My promotion is done (I spent so much time commenting on everyone's best of, God!) and my banners are semi-ready. Last year, I decided to kick things off with less important categories, this year, I will kick things off with
...
As I said previously,
I feel like 2015 was a very solid year for Pop music and there is no way I will be biased beause my two main faves - Britney Spears & Shakira - did not release any album
so the #1 spot is free! Just like last year, I took in consideration
the entire amount of work, not only if I like this track more than that one, I feel like the album needs to be cohesive, needs to make sense and entertain you throughout the entire session and I feel like I put a good list of albums over here,
let's see if you agree!
15. Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon
We kick things off with
Lana Del Rey. Just like last year she blew me away with the first single -
'High By The Beach' - and then the album came out and... It could be way better. What also frustrates me is how
she puts albums out and then does not really care for them. This album had like zero promo, zero effort... I really thought this was going to be a better era because the input in the song, in the video and all that seemed so on point!
The album itself is ok. It is not amazing but I like the big majority of the songs. 'High By The Beach' is obviously the
highlight but as you can see the rest of my top 5 tracks is also very good as well. Can we make
#BringBornToDieBack? On a bright side, this slays 'Ultraviolence'.
14. Adam Lambert - The Original High
For the first time ever, Adam Lambert let me down. His albums usually are
pop perfection.
I had high expectations because of his last album - 'Trespassing' - but this new one, 'The Original High', eventhough it is far away from being bad, it could be way better. I feel like he was less risky and played less with his voice/music style. There are a few
highlights that really slay me and that's why the album charted, some of those are obviously
'Underground' and the rest of my top 5 tracks. On the other hand, if a track is bad, it really is bad and such a
filler. Unbearable -
'The Light', 'Heavy Fire' or 'Shame'.
13. Justin Bieber - Purpose
Alright! A lot of people fell in love with this album and I can understand why... Its
R&B/Hip Hop/Urban feeling is very smooth and easy to listen to but it did not do a lot for me. It is a good album but it lacks something, nonetheless, I do think it is a
good amount of work. I love the
production and how cohesive it ends up being. Justin did take some risks on this one and
it did pay off... But I will be honest, I think my main problem with 'Purpose' is just the fact that
I did not dedicate enough time to it (probably due to its lenght) because I do like almost every track and I could easily jam to it.
The Top 5 Tracks I gave you there are surely the highlight of the album!
12. Ciara - Jackie
Gosh. Ciara puts an album out every year, doesn't she? Yes! And does she slay every year? Yes, she does! Does she flop everytime? Yes, she does! Is it fair? No. There are a couple of fillers on this album -
'I Got You' or 'Fly' - but the album itself is a very good amount of work that mixes a lot of pop, R&B, electro and dance. I fell in love with some tracks such as
'Lullaby' or 'That's How I'm Feeling' (despite how
generic it may be). I love her voice, it is so smooth, it has a lot of Janet Jackson influences in it and it just makes every song so sexy, it is not easy to explain. Her singles -
'I Bet' and 'Dance Like We're Making Love' - are surely making my top 75 singles of 2015 as they are great! I wish Ciara would be taken more into consideration.
11. Demi Lovato - Confident
I never really love a Demi Lovato album in its full and this time it was not an exception.
'Confident' is a better piece of work than her previous albums, that's for sure but I still want more from her. She is an
amazing vocalist, no doubts about that, but
I fail to hear risks on this album. It is very constant with radio-friendly songs or pretty ballads. I will admit that
'Cool For The Summer' sounded fresh and risky but I never really got into it, something bugs me on that song. I'd like to mention that
'Stars' is just pure pop perfection and so is 'Yes'. I did enjoy her urban play around in certain songs and overall, it is a very nice album...
I just need a more complete piece of work.
Anastacia - Ultimate Collection
Going through this
'Ultimate Collection' makes you realize how good
Anastacia is and how many hits she has. It is sad that she is only an
European act now and how she struggles everytime she puts an album out because she is damn good! This new greatest hits features three new songs. One of them is a cover of
'Army Of Me', original by Christina Aguilera, and would you believe me if I said Anastacia did it much better than Aguilera? It fits her best, it has more attitude and way more power. Anastacia is a freak of nature and I could not let the year end without praising her.
She is flawless.
TOMORROW: The Albums (10-01).