If there is one artist that I always get excited about releasing new material it's Melanie Martinez and her latest release of 'Pity Party' is no exception. With a quirky personality that stood out for me when I first heard her music and a unique voice to follow Melanie Martinez has captured my attention.
Hitting the perfect balance of pop, alternative and punk there's no doubt that she is likely to have a successful career. 'Pity Party' describes the story of being let down and so you try and cheer yourself up by having a pity party. We are all guilty of throwing ourselves a pity party every now and again. I love how Melanie Martinez's songs are always full of character and personality unlike a lot of songs that are in the charts. I think it's a very unique feature that she works really well. When it comes to her music video, these characters simply jump out at you and it all makes perfect sense.
I love how Melanie Martinez has this vintage tone to her voice but she still sounds young also, there is also a lot of strength in her voice too. Everything about her music kind of contradicts each other and it shouldn't work but it does. From her pop meets punk, and her vintage voice and sound and current. It's hard to place Melanie Martinez in a certain category, for me at least. She simply stands out from everything else we hear in the current music industry. Her songs are catchy and tell incredibly vivid stories. I'm always blown away by her releases and cannot wait for her album.
Check out Melanie Martinez's music video for 'Pity Party' below:
Are you a fan of Melanie Martinez? What's your favourite single of hers so far?
Hilary Duff has been an idol of mine for as long as I can remember. I grew up watching 'Lizzie McGuire' as a kid and I've followed her career ever since. She has always just seemed like a lovely person and I loved her movies, her music and her style. So when she announced that she was releasing a new album I was more than excited and have been waiting patiently for the release. With singles 'Chasing the Sun', 'All About You', and 'Sparks' being released ahead of the album as teasers for the album, I wasn't too sure what to expect as each single seemed so different.
If one thing is sure about this album, Hilary Duff has created a perfect pop album and a great comeback.Taking a break from music since 2007, it was obvious she needed to come back with a bang, and this hits the mark. Continuing with the dance sound that she had with 'Dignity' she's taken a fresher tone to the album, with less mystery and a sugary sound. But she also shows maturity with this album. On the whole, the album is very solid pop album that will no doubt get you up dancing.
For me, however, there are some clear stand out tracks, starting with the opening track and single 'Sparks'. It's one that's had to grow a little on me, but I am addicted to it now. It's a track that I can hear playing in clubs and getting everybody up. I also love the new fan demanded music video for the track. I like that it's perfect pop with a little quirkiness to it too, it's also incredibly catchy. Another favourite of mine is 'My Kind'. I like the melody of the music, it has a very current sound to it but with a hint of her previous work which I love. It sounds a lot fresher and with Hilary Duff's sweet sounding tone in voice works well.
'Lies' is co-written by Hilary Duff and is reminiscent of her 'Dignity' album with the echoing and slightly distorted voice in the background. I love the stuttering in the chorus of lies. It's a little deeper this track, describing a relationship breakdown and not putting up with their lies anymore. It's definitely a post breakup song and a moving on track. She shows strength and yet vulnerability in the track and she's hit the perfect balance. 'Stay In Love' is another track similar to 'Lies' though it has a different tone to it, it has the theme of holding on to a love that maybe isn't the best for them. What I love about the album is that all the songs are really catchy but all stand out in their own way.
I was looking forward to the track that Hilary Duff had recorded with Ed Sheeran as a fan of both artists I had a lot of expectations and 'Tattoo' doesn't disappoint for me. I've had this track on repeat since hearing it. Its a lot softer sound to it than the rest of the album and more of the acoustic sound that we are used to from Ed Sheeran. It has a honesty about it and shows her vulnerable. I personally think that it's an incredibly beautiful song whilst remaining catchy. 'Tattoo' is definitely the stand out for me on this album.
Check out Hilary Duff's music video for 'Sparks' below:
Hilary Duff Tattoo (Acoustic):
Have you heard the album yet? What are your thoughts?
A little while ago I wrote about Mi'das and his 'Stronger' EP. To day he released the music video for his second single off of the EP, 'Too Little Too Late'which is released June 22nd. I'm so happy that he is releasing this song as his second single as it was, personally, one of my favourites on the EP and really stood out for me.
Mi'das himself describes the songs story as 'being afraid of getting old and having regrets about how you lived your life about making too many compromises and not following your dreams. It's one of my favourite songs because it mixes my soul and gospel influences wit my love of songwriters and results in the song having a timeless feeling'. 'Too Little Too Late' is exactly that. It has a really cool melody to it and makes you think about your life and where you really want to go. It's easy to sit and live the 'easy' life or the life that you're 'expected' to live rather than the life you want to live. This song, for me, is encouraging for you to go and live that life that you want. Despite it's message it still has a very optimistic approach. I like the use of a gospel choir and which reinforces the idea that living for the moment and following your dreams is something everyone struggles with. The song has that classic sound which Mi'das makes it seem completely effortless. It's a really beautiful song with a lot of soul behind it.
Check out Mi'das music video for 'Too Little Too Late' below:
Have you listened to Mi'das before? Let me know what you think.
After reading 'I'll Take New York' by Miranda Dickinson over Christmas I decided to purchase the prequel 'Fairytale of New York' and whilst the main protagonists are not the same, they are part of the same family. The books are connected but you can read them separate from each other and still love them just as much I found.
'Fairytale of New York' follows the character of Rosie Duncan (also featured as a close friend in 'I'll Take New York'), a business owner of a florist, we watch as she struggles to deal with the secrets from her past. This story made me want to become a florist. I liked how Miranda Dickinson made even the smallest roles of characters so important and valuable. Even the characters that we are meant to dislike I couldn't help but love them. Ed and Nate are both characters that I wish featured in my own life, and in some cases you can't help but recognise your own friends in these characters that, for me, is one of my favourite things about novels. Stories that take you away from your own life and allow you to escape but which feel incredibly realistic that you could almost live in those roles.
I also love how romantic Miranda Dickinson portrays New York. Both of her books has only made my dream of going to New York more prominent. Despite the city seeming so big, I like how the author has made it very clear that everyone has a different, unique story despite all being linked by particular people. The novel also makes it clear how important friendship is, and how we rely on those people in the times of need. How friends can help you get through the cringiest of moments and the most difficult experiences in your life.
This book made me laugh, cry and say 'my god, I am just like this character'. I can't possibly begin to express how much I enjoyed 'Fairytale of New York', it was perfectly magical and definitely worth picking up. No doubt you will not be able to put it down.
It seems like every YouTuber out there is releasing a book at the moment and to be honest why shouldn't they? If that's been a long time dream of their's, if they put the time and effort into the book making it everything that they hoped it would be. I'm not going to lie I have purchased a lot of the books that YouTubers have released recently, but when Carrie Hope Fletcher released hers, it was the book that I got the most excited about. Carrie is one of my favourite YouTubers anyway and I always like the advice that she gives on her channel, whether it's something that I relate to or not, I feel like she puts her opinions across well.
'All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections of Growing Up Gracefully' was everything that I wanted it to be. Whilst I may be slightly out of the age range as I am now 20, I couldn't help but love everything about it. On my twitter I said that it is 'the perfect book to read before you're 20 to reflect on your teenage years'. I stand by that. I feel like I got a different perspective from it as I could relate to some situations that Carrie wrote about and whilst we may have handled them differently, it just made me reflect about what I did whilst I was at school and made me smile. It was also nice to realise that I wasn't alone in some of the things I did as a younger teenager and the reassurance that you may not always handle things well.
This book is definitely something that I wish I could've read when I was still at school. I feel like it will help a lot of people to just be themselves when they're a teenager, because for me, that was one of the hardest things to do, I found. Carrie's advice isn't like a nagging and she doesn't talk down to you or lecture you. Instead her words are reassuring, helpful and even encouraging. There were topics in her book that I'm going through now and I was thinking 'yeah that's actually some good advice there that I should take'. It's incredibly relatable and down to earth.
I also liked the cartoons in the book, I wasn't expecting it but I thought it was a nice touch. It reminded me of Miranda Hart's 'Is It Just Me?' in some ways, which I absolutely adored. I would recommend Carrie's 'All I Know Now' to anyone. It was such a pleasure to read and I literally took it everywhere with me, be that work, or popping to my boyfriends.
Have you read Carrie Hope Fletcher's - 'All I Know Now' yet? What did you think?
