ALBUM REVIEW: Ed Sheeran's "X" album.

Released a couple of months ago (3 months precisely), X is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. His extraordinary guitar skills and soaring tenor voice has captured the hearts of many including mine. I remember obsessing over his first time album when it came out and without fail playing it over and over again. It was that good to me.

Why i love the "X" album? 
I absolutely love this new album because like the previous one, it lays emphasis on the message of the songs rather than the underlying instrumentation. He tells a story in each song that you can relate to. He literally spells out situations in life that i have found myself in. As a musician, its important to write songs that your fans can relate to. I also love the simple instrumentation, with the guitar and his voice being the most important. And oh, he raps (in The Man and Take it back) and kind of sing-talks in some of the verses and songs which i absolutely love and think its trendy. Not forgetting that this album is more of a personal album as it doesn't have that many collaborations. He is the main man. He is the only man.

Song-writing skills, Yay or nay?
YAAAAY!! Honest, witty, clever-rhyming, true and image-provoking, his lyrics connect and make you feel as if you are having a conversation with him(a rather poetic conversation).

Is it better than the last one? 
Oh yes. He has really grown as a musician, guitarist and song-writer. Production-wise, its much simpler than the previous album giving a laid-back feel to the whole album. The instrumentation just flesh out the song and fill it out.

Would i change a thing? 
No way. The album is perfect the way it is.

What are my favourite songs?
Well, all the songs are fantastic and equally my favorite but at gun-point i would say: Take it back, Nina, Thinking out loud(such a wedding song) and Even my dad does sometimes.

Would i recommend it to a friend/Stranger? 
Definitely. For those times you just want to lay on the grass on a sunny afternoon with headphones on or in your room on a rainy evening with the radio on, the album will keep you company. For those times you want to do some laundry or cook dinner, Ed will keep you moving and thinking. This album is a combination of danceable tunes and love songs, perfect for whatever season.

So if you havent listened to his not-so-new album, you should. 

Happy Listening!!

Esther xx

Image courtesy of google.

Image courtesy of google.

MTV Video Music Award's 2014 Review : The Good, the Bad and the Just Plain disappointing!

From Miley's twerkscapade last year and Kanye West's "moment-of-truth" during Swift's acceptance speech a few years back, the VMA's is probably one of the most anticipated shows in my books for its memorable moments. I got around to watching last night and i was pleasantly surprised. With Queen B and Iggy leading with eight nominations and Eminem right behind them with seven, the 31st MTV VMA'S visuals was just out of this world and lets not even talk about the spiraling stage. I mean, MTV really out did themselves this time.

For those who haven't watched it yet, SPOILER ALERT!!!I am definitely going to dissect(for lack of a better word really) some of the highlights of the show.

The Most deserved wins

17 minutes of amazing visuals, leg-twisting dance moves, flawless vocals (see what i did there) and heart-wrenching dedications proved that Queen B deserved the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award. 

Other deservees (totally sure there's no word like that but still going to use it :p) are best female Video to Katy Perry for her 'Dark Horse' video, best hip-hop video to Drake for his 'Hold On, we're going home' video, best video with a social message to Queen B for Pretty Hurts, best collaboration to B and Jay-Z for Drunk in love and lastly best choreography in a music video to Sia for 'Chandelier'. They all deserved every inch of that moon man.

 The tie

Best male video to Ed Sheeran for Sing, artist to watch out for to Fifth harmony for miss movin' on  and best pop video to Arianne Grande for Problem are not-so-deserving but deserving at the same time. Confusing? Yes, a little. All the music videos in both categories did have a good chance of winning but there can be only one winner. To be honest, the competition was stiff and i was just glad that one of each got to take home a moon man.

The someone-else-deserved-that-moon-man win

Let me just start by saying that Lorde's Royals is no where near the category of rock. You could say a hybrid of rock, but its more pop than rock. Dont get me wrong there, i love Lorde but they were definitely other musicians in that category who deserved it. Another one is best video of the year. Wrecking ball, come on! If anything Happy by Pharrell should have won that category hands down. Im sure millions of music video lovers agree with me.

The best live performance

Queen B, hands down. But a very strong second was Sam Smith with his oh-so-heavenly-heart-breaking performance of Stay with Me.  It was his first american debut on a live show and he moved me to tears. 

The most-embarrassed-performer

And this award goes to none other than , Nicki Minaj. I could not help but feel embarrassed for her when she came out to rap during her performance with Jessie J and Arianne clutching her dress for dear life. Gosh, Was it a set-up or a true wardrobe malfunction? Only those who were involved would know. 

The best announcers

It goes without saying that Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels should probably be the next hosts for any kind of award show from now onwards. They are funny, funny and funny and that's all you need to keep the audience going, right? Lets start a petition guys (seriously!)

Humanitarian Award 

None other than Miley Cyrus deserves this award. Despite her bad girl ways, Miley has proven to have a kind heart with her plight on behalf of the millions of young homeless teenagers not falling on deaf ears, or if may say empty pockets. I salute you Miley for your brave efforts! 

Thats it for my views (dissection-LOL!). 

From a Fan.

Happy Reading.

Esther xx

Performance anxiety/Stage fright in Music: How to deal and accept it. (Not only for Musicians)

 "A voice is very intimate. It's something of your own. So there's always this fear, because you feel naked. There's a fear of not reaching up to expectations." -Andrea Bocelli

I remember the first time I ever stood in-front of a group of people to perform.  It was way back in high-school and thankfully it was a group ensemble performance because i would have embarrassed myself silly. I was scared and literally had butterflies in my stomach.  I kept on imagining and fearing an instance where my throat would suddenly close up, or become dry or my voice would break and i would croak or i would completely freeze and forget my lyrics. Mayne, i was so nervous and it showed. But luckily enough, none of that stuff happened but i just couldnt help feeling it. 

When i began doing solo performances, all those feelings became 10 times worse. My body would shake like the room has suddenly dropped in temperature, my hands would involuntarily do a dance, my mind would go blank, my mouth would suddenly start twitching and so much more. Im telling you my stage fright is the worst kind. Even though i have done a couple of public and private performances, i still go through those same motions.

Performance anxiety stems from the tendency of focusing on yourself rather the presentation, from fighting your anxiety rather than accepting and working with it. Not only in Music, but also in other areas of life. Being a musician is tough. Yes, what you've heard is wrong. The amount of preparation both physically and mentally that it takes to make a person able to stand up in front of hundreds or thousands of people and completely open up and bare their soul can take a life time. To some it comes naturally but to others its just the opposite. 

Some musicians take to drugs to curb their anxiety while others take to seeking help to do the same. I'm all for seeking help rather than drugs because it leads to addiction and the rest is history. Great musicians like Amy Winehouse have taken from us too soon because of this deadly weapon. I'm not saying that the only kind of help that you can get is from a doctor. Nope! You can always seek help from yourself. The internet is your friend so why not use it.

So how do you deal with this motions? Well, here are a few tips that have helped me to begin controlling my anxiety:

Image courtesy of Google.

 

1. Close your eyes and breathe. Scientifically proven to calm your nerves and keep you relaxed. I always do this before and on stage.

2. Chanel that passion that you feel for your craft into your performance. Close your eyes, through your head back, dance, engage with the crowd and let go of your fears. You could also feed from the energy that audience is exuding.

Image courtesy of Google.

Image courtesy of Google.

3. Accept your anxiety and work with it. I have come to understand and accept that i will most probably always have stage fright and that i only need to learn how to make it work for me.

Image courtesy of Google.

 4. Learn your craft and practice. Practice does make perfect. I am a trumpeter and singer. So putting hours into my practice schedule has allowed me to keep up with both demands and improve on them. Works hand in hand with confidence.

5. Give yourself a pep-talk. Give yourself a slogan that you can be telling yourself so that you get through it. Things like 'No-one else can do this but me', 'Lets do this' really reaffirms your confidence. I always tell myself 'No-one can play the trumpet/sing like you can. Now get up there and do your best.'

6. Do an activity that you love just before a performance. That joy that you feel will reduce effects of pre-performance anxiety. I love to play mobile games so i do that every time before a performance.

Image courtesy of Google.

There you have it. In whatever you do, dont let anxiety get the best of you!

From a Student of Life and a Music Student. 

Happy Reading!

Esther xx