YA reading blog

Beyonce.  (2006).  B Day.  Sony Music Canada.

5 out of 5 stars

Age range 15 and up

This music selection isn’t very different from the genre of the Nelly Furtado CD.  Again I think both adults and teens listent to her music.  It is somewhat pop although it sounds quite different from Loose, more soulful, it is also a great CD for dancing along to.  The songs all have really strong beats that make the lyrics oh so empowering. 

Songs like “Freakum Dress” and “Suga Mama” have Beyonce appealing to both femininity and feminism at the same time.  It also has her inventing new words that I am sure will catch on among both the young folk and the old.  She sings about relationships and betrayal and jealousy, drama all over.  

All of the songs were catchy and enjoyable.  I listened to them many times over for this post while I was reading material for other posts and I didn’t get tired of them.  I think this is something young girls will enjoy listening to.

Kate

Furtado, N.  (2006). Loose [CD].  Universal.

4 out of 5 stars

Age range 14 and up

Nelly Furtado may be more of a crossover singer than strictly YA but most singers are like that and I cannot bring myself to listen to Hillary Duff.  This is a pop CD, with a lot of songs featuring the rapper Timbaland.  I had already heard songs like “Promiscuous Girl” and  “Maneater” so I was familiar with them.  I confess, I love these songs.  They are fun to dance to and sing along with, which is what I look for in music. 

I don’t love all of the songs on the CD.  For instance, the song “Do It” I thought was lame.  The beat wasn’t great and the lyrics were not very impressive either. 

I really liked “Glow” for its cool beat and “In God’s Hands” because it was such a pretty song. 

In general I liked this CD.  It’s fun and easy to listen to and occasionally you get lyrics that have more meaning.  In “Afraid” Nelly is singing about insecurity, something that is very relevant to teens.   The CD may not be life changing for young adults but it is fun, and they need that as well.

Kate