American Idol's Crystal Bowersox: A True Farmer's Daughter

It's no surprise that Crystal Bowersox decided to release a country album with pop influences post-Idol since that was pretty much her style when she was performing onstage, vying for the top spot against Lee Dewyze.

The American Idol runner-up's debut album, titled Farmer's Daughter, pretty much sums up who is she as a person, as well as the tracks on the album.

Her awesome voice shines on every track and she retains her own musical accompaniment throughout the whole album on her trusty guitar.

Farmer's Daughter, the title track, is a mellow track which ironically has her stating that she doesn't wants to be a farmer's daughter anymore.

My favourites off the album are For What It's Worth, a mid-tempo song with a great beat, which keeps you tapping your toes. Holy Toledo and Arlene are also slower songs which showcases Bowersox's great vocals.

Other songs off the album include fast-paced tracks such as Ridin With The Radio, Lonely Won't Come Around, On The Run, Kiss Ya, as well as slower ones like Hold On, Speak Now, Mine All Mine and Mason.

Great effort for another Idol alumni who is also another great addition to country pop.

The author first listened to Crystal Bowersox's awesome voice on American Idol, and was torn between supporting her or Lee Dewyze to win the coveted crown.

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Natasha Bedingfield's Strip Me Album

Who can forget Daniel Bedingfield's equally amazing sister, Natasha Bedingfield, who made her debut in the industry with her song Unwritten?

The vocally gifted Natasha Bedingfield has made her return to music with her latest album Strip Me, released late last year.

Strip Me is filled with tracks that has a lot of piano and guitar sounds in the background, as well as with a hint of techno to them.

The first track, Little Too Much, starts off with guitar sounds, providing a good start to the whole album. The second track, All I Need, is a techno-filled track with a good beat, plus it features Kevin Rudolf and samples his hit song Let It Rock.

Strip Me, the title track, has a bassy feel, and it really strips down and allows Bedingfield's voice to shine through while Weightless has the same tone with her previous hit, Unwritten.

My favourite track off the album is Neon Lights, a happy and uplifting track filled with drums in the background.

The other songs on the 13-track album includes Can't Fall Down, Try, Touch, Run-Run-Run, Break Thru, No Mozart, Recover and a (Less is More Version) of Weightless.

A great effort from this great singer, and I look forward to her next project!

The author has always loved Natasha Bedingfield's songs which are written from the heart.

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JOO's Mini Album: Heartmade

Lately I have been listening to a few female Korean singers and I have found them to be really good and their vocals have some kind of soothing effect on me. The current one on my list is Heartmade, JOO’s latest mini-album which was released on January 4, 2011.

Bad Guy, the opening track is a great ballad that starts off softly on a melancholic note, and JOO’s stunning vocals were fully showcased as it reaches the chorus. The song tells a story of heartbreak and JOO truly expresses the emotion of heartbreak through the tones of her voice, especially when she sings “Ah~ Ah e ya / I’m so sorry”.

The second track which is my personal favourite, Can't Even Take A Glass Of Water, is another ballad. The best part of this song is the chorus where she sings “Saranghae neol neol neol neomaneul nan nan nan ireoke tto tto tto” with her great voice.

Not Even In The Movies, the third track, features 2PM's Chansung rapping and is a faster and more upbeat number. Other songs include After Looking At You, which has a catchy beat and Unbelievable, another slow number.

JOO's voice is strong and angelic and fits the ballad genre well, plus the song arrangement is suitable for her voice. A great listen for those looking for an avenue to release their pent-up feelings after a heartbreak or for those simply wanting a relaxing time.

The author is always on the lookout for upcoming Korean singers' albums although she has yet to master the language fully.

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Westlife's New Album: Gravity

The boys of Westlife are back again, this time with another album titled Gravity. I must say that for a group of four, they still have the capability of rolling out albums at a consistent rate (one per year).

Their latest album doesn't indicate much changes in their style, which has lots of piano sounds as their background, but they do have a more matured and mellow sound as compared to way back then when they were younger and huge boy band stars.

My favourite tracks off the album are Beautiful Tonight, Safe and I Will Reach You. All three songs have a very Westlife 'feel' towards it, which I think suits their new matured sound.

Others include Chances, Closer, Tell Me It's Love, I Get Weak, Before It's Too Late, No Ones Gonna Sleep Tonight, Difference In Me, Too Hard To Say Goodbye, and bonus track Please Stay.

Another good track is the cover of Hoobastank's The Reason, and I think the boys did a pretty decent job of covering the song, although there wasn't much variation from the original.

Give this album a spin on nights when you need a good relaxation time.

The author used to be a huge boy band fan during her teenage days, and still continues to be.

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Marry Me, Mary! is my Latest K-Drama Addiction

Who wouldn't want to be in Wi Mary's shoes? She's got two great-looking guys who's crazy in love with her, and would fight with each other for a spot in her heart as well as her hand in marriage.

Who are those guys you say? And is Mary such a gorgeous girl that guys would battle it out?

Kang Mugyul is a rock star who is destined for stardom, but is held back as he is too loyal to his bandmates who are nowhere in the same league as he is. Meanwhile Jang In is the son of a wealthy businessman who is an old family friend of Mary's parents.

While Mary's meeting with Mugyul is accidental, they were forced to fake a marriage to halt her marriage with Jang In, who she had promised to at a young age.

Many funny scenes in this drama as the tug-of-war ensues between the two men over Mary, and more drama is added when Mugyul's ex-girlfriend comes into the picture and a four-way love (square) begins! Don't forget to tune in to Marry Me, Mary on KBS World every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm.

The author is awed that the lead actor(Jang Geun Suk)'s vocals were so good and loves the OST so much!

Progress: Take That's Comeback Album

Finally the guys of Take That have come a full circle and is back with a new album as well as a newly-rejoined member, Robbie Williams.

I'm glad to say that they have been saying true to their roots and have not swayed in terms of their music styles and tastes.

Their latest offering, Progress, has a total of 10 tracks and the first single, The Flood, gives you an epic feeling when you hear the ethereal and echo-filled song.

The album cover definitely describes their progress in terms of music, with five figures (representing each member) depicting a man moving from a crawling position to a standing position.

My personal favourites off the album has to be the tracks titled SOS and Wait. The former gives you a sense of urgency when you hear it, while the latter gives more boyband vibe with the strong pumping beats in the background.

Other songs include Kidz, Pretty Things, Happy Now, Underground Machine, What Do You Want From Me?, Affirmation and Eight Letters.

Altogether the whole album was good, but not so top-of-the-charts material. But it provides a good listen for those who need to wind down after a long day.

It's great that the guys are finally back together again and hopefully they will continue to produce more inspirational music.

The author was a young girl when she got smitten by the Take That's boys' harmony on Back For Good.

The Band Perry: Country Music's Latest Addition

The latest album on my playlist is The Band Perry's self-titled album, which fulfills the void that I had for country music.

Apart from notable country singers such as Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert, I haven't come across any other singers which I had particularly liked in this genre.

The Band Perry consists of three siblings, Kimberly and her two brothers, Reid and Neil.

When I first heard The Band Perry's If I Die Young, I immediately fell in love with it. The song was full of meaning and I could not resist hitting the replay button over and over again.

With lyrics such as "If I die young/bury me in satin/lay me down on a bed of roses/sink me in the river at dawn/send me away with the words of a love song..." the song hit notes with youths who were going through bad times in their lives to the verge of contemplating suicide, and gave them hope not to give up.

My other favourites from the album includes Hip To My Heart, Independence and Quittin' You, which happen to be the more fast-paced tracks.

Other songs on the 12-tracks album are You Lie, All Your Life, Miss You Being Gone, Double Heart, Postcard from Paris, Walk Me Down the Middle, Lasso and Queen Maybelline.

The Band Perry's sound reminds me a lot of Lady Antebellum, since they have a similar make-up of two guys and a girl in a band, but they do have a more country feel as they have more instrumental sounds.

Let's support them in the hope that they would continue to come up with more great records in the future!

The author was touched when she first heard 'If I Die Young' playing on the radio as the lyrics hit a spot of a recent memory.

American Idol Winner Lee Dewyze's Live It Up Album

Having supported Lee Dewyze during the last American Idol season, I definitely have to get my hands on his album, post-Idol.

His latest album release, Live It Up, is mostly driven by his title track with the same name off the album. The song is a cool and mid-tempo track that shows off his husky vocals, perfect for starting off the album.

My personal favourites off the album is Sweet Serendipity and It’s Gotta Be Love, with their upbeat tempo and guitar sounds.

Consisting of 11 songs, other tracks on the album include Dear Isabelle, Beautiful Like You, Stay Here, Me and My Jealousy, Brooklyn Bridge, Weightless, Earth Stood Still, A Song About Love.

While Lee’s album is reflecting on life, his songs are not as dark and depressing as compared to the previous year’s American Idol winner Kris Allen’s post-Idol album.

Lee Dewyze’s songs with his guitar accompaniment definitely a good listen for a relaxing day at home or while driving around town.

The author is a huge fan of American Idol and looks forward to the 2011 season with the new judges’ line-up.

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Cecilia Ahern's The Gift

What would be the perfect gift to give to your loved ones for Christmas? For Lou Suffern, he couldn't care less about what he got them for the special day since he's to busy with work to bother about these little details.

He didn't know that a small gesture of offering his hot coffee to a homeless man who sits outside his office building would turn out to be the best gift that he ever gave to a person, at the same time benefiting Lou and his family.

The homeless man's name is Gabe, and he tells Lou about the people who walks in and out of the building everyday, precisely describing their shoes and daily clock-ins and clock-outs. Intrigued at the man's talent for spotting details, Lou got a job for Gabe in his office's mailroom.

Slowly Lou began to despise Gabe for his quick reflexes at work which made him look like he's not the best worker in the office anymore. But Lou also has more problems, he has to much work to bother about his family anymore. Trouble begins as he has to be at more than one place at the same time.

Gabe gave him a supposedly magical pill which helped him to split himself into two, thus being able to be in two places at the same time. He's confused the day after, but somehow the events at both places come straight into his mind clearly. Could he just dreamt about being in two places at once?

Cecilia Ahern manages to weave heartfelt messages, action and suspense in this book's plot and hopefully she will continue write many more good books.

The author first read Cecilia Ahern's P.S. I Love You, cried so much while reading it and has been collecting her other books since then.

JYJ: Currently the Biggest Boy Band in the World

I came across a question on Yahoo! while surfing, and it was about which is the biggest boy band in the world. My mind automatically thought of the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync, since they were two of the biggest boy bands that I’ve known.

My answer was proved wrong by Yahoo!, who gave statistics that showed that the biggest boy band of the moment was in fact JYJ, a Korean trio. I bet many of you out there didn’t know that too, and are equally surprised as I am to discover that a Korean boy band is more famous and popular as compared to their American counterparts.

Formerly from the Korean boy band DBSK (also known as TVXQ), the three members were involved in court case with their former record label. Since breaking away from their former band, they formed JYJ, which stands for their names Junsu, Yuchun and Jejung.

Since DBSK has a huge fan base, it is not a real surprise that these fans will continue to support JYJ. But what I didn’t expect was their popularity soared and now with the release of their latest English album, The Beginning, it seems that the boys are set to continue increasing the number of their fan base worldwide.

Their English album is a worthwhile effort from a Korean boy band, with collaborations from notable names in the music industry, such as Kanye West, Malik Yusef and Flowsik.

Out of the seven songs on the album, the first single Ayyy Girl has already been proven a success. The second single Be My Girl, my personal favourite, is also quickly gaining popularity. Other songs on the album include Empty, Still In Love, I Can Soar, I Love You and Be The One.

Do give these boys a listen, and I promise that you will not be disappointed!

The author loves questions with answers throw her off the ground, as it starts a whole research to understand why the answer is not what she believed it was supposed to be.