MOVING ON

As you have known (or not), it's been almost a year since I started this blog of mine. And I think, it's time to let go and open the door. By "the door", I mean turn the page to another chapter in my blogging experience.

I'm not going to quit blogging. I'm just going to take a new start into a new road. 

I'm starting a new blog. It's going to be called RETUBE. Basically, I going to watch different Youtubers and Youtube videos and I'm going to write a review about them. Hence, the name RETUBE (review + Youtube). 

It would really great if I start this new journey with you, guys so I would like to invite you to visit my new blog every Thursday (UTC +8:00). It will be on Wordpress.com. Its link is retubeblog.wordpress.com .

I hope you like my new blog. I'm going to start posting in a few days. But for now, see you on the flippy diddy, side.

ALBUM REVIEW (DANGEROUS WOMAN)

You know Ariana Grande, right? (I mean, who doesn't?)

Most people know her by her sweet girl attitude, her stand on feminism and her high-pitched vocals. But that is not what I'm discussing about today. Because in her recently released album, she has grown into something out of the stereotype judgement of her character. 

Dangerous Woman is Ariana's third studio album by Republic Records. It was just released last week, May 20, 2016. The album features guest appearances from other artists such as Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Macy Gray and Fututre. The lead single of the album was Dangerous Woman which was released on March 11, 2016. She performed the song on SNL and on other live shows. The second single was Into You which was on May 6, 2016.

You maybe wondering what happened to Ariana's earlier hit, Focus. Well, Focus, which was released on October 30, 2015, was originally intended to be the lead single of the album but they did not include the track in the standard or US editions of the album. However, it was included in the Japanese edition of Dangerous Woman. 

Before the release of Dangerous Woman, Ariana released a first visual (Visual 1) on her track, Dangerous Woman. Visuals are like music videos, I guess. I don't know what's the difference between the two but I'll make a research about that so... moving on. The track was supposed to have second visual (Visual 2) but I don't know exactly what happened but Ariana decided to RIP Visual 2 and let Visual 1 be the official music video.

After the release of the album, Ariana (my loves. haha) released the music video of her second single, Into You. The video was released on May 23, 2016. The video featured her in love with her personal body guard while they run away from reality and have lovey time in a place called HONEYMOON INN (I see what you did there, Ari. Honeymoon Inn. Honeymoon Avenue. Yeah). But at the end of the video, Ari gets back to her "famed life" with her official famous boyfriend but tends to get really sad when her boyfriend leaves her in the corner. You know, just watch the video yourself.

INTO YOU MUSIC VIDEO

COMMENTS: 

WHAT CAN I SAY?! I LOVE THE ALBUM! It's very original. It's very Ariana. It's different. It's nothing like her two previous albums. This shows another side of her. It shows that she is not just a ballad artist or she is just not about those high-pitched vocals. She shows that she can do any genre. 

This is the time that she has shown she CAN do R&B. Everyone thought that she was JUST A POP ARTIST. But no. Ari can do R&B, hip-hop, pop, jazz, ballads, soul, mellow. Anything. She is a universal artist and that was shown in this album.

FAVORITE SONG/S?

I can't decide. I have been listening to album on repeat for days and I still can't because they are all too good. But only three songs stood out the most for me and that is Into You, Moonlight and Let Me Love You. 

They really had amazing arrangements and vocals. 

I loved Into You because of the #LSS factor. LSS stands for Last Song Syndrome. It has the ability to get stuck in your head and it just becomes your new jam. Plus, the rhythm is awesome. I love the beat. It can be a slow club dance or a fast crazy dance. 

Moonlight is very refreshing. It has the same vibe as the intro track in My Everything. It was really a good choice to be a intro track in the album because it sets the mood. It just clears your mind from that previous album and focuses it in the new album. (you get me?)

Let Me Love You was different. It shows a completely new side of her. The song is really good. I can't stop listening to it. It's mellow but still, you can club dance to it. Plus, Lil Wayne did awesome in this song. Points for Lil Wayne for doing a great job.

So far, the album reached #1 in iTunes all over the world on its debut. That is amazing. That is how good the album is. So better buy the album and listen to it. Don't do anything else if you haven't listened to the album yet.

DANGEROUS WOMAN ON ITUNES: https://t.co/Qbc5r9gkNA

ARI LOVES YOU GUYS!!!

hearts. muah. XOXO

YOUTUBE REVIEW (KURT HUGO SCHNEIDER)

Another "segment" that I have started in my blog in called "Youtube Review". I love Youtube a lot. I visit the site almost everyday. I watch a lot of random videos and videos from my favorite vloggers (video bloggers). So, in short, Youtube in kinda a big part of my life. So, the first one in my LIST OS INSANELY AWESOME YOUTUBERS is KURT SCHNEIDER.

Well, I first heard of Kurt Schneider back in 2013 when my classmate  showed me a video of his entitled HOLIDAY MEDLEY! where he featured Victoria Justice, Max Schneider and an awesome medley of Christmas songs. 

I was really amazed and in awe of the whole production of the video because it showed a massive show of technique, skill and awesomeness. It was very unique. I haven't seen anything like it in the whole Youtube world. You should see it for yourself to believe me. VIDEO BELOW!

Let's have a quick overview on Kurt Schneider to know more about him:

KURT HUGO SCHNEIDER was born on September 7, 1988. He is now at age 27. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland but grew up in Pennsylvania. He finished high school as Valedictorian in Wissahickon High School and Magna Cum Laude in Yale University back in 2010 with a degree in Math. 

Besides having a degree in Math (which is already pretty awesome for me), Kurt was involved in musical theater back in high school and quickly developed a love for music and performance. In college, he developed his musical and technical abilities by creating content for his Youtube Channel which started back in October 2007. In 2009, he created his own production company names NoodleHouse Studios (clever name, Kurt. Such a clever name). 

In 2011, he moved to LA, where he now lives and works-composing, producing, performing and directing.

Now, he has over 3 million subscribers and over 600 million views in his Youtube videos.

Most of his works are collaborations with many singers, world famous and Youtube famous. Some of this collaborations are with Victoria Justice, Max Schneider (note: He is NOT Kurt's brother), Kina Grannis, Alex Goot and Against the Current. 80% of his videos were made with his good pal from middle school, Sam Tsui. They have been best friends since middle school and have been inseparable ever since.

He has been creating a lot of Youtube creations for almost 9 years now, and he has surpassed Youtube's usual production level by creating unique videos which showed amazing production techniques.

Favorite Video?

Woah. Well. There are a lot. I don't have a single fave video because Kurt surprises his audience every week with his videos and that's kinda amazing. But the videos that stood out for me are HOLIDAY MEDLEY!, MAROON 5 MEDLEY, WHERE YOU ARE and PASS IT ON. You guys should definitely check these videos because I really liked them. Not only the song but the technique.

Favorite Song covered?

I would probably between WHERE ARE U NOW, ROSES and PROBLEM. But, I would pick PROBLEM out of the three because he made it into something new. He made into a sweet mellow acoustic love song than that of the upbeat dancy kind of vibe.

Favorite Video Technique?

My favorite technique that Kurt always does is his One-Takes. I can't fully explain it here I guess you have to see it for yourself.

Well, that's all I have for you today. Thank you so much for your time. 

Don't forget to check on Kurt's social media accounts and Youtube videos. HE IS REALLY AMAZING!

Yours Truly,

CURIOSITY

P.S. I have a huge crush on Kurt Schneider. <3

KURT'S SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT'S:

TWITTER - https://twitter.com/kurthschneider

FACEBOOK - https://web.facebook.com/KurtHugoSchneider?_rdr

INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/KurtSchneider/

YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/user/KurtHugoSchneider

WHERE I BELONG

This post is kinda late now. Well, I'll do it anyway. 

This post is dedicated to the phenomenal, amazing, inspiring TORI KELLY.

I first heard about her through my friend. Back in 2014, she insisted that I should listen to this artist named "Tori Kelly" because we have the same voice texture (FYI, I'm also a singer so yeah). But I didn't had the time to look her up until after 4 months. I was looking up AJ Rafael at that time when I encountered their collaboration on AJ's "Taylor Swift Medley" video on Youtube. 

So I was really curious who this girl was because she was so good so I looked her up and listened to her Youtube videos and I was really amazed. I watched all her videos, even her official music videos on her Vevo Youtube Channel. She is pretty amazing. Since then, until now, I am still a big fan of hers.

So just some quick overview about Ms. Tori Kelly:

Victoria Loren Kelly a.k.a Tori Kelly was born on December 14, 1992. She slowly gained recognition after starting to post Youtube videos when she was 14. When she was 16, she auditioned for the singing competition television series, American Idol. Unfortunately, she was cut-off after Hollywood week. After being eliminated, she got back on her feet and started making her own music.

In 2012, she finally released her first ever EP that she produced, wrote and mixed herself. It was entitled "Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly". The following year, Scooter Braun became her manager after seeing her Youtube Videos and introduced her to Capitol Records, where she signed a record contract.

She released her second EP entitled "Foreword" on October 2013 as her first major label release.

Last year, on June 23, 2015, Tori released her debut album entitled "Unbreakable Smile". The lead single of the album, Nobody Love, became her first US Billboard Top 100 appearance. Because of her achievements lately, she was nominated Best New Artist during the 58th Grammy Awards.

• HANDMADE SONGS BY TORI KELLY

This EP showed an overview of Tori Kelly being an artist. It showed her own outlook on society, on love, on fame and on her music. It was purely about who she was as a person and as an artist. It was remarkable. I really loved it. The song that really stood out, for me, in the EP was Confetti because the message was enlightening. It told me that you don't have to be rich and famous to be happy. That you should be happy right now with what you have and just live your life to fullest because you don't know what tomorrow brings for you so just be happy and don't wait for the confetti to fall.

• FOREWORD 

In this EP, she still showed us that Tori Kelly flare. This was the EP that brought her the recognition since it was her first ever record label EP. The unique thing about this EP is that it has no specific genre. Some say that it's Soul, while others say R&B and some say it's Pop. But, for me, it's just pure heart. It's love. Made with love. It doesn't belong to any genre because it's the heart of the songs that matter. The one song that I really admired was Paper Hearts. Not only because I could totally relate to it but it has a different texture to it. At first, it sounds like a very typical heartbreak song but once you really listen to it, different musical techniques are shown. The song is very subtle but very heartwarming. Also, I really love the message that no matter what you do, you can't forget about the happy times you spent with the person that you loved and you also hope that he won't forget those things, too. 

• UNBREAKABLE SMILE 

This was a breakthrough in her career because Tori Kelly finally released her debut album. This album reached a lot of milestones. This album reached #2 in the US Billboard Top 200. She even collaborated with the amazing Ed Sheeran in one of the tracks of the album. My favorite track in the album was Funny. Well, Funny was released as one of her Youtube videos back in the day and I really liked it then and I was really happy that she included it in the debut album. The song talks about her outlook on society. How every single thing always have two sides. How change is a constant thing in this world and how helpless people are not to see that. It's really inspiring and eye-opening. The heart and soul given to the song is really breathtaking and that what makes it really special.

Well, with that, you can see how amazing and inspiring Tori Kelly is. If you don't believe me, you can visit her Youtube channel to see it and hear it for yourself. She can really move hearts and that is a quality every artist should have. To be able to inspire many people. Tori Kelly really is an artist to keep in the music industry.

Yours Truly,

CURIOSITY

TORI KELLY'S SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ToriKelly OR https://www.youtube.com/user/ToriKellyVEVO

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torikelly/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/torikelly/

Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/torikellymusic/?fref=ts

Website - http://www.torikellymusic.com/

BOOK REVIEW (BELZHAR)

Well. Basically, what I'm doing in my blog right now is reviewing about random things that I usually encounter in my life. So here we go. The book review series. (Wat.)

So just recently, I have finished reading entitled Belzhar. It took me a week to finish the book so you can say it was pretty amazing. 

Just an overview about the book. Belzhar was written by Meg Wolitzer. The book was published back in 2014 and was published by The Penguin Group. 

Cover Photo of Belzhar by Michael Miranda

Well, the book was basically about a girl named "Jam" and her experience in The Wooden Barn. The Wooden Barn is a specialized school for troubled teens. Well, I am just going to spoil you a little bit. So Jam here has a traumatizing experience causing her parents to decide to make her enroll in The Wooden Barn just for a semester. Then, she got involved in a subject called Special Topics in English where only a few chosen students are allowed to be enrolled in that subject. In her stay, her experience in the school gets more interesting every single day with the help of her red leather journal.

I will let you discover those experiences yourselves. Because it is a great damn book. When you finish a chapter, all you want to do next is read the next chapter. You are going to be totally caught up in the plot. 

First, this book is totally relatable, not only for me but to every teen. It's very eye-opening to the reality of life. I think every person out there can really relate to this book.

Second, it's everything in one book. It's about love. It's about adventure. It's about finding yourself. It's about mystery. It's about sorrow. It's about life. It's about friends and relationships. It's about everything. It's diverse. That's one of the things I like in a book. Diversity. It keeps things interesting.

Last, a plot twist is always nice. Even though the plot twist of this book is kind of fatal and boring and kind of expected but it still keeps the story have a dynamic side which is good.

So with those, I totally recommend you to read this amazing book by Meg Wolitzer. 

Belzhar

Yours Truly,

CURIOSITY