Sóley - Kill the Clown

I came across this Icelandic artist by YouTube surfing. It’s interesting that I can hear similarities in her style to two prominent musical acts also from Iceland, Sigur Rós and Björk. I’m not crazy about her music, but it’s aiight.

Sóley - Kill the Clown:

PackFM - Lessons

I don't necessarily agree with the point of this song--convincing people that education is useless is pretty counterproductive, IMO... not everyone can be a talented (or more importantly, successful) lyricist. But you gotta admit it's pretty funny. I'm quite fond of this hip hop artist, and this is one of my favorite songs by him. There is some profanity.  One of my favorite moments was when I saw him in concert and he got off the stage and came right over to where I was standing--no people in between him & me--and continued to perform a few songs right there. And the audience members were polite enough to NOT maul me!

PackFM - Lessons:

Jane Zhang - 给不起的爱

I posted a song by this Chinese singer before, but that was a sad, dramatic ballad. Here's a taste of her more upbeat, R&B-style music!  It reminds me of the music that was popular (and that I liked) in the 90s.

Jane Zhang A.K.A. 张靓颖 - 给不起的爱 [Gei Bu Qi de Ai - Unaffordable Love]:

30 Seconds to Mars - Bad Romance

I was pleasantly surprised by this band's cover of Lady Gaga's popular song. I like both artists, I just didn't expect the genre crossover to work so well. I really like the original, but I also like this reimagining of the song.

30 Seconds to Mars - Bad Romance:

Aṣa - So Beautiful

I came across this artist by YouTube surfing; the first track I came across was instrumental, so I didn’t know anything about the artist. It wasn’t until I looked up her other music, which has a considerably different feel to it from the first track, that I knew anything about her. This is a love song for her mother. I like how the style of the song switches throughout.
Note: Somebody was cool enough to upload the song in a video that shows the English translation of the Yoruba lyrics!

Aṣa - So Beautiful:

Gérald De Palmas - Au Paradis

I came across this artist when I was YouTube surfing for French music not long ago. The first song I heard  by him I just thought was “eh, all right” so tonight I looked around for other songs by him on YouTube and found this one, which I like quite a bit more. I like the guitar and bass in this song, which is odd ‘cause that’s something I don’t normally pay attention to.
Note: It just so happens that the video of this song I found was available in HD, unlike the other songs by him I found!

Gérald De Palmas - Au Paradis [To Paradise]:

Yoko Kanno - Piece by Ten

This is from the soundtrack of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime. The composer, once again, is EXTREMELY versatile and prolific, and this is one of my favorite pieces by her.
Note: Ummm, yeah, I don’t know what’s up with the video, but it’s the only one I could find in good quality, which in this case is fortunately HD.  Maybe just try to ignore it.

Yoko Kanno A.K.A. 菅野 よう子 - Piece by Ten:

Drunken Tiger - Liquor Shots

I saw the MV for this song on the Korean MV show from the long-gone Channel AZN. Who cares about content? I love the groove of this song! Korean artists actually do hip hop justice.

Drunken Tiger - Liquor Shots:

Jazmine Sullivan - Bust Your Windows

I learned about this artist from the show Glee—yep, they covered this song. After hearing the cover and liking it, I looked up the original (this one) and was pleased to hear I liked the original artist's voice. Plus I appreciate the song's humor.

Jazmine Sullivan - Bust Your Windows:

Blue Stahli - ULTRAnumb

I believe I discovered this song through a music recommendation thread within the past few months. I hadn’t even heard of the artist before, and upon hearing this song the first time I thought, “Wow, this really sounds like Celldweller.” Even the Wikipedia article on this artist makes that comparison. As far as I’m concerned, this is a flattering comparison.
Note: Listen in HD!

Blue Stahli - ULTRAnumb:

Selah Sue - Peace of Mind

This is a Belgian artist I found through a music blog. I think this is the first song I heard by her, too, and even though I’ve listened to some of her other tracks, it’s probably my favorite. It has a distinct hip hop flavor, unlike everything else I heard by her, which is much more mellow and folksy, reggaeish, or trip hoppy. Completely different in genre, actually.
Note: HD!

Selah Sue - Peace of Mind:

Cloud Cult - May Your Hearts Stay Strong

I think I found this song through a music recommendation thread somewhere. It’s quirky without becoming onbnoxious. Some of the other songs by this artist cross line into obnoxiousness for me, but this one is quite beautiful.

Cloud Cult - May Your Hearts Stay Strong:

Tracy Chapman - If These are the Things

I think I've heard this artist's music since I was young, since both my mom and my sister like her music, but I didn't really pay close attention. More recently I heard this song used in a German soap opera and it reminded me of how nice this song sounds. I really like her voice!

Tracy Chapman - If These are the Things:

Celine Dion feat. Andrea Bocelli - The Prayer

This song has long been one of my favorite songs ever, and it has been covered many times by many artists. I actually heard this song first through the animated film Quest for Camelot. When the mother (voiced by Celine Dion) sang an abridged version in the movie, I fell in love with it. I like the music of both of these artists, and I think this is my favorite version of the song.

Celine Dion feat. Andrea Bocelli - The Prayer:

Artful feat. Kal Lavelle - Could Just Be the Bassline

I’m not even sure why I like this so much, but something about Kal’s voice is really soothing. It also has that same sound that’s in a previous song I posted, “Explode” by Uh Huh Her. I just like it; I don’t know, man.
Note: HD, yo!

Artful feat. Kal Lavelle - Could Just Be the Bassline:

Frontside - Dopóki Moje Serce Bije

Polish metal! I found this artist by YouTube-surfing for Polish music. I quite like it! This probably won’t be your style if you don’t like more “intense” rock music.

Frontside - Dopóki Moje Serce Bije [Until My Heart Beats]:

Hilary Duff - Fly

I heard this song playing in a movie theatre before the ads started--no kidding. I thought it sounded nice but had no idea who the singer was. I guess I remembered enough of the lyrics to look it up later and realized it was the Disney channel actress-turned singer. “Flying” is what I did all day yesterday, so excuse the lame pun as I post this for timeliness. Plus, I think she has a lot of younger fans so I think it's cool that the meaning of the song is like this.
Note: HD again, woo!

Hilary Duff - Fly:

Diana Ross - If We Hold on Together

I heard this song in the animated children's movie A Land Before Time when I was a little kid. The main character’s mom dies in the beginning of the movie, and when this song plays at the end of the movie, I for some reason always thought of the song as being sung by the mother to her son. I thought it was sooooo tragic and moving! So naturally I loved it.  I had no idea the singer was a major music icon.
Note: HD, yo.

Diana Ross - If We Hold on Together:

Simon Curtis - Super Psycho Love

It may strangely specific, but I really like the differing vocal melodies on this song. For a while I didn’t even notice them, but once I did they made the song seem so much better. I love the production on this song!
Note:  Listen to the song in HD for optimal listening experience.

Simon Curtis - Super Psycho Love:

Delta Goodrem - Bare Hands

I’ve posted music by this Australian artist before, and I discovered her years ago when one of her songs was covered by Darren Hayes, and then I saw them duet it together and was impressed by her talent. I listened to the album this song is on and particularly liked this song. It’s kinda strange to me that she’s so unknown in the U.S. because she’s a talented singer/songwriter with a really great voice.

Delta Goodrem - Bare Hands:

The Weeknd - Wicked Games

I heard this song playing on a blog I visited the other day and really liked the artist’s voice. Despite the relaxed sound, this song is (oddly) laden with profanity, so don’t listen if that bothers you.
Note: HD!

The Weeknd - Wicked Games:

Maria Mena - Am I Supposed to Apologize?

I think I found this artist through an mp3 rotation site years ago. I just really liked something about the quality of her voice, so I listened to the one song I had by her over and over, although I didn’t really look into her other music. More recently, though, someone recommended her music to me, which reminded me I should probably look into more than one song by her, and I found this one, which is among my favorites I've heard by her so far.
Note: Listen in HD!

Maria Mena - Am I Supposed to Apologize?:

Kit-I - моё сердце

I heard this song through a foreign music blog. I haven’t heard much Russian music of this style; I’m more accustomed to hearing poppy electronic-based dance tracks, so this kinda stood out to me.
Note: HD is available!

Kit-I A.K.A. Китай - моё сердце [Moyo Syerdtsye - My Heart]:

Brandy - In My Own Little Corner

This song is from the 1997 film Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which starred the singer Brandy as Cinderella herself. I’d been meaning to rewatch it for a while, since this song never left my memory despite watching it only as a little kid, but recently I got to rewatch it at last!

Brandy - In My Own Little Corner:



Here’s the scene from the movie in which it's sung:

Hyde - Secret Letters

It’s another Hyde song, this time less rockish. This is probably the first song by this artist that I really liked (actually, I think I heard the English version of this song first, but close enough). I really enjoy a lot of his rock music too, but this is straight up pretty, and somewhat cinematic.

Hyde - Secret Letters:

Natalie McCool - Black Sun

I came across this song recently somehow—I honestly can’t remember how, but I liked it enough to make a note of it. Based on this song alone, this artist reminds me of a mixture of Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, and Bat for Lashes (which is interesting because she also has a sun-themed song).
Note: I did not want to have to use the music video, but it’s the only YT upload. But hey! At least it’s in HD.

Natalie McCool - Black Sun:

Vertical Horizon - You’re a God

This song was played on the radio a lot when it came out, and then this band’s album Everything You Want was given to me as a present; it was one of my first CDs. I was never a huge fan, but I do find their music palatable and pleasant enough. One time I caught the tail end of this song’s music video on TV and liked it, so I’m including it too.

Vertical Horizon - You’re a God:


And here’s the MV:

P!NK - Split Personality

Some more old school P!NK, and one of my favorite songs by her. UGHHH, HER VOICE. I have nothing more substantial to say.

P!NK - Split Personality:

Lupe Fiasco - Hurt Me Soul

What a brilliant lyricist and great mind. This is one of the songs that made me a fan of this artist, because it's a song that anyone who has affection for hip hop should be able to relate to. Even with all the ills that plague hip hop, its capacity and tendency to convey the emotions from a wide range of human experience is what makes you fall in love with it. Even with all its flaws, there are those of us who can't help but love it, and this song encompasses that feeling perfectly.  There is some profanity.

Lupe Fiasco - Hurt Me Soul:

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

Ahhh, my goddess of music again! I heard this song when I bought her album Speak for Yourself without even having listened to it first (and luckily it ended up becoming one of my favorite albums in my collection). I especially loved this song because of the lack of instrumentation. Her voice is so rich and versatile that a lack of instrumentation actually does the song a service. The vocoder effect enhances the cool sound even more. Evidently by the time I discovered and became obsessed with this song, it had already become popular with “the kids” because it was used in the show The O.C. (which I don’t watch). What’s worse, part of this song was remade into a dumb Jason Derulo song I heard relentlessly playing on the radio. Now all these people only listen to the part that was used in Jason Derulo’s song, which is weird because it’s not even my favorite part of this song.

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek: