Sober - P!NK

P!NK has pretty much always blown me away with her vocals skill. She's got this rich, deep, throaty voice which suits perfectly to her comfort zone of rock songs with raging anthems. However every once in a while she comes along with a power ballad that is just so good, you just can't help but to listen to it again. It pretty much becomes the 'Most Played' track on your music player.

P!NK released her fifth studio album and confirmed 'Sober' as her second single, I was pretty darn excited! This is definitely one of the best PINK songs that I've heard and the LIVE! performance falls nothing short of amazing, I specially liked the part towards the end when they break into a gospel style chorus! Forever P!NK!

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

Jordin Sparks (Deluxe Edition); Jordin Sparks

The Deluxe Edition of Spark's debut album hit the stores soon after the release of the original edition. It had the same tracklisting as of the previous and featured three new songs. Also the cover of the album was revised to this one, and this cover was carried on to albums that were sold after the launch of the second single 'No Air' ft. Chris Brown.

The three new tracks featured on the album are as follows;

1. Worth the Wait
2. Virginia is for Lovers
3. Save Me

'Worth the Wait' is a smooth R&B number, that displays the inner Mariah Carey of Sparks. She channels out the belts and harmonies with skilled perfection, with a required tenderness. This is a very wise choice on her part since she is not much a vocal powerhouse. Her territory lies in the lower register with a more pop sound feel.

The second song 'Virginia is for Lovers' is another pop song. It's not great, like the ones featured on her album. But is just likable enough for the ears to go through it.

'Save Me' is the real shine through song her. I was completely blown away by it. The strong drum score from the background is a perfect combination for this feet-stomper. Sparks delivers a strong front and gives the whole song a very 'army' feel. This track deserves to be on the album so badly, I would have loved it if this song was there instead of 'Freeze'.

If you can get the whole deal good for you, otherwise 'Save Me' is one song I'm definitely recommeding.

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

Decode - Paramore

Though I'm no big fan of Twilight, I'm not even a minor fan of Twilight. Infact I'd say I'm allergic to it, now you all maybe surprised to read this but yeah, it's true! I happen to be severely allergic to Twilight! But more on that later!

Anyhow when the Twilight craze with the world I was pretty darn sure that sooner or later someone would get the not-so-brilliant idea of making it into a movie! And I was right...but then it's something anyone would have accomplished since nowadays every other movie that gets released is either based on a famous novel or a comic book series!

So the movie was no surprise for me! But what did catch me off-guard was when I got to know that my beloved Paramore is recording a song for it. I have to admit my first reaction was negative, I'd hate to see them shot down with a sappy love ballad. But even then I looked forward to it just because at the end of the day it is Paramore!

Now the movie got released, the song gets available on the WWW so obviously I waste no time in downloading it. Five minutes later I'm in complete love with the song. Ten minutes later I'm telling all my friends to hear it now. Thirty minutes later I'm arguing with my best friend against watching the movie, still convinced it crap! But how can one resist free popcorn with extra butter?! So I agree and put myself through the misery of watching that utter crap of a movie...but yeah, the popcorn helped me immensely.

Anyhow so I ran into this LIVE! version of the song on Tuesday and I knew that this week it's going up on my blog! And here it is! Nobody can rock the house like Paramore. Nobody!!

I've added the official video for the song at the end, you can view that too at your pleasure!

Enjoy!!


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

Jordin Sparks; Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks won the sixth season of American Idol on May 27th 2007 against the beat-boxer, Blake Lewis. And ever since then, her debut album has been highly anticipated by the pop crowd. Being the first in the series to own the image of a pop artist perfectly, Sparks had a large crowd of devoted followers.

The album was released on November 20th 2007 and has plummeted Sparks to stardom. The album spawned four Top 20 Billboard singles, one Top 10 Billboard singles and one Top 3 Billboard singles. Sparks worked with the crowd who have previously written songs for the likes of Destiny's Child, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and the more recent Katy Perry. Two more collaborators worth mentioning are the young hip-hop star, Chris Brown: and the swedish Grammy nomiated artist, Robyn. With such a talented bunch behind her, Sparks no wonder gave one of the best pop albums of all time. The song choices were perfect, her vocals were spot-on, the singles were chart-toppers. What more could a person ask for?!

The tracklisting for the album are as follows;

1. Tattoo
2. One Step at a Time
3. No Air ft. Chris Brown
4. Freeze
5. Shy Boy
6. Now You Tell Me
7. Next To You
8. Just For The Record
9. Permanent Monday
10. Young and in Love
11. See My Side
12. God Loves Ugly
13. This Is My Now

As mentioned earlier on, the song choice is remarkable. All of the songs have given Sparks the base she needed to propell herself into the air waves. Upbeat tracks like 'Young and in Love' and 'Shy Boy' express the hip-hop orientated side of Sparks extremely well, they really make you want to dance. 'See My Side' which happens to have Robyn as one of featured writers on the album is a pop song, which seems to fit extremely well. Sparks can handle pop tunes with the proficency of a skilled craftsman, it's no wonder that track like 'Tattoo' and 'One Step at a Time' gained success quickly.

Further on the album, Sparks displays her R&B friendly side more with the likes of tracks like 'Next To You', 'Just for the Record' and 'Now You Tell Me'. Her soulful side, which was the primary reason she was my favorite in the sixth season comes across like a breath of fresh air in song like 'Permenant Monday' and 'No Air'. The latter is a particular favorite of many people, the collaboration with Chris Brown was a stroke of genius. They both seem to push eachother to the better ranges of their voice. Inputted are the required emotion and the melody is strings the heart. It's one of the most beautiful songs of 2008.

'God Loves Ugly' seems to be picked up from the Disney shelf, and is a tongue-in-cheek tuned to melody response to the numerous shout-outs made to the general public accusing Sparks of being over-weight when she was on Idol. 'This Is My Now' is the main reason she managed to take the crown from Blake Lewis, is the last track on the album and is the perfect closing material. It encapsules the idea that Sparks is headed for fame and recognition. The debut album was definitely a success. Great going, Sparks!

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

My Favorite Dances from Season 5!!

Jason & Jeanine - Contemporary - Travis Wall - If It Kills Me (The Casanova Session)



Kupono & Kayla - Contemporary - Mia Michaels - Gravity



Brandon & Jeanine - Paso Doble - Louis van Amstel - Tetsujin



Brandon & Janette - Argentine Tango - Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo - Libertango



Ade & Melissa - Contemporary - Tyce Diorio - This Woman's Work



Evan & Randi - Contemporary - Mia Michaels - Koop Island Blues



Philip & Jeanine - Hip Hop - Tabitha & Napolean D'umo - Mad



Jason & Kayla - Hip Hop - Shane Sparks - They're Everywhere



Max & Kayla - Samba - Louis van Amstel - Jum Bah Day



Ade & Janette - Hip Hop - Tabitha & Napolean D'umo - Love Sex Magic



Brandon & Jeanine - Pop Jazz - Laurie Ann Gibson - Battlefield



Brandon & Kayla - Disco - Doriana Sanchez - Dance (Disco Heat)



Brandon & Janette - Disco - Doriana Sanchez -Loving Is Really My Game



Evan & Randi - Jive - Louis van Amstel - Shake A Tail Feather



Ade & Melissa - Disco - Doriana Sanchez -Move On Up

- Cheers

So You Think You Can Dance - Group Dances

Top 5 Girl - Bollywood - Nakul Dev Mahajan - Dholna



Top 3 Boys - Jazz - Sonya Tayeh - True Romance

Susan Boyle; A Sensation?!

Anyone who keeps himself updated with the latest happenings in the world is definitely no stranger to Susan Boyle. She made her first appearance in Britain's Got Talent. Though the initial reaction was sarcastic and she was ridiculed upon her appearance but the moment she started singing, I was dazed! Only to get out of it in time to see her getting a standing ovation from the crowd and the judges.

She progressed extremely well through out the competition but unfortunately(And surprisingly) was not able to win the whole deal. But coming to what I see, it was a scam! A total scam!

No doubt she really talented, but a talent like her isn't taught or learned. In my opinion, such talent is born. And besides this, her obvious lack of physical beauty was displayed very openly through out the series. I'm pretty sure there is a huge array of stylists back stage that could have worked their magic and within seconds have given her a make-over. But no such thing happened. But soon after the competition, Boyle did happen to go under a make-over.

I'm a big fan of reality television but make no mistake, even in their world everything isn't portrayed adequately. It's like that certain facts are down-played while certain other are made prominent all in the favor of bumping up the ratings and viewership. In this case, it's to be noted that during Boyle's introduction she was shown to be an old frumpy lady, having the sole company of her cat and with a slightly bewildered mannerism.

Boyle became an international sensation even though she did not win her specific season. But you can bet with complete surety, that she's headed for fame and success. She's already signed a record deal and her debut album is slated for a release in November. Besides an upcoming album, she will also be going on a tour in US. She's made several appearances on various talk shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show( Check here) and Good Morning America. There is even an on going rumor that she will be appearing on one of the result show of the ninth season of American Idol( Hint; Simon) to perform as a celebrity.

Even during her stint on Britain's Got Talent, she garnered a lot of attention. Her appearance a way for a seperate channel on YouTube for Britain's Got Talent and her own audition video had been viewed over 100 million times within a week of her first appearence. Now that's got to be something!

Boyle definitely has taken the world by storm and her name has become a phrase of success. Any singing act that people find appealing is termed as the Next Susan Boyle. Give me a break, guys!

The reality television got two of their most famous personalities in the first half of '09, Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent and Adam Lambert from American Idol. And there will be sometime before we get another one of those. Till then the spotlight is on them!

Cheers!

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

Gene Simmons Is My Daddy

Not mine, he's Amanda Summers' daddy! Just dig in guys and you'll be laughing your face off! Even if you don't watch Ugly Betty and have absolutely no idea who are Amanda( Becki Newton) and Marc( Michael Urie), I'm sure once you've viewed this video you'll go scrambling all over YouTube to find more of their scenes or maybe even start watching Ugly Betty.

And will someone please give this girl an Emmy!!

Ugly Betty wouldn't be half as popular with the weird and silly antics of Maranda( Marc and Amanda), though they lack any emotional romantic to each other but their chemistry kicks butt of nearly every other couple out there! Go Maranda!

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

Hot Hot Hot Hot!! Simply Irresistibly Hot!!

This dance is so freak'in hot, it's unbelievable! I guess that's because the girls totally completely absolutely over-power the guys in this number, especially Kayla and Melissa(I never knew she could be so darn seductive!) that they completely knock it out of the ball park.

And being choreographed by Dmitri Chaplin, it's a sure guy pleaser!! More Dmitri Chaplin routines please! ;)

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

Because Of You - Kelly Clarkson

Okay I might as well change the blog's name to KellyClarkson.com or something along those lines, after all the posts I've done pertaining to her. But I just can't help it! I just have to view every single thing related to her on youtube and that's when I stumbled upon this! And you can't blame me, after all she IS the first American Idol! She IS an international sensation! She IS ridiculously awesome!

So this week the LIVE performance I'm putting up here is none other than of Ms.Clarkson herself! And people viewing this should note about what I said earlier about her doing extremely well in her stripped back, non-glammed, classy self! She's got the vocals so why in the world she needs any stupid gimmick to sell herself?! Heck no!!

Check her out, guys!! She's definitely and always will be one of the best music personalities out there! And though there have been seven more Idol, Clarkson still takes my number one spot!

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