The topic for discussion on Day 11 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge is music. If you to put your “iPod” on shuffle, what would be the first 10 songs? Well for me, I don’t have an iPod. I have an iPhone. (Was that bragging? I wasn’t trying to brag, just stating the fact. And yes, I love my iPhone and will never change to another brand. I drink the Apple kool-aid hardcore.) For this post, I opened up iPhone and tapped on Apple Music. I selected “songs” and hit the shuffle button.
These are the songs that my phone came up with …
“Settle Down” by: Cartel
What most people don’t know about is that I love punk/emo/pop punk/punk rock/pop rock (whatever you want to call it) music. One of my favorites, and they have been for years, is Cartel. I was even lucky enough to see them in concert. They were amazing. With Apple music, I’m lucky to have all of Cartel’s music. YAY! I know that when I am in the mood for some punk music, they’ll be there for me.
“So Real” by: Mandy Moore
I love that this came up in this list. A lot of people have become fans of Mandy Moore in the past couple years due to the AMAZING show “This Is Us” on NBC. I’m a big fan of the show, but I have been a fan of Mandy Moore since the very early popstar Mandy days. I saw her perform at The Big E in Springfield, MA. I remember seeing her in The Princess Diaries (starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews). I know that she is the voice of Rapunzel from the Disney animated movie, Tangled. She even had a song on the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies, Center Stage. So to say that I’m a BIG fan of Ms. Moore (she’s a married woman now, so I can’t really call her Miss … can I?) is putting it mildly.
“You Don’t Do It For Me Anymore” by: Demi Lovato
Oh Demi! How I love her. With the new age of “pop princesses” in this age of music, Demi Lovato is by far my favorite. Take a seat Taylor. Sit down Selena. I’m all for Demi. She is not afraid to be who she is. She doesn’t paint a picture that she is perfect and doesn’t have her flaws. And her music is incredible. Her sultry throaty voice is like no other. You know when you hear her that you are listening to Demi Lovato. How could you not love her music?
“Fairy Tale/Going Home” by: Randy Newman from The Princess and the Frog Soundtrack
Yay! A Disney song! I knew there would be a Disney song on this list. The Princess and the Frog was one of Emily’s favorite movies for a very long time. She loved Tiana. (We still love her, but Emily’s 4 and her favorite movie changes weekly.) It’s nice to see this song come up on my phone. It makes me think of my little girl and our shared love of Disney.
“Womanizer” (2009 Remaster) by: Britney Spears
Speaking of pop princess … here is another one. One of the first. Like Demi, Britney Spears never claims to be perfect. She has her flaws, but she embraces them. She has created so many hits that you just can’t help but sing and dance along with. This song, Womanizer, is no exception. Come on? Can you name a song that Britney put out that you didn’t want to sing or dance to? I’m so glad that Britney has come out on this list.
“The Whisper” by: New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block!!! NKOTB! AHHHHH!!!! As far as I can remember, these boys/men were my very first music love. (I’m sure I loved nursery rhymes and other things like that as a baby, but I’m talking about when I could choose music for myself.) I still remember seeing them on TV as a kid. I had a MASSIVE crush on Joey McIntyre. I was even lucky enough to see him as Fiyero in Wicked. I am so happy that the Boston boys are still around and making music. They rock. I’m still hoping that one day I will get to see them in concert.
“Burn” by: Phillipa Soo from the Hamilton Soundtrack (Original Broadway Cast)
Finally a song from a musical! And it is one of my favorite musicals too! I have loved Hamilton from the moment that I heard it. I had heard about it and heard how amazing it was. For a musical to really resonate with me, I’ll feel it within the first time hearing it. And that happened to me with Hamilton. And “Burn” is one of my all time favorites. Eliza, up to this point, is such a positive character. Naive and loving. She wants to be happy and make Alexander happy. But then she finds out about his infidelity and things change. She could “save” him, but chooses not to. She stands up for herself. And I love that about her. Go on Eliza. Let that man burn.
“Bibia Be Ye Ye” by: Ed Sheeran
Oh Ed Sheeran. I love this song. You can’t help dance around to it as you’re listening. I love Ed Sheeran in general, but this song is just infectious. I am actually listening to this as I am writing this paragraph. Jammin’ out as I listen to it and type this. I’m glad that Ed made this list, but even happier that it was this song. Of course, now I’m going to have it stuck in my head for the rest of the day. [So worth it!!!]
“Animals” by: Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is another group(artist) that I’m happy made this list. They are definitely one of my favorite bands. The tunes and the vocals by Adam Levine can really make me smile, and rock out. Try driving down the street and a Maroon 5 song comes onto the radio and NOT sing along. Go ahead. Try it. I bet you can’t do it. You have to sing along. That is the way that I feel about Maroon 5. If a song of theirs comes on, I have to sing along. And “Animals” is no exception.
“The Christmas Song” by: Idina Menzel
There are two reasons that I’m so happy that this song made it to the list. The first reason is that it’s a Christmas song. I was never the biggest fan of Christmas, until Emily was born. She made it so much fun for me, as a parent. Decorating the house. Santa. Elf on the shelf. Buying presents. All of the great activities. And one of those is listening to Christmas music. I love singing along with Emily to Christmas songs as we decorate. The second reason I’m happy this song is on this list is the singer; Idina Menzel. She’s one of my favorite artists of all time. Mixing Christmas music and Idina Menzel … win win!
So if you were to go into your phone right now, or a music player on your computer, and hit shuffle to the whole library … what would your first 10 songs be?
