4 Underrated Artists You Should Listen To

Bastille

Most would say that Bastille is a fairly mainstream band, but for now, I beg to differ. They’re most known for their popular single “Pompeii” …and what else do you know about them? That’s right. Unless you’re a real fan of theirs and actually gave their full album a chance, you won’t understand their true talent. Their song “Flaws” is my ultimate favorite from them, and they have others like “Oblivion,” “Bad Blood” and “What Would You Do” are so infectious!

Birdy

Birdy is SO underrated, you guys! Again, maybe this is just me but she has the voice of an angel. An actual angel. With her soprano vocal range and intense high notes, it’s hard to listen to her music without feeling like you’re about to fall into a trance. Some of my favorites include “Not About Angels,” “1901,” and “I’ll Never Forget You,” while her cover of “Skinny Love” is one of her most popular tracks. She was featured on The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack, having not one but two records on it and being featured on a third, along with an album of her own. She’s making her way up to the charts, no doubts there!

The Neighbourhood

To me, The Neighbourhood is band with a sound like you’ve never heard before. They often call their music “Dark Pop” because of the rock-like sounds in their music. They also have songs that have some hip-hop roots. They’re unlike many other bands in many ways, one of them being their aesthetic. All of the photos they put out and album art work they create is strictly black and white, which contributes to this dark effect that their music gives off. I feel that if anyone has heard of The Neighbourhood it’s because they’ve heard their song “Sweater Weather”, which was one of their biggest hits yet. However, I feel they’re underrated because a lot of the music they produce is put out on websites such as Soundcloud, or released through a mixtape. They aren’t often on the radio like other pop, hip-hop, or rock bands. If you really want to hear what I would call the epitome of their music, give these 3 bad boys a listen: “Female Robbery,” “West Coast,” and “H8M4CH1N3.”

Grouplove

This is a band that I call my favorite “movie band.” They make the kind of music that you hear in a movie trailer/movie and automatically get attracted to. Upbeat, always sounds really good, and it just puts you in a great mood, you know? One of their latest releases is called “I’m With You” and has easily become one of those songs I play when I’m in the mood to flail my arms in the arm and go a little crazy for a second. (I hope I’m not the only one who has those moments.) They first became popular for their song “Tongue Tied.” They were also featured on The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack with an addicting song called “Let Me In.” GO LISTEN TO IT!

Music with Meaning

It was two weekends ago when I went on a spiritual and emotional journey – a weekend retreat! I, along with 34 other retreatants, accompanied by 7 leaders spent time reflecting on our lives. Stories were shared, feelings were felt, and love was spread. It was an overall incredible and cleansing experience. One aspect that I appreciated greatly was the fact that music was such a heavy influence – there was a theme song to our weekend, a reflection song, and the leaders chose songs that had the most meanings to them and their personal, life stories. With this being said, each retreatant grew an attachment to some of the songs chosen. I know I personally grew favorites from them, some that I have never heard of and some from artists that I like. These are the songs that have been on repeat on my Spotify playlist so I thought I would share them with you.

These songs are a bit more special than the music and songs I usually make posts about. These are directed specifically towards messages that are deeper in meaning and have parts of them that everyone can relate or connect to in some way. i think everyone has a couple of songs that they will always hold closest to their hearts – music is a way of speaking the words that cannot verbally be spoken by you. Every have a moment when you listen to a song thats lyrics really strike you? Those kind of songs are the ones that always mean the most.

These were my top 5 favorite of the weekend! Whenever I’m feeling down or need some uplifting spirit, I turn to these tunes, which I HIGHLY recommend because they’re all full of passion:

1. Compass – Lady Antebellum
2. One Life (Acoustic) – Boyce Avenue
3. When A Heart Breaks – Ben Rector
4. I Was Here – Beyonce
5. Be Still – The Killers

‘Tis the Season to Turn Up

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can all finally play Christmas music without being judged – “Thanksgiving hasn’t even passed yet!” It truly is the most wonderful time of the year – the snacks, getting cozy and watching a movie, and most importantly, gathering with friends to sing Christmas songs! (or belting them on your own, if that’s what you’re into.) It’s true that everyone has their favorite classics that are on repeat every year, but this year I thought I would share some of the less classical ones. Christmas music that is recently being released are still just as festive and fun! Some are even classic songs sung by recently popular artists, the best of both worlds!

Here are my top 10 favorites (in no particular order):

1. Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy – Pentatonix ft. Tori Kelly
2. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé
3. Last Christmas – Glee Cast
4. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays – N Sync
5. That’s Christmas to Me – Pentatonix (They just released an entire Christmas album and every song is a hit!)
6. Mistletoe – Justin Bieber
7. Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow – Lady Antebellum
8. Santa Tell Me – Ariana Grande (recently released single for her upcoming Christmas album!)
9. Let it Go – Idina Menzel (I’m not quite sure if this qualifies as a Christmas song per se, but let’s be real, who doesn’t think of the Winter season when Frozen is mentioned?)
10. Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson (Her Christmas album Wrapped in Red is great!)

PUT ME ON FRIDAY: Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware

English Singer/Songwriter

Genre: Soul, R&B, Electronic

As slang is becoming more and more popular amongst young adults, the phrase “put me on” is often related to topics like music, fashion, and other forms of pop culture. “You put me on to this song,” or “You put me on to this style.” Basically to say, that you introduced me to this new idea that I’m now a fan of. So, I thought of having this segment where I ask friends who their most loved underrated artists are. With that being said, my friend Angie has “put me on” to Jessie Ware.

Jessie has made two studio albums, the most recent one being released on October 21, 2014, called “Tough Love.”

“She never used to be on Spotify,” Angie said. “She would post her music to Soundcloud only.” Soundcloud is a website where independent artists can post their music freely for anyone to hear. These are usually the artists who are not yet categorized as “mainstream” or “popular.”

When I asked what her top 3 favorite songs from Jessie were, there was no hesitation. Here’s the listing and her reasoning for them being her favorites:

1. “Tough Love”

• “Reminds me of her pop roots, the background reminds me of dance/electro kind of music. She keeps her smooth vocals and that lets it stray away from the “techno” vibe, so it can still be calming like the rest of her music. Her music has a real soothing effect.”

2. “Say You Love Me”

• “I feel like “Say You Love Me” definitely keeps her pop vibes that you get from her music, while also having a very different kind of R&B feel. It’s not completely pop, ya know? It sounds very different from typical pop music. There’s an R&B feel to her voice.” (This song is actually MY personal #1 after listening to it. The soul and choir mixed in is amazing!)

3. “Wildest Moments”

• “She has a very soulful feeling, especially in this song. Very high pitched singing…this one in specific, I picture myself in a giant arena because of the echoes that it gives off. As if I was in the middle and she’s just singing, it fills the whole space when you play it. Her singing style almost kind of reminds me of Jessie J, not saying that just because of the name! Her music is unlike anything I’ve really ever heard before.” This song is from her album released in 2012.

PR and Music Meet at a Bar…

In an article I have read recently, I found out how instrumental Public Relations is in the music industry. (No pun intended)

Think of people like Beyonce, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, or Lady Gaga – these are just some of the most powerful musicians of the year. But they didn’t rise to fame on their own. No one really does – but then again, it all depends on your personal definition of what “fame” is. Whether it’s like Justin Bieber who was discovered through YouTube, or like Lady Gaga, being discovered at a local bar, they couldn’t get to where they are now without a good PR team backing them.

   

These are all faces of “success.” Even when they fail and mess up their reputation, they somehow find a way to make a comeback. Don’t be fooled because it wasn’t in their own doing, it was with the help of their PR team. They direct them and give them publicity. Their jobs specifically is to help create, build and maintain the image of an artist. From this, they’re also a big part of making sure the fan’s stick around and have a craving for more. With the right people on publicity your team to give a flashy image, an artist has the potential to achieve great things in the music industry.

What about when a popstar fails? Do charity work, give a public apology, release a new single…these are all things the team helps formulate to regain a reputation.

What happens when an innocent, teen star transitions to a more risque look? What do you do when fans are too involved in an artist’s’ personal life? There’s many issues a PR team has to face when their client is a celebrity, but there’s also a lot of rewards that come with you – you get to make one talent happy while the rest of the world who supports them happy, too.

One Direction’s “Four” Album Debut

Today, One Direction’s fourth album “Four” was released!

I used to be a huge One Direction fan, ever since they were first on the X-Factor in the UK. During the past year and a half is when I stopped keeping up with the boys and their music, their tours, and their overall updates. I retired being a “Directioner” so to speak. It was when their first single off of this new album was released, “Steal My Girl,” that I found interest in their new music and looked forward to the release of the full album.

My Top Four Favorites from the album are:

1. “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”

2. “18”

3. “Night Changes”

4. “Fool’s Gold”

I know they will definitely change once I listen to the album more, since this is only the first day of its release, but for now, these songs reminded me most of their last album. They have the nice guitar acoustic vibe where you could hear their true vocal talent rather than their music that has a lot of loud beats and techno effects with autotuning.

My roommate, Sarah, gave a quick review of how she felt: “I feel like a lot of the One Direction songs resemble other songs that people have sung already but because they are so catchy and they all sound nice, I enjoy listening to them. I would have to say that my favorite song at the moment is ‘Fool’s Gold’!”

Faith Brought to the Billboard Top Chart

American Idol 2005 winner Carrie Underwood has taken the world of country music into her arms and formed large success through her music, being titled one of the most prominent mainstream artists in the industry!

An Oklahoma Christian girl at heart, Carrie opened up her love to music when she sang at local churches and at elementary school talent shows. At the age of 14, she was encouraged to audition for Capitol Records in Nashville, but the contract was cancelled and she was able to fulfill a normal, teenage life – going to school, having normal jobs, being a cheerleader, and even competing in some beauty pageants.

Auditioning for American Idol in 2004 is when her life began to changed dramatically – after being reigned the season four winner, she quickly jumped into the studio by the next year to record and release her first single, “Inside Your Heaven.” This became the only single by a solo country artist in the 2000 decade to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She broke this record in the very beginning of her career, something that most artists don’t do until being in the industry for multiple years. This isn’t the only achievement she’s made; her others are incredible! Some of these include:

• female country artist with the most number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, from 1991 to present, having 14 number one’s
• top-ranked female artist on Billboard‘s Best Country Artists of the 2000’s list
• the first and only country artist to ever debut at number one on the Hot 100

About 8 years since then, she’s released four studio albums, has been on six tours, performed at countless award shows, and has even made television appearances as an actress. Her most recent project includes a compilation of greatest hits titled “Greatest Hits: Decade #1” that is set to be released on December 9th, 2014. This album will feature a song called “Something in the Water,” which is the leading single. This track had great success on the Billboard Hot Charts, particularly the Country and Christian categories. The song has been number 1 on the Christian chart since October 8th and still is to date, this being it’s 6th week at the top.

“Something in the Water” was written by Carrie along with some of her other partners and goes back to her Christian roots. The ending of the song has a sample of “Amazing Grace” sung by her, as well. This song had a lot of great feedback, many commenting on her how gifted she is when it comes to her vocal range, and the appreciation of the choir used in the background. One source has also applauded her on bringing faith back into her music.

Some of the powerful, faith-based lyrics read:

“Couldn’t fight back the tears so I fell on my knees
Saying, “God, if you’re there come and rescue me.”
Felt love pouring down from above
Got washed in the water, washed in the blood

And now I’m changed
And now I’m stronger

There must be something in the water…

And now I’m singing along to amazing grace
Can’t nobody wipe this smile off my face
Got joy in my heart, angels on my side
Thank God almighty, I saw the light”

Carrie Underwood is an artist who I was never fully dedicated to but I have always appreciated her music. One of my all time favorites is her cover of “I’ll Stand By You.” Country music isn’t exactly my favorite genre of music, but a lot of her work is the right mix of country and pop that I really like! “Something in the Water” has been added to my recent favorites!

Falling in Love with Falsetto

In this entry, the spotlight is back to facing yet another YouTube star – this week, Max Schneider! 

While being best known as a singer, he is also an actor. He has starred in a Nickelodeon TV show and movie (How To Rock and movie, Rags) and had a recurring role in the show Crisis, along with some other smaller parts in other works. Max had an interest in performing starting from the young age of three, today being twenty-two years old, and has continued working on his rise to greater fame. Between 2012 and 2013, Max went on two concert tours – one with starlet Victoria Justice and one with his own band, “Max and the Babes.”

Max has done most of his work with other producers and songwriters, one mainly be the name of Kurt Hugo Schneider (and no, they are not brothers as many fans like to believe!) Kurt has also found fame through YouTube, where he producers unique song covers for his musical friends and also creates his own music. Max has become good friend with him, as Kurt has had him featured in many of his videos on YouTube. In fact, Kurt and Max have even collaborated on an entire album together, recording 8 song covers including popular hits such as “Breakeven” by The Script, “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye, and “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran. It was through this production that really put Max out there into the public, and a lot of it had to do with the fanbase that Kurt already had on his channel – his fans fell in love with Max immediately and wanted to hear more (and see more of his face, because he is a great looking guy!) It’s no surprise that Kurt continues to gravitate towards him because Max has a voice that is unlike most male singers, in my opinion. It’s full of rasp, power, flowing riffs and my personal favorite, his falsettos. It would be hard to believe if this aspect of his vocal range wasn’t what he’s best known for because it is so prominent when listening to him sing. In a recent cover, Max sang his version of 5 Second of Summer’s hit single “She Looks So Perfect” – the falsetto jumps in as soon as the video begins *swoon*

Max was once again paired with Victoria Justice outside of their tour (thanks, Kurt!) Two of the most popular videos on Kurt’s YouTube channel are medleys, one based on Maroon 5 songs and the other for Bruno Mars. Medleys have a way with music lovers – you get one entire song based on a mix of multiple songs, and it really could not get any better than that, especially if it’s dedicated to one of your favorite artists! After these two specific videos were released, fans demanded to have more covers featuring Max and that’s exactly what they got. Some of the more recent videos include covers of “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, and on Max’s own channel, he created a mashup of the songs “Stay With Me” and Stay High” done right on the spot. Talk about talent!

Here’s the video to the Maroon 5 medley that has reached over 21 million views to date:

Max has had three of his own personal albums, two of which released this year. His original music is what I think makes him an underappreciated artist. Sure, everyone loves to hear covers of music that they’re familiar with, but not many people give chances to the songs that these people create on their own. After all, being an artist is all about the work that you create through your own mind and it’s straight from the heart – this is something that creates an intimate environment when becoming invested in a singer and their work. Max’s original music videos are less viewed compared to his covers, mashups and medleys – this is where change is needed! His amount of talent cannot be put to waste, so please, when you give those videos above a listen, go take a look at his YouTube channel and give a listen to his original songs like “Darling” or “Puppeteer.” His voice isn’t the only amazing thing, because his songwriting skills are equally awesome!

Tori Kelly’s “Fill a Heart”

California singer/songwriter Tori Kelly – big voice, big smile and big hair (in the nicest way possible.) She has an even bigger heart.

Tori started off her career on YouTube in 2007 when she was 14 years old, her first upload being a cover of “Go Tell It On The Mountain.” In many of her later uploads, she shows her talent of guitar playing and making mixes and beats through music recording computer programs. She’s produced many of her own singles this way, creating all of the instruments and fixing up her vocal recordings through a computer. Anyone that does know her is also familiar with her biggest singing talent – her inhumane riffs. As a singer, I know that singing riffs isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Tori takes them to a whole new level that makes me question if she’s an alien because no other human I know can match the sounds she produces. It’s actually amazing and anyone who experiences a singing session from her is guaranteed to get the chills.

This is one of her more popular covers because of the one incredible riffs that she hits, performing PYT by Michael Jackson:

I had the pleasure of seeing her perform live last November and when I say she sounds this good live, I MEAN IT. She performed this exact cover and hit the riff just as flawlessly.

Now I should probably stop fangirling.

 You can visit her visit her YouTube Channel (which currently has over 78 million views and nearly 1 million subscribers) by simply searching “Tori Kelly.” She has a mix of covers, original songs, live event performances, announcement updates, and some behind the scenes action of her life. She has released 2 EP’s, one in 2012 and the other in 2013, called Handmade Songs and Foreword. Her most popular song off of the latest EP is called “Dear No One,” where she was invited to numerous radio and talk shows to promote her work. She is currently working on a full studio album, but not much has been said about that except for talks of some collaborations with famous faces like Ed Sheeran and Pharrell. While she is mostly popular on YouTube, she is still making the jump into being well known outside of it. Seeing her success now makes it easy to know that she will have no problem doing so!

In February 2013, Tori released a song for the campaign “Child Hunger Ends Here” by ConAgra Foods and Feeding America called “Fill a Heart.” For the promotion of this song, later in April, she went on a “Fill a Heart” tour and performed in several different cities while helping out in their food banks. She made a couple of vlogs and posted them onto her channel so fans could see the progress she was making for the campaign while doing concerts by night.

Here’s the song that made a difference for poverty:

“Stepping forward and making a stand
you and I, is where it starts
You and I can be a part
Feed a soul
Fill a heart”

It’s rare that you find an artist who uses their talents as a source of charity and this is what makes Tori Kelly all the more special 🙂

Sleep at Last with Ryan O’Neal

Are you a fan of The Fault In Our Stars? If you’ve ever watched the movie trailer, would you be able to name the artist of the song that plays in it? I have a feeling that most people are going to answer “no” to this one but thankfully, I can help you out on that one!

The artist goes by the stage name of “Sleeping at Last,” real name Ryan O’Neal. Most of his music is known through films and television shows, but I believe it is highly underrated. The song “Sun” from the trailer is a beautiful song – his genre being a mix of indie rock, emo and baroque pop. The first time I listened to his music, I thought, “this is amazing and it needs to be added into my sleepytime playlist.” It’s very light, mellow and the lyrics are touching and meaningful when you give them a clear listen.

One of my favorite songs in general is called “Turning Page” and was featured on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 1. Aside from the fact that the Twilight movies have incredible soundtracks, I am so glad I was able to discover Sleeping At Last through it. Whenever I want a time of relaxation, meditation and peace, he is the first artist that I turn to.

Ryan has released 6 albums in the past 11 years, starting his launch in 2003. He has three full-length albums, while the other three a little more different than a usual soundtrack. In 2011, he created Yearbook where he would release three songs every month for one year, 36 songs in total. This was his first of the two concept projects he has worked on. The other one is called Atlas that had its start in 2013. It is planned to be an ongoing series of music, the first 30 songs being completed this year. Atlas: Year Two is currently in the works of being prepared for the upcoming new year. Finally, he released an album of covers that has 8 tracks, some which were picked up by the TV show Grey’s Anatomy.

While Sleeping At Last has had a share of features in films and television, I truly believe that this artist deserves so much more recognition. While some people believe that there is a beauty behind the artists who aren’t known worldwide as familiarly compared to the Bieber’s and Cyrus’, this is one case where I would be opposed. Ryan has a voice and a talent for producing and writing that is unlike to anything that I listen to on a usual basis with today’s popular music. His music is what I like to call “real music” – lyrics that have a deep meaning with a perfect, soothing voice to match. Being under an independent label, I would like to think that he has been incredibly successful given the circumstances.

What I’m trying to tell you is to go listen to his music because you won’t regret it – you may even thank me. Once you’ve listened to the song I linked above, there is no doubt in my mind that you, too will experience and appreciate the beauty that is Sleeping At Last.