Author: Miguel Antonio Laruesta

Well poised and assured, Demi Lovato fires up with her latest album Confident. But here’s the catch, she sometimes sounds that she has too much of it. Lovato’s fifth studio album still echoes her battle cry: self-empowerment and being in your own skin. The first track “Confident” made sure that Demi’s voice booms louder than the heavy drums and multitude of horns as accompaniment. The message however, will make you question if there is something wrong with being confident, and surely the answer will be just like Lovato’s. The succeeding tracks has the same musical DNA as the first one.…

Jack Antonoff clearly knows how to frame the female perspective in his songs. Taylor Swift’s collaboration with Antonoff yielded “1989” which Antonoff co-wrote three songs. Aside from this, the Grammy Award winning songwriter also released an album which re-interpreted the songs of his band’s album “Strange Desire.” The album “Terrible Thrills Vol. 2” features a lot of relevant female acts in today’s music landscape and they all sang using their own style. ​One of the widely recognized voices in pop music of late is Carly Rae Jepsen, who made an appearance in the album and sang the track “Shadow.” Jepsen’s version showed the pop star’s trademark playful…

Replicating an album’s critically-acclaimed formula is a double-edged sword because an artist will not want to sound the same as their previous work and run the risk of repeating their aesthetics. But at the same time they still want listeners to immediately recognize them through their already recognizable sound. Disclosure’s sophomore album “Caracal” sure feels like this dilemma. ​The Lawrence brother’s successful first album Settle made everyone to notice the two boys’ house music. Not only did the singles from the album charted, it also put an up and coming singer onto the forefront by the name of Sam Smith. ​Caracal attempted to recreate the…

American rock band Imagine Dragons released a music video for their newest single Roots. The music video was shot around parts of New Zealand during the band’s break from their tour last month. Dan Reynolds, front man for the band said in the Auckland leg of their tour that they chose to shoot their music video in New Zealand because the place felt like their home away from home. The music video starts off with the band finishing up a gig but quickly turns into a dream sequence of sorts as Reynolds starts to move into different dreamlike images of…

Everyone thought that Carly Rae Jepsen would just be a one-hit wonder with her wildly popular song “Call Me Maybe.” Her sophomore album “Emotions” not only dispelled those notions but also showed that the pop star has the ability to make her songs stick to our ears. “Call Me Maybe” is an iconic song for Jepsen. This was her ticket to mainstream consciousness. Her song was so popular that almost every one posted their own videos lip synching to the song about seizing the day and making those connections happen, even if it’s banking on a maybe. The craze started…

Pop groups, like most other music acts, go through changes. Most of them begin their careers with a lot of help from their label and a squeaky-clean look to boot. This look usually evolves as the group matures. Each member goes through an individual transformation and adopts a more distinctive look. The same is also true as can be observed in the songs that they sing. With their much-awaited concert tonight at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Filipino Directioners can expect the British quintet to be more mature this time around. The fans will definitely see that this wasn’t…

Once British boy band One Direction steps into Philippine soil for their much-anticipated concert on March 21, there will surely be a lot of shrieking. Not just on the concert grounds, rounds shrieking is also bound to ensue from fans that will troop outside of their hotel. Directioners are some of the most dedicated fans ever. One Direction’s perfect bedhead hair, candid demeanor and goofiness are what endeared them to their fans all over the globe, the Philippines included. But for those who are just getting wind of the fab five, here are ten things that you might want to…

Joven Tan’s latest composition for this year’s Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs will be a big hit for the LGBT crowd. “Pare Mahal Mo Raw Ako” talks about a straight guy learning that his gay friend has fallen for him. The premise might sound like something we may have heard before with Parokya ni Edgar’s “This Guy’s In Love With You Pare.” However similar the narrative may be, the delivery of “Pare Mahal Mo Raw Ako” is markedly distinct. “Pare Mahal Raw Ako” is tender and intimate, especially with only a piano and a violin accompanying Michael Pangilinan’s tender voice.…

“Pumapag-ibig” features an interesting wordplay on the modern everyday terms that Pinoys use. We conjugate nouns as if they were verbs. We like to invent words and play with the language to add more spice to the way we talk to each other. Knowing this while listening to Jungee Marcelo’s Himig Handog entry for the first time will make anyone feel comfortable and relate to the song in an instant. The song is light and catchy and jives well with its quirky lyrics. Jungee Marcelo did an excellent job of reeling the listeners in, especially the young ones who are…

The 90’s kids will remember Barbie Almalbis as the front woman of the band Hungry Young Poets, whose song “Firewoman” still haunts us to this very day. She then moved to form another band, Barbie’s Cradle, who brought critical and commercial success through their songs “Shiny Red Balloon” and their cover of the OPM classic “Limang Dipang Tao.” After being with these two bands, Barbie went on her solo journey in 2005 and released her album Parade in 2006, to be followed five years later by another album Goodbye My Shadow. Throughout her musical and artistic journey, Barbie has always…