Ella Henderson - The First Time

Hollyoaks does wonders for my British music collection. Reminds me of Leona Lewis, another success story whose career was catapulted by a singing competition show. This music artist has a fantastic voice who needs to be put on more fantastic songs. I had difficulty finding a track of hers that did much for me melody-wise but this one was the catchiest of the ones I heard.
Note: HD upload!

Ella Henderson - The First Time:

Darren Hayes - Neverland

This song is like… wow. I’ll try to restrain myself in going into all the ways this song is brilliant, from the production to the vocals to the lyrics, but let it suffice to say it’s told from the perspective of the artist himself when he was a child, and does a brilliant job of capturing the dark dichotomy of a thought process that is simultaneously innocent and violent, childlike and disturbed, upon witnessing his father abuse his mother. I suppose this warrants a trigger warning or something for domestic violence.
Note: Praise be for HD quality!

Darren Hayes - Neverland:

Tori Kelly - Unbreakable Smile

I heard this enterprising young artist through a YouTube video she did with Superfruit (two members of Pentatonix, the a cappella group whose music I’ve posted a few times). It was a mostly speaking video, but she let loose a little sampling of her vocals and I was instantly impressed. Her singing skills are the real deal and I hoped I’d be able to find official song releases by her. In that search, I came across this! The lyrics are so obviously from her honest self and outline her career goals and outlook on life. The lyrics seem almost stream of consciousness, but I like that it’s a deviation from the norm. I like its positivity and sincerity as well.
Note: This is the official (one-take!) music video, with HD quality!

Tori Kelly - Unbreakable Smile:

Lebo M., Maxi Anderson, Max Ngcobo, Khanyo Maphumulo, Khululiwe Sithole, and Rose Stone - He Lives in You

I just saw the live musical production of The Lion King, FINALLY. It reminded me of how much I love the movie and the music. The show included a number of songs that aren’t in the movie but that I knew because they were included on a “followup” CD I owned of music inspired by the movie called Rhythm of the Pride Lands. I may have been even more obsessed with it than the official soundtrack, because the songs are so beautiful and moving. Many implement choirs, African instruments, and non-English languages. This was one of my favorite songs from it, and I’m honestly surprised I haven’t posted this before.
Note: You can listen in HD!

Lebo M., Maxi Anderson, Max Ngcobo, Khanyo Maphumulo, Khululiwe Sithole, and Rose Stone - He Lives in You:

Melanie Martinez - Mrs. Potato Head:

Man, this artist is really growing on me lately. My friend who's a big fan recommended this song in particular to me and let me have a listen. The melody doesn't sound radically different from her others, but I really appreciated this song for its lyrics. It criticizes our culture of emphasizing physical attractiveness in women & girls, especially for the pressure it puts on young girls to alter their appearance, and imposing unreasonable beauty standards that encourage fakeness. Like a Potato Head doll, faces end up being plastic composites of manufactured features that are the same because they're "acceptable", homogenizing the population's appearance.
Note: HD quality is available!

Melanie Martinez - Mrs. Potato Head:

Glen Campbell - I’m Not Going to Miss You

This is one of the most conceptually sad songs I’ve ever heard. I actually didn’t know who this country music star of years past was until fairly recently, when his songs were played (and deconstructed) on the podcast The Todd Glass Show. This song was among those played and explained. The artist wrote it after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, and the lyrics are clearly written in light of that harsh reality. Through them, he expresses gratitude for the bittersweet expectation that he won’t have to undergo the more painful aspects of love because he won’t love his loved ones, or even know them, anymore.
Note: This is the official music video, with HD!

Glen Campbell - I’m Not Going to Miss You:

Lavika - Вечный рай

Despite my dislike of the saxophone, I like this song. I found it by YouTube surfing. At first it sounds like likeable pop dance music, but as the song continues it grows on me more and more. So sue me!

Lavika A.K.A. Лавика - Вечный рай [Bechneuyi Rayi - Eternal Paradise]:

Huang Yida - 一秒的安慰

Wowwwwwwwww, this song! I’ve known it for years but had all but forgotten about it! I even know the lyrics and how to play it on the piano. I think it’s the first song I heard by this artist, whom one of my friends introduced me to the music of years ago. This song is apparently from the Taiwanese drama Devil Beside You, which I’ve never seen.

Huang Yida A.K.A. 黃義達 - 一秒的安慰 [Yi Miao De An Wei - A Moment of Consolation]:

The Secret Sisters - Iuka

I heard this song playing before a concert that I recently worked. It’s yet another country song with a dark flourish. Like many other country songs, it also has a linear narrative format, which is kinda cool. Gotta love that fiddle for the little sprinklings of intensity, too.
Note: I had a hard time finding this song at all, but when I did it had HD!

The Secret Sisters - Iuka:

Sticky Fingaz feat. Eminem - What If I Was White?

I hope you like irreverent humor. If not, you probably won’t enjoy this hip hop song that banks on racial stereotypes. Of course, part of the joke is that the song features an artist whose whiteness has always been a topic of much conversation. Naturally, in its humor it touches on a sociopolitical commentary about the state of being a black man in the U.S., and applies some subversiveness by turning the lens onto whiteness.

Sticky Fingaz feat. Eminem - What If I Was White?:

The Internet - Just Sayin

This song appeals to my vindictive side, and I’m relating to the song a bit lately. This artist is kinda like The Weeknd—if you ignore the lyrics, we all good. Her voice is like Jhené Aiko’s, enticingly sweet without even trying. If profanity in song lyrics bothers you you might want to skip this one.
Note: HD quality is goooood!

The Internet - Just Sayin:

Submersed - Life Without You

I listened to only a handful of songs by this artist, at most, a matter of years ago and then didn’t look much further. Recently, though, I decided to revisit their music and listened to this and some other songs of theirs. Their signature is the singer’s nice falsetto, so I chose another song where it’s showcased a bit. It also features a brief section where he sings in a lower register than usual—variety within one song!

 Submersed - Life Without You:

Ruelle - Take It All

I heard this in the trailer for The Leftovers. It seems like this artist may be the new go-to person for moody music to accompany similarly moody shows. Purty.
Note: Dude, sweet HD.

Ruelle - Take It All:

Thomas Newman - The Piano Duet

This understated little piano piece comes from one of my favorite films, Road to Perdition. The first time I watched the film, which was when I was rather young, I went on a fervent search to find the sheet music to this piece shortly afterward. I had to have it. I think I didn’t actually find it until years later, but I felt victorious nonetheless.

Thomas Newman - The Piano Duet:


The movie scene with the duet is here:

Ayako Ikeda - 白いギフト

This artist has a voice with one of the purest sounds I’ve ever heard. So nice I can hardly stand it! Those high notes are what signaled her a winner in my book the first time I heard her, which was through the previous song I posted by her. After that, I acquired her album Lunar Soup and found her voice to be unfalteringly pretty.

Ayako Ikeda A.K.A. 池田 綾子 - 白いギフト [Shiroi Gifuto - White Gift]:

Michael Bublé - Cry Me a River

I’ve known of this artist for many years, as have many people, because for some reason despite not performing a genre of music that’s mainstream these days, he’s managed to garnered mainstream name recognition. This song, too, is well-known since the 1950s and has been covered by many artists over the years. I think the version I’ve heard most is Ella Fitzgerald’s, for whom it was originally written. I heard this cover only a few weeks ago in a restaurant and liked it primarily for its instrumentation. Snazzy and bold!
Note: You can listen in HD!

Michael Bublé - Cry Me a River:

Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat

I wasn’t feeling this artist as much as everyone else seemed to, but I heard this song playing at a concert during the waiting period and I looked it up immediately. It’s from the soundtrack of one of the The Hunger Games movies, none of which I’ve seen. It is kinda cool that an artist from New Zealand has a viable career in the U.S., and her songs have unconventional lyrics for pop music.
Note: HD quality is here!

Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat:

Passenger - David

I worked at a concert for this artist the other night. Prior to that, I think I’d only heard one song by him, his big hit “Let Her Go,” and thought it was all right. I’m glad I stayed for his full show, because I liked the other songs he performed more. This might have been my favorite, and that’s not even including the pretty strings in this version, because his live performance only involved him and his acoustic guitar. Normally the voice is the standout feature of music to me, but with him it was his poetic lyrics and instrumentals that impressed me. His guitaring was beautiful and although it was the only instrument in the show it filled the room. He came across as another of those mild-mannered British dudes filled with cynicism, which people seem to love. He also swore a lot and a tiny bit of that found its way into this song. He explained that he wrote it about a homeless man who hung out outside a hostel and told the artist his life story.
Note: Lovely in HD!

Passenger - David:

Dido - Take My Hand

Part of this song plays in my head randomly sometimes, and until now I couldn’t remember what it was from. OMG! This has been going on for years, and I haven’t listened to the best-selling album this song is on, No Angel, in ages, but when I was a kid I played it tons of times so I guess that’s what stuck it in my head so permanently that it surfaces in my mind with a surprising degree of frequency. I also didn’t realize that this artist authored this and many other songs herself along with her brother as a song-writing/producing duo.

 Dido - Take My Hand:

I-Wayne feat. Lady G - Jealousy and Abuse

It’s surprisingly difficult to tell apart the two artists’ voices in this song. The song title is a pretty literal description of the also-literal lyrics, which are about unhealthy relationships. It’s a pretty catchy tune for such a downer of a topic.
Note: HD upload acquired!

I-Wayne feat. Lady G - Jealousy and Abuse:

Tasha Reid - 검은 행복

Even though I knew of this emcee who dominates the Korean hip hop landscape for a while, I didn’t know she was half-Black. In Korea, where her career is based, that really means something. This song is about the discrimination she faced growing up in Korea and how she overcame the internalized racism through her love of music.
Note: Weird; I was struggling to find this song available in even decent quality, and then somehow found this in HD.

Tasha Reid A.K.A. 윤미래 - 검은 행복 [Keomeun Haengbok - Black Happiness]:


Here’s the music video with English subtitles, albeit poor ones:

Shawn Mendes - Something Big

This artist is another of those young up-and-coming pop stars. I came across his music through YouTube surfing, and first stumbled across one of his music videos, which was kind of interesting. Turns out it was the work of a music video director whose videos I’ve posted numerous times before, as I tend to like his videos. Anyway, this singer has a nice voice and his songs are very radio-friendly. I almost feel like he’s going for an Ed Sheeran sound in some of his songs.
Note: This upload has HD!

Shawn Mendes - Something Big:

Péter Szabó Szilvia - Soha ne Mondd

Finally, some Hungarian pop! I came across this artist through YouTube surfing. She collaborated on some music with a Polish artist I was looking up the music of. It seems like this artist is really popular in her home country.
Note: This is the official music video, with HD quality!

Péter Szabó Szilvia - Soha ne Mondd [Never Say]:

Blueneck - Lilitu

Whoa. I wasn’t intending to find a song like this. I was YouTube surfing for relaxing instrumental progressive rock-type music so that I could concentrate on my work, but after a bit of clicking on the Related Videos on YouTube I was led to this. I assumed it would be more of the same, but instead it captivated my attention thanks to the vocals and strings. It reminds me of some music composed by Yoko Kanno, and not just because the artist’s voice resembles Scott Matthew’s.

Blueneck - Lilitu:

Sara Tavares - Só d’Imagina

This song is so calm and yet so pretty! I think the lyrics are in a Portuguese creole, but I haven’t found confirmation of this and I don’t know if there’s an official name for it, so I’m just gonna put down the language as Portuguese, as I did for the previous song of hers that I posted.
Note: HD quality is available!

Sara Tavares - Só d’Imagina [Only of Imagination]:

JJ Lin - 第二天堂

I went to an Asian dessert place today and shortly after I came in they started playing a bunch of songs by this artist. I got excited because, although he’s one of my favorites, I hadn’t listened to him in a while and had practically forgotten about him. He’s ridiculously prolific, releasing an album almost every day since his career’s inception, so it’s hard to keep up with all his music. I decided to go with a song from one of his earlier albums for this post, because I think I’ve never posted a song from it before. I think this song was used to promote a video game, hence the war sounds that occur partway through the song.

JJ Lin A.K.A. 林俊傑 - 第二天堂 [Di Er Tian Tang - Second Heaven]:

P!NK - Stupid Girls

This artist, a longtime idol of mine, has floated into my periphery multiple times within the past 2 days, and I’m taking that as a sign: it’s time to post a song of hers again. Today she was a trending topic because in light of the recent VMA ceremony she criticized the state of today’s most visible music, calling it ”trash” that “won’t save any kid’s life.” That loudmouth, brash attitude is part of what I love so much about her, and I have to say I’m mostly in agreement with her. Fun fact, related to another recent post: Kelly Clarkson said P!NK’s voice is the best of our generation. This song may or may not be related to the kind of thing she was complaining about in regard to the VMAs… It encourages girls to be trailblazers and aim for intelligence, rather than relegating themselves to a position of servitude and desperate approval-seeking through their appearance and objectification. The lyrics have profanity and mature content.

P!NK - Stupid Girls:


Here’s the official music video, which illustrates the song’s meaning with some specific, unsubtle celebrity examples:

Wordsworth - What We Gon’ Do

One of my favorite hip hop albums is this artist’s Mirror Music. This song is about how life can get overwhelming sometimes. The world is full of problems we don’t have solutions to, and the weight of it all, especially when the problems are taken into account all at once, can discourage and exhaust you in inaction. The lazy beat makes me feel like it’s a sluggish, demotivatingly hot day, and instills a sensation of lassitude reflective of the song’s defeatist tone in the face of the daunting task of addressing all the problems. It’s tiring to even think about, so people tend to sit back and accept them, waiting for someone else to answer the question of what to do, so long as no solutions readily present themselves. They find it easier to make excuses for their inaction or shy away from their issues.

 Wordsworth - What We Gon’ Do:

Kelly Clarkson - Piece by Piece

More mainstream music! I recently attended a concert of this mega artist, and she performed this song, which I’d never heard before. It was touching in its personal meaning, and Kelly got choked up a few times while singing it, saying, “I shouldn’t have gone on tour while pregnant!” This song title was the name of her tour, so she HAD to perform it. She did a stripped down, acoustic version live, which I prefer over this version, but oh well. She has some harsh words for her father in this track, comparing him to her partner as a man and herself as a parent.
Note: This is the official upload of the song, with HD!

Kelly Clarkson - Piece by Piece:

Ne-Yo - Closer

This song is suuuper mainstream and everybody knows it, but I’m posting it anyway because I LIKE IT. The chorus gets so stuck in my head and I just can’t stop, I just can’t stop…
Note: This lyrics video has HD quality.

Ne-Yo - Closer: