Stellar's Last Post of 2017...For Better or For Worse

I'm Stellar, welcome to Stellar in Neverland, and I KNOW I promised that I would make a list of my favorite songs of 2017 to end the year. But for a few reasons, which I'll go over in a little bit, I decided to abort that idea. So how am I going to end the year? Random rambling about the year as a whole, as well as me listing off what I got for Christmas, because why not?

This represents how I felt about the year pretty well, TBH.

Let's begin with answering the question I know you're wondering based off of my intro: WHY AM I NOT DOING MY FAVORITE SONGS LIST? Well, I was originally planning on doing it and a large part of it was written until I really started thinking about it and I concluded a few things.

1. It was WAY TOO LONG. Which, yeah, I had expected. I knew it would be really long, so I was gonna split it into two parts for your convenience. The problem was most of it was fluff. I could've easily trimmed each section about each song into about five sentences, but I'm too lazy to rewrite, and besides:

2. I've already talked about most of the songs on the list in other posts. Like, half of the list was in the Fall 2017 Playlist, and I made references to other songs on the list and my enjoyment of them in other posts, like the two Songs I Don't Know The Names Of posts and the homecoming post. I really wasn't adding anything new.

3. I'm really not feeling all that great. I've been feeling really cold and tired (which means that I'm 99% likely to get a fever, because those are ALWAYS my fever symptoms) and I have a really sore throat. It shouldn't be anything serious, but it's taking a little bit of a toll on my ability to write really long posts like that.

I'm not making a full retrospective of the year like I had planned to with the songs list, but I still want to recap how the year went for me. And for me personally, this year blew. Everybody likes to talk about how 2016 was a horrible year, but minus all the political stuff and celebrity deaths, I actually had a really good 2016! That was the year I got into Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco (among other bands), and despite those bands being labeled as “emo”, they were why my happiness was at its peak in 2016. 2017 was the complete opposite. I’m not gonna say I was depressed during 2017, but for a lot of it, I was in a terrible mood. I dealt with drama with my friends and having to put up with people who made me want to scream every time I saw them. School put a lot of stress on me, as well as starting to drive, and I made a ton of stupid mistakes I regretted instantly. On top of all that, my band director, whom I look up to greatly, was diagnosed with cancer, adding even more stress to the pile. Last year also had some sucky moments, but the happiness I got from the music I was passionate about significantly outweighed the bad moments. The big difference between 2016 and 2017 for me was that I really didn’t have a constant refuge this year like I did in 2016. However, there were a few good things that happened to me in 2017. I went to some amazing places, had a blast with my friends when there wasn’t drama going on, got my first iPhone, began playing the bass clarinet, and started a blog where I created things I was genuinely proud of.

Now, I'm going to end this post by listing off my Christmas presents because I got some cool things I would like to share. Think of this as being like a haul video on YouTube, but in text form hahaha.

• One of my family's traditions that we love is Christmas Eve Eve, which is where my mom makes a really big dinner (steak and crab legs for this year, yum!) and we exchange presents amongst the parents and the kids. This year, my present (as well as my brother's) was supposed to be my iPhone 7, but I got it about two months early because my parents figured that if they were going to be paying for the phone service, then we should get the phones then. 
• In band, we do a Secret Santa tradition this year. Obviously I'm not going to reveal who had me, but they gave me a pair of fuzzy socks (a recurring theme in this post, which you'll see), Sour Punch candy, and a box of Sweet Tarts. We did that on December 22nd.
• For Christmas Eve Eve, my parents gave each of the three kids envelopes. We opened the envelopes to find pieces of paper with pictures on them of the Badlands, the Field of Dreams, and Mount Rushmore. We found out that we're going on a road trip over the summer, which I'm really excited for! I love traveling and I've never been to any of those places, so I look forward to seeing places I've never seen before.
• On Christmas morning, we got our presents from "Santa". I got some pretty cool stuff:
• This year, the school music department started selling music-themed merchandise. I got a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a pom-pom hat. I'd post pictures but I'm not going to reveal my school's name for obvious reasons.
• A pair of suede boots that I've already worn a few times and LOVE
• A pair of purple Under Armour tennis shoes
• Just Dance 2018, which I have only played once because my brother got Madden 18 and has therefore been hogging the TV
• The Awesome Game of Meme, because memes
• Turtles All The Way Down by John Green and Far From The Tree by Robin Benway
• A pink leather tote with a really cool design on it

• A box of stuff from Bath and Body Works, including a scented candle, body wash, and a bunch of lotion
• Two more pairs of fuzzy socks, these two I believe are from Bath and Body Works as well. One of the pairs has penguins and the other has polar bears.
• Then on Christmas Day I go to my grandma's house on my mom's side. At her house, I got:
• Cash. I knew I was getting some because my grandma just straight-up told me she didn't know what to get me so she'd get me cash to spend on whatever I wanted. I'm not gonna say how much though.
• 3 Take 5 bars, because Take 5s are the best candy in the world
• 2 boxes of peanut butter M&M's because peanut butter M&M's are the second-best candy in the world
• A bunch of brain teasers
• Then we have the stuff I got yesterday at the party I go to with my grandma and my aunts and uncles on my dad's side:
• A colorful sweater
• A pair of earrings with shamrocks on them because my family on my dad's side is very Irish
• More cash
• Stickers
• One last pair of fuzzy socks (which I am NOT complaining about because fuzzy socks are my favorite thing ever)
• A Barnes and Noble gift card
• A clarinet ornament, which I was really excited about because I play clarinet
• Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, which I'm excited to read because I'm a feminist and I love learning about inspiring women.

If I remember correctly, that's all I got. I'm sorry if this post wasn't what you expected and if it seems a little rushed, but this is what I want it to be right now. Next week's post will mark my first of 2018, and it will probably be a Pitch Perfect 3 review. It might also be a 2-in-1 review with The Greatest Showman, but I don't even know if I'm seeing that. I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I'll see you next year. Peace!

Stellar

Holiday Special: Jake Paul's Litmas EP (Album Review #3.5, if you must)

Hi, I'm Stellar, and welcome to the first HOLIDAY SPECIAL of Stellar in Neverland! I'm going to start off by asking you a question: When you hear the phrase "Christmas music", what's the first thing that pops into your head? Maybe it's "Silent Night" or "Winter Wonderland", or if you're anything like me, maybe it's  Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You". Well, whatever it is, hopefully it isn't on Jake Paul's new Christmas EP.

I haven't even listened to it yet (note: I wrote the preamble the day before I listened), but I can already tell this will be my reaction to every song. 

For those who are blissfully unaware of Jake Paul, he is an YouTuber, "actor", "rapper", and all-around probably the least talented person I have ever come across. He began his career on Vine, a now-defunct app used to post seven-second videos. Vines are either comedy gold or abysmally stupid. More often than, not they fall into the latter category, which Jake Paul's certainly do. Once Vine shut down in 2016, he took his obnoxious brand of comedy to YouTube, where he currently makes painfully embarrassing vlogs and prank videos. He also starred on the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark, which I would describe as being the dollar store version of iCarly and, make no mistakes about it, the worst Disney Channel show I have ever watched. He was on the show until July 2017, when he got fired because of controversies over some pranks he pulled, which brings me to the next thing you need to know about Mr. Paul before we begin: JAKE PAUL IS A PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A HUMAN BEING. He lives in a Beverly Hills mansion with his posse of vlogger friends known as "Team 10" (wonder how long it took him to come up with that name). In the house, they perform loud, obnoxious, and occasionally dangerous pranks, which are very disturbing to his neighbors. As if that weren't bad enough, hordes of his fans (known as "Jake Paulers", what a creative name) frequently visit the Team 10 house and are collectively a burden to the neighbors. Despite numerous complaints and even a public nuisance lawsuit, Jake Paul has done nothing to ease the people's (very reasonable) complaints. He was also manipulative towards former girlfriend and Team 10 member Alissa Violet, made disgusting and racist comments to a fan from Kazakhstan, and was proven to have been a bully by former classmates, despite claiming to be anti-bullying. He gets into petty beefs with other YouTubers that I can't bring myself to care about because I don't want to lose brain cells, and just everything he does is dumb, obnoxious, clickbait. The only people who unironically like and defend Jake Paul are twelve-year-old girls who don't know any better and think he's like, so totally dreamy OMG.

In May 2017, he, with the assistance of Team 10, dropped his own song called "It's Everyday Bro", which is...I'm gonna be honest with you all: "It's Everyday Bro" is one of the best examples of a "So Bad It's Good" song I have ever seen. It's a horrible song. None of the members of Team 10 are competent rappers, the beat is garbage, and the lyrics can probably kill your brain cells due to their inanity. One of the members of his posse legitimately thinks England is a city (and was appropriately mocked by the Internet in a series of memes). But that's why I find it hilarious. The fact that somebody honest-to-God thought it was a good song is amusing. Despite most of the internet thinking the song was hot trash (and a handful thinking it's So Bad It's Good), the song got a ton of media attention and views on YouTube. This inspired Jake Paul to make many other songs (all of which are garbage) and even a Christmas EP, titled Litmas.

Yes, Litmas.

I'm going to suffer through it, because what better way to get into the holiday spirit than to completely destroy a (most likely horrible) Christmas album from one of my favorite punching bags? I didn't mention this in the title, but this is another edition of First Impressions, the series where I listen to songs I've never heard, give my opinions, and rate them from 1 to 10. Last week, I did a First Impression of Taylor Swift's Reputation, and even though I can't stand her, I still had hope she could make a decent album. In contrast, the hopes I have for this EP being worthwhile are practically nonexistent. At best, it will probably be So Bad It's Good and at worst it will likely make me want to start smoking crack. Let's just start this monstrosity and get it over with.

1. "12 Days of Christmas" ft. Nick Crompton
Great! We're barely into the EP and I'm already pissed off! "The 12 Days of Christmas" is probably my least favorite Christmas song of all time, even without the Jake Paul remix treatment. And if you think this version is going to change my opinion, you're wrong. The beat sounds like it was produced in GarageBand in 15 minutes. Jake Paul's vocals are drenched in autotune, but the effects don't make him sound any better. If anything, they make him sound worse. This dude just flat-out CAN'T SING. And of course, the lyrics are brain-dead. We all know the story of the original "12 Days of Christmas", where it's just the narrator listing off things they've gotten from their true love. In Mr. Paul's hands, he's receiving:
-12 million brain-dead idiots...I mean subscribers
-11 vloggers vlogging
-10 diamond plaques (as in the plaque YouTube sends you when you get a certain number of subscribers)
-9 reindeer twerking (yes, really)
-8 new puppies (to be fair, puppies are actually a reasonable thing to put on your wish list)
-7 British booties (??????)
-6 Gucci cases (I assume this means phone cases since Jake's an internet celebrity. Does Gucci even make phone cases?)
-Lamborghinis (Not a specific amount, just Lamborghinis. Also the way Jake sings this is the most annoying thing in the world.)
-4 Yellars (Apparently he calls his sunglasses "Yellars". I don't get it either.)
-3 Jake Paul tees (Because he has to plug his merch somewhere)
-Two new baby twins (I don't think anyone who mentions reindeer twerking in their Christmas song is anywhere near mature enough to be a father...but that's none of my business.)
-Chance and Anthony (These are his friends, and if he only gets to see them on the holidays, then they're really cruddy friends.)
Okay, I didn't know what half of that stuff was without the help of Genius, and even with Genius I still don't know what some of them are. My IQ probably dropped 20 points over the course of this song. 1/10
2. "Litmas" by Jake Paul, Team 10 and Slim Jxmmi
The title track is next. This song is called "Litmas", and based off of that wonderful title, you can already tell that it's garbage. Was anyone asking for a trap Christmas song? The beat to this one steals from "Carol of the Bells", which actually makes it sound somewhat Christmassy. It also ruined "Carol of the Bells" for me, which sucks because that's one of my favorite Christmas songs. The chorus of this one is Jake Paul chanting "Christmas is lit, Christmas, Litmas" over and over again until your ears fall off from the sheer horror. Slim Jxmmi from rap duo Rae Sremmurd is featured on this song, and it's like...dude, how'd you go from "Black Beatles" (a song I actually happen to like, thank you very much) to this trainwreck? Jake's rapping is the worst thing about this song, as his bars include referring to himself as "the young Santa Claus" and Mrs. Claus as "his side-chick", as well as the line "My parents are divorced, I made two Christmas lists, it's just so they know not to get the same s**t." Yeah, this one gets a 1/10 for obvious reasons.
3. "Deck the Halls" by Jake Paul, Team 10 and Anthony Trujillo
Dude, I just played this song in my band concert a few weeks ago! Couldn't you have waited a little bit to ruin it for everyone? More badly autotuned singing and rapping on this one, oh joy. Every time Jake Paul sings "bling bling bling bling blaoh" instead of "fa-la-la-la-la" in the chorus in that ever-so-obnoxious way, I just grimace. For whatever reason, there's a reference to "Bad and Boujee" by Migos in the post-chorus, which is...what? The verses are equally mind-numbing, and I can't tell the difference between Jake's voice and Anthony's. There's a line at the end of Anthony's verse where he mentions sneaking off with Mrs. Claus while Santa's not looking, lovely. And the beat is generic, annoying trap. Who wanted a trap version of "Deck the Halls", of all things. Not me, that's for sure. At least it's short. 2/10
4. "Fanjoy to the World"
Let me just get the obvious question out of the way: Fanjoy is the company that makes Jake Paul's merch. THIS MAN REWROTE "JOY TO THE WORLD" TO BE ABOUT JAKE PAUL MERCHANDISE. To quote that Taylor Swift song from last week's post, THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS. The chorus on this one is Jake Paul chanting "buy dat merch" over and over again, because of course it is. I checked out his merch website and A.) not even that cool and B.) overpriced as hell. I can name a million better things to spend $90 than a Jake Paul sweatshirt. But hey, lame merch deserves a lame song. Like that last song, the only good thing about this song is that it's mercifully short. This one gets a 1.5/10 because while it is astonishingly stupid, at least they have the courtesy to only be stupid for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Thanks, Jake Paul.
5. "Jingle Pauls" by Jake Paul ft. L0gan Paul
"Jingle Bells" is a Christmas classic. "Jingle Pauls" is not. AGAIN: WHO ASKED FOR TRAP VERSIONS OF THESE SONGS? The lyrics to this one are about the same thing as every other song on this EP. It begins with him shouting out his merch again. We just heard a song about your merch, bro, we don't need another one! Then he talks about going in a Tesla and a Lamborghini, his merch, his fans, and everything he's already talked about in every other song. This one is a collab with Jake's brother Logan, except it's not actually Logan. It's Jake pretending to be Logan, and his voice is even more annoying. Dude, you're not Ariana Grande, what makes you think you can do impressions? He ends his verse as Logan by just saying "dab" 16 times until it doesn't even sound like a word. I hate this song. 1.5/10
6. "It's Christmas Day Bro" by Jake Paul, Team 10, and Jerry Purpdrank (ft. Anthony Trujillo, Chance Sutton, Erika Costell, and Nick Crompton)
Naturally, the EP ends with a Christmas version of the so-bad-it's-good staple "It's Everyday Bro". I ironically enjoy the original, but I don't want a Christmas version of it. The lyrics of this one are exactly the same as the original lyrics, except with bad Christmas puns. "Santa Paul" did not give me life, thank you very much. They also rewrote the iconic lyric "England is my city" to be "London is my country", which is trying way too hard to recreate the memetic status of the original. There are seven verses on this thing, and each one of them is equally stupid. Did they really need that many? There are How The Grinch Stole Christmas puns, a boast of "delivering gifts like the Energizer bunny", and I think a reference to Hannah Montana? The original song is wonderfully stupid, but this one is just plain stupid. 1/10

IT'S OVER, FINALLY. Thank God. I'm not even going to list the best and worst songs on here, because they're all the worst song on here. This EP wasted my time, and I blame humanity for rewarding stupidity by letting Jake Paul do this. That's right, it's all of our faults for this. We let this happen. I give this EP a 1.5/10. The only thing it could be used for is for the government to play around the holidays at Guantanamo Bay in order to get prisoners to give up information and suffer. I hate Jake Paul and this EP makes me hate Christmas, which I didn't think was possible. There are billions of Christmas songs out there, and I haven't heard half of them, but I can guarantee they're all better than this.

I'm sorry this was such a negative holiday special, but if you enjoy listening to people roast horrible things, maybe you'll get some joy out of it. Next week, we'll balance out the negatives of this mess with some positive. I'm gonna talk about songs I actually liked next week in my top 10 favorite songs of 2017. I already know it will be really long, so I'm splitting it up into two parts. The first part will be on Wednesday, December 27th, and then I'm trying something new and posting the second part on Thursday, December 28th. Be sure to check those out if you like Positive Stellar! I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I'll see you next week! Peace!

Stellar

First Impressions #4/Album Review #3- Taylor Swift's Reputation

Hi, I'm Stellar in Neverland. For the first part of this post, I would like to state that I've gotten rid of the "Updates" part I traditionally began every post with. From now on, I'm only going to do updates if I feel the need to. About half the time, I didn't even have any updates, haha. Anyways, welcome to First Impressions! This is where I listen to an album or random collection of songs I've mostly never heard for the first time, give my opinion on each, and rate it on a scale from 1 to 10. A 1/10 is a song that I truly despise and never want to hear again, a 10/10 is one of my all-time favorite songs, and everything else in between depends. The higher the score, the more I like the song. If it's an album, I will list my favorite and least favorite songs and give my score for the album as a whole at the end. Today I'm reviewing what is probably the most successful and popular album of 2017: Reputation by Taylor Swift.

Just in case any rabid Swifties find this and get mad at me for "hating" on the album, this DOES NOT represent my views on the album yet. This is a reference to the line in "Look What You Made Me Do". You know which one.

Last week, I did a list of my top 10 favorite celebrities, in which I mentioned that my opinions on Demi Lovato (the fourth person I talked about) had been really inconsistent over the years. I bring this up because my opinions on Taylor Swift have been even more inconsistent. Let's break 'em down, going by how I felt about her during each era of her career. 

2006-2007 (Her first, self-titled era): I actually listened to country music a lot when I was young, which is funny because now I can't stand that genre. We had Time Warner Cable and they had an option that allowed you to watch country music videos from CMT or GAC. I would watch those videos with my dad for hours when I was four or five, and I remember watching the videos for "Teardrops On My Guitar" and "Our Song" and really liking both of them. I didn't know much about Taylor Swift but I liked those songs.

2008-2009 (Fearless era): I was in second grade when Taylor first started getting REALLY popular. "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me" were huge hits that nearly every girl in my grade knew the words to and would sing at recess. I didn't really listen to much music at this point, but I sort of jumped on the bandwagon and claimed to be a big fan. I knew a little bit about her, and I thought she was a great singer and it was cool that she wrote her own music.

2010-2011 (Speak Now era): This era started when I was in third grade, and I had made a new friend whom I was really close to. This friend had a huge crush on Taylor Lautner, who had dated Taylor Swift a little earlier. My friend started hating Swift for breaking up with Lautner (I don't particularly like referring to people just by their last names but they have the same first name so I gotta do what I gotta do), and I went along with it because I sort of thought my friend could do no wrong. I liked "Back To December" and "Mean", though. 
2012-2013 (Red era): Pretty similar to the Fearless era in terms of my opinions of her. I claimed to be a big fan but I didn't actually know that many of her songs. She wrote a few songs for The Hunger Games that I liked. Apparently that was enough for me to consider her my favorite singer?
2014 (Beginning of the 1989 era): I still liked Taylor but I thought she was starting to get overexposed. "Shake It Off" was so overplayed back then, and it still is.
2015-maybe up until May 2016 (1989 era): I was really into her at this point in my life. I thought she was so cool and relatable, and I loved her music. This was where my stanning of Taylor Swift reached its peak. I think part of it was because some of my friends were big fans and I wanted to go along, but I did like her for her.
May 2016-Present (Taylor's "break" and the Reputation era): My opinions take a complete 180. As the 1989 era dies, my enthusiasm dies with it. I start thinking that her entire persona is annoying, staged, and fake, all of which are opinions I still hold. Then at some point in July, the world learns that Taylor Swift is a liar. Basically, Kanye West uses some...choice words...towards Taylor in his song "Famous", which Taylor didn't approve of. Then Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian, posts VIDEO FOOTAGE on her Snapchat of Taylor giving Kanye permission to use the lyrics, and yet Taylor still claimed he didn't ask her permission. I felt offended that someone I previously looked up to and admired would lie like that, and I didn't know if I would be able to ever call myself a fan again. Then, a year later, Taylor comes back with "Look What You Made Me Do", all but confirming my dislike of her. But that's for later in this post. 

So after all that context, let's now talk about the album:

Oh, and by the way, I really don't like this album artwork. I mean, I get what it's supposed to represent (how she keeps making headlines), but I just think the way she's posed with her head held up makes her look awkward. I found some fanmade album covers that are way better, and it's honestly kind of sad that amateur remakes are better than the real thing. At least it's not the worst album cover I saw this year.

1. "...Ready for It?"
The first song on the album was the second released from the album, and honestly, I don't care for it. It's trying to be two things at once, and it's not a cohesive song. In the verses, Taylor pretty much raps over a trap beat akin to previous single "Bad Blood" from 1989, but the chorus sounds innocent and reminiscent of 1989 single "Wildest Dreams". The two parts are decent on their own, but they fit really awkwardly together. Plus, the way Taylor accents some of the words in the verses ("HE CAN BE MY jailer, Burton to this Taylor" is the prime example) is obnoxious. The only part of this I wholeheartedly like is the part where she goes "Baby, let the games begin, let the games begin, let the games begin, ah ah". It's such a simple melody but it's really catchy. The song overall just feels like it's trying too hard to be edgy, so I don't really care for it. 5/10
2. "End Game" ft. Ed Sheeran and Future
I saw this song listed on the tracklist and I was confused. I get Taylor collabing with Ed since they've done it before on "Everything Has Changed", and I sort of get her collabing with Future since she's experimented with rap on Kendrick Lamar's "Bad Blood" remix. But both of them on the same song? Her thought process for this one was probably "Hmm...Ed Sheeran's really big this year! And Future's really big this year! Let's just get 'em all together and dominate the world!", but she had no concern for the actual quality of the song. Future's part is generic, Ed feels out of place, and Taylor's rap verse is cringeworthy. Who told her it was okay to rap? The parts of this song I did like were the "big reputation, big reputation" chant (similar to the "let the games begin" in the previous song, it's simple but earwormy), the beat, and the line "I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me". Otherwise, you can skip it. 5.5/10
3. "I Did Something Bad"
We have more trap-inspired music this time, and of the three songs so far, this is definitely my favorite. This one shows Taylor being actually self-aware and admitting that she's done bad things. The beat is hypnotic and the chorus is explosive and incredibly catchy. Taylor sounds confident and unexpectedly powerful, and her performance really fits the IDGAF nature of the song. This is the first time in Taylor's career that she's actually been able to pull off an edgy, dark vibe. She even curses for the first time probably ever, in the line, "If a man talks s**t, then I owe him nothing, I don't regret it one bit 'cuz he had it coming." That's probably my favorite lyric in the song, just a really great diss. I also love the "ra-da-da-da-da DEATH TRAP" part after the chorus, which Genius says is actually Taylor's voice pitched down. I have no idea why it's there but it's great. This entire song surprised me in a really good way, since I expected it to be lame based off of the title and my bias against Taylor, but I like this a lot. She'd better make it a single. 9/10
4. "Don't Blame Me"
I'm don't know how to feel about this one. First things first, this song sounds fan-freaking-tastic. The chorus is a weird blend of gospel and trap, and despite that sounding like it wouldn't work at all, it does. The beat, the harmonized chorus-esque vocals, this just sounds HUGE. Taylor's vocals are actually really impressive and gritty, which I didn't expect from her at all. The melodies are also really catchy and unique throughout. So why don't I love this song? Well, it all comes down to the lyrics. It's not that the lines themselves are bad. It's just that the entire concept of comparing love to drugs is just so overwrought and cliche. We get it, songwriters. Love is addictive. Drugs are addictive. It's not as unique and meaningful as you think it is, so please stop using this metaphor. 7/10
5. "Delicate"
This one's okay, not much else to it. This song makes use of the vocoder effect, which can be used in interesting ways, but I'm not sure why it's here. She said it was used to make the song feel more emotional, but it misses the mark for me. It's just distracting. What I do like is the lyrics of this song. This one's about how Taylor wants a love interest to love her for who she is, because she knows what the public thinks of her. My favorite lyric is "We can't make any promises now...but you can make me a drink", which is just really funny to me. I also like the slight tropical vibe to this song, which is completely new territory for Taylor. Her vocals are also tender and (excuse the pun) delicate, yet somewhat seductive. It's pretty, but it's not super memorable. 6.5/10
6. "Look What You Made Me Do"
And here we have the lead single of the album, and honestly...I cannot stand this song. It is just so, so bad. So bad that my mom had to text me during work to tell me about how bad it is. I feel like this song wasn't written because Taylor wanted to make a good, functional song. It was probably written solely to cause controversy and piss people off, which is sad.The lyrics prove that no matter what people say, she's still playing the victim in all of her feuds. Hell, even just the title, proves that she's still playing the victim, because if she wasn't, it wouldn't be called "Look What You Made Me Do"! The beat is boring for the most part but it has random, annoying, and confusing noises thrown in throughout the song. The chorus steals from the '90s-whatever-the-opposite-of-a-classic-is "I'm Too Sexy", which is...who exactly asked for this? And that's not even the most WTF part of the song! That honor belongs to the part in the second verse where she starts rapping and is extremely obnoxious.  Then of course we have the part where she proclaims the old Taylor as dead in a move that reeks of "trying-way-too-hard". The only salvageable part of this is the music video, which is...honestly one of the best I've ever seen. It's a little self-absorbed, but it's visually stunning and the self-deprecation at the end is actually pretty funny. Shame it had such a horrendous song to go with it. I don't give 1/10's very often, only to songs that deserve it. And to me, this one does. 1/10
7. "So It Goes..."
As soon as I saw the title of this song, my immediate next thought was "he can't keep his wild eyes on the road". I've probably mentioned this before, but "Style" is by far my favorite Taylor Swift song, and I don't think she'll ever top it. These two songs share a fraction of a lyric, but they don't share much else because this song is nowhere as good as "Style". This one just feels like album filler. The lyrics are generic and the production is good, but nothing I couldn't get from any other song on here. Taylor also sounds pretty okay, so I'll commend her on that. The big problem with this song is that it isn't memorable at all. It goes in one ear and out the other, and I immediately forgot how it went after listening to it for the first time. You can probably skip it. 5.5/10
8. "Gorgeous"
This was the third song she released from the album. My opinions on this one are actually pretty similar to my opinions of "Don't Blame Me", although that song is significantly better. What I mean by that is that it sounds really good but the lyrics hold it back. The lyrics of this one are the epitome of Taylor's "forced-adorkable" persona. It's about infatuation, but it's clear she's trying too hard to be relatable and charming. The main line in the chorus, "You're so gorgeous I can't say anything to your face, CUZ LOOK AT YOUR FACE" is lazy songwriting and makes her sound like a vapid teenage Tumblr girl. Then of course, we have "Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats...alone", which is pandering way too hard to her audience. The things I will praise this song on are the production and melodies. It's catchy, albeit a little forgettable, and the beat is really good. However, the lyrics knock it down a few points for me. 5/10
9. "Getaway Car"
I was excited for this one since before listening to this album, I had heard all about how good this song apparently is. There is a freaking Buzzfeed article about just how good this song is. And yeah, they're right. This is just some really solid synthpop. A bunch of fans believe this song is about Taylor leaving Calvin Harris for Tom Hiddleston, and honestly I don't care about that. What I do care about is about how good this song just sounds. It's reminiscent of many 1989 songs, especially "Style". The melodies are some of the best on the album and the production is outstanding. And there's a key change! It's subtle, but I noticed it, and it definitely adds to the song. Plus, I'm just a sucker for key changes. However, the very best part of the song is the outro. She repeats "I was ridin' in a getaway car, I was cryin' in a getaway car, I was dyin' in a getaway car, said goodbye in a getaway car" and the repetition is used wonderfully. Please give this song the single-and-video treatment, Taylor. I still think you're a snake but I'll be damned if this song isn't magical. 9/10
10. "King Of My Heart"
This one's okay, but it feels a little filler-y. It's the most girly and bubblegum-sounding on the album thus far, but it tries to mix it with a trap sound. I don't really like the contrast and I'd rather it just be a straight-up bubblegum song. The vocoders and dubstep-esque sounds in the post-chorus are weird and I don't really care for them. The lyrics are also pretty uninteresting. I do like the chorus, but that's the only really catchy and memorable melody here. I really don't have much to say about this one. 6/10
11. "Dancing With Our Hands Tied"
I was most excited for this one since the title really intrigued me. I didn't know exactly what this song would be like, but I expected it would be one of the better songs. It's up there with "I Did Something Bad" and "Getaway Car" as one of my favorites on the album. The production throughout the entire song, especially in the chorus, is fantastic. In the chorus it sounds atmospheric, danceable, and really cool. The lyrics are also really good. "I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted" is a fantastic lyric, saying so much with so little. I'm a sucker for songs that have semi-depressing lyrics but happy-sounding music. Finally, we have Taylor's vocal performance, which is probably the best of her career. She's still not a great vocalist by any means, but she belts some some pretty high notes in the final chorus that actually sound pretty decent. I'll give her props for trying something different with her vocals. Overall, this song is like the lovechild of 1989 and Reputation (as weird as that sounds) and it's definitely one of my favorites thus far. 8.5/10
12. "Dress"
This one has made some headlines for being arguably the sexiest song Taylor's ever done. Many people thought she was singing about Ed Sheeran due to the line "There's an indentation in the shape of you", but Ed confirmed that's false since it mentions the guy having a buzz cut, which he has never had. I don't get why she used that line if it's NOT about Ed Sheeran, but you do you, Taylor. This is a pretty sexy song, not really in the lyrics but more in the way she sings it. She uses a cooing falsetto for most of it, as well as doing some moaning before the chorus. My favorite lyric in this song is "And if I get burned, at least we were electrified". The beat is probably the weakest thing about it, but it does set a good tone for the whole thing. This one does a good job of showing her sensual side, but not in a trashy way. 7.5/10
13. "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things"
The title of this one made me laugh when I first saw it since I say it a lot in casual conversation, usually as a joke. This song is supposedly written about the Kanye beef, and it handles it in a really light-hearted way. Between the light pianos and sort of chant-singing in the chorus, it weirdly reminds me of "It's A Hard-Knock Life" from Annie. It's almost annoying in a way, and I feel like it would be annoying she made it a single and it got overplayed. The bridge in this song was actually pretty funny. I loved her big cackle at the end of it. This one's not my favorite, but it's catchy and it's nice to not see her take herself seriously. 6/10
14. "Call It What You Want"
"Call It What You Want" was the fourth and final song released before Reputation came out, but this is actually my first time hearing it. The lyrics to this one are really cute. It's about how she's found real love and even though the media's going to label them, she doesn't care because she knows it's love. Even though I don't care for Taylor, it's kind of nice seeing her be happy after having so many failed love affairs. The melody in the chorus is also beautiful and the way Taylor sings it is just so sweet. This is just a lovely-sounding song and it makes me hopeful that I'll find a love like this. Awww... 8.5/10
15. "New Year's Day"
This one ends the album in a really unexpected way. The rest of the album is loud, upbeat, and catchy, but this one isn't. All it has for instrumentation is piano, acoustic guitar, and some faint strings. Because I tend to prefer more fun-sounding songs, I probably won't listen to this one very much, but it is beautiful. The lyrics to this one are probably the best on the album. My favorites are "Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you" and "Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize everywhere". I also like the message of this song. It's not about who you hang with at the parties, it's about who stays with you to clean up the mess at the end. It's such a true statement and it's a good closer to the album. 8/10

I didn't write this on December 13th, but it's the day it's getting posted. I'm bringing this up because it's Taylor's birthday, to which I say: Happy birthday Taylor, your album wasn't nearly as much of a trainwreck as I expected. For the most part, it's just an average-quality album. There are a lot of mediocre songs on here, a few songs I don't like, and some really good songs. 

Best Songs: My favorite is either "I Did Something Bad" or "Getaway Car", with "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" and "Call It What You Want" in third and fourth place, respectively.
Worst Songs: The only one I really hate is "Look What You Made Me Do", although I'm not huge on "...Ready for It?" or "Gorgeous". 

I added up my scores and I got a 6.5/10 for the album overall, which is really accurate to how I feel. It's not the best album I've ever heard, and I don't know if I'd say it's entirely worthy of the hype, but it's better than I expected. It's better than whatever Katy Perry did this year by a large margin. I'm sorry this post was so long. It's mostly because of the intro, which I did not expect to be that lengthy. For next week's post, I'm doing a Christmas special. It's another First Impressions, but it won't be nearly as long as this one...or as positive, for that matter. You'll have to see what it is next week. I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I'll see you next week. Peace!

Stellar

P.S. Almost immediately after I listened to this album, I listened to a few Kanye West songs. Does that make me a bad person? 

My Top 10 Favorite Celebrities

I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I've got a lot to say today. Why don't I start off with a few updates?
-There's someone I want you all to meet:


This is Catalina from Neverland (often known as just Catalina or Cat), who is now the "face" of Stellar in Neverland. She is a Bitmoji and she is adorable and I love her. She resembles how I look in real life pretty well, but she also probably resembles a lot of people, so I think it's okay. You can't use her to stalk me is what I'm saying. Each post will have a cameo from Catalina in the beginning that somehow relates to the post for this week, and I might start writing short stories about her "adventures" as full posts. I don't really have a good reason as to why I'm doing this, I just kind of want to make my blog more unique.
-About a month ago, I kept on promising that I would listen to Taylor Swift's latest album Reputation and write a review of it. However, I couldn't listen to it immediately since she didn't put it on Spotify. However, on November 30th, Taylor decided to put her album on the streaming service, meaning the review will come next week! It could have been my post for this week, but I had already started writing this post and I didn't feel like saving it for next week. Plus, the review will go up on December 13th, which is Taylor Swift's birthday! I didn't even realize that until now but this is the best timing to do it. I just hope it's tolerable because I'd feel kind of bad for trash-talking anyone, even someone who I don't really like, on their birthday. 

My actual post for this week is a list of my top 10 favorite celebrities.

Get it, she's walking the red carpet like a celebrity! Because there's nothing more famous than being the face of a blog no one reads, amirite?

This is what I was referring to in my last post as "a list that is, shockingly, not entirely music-related". I came up with the idea at like 11:00 last Monday night and I thought it would be a good idea for a post. I don't think worshipping celebrities and making them the only important thing in your life is okay, and I don't worship any of these people. They're simply people who I love and admire for more than one reason. I love the work that most of these people have professionally done (their music, movies, books, etc.), but what really determines whether a celebrity makes the list is how I feel about them as a person. Obviously I don't know any of these people in real life, but from what I do know about them, they're all great people. They speak out about issues that matter to them, donate to charities, and just give off the impression that they'd be cool to hang out with. These people have all changed my life in one way or another, and I'm proud to call myself a fan of each of them. Also, this list isn't in any order other than the order I came up with them while brainstorming. Now I'm FINALLY done with all my rambling, so let's get started with the list!

(Also one last thing: this post has a butt-ton of links. I sincerely apologize and I'm not gonna make you check out all of them.)

1. Ariana Grande

Picture credit so I don't get sued: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/ariana-grande-issues-important-feminist-manifesto

Don't act like you're surprised to see Ariana Grande on my list. I've talked about my adoration of her on many different occasions and I even dedicated a whole post to talking about one of her albums. I've talked about her music many times, but even though she's my favorite music artist, that's not even the biggest reason why I love her. The reason why I hold her in such high regard is because she's a truly incredible person. People try to denounce her and call her a diva, but that's not who she is at all. Just look at how she handled the terrorist attack at her Manchester concert this year! It was a horrible, horrible thing, and she obviously felt so much responsibility and guilt for what happened. However, Ariana handled the entire ordeal with such poise and class. She paid for the funerals of the people who tragically lost their lives in the bombing, she visited injured people in the hospital, and she organized an extremely successful and beautiful benefit concert (called One Love Manchester) IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. I'm of the opinion that very few people, famous or not, could have handled the tragedy as well as she did, and the best part? She wasn't obligated to do any of this at all since the incident wasn't her fault, and it wasn't PR. She did it because she's simply a wonderful human being. She also speaks out about important issues, such as teaming up with her friend Victoria Monet to release a song about Black Lives Matter, posting about Trump's ban on trans people serving in the military on Instagram, and writing a feminist essay you can read at the picture credit link. It's sad how people still give her hate because they don't like her music and they're still not over the donut scandal (IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS PEOPLE), because Ariana is a genuinely fantastic human being. I said this wasn't going to be in any order, but if it was, she'd probably be #1.

2. Ellen DeGeneres

Picture credit: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a45504/ellen-degeneres-cover-story/

I mentioned my admiration for Ellen in my Top 10 Favorite Movies (shameless plug), so if you read that post, you should've seen this pick coming. Ellen is just a hilarious, kind-hearted, and inspiring person. She's most known for her daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she shows off her comedy chops. I nearly died laughing when she reenacted Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" video. She also starred in the Pixar classic Finding Nemo and its sequel Finding Dory, playing the title character of the latter. Finding Nemo was how I was first introduced to her, and she made a great first impression. Nearly every line Dory says in that movie is endlessly quotable, and she really makes the role her own. Another thing I love about Ellen is how she broke down barriers. She came out as a lesbian back when homosexuality was still a taboo topic and refused to be anything other than herself. It's really inspiring. But honestly the thing I love most about Ellen is how much she loves giving back. She supports and donates to numerous charities, and she is constantly giving away money, cars, and other surprises on her show. She donated $75,000 to people affected by Hurricane Harvey, raised $12.5 million for breast cancer research, donated $500,000 to an underprivileged school in Detroit, donated $25,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in exchange for Ryan Reynolds going in her dunk tank, and spent an entire season of her show helping people in need. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ellen loves helping the less fortunate and it really just makes me love her even more.

3. Zendaya

Picture credit: https://www.glamour.com/story/zendaya-november-2017-cover-interview (This article is really good and I recommend you read it)

Actress, singer, dancer, and entrepreneur Zendaya Coleman (better known just by her first name) first started out on the Disney show Shake It Up, which is honestly one of the worst Disney shows of all time. The jokes were embarrassing, the characters were unlikable, the plot was boring, and the acting was mostly horrid. It also brought Bella Thorne, who would definitely make a list of my LEAST favorite celebrities, to the public consciousness. Yet its star, Zendaya, is a person whom I genuinely adore. She's only 21 years old and she's already accomplished so much in her career. She's been on two Disney shows, Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover (the latter of which she is a producer on- maybe that's why it's actually watchable!), as well as the summer blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming and will star in The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron in a few weeks. She's also released some music, done some modeling, and took second place on Dancing With The Stars at the ripe old age of 16! Besides her many talents and accomplishments, I admire Zendaya for her refusal to take bulls**t from anyone and how vocal she is about issues that matter to her. When a magazine released a shoot she partook in and she saw she was photoshopped, she made them take down the retouched photos and use the natural ones because she didn't want young girls to have unrealistic expectations of beauty. She also frequently speaks about #BlackLivesMatter and how she hopes to provide representation for black girls everywhere. Finally, I love how fearless she can be with her red carpet style. She can wear anything and make it look good.

4. Demi Lovato

Picture credit: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41441941

My opinions on Demi Lovato have been really inconsistent over the years. Back when she was on Disney, I watched her show Sonny With A Chance but didn't know much about her. Around 2013 I claimed to be a "huge fan" but I really only knew "Heart Attack" and "Give Your Heart A Break". Just last year, I hated on her just because I was in my Fall Out Boy phase and she "ruined" their song "Irresistible". But this year I started listening to a lot of her music and watching videos of her performing live and I realized that I was wrong to hate on her. Demi's an amazing singer. She's not always the best vocalist from a technical standpoint, but you feel the soul and emotion in everything she sings. But what really made me fall in love with her is watching her documentary Simply Complicated on YouTube. I watched it on a whim and honestly, that was a really good decision. In the documentary, I learned about just how much crap Demi's dealt with in her life. She struggled with an eating disorder, a drug addiction, and was an alcoholic. However, she's overcome it and is in such a great place in her life. She's truly proud of her music, voice, and body, and I love how she's able to be so open about her struggles. The documentary also lets you see into her personal life. She's funny, down-to-earth, chill, and the kind of person you'd want as a friend. Demi is honest and real in everything she does, and that's why she's amassed the fan following she has. Plus, she's GORGEOUS. She's always been really pretty, but as of late, she's really been serving looks, so to speak. No other female celebrity can make me question my sexuality as much as Ms. Lovato.

5. Rihanna

Picture credit: https://www.glamour.com/story/rihanna-has-blue-mermaid-hair-now-and-looks-predictably-amazing

To a lot of people, Beyonce, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj are something of a "holy black girl trinity". They are powerful black women in the music industry who are outspoken, influential, and controversial in pop culture. I adore all three of them and I struggled to only put one on my list, but in the end, I had to choose Bad Gal RiRi, as she calls herself on Instagram. The reason why I chose Rihanna is because although I love Beyonce and Nicki, they have this air to them that makes them feel untouchable. If I were to go to a party with them, I wouldn't be able to be myself because they're sort of intimidating. Rihanna doesn't have that vibe to her. I mean, you wouldn't want to mess with her, but I feel like I could go get a few drinks (if I were of age) with her and completely let my guard down. Rihanna is fierce and ambitious, which has led to her immense popularity, but she also appears to be really relaxed, witty, and like she doesn't take herself too seriously. I also admire how she isn't just successful in the music industry. She's ventured into acting, fashion, and most recently beauty with her incredibly successful Fenty Beauty line. Finally, I love Rihanna because of how unapologetic she is (hell, she even named one of her albums Unapologetic!). She knows her self-worth and she's unafraid to take risks in her music and style. She doesn't give a f**k about what people think of her, and it's why I love her. I genuinely think she's one of the icons of this generation.

6. J. K. Rowling

Picture credit: https://www.hypable.com/jk-rowling-stories-from-hogwarts-new-books/

If I would have made this post an ordered list on my old blog, you can bet J.K. Rowling would be #1. For God's sake, she wrote Harry Potter, which has had a bigger impact on me than virtually any other book series. That series defined my preteen years and is responsible for maybe 90% of my friendships. I even adopted the pen name(?) not_luna_lovegood on my old blog after my favorite Harry Potter character! Although I'm not nearly as crazy-obsessed as I was in my Brick Wall days, I will continue to love Harry Potter and have the utmost respect for J.K. Rowling until the day I die. J.K. Rowling is the epitome of a real-life Cinderella story. Before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or the Philosopher's Stone as it was originally published) came out, she was in a rough place. She was a single mother living in near poverty and she struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. But she had an idea that would change the world, and so she wrote a book. The Harry Potter series was an instant phenomenon and made Rowling arguably the most famous writer on the planet. Even though both the book series and its film adaptation saga are over, Harry Potter is still in the public consciousness to this day. Despite her immense fame, she's never forgotten where she came from and donates to many charities. In fact, she was the first person to become a billionaire from writing books...until she lost that title because she had donated so much money to charity! I admire J.K. Rowling for her inspiring story, witty comebacks, humility, and incredible creativity and talent as a writer. She's one of the two writers I look up to the most. Wanna know who the other is?

7. John Green

Picture credit: https://thekenyonthrill.com/2014/02/11/10-oclock-list-things-john-green-should-have-spoken-about/

John Green is my favorite author hands-down. I've read every single one of his books (except for the new one, Turtles All The Way Down, which I'll read at some point in the near future). Every single one of them is up there with my favorites (except for An Abundance Of Katherines, which isn't bad, I just don't like it for some reason). His book with David Levithan, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, is my favorite of his works and I recommend it to everyone. I've read it so many times. His writing style is sarcastic and admittedly a little pretentious, but his books always have genuinely heart-tugging moments to balance it out. The Fault In Our Stars is probably the saddest book I have ever read. His characters are realistic and his stories are about real things like cancer and LGBTQ+ relationships. I also like his sense of humor. I won't claim that I've watched every single video he's ever had a part in, but I have seen some of his CrashCourse videos, but I have seen a few for school and wow, they definitely make learning more interesting. The sarcastic remarks and references to Cool Ranch Doritos get me laughing every time. Finally, I feel like John Green just seems like a genuinely nice, down-to-earth guy. He's open about his mental health issues (he has OCD) and is a feminist, and he can admit his flaws. He used the r-word in Paper Towns and then, eight years, later, said, "Yeah, I regret it. At the time, I thought an author's responsibility was to reflect language as I found it, but now ... eight years later, I don't feel like a book about humanizing the other benefited from dehumanizing language." He also has done many charitable things with his brother Hank, and they have a charity called the Foundation to Decrease World Suck. And yes, that is the best name for a charity I have ever seen. 

8. Barack AND Michelle Obama

Picture credit: https://www.elitedaily.com/news/barack-michelle-obama-hiring-interns/1788025

This is where I get political...yay? Okay, I'll try not to get too political but if you get offended by liberal opinions, you're not gonna like this pick very much. This one's a tie since I really love them both equally. I genuinely believe the Obamas are the best President-and-First-Lady combo to ever take command of the country. Well at the very least they're a hell of a lot better than who we have currently in the Oval Office. I didn't know much about politics during the Obama administration, but looking back, I really do think he did a lot for America. He legalized same-sex marriage, advocated for gun control and stopping climate change, ordered the military operation that killed Osama bin Laden, and signed the Affordable Care Act, which helped over half of the nation get the health care they needed. Non-politically speaking, Barack Obama just seems like a cool guy. He has the best bromance of all time with former Vice President Joe Biden, he's hilarious (I feel required to link this video of Obama releasing his "birth video" to the public, and he always puts his family first, including his wife Michelle. Speaking of Michelle, I love her too. Michelle Obama is one of the first women who comes to mind when I think of a strong and empowered woman and a great role model. Many women who served as First Lady didn't do much active work in the position, but Michelle did. She advocates for healthy eating and started the Let's Move! campaign to stop obesity and supports military families and the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. She handles herself with grace and class but she can have fun too, as proven by her "Ew!" sketch with Jimmy Fallon and Will Ferrell. I admire the Obamas because they seem like normal people who truly love each other and their country. And of course, I'd be silly not to mention how they broke down barriers as the first black President and First Lady, respectively. Awesome!

9. Zac Efron

Picture credit: http://energy106.ca/73-questions-zac-efron/

Okay, I've written eight really nice, lengthy paragraphs about why I admire each celebrity on my list. I admire them for respectable reasons like being a fan of their acting/music, the fact that they support charities, and their personalities. So allow me to take a detour from these nice, lengthy, respectable paragraphs and state that Zac Efron is on the list because I personally find him extremely attractive. Even when I was four and first saw High School Musical and didn't know anything about love, life, sexual attraction, or boys (to be fair, I still don't know much about most of these things), I thought Zac Efron was hot. I'm pretty sure the majority of girls around my age can relate. Just...his eyes, his smile, his hair, his abs...oh god his abs (I had to fight serious temptation to not put a shirtless photo on here)...he just makes me swoon. I'll try to make this pick more dignified by stating that he's done some charity work like visiting children suffering with cancer in the hospital so he seems like a genuinely nice guy. He's also a pretty good actor. I probably should've mentioned this in the Zendaya part but the movie they're doing together, The Greatest Showman, looks really good and I can't wait to see it. But in the end, Zac Efron's on here because he's hot. Hey, I'm allowed to shallow indulgences every once in a while and so are you, person who's reading this!

10. Walt Disney

Picture credit: https://www.laughingplace.com/w/featured/2015/12/05/how-well-do-you-know-walt-disney/

We end this list with the only deceased person on it, but that doesn't mean he's ineligible for the list. After all, who doesn't know Walt Disney? When I was in seventh grade, I did a project on Disney and how he changed the world. It was really eye-opening and I learned just how truly amazing he was. He was an innovator and an original, a legend in his field of animation. He created so many iconic characters and films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and of course, the character who poses with him in the picture, Mickey Mouse. Disney dared to go where no one else would when he made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the very first full-length animated movie. He also created many TV shows and a theme park, Disneyland. He showed that if you have a little creativity, you can accomplish anything. His most famous quote is "If you can dream it, you can do it," which is something of a life motto to me. He also showed the power of hard work because he didn't become a legend overnight. He worked hard to make sure everything in his movies was perfect and his creativity is why he's a legend. Then, we have the fact that he was a genuinely good person. Some people argue that he was racist because some of his works could be considered racially insensitive, but I think that was just part of the time period. I won't excuse it, but you have to understand that things were different back then. Besides, Disney's biographer Neal Gabler said, according to Wikipedia: "Not once did I observe a hint of the racist behavior Walt Disney was often accused of after his death. His treatment of people‍—‌and by this I mean all people‍—‌can only be called exemplary." He also was a philanthropist who donated to charities and helped children in need. Walt Disney was truly an icon, and he's the reason why the Walt Disney Company is still a powerhouse today.

That was...quite possibly the longest post I've done yet. At the end of every long post, I take time to thank YOU for reading up to this point, and I'm going to do it again. Thank you for reading all of it. Either way, I'm proud of it, and what's the point of doing things you're not proud of? Next week I'm FINALLY reviewing Reputation by Taylor Swift, and then next week I'm doing a Christmas special. I'm not going to say exactly what it's gonna be, but I'm going to say this: I'm both excited for it and dreading it at the same time. You'll get it when the time comes. Anyways, I'm Stellar in Neverland, and after SO MUCH RAMBLING, I'm signing off! See you next Wednesday, peace!

Stellar

First Impressions #3- More Songs I Don't Know The Name Of

Hi, I'm Stellar, and welcome to Stellar in Neverland! I don't have any updates for this week, so I'll just move on with the rest of the post.

About a month ago, I made a post called First Impressions #1- Songs I Don't Know The Name Of (Apparently?). The post was written as a response to this video, which I saw randomly one day. I expected it to be a bunch of songs that I had heard in various places and never bothered to find the names of, but it was really a bunch of songs I had never heard of, period. This inspired me to listen to every single song in the video, give my opinions, and rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being "This song is hell for my ears and I never want to hear it again" and 10 being "This song is so good I want to make a cult worshipping its greatness"). I discovered some pretty cool songs in that post and I'm still really proud of it, so I was overjoyed when I saw that the same channel uploaded a new, similar video. This one is called Songs You Might Not Know The Name Of, and it's very similar to the previous one. It even has a few of the same songs as the first video. This should be similar to the post I linked first, so I'd encourage you to read that first if you haven't. Let's get started.

1. "Honor" by DJ Cassidy ft. Grace & Lil Yachty
The only artist on this song I know is Lil Yachty, so I don't know what to expect. I'm guessing DJ Cassidy is the producer, and I'll give him some credit because the beat on this song is great. It has an incredibly catchy and funky disco vibe, and the bassline is fantastic. Grace's vocals have a retro quality to them and she sounds confident and empowered. I'm not huge on Lil Yachty, and I'd probably say he's the weak link, but his parts are actually decent. He's not as autotuned and annoying as he usually is. Overall this is a really good throwback track, and I might come back to it every so often. 9/10
2. "Be There" by Krewella
I previously talked about Krewella's other song "Fortune" in the other post. This one's pretty similar sounding to that one, but I like it a lot more. I like the meaning of the lyrics, which are about being loyal. I also like the tone of the singer's voice a lot. My favorite thing about this song is the electric guitar in the buildup to the drop, which provides a unique and interesting touch. The drop is okay, but honestly I was expecting a little more. This song is good, but I probably won't come back to it any time soon. 7/10
3. "Me Enamore" by Shakira
Other than "Hips Don't Lie" and the random Spanish songs I don't know the names of that I hear in Spanish class, I don't know that many Shakira songs. This one's entirely in Spanish (The title translates to "I Fell In Love" in English. Thanks, Google Translate!), and I understand a few lyrics here and there but I can't tell you what they're about. The beat sounds a little wonky and I'm not sure if it's in a good way. I like the chorus quite a bit, it's lively and catchy. Shakira sounds pretty good. I think she sounds pretty weird in English but the weird qualities to her voice actually work in Spanish for some reason. There's this one part at the beginning of the final chorus where there's some unnecessary autotune. I don't have a problem with autotune, but it has to fit the song and I don't think it fits here. There are a lot of things to like about this song but there are some things I'm not a fan of, so it averages out to a 6.5/10.
4. "Surefire" by John Legend
I've always liked John Legend as a person more than as a musician. Any famous person who uses his Twitter to publicly blast Donald Trump automatically gets a ton of respect from me. I don't know that many of his songs, but this is probably the best one I've heard. This is a pretty solid slow jam. The lyrics are sexy and the production has a great atmosphere. I really like John's voice, it has a really nice deep quality and tone. This song is an excellent showcase of his talents and his vocals fit the song really well. I will definitely take this song over hearing "All Of Me" for the five-hundred-gazillionth time. 8/10
5. "To Be Human" by Sia ft. Labrinth
Sia is a great, unique vocalist who has written some amazing songs like "Chandelier", but her songs aren't always my favorite. Thankfully, this collaboration with British singer Labrinth for the Wonder Woman movie is one of her better songs. Both singers here have distinctive voices and they complement each other wonderfully. Sia's signature voice cracks sound especially good. The production is very cinematic, which makes sense considering this was written for a movie. The lyrics are very stylistic of Sia, in that you don't really know what she's saying or what they mean but they're poetic in a way. I feel like Banana_Elephant (as she was formerly known) would probably like this song a lot. 8.5/10
6. "Inspired" by Miley Cyrus
I heard this song at the One Love Manchester benefit concert earlier this year, but I haven't listened to it at all since then. I appreciate the sentiment of this song more than I like the song itself. The lyrics have a great meaning about going out and changing the world and it's nice to hear when the world is falling apart. Miley's vocals are calming in some parts but she sounds more powerful and emotional in other parts. I honestly wish she used the more calming tone for all of it. The instrumental is a little boring to me since I don't like country-ish music very much. This is a fine song, but I don't love it. If I want to listen to Miley, I'll go to "Party in the USA" first, TBH. 7/10
7. "Be Mine" by Ofenbach
Like the first installment, I didn't listen to these songs in the order they're listed in. I just put them in that order because they're in that order in the video. This was the last song I listened to and it's one of the better ones in this post. The production is centered around these twangy guitars that I love. I'm always a sucker for EDM songs with real guitars, and the guitar riffs in this song are excellent. The vocals have this quirky effect to them that's sort of autotune but not really. It fits the song in a way. The lyrics are short and a little underwritten, but this is a dance song so that's expected. This song is good and I might listen to it every once in a while. 8.5/10
8. "Redbone" by Childish Gambino
This song was in the previous post, where I gave it a 9.5/10. It's the soundtrack to my favorite meme of the year, which caused it to blow up. However, unlike a lot of meme songs that get popular ("Watch Me Whip/Nae Nae", whatever the hell the "Cash Me Outside" remix is, etc.), "Redbone" is actually a legitimately great song. It has such a sensual vibe and it sounds nothing like any other song to get popular this year. The weird, trippy guitar solo-ish thing at the end is fantastic, my favorite part of the song hands down. I've listened to this song a lot lately, and I love how despite being five-and-a-half minutes long, it doesn't feel long at all. I'm bumping it up to a 10/10 because I love it and I'm feeling generous.
9. "Don't Matter Now" by George Ezra
I like this song. It has a very laid-back and catchy vibe to it. The lyrics are carefree and relatable and the instrumental is fantastic. I love me some horns, and the horns that pepper this track make it stand out. George Ezra's voice is low and calm and the way he sings the song is very easygoing and mellow. My favorite part of the song is the "doo-doo-doo"'s which are very earwormy. This song feels like relaxing at my family cottage on a lazy summer day. 8/10
10. "Little Of Your Love" by Haim
Is it bad that the only reason why I know Haim is because of their friendship with Taylor Swift? To answer my own question: yeah, probably. This is the first of their songs I've actually heard, and it's not bad. The chorus is catchy if not a little repetitive and the instrumental is funky and catchy. The vocals are energetic and there's this one part towards the end where there's a gospel choir. That part is amazing. I also like the interjections like "yeah!" and "come on!" throughout. This song is fine, but I'm not sure if it'll have that much replay value to me. 7/10
11. "Goodbye" by Echosmith
This one was in the previous post but the only time I've come back to it was for this post. I'm feeling lazy and my opinions really haven't changed at all so I'm just going to copy and paste what I said in the previous post here:
"I know Echosmith from their songs "Cool Kids" and "Bright" and I thought they sort of faded away afterward. Now they're back with this new song "Goodbye" and I actually like it quite a bit. It's got more of a poppy vibe than the other two songs I know from them, and it's all the better for it. It's very chill and a nice song to listen to. I love the lead singer's voice. It's calming and really pretty. The lyrics are also pretty good. "You cover up the poison with poetry" is in particular a really good line. This is a good song. 7.5/10"
12. "Sua Cara" by Major Lazer ft. Anitta & Pabllo Vittar
I actually like quite a few Major Lazer songs. "Lean On" from 2015 is one of my favorite songs ever. Their music tends to have a summery, danceable vibe that would sound perfect at a beach party, and that beach-party atmosphere is a quality found in "Sua Cara". I believe this song is in Portuguese, which I don't speak, so I'm not going to talk about the lyrics. The drop is interesting and I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it would be fun to dance to at a party. It's catchy and sounds really fun. The vocals are sultry and work surprisingly well with the fun beat. I don't know how much staying power this song will have with me in the future, but it's pretty awesome for now. 8.5/10
13. "Bodak Yellow" by Cardi B
This one was in the first post as well. Basically what I said for it last time is that it's okay, but Nicki Minaj could do this kind of song in her sleep so it got a 6/10. I haven't listened to it once since I wrote that post, but I honestly like it a little more than I did before. The beat and lyrics are pretty generic but Cardi B does have a solid enough flow and a boatload of charisma. And of course it is an instantly memorable song. Like it or not, it sticks with you. The chorus doesn't really have a melody but it stays in the brain until it gets annoying. It's not my favorite song of all time or anything, but I guess I like it fine enough. 7/10
14. "Provider" by Frank Ocean
Pretty much the only Frank Ocean song I've heard is "Slide", which isn't technically even his song, it's Calvin Harris's. I feel like I should know more of his stuff, but at least the one song I know from him is one of my favorites of the year. This is my introduction to his solo work and honestly, I don't know what to think. The production has a cool atmosphere and the vocals are pretty good, but the song isn't catchy and it's a little more experimental than I'm used to. There's this one part about halfway through the song where it feels like it's just going to end only to pick up again, which was jarring. I feel like this is one of those songs that's objectively very good, but it's not really my thing. 6.5/10
15. "The Spectre" by Alan Walker
This is an EDM-rave style song, and I'm sorry that I have no idea how else to describe it. It's not HORRIBLE, but I'm not a superfan of it. The vocals are unique but I'm not sure if I care for the tone of the singer's voice. The lyrics are decent, probably the best thing about it. The drop has a good melody but the tone of the synthesizer is annoying. If you like songs that sound like they could be in Sonic the Hedgehog games, you'd probably like this song. I'm not huge on it, though. 5.5/10
16. "Again" by Noah Cyrus ft. XXXTentacion
This song is by Miley Cyrus's little sister, Noah. Noah sounds like her big sister except younger and less mature. Her voice is okay, but I like Miley's voice a lot more. The lyrics are pretty good and probably the best thing about the song. The best word to describe the beat is "wonky", and I don't even care if that's not a real word. In some parts, especially the piano in the chorus, the production reminds me of "Bad At Love" by Halsey. The big issue I have with the song is XXXTentacion. He has done some truly horrible things (described under "Controversies" on his Wikipedia page, link here) and I feel like associating him was not the best career move for Noah to take. I just feel gross listening to anything coming out of his mouth. 6/10
17. "Man's Not Hot" by Big Shaq
Genius.com says this song was originally a joke freestyle rap done by British comedian Michael Dapaah (aka Big Shaq), who I have never heard of. So yeah, this isn't a serious song, so I'm not going to judge it like one. I see this song as a commentary on how a bunch of hip-hop songs have the rappers making random noises in the background ("skrt skrt", "braap", etc.), with the refrain being comprised exclusively of Big Shaq making random noises. It's a pretty accurate representation of modern hip-hop and for that I'll give it credit. I'll probably never listen to it again, but honestly it's better than most of the hip-hop songs on here. 7.5/10
18. "Rich Love" by OneRepublic ft. Seeb
What I said for "Goodbye" by Echosmith (the new parts, at least) applies to this song. Just go look there.
"This song is by OneRepublic, whom I only know a couple songs from but really enjoy. This one is different-sounding from the other songs I've heard from them since it has more of a tropical vibe to it. I like it quite a bit. The drop has an amazing groove and the lyrics are really good. This song has a pretty trendy sound and I can see it getting pretty big. 8/10"
19. "Cola" by Camelphat ft. Elderbrook
I've never heard of either of these artists, so I had no idea what to expect from this song. Honestly I think this is the song here that's surprised me the most. I like this quite a bit. The lyrics are repetitive but charming. The beat is laid-back but it gets weirder as the song progresses. The vocals are chill as well. The song has a bit of a 90s-house throwback vibe that makes it interesting. This song will probably grow on me in the future and it's a good song just to listen to. I can see it becoming a sleeper hit. 8.5/10
20. "Only 4 Me" by Chris Brown ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Verse Simmonds
I talked about "Questions" by Chris Brown in the first post. I mentioned this there but OH MY GOD CHRIS BROWN IS A TERRIBLE PERSON. I don't like most of his music, but even the ones I like, I feel dirty for liking because I feel like I'm supporting an abuser. I looked it up and the album this song is on is 45 tracks long, which is just...shocking. Who would want to listen to Chris Brown for 45 straight songs? Okay, now that my bias is out of the way, "Only 4 Me" is still a pretty terrible song. The only tolerable aspect is Ty Dolla $ign, who actually sounds decent and has an alright flow. Verse Simmonds has the first verse and his voice is annoying. And of course Chris Brown is despicable as always. The chorus isn't catchy and the song feels super-repetitive. The beat has this annoying noise in the chorus and the lyrics are generic and objectify women. Not every song in this post is great, but I would suggest listening to any of the other 34 songs before listening to this one. 3/10
21. "Collide" by Rachel Platten
I listened to "Broken Glass" by Rachel Platten for the other post and thought it was okay. I said it was probably the best of her songs, but honestly I think that title still belongs to "Stand By You". That song's actually pretty good even if I don't listen to it often. "Collide" is not as good as "Broken Glass" and I'm not a fan of it. This song is about sex, and coming from Rachel Platten it just feels awkward. Her other songs were about things like empowerment and being loyal to your friends, and the transition from those topics to sex is a little jarring. Rachel also sounds kind of weird. The production feels like a filler track from Witness by Katy Perry, and considering I loathe that album, this does nothing for me. 5/10
22. "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld ft. Alesso & Florida Georgia Line
I've heard this song on the radio a few times and it's okay but nothing special. It's more of the same tropical-inspired music that's been extremely ubiquitous over the course of the past two years. I guess Hailee does fine but I don't know what Florida Georgia Line, a country act, are doing on a tropical house song like this. The beat and lyrics aren't anything remarkable either. This song is basically an inferior knockoff of "It Ain't Me" by Kygo and Selena Gomez, and considering I adore that song (if I make a list of my favorite songs of the year, it will easily make it), I have no use for this. 5.5/10
23. "Motorsport" by Migos ft. Nicki Minaj & Cardi B
I knew exactly what to expect from this song just from looking at the artists on it. I expected a total trap banger and that's exactly what it is. If you don't like trap music, you won't like this at all, but I have some tolerance for it so I do. The Migos verses sound like every other Migos song, but I don't mind. Cardi's verse is pretty solid and a better showcase of her talents than "Bodak Yellow". However it's Nicki who steals the song. Some people will tell you Nicki's annoying and talentless, but I am not one of those people. She consistently has great flows, is creative, and has a ton of personality, and she goes pretty hard on this beat, which I like a lot. It sets a dark, menacing tone. The most noteworthy thing about this song is that it has two female rappers, and it's nice to see that they both do well. 8/10
24. "Golden God" by Machine Gun Kelly
The only song I know Machine Gun Kelly from is "Bad Things" with Camila Cabello, and I don't really like that song much. Honestly, I think I might like this song even less than I like that song. At least "Bad Things" had a catchy hook. With this song, it's hard to tell what the chorus even is. The beat is okay but it's a little generic. The lyrics are pretty much just him bragging about how great and successful he is, but they're also pretty generic. He also uses the r-word, which was just unnecessary. This song might have been okay if the beat was more interesting or there was a better chorus, but the use of that word is inexcusable and makes the song irredeemable. 4/10
25. "Ghostface Killers" by 21 Savage, Offset & Metro Boomin ft. Travis Scott
I love a good rap posse cut every once in a while. "Mercy" by Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz is one of my favorite rap songs. This is a rap posse cut so I should love this, but I don't. I'll give credit to the beat, which is pretty good if not a little boring. The rappers are all pretty boring though. Travis Scott's probably the best one on here since his voice is unique and he has the best flow. The other two both have monotonous voices and sound really bored. The lyrics aren't anything special. I feel like I should like this song more than I do. 5.5/10
26. "No Roots" by Alice Merton
I had no idea what to expect from this song since I don't know the artist, but honestly this is amazing. This is an indie rock song, and it's incredibly catchy. The bassline is fantastic and the electric guitar interjections are pretty cool. Alice Merton has a really unique voice. She sounds confident and her vocals fit the sound of the song as well. The lyrics are autobiographical and tell a story but are still fun to sing along to- or at least they will be once I listen to this song a bunch of times and memorize them. At this point I've only heard the song once so I don't know them, haha. I want to see more songs in this vein get popular and I'm definitely going to add it to my playlist. 9/10
27. "Curve" by Gucci Mane ft. The Weeknd
This song features The Weeknd, who is one of my favorite artists even though I don't know that many of his songs. His voice sounds laid-back and very familiar and his contributions are probably the best part of the song. The beat is pretty generic and it's nothing I couldn't get out of any other trap-rap song. Gucci Mane's verse isn't memorable but I don't object to it. I guess this song is okay, but it's boring to me and I can't see myself coming back to it. 5.5/10
28. "Kiwi" by Harry Styles
I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH. I first heard it during Harry's Carpool Karaoke on the Late Late Show with James Corden, thought it sounded great, but didn't think to look up what it was called or anything because I'm an idiot. Harry then made it a single and OH MY GOD IT'S SO GOOD. If you think you won't like this song because Harry was in One Direction, you still need to listen to it. This sounds nothing like his work with 1D, it sounds more like a classic rock song than anything. The guitars are loud and powerful, Harry's voice is a natural fit for rock music, and it's incredibly catchy. The chorus is literally just Harry screaming "I'M HAVING YOUR BABAYYYYY, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESSSS" and it's amazing. The only complaint I have is me wondering why the song is called "Kiwi" when it doesn't say anything about kiwis in the lyrics, but that doesn't even bother me. Harry's two solo singles ("Sign of the Times" and this one) have been better than pretty much every One Direction song I've heard, so now I want to check out his self-titled solo album. This song is to this post what "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man was to the last one- a fun rock song that I'm obsessed with and will have on repeat until I hate it. 10/10
29.  "Tip Toe" by Jason Derulo ft. French Montana
I actually like Jason Derulo a lot, more than I probably should. "Want To Want Me" is one of my favorite songs ever, and he has some other really good ones too. This is my first time hearing "Tip Toe", his new single, and I like it. It sounds a little like "Swalla", his previous single from this year, with hints of 2014's "Talk Dirty" in the bridge. Both of those songs are really big guilty pleasures for me, and I feel like this one will be as well. The lyrics are pretty bad, but they don't hinder my enjoyment of the song at all. It's catchy and upbeat and I can see it becoming a hit. 8.5/10
30. "You & Me" by Marshmello
Right off the bat this song caught me off guard. It sounds like a pop punk song from the 2000s at first, with an energetic electric guitar riff and a pop punk-sounding singer. It's an interesting contrast between the pop punk elements and the EDM elements, but I'm not sure I'm a fan. The lyrics are also really repetitive to the point where it gets annoying. I wish this song had more lyrics. At this point I've also noticed that A LOT of the artists on the songs in this post had songs in the last post. I bring this up because I definitely prefer Marshmello's collab with Khalid, "Silence" from that last post. It's a lot more straightforward. 5.5/10
31. "Barbies" by Pink
Pink is a huge pop star who everybody knows at least a few songs from. I won't say I like or even know every song she's made, but she has some really good ones. My favorite is "So What", which is just awesome. I haven't heard this new song "Barbies"  yet, but it's pretty solid. It's an acoustic guitar ballad and the melody sounds pretty. Pink's vocals are also very calming and pretty. I think Pink's an amazing vocalist who doesn't get half the credit she deserves as a singer. The lyrics are reminiscent of "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots, with a similar theme of wanting to go back to the simpler times of your youth. I'm a sophomore in high school and I'm terrified of growing up, so I can definitely relate. I still don't think Pink will ever make a better song than "So What", but this is good. 7.5/10
32. "Letterman" by Wiz Khalifa
Jesus Christ, this song has my twelve-year-old brother written all over it. My brother likes a lot of Wiz Khalifa's music, especially that "We Dem Boyz" song, so he would probably adore this song. It reminds me of the aforementioned "We Dem Boyz", and although I don't like that song much, I dislike this one even more. The way Wiz Khalifa sings the chorus is just annoying, and the beat isn't memorable at all. I wasn't paying attention to the lyrics but I can assume they're just generic. I'm getting sick of all these boring and uninteresting trap songs. 4.5/10
33. "World Gone Mad" by Bastille
I only know a few songs from Bastille, including "Pompeii", which is one of my favorite songs of all time. I wish I knew more of their work since I like every song I've heard from them. This is probably my least favorite of the songs I've heard, but it's still pretty great. I love the contrast between the acoustic elements and the bombast in the production, and I adore the lead singer's vocal tone. There's just something so intriguing and captivating about his voice. The lyrics are okay. I like how they provide political commentary and are relevant in these dark times, but they feel a little underwritten and repetitive. This is still a really solid song, and I'm totally going to listen to more Bastille in the future. 8/10
34. "Darkside" by Ty Dolla $ign & Future ft. Kiiara
I thought this song would be another generic trap-rap song just like we've heard a ton of in this post. Surprisingly, this song isn't super-generic. I pretty much only knew Kiiara from that "Gold" song last year, which is a terrible song. I didn't expect her to do much here, but she does the chorus and she sounds great, like a better Selena Gomez (don't kill me). The chorus is dark but still catchy. The two rappers admittedly sound similar but they both do pretty well. The beat is pretty cool and I love the synth melody at the end. The lyrics are surprisingly deep and fit the atmosphere of this song. This isn't the best song I've ever heard, but it's shockingly listenable. 8/10
35. "Female" by Keith Urban
We end with country music...sigh. The production is okay, but it sounds like any other country ballad, and I guess the vocals are okay. I like the female backing vocals scattered throughout the song. Where this song really falls flat is in the lyrics. I'm a feminist, and I don't have a problem with the overall message. It's just that they feel pretty condescending coming from a man. The chorus is just him listing off different names for women, and it feels a little gross. I'd rather have more songs performed by women in country music than songs about women. Not to be sexist, but I just like country music performed by women more tbh 5/10

We're done...finally. I really loved writing the first edition of this post. Even if I didn't love every song, I still had fun going out of my comfort zone. I can't say the same for this post. Whereas most of the songs in the first edition were unique and memorable, the songs in here weren't always as memorable. I blame that on the unnecessary amount of generic trap-rap songs in here. While I like some trap songs, most of the ones in here weren't great and bored me to tears. I felt like I was describing every other song as "generic" and I hated that. The songs were overall just not as strong to me as the ones in the previous post. There were some good ones in there, though. The #1 song I would recommend here is "Kiwi", which is just a jam. LISTEN TO IT. Next week might be another First Impression like this one, since there was a similar video by the same channel that was released before the other two I did posts on. It would feel wrong of me to just skip over it, so that's probably what I'll do. Either that or I have another idea for a list that is, shockingly, not entirely music-related! This was a long post, so props to you if you read it all, and just know that next week's will probably be just as long. I'm Stellar in Neverland, and I'll see you next week. Peace!

Stellar