative wing is something not many artists manage to do. Even the older ones!

The album opens with the very classy track 'Daydreamer'. It's a soulful ballad which displays on of Adele's strongest skills; vocal ability. One of the things I've liked most about her is that she actually sounds british. Leona Lewis's accent can only be detected during her speech and not while she sings. Adele expressions also gets ten out of ten from me. And for being the opener, the track is a definite winner.

'Best For Last' is the second track off the record. Adele takes a slightly more upbeat approach as she displays her spunk in a jolly good way. The track is easily one of the most likeable tracks from the album. After dispalying maturity way beyond her years in 'Daydreamer', 'Best For Last' is the perfect song to make the listener realize that she's just nineteen and so immensely talented. A personal favorite reason behind this song is how it goes up and down like a wave. It's really something very fresh and definitely worth a notice.

The first single off the record is the third track 'Chasing Pavements'. This song is one of the best songs I've heard from the whole bunch of songs I took time out to listen last year. And it's no wonder that it is going strong and can still be spotted in my playlist. The song won a Grammy Award for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' defeating a very strong competetion that included P!NK's 'So What', Leona Lewis's 'Bleeding Love' and Katy Perry's 'I Kissed A Girl'. The music video of the song also bagged a nomination for choreography during the 2008 MTV Music Video Awards. Adele slips gracefully into her classy self again.

'Cold Shoulder' is the fourth track and the second single from the album. The song has a slight influence of jazz on to it and to tell the truth, it works like a charm. The best thing that the listener grasps about Adele by now is how diverse she really is. Once again she goes into her sassy mode and displays the attitude you would find in a nineteen year old. It's definitely a crowd pleaser. The music video has to be one of the coolest(Pun intened!) ever!

The fifth track 'Crazy For You' is another smooth flowing ballad. My favorite part of the song is when she goes into these falsetto for just a blink moment and then again goes into it towards the beginning of the chorus where she repeats the title of the song twice. Adele's vocals here are impeccable. She's definitely a master of her art. Someone clearly born with the talent and is using it very much in her favor.

'Melt My Heart To Stone' is the sixth track off the album. This track goes into a comparitively slower moods. Yes, even slower than 'Daydreamer' but then slowly builds up to a power structure. This song is very much appropriate to her self-imposed title of 'Heartbroken Soul'. By now I've gone through half of the album and I'm thoroughly pleased. Great going, Adele!

'First Love' is the seventh track. It is a gentle song with soft progression but it's abit too slow even for me. A friend of mind is totally head over heels with it but then each to his own. It's good but I liked the previous six far more.

The eighth track 'Right As Rain' brings us back to the jazzy, sassy Adele that goes perfectly after the very slow number, 'First Love'. Adele is magical with her vocals over here and there is no doubt that this track one of my favorite ones from the album. I'd definitely recommend you to check this one out. I was disappointed when it was not chosen as a single.

The ninth track is the third single from the album. It is a cover version of Bob Dylan's 'To Make You Feel My Love'. Though I prefer Kris Allen's version far above even the original version but Adele displays the adequate composure and emotional depth to the song. Though it's a cover version taking along the original melody but Adele's vocals surely leave their trademark on it. During the video, Adele's vocals are a live recording. Isn't she just amazing!!

'My Same' takes the listener back to her younger side. Though Adele appears more in her zone around ballads and slower number but there is no doubt she can wrap nearly every song around her vocals and pull it off with expertise way beyond many artists of the same age. Her faster tracks have a slight touch of Jazz to it and I'm so not complaining. This all suits her vocals beautifully!

The eleventh track 'Tired' is another up tempo number from Adele. The song was released as a single in Spain but no music video was shot. Though it is a good song for some reason it doesn't make me come back for a second listen so it falls lower than the other tracks I've heard.

The final track 'Hometown Glory'. Adele penned this song when she was sixteen years old and this was the song which led her to stardom after a friend of her put up a demo version of the song on his MySpace page. If I could write song anywhere near this at this moment, I'd be floating on Cloud Nine. Adele is definitely one of the most talented people to emerge in the previous year.

The album over all gets 9 out of 10 from me. Katy Perry also displayed creativity in her major debut release 'One Of The Boys' but Adele gives everything that Katy did with a touch of maturity and class. Plus her image goes very well with her music, she's definitely an old white soul singer at heart with a very magical voice. Adele's sophomore album is slated for a 2009 release and I'm definitely looking forward to it. Talent like her can't be kept from the world! No way no how!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)

Big Bad World; Plain White T's

Big Bad World is Plain White T's second album under a major label, Hollywood Records. Their first album, Every Second Counts was released in 2006 which spawned the very soulful Hey There Delilah, a personal favorite of mine.

Sadly their recent effort falls flat in comparision to their earlier one. The album has a very bubble-gum pop feeling to it and it's in no way as soulful as their previous one. The band appears to have taken a very different direction with all the harmonizing in their songs, kind of reminds me of Backstreet Boys. Tom Higgension has written every song off the album either independently or in collaboration with various writers. Though this did prove the skilled pen-man ship of Higgenson, it also led the album to have no particular style in the creativity department. It seems to be all over the place taking influence from everyone inside and outside their home genre.

The album starts off with the song under the same title as that of the album; 'Big Bad World'. The song has nothing really special about it. When I heard it the first time I was severly dissappointed given their previous effort. The lyric content is also far too immature for the group. Jonas Brothers would rather be doing this but even they wouldn't be caught dead covering this hype.

The second track 'Natural Disaster' takes a slightly more rock approach. But again the song doesn't do any wonders. The repeating clapping and chanting sort of gets on my nerves. And once again, the lyrical content is nothing that would make me get hooked upon it. And this was the first single released off the record. Moving on to the next one!

'Serious Mistake' is the third track off the album and finally gives me some of the stuff that I was waiting for. It has a nice homely feel with the light guitar strumming during the verse progression. The vocals in this particular song have a certain feel to it that develops a connection with the listener. It's the first decent track off the record.

'Rainy Day' is another decent track off the album. The song develops from a slow power ballad and then drops back into the low register. The lyrics hold meaning. Now this is the Plain White T's that got me one their band wagon. It's sort of reminds me of something that I would expect from Avril Lavigne, but I'm not complaining.

The best track from the record comes next. '1, 2, 3, 4' is the one song that makes you keep coming back for more. It's totally pop but not bubble gum. The lyrics are really cleverly written and Tom Higgenson's vocals really wrap themselves around the song. It's the unadulterated really good stuff. Plus the video is one the simplest and yet one of the best video I've seen.

'That Girl' is the second rock song track off the album. It basically flips the story that is told during Natural Disaster but somehow it's more worth listening. The harmonizing is slightly Mariah Carey excluding the falsetto. It's good but not great. While it will give you a good time but it won't stay on your playlist for a really substantial period of time.

'Sunlight' displays the soulful side of Plain White T's once more. Though the track is indeed one of the my favorite, it gives the feeling as if the Plain White T's are more of an a cappella group rather than a rock group. Still this is one track I'll give them points for. I'm glad they released this song as their third single, it's one of the decent tracks off the album.

'I Really Want You' has GOT to be the weirdest song off the whole record and possibly also one of the weirdest songs I've ever heard. The chorus is just the same lines being repeated again and it lacks any possible depth. The song seems like a knock-off version of Garth Brooks' 'Ain't Going Down ('Til The Sun Comes Up) but I guess that's probably because of the fast wording during the verses and the harmonica being played. There is absolutely nothing special about this track and I would recommend that you skip to the next immediately.

The ninth track, 'Meet Me In California' is a decent acoustic pop number. It's certainly better than the previous track. The track is a smoothly placed number which gets you humming. It's one of my favorite track off the album and I would have loved this to be released as a single.

Fortunately the album ends on a better note than how it stated. 'Someday' is another soulful number of the record with a slight touch of rock to it. The lyric are certianly amongst the better half of the whole bunch.

I'd give it a 6 out of 10. It's not anywhere near my favorite albums from 2008 but it certainly is worth lending your ear to. Just skip the tracks I mentioned and the rest will do you justice. Till next time, cheers!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; mailto:saadikk87@hotmail.com)

David Cook; David Cook

On 21st May 2008, The Music Industry formally inducted one of the finest rock artist of all times inmy opinion. David Cook won the seventh season of American Idol by nearly 12 million votes over the 16 year old David Archuleta in one of the most competetive and exciting finale ever witnessed according to many critics.

Cook's self-titled debut album was released on 18th November 2008 and to all those who had witnessed some of his breath taking performances on Idol it was a major sigh of relief. The wait was finally over!

Cook remained true to to his nature by making the album around his comfort zone of alternate rock mainly. The record has a heavy list of stars to it's credit. The likes of John Rzeznik(Goo Goo Dolls frontman), Raine Maida(Our Lady Peace frontman), Chris Cornell and Chantal Kreviazuk. It's no wonder this album is my favorite from a male artist. Cook thouroughly left his fans satsified with the impressive vocals, amazing songs and captivating melodies. The cover is perfect given the hard grunge content of the album but I would have settled for less guy-liner.

The record starts with Decleration which is collaboration with Cook, Raine Maine Maida and John Rzeznik. The song starts of slow with Cook building up to a big chorus with his signature grunge note that is just so David Cook.

The second song off the album is Heroes. It is a personal favorite of mine. It's written Cook, Maida along with Cathy Dennis who has written many songs like 'About You Now' for Sugababes and 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' for Kylie Minogue. The songs gives us a taste of Cook's vunerable pop side but at the same time does justice to his rock styling. The song slows down towards the ends and then goes big again which is my personal favorite moment during the whole song.

'Light On' is the third song and the first single off the album. It is co-written by Chris Cornell and Brain Howes. Cornell was deeply interested in contributing to the album after Cook performed his cover version of 'Billie Jean' during his Idol run and got unanimous praise from the judges. It's good but not as good as compared to some of the other tracks on the album.

"Come Back To Me' is the second single off the record. It's written by the immensely talented song-writing duo Espionage who have previously written Beyonce's world wide hit 'Irreplaceable' and Chris Brown's R&B Chat Topper 'With You'. The track is highly reminiscent of 'Always Be My Baby' but maybe that's just because the theme is same. Cook's vocals do it justice and the grunge signature move once again work superb. It's a master piece.

'Life On The Moon' is the fifth track off the album. It's a collaboration between Cook, Espionage and Zac Malloy. The track sticks to Cook's rock roots but is comparitively more grunge as compared to the others. It's eventful but there is nothing about it that will make you go back and listen to it.

The sixth track 'Bar-ba-sol' was the most anticipated track off the album, it's written by Cook in collaboration with Danny Grady and Dan Dixon. When the track listing was revealed the most discussed song was this partly owing to it's title. There was some stupid joke going about in forums about Cook being inspired from the shaving company under the same name. The track is clearly one of the best from the whle bunch. A real solid power packed rock number that will brings out the best of Cook's vocals. No official video has been released yet!

Raine Maida once again teams with Cook on the seventh track from the record. 'Mr. Sensitive' is another one of the out-standing track from the album. The lyrics are beautiful and the arrangement of cords is simply rocking. It is very grunge even for Cook but he makes it work extremely well.

'Lie' is a personal favorite track of mine. It brings back the same team that created 'Come Back To Me' and 'Life On The Moon'. The theme is indeed extremely unique. It's a complete power ballad that brings out the deep growling rock artist inside of Cook. I'm really hoping that it's released as one of the singles from the album. It's easily the most likeable track off the whole album.

'I Did It For You' once again pairs up Cook and Maida. It starts off smoothly with Cook settling into the mood for the track. The chorus is extremely well arranged as Cook explodes into a regretful state of calling back his lover. It's heart felt and somewhat reminds me of the Aerosmith signature he gave on the producer's choice 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing'. This and the last three songs are some of the best parts of the album as Cook's flexibility as an artist is proved. Bravo!

'Avalanche' is the weakest song off the record. It's a team work product of Cook and Kevin Griffin. There are some beauitful moments when Cook goes into a falsetto for a very brief moment which I had no idea he possessed. It was a nice surprise but the song could have been alot better.

Next comes the best track off the album; 'Permanant'. This track is seriously a work of art, a signature Cook master peice that no one can reproduce to a better or even the same level. It's co-written by Cook, Maida and Kreviazuk. Cook's vocal are worth a standing ovation because of the depth of emotion that can be felt. Cook performed the song during the American Idol Season 8 Finale and clearly it was the best performance of the night.

'My Daily AntheM' is an independent effort of David Cook. The odd lettering in the title is actually a way of dedication to Cook's elder brother Adam Cook who died after an eleven year battle with brain cancer. The lyrics are once again beautiful to the core. This is another favorite of mine as the sincerity of expression is clear and Cook's vocal pack it with a real power punch.

'Time Of My Life' is Cook's coronation song. It is written by Regie Hamm after he won the American Idol Song Writing Contest. Cook performed first time right after he was announced as the winner. It's one of the best coronation song on Idol ever.

The last track from the album is 'Kiss On The Neck'. It's a teamwork product of Cook and Neil Tiemann. It once again puts us back as in the groove that 'Bar-ba-sol' gives off. It's a cool contempary rock track that's definitely a nice ending to the amazing album.

Cook leaves the listener wanting more. After such an epic star-studded debut album, one can only imagine that immense talent that will be bought to the table by his follow-up. For one I'm extremely happy that American Idol finally has a male winner that it can be proud of. Way to go, David!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)

And The Winner Is....KRIS ALLEN!! :D

Who saw this coming?! No one! Who ever thought that the tender dawg would defeat the heavily pimped Rock God in a landslide and take home the very coveted title?! No one! But it happened! On May 20th Kris Allen was announced as the winner of the eigthth season of American Idol!

Since the Top 13 contestants were revealed for this eigthth season of American Idol, many were expecting the final showdown to go between the 29 yr old Church Minister Danny Gokey and the 27 yr old theatre star Adam Lambert! People did see Kris Allen as someone who could do well, possibly lasting till Top 6. He had fallen into the category of 'Cannon Fodder'; a term commonly used in the world of Reality Television for those who are just in the competetion to extend it and are of no pivotal importance. But that all changed with Kris Allen!

Kris Allen auditioned Lousiville, Kentucky singing Leon Russel's classic 'A Song For You'. He was the only person in Top 13 besides the 16 year old Allison Iraheta who's audition wasn't aired. The judges commented him to be an average singer and he too didn't seem very confident of himself at the moment but the Golden Ticket was just a key to unlock the fortune that was to come his way in a few months.

During Hollywood week, he showed his artistic side to the panel by playing numerous musical instruments from acoustic guitar to electric and even a piano. His cover of Michael Buble 'Everything' was also not aired but mentioned several times by Kara DioGuardi as one of her favorite performances. He qualified for a spot in Top 36 and was placed in the second group to perform with the likes of Adam Lambert, Matt Brietzke and Matt Giraud; all of who happened to be judges favorite. Unfortunately this year the list for Top 36 leaked a week earlier over the internet. The one thing that was commonly being discussed over every message board was 'Who's Kris Allen?'

Everybody had a little to alot of idea about most of the names on the list but no one even knew who was this person. In his group night, he performed Michael Jackson's Billboard Hot 100 song 'Man In The Mirror' and was praised by the judges for his smooth delivery on the song. This was the first time Kris was given camera time that lasted longer than five seconds. On the following results show, he advanced into Top 13 along with Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta.

When Top 13 took the stage for the first time, the theme was Michael Jackson. Already quite familiar with the territory, Kris picked up 'Remember The Time' from the album 'Dangerous'. He performed along with his acoustic guitar in a very plaid manner. The performance was well recieved. Kris advanced to Top 11 smoothly.

Grand Ole Opry was the theme during Top 11 night. Mentored by the country star, Randy Travis; Kris decided to sing a stripped back mellow version of the Bob Dylan's classic 'Make You Feel My Love'. The performance was recieved with unanimous praise, Simon Cowell also stated that he has a decent shot of doing well in the competetion. Kris was declared safe on the result night and advanced to Top 10.

The Top 10 took on the Motown classics. Mentored by Smokey Robinson this time, he decided upon Marvin Gaye's 'How Sweet It Is(To Be Loved By You)'. Smokey commented that Kris was definitely someone who could go on to become a big star(Way to go, Smokey!). The performance was well-recieved with many of the judges praising his orginality. Kris was declared safe on the following night and advanced to Top 9 unscathed.

Top Downloads was the chosen theme for Top 9. Kris delivered his best performance on the Idol stage when he sang Bill Withers 'Ain't No Sunshine'. Kris was given the pimp spot this week and used it extremely well. The performance was praised to be his best with Simon commenting that he should be more confident of his talent on stage. Kris was declared safe and advanved to Top 8.

'Songs From The Year They Were Born' was the theme during Top 8. Kris Allen went ahead with Don Henley's 'All She Wants To Do Is Dance'. Though many believed that the song showed the edgier side of Kris and commented that he could perform the upbeat songs just as well as the ballads, the judges thought of it as one of his weak moments. The critical reason being wrong song choice. Fortunately America thought otherwise and forwarded Kris in Top 7.

Top 7 took on the 'Songs Of The Cinema' along with mentor Quentin Tarantino. Kris performed the Academy Award winning song 'Falling Slowly' from the movie Once. Kris did extremely well with this song as it revealed his compassionate side. While Randy commented on it being pitchy from note one(Why Randy?! Why? Why?), Kara thought it was one of his best moments ever and Simon stated that he was brilliant. America agreed and Kris advanced for another week of showcasing his talent.

Disco Week came as a real shocker for all when Kris performed the Donna Summer chart topper 'She Works Hard For The Money' in his own unique fashion. You people have got to hear this to believe this! No way on Earth could this seem like a Donna Summer signature peice after Kris gave it his touch. The performance was contempary, cleverly arranged and artistic, also let's not forget the most important original. Kris got a thumbs up from the judges and was declared safe for another round.

The Top 5 were mentored by Jamie Foxx and the theme for the week was 'Rat Pack Standards'. Kris took up Frank Sinatra's immortal hit 'The Way You Look Tonight'. Foxx was so amazed by Kris's spin on the song that he offered to collaborate with him if Idol doesn't work out for him. Three weeks in a row Kris delivered his best. America saw the tender dawg's(Randy's affectionate moniker for Kris) softer side once again that was highlighted during Country Week and this time he seemed more confident. The performance got mixed reviews with Simon stating it as wet(Just when I was beginning to like him?!). This week got a little scary when Kris made an appearence in Bottom 3 along with Adam Lambert and Matt Giraud. But he was declared safe first.

'Rock n Roll' was the theme for Top 4, and they were mentored by Slash. Due to time constraints, instead of the usual two songs per contestants, there was one duet and one solo performance. Kris performed alongside Danny Gokey the Styx hard rock chart number 'Renegade'. The comments on the performance were humorous. Kara stated that this was a thing more for the bad boys, Kris and Danny being strictly catholic and church goers didn't give the vibe. Simon blatantly favored Danny over Kris(He really does want me to start hating him!). For his solo performance Kris performed the Beatles signature number 'Come Together'. He recieved positive reviews on it with the judges saying that he did the best he could do with the song given that rock isn't exactly his comfort zone. Kris was predicted to be eliminated this week but survived(A Happy Dance Moment for me!).

Just a week away from the finale, the Allenation(Kris's followers had dubbed themselves as Allenation) were mighty unsure of this week. The underdog was up against two of the most heavily pimped constestants of Season 8, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey. While still standing by Kris, there was a major belief that Kris won't survive this week. The night came and Kris performed 'Apologize' by One Republic as his first song. Randy and Kara had chosen it for Kris. The reviews were mixed with Kara stating that he didn't own it and Simon commenting on a foolish song choice. With the other song choice, thankfully being one of his own choice, Kris performed Kanye West's recent hot chart number 'Heartless'. This was unbelievable! Kris totally owned the song by performing it with an acoustic guitar. Simon stated 'Heartless' as his most favorite performance from Season 8 with Randy stating that he liked his take on the song more than Kanye and the Fray. Simon also said that he had written Kris out of competetion but 'Heartless' changed his mind completely. Kris was declared safe on the following night with Danny Gokey being sent home(Another Happy Dance Moment for me!).

Kris competed against Adam in the finale. While the gauntlet was drawn and nearly everybody expected Kris to be thrown under the bus with the judges favoring Adam, there was still hope. Kris performed 'Ain't No Sunshine' first as his reprise song. Kris made it more of his own style this time and declaring round one to be his by Simon Cowell. The second round was the producer's choice and Kris was given Marvin Gaye's soulful classic about social awareness 'What's Going On'. It recieved mixed reviews with the Judges stating that it was a poor song choice but he did the best he could do with it. Round two was declared in favor of Adam!

The coronation song 'No Boundaries' written by Kara DiaGuardi, Mitch Allan and Cathy Dennis. I so don't know what to say about this song. Of all the coronation song I've witnessed till now, this one takes the bottom spot. It's far too pop for Kris, it's something I would rather see Hannah Montana singing than Kris Allen. Therefore Round 3 was not declared to anyone and the judges chose not to judge the contestants on the song but on thier journey. Kris was told that watching him grow was incredible from the shy timid lad to the confident performer.

On May 20th Kris Allen was declared as eigthth American Idol. Nobody saw this coming! Heck nobody even thought he would make it to the finale. Everyone was predicting the last round to be between Danny and Adam or Danny and Alexis. But Kris won! And for the third time in a row, one of my picks has won!

Way to go, Kris! Way to go! Wishing you the very best for an amazing career ahead!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)

I Just Want To...

Verse 1
If I got down on my knees
And said that 'I love you',
Will you believe? Will you agree?

If I climbed on to your balcony
Be your personal Romeo,
Will you believe? Will you be pleased?

Chorus
Oh, anyway you want I'm ready
All you need to do is tell me
'Cuz I... All I wanna do is love you
I just want to love you
Anyway you want to

Verse 2
You're not to blame
I know you've been hurt before
I know it hurt you really bad
But believe me, I'm not like them

Won't ever let you cry; No!
No tear shall flow from your eyes

Chorus
Oh, anyway you want I'm ready
All you need to do is tell me
'Cuz I... All I wanna do is love you
I just want to love you
Anyway you want to

Bridge
When you need strength, I'll be there for you
When you need passion, I'll be there for you
And when you need some good good lov'in, I'll love you

Chorus
I just want to love you!
Just want to love you!
Anyway you want to!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)