Britney Goes Urban?

Britney's back and has been snatching quite a few wigs in the last few weeks. Her latest album, Femme Fatale, debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts making her one of the only females with 6 #1 debuts on the chart. Not only that, but her videos for Hold It Against Me and Till The World Ends have shown Britney being...well Britney...something we haven't seen in a while. On top of all that, she just announced the dates and opening acts for her upcoming tour, named after her album!  Although it was previously announced that Enrique Iglesias was going to open, he dropped out for some unknown reasons. After a little searching, Britney has finally announced her new opener for whom I could not be more excited:

NICKI MINAJ! 

Nicki Minaj is pretty much one of the hottest up and coming thing right now and she's pretty much the perfect opener for her. She's not big enough to overshadow Britney but at the same time she's not small either where even if audiences aren't familiar with her music, they'll still know of her. Its a perfect way for Nicki to expand her audience to a next level. On top of touring with Nicki, Britney and Nicki also 'tweeted' some little hints at a potential collaboration or something. Some are speculating a remix featuring Nicki for Till The World Ends and others are hoping for a brand new track! For me, either way it'll be a smash. I mean, look how well Britney's remix for Rihanna's S&M is doing?  

This isn't the first time Britney has gone urban. Throughout her career, she's always brought a little bit of urban flavour in her music whether it was her collaborations with The Neptunes on songs like I'm A Slave 4U or her most recent remix with Rihanna on S&M. No pun intended, I like it, like it when Britney goes urban. Its an interesting twist to her music because she always does it in her own unique and unexpected ways. I mean, did anyone ever suspect she'd be doing a collab with RiRi or tour with Nicki?

Concert Review: Lil Wayne & Nicki Minaj

This past weekend was quite exciting for me as I was fortunate enough to go see Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj live in concert in Buffalo, NY. As a fan of Weezy and even bigger fan of Nicki, when I saw they weren’t coming anywhere in Canada that was close to me, my friend and I decided to drive down to Buffalo to check out the show. Buffalo was actually the best alternative spot that the concert could’ve been as I used to travel there often as a kid and have some great memories of different places and stores there. Needless to say, I also love Niagara Falls so we were hitting many birds with one stone....OH and I also love long drives and road trips so yes, definitely hitting many birds with one stone. I love doing that. Poor birds...maybe they shouldn't chirp so much or let loose on cars all the time.

What was cool about going to the concert was that I had to write a review for MuchMusic as part of my correspondence for them SO you can check out the review of the concert by clicking HURR.

If you don’t care to click a link and read a whole article on the concert; I’ll give you the Sparksnotes’ version....AMAZING.

Nicki Minaj, who was the only reason I would actually travel that far to see, was incredible. Although fresh to the mainstream scene, she was able to put on an arena show with no difficulty. She handled and owned the stage like a pro and performed songs from her album and features a like. Seeing her rap her rhymes live was just amazing. The same can be said about Lil Wayne. He’s been in the game for so long so he’s no newbie to the stage and that was evident in his performance. What was cool about the performance was how Nicki was integrated in the show. Instead of performing as an opener, Wayne brought her out midway through his set - she performed her set - and then he came back on. It was neat!! If any of you guys get a chance and are fans deff make it a point to check both of them out live. If you aren’t fans, well, check it out anyways...you might just be converted.

Porcelain Black was the initial opener who was recently signed to the Young Money roster. She was ok... she seemed a little lost in who she was but she could have some potential. After her performance, they premiered her video for This Is What Rock N Roll Looks Like produced by RedOne and featuring Lil Wayne and she came down in the audience and watched it as it premiered.Travis Barker and Rick Ross opened for the two of them; but having VIP tickets caused us to miss them as that’s when we were taken to see Nicki Minaj back stage. We did however see Travis Barker perform a little of Can A Drummer Get Some and it looked like he had an awesome set as well. His stage set up was actually really cool as it was made in the shape of boombox and him and his drums were placed in where one of the speakers would be. Swag.

So best part of the story...meeting Nicki Minaj. Definitely not what I was expecting it to be; for someone who has so much fierceness and attitude in their raps, she’s one of the nicest and most down to earth celebs I have ever met. For starters, her team was making her out to be a diva saying she wasn’t allowed to sign anything but body parts, and not to hug her and yadda yadda but upon meeting her she was the one to initiate the hugs. She was especially grateful for us for driving all the way from Ottawa so we got extra hugs. Bonus. She signed our little laminates (in a perfect world I would’ve gotten my CD signed but they told us she wouldn’t so I put it away...little did we know ha ) and personalized them for both of us. She was really nice, and very appreciative for our dedication in coming down and I teased and asked her why she didn’t come closer; and she explained how she wanted to but it wasn’t fitting into the schedule or something like that but she does want to come and perform there. Before leaving, she gave us both hugs and told us to have a safe drive back. Very sweet. In addition to being super sweet and down to earth, she was also super hot and super tiny with a big booty. Something about that doesn’t make sense so I’m sure the derriere might not be completely natural but regardless, she looked amazing!

All in all, the trip and the concert were epic. Like I said above, I would definitely urge both fans and non-fans to check both of them out live. It will be money well spent and you might just be converted.

Apparently Steve Jobs Killed the Music Industry?

Over the years, music has evolved in output formats; from records to tapes to CDs, there has always been a physical way of purchasing music. However, crossing into the generation of the CD came the Digital Download MP3 / M4A which is probably the most convenient way of attaining music: with just a simple click on iTunes or Amazon among others, one can download a song or album in high quality and store it on their...wait for it...iPod. Yes, iPod. The popular device in which one can store thousands of songs, music videos, play games, and so much more. iPods are probably one of the most popular and famous way of carrying music these days and with different models and types for different types of people, everybody loves the iPod...everybody minus Jon Bon Jovi that is.

A few days ago, Bon Jovi was interviewed and he proclaimed that Steve Jobs (co-founder and chief executive of Apple Inc.) was personally responsible for killing the music industry. Talking to The Sunday Times Magazine he stated:

Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the (CD) jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it. God, it was a magical, magical time. I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music industry.

(The full interview/article can be read by clicking here: http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=635420&affid=100055)

Powerful words! Since he made his statement, there has been quite the stir up over what he said and I have my own little two cents on the situation.

Now I agree that the music industry is continuously going downhill and that the joy of going to a store to pick up a CD is diminishing. Its actually very sad. I mean, I’m one of the few people that will still go out to a store and buy my favourite artist’s CD when its released on new release Tuesdays. If its an artist that I really like, I won’t even listen to any previews or anything and will wait till the full album comes out before giving it a solid listen. I know, I know: I’m old school that way. Its odd but, I wholeheartedly agree with Jon that those were definitely the days and that there will eventually come a point where people will ask “what happened?”

That being said, I disagree with the fact that Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music industry. My question to Bon Jovi is how? Why? If anything, Steve Jobs has actually given the industry revitalization and hope. Before iTunes came along, there was a huge period of illegal downloads via Limewire, Torrents and all those other peer to peer sharing methods. And, although they still exist, iTunes has come as a sort of saviour to prevent and encourage the purchasing and supporting of music. People now have the alternative of simply clicking a button and downloading a song in high quality directly to their computer and to their iPod for just a little over $1 per song. They have the option of buying full albums that come with a PDF Digital Booklet (pretty much identical to the liners found in the jewel case of a CD) or they can use the preview button before buying and choose to purchase only the songs they like from the album. This method has been criticized by some, including Jay-Z, however in my opinion that is better than someone a) paying for a full album and not liking half the tracks and b) not buying the album at all. I mean, before iTunes came along, I would sometimes get albums without listening to them beforehand only to find a few good tracks on them wondering why I spent that money for just two good songs. Heck, even today, when I used to work at HMV, people would come in and listen to an album and find they only like 2/3 songs and would thus not buy it at all. At least via iTunes, artists can still make money through individual downloads.

In addition to audio, iTunes also offers the sale of music videos which is another way for the music industry to make money. Before, music videos were simply just played on TV and would barely be available for one to own or purchase. Now, people can buy music videos of their favourite artist and song and store it and watch it on their iPods. I don't understand how that is a bad thing or how its the reason for the “death” of the music industry.

Technology is continuously evolving and people evolve with it. Digital downloads are just another evolution of the musical format; just like CDs replaced tapes, digital downloads are the evolution of CDs. CDs aren’t even extinct yet! They are still quite big and pretty much every album released digitally is also available on CD. Listeners simply have an option on how they want to purchase it. Without iTunes the number of illegal downloads would continue to sky rocket and the decline of the CD would still occur...nobody wins. iTunes allows users to get their music digitally, legally.

I think Jon Bon Jovi needs to get with the times...or maybe, if it makes him happier, Steve Jobs can remove his musical catalogue off iTunes.

Concert Review: Lady Gaga (yes, again)

I've seen Lady Gaga live quite a few times now so when I went to the third leg of her Monster Ball tour in Ottawa last night, I had a general idea on what to expect. However, Gaga being Gaga, she never ceases to amaze me and last night was no different.

Since I've reviewed Gaga a few times on my blog, I'm not going to go into any major details on the show, but she did change up her show since the last time I saw her in Ottawa in 2009. The Monster Ball was revamped into a brand new show; new setlist, new set, new, well, everything. It was set up as a completely different tour, so Ottawa residents who saw her in 2009 were in for a new treat and definitely got their money's worth with the new "revamp".

The moral of her show was the same of self-love, equality, liberation, and accepting who you are. Although at times what Gaga says becomes redundant and sometimes scripted (some of the lines she says have been used in every show), it definitely comes across as genuine. Each night, Gaga attempts to bond with the audience and in her own words, "liberate them". Gaga doesn't attempt, she succeeds. By the end of the show, I don't think there was anyone left disappointed and if there were any skeptics going into the show, I'm sure they were freshly converted "monsters". The themes of the Monster Ball fit in perfectly with the title of her new single and album, Born This Way, which makes you think of the clever cross-promotion involved with everything Gaga does. There were a lot of name drops of the album throughout the night and the show ended with an encore performance that consisted of the freshly released track.

Her voice was amazing as usual and one thing that is very commendable of Gaga is having such heavy choreography, stunning sets, visuals, and theatrics, and singing live. Although any talented musician should be able to accomplish all that, the industry is in a place right now where not all "artists" can say they have that feat. At one point during the show, Gaga's mic screwed up and she made it a point to say, "At least you know I'm not f**king lip-synching". Mid-way during the show, she called a fan before the appropriately placed song, Telephone, and told them she would meet them after the show for a drink and meet and greet. It was a random draw that she won before the show. Gaga attempted to speak French to the fan who's native language was, well, French but that was short lasted when the fan said it was easier if she spoke to Gaga in English. Ha. Nearing the end of the show, some fan threw a t-shirt on stage that read "capital city Gaga" and Gaga picked up the shirt and flashed it to the whole audience thanking the fan for the shirt and stating how Canada was the first place she ever became #1. During the finale of her show, before the encore, she danced with the Canadian flag around her and showed Canada some more love. It was nice to see all the fan interaction she did in such a large arena. Despite being filled with thousands of people, Gaga was able to make it feel intimate for every attendee there.

Lady Gaga has really evolved as a performer. I remember when I first saw her in a, what used to be, school auditorium. This was back in 2009. In the span of 2 years, she went from playing to hundreds to thousands. As she has grown, so has her fan base and it is evident through her performances why she has gotten this big. Forget any reports you read in the tabloids or magazines, if you want to see a glimpse of Gaga and what all the hype is surrounding her, check her out on tour; all your questions will be answered.

Make sure to watch me on New.Music.Live on MuchMusic at 5PM EST today as I will be doing a short review live on television tonight!

Hitting Two Birds with One Stone

So in this blog I'm going to try hitting two birds with one stone as the topics I want to talk about kind of fit hand-in-hand.

This past week I went home to Toronto for reading week and I can assure you I did little to no reading. Okay, I spoke too soon; I actually finished reading Elixir by Hilary Duff (yes, yes I know). I don't really consider that an accomplishment as I started reading the book back in October. Did I ever mention that I was a slow reader?

Anyways, I had a friend visit me from London (England, not Ontario)... you'd be surprised at how many times I have to make that clarification when I talk to people. I wouldn't make a big deal out of it if it was London, Ontario. While he was here I showed him some of Canada's popular points... at least those in Southern Ontario like Niagara Falls, the CN Tower etc. On his last night here I dragged him to the Tattoo Rock Parlour downtown to check out The Pretty Reckless perform live on their first headlining tour.

Being my first concert of 2011, it was definitely a banging start as The Pretty Reckless are one of my new obsessions... well maybe not so new as I've been into them since they first came out on the scene almost a year ago. I saw them perform last year at Warped Tour, but that was a 6 song set list before their album was out, so it was nice to see them on their own as a headlining act. They definitely did not disappoint. I would go further into reviewing the concert, which brings me to the next thing I want to talk about. Concert reviews.

As an avid concertgoer with a passion for writing, I, naturally, love writing concert reviews. Going to concerts fits in well with my passion and love for music, which also fits in well with another one of my interests; communications and media. All this relates to this new gig I've gotten with MuchMusic, another one of my loves. For those who don't really know me, or are new to my blog, throughout my high school years, I've been auditioning to be on MuchMusic. Whether it be embarrassing audition videos or just going to their-now-off-the-air-but-reintroduced-as-a-new-show-called-New.Music.Live, MuchOnDemand, I always wanted to be somehow directly involved with media. I got my little start by being one of their Skype correspondents to ask different celebrities questions live via webcam but this kind of fizzled away mid-summer 2010 and would only be occasional. A few weeks ago, that evolved into something bigger and better that I'm super excited and stoked about.

I've become one of their Live Crew Correspondents where I've got a few different things I do. I do video throws and shouts for them (either taped or done live) for new music videos for their live show New.Music.Live. I also do live hits in between commercial breaks for TV dramas Gossip Girl and Hellcats. Via Skype (or in person if I'm in Toronto), I chat with their VJ about current happenings in the show, and give my opinion and predictions on what's going on and what may happen. So far, I've done quite a few hits for Gossip Girl, and one for Hellcats. In addition to live hits, I also do concert reviews for them for the various concerts that I go to. I know you guys might be thinking, but Khizer concert reviews are written, how does that fit into you being their live crew correspondent? Well, I do written reviews that are posted on their website AND I also do a live segment where I review the concert either via Skype or in-studio for New.Music.Live if I'm in the city.

This brings me back to The Pretty Reckless. See, everything kinda fits. The first concert review I did for them coincidentally started with the first concert I attended this year. This is why I refrained from expanding on The Pretty Reckless earlier; I did a review for MuchMusic's blog on the concert which can be read by clicking HURR. In addition, because I was in Toronto for reading week, I was able to actually go live into the studio and review the concert with their VJ Phoebe (who is totally awesome, btw) as well as talk to the band on New.Music.Live. Now we pretty much reach the climax of my blog as I've been trying to hold my excitement in for the last few paragraphs.

OMGWTFBBQ.

All of this is really something I've always dreamed and hoped for is becoming directly involved with music and media and although its nothing huge, its baby steps and something that fits in perfectly with my schooling and everything. Ok, so I feel like I've hit both birds now; The Pretty Reckless & MuchMusic. Doing the review live in studio was definitely a bit nerve-wrackin as it was my first time doing a live-in-studio thing as opposed to webcam, but it went by very well and it is something I would love to continuing doing. I will post the video of my two segments on my new YouTube account soon so keep an eye out for that! As for future concerts, I plan on reviewing everyone I go to this year whether its directly for my blog or if its for MuchMusic. Regardless, they will all be posted here!

So that was my reading week; a very interesting and diverse week that was full of surprises. I sit right now on a Greyhound bus back to Ottawa typing up this blog. I definitely want to get back into reading mode and pick up some interesting reads when I'm back home that hopefully won't take me four months to read.

If I Said This Song Is Horrible, Would You Hold It Against Me?

Ok so for my first music review of 2011, none of the songs are actually horrible. However, in the last few weeks after reading and hearing the line "if I said I want your body, would you hold it against me?" from Britney Spears' latest single over and over again via friends, Facebook, or Twitter statuses, I thought I would hop the bandwagon...in my own way of course.

In the world of mainstream music, the first few weeks of the new year have brought some amazing tracks by well established artists in the industry. On the apparently lucky day 1/11/11, Britney and Kanye fans struck gold with brand new singles from their forthcoming albums. The following week, one of my own wishes came true as Jennifer Lopez premiered her debut single from her upcoming album Love? on the Ryan Seacrest show. Although these artists have proven themselves and dominated at some point during the last decade, with the arrival of new artists like Lady GaGa, Drake, Kesha, and Nicki Minaj to name a few, as well as the constantly evolving sound of pop music, it seems like these artists have to reinvent and top themselves to stay...well...on top.

Here's a brief review on each track:

Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me

Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of hype surrounding Britney's debut single from her upcoming album. From Facebook to Twitter, there has been much buzz created not only by fans for the song, but Britney and her team as well. When the song was released on 1/11/11, despite the hype, and despite breaking quite a few records after its release (the song debuted at #1 making Britney one of the few artists with most #1 debuts, it was most played song on the radio in one week, and shifted 411k legal digital downloads in its first week), I feel the song is just mediocre at best.

Produced by her long time collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke who have been by Britney's side since ...Baby One More Time, the song follows the continuous trend of mainstreaming dance and electronic music. In fact, this song goes one 'step' further and features a dubstep breakdown in the middle of the song. Of course, many Britney fans probably haven't heard of dubstep music before so for them its a bit of a new revolution. Apparently, the whole album is said to take a more dubstep route, which I'm not extremely happy about. I mean, its not that I don't love dubstep, I actually love it, but its the fact that its going to become mainstream like every underground gem of the past, and will eventually get overused, overplayed, and then irrelevant. Kind of like Timbaland.

The song is a fun listen, and after hearing it plastered on the radio and somewhat enjoying the breakdown, its kind of grown on me. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the song is good. That just means she accomplished what she wanted to do and yes, she has another #1 under her belt. I wouldn't say the song is horrible, because its not, but its not amazing either; it lies somewhere in between.

3/5

Kanye West & Jay-Z - H-A-M

Released on the same day as Hold It Against Me, H-A-M by Kanye West & Jay-Z from their upcoming joint album Watch The Throne, dropped unexpectedly. After being a little disappointed in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, H-A-M brings me back to the reason why I love both Kanye and Jay-Z. The song is a collaboration between two of the most amazing rappers in the industry and instead of just being a feature track, it is evident that both artists meshed their brains together to create this monster track. From its production to its lyrics, the song is just as superb as it is intense. The intensity builds up throughout the song and it feels as if you're listening to a rap opera. The song ends leaving you wanting more. Here's hoping they release a music video for the song; it could be very epic.

4.5/5

Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull - On The Floor

Jennifer Lopez's album Love? has faced many push backs and delays within the last 2 years but it seems like its finally going to be released this year. The first official single from the album just premiered on the radio a few days ago and there's only one word to describe it: HOT. The new song called On The Floor is a dance record (following the current trend of top 40) produced by RedOne (PokerFace, Bad Romance) and featuring Pitbull. Although a dance record, this one feels uniquely catered just for J.Lo; it contains Spanish influences as it samples the 1989 song Lambada by Kaoma, has an infectious and thumping club beat, and it maintains her signature urban style with Pitbull's feature. All these together create a hard hitting track that is one of the first Jennifer song in years that has the potential to do well. With proper promotion that could be assisted with her being a judge on American Idol, this song could be exactly what Jennifer needs to get back on top.

4/5

So far January hasn't done too shabby for mainstream music. Its nice to see some veterans back in the industry, especially since lately we've been caught up in one album wonders that come and go. I'm looking forward to all of the forthcoming albums from the respective artists above and see how well they put out (especially Jennifer Lopez).

Until the next review...

The Postman Always Rings Twice?

The other night I fell asleep really late with the intention of sleeping in since I didn't have any classes till later...

...that plan failed.

Come morning time around 8:30-ish, my appartment phone starts ringing. Since I don't have a landline and live off my cell phone, I knew the ring meant someone was downstairs trying to get buzzed in. Having slept late the previous night, I was so tired I didn't feel like getting myself out of bed to buzz someone in.

"Perhaps it was a surprise visitor?" - I argued with myself to get me out of bed.

"What kind of surprise visitor would visit you this early in the morning?" - I argued back to myself.

Good point.

Cell phone underneath my pillow, I take a look to see if anyone texted me that they would be coming in the morning or that they were downstairs.

Nothing.

The phone kept ringing. I still had no desire to get up and answer it.

"Maybe its the postman delivering an oversized package?" - Another thought I pondered to myself.

This was a huge possibility and I actually almost got myself up to go answer it. I argued with myself again, "that would mean you'd have to put clothes on, go downstairs, pick up the item, come back up and your whole sleep would be ruined".

Good point.

The postman could just leave a pick up slip on the door, and I can pick it up when I go to school later. The phone stopped ringing. I went back to sleep.

A FEW HOURS LATER

I wake up and get ready to head out of the house. I was still wondering who the caller at my door was in the early morning but believed that it was probably the postman. I go downstairs, and check my mailbox.

No mail. Odd.

I go to the lobby and check for a package pick up card stuck on the entrance doors. Nothing.

Odder.

That meant it hadn't been the postman in the morning. Who could it have been? I checked my phone once again incase I perhaps missed a text or call.

Nothing.

Ugh, I should've woken up.

The mystery still remains; I will never know who came to visit me at 8:30 in the morning. For all I know, it could've just been someone trying to get in so they buzzed my apartment. But then again, my last name is in the middle of the alphabet so why me?

I declared to myself that next time I hear my apartment phone ring, despite how lazy and tired I might be feeling, I should make the effort of getting myself out of bed and answering it.

The title from James M Cain's classic noir tale, The Postman Always Rings Twice, holds true as the person who buzzed that morning only rang once.