New Rudimental Video Shot in the Slums of Manila

I got curious when I saw the still photo for the video of Rudimental's new song, Not Giving in. The kids in the photo looked like Filipinos! And true enough, once you play the video, well, the whole video, is a glimpse of the underbelly of Manila's slums - drug use, theft, gang violence - it was not easy to watch since these slums are everywhere to be found here in Manila, juxtaposed among the houses of the struggling middle class and hidden by the big walls of the houses of the very rich. There is redemption though in the video and since Rudimental is a dance act, it's a no-brainer what it is!

Incidentally, Rudimental, as a music act, is totally unknown in the Philippines, except maybe for a few dance music aficionados like me.

Chart Performance: Soundgarden

 

The Seattle grunge band Soundgarden led by vocalist Chris Cornell get their third top 10 album this week, as King Animal, debuts at #5.

1994 - Superunknown (#1)

1996 - Down on the Upside (#2)
2012 - King Animal (#5)

Mary J. Blige Scores Her Ninth #1 Song in My Personal Countdown

 

It was great that I gave a listen to Mary J. Blige's latestalbum, My Life The Journey Continues.  My most favorite song this week, Need Someone, comes from that album, and it becomes her ninth trip to the top of my personal countdown.

Another surprising detail from my personal countdown this week is the presence of non-English songs.  In fact, six of the ten songs in my countdown this week are not even in English!  It is truly becoming an international countdown!  Of the six, two are in Spanish, two in Korean, one in French and one in Japanese!

Here are my ten favorite songs for the week ending November 23, 2012.

#1 Mary J. Blige - Need Someone (5)

#2 Alanis Morissette - Woman Down (7)

#3 Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (10)

#4 Gocho - Si Te Digo La Verdad (2)

#5 Nicki Minaj - Marilyn Monroe (6)

#6 Sakanaction - Yoru No Higashigawa (1) 

#7 Carlos Vives - Volvi A Nacer (NEW)

#8 BB Brunes - Coups et Blessures (NEW)

#9 Epik High - It's Cold (NEW)

#10 10cm - Fine Thank You and You? (NEW)

My Personal Countdown: Gocho

Gocho's first hit in my personal countdown was Si Te Digo La Verdad, which peaked at #2.

Sakanaction

The Japanese band Sakanaction has five top 10 hits in the FABE weekly top 10, with two of them going all the way to #1.

2012 - Yoru No Higashigawa (#1)
2012 - Boku to Hana (#1)
2013 - Endless (9)
2014 - Goodbye (#4) 
2014 - Yuriika (#6) 

Phillip Phillips

 

Philip Phillips has two top forty hits in my personal countdown.  

2011 Home (#9)
2013 Gone, Gone, Gone (#6)

My Personal Countdown: Ryan O'Shaughnessy

 

Ryan O'Shaughnessy has one hit in my personal countdown.  No Name peaked at #8 this year.

My Personal Countdown: Tears For Fears

Due to their concerts here in Manila and Cebu this year, some of Tears For Fears more obscure songs are charting in my personal countdown.  This week, Falling Down, from their 1995 album Raoul and the Kings of Spain, slips from #23, its peak position, to #26.  Earlier this year, Call Me Mellow, from their 2004 album, Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, peaked at #5.

Below was their performance of this song here in Manila -

My Personal Countdown: The Wanted

The Wanted had a concert here in Manila September this year and they practically inundated my personal countdown the week of that show.  They instantly gained eight top 10 songs listed below -

1.  Chasing the Sun (#1)
2.  Gold Forever (#2)
3.  Heart Vacancy (#3)
4.  Lose My Mind (#5)
5.  Lightning (#6)
6.  Invincible (#7)
7.  Warzone (#9)
8.  I Found You (#10)

Sammy Adams: Rapper into the Mainstream

I just watched the video of Enrique Iglesias and I chanced upon the guy he collaborated with in the song Finally Found You, Sammy Adams!  Oh yeah, we finally found him!  It's been sometime since we had a hot white male rapper!  Bienvenue Sammy!

 

 

 

Chart Performance: The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones get their thirty eighth UK top 10 album this week, as GRRR!, debuts at #3.  It also extends their chart span to an impressive 49 years between their first top 10 album to their latest.  Thirteen of those 38 albums also went to #1.  

Here are their top 10 albums in the UK -

1964 - The Rolling Stones (#1)
1964 - The Rolling Stones EP (#1)
1964 - Five By Five (#1)
1965 - The Rolling Stones No. 2 (#1)
1965 - Out of Our Heads (#2)
1965 - Got Live If You Want It (#1)
1966 - Aftermath (#1)
1966 - Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (#4)
1967 - Between the Buttons (#3)
1967 - Their Satanic Majesties Request (#3)
1968 - Beggars Banquet (#3)
1969 - Let It Bleed (#1)
1969 - Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (#2)
1970 - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out: The Rolling Stones in Concert (#1)
1971 - Sticky Fingers (#1)
1971 - Stone Age (#4)
1972 - Exile on Main Street (#1)
1973 - Goats Head Soup (#1)
1974 - It's Only Rock and Roll (#2)
1975 - Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (#7)
1976 - Black and Blue (#2)
1977 - Love You Live (#3)
1978 - Some Girls (#2)
1980 - Emotional Rescue (#1)
1981 - Tattoo You (#2)
1982 - Still Life (American Concert 1981) (#4)
1983 - Undercover (#3)
1986 - Dirty Work (#4)
1989 - Steel Wheels (#2)
1990 - Hot Rocks (1964-1971) (#3)
1991 - Flashpoint (#6)
1994 - Voodoo Lounge (#1)
1995 - Stripped (#9)
1997 - Bridges to Babylon (#6)
2002 - Forty Licks (#2)
2005 - A Bigger Bang (#2)
2008 - Shine A Light (#2) 
2012 - GRRR! (#3)
 
 
 

Chart Performance: The Lumineers

The American folk rock band The Lumineers get their very first UK top 10 hit this week, as Ho Hey, zooms in at #8.

The same song also peaked at #3 in the US, making it also their very first US top 10 hit. 

They also have a top 10 album in the US, their self-titled one, which has peaked at #2.

Chart Performance: Gabrielle Aplin

English singer songwriter Gabrielle Aplin's very first UK top 10 hit, The Power of Love, zooms to #1 this week, making it her very first #1 song as well.

Sabrina Tops My OPM Top 10 List This Week

Sabrina is the first OPM act to top My Top 10 OPM countdown with Sa Bawat Paghinga.

Here are my favorite OPM songs for the week ending November 19, 2012 -

#1 Sabrina - Sa Bawat Paghinga

#2 Emmanuelle - Sandali Lang

#3 Loonie - Tao Lang

#4 Christian Bautista and Neocolours - Sasabihin

#5 Young JV and Myrtle - Your Name

#6 Wolfgang - Halik Ni Hudas

#7 Moonstar 88 and Chito Miranda - Ligaw

#8 Kimpoy Feliciano - Ikaw Lang

#9 Abra ft. Thyro and Jeriko Aguilar - Gayuma

#10 Opera Belles - Dapat Tayo

My Personal Countdown: Wolfgang

 

The local legendary rock band Wolfgang has one top 10 hit in my OPM top 10 list. Halik Ni Hudas, from the movie Tiktik, has peaked at #6.

Japanese Band Sakanaction Tops My Personal Countdown This Week

Here are my favorite foreign songs for the week ending November 16, 2012 -

#1 Sakanaction - Yoru No Higashigawa (3)

#2 Gocho - Si Te Digo La Verdad (2)

#3 P!nk and Nate Ruess - Just Give Me A Reason (1)

#4 Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (5)

#5 Mary J. Blige - Need Someone (NEW)

#6 Alanis Morrissette - Woman Down (NEW)

#7 Nicki Minaj - Marilyn Monroe (RE)

#8 Ryan O'Shaughnessy - No Name (NEW)

#9 Imagine Dragons - It's Time (NEW)

#10 Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath (NEW)

My Personal Countdown: Otto Knows

Otto Knows very first top 10 hit in my personal countdown is Million Voices which has peaked at #28.

Canadian rock band Hedley's very first hit in my personal countdown, Kiss You Inside Out, has peaked at #35.

My Personal Countdown: Rebecca Ferguson

 

Rebecca Ferguson's very first hit in my personal countdown is Backtrack which peaked at #38.

My Personal Countdown: Plan B

 

Plan B's very first hit in my personal countdown was Deepest Shame and it peaked at #38.

PSY x Madonna x Gangnam Style x Give It To Me

Madonna has never shied away from embracing whoever is hip at any given time in her musical history (remember when she liplocked with Britney when Britney was still hot and of course cross-referring Lady Gaga's Born this Way into Express Yourself), so seeing her mash up Give It to Me with Gangnam Style comes as no surprise - and to do it in one of her concerts with Psy actually being there - that's pretty cool!

Chart Performance: Toby Keith

Toby Keith gets his thirteenth top 10 hit in the US this week, as Hope on the Rocks debuts at #6.  Below are his top 10 albums in the US -
 
2001 - Pull My Chain (#9)
2002 - Unleashed (#1)
2003 - Shock'N Y'All (#1)
2004 - Greatest Hits 2 (#3)
2005 - Honky Tonk University (#2)
2006 - White Trash With Money (#2)
2007 - Big Dog Daddy (#1)
2008 - That Don't Make Me A Bad Guy (#5)
2008 - 35 Biggest Hits (#2)
2009 - American Ride (#3)
2010 - Bullets in the Gun (#1)
2011 - Clancy's Tavern (#5) 
2012 - Hope on the Rocks (#6)

Chart Performance: Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli as seven top 10 albums in the UK.  Here they are -

1996 - Romanza (#6)
1999 - Sogno (#4)
2001 - Cieli di Toscana (#3)
2002 - Sentimento (#7)
2006 - Amore (#4)
2007 - The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere (#4)
2012 - Opera (#10) 

He also has seven top 10 albums in the US.  His latest, Passione, debuted at #2 this week.
1999 - Sogno (#4)
2006 - Amore (#3)
2007 - The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere (#9)
2008 - Incanto (#8)
2009 - My Christmas (#2)
2011 - Concerto: One Night in Central Park (#4)
2013 - Passione (#2)
 
 

Albums Chart Performance: Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue gets her fourteenth top 10 album this week, as The Abbey Road Sessions, debuts at #2.  It's a compilation of her greatest hits.  Below are her top 10 hits in the UK -

1988 - Kylie (#1)
1989 - Enjoy Yourself (#1)
1990 - Rhythm of Love (#9) 
1992 - Greatest Hits (#1)
1994 - Kylie Minogue (#4)
1997 - Impossible Princess (#10)
2000 - Light Years (#2)
2001 - Fever (#1)
2003 - Body Language (#3)
2004 - Ultimate Kylie (#4)
2007 - X (#4)
2007 - Showgirl Homecoming Live (#7)
2010 - Aphrodite (#1)
2012 - The Abbey Road Sessions (#2)

Andre Rieu's Magic of the Movies

Dutch violonist Andre Rieu's album Magic of the Movies, debuts at #2 in the UK charts this week.

Chart Performance: Misha B

Misha B gets her very first solo top 10 hit in the UK this week, as Do You Think of Me, debuts at #9.  She hit the top 10 before as part of the X-Factor Finalists in the song Wishing On A Star which went to #1.

Elton John's Crocodile Rock: The Number One Song When I Was Two

Elton John's Crocodile Rock was #1 when I turned two years old.   I was introduced to his music in 1985 through that great song Nikita, which is still one of my favorite songs of his.  He will be performing here next month, imagine that!  He will most likely play this song.

Al Green's Let's Stay Together: The Number One Song When I Was One Year Old

The number one song in the US when I turned one year old was Al Green's Let's Stay Together.  OMG!  No wonder I love this song so much!  Of course, the first version I heard was Tina Turner's, which I love so much too!  This song ranks as one of my all time favorite songs!  It's just so sassy!

Chart Performance: Meek Mill

Rapper Meek Mill gets his first top 10 album in the US this week, as Dreams and Nightmares, debuts at #2.

The Osmonds' One Bad Apple: The Number One Song The Day I Came Into This World

The Osmonds One Bad Apple was the number 1 song in the US when I came into this world on February 15, 1971. I guess that's the reason why I have an affinity for the songs of this year - it's actually a bit unnerving! I bought the CD compilation of this song as part of those Billboard CDs which they used to release. It's quite a catchy song, I tell you! At least I came into this world with a song that had a happy beat!

Jennifer Lopez Setlist for Her Manila Concert

OMG! I think J. Lo's setlist for her concert here looks interesting!  Parang concept show talaga!  Anyway, let's hope I have extra budget when the day of the concert comes. Here is her most probable setlist for her concert here in Manila -

1. Concert-Part 1 - Theme "Old Hollywood Glamour"
1. Never Gonna Give Up (played as opening movie for concert-part 1)
2. Get Right
3. Love Don't Cost a Thing
4. I'm Into You
5. Waiting for Tonight
6. Concert-Part 2 - Theme "Back to the Bronx"
6. Louboutins
7. Goin' In
8. I'm Real / All I Have / Ain't It Funny
9. Jenny from the Block
10. Concert-Part 3 - Theme "Funky & Love"
10. Baby I Love You (played as video segue between part 2 and 3)
11. Hold It Don't Drop It
12. Medley: I'm Glad / Brave / Secretly
13. If You Had My Love
14. Until It Beats No More
15. Concert-Part 4 - Theme "Party Section"
15. Let's Get Loud
16. Papi
17. On the Floor
18. Encore:
18. Dance Again

P!nk Gets Her Fifth #1 Song in My Personal Countdown

I was just listening to some tracks in P!nk's new album, The Truth About Love and this song, Just Give Me A Reason, her duet with fun's Nate Ruess jumps out of my eardrums with its catchy beat and earnest lyrics!  After debuting at #4 last week, it's already my #1 song in my personal countdown even if I'm not sure if P!nk is even going to release this as a single.  But who cares?  That would even be better so I wouldn't have to share this song with the masses.

Here are P!nk's #1 songs in my personal countdown -

2001 - Get the Party Started
2002 - Just Like A Pill
2009 - Funhouse
2010 - Raise Your Glass
2012 - Just Give Me A Reason

Here are my ten favorite songs for the week ending November 9, 2012 -

#1 P!nk and Nate Ruess - Just Give Me A Reason (4)

#2 Gocho - Si Te Digo La Verdad (9)

This is Gocho's first top 10 song in my countdown and this week,it zooms to #2.

#3 Sakanaction - Yoru No Higashigawa (7)

Japanese band Sakanaction's song moves to #3 this week.

#4 Sabrina - Sa Bawat Paghinga (RE)

#5 Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (2)

#6 Loonie - Tao Lang (NEW)

#7 Emmanuelle - Sandali Lang (RE)

#8 Christian Bautista and Neocolours - Sasabihin (NEW)

#9 Kanye West, Big Sean, Jay-z - Clique (NEW)

#10 Melissa Etheridge - Company (NEW)

My Five Favorite Songs from Mary J. Blige's My Life II

I have a huge stack of CDs I bought Christmas of last year and I still have to listen to most of them! Crazy me! Anyway, here's one of these CDs, Mary J. Blige's My Life II The Journey Continues.  I think Mary release My Life about a decade ago, and that album sounds a bit different from this one.  I know I have several of her albums, no, no, I think I have all her albums, including the concert ones!  I am such a big fan of this lady, and I have heard her metamorphose through her music.

Anyway, I won't be doing general album reviews anymore since people now choose downloads instead of buying the whole album.  So after listening to the CD for hours on end, here are my five most favorite songs from the album ranked from #1 (my most favorite) to #5 (still a favorite, since this album has 14 songs in them).




 #1 The Living Proof


#2 Need Someone




#3 Empty Prayers




#4 Ain't Nobody




#5 No Condition

Mary J. Blige Singing Empty Prayers Live in Chicago

I admit I was floored when I saw this Youtube clip of Mary J. Blige, Singing Empty Prayers, my third most favorite song from her My Live II The Journey Continues. She just sings it with such conviction and her voice - whew - listen to that emotion! I do wish she comes to Manila for a show! I would dearly love to watch her live!

Mary J. Blige Singing Need Someone in Later... With Jools Holland

Setlist of The Fray for their Manila Concert

Sadly, I won't be able to see the concert of The Fray on Saturday, November 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, since it would be the launch party of FABE magazine that night, but even then, I am still posting the most likely setlist of the band for that concert.  It appears quite short though - just 14 songs!  Anyway, I hope all their fans have fun that night.  I may have to content myself with Youtube.

1. All at Once
2. Turn Me On
3. You Found Me
4. Syndicate
5. Never Say Never
6. Here We Are
7. Ungodly Hour
8. Happiness
9. Be Still
10. The Fighter
11. Look After You
12. How to Save a Life
13. Over My Head (Cable Car)
14. Heartbeat

Chart Performance: Stone Sour

American metal band Stone Sour gets their third US top 10 album, as House of Gold and Bones Part 1 debuts at #7 this week.

2006 - Come What(ever) May (#4)
2010 - Audio Secrecy (#6)
2012 - House of Gold and Bones Part 1 (#7)

Chart Performance: Gary Clark Jr.

American guitarist Gary Clark Jr. gets his very first US top 10 album this week as Blak and Blu debuts at #6.

Chart Performance: Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett gets his sixth top 10 album in the US this week, as Viva Duets, debuts at #5.  It also extends Tony's chart life to an incredible 52 years, from his first top 10 album to his latest.


1962 - I Left My Heart in San Francisco (#5)
1963 - I Wanna Be Around (#5)
1968 - Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album (#10)
2006 - Duets: An American Classic (#3)
2011 - Duets II (#1)
2012 - Viva Duets (#5)