04. (03) JOHN MAYER
Last time I did this chart, John Mayer was a surprise entry as high as No.3. Even fellow fan Shell didn't expect to see him that high, especially considering I'd never seen him live, and urged me to 'get my butt to one of his gigs'. Well now I can happily say that I have. John played the UK last year and I was at one of his incredibly popular Hammersmith shows. The guy is a legend, he has the most beautiful smooth voice, the most crazy guitar playing skills and the ability to write wonderful, wonderful songs.
I did say last time that his latest material (at the time) hadn't quite lived up to his first two albums for me. While I'm happy to report he was RIGHT back on form with the release of his brilliant fourth studio LP 'Battle Studies' - and you'll see from my top 20 that there's a much bigger smattering of songs from that album in my list of favourites than from the third. It was definitely a more mainstream, more upbeat LP - even calling on Taylor Swift to assist with vocals on single 'Half Of My Heart'. I was SO happy to get into another John Mayer album in such a big way!
He's still not a success here, despite his brief fling with fame following his engagement to the beautiful Jennifer Aniston.It's a shame because worldwide he is a massive star, getting to play events like this year's Grammy's - I just wish the whole world would sit up and take notice. This guy has honed songsmanship to such a great level and is really really big on musicianship. My musician friend just thinks he is the absolute dogs and can't think of anyone better - he inspires the writer in me and the player in him.
Would really relish the chance to get to see him again. Have heard one story where he put his location on Twitter and a fan ran down to the bar he was at and he played whatever she requested about 5 feet away from her. Magic.. would relish that experience. But as it is I have four brilliant albums to listen to - I'm happy with that!
MY JOHN MAYER TOP 20
20. Neon
19. Half Of My Heart (ft. Taylor Swift)
18. Clarity
17. Gravity
16. Say
15. 83
14. Friends, Lovers Or Nothing
13. Assassin
12. Daughters
11. Why Georgia
10. Belief
09. Perfectly Lonely
08. Heartbreak Warefare
07. Vultures
06. My Stupid Mouth
05. Bigger Than My Body
04. No Such Thing
03. Your Body Is A Wonderland
02. Love Song For No-One
01. Back To You
Check out my top 4, the beautiful single 'You Make It Real', stunning album track 'If You Don't Wanna Love Me' and his best single 'The Pieces Don't Fit Here Anymore' by clicking on the covers.
03. (-) ALEXANDRA BURKE
Now this one will come as no real surprise to any of you, my artist of the year last year and my definite favourite 'diva' if the tag has to be given. So what do I love about Alexandra? Well I liked her back in 2006 when she first auditioned and got rejected at judges houses for the X Factor. So when I saw her back and ready to audition again, I was excited. And she didn't disappoint, providing the most wonderful audition with an absolutely stunning rendition of Whitney's 'Saving All My Love'. From that point on she was a firm favourite with me, nobody else stood a chance in my love! However, it's true that I didn't think she was going to win based on the strength and individuality of the other girls and Cheryl's apparent preference for them. But talent and dedication shone through and MAN am I glad she did! As far as I'm concerned, she gave us the best X Factor related album of all, and the one most suited to the person releasing it - upbeat, full of life, energetic, all things Alexandra definitely is.
I've had the pleasure of seeing Alexandra live four times, but it was the latest on the 'All Night Long' tour that she blew my socks off. SHe's been good every time, she's always good, I mean just listen to that voice and look at the performances she gave on the show (still the best overall performer the X Factor has produced surely?). But this time was special. The levels she's ramped it up, the effort she'd put in, the sheer energy the whole show conveyed - it was amazing. At times it was like watching Beyonce in full diva mode, as Louis would say 'simply world class'.
I love everything about this woman - her work ethic, her dedication, her personality, her voice, everything. To me she is just one of those people born to do the job they're doing. She just IS an entertainer. The next step for me would be to see her join in with the writing, and see if she's any good. What I do appreciate is that even though she doesn't write - she already has input. The beautiful ballad 'The Silence' was a song about her Aunt, because she took in her diary and told the songwriters the scenario and what she wanted the song to be about. When someone isn't a songwriter, that's a great thing to see them doing and one of the things that makes me see how badly she wants to do this.
The great thing is that even though we've had only one album, we've had a deluxe edition and a leak of enough songs to create a whole NEW album - so the songs in my top 20 might not all be familiar, but check them out, everything she touches (well, almost) turns to gold!
MY ALEXANDRA BURKE TOP 25
25. The Music Sounds Better
24. Gotta Go
23. Starlight
22. Perfect
21. Start Without You (ft. Laza Morgan)
20. For A Change
19. Nothing But The Girl
18. With Or Without You
17. Fear Of Flying
16. You Broke My Heart
15. The Map
14. Turbulence
13. Overcome
12. Before The Rain
11. All Night Long (ft. Pitbull)
10. Good Night, Good Morning (ft. Ne-Yo)
09. Dumb
08. Dangerous
07. Broken Heels
06. What Happens On The Dancefloor (ft. Cobra Starship)
05. Light Of The Dreamer
04. Bad Boys (ft. Flo Rida)
03. Hallelujah
02. The Silence
01. Before It Explodes (ft. Bruno Mars)
Check out my top 4, massive singles 'Bad Boys', 'Hallelujah' and 'The Silence' and my favourite song, the amazing Bruno duet 'Before It Explodes' by clicking on the covers.
Going to listen to it right now.
I think I already know who it's going to be, but still 
Cheers for this.
