7 Songs You Should Listen To Pt.5

So today i am back with yet another instalment of my "7 Songs You Should Listen To" series. I love all of these songs and i hope you will too once you hear them.

John Legend - Love Me Now
I have been a fan of John Legend for years and years and his album "Get Lifted" is one of my favourite albums of all time so when i heard he was making another single i was thrilled. I can tell you now i was not disappointed as "Love Me Now" is brilliant as it showcases his amazing vocals in a song that is more up-tempo for him. I can already tell his upcoming album is gonna be one of my favourites as i can never dislike his soulful voice! In the meantime, you should really listen to the song as it is an amazing one and i bet you'll love it!

Louisa Johnson - So Good

This next song only came out today but from the few times i have listened to it, i know it will soon be one of my favourites. I loved Louisa Johnson on X Factor and was extremely happy when she won as i knew she would release incredible music like this. The first 'proper' song of hers, "So Good" is honest and empowering, which is quite incredible to do at such a young age (17) like Louisa. I actually met her in June this year and she was one of the nicest people so i truly hope her the best with her career! You should listen to the song as i think you'll fall in love with it immediately like i did! However, as this song is brand new, this could possibly chart and become popular so please give it your support.

Frank Ocean - Self Control

As you all know from my previous posts, i am in love with Frank Ocean at the minute and just like "Ivy" which was in the first instalment of this series, i love "Self Control" as it is just so soothing and relaxing. In fact, the whole "Blonde" album is incredible and deserves being checked out if you've been living under a rock and haven't done so already! As Frank Ocean is very secretive and protective over his material, all of his music has to be perfect and to me it sure is; you need to try and listen to it.

Ava Lily - Painkiller

"Painkiller" is an incredible song by an artist with an incredible voice, whom i didn't know before it came up on my "Discover Weekly" on Spotify. After looking into it, it turns out Ava Lily, the artist of the song, is a YouTuber and has been posting singing videos of herself for ages and now I'm hooked on her videos! To me, her voice is really unique and different compared to anyone else in the music industry! I really suggest you check out her YouTube channel, after listening to "Painkiller" below, as all of her covers are incredible and original.

Ariana Grande - Jason's Song (Gave It Away)

Even though I'm a big fan of Ariana Grande, i only discovered this song a couple of weeks ago and i fell in love with it! Ariana's vocals in the song are unbelievable and i bet you will be amazed by her range! The song is also really catchy and you can always sing along to it which i absolutely love about a song. Her "Dangerous Woman" album is amazing from start to finish so i highly recommend you listen to it all whenever you can, but please make sure you listen to "Jason's Song" first!

Pentatonix - Hallelujah 

I am a massive fan of Pentatonix and all of their amazing acapella skills and as soon as i heard they were releasing another Christmas album i was actually overjoyed. To be honest with you, i could've put all of their album in here but i only chose one. That song was their cover of "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley as it is extremely peaceful which is nice to listen tothese days when everything is very up-tempo or high pitched in today's music industry. Anyways, give this song listen when you can as the song is incredible when you think how all of the song is made up from just the five-piece's voices.

Solange - Don't Touch My Hair
You may know Solange as being 'Beyonce's sister' but she is now releasing her own music and her new album "Seat At The Table" is amazing! In particular, "Don't Touch My Hair" is amazing as the song is just so laid-back and is accompanied by a great and infectious beat. If i had to choose a song, i would say this is my favourite song at the moment and i hope it will be one of yours as well once you listen to it. The song will definitely not disappoint you and i guess both of the Knowles sisters have incredible talent now. You really need to check out this phenomenal song.

So i hoped you enjoyed this post as much as i enjoyed writing it. If you have any improvements that i could make please let me know in any media format as i want to make my blog the best quality it can be.

The Best Concert Venues

In today's post, i thought i would share with you some of the best concert venues around nowadays! Just to be clear, these venues are only ones that i have been to and it is completely my opinion. I hope you enjoy and maybe even attend a concert at one of these in the future.

The Brighton Centre

To start off, i thought i would talk about my local concert venue and the one I've probably been to the most. The Brighton Centre was originally a conference centre for the Labour party located on the literal seafront and then reformed into a music venue not long after. The reason why i like the Brighton Centre is because it is just very intimate with the capacity being a fairly low 2,300 people when comparing it to other venues in this list. The venue also allows me to take great photography as the artists are never that far away even if you are sitting towards the back. If you even come to Brighton, make sure you watch an event here and witness it in all of its glory.

Wembley Stadium

Now this next venue is one that you'll most likely know as it is the home of English football but did you know that every summer it also holds incredible concerts. As you may have worked out by reading my "Summertime Ball" and "Formation World Tour" blog posts, i absolutely love a concert here as the atmosphere is absolutely electric. With a capacity of 80,000, an insane amount when comparing it to the Brighton Centre, a concert could never be bad here as the crowd will overwhelm you! In particular, the Summertime Ball concerts that i try and go to every year are incredible as you get to experience such a wide range of acts in the iconic venue. Next summer, i really recommend you try and attend a gig there as i can promise you, you'll not be disappointed! 

The Roundhouse

This next one you may not have heard of but the Roundhouse is and incredible and very intimate venue! The venue is located in the London borough of Camden and actually used to be an railway engine shed until they converted it into the amazing place that it is now after World War Two. I may have only been to the venue once where i saw Ella Eyre but what i loved about it was how different it was to anywhere else i'd been to! As you can see in the picture to your right, the venue is held up by loads of pillars and is pretty small compared to some other venues, having a capacity of 4,000 overall. This makes for a great gig though as the artists feel so close to you and you can see so clearly from wherever you are in the venue.

The O2

Last but certainly not least, we have the O2 which is situated in North Greenwich. If i had to pick a favourite venue, it would probably be this one as the atmosphere is always amazing! Around the actual arena, there are several restaurants, bars and attractions to please yourself before you head into the arena. Once you get into the arena, i cannot explain the amazement as you see all of the 21,000 seats surrounding you! The people and fans are always in such a good mood and you feel in such a good place. I always try and come to the O2 whenever i can as i know i will love it. If anyone you like is performing there, you should really try and grab a ticket.

So i hope you enjoyed this post informing you on what, in my opinion, are some of the best venues i have ever been to. If you liked it, be sure to give me comments on what you'd like to see on my blog in the future...

Artist Showcase : Luna Rae

In todays post i thought i would do something a little different and talk about someone you have never heard of in what i like to call an "Artist Showcase". For the first instalment of this, i though i would share with you two girls i discovered online that go by the name of Luna Rae...

Luna Rae (made up of Beth and Myra) are a duo from Kent that specialise in R&B and Electronic Pop. The two girls upload both on their Facebook page and Youtube, pleasing both mine and many others ears with their incredible vocals. In particular, the two girls' harmonies are phenomenal which makes you feel like they've been singing together for their whole life whereas they have only been performing together for less than two years.

Although they are prominently known for their covers, one of their originals called "Running For You" is utterly amazing with their voices perfectly accompanying each other throughout. This song is the type of song to get stuck in your head all day but you can't help but love it. Also, for a song to not be uptempo throughout and still be catchy is extremely hard to do in todays music industry so i really think this is a musical masterpiece. The video is down below...

Secondly, we have a cover from the girls. This is a cover of "When We Were Young" by Adele and their harmonies are actually unbelievable throughout. This has to be one of my favourite covers of theirs as they have completely reinvented the song and made it their own which is quite courageous to do considering its Adele, one of the biggest artists in the world nowadays. This is their cover and i hope you enjoy it (i prefer it to the original)...

These girls to not have many followers on social media which i think they really do need and deserve as they are so underrated and fantastic. If you have any spare time at all, please make sure you have a look at these girls (on Facebook would be best as that is where the most of their material is from) and support them; they are such unique individuals who truly need some recognition.

Anyways, i hope you enjoyed this rather different post on an amazing act, expect more in the future!

Fifth Harmony's 7/27 Tour ~ 10/10/16

So last week me and my sister went to see Fifth Harmony and their 7/27 tour at the O2 Arena, somewhere where any readers of my blog will know i love. The concert was incredible so obviously i had to do a review on it whilst showing you some of my photography from the concert.

As soon as it was lunchtime at my school, i immediately left, got changed and hopped on the train to London as i couldn't wait to get to the concert in one of my favourite places. We got to the O2 Arena at approximately 3pm which meant we had lots of time to chill, eat and take photos before the doors to the concert opened at 6:30pm. I saw this as a great opportunity to just take it all in, without my camera for once whilst also grabbing some merchandise for the tour.

Once it was 6:30 me and my sister were through those doors and into the venue where we was lucky enough to get some of the best seats in the entire arena! Next, there were the support acts and although none of them were particularly amazing, i wouldn't say they were terrible; i guess they're just not my type of music. Finally though, after what seemed like hours of tedious waiting, Fifth Harmony bursted onto the stage with enthusiasm and the drive to perform!

As soon as the five girls came onstage, their voices were all phenomenal, showing immense girl-power to their song "That's My Girl". Some people may think that they are not good singers and having seen them live, i completely disagree as their vocals are insane! In particular, i thought Normani's (pictured to your right) vocals were incredible as they were controlled really well which is extremely hard to do when you are always dancing like these girls.

As i was so close at the concert, i saw it as a great opportunity to experiment with my camera and its several different settings; in my opinion, i got some amazing and unique photos, including the one to your right! All i really did was decrease the shutter-speed settings on the camera and i think the results were great. It just shows that a photo does not always need to be in focus to be a great one. I personally think that the more unique a photo is, the better it is!

Although i loved all of the songs Fifth Harmony sang, if i had to choose one it would have to be the song "We Know" which was featured in my most recent post. The reason i loved it was because it really showed off both the five girls' great individual voices and also their unbelievable harmonies, which makes me start to understand why they have that name. The song is also really calming but makes me want to sing-along at the same time which are two things i love in a song.

Overall, the concert was amazing and i would happily see Fifth Harmony again when they next come to the UK. Their voices were amazing and much better than i expected and just loved the whole experience. If you are looking for a concert to go to and Fifth Harmony are in your area, i would strongly recommend you go and see them!

7 Songs You Should Listen To Pt.4

Todays post is based around another seven songs that you should really try and listen to. These songs are all song that i am loving but you may not have heard of before; i promise there all amazing!

Fifth Harmony - We Know
I have been a big fan of Fifth Harmony ever since they were put together on the X Factor USA however many years ago because they all have great voices, and this song really shows that off. "We Know" is a slow-tempoed song and the five girls' vocals in it are phenomenal! I actually saw Fifth Harmony live earlier this week (which a blogpost about it will be up on monday) and this song in particular blew my mind as it shows how each girl can sing by themselves as well as beautiful five-piece harmonies; maybe theres a reason why they're called Fifth 'Harmony'. Anyways, you should really give this song a listen.

Chase & Status Ft. Tom Grennan - All Goes Wrong
I first heard this song on an advert on YouTube and i immediately fell in love with it and how empowering it is. In my opinion, the song is just so immersive and shows such emotion throughout. In particular, Tom Grennan's vocals are incredible, showing his inner aggression yet having brilliant control over his voice and everything he does with it. This song's beat is also really catchy and the song will probably have you either dancing or singing along like it has done to me. If you want to listen to a song that will distract you from any problems you my have, listen to this as it makes you be put in their shoes.

Craig David - 16
Of course i had to put my little guilty pleasure Craig David in here when considering the recent success of his new album "Following My Intuition" and "16" has to be one of my favourites from the album. If you didn't already know, the song's instrumental is the exact same as Skrillex & Dipole's "Where Are U Now" and Craig David added a mashup of some of his top hits over his 16 year career. The bit that i like though is the rap that he added as it is extremely catchy, something that is difficult to do as he is not classed as a rapper. If you want something different to listen to, give this song a go as it is genuinely good.

Ariana Grande - Sometimes
As any reader of this blog will know, i am a big fan of Ariana Grande and all of her music, especially her most recent album "Dangerous Woman" (which is actually my favourite of hers). Anyways, the song "Sometimes" is definitely one of my favourites from Ariana's album and i think it is massively unacknowledged! If you ask me, the song is quite relaxing and calming compared to some of her other songs and its a pleasant change for the mega-star which i hope to see implemented in the future! Even if you are not into pop artists like Ariana Grande, i bet you'll like this song as it is not like others that you would expect from an artist like her.

Avalon Young Ft. Maurice Moore - Used To
Before about a week ago i had no idea this song existed but after popping up on my "Discover Weekly" playlist on Spotify, i am in love with it. Like the Ariana Grande song above, the song is really calming which is a nice change in today's music industry. Avalon Young's voice is just very unique an unlike any other that I've heard, making me quite the fan of her. Also, i absolutely adore the rap by Maurice Moore as its weirdly also relaxing when accompanied by the beat so try and give this song a listen whenever you can.

The Weeknd - False Alarm
In my opinion, The Weeknd's previous album "Beauty Behind The Madness" was one of the best albums released last year and i honestly think his next album will be as good, if not better! The reason for this is purely this song. "False Alarm" is just so aggressive compared to The Weeknd's other material and i think it suits him perfectly. This song is so edgy and different which is what i hope his next album will be like as i think it would guarantee him both publicity and success! If you are or aren't a fan of The Weeknd's music, you should check out this song as it is very different but extremely good!

MNEK - Don't Stop Me Now
It seems like MNEK is in every single one of these blog posts that i do and its simply because i love his music! "Don't Stop Me Now" is MNEK's most recent release and is in fact a cover of the classic Queen song. Although Queen's original rendition of the song is amazing, this version has to be my favourite as it shows off MNEK's incredible falsetto and overall vocals alongside a beat which would get anyone dancing along to it. This song is unbelievable and possibly even my favourite MNEK song meaning you actually need to check it out! I bet that you will fall in love with it like i did.

So i hope you enjoyed yet another 7 songs that you need to listen to. These are my favourite posts to write so there will definitely be a lot more coming in the future...

10 Throwback Songs You Should Really Listen To

In todays post i thought i would share with you some of my favourite ever songs. These songs are pretty much all a bit before my time but i still think they are amazing and you should listen to them all (if you haven't already) after reading this.

Beyonce - Listen
Firstly, Beyonce is one of my idols and i have grown up listening to her. In particular, the song 'Listen' is my favourite of any of her songs. The song is from the film "Dreamgirls" and some of the vocals she hits in the song are actually unbelievable.  This song really shows of her vocal range and in fact, the whole of her "B'Day" album (the album that 'Listen' features on) does that. If you haven't checked out this song you honestly really need to so and if you have been living under a metaphorical rock and haven't ever listened to Beyonce, what are you doing with your life?! You need to go and give her a listen!

Rihanna - Unfaithful
From one of the most popular female artist in todays industry to another! Even though i quite strongly dislike her current music as i feel like it lacks possible talent, i am quite a big fan of Rihanna's early music, particularly her second album. "Unfaithful" is 100 percent the best Rihanna song in my opinion as it is completely honest and innocent. The song also showcases Rihanna's capable vocals really well which is something she definitely doesn't do today. Even if you're like me and don't really like Rihanna and her current music, give this a listen as you won't regret it.

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar
Definitely the most recent song on this blog post, "I Need A Dollar" is a song that i have loved from the minute it came out because it is extremely catchy, energetic and it makes you want to dance along. I also love how raw and soulful the song is for a song thats only just over five years old. I actually love this song so much that i am actually singing it (in a mashup with another song in this post) for an upcoming music assessment in the next few weeks. If you haven't heard this song yet, please do so! The song is amazing and i reckon you would really enjoy it!

Outkast - Roses
You may have heard them from their song "Hey Ya!" but i am loving Outkast right now and have been for a long time! Out of all of their material, the song "Roses" is the best! I love the immaturity of the song as it makes you want to sing and laugh along every time. The song is also really catchy which obviously contributes to the reason why i am always singing it. I bet you any money that if you heard the chorus of the song, it would get stuck in your head all day. If you haven't ever heard of Outkast or this song, you need to try and listen to them ; it will definitely be worth the time.

John Legend - Ordinary People
In my opinion, John Legend is an incredible artist and after Beyonce, one of the best i have ever seen live (even if i didn't mention him on my post discussing the topic). My favourite song of his however has to be "Ordinary People". I have loved this song for a really long time now and it is just so honest and true. The track is simply just him and the piano which feels really immersive and great. I actually did the song for a recent audition for a school production and it went down well (i hope). Anyways, if you haven't already, give this song a listen.

Estelle Ft. Kanye West - American Boy
Estelle is probably one of the names you might have not heard from on this list but i love this song of hers. Sure, she might have been a one-hit-wonder but this song makes up for it with its relaxing and tranquil factors (and the fact that John Legend is her "American Boy"). Its quite hard in todays industry to create an upbeat song that is relaxing but Estelle has managed to do so with this, also, the song is ultra catchy and i bet you'll be singing it all day after hearing it. In some ways i do wish Estelle carried on releasing hits like this because i think her voice is phenomenal. Anyways, if you haven't listened to this, please try and do so!

R.Kelly - Ignition (Remix)
I was never the biggest fan of R.Kelly until i heard this song a couple of months ago for the first time. The remix to Ignition is so catchy and it makes you want to dance or sing along which is something i love with songs nowadays. Even though it may be a lil immature (like "Roses" by Outkast) with all of its sexual innuendos, you just cannot help but love this song; i bet you'd be the same if you heard it. He may not still be performing today, but R.Kelly sure knows how to impress every generation with this song. You really need to give him, and especially this song, a listen as i know you will love it.

Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine
In case you didn't know, i am a big fan of the Motown genre and have been listening to it all through my childhood. My favourite song of that genre has to be "Ain't No Sunshine" though as its just so raw and soulful. Also, this is the song that i am mashing up with "I Need A Dollar" for my music assessment as the two songs are quite different, but fit together on the same instrumental. "Aint No Sunshine" is a song that i am always singing as i just connect to the lyrics and feel the emotion put into, it is also one of my typical shower songs! Anyways, if you haven't heard this track, you should make some time to hear it because you will not be disappointed.

Craig David - 7 Days
Of course i had to put my guilty pleasure Craig David in here! "7 Days" is my favourite of all of his songs because like most of the other songs in this chart, you can't help but sing along. The song is probably one of the catchiest on this blog post and i bet you will all love it when you hear it, even if you honestly shouldn't. The song is completely honest and a lot of people can relate to it which is another reason why i love it. Craig David's old material is brilliant in my eyes and you should all give it a listen, and also his new album whilst you're at it. This song in particular is the song you should listen to though as it is brilliant!

TLC - No Scrubs
Whilst i was planning this post, i had to put a 90's girl band in here as i love that kind of music but when i was looking through Destiny's Child, i could not choose between all of the songs so i decided to go with another one of my favourites TLC (even though i still had to choose from a lot of songs for them as well). "No Scrubs" is still one of my favourite song as it is just so empowering and you start to feel for the three girls. The song will also get you singing along which any past readers will know is something i love about a song. Anyways, if you have never heard of TLC and have been living under a rock, go and check them out (especially this song), you will not regret it!

So i hope you enjoyed this rather long, but nostalgic blogpost. If you want another instalment of these throwback songs please just give good response to the post as i really enjoyed making it. These songs are all incredible in my eyes so i hope you enjoy them!

Amsterdam ~ 15/04/16

So todays post is based around when i went to Amsterdam on a school trip not so long ago. The trip was offered to me as i am doing Art GCSE at school and of course i had to take up the opportunity. The whole trip was beautiful and i thought i would share it with you.

After a long 15 hour coach journey from Brighton, me and the rest of the students arrived in Amsterdam and fell suddenly in love with the city. The first thing we did when we got there was walk around the city centre and took some great photos, including this one. I love this photo because it shows quite an open space, which is rare in Amsterdam, with some beautifully massive buildings that are accompanied by an amazing sky line. I also am very happy with how i got my friends phone into the picture as it think it shows that the tourists love it too.

Once we had finished our wonderful little walk around the city, we was able to go on a river cruise along Amsterdam's infamous canal. This was honestly one of the best things i have ever done and everything was beautiful, even with the skies being dull. The city of Amsterdam is stunning and a cruise like this is the perfect way to see it in all its glory. I love this photo as it shows the canal in the distance with it showing great perspective as the buildings look smaller and smaller the further they are away. The river cruise was probably my favourite part of the trip.

At the start of the second day, we decided to do some touristy activities so obviously we had to go and see the popular Amsterdam sign. I think when pretty much anyone goes to Amsterdam they come and have their photo taken with this massive sign. Me being not like the others decided to not take a photo with the sign and instead decided to take a photo of it. I like the photo because it shows tourists (fellow students from my school) enjoying themselves whilst having their photos taken with the landmark.

Throughout my time in Holland, we went to some unbelievable art galleries, one of which was the Rijksmuseum, a gallery which funnily enough was located directly behind the Amsterdam sign in the picture above. The gallery was beautiful inside and out, in particular i loved the interior as it was modern and different to anything else I've seen. This photo to your right was just taken on some stairs going to another exhibit but i love it as it is bright and fresh with a river surrounding the window.

On the third day, we went to an extraordinary park in Amsterdam which had fun sculptures scattered around it. To be honest, i think this activity was tied with the river cruise for my favourite activity. The reason for this is the fact that we got to ride bikes around the park. This was a really fun thing which was so unique and every single person loved it. This picture was a crossing between two pathways for the bikes but it made an amazing photo and weirdly reminded me of the infamous Abbey Road photo of The Beatles.

Finally, i have my favourite photo of the whole trip! You may have seen this photo in my "Favourite Photos Ever" post and i obviously had to put it in here. The picture to your right was taken whilst i was on the river cruise and the reason why i love it is because is captured a beautiful pathway, yet again showing perspective and it was also taken at the perfect time. This picture is currently the desktop wallpaper on my macbook and it will always be great memorabilia of my trip.

So i hope you enjoyed this review of my time in Amsterdam not so long ago. This was an incredibly fun experience and i will never forget it or the photos i took whilst i was there.