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

Getting To Know Me: For Real

Hi, it’s me, Stellar, and welcome to Stellar in Neverland! Updates for today:

-I know I’ve promised a review of Taylor Swift’s Reputation album for weeks, but it’s STILL not on Spotify so I can’t listen to it and write the review. When will my post come out? Whenever she puts it on Spotify, which, by the looks of it, won’t be anytime soon.

-I feel like for the past few weeks I’ve done nothing but music posts. I’m sorry about that, it’s just that I really like writing about music. I did say in the first post that you can expect a lot of music posts from me, haha. I’ll try to mix it up, which brings me to this week’s post.

Speaking of my first post, I was thinking about it and I realized that I never gave a proper introduction to myself. Most of what I explained in the first post was solely about the blog. You don’t actually know much about ME as a person. This post is just about the little random things about me, and it’s arguably what the first post should have been. It’s also a way to mix things up from the music posts I’ve been doing so often as of late.

What I did was I looked up “getting to know you questions” on Google and found one that I thought would work. It has an appropriate number of questions (25) and it’s not too little-kid-ish or too deep. These are just simple random questions that will hopefully tell you quite a bit about me:

I found this on Google Images, but it originated from here. 

1. (If you could buy anything in the world, what would it be?) A dog. For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted a dog, but my parents have never let me get one. This past summer I went through a phase where I was really obsessed with my wanting of one. I know they’re a lot of hard work, but I’m willing to take the challenge because they’re so cute and the bond between dog and owner is really special. I specifically want a Labrador Retriever because I think they’re the cutest.
2. (What are you good at?) Most school subjects, writing, Just Dance, Name That Tune, and saying hilariously stupid things.
3. (What aren’t you so good at?) Most sports, being concise, talking to people, singing, and being patient.
4. (What do you want for your birthday/Christmas?) My go-to answer for the longest time was a phone, but I got one about a month ago (I’m actually writing this post in the Notes app on it on the way home from a class trip, FYI). Now my answer is the same as the answer for #1: a dog.
5. (What is love?) I feel like this is a random question and I don’t know why it’s here. Anyways, to me, love is the feeling where you’re so happy and overjoyed that you feel like can do anything. You want nothing more than to be with the person or thing you love.
6. (What is your favorite animal?) A dog, but when it comes to wild animals, I’d say giraffes, dolphins, or sea turtles.
7. (What is your favorite book?) The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I read it in my eighth grade English class and it’s been my #1 ever since.
8. (What is your favorite color?) Pink. It used to be blue but then I got sick of blue because every Christmas I would get nothing but blue sweatshirts and sweaters and it got to the point of exhaustion. I don’t know why I switched to pink exactly.
9. (What is your favorite game to play?) Depends on what kind of game we’re talking. My favorite non-electronic game is Apples to Apples or Catchphrase, my favorite video game is Just Dance or MarioKart, and my favorite sport is Netflix. Which is to say that I don’t play sports.
10. (What is your favorite movie?) My second-ever post was a Top 10 Favorite Movies list, so I’d suggest you just read that. Link is here.
11. (What is your favorite number?) 22. When I was in the third grade each student was assigned a “number” to put on everything after our names, and mine was 22. It’s not that third grade was a particularly great year for me or anything, it’s just that I got so used to putting the number 22 on everything that it became my favorite. Then I learned my dad’s football number in high school was 22, and it REALLY became my favorite.
12. (What is your favorite song?) “Shut Up And Dance” by Walk The Moon. I loved it when it first came out and I’ve continued to love it. It’s one of those songs that will always make me smile no matter how many times I hear it. (And trust me, I’ve heard it A LOT. It was so overplayed back in 2015.)
13. (What is your favorite thing to do?) Eat, sleep, watch Netflix, write, repeat.
14. (It’s “What is your favorite thing to do?” again and I don’t feel like answering it twice, so I’ll change it to be “What is your LEAST favorite thing to do?”) Be bored.
15. (What is your favorite thing to eat?) Pasta is my #1 but I like a lot of foods. I have a hard time refusing pretty much any dessert, and I love bread in general.
16. (What is your favorite toy?) Okay, maybe this is more little-kid-ish than I thought. I’m 15 so I don’t play with very many toys, haha. Does my phone count as a toy? Otherwise, I have a few Beanie Boos that I just like because they’re cute and good to snuggle with on long car rides. Yes I sleep with stuffed animals occasionally. Shut up.
17. (What is your favorite TV show?) I’ll probably make a whole post about this entire topic similar to the Favorite Movies one I did a while ago. Right now (well not right this minute,but you know what I mean) I’m watching Jane the Virgin, which Banana_Elephant got me into. It’s basically the American version of a telenovela and it’s so good, probably my favorite show I’ve watched thus far. I’m obsessed.
18. (What is your least favorite thing to eat?) Onions. I have an irrational hatred of onions. They’re gross. I also really hate artificial banana flavoring, black licorice, and tomatoes.
19. (What makes you angry?) Prejudice and ignorance. Race, gender, sexuality, and religion are not at all valid reasons to be hateful and if you support being hateful because of those things, Get. Off. My. Blog.
20. (What makes you happy?) Being with my family and friends, comfort food, good music, and doing things I’m proud of.
21. (What makes you sad?) Cancer. Many people I know and love have dealt with the disease so I have lots of experience with it, but it’s still tragic. It’s just a horrible, horrible thing. Some other things that make me sad are mass shootings and terrorist attacks. Anything involving innocent people being taken from this world too soon makes me feel terrible.
22. (What makes you scared?) Death and heights.
23. (What would you like to be when you grow up?) I wrote a whole lecture about how I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up in my 5 Things You Might Not Know About Me post here. You should read that instead.
24. (What is your favorite place to go?) My room. I’m really lazy and I spend hours upon hours in my room. It’s in the basement and it’s the biggest bedroom in the house. I’m really fortunate to have it and I call it my dungeon.
25. (Who is your best friend?) Either Banana_Elephant or Doglover, as they were known on the Brick Wall. I mention them in pretty much every post because they mean the world to me. They've been with me throughout my best and worst times, and I don't know what I'd do without them. 

That’s all I have for this week! I'm not ENTIRELY sure what next week's post will be, but there's like a 90% chance it will be a sequel to this post. Either way, I’ll see you then. I’m Stellar in Neverland, signing off. Peace!

Stellar

Album Review #2- Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman

Hi, I'm Stellar, and welcome to Stellar in Neverland! Let's do updates first, as per the usual:
-If you've read my posts for the past two or three weeks, you know that I've been planning to do a First Impressions-style album review of Taylor Swift's Reputation. However, I learned last Wednesday that Taylor is planning to hold the album from streaming services such as Spotify for at least the first week of its release. I depend on Spotify for my music intake because it's free and easy to use, and if the album isn't on Spotify, then I am unable to listen to it and make the post. Honestly I don't know why I DIDN'T expect her to do this. Holding her album from streaming for just the first week is just a ploy to get higher first-week sales numbers, and it's not unlike Taylor at all. The fact that's she's doing this only because she cares about sales is one of the big reasons why I will never believe people who claim that "Taylor Swift isn't greedy or money-hungry!" But I'll save the rest of my angry rants for the Reputation review, which will come...whenever Taylor decides to put it on Spotify. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later.

So what am I doing in the meantime?
                                                                       

Reviewing another album!

I'm doing this for three reasons:
1. Last week I reviewed Katy Perry's Witness, which (spoiler alert) I did not enjoy. Next week I'm (hopefully) reviewing Taylor Swift's Reputation, which (based off of the two songs I've heard from it) will also likely be negative. I remember when I wrote on the Brick Wall and after the whole "#selfie" ordeal (I described it here), Quidditch_Turtle told me to try to stay positive as much as possible. Although absolutely destroying things by criticizing them is fun, I like positive posts even more. I like to think I'm a positive person, and talking about things I love is one of my favorite things. So that's what I'm going to do. This isn't a First Impression (check the title) because I've already heard the album in question and (spoiler alert) I already know I love it.
2. Between the previously released singles "Look What You Made Me Do" and "Ready For It?", the music videos for both of those songs, and the album artwork, it's clear Taylor is trying to go for an edgier image with this era. This got me thinking about how pretty much every other female pop star has done the same thing: starting out their career with a good-girl image, only to get edgier and sexier over time. While the success of Taylor's good-girl-gone-bad transition has been hit-or-miss according to the general public, I feel like Ariana's was a lot better received. The album had some of her most commercially successful songs and got a lot of positive reviews from critics. It also allowed her to show her artistry by experimenting with many genres while never fully leaving the bubblegum-pop of her first two albums.
3. I've talked about my love of Ariana Grande quite a few times on here, but never really in-depth like this. I just want to talk about one of the biggest reasons why I love her, which is her music. And yes, I'm aware that this is pretty similar to #1, but I don't care.

OK, I'll stop rambling. Dangerous Woman. Ariana Grande. Let's review it! (Also one brief note: I'm going to be looking at the North American deluxe edition of the album because it has some extra songs I really want to talk about.)

1. "Moonlight"
The first song on the album is the ballad "Moonlight". This was supposed to be the title track of the album before Ariana decided "Dangerous Woman" was a more fitting album title. Considering the rest of the album, I agree with this decision, but that doesn't mean I don't love the song "Moonlight". This is one of the most beautiful-sounding songs she's done and the retro style is reminiscent of some of her previous works. I love the strings and the romantic lyrics. "I never knew you could hold moonlight in your hands 'till the night I held you" is a cute line. Ariana's vocals are very pretty and show off a different side of her. She's known for her insane, powerful belting abilities but her calm vocals are just as great. This isn't one of my absolute favorites on the album but I love it a lot. 9/10
2. "Dangerous Woman"
The title track and the lead single for the album was completely unexpected. This song is sexy and it sounds like nothing else we had heard from Ariana at that point. The beat is amazing and sensual and pulls off the vibe she was going for perfectly. It has a bit of a rock influence and even a pretty awesome guitar solo in there. The lyrics are also really seductive. The highlight of the song is, as it usually is, Ariana's vocal performance. She sounds seductive in the verses and absolutely soars in the final chorus. The high notes are some of her best. This was a great choice for the lead single and really made me intrigued to see what else she had to offer. 8.5/10
3. "Be Alright"
I first heard a snippet of this song on Ariana's Snapchat story during the summer of 2015 and I was instantly intrigued. I couldn't wait to hear the song in its entirety, and it didn't disappoint. This song has an irresistible deep house-influenced beat that makes it stand out. It's one of her most fun songs to dance to. The lyrics are simple but have a good message that no matter what life throws at us, things will always be alright. Ariana performed this at the One Love Manchester benefit concert after the tragic bombing at one of her concerts and it fit perfectly there. Her vocals are very chill and calming but still pretty. This is a great dance track and one you can listen to repeatedly. 8.5/10
4. "Into You"
A few weeks ago I made a list of my favorite songs from the Just Dance series, and I chose "Into You" for the list. The reasons why don't really have much to do with the gameplay, it was on there entirely because I love the song so much. It is one of the most perfect pop songs I've ever heard. The production is top-notch, the lyrics are sexy and flirty, the melodies are gorgeous, and Ariana's vocals are especially breathtaking. The last minute or so of the song is especially jaw-dropping. There are so many layers in the production and backing vocals, and Ariana's high notes give me chills. I want to be in love with someone who feels like this song does. This is Ariana's best single bar none...and yet it only peaked at #13 on the Billboard charts, making it a flop compared to some of her other singles. I don't understand the general public. 10/10
5. "Side To Side" ft. Nicki Minaj
Peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, this was the biggest hit from the album, and while I do like it, I'd be crazy to call it one of the best here. It has Ariana experimenting with reggae, and while I don't necessarily want her to make an entire album in this style, she still pulls it off well. The lyrics don't seem like much until you take a deeper look at them and realize that Holy crap, this song is really dirty. Featured guest Nicki Minaj adds to the sexual nature of the song. Her verse has the line "I give zero f**ks and I got zero chill in me" which isn't dirty as much at it is my life motto. I want that line tattooed on my body because it describes me so well, haha. This is a good song and I get why it was a single (trendy sound, catchy hook, Nicki verse), but there are a lot of better songs on the album. 8/10
6. "Let Me Love You" ft Lil Wayne
If I had to pick my least favorite song on the album, it would be this one. I don't HATE it, but she's definitely done better. It sees her going for a dark, edgy hip-hop vibe and while I normally like her going dark, this just falls flat. The lyrics are weak and the chorus is lazy. It's just her stuttering "just let me lo-o-o-o-ove you" and it does nothing for her voice. The beat is also pretty boring. Lil Wayne adds nothing to the song, if anything he makes it worse. The only good things about it are the melody in the prechorus (which is really pretty, not gonna lie) and the music video. She doesn't even do anything in it but she looks SO GOOD:

Idk I just like her curly hair

If this song were by anyone else I'd probably hate it, but since it's Ariana I can't get too mad at it. I'm still not a fan though. 6/10
7. "Greedy" 
One of the big fan favorites, many fans believe this one should've been a single. I share both of those opinions, seeing as this is probably my favorite song on the album and easily one of my top 5 favorite Ariana songs. "Greedy" sees Ariana going for a throwback-funk-style song, much like a lot of Bruno Mars's material. She nails it. Her fun, playful personality does wonders for the upbeat track and this song really shows off her fantastic vocal range. The opening is very in-your-face and I love it for that. This song has one of the strongest and catchiest choruses on the album and the beat is fun and danceable. The song is amazing as it is, but guess what she does next? She goes and adds one of my favorite things in music, a key change, just to push the song over the top. Everything about this song is absolute perfection and I have no idea why it wasn't a single. This would have been a SMASH hit. 10/10
8. "Leave Me Lonely" ft. Macy Gray
After the upbeat thrill ride that is "Greedy", Ari slows things down with this ballad. This song is a collaboration with singer Macy Gray. I don't actually know much about her but I love the contrast between the two singers' vocals. Ariana's voice is a clear, smooth soprano while Macy's is smoky, low, and dark. This song is about a lover who treats her badly and even if Ariana loves him, she'd give him up instead of risking the pain. It's a very soulful and emotional song and you can feel that Ariana has a connection to it because of the way she sings it. I admittedly don't come back to this one too often but it's a pretty solid track. 8/10
9. "Everyday" ft. Future
The fourth and final single from the album. It was initially one of my favorite tracks but other songs stood out more in the long run. I still like it though. It shows Ariana going for a dirty, sexy trap vibe and while she is able to pull it off, it's not my favorite style on her. The biggest criticism most people have with Ariana's voice is that she's not good at enunciating, and even though I love her, I'm able to overlook my bias and say that no, I don't know what she's saying in a lot of her songs either. While sometimes her lack of enunciation can be charming, it drags this song down a little bit. When I first heard the prechorus I thought she was saying "nut quick" instead of "not quit", and I know I'm not the only one. The lyrics in this one are pretty generic and Future's appearance just feels tacked on, like he's only there to make the song more popular. Still, the beat is pretty awesome and Ariana's falsettos in the final chorus are pretty. 7.5/10
10. "Sometimes"
This track isn't my favorite, but it's still fine. It definitely feels like album filler though. The chorus is fantastic, honestly one of the best on the album. The lyrics are a little generic but they're pretty cute. The acoustic guitars make this one stand out on the album and give it a relaxed feel. Ariana's vocals also are pretty chill aside from the end, where she shows off a little. The main issue I have is with the random "la la la la la la"'s performed by an unnamed male vocalist interspersed throughout the song. They're catchy, but I don't know why they didn't just have Ariana do them herself. This is a good song, but compared to many of the other songs on the album, it's a little weak. 7/10
11. "I Don't Care"
This one has a bit of a sultry throwback R&B feel. The addition of the brass was a nice touch. Ariana's vocals are also really pretty, especially in the outro. My favorite thing about this song is the message of the lyrics. As a celebrity, Ariana's had to deal with a lot of hate (most of it from #DonutGate2K15) and this song is basically a (surprisingly mature) middle finger to the haters. My favorite line is "I used to let some people tell me how to live and what to be, but if I can't be me the f**k's the point?" which is another one of my life mottos. The main thing holding this track back is its length. It's not even three minutes long but I'm left wanting more. Once again, despite this song's many good qualities, I can't say it's one of my favorites. 7/10
12. "Bad Decisions"
If any song epitomizes Ariana's transition from cute child star to mature artist, it's this one. This one's a complete bop and I'm ashamed I don't listen to it that much. This feels like a sequel to "Dangerous Woman", but honestly I like it a lot more. The chorus is way catchier and more upbeat. The vocals are confident, sexy, and fun; it's Ariana doing what she does best. The lyrics are similar in theme to "Dangerous Woman", being about a guy who makes Ariana feel fierce and powerful when she's with him. This song contains what is quite possibly my favorite lyric on the entire album ("Ain't you ever seen a princess be a bad b***h?). I've always liked this song, but I'm just now realizing just how good it really is. Why wasn't this a single, Ari? 9.5/10
13. "Touch It"
This is another one of my absolute favorite songs by Ariana. If I were to make a list of my top 10 favorites, this would make it. Everything about this song is great. The production is an R&B-EDM hybrid that sounds amazing. I love the pianos in the intro and the synths in the chorus. The lyrics are about a relationship where the couple has issues but they still really love each other. It weirdly feels like a sequel to "Into You" to me. The melodies are amazing as well. My favorite is the one in the second verse and bridge when she sings "Remind me why we're taking a break, it's obviously insane, cause we both know what we want, so why don't we fall in lo-o-ove?" But of course, the big reason why I adore this song so much is Ariana herself. This song has the single best vocal performance of her career thus far. The way she sings "'Cause every time I'm WITH YAAAAAAAA" and hits that gorgeous high note in the final chorus gives me goosebumps, as do the falsettos in the outro. She has never sounded so beautiful. Anyone who doesn't think Ariana Grande isn't one of the best vocalists of this generation needs to stop lying to themselves. 10/10
14. "Knew Better/Forever Boy"
The first two-in-one song Ariana's done, and thankfully both parts are great. The first part, "Knew Better", is a big fan favorite, despite being so short. The lyrics show him completely dissing a guy who she doesn't like anymore, and it's her delivery that makes it sound so utterly savage. The instrumental has some great synths and it has a modern R&B vibe that makes it stand out. "Forever Boy" is a bit longer and of the two, it's the one I prefer, despite that being an unpopular opinion. It has more of a poppier-EDM sound and I just like that style more than the one on "Knew Better". The chorus has a really pretty melody and she sings it so sweetly. The lyrics are also pretty sweet, talking about how even though she's never kept a guy for more than six months, she knows the guy she's singing about is the one. Although I prefer "Forever Boy", both of these songs are great and the contrast between the two is interesting. 8.5/10 ("Knew Better" is an 8/10 and "Forever Boy" is a 9/10, so I just averaged them out.)
15. "Thinking Bout You"
Dangerous Woman ends on a melancholic but triumphant high note. This song is about her missing a guy. The lyrics in the verses focus more on the sexual aspect of her missing him, but the rest of the song's lyrics are genuinely emotional. "I don't have you here with me but at least I have the memory" is such a simple but poignant line. Ariana's vocals are some of her most passionate and emotional, and her voice sounds utterly stunning. The production is celestial, alluring, and suits the melancholy mood perfectly. This song does exactly what it tries to and it's one of her most heartbreaking tunes. I expected her to play this one at the One Love Manchester benefit since I thought the sentiment would fit, but I guess the sexual lyrics were deemed inappropriate. Whatever. 9/10

So that's the album. It's one of my favorite albums probably of all time, but then again, I really don't listen to that many albums. It's a cohesive work of art and you can tell Ariana poured her heart and soul into it, trying to make every aspect the best it could be. I added up my scores for each individual song and got an 8.5/10, which is pretty accurate to how I feel.

Best Songs: My top five favorite songs on the album are "Greedy", "Into You", "Touch It", "Bad Decisions", and "Moonlight" in that order. 
Worst Songs: The only one I don't like is "Let Me Love You", so yeah, that one. 

To conclude this, yeah, I recommend this album if you like good pop music. I don't know how else to wrap this up. Next week will hopefully be the Reputation review. If not, I don't know what I'll do. I'm Stellar in Neverland signing off. See you next Wednesday. Peace!

Stellar

First Impressions #2- Katy Perry's Witness (Album Review #1)

Hi, I'm Stellar, and welcome to Stellar in Neverland. Update:
-At the end of last week's post, I said I wanted to do a First Impression review of Beyonce's Lemonade since I had a free Apple Music trial and I thought that album was on there (it's not on Spotify, my preferred music source). However, it wasn't. I'm pretty sure the only streaming source it's on is Tidal. Because of this, I had two choices on what to do for my next post:
A.) Get a free 30-day trial of Tidal, listen to Lemonade, and do a First Impression on it
B.) Find another album that is on Spotify and do a First Impression on that instead

So what did I end up choosing?

My God, that's a horrible album cover.

Don't get me wrong, I still really want to listen to Lemonade. I will continue to pray to the gods of streaming that Beyonce will release what many consider to be her magnum opus to Spotify. But in the end, I decided Choice B was easier. At first I wasn't sure what "other album" to do my First Impression of, but I chose Witness by Katy Perry because:
A.) Next week's post will be a First Impression of Taylor Swift's new album Reputation, and Taylor and Katy have been involved in a feud for quite some time now. You've probably heard all about it by now (even if you don't pay attention to pop culture things like this), but in case you haven't, there are many articles recapping it. I'll link this Time article if you're curious.
B.) I've heard the album just isn't very good (It has a 52/100, indicating "mixed or average" reviews, on Metacritic) and I want to see just how bad it is. I'm expecting it to be bad, but it can't be as bad as that album cover. Just...everything about that image makes me angry. Another thing that hurt the album is just how messy the promotional campaign was. She started off proclaiming the album would be "woke-pop" with lead single "Chained to the Rhythm", only to follow it up with "Bon Appetit", a blatant sex song that can in no way be described as "woke". And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm not gonna go into detail on everything that happened. This post isn't called "Why Katy Perry Is Messy And Problematic", it's a review of her latest album. If you're really curious about why it was such a mess, check out this USA Today article documenting it. Now that we've gotten my expectations out of the way, let's review what I expect to be a disaster of an album. Let's just hope we get a few halfway-decent songs...?

(Also one last thing I forgot to mention but I feel the need to since I don't think I'll like this album very much: I DO NOT HATE KATY PERRY. I used to be a massive fan of hers. "Firework" was my anthem in third grade and I firmly believe that "Teenage Dream" is one of the best pop songs of all time. Hell, I've even seen her movie twice! I like quite a few of her songs, I just think her music's gone downhill in quality.)

1. "Witness"
We start with the title track. Right off the bat, the intro weirdly reminds me of the intro of "Slide" by Calvin Harris. Katy's vocals in this song are actually pretty solid, especially her lower register in the verses. The beat in the chorus is great and I really like the whistling in the outro. I'm not crazy about the production in the prechorus, which feels a little sloppy. This song is about how Katy's looking for someone to love her even though her life as a pop star is hectic. This is actually a pretty good song. Maybe this album is better than people have given it credit for. 7.5/10
2. "Hey Hey Hey"
This one is a mixed bag for me. I want to like it more than I do. Once again, I like the beat and Katy sounds pretty good. She does this one high note in the second pre-chorus that was surprisingly good. I like the message of this one, which is saying that she's not weak like people say she is. The problem is that some of the lyrics themselves are pretty embarrassing. She actually uses "LOL" in one of the lines, which just screams "lame-soccer-mom-trying-to-be-cool", and the part where she refers to her "chubby little wallet" made me face-palm. Is "chubby" really the best word she could've chosen there? The melody in the chorus is also weird and not catchy but the "no-o-o-oh, no way" part redeems it. Overall this song has some good qualities and some bad ones, so it averages out to a 6/10.
3. "Roulette"
The intro to this one reminds me of that 80's song "The Final Countdown". The beat from this one has an EDM vibe that I like. Katy's vocals on this song are some of the best I've heard from her. This is a song about letting your guard down and having fun and the lyrics are actually pretty decent. The only thing I don't get is how letting your guard down relates to the game of roulette. This song is catchy and I feel like it could be a single. 7.5/10
4. "Swish Swish" ft. Nicki Minaj
And speaking of singles, we have "Swish Swish", which was a single. This song is an alleged diss track towards Taylor Swift, and even as someone who hates Taylor's diss track "Bad Blood", this is just pathetic. The first time I heard this song I bust out laughing at how lame some of the lyrics are. "Don't need opinions from a shellfish or a sheep"? I get that "A tiger never loses sleep over the opinions of sheep" is an idiom, but what does a shellfish have to do with it? Then we have "You're about as cute as an old coupon expired" which is just...what? The lyrics also feel like she wrote it just to get the reaction of "OMG SLAY QUEEN SHE DID THAT", and it yet again reeks of "lame-soccer-mom-trying-to-be-cool". I don't hate this song since the beat and Nicki's part are both really good, but it's a shame they were wasted on this song. Also, the video is just as lame as the song except for the part where she used the "Shooting Star" meme. That was actually pretty funny. 5/10
5. "Deja Vu"
Once again, the beat in this song is really good. The production is easily the highlight of this album so far, even if the beats have started to blend together at this point. This song sounds really good and the melody in the chorus is great. I just wish it had different lyrics. "Your words are like Chinese water torture" is one of the most baffling lines I've ever heard. I also don't get the "Figure out the Rubik's cube" line in the chorus. Once again, this song would be really good if it has different lyrics, but the lyrics knock down the score by a few points. 5.5/10
6. "Power"
I find it funny how after I complain that the beats on this album are starting to blend together, this song comes along. This is by far the most unique and interesting song on the album production-wise. The aggressive drum beats before the chorus and the weird sax samples are pretty awesome. This song is about being strong and independent and proving your worth. To my surprise, they're not cliche-ridden and there are actually a few pretty good lines. A song like this needs a strong, confident performance, and Katy sells it. This one is a little experimental and weird, so I can't see it being a single, but I like it. 8/10
7. "Mind Maze"
Just from looking at the title, I have no idea what to expect from this song. Genius says this song "is about losing your track and trying to find your way out of a situation in which it is a difficult choice between something." This is probably the worst song yet because of the unnecessary autotune. I don't have that much of a problem with autotune normally, but here it's just sloppily applied and it doesn't sound good. The beat was also boring at first, but the switch-up in the bridge was pretty cool. Finally, I hate how abruptly the song ends. I was expecting an epic final chorus to somewhat redeem the song, but I didn't get that. This song was not my thing and the autotune ruined it for me.  4.5/10
8. "Miss You More"
On second thought, maybe this is the worst song on the album thus far. It's not that it's unlistenable, it's more that it's just boring. It's not catchy at all and the beat doesn't stand out at all. The chorus is lazy, repetitive, and cliche. Katy sounds really bored as well for most of the song. She doesn't sound like she cares at all, although the falsetto at the end is pretty. The lyrics in the verses are also really weak. Maybe it's just that I don't like Katy doing ballads. The only slow song I've heard from her that I've liked is "Wide Awake". This song has none of the classic Katy charm I've come to expect from her and I will probably never listen to it again. 3.5/10
9. "Chained to the Rhythm" ft. Skip Marley
Here's the lead single of the album, and honestly I liked this one until I looked at the lyrics. It has a really catchy chorus and a slight disco vibe. Katy gives a great performance and featured guest Skip Marley adds an interesting reggae vibe for the bridge. But the lyrics, man. They're not bad because of cringey lines, they're bad because of how hypocritical they are. This song is about how we're all distracted by pop culture to focus on what really matters. Meanwhile, Katy is one of the biggest pop culture icons on the planet.. She is part of the distraction. She should not be the one to make this song. This is a good song ruined by bad lyrics, which I'm discovering is a common theme in this album. 6/10
10. "Tsunami"
This was the song on the tracklist I expected to be the best since I love the word "tsunami", but I'm extremely disappointed. This song compares having sex to a tsunami, which is just a baffling metaphor. The chorus doesn't sound like a chorus, it sounds more like a buildup to a better chorus. The beat is also boring and unoriginal. Katy sounds really bored, which I'm discovering to be the case for a lot of these songs. This song tries to be sensual but it fails, and I wish this song was way better than it is. 4.5/10
11. "Bon Appetit" ft. Migos
I briefly touched on this one in the intro, but I have a plethora of problems with this song. Let's look at them:
1.) The single cover art, which looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint:

HOW DID ANYONE APPROVE THIS?

2.) Parading this album around as being "super-woke and meaningful", only to follow it up with a disgusting sex song that uses lazy food metaphors.
3.) After spending the past few years acting as a gay icon, she collaborates with rap group Migos, who have a past of being homophobic.
4.) Speaking of the collaboration, this song was rumored to feature Ariana Grande, who is one of my favorite celebrities. She wasn't, and I was extremely disappointed. As disgusting as these lyrics are ("Got me spread like a buffet" is a terrible innuendo and legitimately makes me consider giving up Golden Corral permanently), they would maybe sound better coming out of Ariana's mouth...maybe?
5.) She wasted one of the best beats on the album on the worst set of lyrics on the album. The difference in quality between the beat and the lyrics is astounding. It's like if she took an instrumental made by some of the greatest musicians of all time and started singing the contents of Donald Trump's Twitter feed over it.
6.) The chorus isn't catchy, which is a cardinal sin of pop music. Isn't the whole point of a pop song to be catchy?
7.) The music video, which I haven't even seen, but I've heard from numerous places that it is gross and terrifying. It has Katy Perry dressing as a "sexy" chicken cutlet and being eaten by Migos, apparently. I'm glad I haven't seen it.
So yeah, this is one of, if not the worst, songs on the album. 2.5/10
12. "Bigger Than Me"
The intro to this one sounds just like the intro to "Bon Appetit" in a different key. Genius says this song was apparently inspired by Hillary Clinton's loss in the 2016 presidential election, and I don't see how. This one is really boring and unmemorable. I won't be able to recall how it goes unless I listen to it another time. The final chorus of the song is particularly disappointing. The final chorus is where the song climaxes, where the beat reaches its peak intensity and the vocalist is really supposed to bring their A-game. This song doesn't have that and it's a complete letdown. But hey, aside from a few songs, this entire album has been a letdown. 3.5/10
13. "Save As Draft"
I talked about this one in the first First Impressions post (I feel like I'm ALWAYS plugging that post in every one I've done after it) and I was pretty unkind to it (it got the lowest score out of all the songs on there). My opinions haven't changed and I'm really lazy so I'm just going to copy and paste what I said there here:
"Oh, Katy Perry, what happened to you? Her first two albums were full of bops but after that, she's struggled. Her music just isn't as fun and catchy as it used to be, and she's really problematic. The only good thing she's done in the past three years is "Feels" with Calvin Harris. This current era of Katy Perry has been particularly weak. I have yet to hear a song from Witness I've liked, and this is probably her most uninteresting song to date. The beat is boring, it's not catchy, and the lyrics make no sense. I still love Katy's old music, but this is just weak and I know she can do better. 3.5/10"
Although honestly after listening to everything else on this snoozefest, I'm not sure I'd say it's her most uninteresting song to date. It's got some stiff competition for that title. 
14. "Pendulum"
Oh my god, it's a song on here that doesn't make me want to fall asleep! This one's actually pretty decent and I can see it becoming a single. I love a good gospel choir every now and then, and this one's got some really good backing vocals that interestingly contrast with the pop-trap production. It's also nice to see Katy sound interested in what she's singing after so many songs of her sounding bored. The lyrics are also not terrible for once! This song is like "Chained to the Rhythm", but the GOOD version. 7.5/10
15. "Into Me You See"
Finally we've reached the last song! This album is way too long. They could've cut it in half and it would've been for the better. So how does it end? Boringly! This is a bare-bones piano ballad and it's extremely dull. According to Genius, Katy said this is her most personal song on the album, but she sounds uninterested like she does on most of the other songs on the album. The lyrics are also really baffling. Why is there a reference to "open sesame" in the chorus of what is supposed to be an emotional piano ballad? This song is a chore to listen to, and "Pendulum" would be a better album closer. 3.5/10

It's over. Finally. Honestly, this album was even worse than I was expecting. I predicted it would be a gloriously messy trainwreck, but the majority of these songs were just ungodly-boring. I genuinely loathed listening to this album and I found myself consistently praying for it to be over.

Best Songs: "Power", "Witness", "Roulette", and "Pendulum" 
Worst Songs: Pretty much everything else, but especially "Bon Appetit", "Miss You More", "Save As Draft", and "Into Me You See"

I added up my scores for all of the songs, and found the album's overall average is a 5/10, which feels way too high. A more accurate score is a 3.5/10. Yeah, there are decent songs, but there are only a few and they don't even compare to some of Katy's previous hits like "Teenage Dream" or "California Gurls". I tried to keep an open mind since I've been a fan of Katy's in the past, but this is honestly the worst album I've ever listened to and I wouldn't recommend it at all. The only songs I would recommend are the ones I listed for "Best Songs" and you can skip everything else. Next week, I've got a First Impression-style review of Reputation by Taylor Swift, which will be very similar in format to this one. Honestly, that album will probably be way better than this, and I don't even like Taylor Swift! I'm Stellar in Neverland, I don't like this album, and I'm signing off. See you next Wednesday, peace!

Stellar

Fall 2017 Playlist!

Hi, I'm Stellar, and welcome to Stellar in Neverland! I have no updates for today so let's just move on to our regularly scheduled blogging! This might be different for you depending on where you live, but in the US where I live, it's fall! Fall is my favorite season by far. I love the leaves that change into beautiful colors, wearing sweaters every day, Halloween and Thanksgiving, going to high school football games, and pumpkin spice everything. The temperatures are perfect, not too hot (unless you live in LA, which I don't) but not too cold like winter. I know a lot of people who consider fall as their favorite season as well, so I know I'm not alone in this opinion. I decided to celebrate fall by making a playlist of 15 songs for the fall of 2017! This playlist is a little all over the place genre-wise, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Quite a few of these songs would probably be classified as alternative since that's the kind of music that gives me the most fall vibes, but there are some pop and hip hop songs here as well. Whether they're current jams or old favorites, these songs all have one thing in common: they all, in one way or another, remind me of fall. These songs are in the Spotify playlist I linked below. If you want to listen to any of them, you can do so there, or you can look them up on YouTube, Apple Music, or whatever music service you use.

#1. "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man
If you've read my First Impressions #1 post, then you probably know all about my adoration of this song. Pretty much everything I have to say about it I said in that post. I've had it on repeat for the past few weeks and I haven't gotten sick of it. There's just something about indie music like this that screams "fall" to me, and this has quickly become one of my favorite indie songs. It's currently one of the biggest songs in the country and it deserves to be.
#2."Havana" by Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug
I briefly mentioned this one in the First Impressions post I linked. I was talking about Camila's other song "OMG" and I just noted that this song is superior. Latin-inspired music has been a big trend this year and this is honestly my favorite take on the trend. That piano riff is simple but intoxicating and the chorus is addictive. I don't know why this song gives me a fall vibe but it does. It's one of my favorite songs at the moment, which I didn't expect from Camila.
#3. "Praying" by Kesha
This is one of the most emotionally resonant songs I've ever heard. I remember when I first heard about Kesha's case with her producer Dr. Luke (this Rolling Stone article does a pretty nice sum-up of it if you're unfamiliar/curious) and the entire time I was rooting for and supporting her. To see her come back stronger than ever like this is so inspiring. This song hits hardest if you're familiar with her struggles, but even if you aren't, you can still feel her. It's an amazing song and you all need to listen to it if you haven't. Also, the high note (if you've heard the song, you'll know what I'm talking about) is legitimately one of my favorite moments in music ever. Anyone who still claims Kesha can't sing without autotune after this can fight me.
#4. "Friends" by Justin Bieber and BloodPop
Moving on from that emotional rollercoaster of a song to something a lot less gripping but still awesome, we have Justin Bieber's latest song, "Friends". I don't care at all about the Biebs's personal life, but I like his music more than you'd expect. His current music (maybe 2015 onward) has been consistently good and this is one of my favorites. It feels like a sequel to his previous hit "Sorry" and honestly I think I like this one more. The chorus is catchy as hell and the production is great.
#5. "Night Changes" by One Direction
Like Bieber, I like One Direction a lot more than you'd expect. I won't claim to be a mega-Directioner or anything but they have some pretty good songs. This is one of them. It's also one of those songs I rarely listen to but still like a lot. I put this song on the list because the atmosphere has always reminded me of fall/winter. It just feels cozy for some reason.
#6. "Unforgettable" by French Montana ft. Swae Lee
Just like "Havana", I also mentioned this song in the First Impressions post when talking about some other French Montana song, saying "Unforgettable" is way better. Honestly though, French Montana is not the reason why I love it. I can barely even remember how his parts go. I like this song for two reasons: featured guest Swae Lee (of Rae Sremmurd), and the beat. Swae Lee does a pretty solid The Weeknd impression for the chorus, which is incredibly catchy and likable. The beat is unique and danceable and I adore it. It's an unforgettable (pun absolutely intended) song.
#7. "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake ft. Majid Jordan
My brother (a massive Drake fan) always thinks I hate Drake, but I don't. He has some songs I don't care for, but he also has songs I love, like "Hold On, We're Going Home". This is my favorite Drake song to date. He doesn't actually do any rapping in this one, it's all R&B crooning. And it works. This is just one of those songs I've always loved, and it's always reminded me of fall. I think that's just because it came out during the fall of 2013.
#8. "The Hills" by The Weeknd
This one doesn't remind me of fall as much as it just reminds me of Halloween. This is a creepy song. It's slow, plodding, ugly, and dark, but these traits work in its favor. It perfectly accomplishes what it tries to do. I can totally see why someone wouldn't like it, because I don't think I liked it at first, but I love it now. It's one of, if not my favorite, songs by The Weeknd.
#9. "3005" by Childish Gambino
I don't remember exactly how I found out about this song, but I've loved it ever since. It sounds like a Drake song, but a really good Drake song. The chorus is great and there's some pretty good wordplay in the lyrics. This is also the point where I accept that for most of these songs, I can't adequately explain why they remind me of fall. These songs just sound like fall to me, and the atmosphere of this one reminds me of autumn.
#10. "Alone Together" by Fall Out Boy
Although I can't think about Fall Out Boy without reminiscing about my emo phase last year and cringing, I still like a lot of their music, even though I don't listen to it often. This song appears on the album Save Rock And Roll, and even though the album came out in the spring of 2013, a lot of the songs from it remind me of fall. I'm guessing it's because of the aesthetic of the Young Blood Chronicles movie they made to go along with the album (which yes, I have watched in its entirety multiple times. I was hardcore, yo). I specifically chose "Alone Together" because it reminds me of Thanksgiving 2013 and singing along to it in the car. Good memories.
#11. "Gasoline" by Halsey
Another artist I associate with my emo phase last year is indie pop singer Halsey. Even though I think the way she presents herself is really pretentious, I still like her music a fair bit. A lot of it, yet again, inexplicably reminds me of fall. This one in particular, "Gasoline", has always been one of my favorites, and I'm pretty sure it's a fan favorite as well. I like the message of how she's not going to change who she is as an artist despite being constantly pressured to do so.
#12. "Hurricane" by Panic! At The Disco
Throughout most of my emo phase, Fall Out Boy were my #1 favorite band, but Panic! At The Disco were a close second. Once I realized I was starting to get sick of Fall Out Boy, I started to become obsessed with Panic! and I still really like them to this day (also I did NOT expect to put this many songs from my emo phase on here lol). This song, "Hurricane", is on their album Vices and Virtues, which is one of my favorites. It's always been my favorite song from the record and it's one I believe is really underrated. It's a slightly dark and maniacal song (there's some evil cackling in the background), but it's infectious and fun to sing along to. You can bet I know all the words.
#13. "Atlas" by Coldplay
This song was on the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is a movie I will forever associate with the fall of 2013. It came out in the end of the fall of that year and I remember Banana_Elephant and I being unbelievably excited for it. "Atlas" is one of those songs that I love but rarely listen to. My favorite thing about Coldplay's music has always been how atmospheric and pretty it is, and the instrumentals in this song are particularly pretty (and it's not cheesy at all so you can shut up @Banana_Elephant). Just kidding about that last part, haha. Anyways, "Atlas" isn't one of my most listened-to Coldplay songs, but due to its Catching Fire association, it's the one that most evokes fall memories to me.
#14. "Chocolate" by The 1975
This song got popular in the fall of 2013 (much like a lot of these songs) and I think that's the reason why I associate it with this season. It was the first song by The 1975 I heard, and while I've always kind of liked it, I didn't fall in love with it until I saw Ariana Grande's November/December month video a few years later. Every time I listen to this song, it conjures a specific aesthetic that I'm not really sure how to explain. I guess it's sort of similar to the music video, but more fall-appropriate. This song led to me getting into The 1975 and they're now one of my favorite bands.
#15. "Sweater Weather" by The Neighbourhood
I saved this song for last not because I feel it's the best overall song or the worst one (In all honesty, these songs are all pretty equal in terms of my liking of them. Yeah, there are a few I especially like, but overall these songs are pretty consistent in terms of quality to me). I decided to finish with it because, in my mind, it is the fall song. When I think about songs that remind me of fall, this is the first one to come to mind. It's a song called "Sweater Weather", after all, and what article of clothing is more associated with fall than sweaters? (Scarves are also an acceptable answer.) This song feels like wearing a cozy sweater, drinking warm apple cider, and playing in the brightly colored leaves. This isn't my favorite song of all time, but it is my favorite fall song of all time (and yes, there is a difference). You can bet this is the first song I listen to every time fall rolls around.

Here is the link to the Spotify playlist containing the songs, if you so choose to listen to it.
https://open.spotify.com/user/stellar.emma/playlist/18cE45GlhmkrkKOSXKAKI7

OK, that's all I have this week on Stellar in Neverland. Next week, I was planning to use my free trial of Apple Music to do a First Impressions post on Beyonce's Lemonade. I've wanted to listen to that album forever because I've heard nothing but good things about it, but it's not on Spotify (my preferred streaming service). I thought it was on Apple Music but it's not. My plan for next week is to either get a free trial on Tidal (where the album is available to stream) and do a Lemonade First Impression or do a First Impression of another album I haven't decided on yet. Either way, I'm doing First Impressions next week. The week after, I'm doing another First Impression, this time on Taylor Swift's Reputation. Not because I think I'll like it, but because it's going to be the biggest album of the year and I want to see if it'll be worth the hype. (And also because it'll hopefully get me views on here.) That's all for this week. I'm Stellar in Neverland, signing off. Peace!

Stellar