Now Playing: Janine And The Mixtape

Yes friends, it's time for more music that is new to me and possibly to you too. I've all but lost hope in the Amazon free MP3 section but luckily SoundCloud has graced me with some new music recently.

The artist is called Janine and The Mixtape. According to her SoundCloud bio she writes, plays and produces her own beats. Pretty cool I think. Plus she has a nice voice and some good songs. In my opinion she has a very smooth R&B/Pop feel. Similar to the artist Nylo who I talked about in this post. Anyway, give her a listen for yourself down below.

Now Playing: Nylo - Cocaine Hearts

More music for your listening pleasure. Aren't you excited?!

Anyway, I honestly can't remember how/when I first discovered Nylo. Possibly on Spotify this time around. Usually I find my new music on Amazon but since they've changed their MP3 store setup I rarely even search there anymore. I guess Nylo could be described as a mix between soul, R&B, electro, alternative and maybe a few others. Bottom line is she's got a great voice and good music. What else really matters right? Oh, and you can download her songs for free on SoundCloud and free is always good. 

Give her a listen!

Newly Discovered Music: Jillette Johnson

New to me, maybe not so new to you.....

Yes, it's time for me to once again put you on to an artist you may not have heard about before. For once my discovery isn't from Amazon.com (ps: They all but erased the free mp3 section...smh). I found Jillette Johnson's music via a Facebook link for some magazine (can't remember which, sorry) listing the top 10 most underrated albums/artists of 2013. The list included her song 'Torpedo' which I instantly loved. I decided to head over to Spotify and listen to the rest of her album 'Water in a Whale' and I liked what I heard. My favorite song of hers is 'Pauvre Couer' with 'Cameron' as a close second. As a side note, another favorite of mine Tori Kelly was also on the list.

Give a listen for yourself if you haven't already or if you want to again....

Music Monday: Tori Kelly

Time for another installment of Music Monday. Today's feature is 'Dear No One' by Tori Kelly from her Foreword EP. I like her, I like the song and hopefully you will too if you don't already. 'Dear No One' is basically a love song to your future soul mate. Cool concept if you ask me. Enjoy!

Here's Tori performing an acoustic version of 'Dear No One' on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (honestly I prefer the original).

Music Monday: Amel Larrieux - For Real

I randomly found this song on Spotify. Although 'Tell Me' by Groove Theory will forever be one of my all time favorite songs, I haven't followed Amel's career so I didn't realize this song was a few years older. I believe it came out in 2004 on her 'Bravebird' album. Either way I'm obsessed with it now. Listen for yourself if you haven't already. Enjoy!

Newly Discovered Music: Banks

Welp! Amazon has done it again. Yet another discovery made while browsing the mp3 section is this lovely lady called Banks. I listened to a preview of one of her songs called 'Waiting Game' and instantly loved her. Naturally I went over to Spotify to find more of her songs in full. I really don't have much to say about Banks other than I just really, really like the vibe of her music. I'm not sure which genre of music this would be considered but honestly, who cares? I like it regardless. I wasn't able to find much information about Banks (i.e. didn't look very hard) but to my understanding she's a new artist so there isn't much to be found at this point. Give her a listen for yourself.

Music Review: Travis Garland

Recently, Travis Garland released his self titled album to the masses. I had listened to some of his music before and even had a couple of his songs on my iPod but I wasn't really going crazy with anticipation waiting for the album. Anyway, I decided to listen to those little 1:30 previews over on iTunes and I really liked what I heard. Enough to spend my little $7.99 (also available on Amazon.com for the same album price but only .99 cents per song).

I'd definitely consider this album to be R&B/Pop. Heavier on the R&B side if you ask me but I'm not complaining. I think Travis is definitely of the "blue eyed soul" variety. If you like artists such as Jojo, Leah LaBelle, Justin Timberlake, etc. then you'll probably like him. Though Travis' music is a bit edgier and more risque if you will (notice the explicit content label). Either way, check it out for yourself!

Track List:

1. Where to Land
2. Motel Pool
3. Easy
4. Abby Lee
5. Clouds
6. Pullin' My Hair
7. You Made Your Bed (So Lay in It)
8. Neighbor
9. Other People
10. Modern Life
11. AllSheWannaDo
12. Homewrecker
13. Blue Electric Roses
14. Chariots of Fire
****iTunes Exclusive Track****
15. 1 of 1

Music Monday: Birdy

I actually discovered this young lady quite some time ago but for some reason I never thought to make a blog post about her. Weird. Anyway, is another young artist I discovered once again while browsing the free MP3 section on Amazon.com. I'm telling you, they have some good stuff over there. You don't hear me though.

Birdy is a 17 year old singer/piano player from the UK. That's about as much of a bio as you're going to get from me. I'm only here from the music. My favorite song that she does is 'People Help the People'. I saw a YouTube comment that another song she does is a remake but I never bothered to check for sure so who knows. Either way, I enjoy her version. Give a listen for yourself.

Another one I really like is 'Without a Word' (actually I think I like it more than People Help the People)

Newly Discovered Music: AlunaGeorge

That's right, more randomly discovered music for your listening pleasure. I was once again over on Amazon.com browsing the free MP3s but there was nothing that caught my interest. AlunaGeorge was a part of my recommendations based on previous searches. I'm not sure what made me hit play, sometimes I just like the cover art. Who knows?

Anyway, after doing minimal research I found that AlunaGeorge is a group from the UK made up of a young lady named Aluna and a young man named George. Aluna does the singing from what I can tell and George, well, I'm not entirely sure what his role is. Producing? I honestly couldn't tell you. Their music is something of a mix between pop, R&B, electronica, etc. Hard to describe but it's definitely catchy. They also do a remix to Montell Jordan's 'This Is How We Do It' which is pretty cool. Check them out!

Newly Discovered Music: Lorde

Have I mentioned how much I love finding new music? Well I do. Maybe it's not new to you but it is to me. In this edition I'm talking about a young lady called Lorde. I say young because she honestly doesn't look much over 16 to me but I actually have no idea how old she is. Anyway, I was turned on to Lorde by someone on my Twitter feed mentioning her. I decided to check out her website and listen for myself. I liked what I heard and decided to download a couple of her songs. Lorde has an EP out called 'The Love Club' and I definitely recommend it. 'Royals' is the single but 'Bravado' is my favorite.

Newly Discovered Music: Jessie Ware - Sweet Talk

Yet another artist and song discovered in Amazon.com's free mp3 section. You really should check it out sometime if you haven't. They have some decent music over there. This was supposed to be a 'Music Monday' post but I was so busy I just didn't have the time so here we are. I really don't have anything to say about Jessie Ware, I just want to share this song with others who might enjoy it as much as I do. The song is called 'Sweet Talk' from Jessie's album 'Devotion.' Happy listening!

Music Monday: Alice Smith

Alice Smith is yet another artist I discovered while browsing the free mp3 section over on Amazon.com. The song available at the time was called 'Cabaret' which I've grown to really love so of course it's on repeat on my iPod. I haven't listened to much of her music but I really like her voice.

Here's Alice giving a live performance of Cabaret. She sounds amazing live! 

Music Monday: Delta Rae

I first heard of the group Delta Rae when I was browsing the free mp3 downloads over on Amazon.com. The song available was called 'Bottom of the River' which I love. I decided to listen to some of their other music and found that they have quite a few songs that I really like. I've added two of my favorite songs below. Give them a listen.

Newly Discovered Music: Wynter Gordon

I've never heard of Wynter Gordon before but I recently heard a song of hers that I really like. If you watch the show Chef Roble & Co you've heard the song called Stimela by Wynter on the latest episode during the Mataano fashion show. I remember thinking that I really liked the song and luckily Chef Roble tweeted the name and artist after someone asked about it. Anyway, I looked her up on Facebook and she has some free downloads available as well as paid songs on iTunes and Amazon. Honestly, there's a few of her songs I like but I'm not yet sure if I like them enough to download.

Here's the video for 'Stimela'

New Music: Beyonce - Bow Down/I Been On

Unless you've been living under a rock today, you've probably heard that new music from King Bey is making the rounds all over the internet. I didn't expect a song like this from Beyonce but she's definitely channeling her inner ratchet with this one. Either way, I'm not mad at it. I really don't have much else to say. If you haven't already, give it a listen below.....

Justin Timberlake Song Medley

Timberweek went out with a bang when Justin Timberlake ended his week long run of appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon by performing a medley of his hits from his first two albums Justified and Future Sex/Love Sounds. JT has been appearing on the show all week in preparation for the release of his third solo album The 20/20 Experience which drops Tuesday, March 19th. If you missed it, take a look below.

Favorite Song of the Moment: JoJo - Andre

Now that I'm trying to get back into blogging on a regular basis, I've decided to start a new series to highlight my favorite song or songs of the moment. Generally when I find a new song that I like I'm stuck on it for quite a while but it can also easily change or I'll have multiple songs on repeat on my iPod.

The first song in the series is 'Andre' by Jojo, who you already know I love if you've been following my blog or if you follow me on Twitter. The song is from Jojo's latest mixtape 'Agape.' Honestly, I'm not a big fan of this mixtape other than this song but her first mixtape 'Can't Take That Away From Me' is one of my absolute favorites.

Give 'Andre' a listen if you haven't already, you won't regret it.

Newly Discovered Music: Conor Maynard & Leah Labelle

This will (hopefully) be a short blog post about two new artists that I've recently discovered and so far I like what I hear. First up is Leah LaBelle. I'd heard Leah's name a few times here and there but never really bothered to look her up and listen to her music. Recently another artist that I love, Jojo, broadcast a concert from her living room online in which Leah made an appearance and they did a duet of John Legend's 'Ordinary People.' This was my first time hearing Leah's voice and I must say I like what I heard. I decided to look up a few of her songs and happened to find one that's pretty much been on repeat for days called 'Sexify.' If you haven't heard of Leah LaBelle I'd definitely recommend giving her a listen if you're into Pop music with an R&B feel (a similar vibe to Jojo if you will). Take a peek at her video for 'Sexify' below.

Next up is a guy named Conor Maynard. I first heard of Conor when his song 'Animal' was featured as the free song of the week on iTunes. It's definitely a fun party song in my opinion. I looked up a few of his other songs and there's quite a few that I really like. According to Spotify's description he's been hailed as "the British answer to Justin Bieber" which honestly made me throw up in my mouth a little but I digress. I suppose they have similar styles of music but whatever. I think Conor has a more mature tone to his music and there's definitely some sexual references here and there. Anyway, if you haven't heard of him, take a listen below and enjoy!

Newly Discovered Music: Emeli Sande & Kimbra

I was browsing the free section of Amazon MP3s and discovered these ladies. Emeli Sande from the UK and Kimbra from New Zealand. In my experience, the free music on Amazon is lame but I was pleasantly surprised by these two ladies. After doing minimal research I found out that Kimbra is the singer featured at the end of the Gotye song 'Somebody That I Used to Know.' The songs that were free on Amazon were 'Where I Sleep' from Emeli Sande's Our Version of Events and 'Settle Down' from Kimbra's Vows albums.

In my opinion, Emeli's voice sounds similar to Jordin Sparks who I also really like. I also think that Emeli has some really good lyrics though I'm not sure if she writes her own music or not. Something about Kimbra's music just has a cool vibe to me and all of her songs seem to be pretty different so it's difficult to categorize her. Either way, I'm really liking them both. Take a listen....

I wasn't able to find a video for 'Where I Sleep' so here's one for 'Heaven'

Kimbra 'Settle Down'

Review: The MTV VMAs

I really don't have much to say about the VMAs so I'm gonna try to make this as brief as possible. There was a lot of good and bad with this year's show, mostly bad. From the ridiculous wardrobe choices to the decision not to have a host, there was a lot going on. As far as the actual awards I really didn't pay much attention because MTV is such a joke that there's really no point in taking them seriously. I mean, they don't even play music videos anymore so who would take them seriously? Also, these days most awards shows are more of a popularity contest rather than an accurate judgment of talent. But I digress.

Let me start with the stuff I hated. Nicki Minaj's outfit, Katy Perry's multiple outfits and whatever it is that Lady Gaga did. That performance was mediocre at best and I feel like she kept up the whole dude act for entirely too long. One segment would have been more than enough. Also, I didn't find Kevin Hart to be that funny as the non-host of the evening and the dry audience didn't help matters.

About those so called "tributes" to Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears? Stop. Seriously, MTV just needs to stop. The Amy tribute was lame and very forgettable. But Britney? The fact that MTV turned Britney's moment into her pimping Beyonce was just ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I love Bey but I don't think she should have had to combine her vanguard award win with announcing Bey's performance. I also felt that Gaga in drag took away from her moment as well. It was all so unnecessary.

Now for the performances. Gaga opening was, meh. Adele was nice and simple but I kind of wish she sang a different song but whatever. The Jay-Z and Kanye performance looked like someone just ran up to them in the audience and asked them to jump on stage real quick. Clearly it was thrown together last minute. One of the highlights for me was Jessie J rocking out in the chair with a cast on. She has a great voice and hopefully will get more recognition soon. I also love that she sang Firework better than Katy Perry ever did. That random new rock group performance? Whatever. The Britney dancers were cool and Bruno Mars was decent but nothing to get excited about. Lil' Wayne closing the show was disappointing at best. Those zebra print jeggings hanging off his ass while he ran around the stage looking crazy was just outrageous. Have SEVERAL seats sir. Chris Brown was just.....I mean, the dancing was good but the LEAST he could have done was pretend to sing in the microphone.

In my opinion, the best performance/moment of the night was Beyonce. For starters, Love on Top is one of my favorite songs from '4' so I was already happy when she started singing that. The performance wasn't too over the top and crazy, it was just enough. And of course showing off her baby bump and the end was cute then Jay and Kanye's reactions in the audience made it even better. LOVED the sexual chocolate microphone drop by the way.

Other than that, I really don't have much to say about the show. Overall, it was decent enough for what it was and as usual the Twitter commentary was more entertaining than the actual show.