10 Favourite Songs of 2009 (the non-singles edition)

I think the music environment seems to very different these days, and people’s taste in music has also changed a lot over the couple of years. Nonetheless, I still think I am a supporter of good music (I hope), more importantly, good or rather, credible singers. As such, record companies  really have to make their best choices on which singles to release. Anyway, I think these songs should, or should have been released  as singles as well. So in no particular order, here are the 10 songs:

1) Angels Cry – Mariah Carey

Alright I am a big Mariah Carey fan, so I would have to say that “Angels Cry” is really a potential single, if we were back in the 90s that is.

2) Long Shot – Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson really has a great album this year with “All I Ever Wanted” and this is one of the tracks that I really love from this album! Very catchy and pop-ish!

3) This One (Crying Like a Child) – Utada

My favourite track of Utada’s latest English album, “This Is The One”! I am really happy that she is finally embarking on a tour to promote her latest English effort, and it seems the ticket sales for the tour is selling very well!

4) 靈魂的重量 - Amit/ A*Mei Zhang Hui Mei

There are just too many amazing tracks on the first Amit album by Taiwanese pop diva A*Mei, and this has got to be one of the most touching numbers in the album.

5) Wonderland – eVonne Hsu

Although the album was on the whole disappointing, this track really stood out for me. eVonne had not been faring well in the charts since probably her third or fourth album, and I really hope her record company will do something about it. The song choices are rather not very appropriate most of the time, as one can really tell in her latest album, “Love*over”.

6) Murder My Heart – Michael Bolton

7) I Didn’t Know My Own Strength – Whitney Houston

9) Love Letter – Leona Lewis

10) Declaration of Love – Melinda Doolittle

20 Favourite Songs of 2009 (singles edition)

Here’s my list of favourite songs of 2009. I will not be including songs from albums that were released in previous years that happened to top the chart this year though, including the incredible “Halo” by Beyonce, and only includes songs that were released as singles. So here we go:

1) I Want To Know What Love Is – Mariah Carey

I really love this remake of the Foreigner classic, and I think Mariah really did this song very well. She’s an amazing vocalist, and it definitely shows. I didn’t think the music video did the song justice though. I think she could have filmed it in a real arena/ stadium, and it would have looked much better. Anyway, she still looks stunning and sounds amazing!

2) 掉了(Fallen) – Amit/ A*Mei

Definitely my favourite Mandarin song of 2009! The composer Qing Feng wrote this song especially for A*mei after hearing about her plight in which she was not able to see her father for the last time because of a certain typhoon that disrupted air traffic. A truly emotional song and delivered perfectly by Amit/ A*mei! The music video is really nice too!

3) Happy – Leona Lewis

The talented singer from the X Factor series wows again with her new album and single. “Happy” is delivered flawlessly by Leona Lewis, displaying her powerful vocals as well as ability to emote..

4) Change – Daniel Merriweather, feat. Wale

5) Come Back To Me – Utada

6) 倒数 (Countdown) – Elva Hsiao

7) Million Dollar Bill – Whitney Houston

8) 抛物线 (Projectile) – Tanya Chua

9) 花蝴蝶 (Butterfly) – Jolin Tsai

10) For Your Entertainment – Adam Lambert

11) Bad Romance – Lady Gaga

12) When Love Takes Over – David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland

13) I Do Not Hook Up – Kelly Clarkson

14) H.A.T.E.U. – Mariah Carey

15) Just One Love – Michael Bolton

16) 好胆你就来 – Amit/ A*Mei

17) My Love – The Dream feat. Mariah Carey

18)  Russian Roulette – Rihanna

19) She Wolf – Shakira

20) Love Sex Magic – Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake

10 Favourite Albums of 2009

Alright I have not been buying albums as frequently as I did, mainly because there aren’t many albums that I felt was worth buying this year, even though a lot was released. I used to have a separate list for both English and Mandarin music, but this year I am combining the list, since I wasn’t very excited by the music that was released. I think more albums will be released over the next 2 weeks before we enter into 2010, but as of now,my favourite albums of 2009 are as follows:

1) Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel – Mariah Carey

This was probably the only album which I totally enjoyed this year, other than of course the next album. Mariah has been so consistently good in her album offerings since her debut. Although it did not sell as well as “The Emancipation of Mimi”, I don’t think it is any less lower in standard, probably just not so mainstream, and the songs on this record are just amazing. Just listen to H.A.T.E.U., Angels Cry, Standing O,  I Want to Know What Love Is, etc. I’m glad she’s going on tour to promote her album, though it seems like it will be only in North America, sighz. Hope she will release the concert in DVD or Blu-Ray. Oh yes, it seems like she will be having 2 remix albums for Memoirs next year. This is extracted from www.mariahjournal.com:

In addition to the main Remix album which will comprise of R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop remixes, the other will be a Dance album which will all be Jump Smokers remixes of tracks from Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel.

2) Amit First Album – Amit aka A*Mei Zhang Hui Mei

This is the first album by Taiwanese pop diva A*Mei’s alter ego, Amit, which is in fact her aboriginal name. On this album, she brings out the other side of her, the more aggressive and dark side, the side we seldom see of the pop diva. On top of that, she tackles social issues, sings in the Taiwanese language, and even has a song dedicated to her homosexual fans. In support of the album, she has also launched a world tour, and it has already started weeks back in China. All I can say that she looks amazing, sounds amazing. I can’t wait to attend her concert here next January!

3) Love and War – Daniel Merriweather

I really like this particular album, because there’s so much soul in the music. I seldom listen to male singers as I always say, but somehow this particular album just appealed to me. I really love the lead single, “Change”, featuring Wale, which really caught my attention to this singer. Of course there’s “Red”, which really motivated me to get the album. I can’t wait for more music from Daniel! He’s set to release his album in the US next year I believe. Hope he does well there!

4) East to West – CoCo Lee

It’s been ages since CoCo Lee released a Mandarin album, and she finally did this year! This album may be quite cliched in terms of the album title, but I think it’s one of the better Mandarin albums this year, after hearing the albums that are released this year. On top of that, she’s a credible singer!

5) All I Ever Wanted – Kelly Clarkson

This is probably my most favourite Kelly Clarkson album yet. Kelly is such an amazing vocalist, and the songs on this album really demonstrates her versatility and her talent. It is really very disappointing to find out that she was snubbed for the Grammy nominations, only appearing in that of “Best Pop Vocal Album”. I hope she wins. It’s really a good pop album!

6) Echo – Leona Lewis

7) This is The One – Utada

8) If You See Him – Tanya Chua

9) Diamond Candy – Elva Hsiao

10) Butterfly – Jolin Tsai