The Quarter Note: Our Top 20! Week 2

Serbiphile and I (Latviphile) are back with yet another top 20 list of our favorite tracks over the past 2 weeks. Enjoy!

20. Safura “Drip Drop” (-13 in rankings)

Look who we’ve got here! The beautiful and talented Safura Alizadeh makes it back on our chart with her magnificent pop song in narrow margins.

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19. Vilija “Imaginary” (debut in rankings)

Meet Mataciunaite of Lithuania. This song radiates Vilja’s unique voice as she utters lines of self confidence and persisting even when others don’t believe in you.

Vilija is an actress as well as singer-songwriter who stunned us with her debut album, Attention, (and shocking choice of dress) on Eurovision 2014

 

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18. Flipsyde “Train” (debut in rankings)

Flipsyde’s “Train” comes with a energizing tune. Not only this, but the lyrics carry a cardinal message as Flipsyde addresses modern issues of violence and prejudice.

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17. Molly Smitten-Downes “Children of the Universe” (debut in rankings)

Say hello to Molly from the United Kingdom. Her song promotes equality, diversity, and a great beat, suited perfectly for her powerful voice. The music video features a multitude of exotic garments and jewelry- personally, one of the best British artists I’ve heard so far.

 

 

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16. Duncan James “Amazed” (debut in rankings)

Yet another British singer. Duncan hails from the incredible English band, Blue, and you’ll see him resurfacing here on our rankings tonight. Serbiphile and I have a shared consent that Duncan James is our favorite member of Blue.

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15. Emma Marrone “La Mia Citta” (+5 in rankings)

Italian artist Emma Marrone makes a return with a 5-position gain in our charts. Her song contains a undeniable intensity, and is extremely difficult to sing (as Serbiphile has discovered)

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14. Tyrone Wells “Sink of Swim” (debut in rankings)

This song starts lightheartedly with a reference to World War 2 (hence the Kamikaze airplanes) then builds lyrically in determination. The chorus is hurled at you with determination and an order to seize the day, capture the opportunity, because this time- it’s sink or swim! You’ll enjoy this if you’re in for a motivational song with historical reference. 

 

 

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13. MIKA “Elle Me Dit” (-1 in rankings)

Once again we have our fun French piece from pop singer MIKA. It’s a catchy tune worth singing along to. If you’re not a fan of the beginning, give the song a chance and wait for the jubilant and upbeat chorus. You’ll be singing along and wanting to learn your French in no time! 

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12. Jake Etheridge “Change” (debut in rankings)

Known for his impressive songwriting skills in Dutch Common Linnet’s performance in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Jake has also released the beautiful song, Change.

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11. Eric Saade ft. DEV “Hotter than Fire” (debut in rankings)

You’ll enjoy Swedish pop singer Eric Saade if you’re up for a nice, empowering, song to dance to. If you’re not big on dancing, you can always follow along with Eric’s pro moves 🙂

This spontaneous picture of Eric with a pistol is quite endearing, no? 

 

 

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10. Kreed ft. Alexey Vorobyov “Bolshe, Chem Lubov” (debut in rankings)

If you’ve already read our article on featured artist, Kreed, then you may be familiar with his hit single along with the Russian singer, Alexey Vorobyov. This song has Kreed’s calm, beautiful, and pristine verse complemented with a lovely chorus from Alexey. The music video if perhaps one of my favorites of all time. It is a must-watch (as there is a VERY well-executed twist at the end)!

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9. Future of Forestry “Did You Lose Yourself?” (debut in rankings)

This lesser-known techno piece carries much contemplation with it as listeners drown in its deep meanings and pondering tune. It’s a song that will urge you to remind yourself of who you really are. After all, we never really know ourselves until we lose ourselves, do we?

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8. We The Kings “Check Yes, Juliet” (debut in rankings)Well here’s a relatively known band for you all. It’s a familiar song, but a great one as well!

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7. Icon for Hire “Only a Memory” (-6 in rankings)

This song is unforgettably touching, and therefore holds its position in the top 10. It is one that will stay with you forever no matter how or when you listened to it.

“I will not bend until I break. How much can one bruised body take?”

It holds words of remorse and words of determination.

 

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6. Art of Dying ft. Adam Gontier “Raining” (+3 in rankings)

The meaning of having to put on a smile while you’re breaking inside is a story relatable to all of our lives. Art of Dying and Adam Gontier top this with great music, which crafts an incredible song that has stood its ground on our list.

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5. Walk the Moon “Anna Sun” (debut in rankings)

Great song for reminiscing a summer of great memories. It will lift you up when your down and encourage you to see the brighter side of things.

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4. The Calling “Wherever You Go” (debut in rankings)

Meet The Calling, a decade-old rock band hailing from Los Angeles. This song presents words of support and persistence backed by your good old rock instrumentals.

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3. Reeve Carney ft. Bono and the Edge “Rise Above 1” (debut in rankings)

Actor and musician Reeve Carney depicts a compelling situation of trust and dreams being bestowed in a person who is unable to live up to these aspirations. In our daily lives, we often run into moments of escalating pressure in times of conflict which we are being pushed to the brink, but the only solution is to persist and pull through. Then you will rise above.

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2. Hollywood Undead “Believe” (debut in rankings)

Hollywood Undead looks back in past times with regret, reminding you to take advantage of the time you still have to create a brighter future. Leap for every opportunity, even if it means failing, because you never know whether or not it will be your last. The rapping and singing, tune, and substantial message takes Hollywood Undead to a position as our runner-up

 

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1. Blue “Hurt Lovers” (debut in rankings)

I told you, you’d be seeing Duncan again- in a very distinguished position too! Each distinct voice of Blue unites to provide a song of comfort and perseverance for those in a time of tragedy. Whatever comes, it’s not the end. We’ve gotta fight, and take a stand.

 

 

Roman Lob (Germany)

Roman Lob, a German pop/rock artist

Name: Roman Lob

Age: 23

Country: Germany

Genres: Pop, rock, piano pop

Best Song:

Standing Still, a modern pop ballad by Roman.  The song is simple, catchy, and has a pretty melody.  The lyrics portray Roman going through a breakup with the love of his life.  Unlike other pop artists claiming to “bring back someone who left”, Roman just let’s it all go, showing his very laid back personality.  Although this song may not be about his actual love life, it’s still a breath of fresh air.  There is no auto-tune crap in Roman’s music, which makes him a genuine artist.  Even if ballads aren’t your “forte”, this song will have your mind wandering off and thinking of any happy moments.

What Rocks: 

• His Personality: Roman is very “chill”, relaxed, and laid-back.  Even during high pressure invents such as, the Eurovision Song Contest, he kept his cool and performed at his very best.
• His Music:  Roman has a variety of songs, ranging from upbeat pop anthems to ballads that will make you cry.
• His Voice: Roman’s voice has something very real to it.  I can believe every word he sings, unlike many other pop artists nowadays.
• Social Networking: Roman keeps up with his facebook, twitter, and instagram very well for a busy man.  He was even kind enough to answer a few questions I asked him on his facebook page.

 

What Sucks:

 Okay, I hate this part.  I really don’t want to bring down any of these artist’s feelings.  So, I will try to make this lean towards the positive side.  Nothing really “sucks” about Roman in my opinion, although his music’s availability is kind of annoying.  I realize that he has nothing to do with the release of his songs, but I wish that his albums would be released in my country.

Ratings:

Music: 9

Voice: 9.3

Performances: 9.5

Personality: 10

Social Networking: 10

Overall Rating: 9.6 A

-Serbiphile (a.k.a Alexey Holland)

 

Tone Damli (Norway)

 

 Name: Tone Damli

Age:  26

Country: Norway

Genre: Pop and dance

Best Songs: 

Imagine, a lovely pop duet, featuring Swedish pop star Eric Saade.  Although this may be similar to American pop music, it has a nice beat and is an example of a true collaboration.

Look Back, this is my personal favorite from Tone.  This song shows her raspy, yet sweet voice off.  It’s catchy and is definitely something that could be played on the radio right now.

What Rocks:

• Her voice: Tone has a very pretty voice, unlike the artists on the radio that use autotune.  For a generic pop artist, she has a sweet, raspy, and believable voice.  Tone uses breaks in her voice, which show real emotion.  This makes music, rather than just a song.  On American top 40 radio, artists pour out garbage.  On the other hand, Tone produces songs that are real music, and not some dubstep autotune rubbish.
• Her catchy music:  As great as ballads are, they don’t compare to pop music when it comes to wanting to sing and dance along to.  Tone’s songs will make you jump up in your chair and knock over your homework.  Her song Look Back, will be stuck in your head for days.  Don’t be surprised if you catch yourself singing or humming to it.
• She’s a fighter: Tone Damli has been a part of multiple competitions throughout her years as a singer.  In 2005, she was the runner-up in a singing competition much like American Idol, titled Norwegian Idol.  Even though she was defeated in winning the competition, she didn’t give up on music.  After this, she released multiple songs that all went gold.  A year later, she placed third in the Norwegian Second Season of Dancing With the Stars.  In 2009, she entered Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix (Norway’s selection for the Eurovision Song Contest) with the song Butterflies.  Although she was a favorite to win, she eventually landed in 2nd place.  Therefore, she wasn’t able to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest.  After multiple defeats, Tone kept trying and released three more albums, both of with were successful around the world.

 

What Sucks:

• Social Networks: Tone doesn’t keep up with her facebook or twitter accounts, although she does update her instagram (TONEDA) quite frequently.
• Languages: Although Tone pretty much only sings in English, I can’t say the same about the rest of her life.  Most of her interviews are in Norwegian, and so are her posts.  Any hardcore fans who don’t speak Norwegian might be troubled.
• A Pop Artist:  Let’s be real.  There are millions of pop songs out in all over the world.  With so many similar pop songs, Tone might be forgotten.  Although she has pretty good and consistent songs, there are better songs out in the world.

 

Personality: 

Due to the fact that I cannot understand any of Tone’s posts or interviews, this section will be hard.  A lot of her interviews consisted of heavy laughter from her and the audience, which probably means that she is sociable.  A lot of her instagram posts have silly pictures of her, which probably means that she likes to have fun and fool around.
Ratings:

Music: 8.5

Voice: 8.5

Performances: 9

Personality: 9

Social Networking: 8

Overall Rating: 8.6 B

-Serbiphile (a.k.a Alexey Holland)

 

KReeD (Russia)

 

KReeD

Name: KReeD; Birth Name- Egor Bulatkin

Age: 20

Country: Penza, Russia

Genre: Hip-hop (rap) and pop

Best Song: “Bolshe Chem Lubov (More than Love)”

What Rocks:

• • Plethora of Talents: Kreed is unfathomably successful for a 20 year old, what with starting his own production company Black Star and going solo as a rap and hip-hop artist with millions of views on each youtube video he both stars in and helps produce…
• • Education:…whilst still continuing his prestigious music production studies at the renowned Gnessin Russian Academy of Music from which hundreds of internationally successful musical artists have birth.
• • Style: If nothing else, you’ve gotta give the kid credit for his style- Kreed is the epitome of the modern, young, and hip teenage music icon (and a positive one, for that matter).
• • Ideals: He may look like a generic, crazy, partying celebrity blown up to be more than he really is, but Kreed is actually very much opposed to both drinking and smoking. He keeps himself in shape on the basketball court and gym and encourages physical health.
• Social Networking: He keeps up to date on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and VKontakte, so we’re all well-informed of Kreed’s latest endeavors
• Vlogging: Kreed makes VLOGS on his Youtube Channel!! Obviously, I have no comprehensive abilities for the Russian Language, but they seem well edited and have full “like” bars. Kreed is exuberant and upbeat in the videos, and they seem like a fun way to pass your time.

What Sucks:

• No English Songs: Kreed has virtually no songs written in the English language (though he does occasionally post in English), so if you’re not a Russian speaker but are in it for the lyrics, you may as well kiss this kid goodbye.
• Accounts and Fanmail: As opposed to the other artists we may be blogging about, Kreed is one the more well-known scale, so there’s an almost infinitesimal chance he’ll respond to any of your fan mail- assuming you can find his real account, as there are hundreds of fabricated fan accounts. (But luckily, we’ve included the links for you)
• Genre Limitations: Unfortunately, Kreed very much limits himself to the hip-hop/rap genre. As far as I’m informed, the only legitimate sort-of-pop song he’s released is the one I’ve provided for you under “Best Song”, so if you’re hoping to hear more of his- actually quite good- singing voice, I’m afraid you’ll have to withdraw yourself to his rapping.

Personality: Uh-oh. Well this is truly something that I can’t tell you much about. Believe it or not, with all the hype over Kreed’s music in much of the Russian community, it’s difficult to find any interviews of him, which is understandable, because he’s still a college student in a rigorous school whom I’m assuming limits the majority of his social time. However, one of his favorite things to say is “I love my fans”, which is always nice to hear 🙂

Overall Ranking: 9/10

– LATVIPHILE (a.k.a Berlin West)

The Quarter Note Our Top 20! Week 1: 5/16/14 – 5/23/14

The Quarter Note Our Top 20! Week 1: 5/16/14 – 5/29/14

 

After a short deliberation with Latviphile, we have come to a list of this week’s top 20 songs.  We will be updating this list every week, so make sure to follow along!  Please note that as much as we would love to write a description of each song, we simply can’t!  Please look for detailed descriptions of each artist in the future, and feel free to comment any artist’s profile that you would like to see. 

20.  Emma Marrone- La Mia Città      

Emma Marrone, a famous pop/rock star in Italy, will be kicking off this list.  Although this song is in Italian, you will be jumping up and down with every word Emma sings.  She is a true rocker.

Emma Marrone

19.  Tone Damli- Look Back

The perfect example of a Scandinavian pop star.  Look Back is catchy and is something that any Top-40 pop music lover will listen to on repeat.  (I know, the whole point of this blog is to get rid of your pop music… But everyone loves a catchy song from time to time)

Tone Damli

17. TIED   Ed Sheeran- Give Me Love 

17. TIED  Maxim- Alles Vursucht

16. Caitlin Crosby- Imperfect is the New Perfect

The anthem for anybody who says that they don’t “fit in”.  Caitlin has a very raspy and powerful voice, which makes anybody want to get up and dance along to this song.

Caitlin Crosby

 

Alexey Holland’s Honorable Mention: Shiri Maimon

She’s a beautiful Israeli goddess, with the voice of an angel.  She is an idol to many people around the world. and a mentor for many musicians back in Israel.  Shiri is able to belt out haunting melodies, sweet ballads, and “cool” pop music.

Songs by Shiri:

Now That You’re Gone Live

Hasheket Shenish’ar

Shiri Maimon

 

15. Safura- It’s My War

Safura Alizadeh is a power-house singer, with a very versatile voice.  Her songs have ranged from club songs, to ballads, to pop, to jazz, and even more.  Safura is on this list twice with two different songs.  It’s My War is a slow, yet powerful song that will have you in tears by the end.

Safura Alizadeh

14. City of Lions- Here is Love

12. TIED Sinplus- Let It Soar

Two Swiss brothers with a dream of becoming rock stars.

Sinplus

 

12. Mika- Elle Me Dit

My favorite on this list.  Mika has produced a catchy pop song that will have you dancing and singing on your feat.

Mika

 

11. Slipknot- Snuff

 

Berlin West’s Notable Mention: Hurts 

Hurts

9. TIED Conchita Wurst- Rise Like a Phoenix 

The most beautiful woman in this list.  She recently won the Eurovision Song Contest… No Biggie….

Conchita Wurst

 

9. Art of Dying ft. Adam Gontier- Raining 

7. TIED Can-Linn ft. Kasey Smith- Heartbeat

A traditional Irish song with elements of pop.

Kasey Smith

 

7.  TIED Safura- Drip Drop

Here is the queen herself.  Although she isn’t first on this list, she’s probably one of the most talented vocalists on this list.

Safura Alizadeh

 

6. Miriam Cani and Alban Skenderaj- Somebody Hurts

A beautiful song that shows the relationship between two married singers.  A beautiful melody and lyrics combine to create this masterpiece.  This song is something that you simply cannot hate.

Miriam Cani and Alban Skenderaj

5. Carpark North- Lost (Peace)

 

4. The Classic Crime- The Precipice 

 

3. Linkin Park- Leave the Rest Out 

Linkin Park

 

2. Dons- Tuksums

Dons

 

1. Icon For Hire- Only A Memory 

This powerful and true song will make you tear up.  The emotions in Ariel’s voice are believable, and will transfer into your heart.

Icon For Hire

 

Written by- Alexey Holland (Serbiphile)

Ranked by Berlin West (Latviphile) and Alexey Holland (Serbiphile)

Leslie Clio (Germany)

Name: Leslie Clio 

Age: 28

Country: Hamburg, Germany   

Genre: Soul-Pop and Retro

Best Song: ‘Told You So‘, Twist the Knife‘, ‘God no More’

What Rocks:   

• Leslie has an incredibly powerful, yet classic, soul quality to her voice. You’ll know her when you hear her.
• Her music projects a strong message of female independence, letting go of the past, and an overall “I couldn’t care less what you think of me” attitude when it comes to romantics.
• Every one of her songs are unique, and there is very little chance you’ll confuse one of her songs with another. Each of them have their definite stand-out qualities.
• Her English is extremely impressive, and American/British fans will have no trouble comprehending her

What Sucks:

• She hardly has any fan-base at all in the U.S, and all her interviews are in German, which makes it difficult for foreign fans to get close to her, which is why you need to help us make her known!

Personality:  Though I have never personally met her and can only partially understand her German interviews, Leslie comes off as a relatively “chill” and amiable person. She’s not at all girly, and her clothing is usually simple and casual. She carries an eternal smile in her interviews, which is always a plus, and can sit down and have a nice, colloquial chat with the interviewer. I’d love to be Leslie’s friend, let’s just say.

Overall Ranking:  9.5/10

 

This is going to sound real cliché, but- Discover your next favorite song!

Let’s be honest- you’re way cooler than that kid who has his nose buried in Justin Bieber, because you’ve got a better taste in music. But there’s always a point in our lives where we run out of good American music to listen to, and everything on the radio… JUST. PLAIN. SUCKS.

That’s what we’re here for.

We’re here to introduce you to musical artists of every genre (from Indie Rock to Victorian Industrial) from all over the world, whether it’s Russia, China, Serbia, Germany, or the Dominican Republic. Here’s what you’ll get by subscribing to The Quarter Note:

• A daily- every 4 day profiling of a new foreign or lesser known artist, and music recommendations from each artist, including their personality, nationality, and other facts
• Our very own Top 20 Billboard chart weekly to see what we’re listening to, including links to the official videos of the tracks
• Multiple subcategories containing foreign musical artists of each genre
• Exclusive interviews, fun facts, and quotes from featured artists

Get your fresh dose of awesome every 4 days and rub that iPod of yours in the generic Belieber’s face- ESPECIALLY if they’re mean to you. If they’re not mean to you, then tell them about our blog! Enjoy!

– Berlin West (a.k.a Latviphile)