Single(s) of the Week.

So I have 3 songs for this weeks post and yes I know that technically 2 of these songs aren't actually out on iTunes but they are out and that's good enough for me.

                                          

This first song is Conor Maynard's new single "R U Crazy", I was lucky enough to see and meet Conor back in January when he did a couple shows in the US. And honestly he's an amazing performer and you really get a chance to hear how sick his vocals are live. In this song and video you can see how much he's grown as an artist since the last album. It's a lot more mature but you can see its the same Conor. For this song he worked with Labrinth, an amazing artist and songwriter from the UK, and throughout the song you can hear that he was the background vocals but if you haven't heard of him you should check out his EP that was release today here. But I really love the video. I really love the beginning with the '20's vibe to it. You can really see the kind of artist the he's going to be. I'm now excited to hear what the rest of his album is going to sound like and see him on tour when he comes back to the US.

Next is Foy Vance, who has the free single of the week on iTunes, with his song Closed Hand, Full of Friends. I first heard about him through a video that Ed Sheeran tweeted on his Twitter page, which you can hear it here. After seeing this video I just fell in love with his voice. The way how you can feel every emotion that he's trying to portray through his music is just amazing to me and I just love artist like that, that put every ounce of themselves through their music. He's one of those artist that I definitely want to go see live. When I saw that he was the single of week on iTunes I was excited to check out the song and I really like it and now I'm excited to go check out the rest of his album.

And last but not least, my boys Lawson with there latest single Juliet, which you can check out here. This song is very different from their last album, as was Brokenhearted, but I'm loving this new sound. The song is funny and catchy and has a big sound to it, which is something I love because when it's played live at a show, concert, or festival it ends up sounding amazing and has a great feel to it. I've been follow these guys for awhile and it's nice to see them come over to the US and do a little tour and get some recognition. I can't wait to see what's new to come from them on our side. Hopefully a new album soon, a bigger tour......

But until next time,

-JustANewYorkGirl

Decsions, Decsions, Decsions.

So this post I'm going to try to be as personal as I can without telling much details.

From the second I started college I told myself that being away at school wasn't for me and that I was ready to transfer. For the first month and a half, I hated it. I was always going home on the weekends. I stayed inside my room most of the time. I didn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I just wanted out. I just wasn't use to having so much independence and freedom. But I feel like this is something that most people deal with, those first couple weeks if your not use to then it going to take more time for you to adjust. The longest I was ever away from my family was my freshmen year of High School when we did a 3 day camping trip. So all of this was extremely different for me.

But time went on. I made friends. I went home less. I left my room to the point people forgot which one was mine. I felt happy. It was the happiest I had been in a very long time. 

Then came summer break. To a certain extent I think everybody is messed up in their own way, but some how, some way this summer just destroyed me. Between the things that everyone else around me were saying to the things that I was dealing with within myself, I was lost. I was lost and confused and because of this my judgement was clouded. I stopped making decisions for myself. I instead made choices to make other people shut up and to make other people happy. And it became so bad that I fell into what i'd call "a funk". I had experienced this moment before, every so often but this one was the worst its been because I'm not too sure if I ever came out of it. Which is what brought this blog along. Something to help me coupe by getting my mind off of all my troubles and worries and to something else that I enjoyed.

Time was winding down and I had yet to make a decision. People in my family thought it would be best to transfer. Some just wanted me to be happy. And others just didn't care. And somehow I managed to make myself think that the majority was right. That I did need change. I would be happier else where. So I made hasty decision without talking it out. Finding out why. If this was something I really wanted to do. I made a decision that I wanted to transfer. In the middle of July. And I thought it was the right thing. I might be struggling with it now but i'll benefit from it later. And I went through with the process, trying to get it done as quickly as possible so I wouldn't fall behind. But I was going to be behind regardless. Transferring is an annoying process especially if you did crap your first semester like me. Or class that were important for you major at your original school don't transfer over to the new one. All of these things were things that I should have taken into consideration but didn't. 

It wasn't until recently that I couldn't handle it all and decided to talk to my friend and my mom about what would be best for me and what I should do. That's when, between the two different conversations, I came up with the idea to take a semester off, work on myself because it obvious I have some un-resolved issues I need to work through, continue with the blog, it may seem like a little side project but it's something that has gotten me through the summer and is something I really enjoy and get a job because I don't to just sit around for the next 4 months doing nothing. I think that doing that makes it a lot harder for you to go back and you end up going crazy falling into this kind of routine. And for spring semester go back to what I know, what I was comfortable with, and where I was happy.

I'm now in a place where I feel okay with the decision I have made. I'm a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason and there's a reason I came to this decision, just right now in this moment I don't know why. And obviously there are going to be people who are going to judge me, most will be family and others will know absolutely nothing but at the end of the day it's the choice that I have made and it's a choice I'm going to stand by.

-JustANewYorkGirl

GMA Summer Concert Series: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Now, I'm just gonna say this now, I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' but I really did enjoy The Heist and they are really good performers from what I saw of coverage from some music festivals this summer. So when my friends decided to go his show at GMA was excited. We were lucky enough to have received VIP, which really just meant the we could arrive at 5 and not have to deal with a long crazy line, and from a past experience at attempting to see a concert through GMA I know first hand how crazy the line can get especially if you don't arrive at a certain time. 

So my friends and I got to the line up spot around 4:30ish and there were only a couple of groups of people ahead of us. We waited until 5:45ish and that when we got our wristbands and got on another line before entering the park, just so that if we had any bags they could check it. When we did enter the park I was shocked at how tiny the space looked, on tv, with the whole crowd there it looks a lot bigger than what it actually is. But when we got in we were able to find a spot right next to the stage on the right. Little did we know that the spot is a "hot spot" if you want to be on tv. It wasn't until almost everyone was in the park before they came out and told us what I would call the basics, where the cameras where, about soundcheck, and that "this guy", his words not mine, may or may not decide to jump of the stage and that we all should look after each other cause the gates "can't hold us". As we stood there we saw the backup dances practice their routine, and the band practice as well. So it's not like you stand there doing or watching nothing, plus depending on how excited you are time seriously just flies by. 

I would say around 6:45-7 a guy, a comedian who entertained us and kept us hype while we waited or they weren't filming, came out and introduced himself, played a couple games, had people come dance and sing, and a couple even got engaged, all while we waited. During this time the also did a couple of test shots, got some footage of us in the park, and had Macklemore and Ryan Lewis come out to soundcheck a bit. When it was time to actually film the concert for everyone else watching at home we all were so excited. I can honestly say that their fans seem like a pretty calm bunch. Everybody seemed extremely nice, basically when the camera were rolling and nobody was performing there wasn't anybody screaming like crazy or any tears, except from the couple that got engaged. 

During this little mini concert he sang Wings, Can't Hold Us, Thrift Shop, and even though it wasn't filmed for tv, he also did Same Love. I know a lot of people that think that "Well they only do a couple songs why should I be up at ass o'clock in the morning" but maybe it's just me but its 

1. Free. 

2. A chance to see your favorite artist.

3. You get a chance to see all that goes it making it work

And 

4. It's just an overall amazing experience, chance to meet people and make friends, listen to music and just enjoy yourself.

Some of my other friends and parents thought that I was crazy for wanting to go to concerts in the park so early but after explaining the experience to them and talking about the process I may have found more people to come along next summer.

Here are some photos from the show.

If you live in NYC or are around for a visit while they're free concerts in the park, go to it if you can, its definitely an experience you won't regret. 

Until next time.

-JustANewYorkGirl

Single(s) of the Week.

This week I have 2 songs from The Mortal Instruments movie soundtrack.

I don't know what it is about this soundtrack but listening to it makes me want to see the movie.

One of the songs that I love from this album is Magnetic by Jessie J.

She's one of those artist that you hear one song and you just love their voice, as goes for her songs. There's hardly any song that I don't like from Jessie J. This song is no exception. To me it has a futuristic beat to it, which I feel is fitting for the movie and all (at least from the trailers I've seen because I haven't actually read the book), and to an extent I feel like the lyrics match the movie. Overall I like how versatile the song sounds, it's something that can be featured on a soundtrack but at the same time it's a song that could be on her own album and it be able to blend in with the rest of the songs perfectly.

The other song it Heart by Heart by Demi Lovato, and I've heard snippets of this song floating around the internet from April and I just knew that it was for a movie. One listen to this song and you just get a soundtrack vibe from it, (or maybe it's just me.) Ever since I heard the full version of the song, I randomly find myself humming it, even as I'm typing up this section of the post i've had it on repeat. I think Diane Warren did a great job at finding the words to capture the movie and feeling of love. But this song is so beautiful, and again from what I've seen from the trailers, I feel like it fits the movie so perfectly. This song to me is one of Demi's strongest songs vocally, I honestly can only imagine how she would kill it if she was to sing it live. Some of my favorite lyrics from the song are, 

"Someone comes into your world,

Suddenly your world has changed forever."

and 

"No one else's arms can lift,

Lift me up so high,

Your love lifts me out of time,

And you know my heart by heart."

Until next week,

-JustANewYorkGirl

Single(s) of the Week.

There's 2 new singles this week.

I have a new "drunk" song for you guys this week. It's "We Own The Night" from The Wanted. I really like this song, it's different from what the Wanted usually release but the song still screams them. This is one of those "feel good" songs that remind you to live it up while you can. And as the summer dwindles down and comes to an end, I find this song so fitting. My favorite line is "I'm a little drunk but I've got something to say." With a single comes a video, which I absolutely love. Before this video came out my favorite video from The Wanted was Warzone, but now seeing this video it's definitely a tie. You hear the song and you automatically envision what the video would be like and I can say that this video lived up to what I envisioned. If you want to check out the video, you can watch it below and if you want to buy the single click here.

 

And then Roar by Katy Perry, which I look at as another feel good song. All about be knocked down and getting back up and coming back better than ever, which seems extremely fitting considering it's been awhile since Katy has released any new music. This is one of those songs that when your feeling down, will lift you back up. And with all the teasers thats coming out for this video I'm excited to see how it turns out, but until then you can enjoy the lyric video that was posted on her Vevo page below. I don't know if it's just me but i find these lyric videos that Vevo has been posting really creative and cute. I so excited for Katy and her new music and I can't wait for Prism to come out. For now you can get the single here.

-JustANewYorkGirl

Review : Olay Foaming Face Wash.

For awhile now I've been looking for a face wash that wouldn't just work for a couple days then a week later make my face breakout, which was what was happening in the past. The last face washes that I tried were the L'Oreal Go 360 Clean face wash 

And the Olay Fresh Effects Va-va-vivid.

Now the L'Oreal face wash I absolutely hated. For me it just made me breakout and before using this product I rarely ever broke out. Then if I stopped using it for a couple days I would breakout even more. It got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to go look for something new. Now don't get me wrong this product could be amazing for you and have nothing but good results on your face but this is just what it did to me. So I decided to try the Olay Fresh Effects and I really liked it a lot ! The only problem for me was that the brush that came in the kit, when it got dirty it was hard to clean out and they don't sell the brushes on it's own (at least I haven't found them yet). But this is a product that i would recommend because it was gently enough on my face to not make me break out but powerful enough to get the dirt and oil off of my skin and leave it feeling really smooth, but because of the whole brush situation I wanted to find something new and simple. And that led me to this.... 

Olay Foaming Face Wash.

So far I've been using this product for a little over a week and honestly I already see and feel a difference. My skin is a lot smoother and it's clearing up, so whatever trace of break out I previously had from the L'Oreal face wash is now gone. It reminds me of the Olay Fresh Effects but works well without the face brush. And because it is for sensitive skin I feel better knowing that my face isn't just gonna break out after using it for awhile.

So far from the products that I have tried from Olay, past and present, I really like their products.

But if you end up trying any of these products or any other products that you think I should try, just let me know in the comments.

-JustANewYorkGirl

Single of The Week.

Okay, so I wasn't planning on posting another Ariana Grande song until the album is released on September the 3rd but there weren't that many singles release in the past 2 weeks and this song is really good. Ariana's vocals are just undeniable amazing and with each song that she releases, more and more she's becoming an artist that's under my 'Favorites' list. And as the album release date gets closer I get more excited to hear what else is going to be on her album. With her big vocals and with Big Sean featured in the song I feel as if this could be another single of Ariana's to be in the Top 10 on the Billboard chart. I can't wait to hear her live, I know her vocals will be even bigger and better (if thats even possible.)

-JustANewYorkGirl

My Road Trip Playlist.

For me I can only handle long drives if I occupy my time with music.

This is maybe one of the most randomist (if thats even a word) playlist I have come up with. It's basically a little bit of everything on my iPod but more so songs with a big beat to keep me awake through the long drive (I hear its like 24 hours), I also have a lot of summer songs from summers past and every so often there's a really random song that I have just been loving lately. And even with this playlist I'm probably going to search outside of the playlist to find a song that I just really want to hear. 

But here are just a few from my "Road Trip Playlist" in alphabetical order :

After Shock - Demi Lovato

All Fired Up - The Saturdays

All In My Head - Tori Kelly

All of the Light - Kanye West

Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey 

(Cause what's a car playlist without songs to sing along to)

American Girl - Bonnie McKee

Angel With A Shotgun - The Cab

(I actually have quite a few The Cab songs here)

Animal - Conor Maynard

Beautiful - Ben Rector

(This is one of those random songs)

Behind Bars - The Wanted

(I have quite a bit of The Wanted too)

Below My Feet - Mumford & Sons

Best Song Ever - One Direction

(I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this song)

Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

(Another one of those sing-a-long songs)

Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons

Born For This - Paramore

Breathe Your Love - Jasmine V

Breathless - Acceptance

Bring It All Home - Dappy

Brokenhearted - Lawson ft. B.o.B

Call My Name - Cheryl Cole

Can't Pretend - Tom Odell

Changed The Way You Kiss Me - Example

Chaos - Mute Math

Clarity - Zedd ft. Foxes

Climb On Board - Labrinth

Control - Metro Station

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

Dead and Gone - The Black Keys

Didn't Mean It - Jasmine V

Disaster - JoJo

Disco Inferno - 50 Cent 

(This is really random but this song just gets me hype)

DNA - Little Mix

Do Me No Favors - Sammy Rae

(A friend of mine, don't know who she is go check her out)

Do Not Disturb (Tell Me How Bad) - Let's Get It

Drinking from the Bottle - Calvin Harris ft. Tinie Tempah

A Drop In The Ocean - Ron Pope

Drop It - Trevor Jackson

Drown Me Out - Ed Sheeran ft. Ghetts

(I have this whole EP here, No.5 Collaboration Project)

Drunk Dial - Ed Drewett

Earthquake - Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah

Faces - Ed Sheeran & Yelawolf

Fall Into The Sky - Zedd ft. Ellie Goulding

Fences - Paramore

First Time - Jonas Brothers

Hell Yeah - Midnight Red

Hey Sexy Lady - I Square

Hit Me Where It Hurts The Most - Every Avenue

Hush Hush - The Spill Canvas

I Write Sins Not Trageties - Panic! At The Disco

(One of my "summers past" songs)

Is This Love - Aiden Grimshaw

Jump - Rihanna

Laserlight - Jessie J ft. David Guetta

Learn To Love Again - Lawson

Level Up - Sway

Long Way Down - Timbaland ft. Daughtry

Loverboy - You Me At Six

Mad Man - The Wanted

Make The Money - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

The Mixed Tape - Jack's Mannequin

(For me this song just screams road trip)

Monster - Professor Green ft. Example

Neon Lights - Demi Lovato

Nobody's In Love - 2AM Club

Poison - Rixton Cover

Pompeii - Bastille

R.I.P - Rita Ora ft. Tinie Tempah

Reload - Wiley ft. Chip

Sail - AWOLNATION

Shake It - Metro Station

(Another Summer throwback)

So Appalled - Kanye West

Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

Superbad (11:34) - Travie McCoy

Swoon - Timeflies

Take You Down - JLS

This Is What It Feels Like - Armin Van Buuren

Too Close - Alex Clare

Turn It Up - Timeflies

Undercover -Selena Gomez

The Way - Ariana Grande ft. Mac Miller

Without You - Ben Rector

(At the moment this is one of my favorites)

Wonderful - Angel

Worry About You - Tyler James

Yin Yang - Dappy

Young - Tulisa

3D - JLS

Now the full playlist has about 230 songs, 14 and a half hours of music. Perfect for such a long drive. But if you want to see the other songs thats in the playlist let me know in the comments and I'll post the rest.

-JustANewYorkGirl