JAPOY'S BEST OF 2012:
TOP 20 ALBUMS: 20-19
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RELEASED: 06.08.2012
LABEL: RCA
US BILLBOARD 200: #1
TRACKLIST:
01. Can't Stop Won't Stop
02. Scream
03. Climax
04. I Care For U
05. Show Me
06. Lemme See (feat. Rick Ross)
07. Twisted (feat. Pharrell)
08. Dive
09. What Happened To U
10. Looking 4 Myself (feat. Luke Steele)
11. Numb
12. Lessons For The Lover
13. Sins Of My Father
14. Euphoria
* Favorite Tracks |
ALBUM REVIEW:
Opening the albums list is Usher with his latest effort for Looking 4 Myself. This album is definitely another good effort from the R&B superstar after two years since his last record. Looking 4 Myself gives you more experimental sound to different genres of pop, hip hop and R&B. The album starts with a club banger Can't Stop Won't Stop, which incorporates the melody of Billie Joel's classic Uptown Girl. Scream follows next and it is easily one of my favorites on which it contains heavy sexual lyrics. Lead single Climax is a lightly synthesized heartbreak song which focuses on the singer’s anguish over a failed relationship. The mid-tempo R&B track, I Care For U, follows next while Usher sets the mood in a feel good vibe aura on Show Me. Rick Ross makes an appearance on the seductive mid-tempo track Lemme See while Pharell provides assistance on the fun, 60’s retro-soul track for Twisted. Dive, which is also one of the album’s single, discusses commitment to a relationship as Usher used figurative lyrics to the song. What Happened To U focuses on the different causes of a lost love particularly money, fame, cars and achievements as stated by Usher on the chorus. The album title track follows after that as Usher sings about his musical journey as the track is inspired by his travelling experience. Usher also teamed up with some of the best dance architect Swedish House Mafia on the euro disco and electronic dance track for Numb. Lessons For The Lover is a track which has a reminiscent vibe on the Confessions era while Usher soulfully pays for his father's promiscuous ways on the track Sins Of My Father. The album closes with a more tense and powerful euro dance track for Euphoria. Usher may not have a strong comeback with Looking 4 Myself but this album is worth to listen to especially if you’re a fan of him or R&B music. Definitely, Usher will surely release more albums and let’s hope it will be a better one.
2009: Owl City - Ocean Eyes
2010: Ne-Yo - Libra Scale
2011: Pitbull - Planet Pit
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RELEASED: 06.29.2012
LABEL: RCA
US BILLBOARD 200: #1
TRACKLIST:
01. Turn Up The Music
02. Bassline
03. Till I Die (feat. Big Sean & Wiz Khalifa)
04. Mirage (feat. Nas)
05. Don't Judge Me
06. 2012
07. Biggest Fan
08. Sweet Love
09. Strip (feat. Kevin McCall)
10. Stuck On Stupid
11. 4 Years Old
12. Party Hard / Cadillac (Interlude) (feat. Sevyn)
13. Don't Wake Me Up
14. Trumpet Lights (feat. Sabrina Antoinette)
* Favorite Tracks |
ALBUM REVIEW:
Up next is Chris Brown with the complementary album for his last year's effort F.A.M.E., simply titled Fortune. Chris Brown stated that this album is an upgrade of his previous release. Let's see if his telling the truth as I criticize each track of the record. Judging from the content, the album's theme focuses on partying in the club and sex. Turn Up The Music, which is one of my favorite dance tracks of the year, starts the record on a highnote. The next track is Bassline, on which Chris Brown talks to a girl to leave the night club with him. Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa join Chris Brown on Till I Die as they try to recreate the unbeatable Look At Me Now. Mirage follows next on which it samples the classing Waterfalls by TLC on the drum loop beat. Brown asks for forgiveness for his past indiscretions on the ballad Don't Judge Me. The track obviously relates to the two women who is involved with him right now (Rihanna and Karrueche Tran). 2012 is next as Brown seems too preoccupied with the lady's part rather to think about the end of the world. The two following tracks both explore the theme for sex; Biggest Fan and Sweet Love. The latter samples Silk's Freak Me. The album's lead single Strip, which contains lyrics about crooning a stripper, wasn't really my favorite from the record. The mid-tempo ballad Stuck On Stupid is about Brown comparing his crush to going crazy while he goes acoustic on 4 Years Old, a track about a love that makes him childlike. The two-in-one track Party Hard / Cadillac comes up next on which it's about a girl with perfect lips and body can be a wild child of the party while the latter part of the song shifts to acapella on the doo-wop ballad about happiness as Brown knows best. One of the memorable tracks of the album and probably one of your favorites is the beautiful R&B track Don’t Wake Me Up while we end the record with album's most sonically adventurous track Trumpet Lights. To sum up the review, I wasn't that much impress with the content of Fortune. It may have its highlight through the singles choice however; the other tracks were not that strong enough for my personal taste. It may not exceed my expectation to surpass F.A.M.E. but still it is a decent R&B record.
2009: Colbie Caillat - Breakthrough
2010: Lady Antebellum - Need You Now
2011: Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday
COMING UP: Top 18-17 Albums
Britney dominating 2011 
