So, I normally don't go out of my way to purchase American music unless I really like the artist ("once a fan, always a fan" is me) and there is no chance that I will get a hold of the album any other way. (I generally will request a lot of music at my local library and rip them. Trust me, they have more of today's popular music than you'd think....). I purchased a lot more American albums than I had been in the last few years, I guess the American music market is slowly getting itself back on track (in my ears). Of course, I don't believe it'll ever get back to what it used to be when I was growing up, but it's redeeming itself from a hard fall after the inevitable digital era.
So here goes a list....In order of purchase because I honestly don't think I can compare these albums to each other....
1.)
Jason Derulo, Jason Derulo
Man, to start off, I honestly can say that I would've NEVER bought this album if Jason Derulo had not gone to Korea and sing "In My Head" with the Korean artist who remade his song in Korea. His album just happened to be on sale in the Sunday ads the following weeks, so while I wasn't in love with the auto-tuned smash hit "Whatcha Say", the price was a steal. To my surprise, his album exceeded my expectations and it was, as they had been promoting his album, truly was an album consisting of "9 songs. 9 hits." What's more? He took part in penning all the songs! What more could you ask for?!
Personal Faves: Blind, What If, Love Hangover, Fallen, Encore, In My Head....Heck, the whole album :]
Bummer!: He's not the best live performer, when he's trying to dance and sing at the same time, at least. I coincidentally turned on the TV to find that he was going to perform "In My Head" on results show of "Dancing With The Stars", so I stayed tuned in only to be disappointed. But luckily, it is something that can be improved! I look forward to seeing Jason Derulo evolve as a performer...
2.)
Usher, Raymond V. Raymond
With the mediocre success of the "Here I Stand" album and the overplay of "OMG" on the radio, I wasn't sure that Usher was worth the buy. But then, as fate works in funny ways, somehow there was a brand new unopened copy at a Half Price Books store that I visited for just six bucks. While it was already a steal, I had a coupon that gave me an additional discount. Now "Raymond V. Raymond" doesn't really compare to "Confessions", it did surpass his "Here I Stand" album with flying colors. Unfortunately, Usher didn't participate in the production of all of his songs, but for the most part he did. I think the release of the EP that featured "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" was the song that allowed Usher to officially reclaim his R&B king title.
Personal Faves: She Don't Know, Foolin' Around, Guilty, Papers, Making Love (Into the Night), Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home), There Goes My Baby
Bummer!: His album comes in one of those eco-friendly carboard CD cases and you're going to have to purchase his EP if you want to snag "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love".
3.)
Maroon 5, Hands All Over
Let me start off my saying that I am embarrassed every time I am around anyone and the album art on my iPod turns on to reveal this somewhat provocative album cover. I thought I heard that Kanye West's new album cover was controversial....I'm surprised I didn't hear anything about this. Anyways, I'll start off my saying that I was honestly disappointed with the album after the first few listens. I had been anticipating a great album, and was only disappointed. But thanks to seeing them live in concert and my good friend who went with me, I absolutely fell in love with the album and all of their old songs. Yes, you really have to like their sound to enjoy this album. That or be really heartbroken, as my friend and I are guessing Adam Levine was when he was making songs for this album. It's, lyrically, a much deeper and rawer album than their past two albums.
Personal Faves: I Can't Lie, Just A Feeling, Runaway, Never Gonna Leave This Bed, Stutter, Misery, Don't Know Nothing, How
Bummer!: Like Usher's album, "Hands All Over" is also one of those eco-friendly CD cases. And Adam Levine is taken!
4.)
Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Gosh, what can I saw about this man?! His voice is to die for! He's just something different, bringing in a new style and color to the music that's out there right now. He participates in the production of all his songs, so you know all this stuff is coming from the heart. I think he definitely will snag a few Grammys next February and has the potential to have a long career. It may have taken a long time for him to get his start, but he's definitely made his mark here. I say this because he has an awful lot of demos and unreleased tracks when you search him on Youtube. It's amazing and I know this thanks to my other friend...
Personal Faves: Grenade, Talking To The Moon, Just The Way You Are, Marry You, Runaway Baby, Liquor Store Blues, The Other Side
Bummer!: There are only ten songs on the album!!! The album jacket is not really anything special....
5.)
Far East Movement, Free Wired
Like A G6! I honestly thought, "What the heck?!" when I first heard this song...But after it caught on, I found myself getting it stuck in my head and wishing them a lot of success for two reasons. First, there are Korean members and the group was based in Koreatown LA. Second, this was a breakthrough for Asians, as we haven't seen a speck of Asian in the American music market. I was completely looking forward to the album release and was disappointed when I didn't see the album sitting alongside other new releases of the week at Best Buy when I went to go pick up the album the first day of its release. I tried to look around the album by myself but ended up asking a sales rep, who found it hidden in the Pop/Rock section behind all the F's. Sad story, but I guess they were doing well digitally so I guess it doesn't really matter that there were only 5 copies at the store the week of release...
Personal Faves: Rocketeer, Like A G6, Don't Look Now, Girls On The Dancefloor, So What?, If I Was You (OMG), Fighitng For Air, White Flag...Heck, all the songs for this one too!
Bummer!: It took them a while to get their name known....I had heard their name for quite a while, but I'm ashamed to say that I never cared to listen because I was so absorbed by K-pop.
So this isn't to say that these are the only albums I enjoyed, but these are the favorites of the ones I purchased that were released this year, which I can't believe is coming to an end!
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