Britney Spears has a BRAND NEW SONG OUT!!!! It's called "Mona Lisa" and I just downloaded it today. THE SONG IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!! OH MY GOD, after making us fans think that she'll be gone for a few years to focus on her personal life, having a baby or something like that. Here she is making a publicity 'stunt', but this time is ALL ABOUT HER MUSIC! It's freaking awesome.. Now, I don't even need to wait for long to hear from my beloved Britney Spears again. She'll be back in full force in 2005. Anyway, she said her fifth album is half-way done and will most probably be titled as "Original Doll"! I'm just TOO HAPPY TO PUT EVERYTHING BLACK AND WHITE. I've been playing her new song OVER AND OVER AGAIN. My colleagues are all getting prety annoyed by it, but I DON'T FREAKING CARE! IT's Britney! She WON'T BE GONE! OH MY GOD, I'M SO FREAKING HAPPY! GOD BLESS BRITNEY! How I wish she could do such stunt more and more. =) This is what's so loving about Britney. BRITNEY U ROCK!!!

It's the 31st December of 2004, the last day of 2004! There's nothing much I could reflect on 2004 or even if there is, it's very easy to point when was my saddes, happiest, proudest moment of 2004. Saddest got to be when I got my "O" level result! Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting a better result, I just swept away by the fact that I'm leaving Singapore with that "O" level result, without ever coming back here again. Happiest got to be the 3 days and 7 days I spent in Singapore with my friends. Nothing beats how easy and free I was while I was in Singapore with a whole of bunch them. Saddest got to be the fact that I have to stay in Indonesia due to who I am or what my dad wants me to!? I totally understand why they want me to be with them, but locking me up isn't the right answer. After dumping me to Singapore about 7 years ago asking me to start a new life and when I had, they forced me back to Indonesia to start another new life, I just think it's unfair. Proudest!? Nah, I haven't been bery proud of myself this year. The things I regretted most is the fact that I was very egoistic and very ignorant about the people who love me. =( I've always been like that. There are so many people who have impacted me, but I did nothing to have their life impacted by me. So my resolution for 2005 is just that! 2004 is definitely one of the worst years in my life and I'm very eager to let it all go and I'm very much looking forward to 2005!

Anyway, this would be my last end-of-year countdown!

My Top 10 Favourite Videos of 2004:

10. "Schizophrenic", JC Chasez
- It's not as successful as Justin's "Justified", yet I think this album is way better than Justin's. Yes, I admit Justin churned out 4 hits from the album and JC failed to do so, but this album just has more flavour than Justin's R&B-wannabe style he had on in "Justified". I thoroughly enjoy this album and to me, he's just as unique as Gwen Stefani and just as talented as Mr.JT (if you consider him talented in the first place)!

Top 3 Favourite tracks: "Lose Yourself", "Blowing Me Up (With Her Love" & "100 ways"

9. "Still Not Getting Any", Simple Plan- This spot is supposedly for Jet's "Get Born". I enjoyed both album very much, but I thought I will give Simple Plan a spot in my Top 10. I'm not those teenagers who have a bad childhood memories or family problems, but I enjoy their music, because it's a totally refreshing thing for me. :)

Top 3 Favourite Tracks: "Welcome To My Life", "Untitled" & "Shut Up"

8. "Love, Angel, Music, Baby", Gwen Stefani
- What I like about Gwen is that she doesn't try to be anybody else, she always tries to be herself and to try out something new and thus making her just so very unique. This album definitely doesn't have anything that will relate listeners to No Doubt, yet, there's just something about her that makes this album just as magical as Alice in a Wonderland. Her "wicked style", unique voice and songwriting skills make this album a very enjoyable one.

Top 3 Favourite Tracks: "What You Waiting For", "Rich Girl" & "Cool"

7. "Two", The Calling- The Calling may be the unluckiest band in the world. They produce good album, release good songs, but they just don't get the world-wide recognition that I think they deserve. "Two" is definitely a great follow-up album. A more mature and positive album.

Top 3 Favourite Tracks: "Anything", "Our Lives" & "Your Hope"

6. "Under My Skin", Avril Lavigne
- Let get one thing straight, I don't like Avril Lavigne (the person, the singer) and her debut album, "Let Go", but that doesn't stop me from being impressed by her second album. Avril definitely has come a long way since her punk-wannabe to be a more mature artiste. "Under My Skin" is her prove. Like how I started appreciating Christina Aguilera since "Stripped", Avril is the same. Come to think of it, you don't see her 'punk' image on her second album, which prove my point that she is riding on the 'anti-britney' image with her debut album to propel her into superstardom.

Top 3 Favourite Tracks: "My Happy Ending", "Nobody's Home" & "Fall To Pieces"

5. "The Diary of Alicia Keys", Alicia Keys- It just takes such little effort for Miss Alicia Keys to put out a great album. I love her debut and to be honest, this album is far cry better than her first. Although Alicia has never been the singer who is well-known for her voice, but I definitely dig her vocal. So, I hope I'm not the only one who also thinks that she's not only a great pianist, producer, composer and musician, but she's a great vocalist as well.

Top 3 Favourite Tracks: "If I Ain't Got You", "Karma" & "Diary"

4. "American Idiot", Green Day
- Green Day is at this position simply because I bought this album about 2 weeks ago only. If I have bought this album since it's released, Green Day might just sit at the second spot. This album KICKS ASS! That's all I can say about it. I know Grammy always honour those 'serious' artistes, so I don't know the chances of Green Day in winning it, but I think Green Day deserve all the Grammys they're nominated for. Afterall, they've been producing great music for 10 years already.

My Top 3 Tracks: "American Idiot", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" & "St.Jimmy"

3. "Encore", Eminem

2. "Songs About Jane", Maroon 5
- I placed Maroon 5 at the second spot simply because it has been released longer than Eminem's. Material-wise, I prefer "Encore". However, there's no denying in the quality of "Songs About Jane". From "Harder To Breathe" to "This Love" to "She Will Be Loved" and other unreleased tracks in the album just make me want to listen to this album over and over again. Although, "Encore" might not be his best album, but Mr.Marshall's very talented and this album is freaking hilarious. =)

Top 3 Favourite Tracks (Encore): "Ass Like That", "Evil Deeds" & "Spend Some Time"
Top 3 Favourite Tracks (SBJ): "This Love", "She Will Be Loved" & "Secret"

1. "In The Zone", Britney Spears
- Not surprisingly, Britney's "In The Zone" took the top spot. No album beats "In The Zone" in 2004 for me. It's the album that is constantly been spinning in my CD player and laptop. Despite being Britney's least successful album, it is an album that spawned us her long-deserved No.1 radio hit, "Toxic", her dream collaboration with her idol, Madonna, on "Me Against The Music", and the self-written ballad, "Everytime". This will be the album that I would still be playing till the return of Britney in the music business. I will truly miss you, Britney.

Top 3 Favourite Tracks: "Toxic", "Touch Of My Hand" & "The Hook Up"

The MOST OVER-RATED Album of 2004:

1. "Confessions", Usher
- I don't see what's the fuss about this album! For one, I think his previous album is SO much better than this! "Yeah!" doesn't compare to "U Remind Me", "Burn" doesn't compare to "U Don’t Have To Call"! "Confessions" is just all-hype and I dare put my dollars and say this album WON'T win "Album of the Year" in the upcoming Grammy Award! To give him credit, he works with the incredible Alicia Keys and thus release the track that I like, "My Boo"!

MOST UNDER-RATED Albums of 2004:

1. "Two", The Calling - Like I said, this album is good. It's too under-rated!

2. "Afrodisiac", Brandy - Brandy always makes great music and this album is definitely her best work to date.

3. "Damita Jo", Janet Jackson - That breast-baring 'accident' is the dismissal of this album! It's not her best work, but it's definitely better than most of the other Hip/Hop, R&B albums ever released in 2004! *points to Kelis, Ciara, Nina Sky and lots more...

Ok, I'm done with my end-of-year countdown!

Time flies real fast today! I was doing my usual work routine in the morning, and then I played CounterStrike for a good 2 hours till around 12+. Had my lunch and at around 2+, plated CounterStrike for another 1 hr. I transferred some money again via internet banking and here I am left with 30 minutes before I head home! :P So my plan on doing my album countdown will be postpone till tomorrow. :)

Anyway, I watched the Disc 1 (eps 1 - 4) of Smallville Season 3 yesterday and so far so good! Although, I find the 'relationship' between Lana and Clark a little old and tiring, but the whole pace is still fast and enjoyable. Anyway, I'll try to complete the whole season first before commenting more on it. :)

So today, I'll just post a VERY long and INTERESTING article that I found. Do read it, don't be turn off by its length. I promise the article is a good read. So here it is:

Britney Spears recently received an extraordinary accolade from the UK's highly respected top broadsheet newspaper the Daily Telegraph: "Amid all the fretting and frothing about her sanity..it's easy to forget Britney's pop brilliance. Sweeter-voiced than Beyonce, Christina and Pink, she has had a string of classics to put the pretenders to shame. Baby One More Time, Oops, Slave 4 U, Toxic.. Britney is the pop artist of her generation."

It's rare for a critic to say something nice about Britney's voice, but these few words come as an amazing counter-offensive against the ridicule and abuse that is regularly heaped upon her. There seems to be no middle ground – you either love her or hate her with a passion.

Most pop singers don't get compared to Beyonce, Christina or Pink. But most pop singers don't get ridiculed and abused for their voices either. Normally, the critics don't think a pop singer's voice is worth discussing. It is what it is, it may not be great but it carries a tune and provides an excuse to be on stage. And that's enough. What a relief for Jessica, Kylie, Geri Halliwell, Rachel Stevens, Emma Bunton and countless others.

Britney isn't treated with this kind of indifference. Perhaps her critics feel she is such a big target they just have to have a pop at her. Obviously they don't take the time to listen to her properly and try to find out what it is about her singing that inspires so much devotion in so many people. Why would they? They don't expect pop singers to be quality singers or worthy of anything more than the most superficial interest.

So, when they take Britney to task, it tends to be for superficial reasons. They're down on her for what she isn't rather than for what she is. She isn't a big voiced diva. She isn't Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston. OK! So she isn't the sort of artist who is going to thrill an auditorium of 15,000 people with soaring flights of multi-note vocal fancy. But she is an artist, and a very special one. Like the very best singers of today, she puts her own stamp on every song she sings.

She has a unique voice, of that there is no doubt. But where did it come from? It isn't the voice of an unschooled amateur, as some people think. Forget any notions that she isn't deeply enough immersed in the vocal arts to be a quality vocalist. Forget the opinion of some critics that she has little feeling for her music. This is a girl who, as a young child, was (in the words of Larry Getlen in his book "Britney: Not That Innocent") a "relentless little singing machine, undeterred in her desire to sing everything that crossed her ears." This is a girl whose whole life is about singing.

Britney's childhood dentist Michelle LeBlanc said: "When she comes in to have any dental work done, she sings the whole entire time. The radio's going, she's singing everything that's on the radio…When you're coming in or out of her mouth or whatever, she's humming or singing. And as soon as you're out of her mouth, the words are coming again. She's the first person I've seen who's constantly wanting to sing."

A full twenty years of singing have given her plenty of insight into how to handle a song. Technical qualities such as control over pitch and vibrato were there from a very early stage – where you would expect an 8-year-old girl to sound childish, rough and immature, she sounded like a professional. And that was BEFORE she got singing lessons.

When New York agent Nancy Carson took Britney under her wing after Disney decided she was too young to be a Mouseketeer, she felt that Britney could sing well but wasn't doing it in a technically correct way. Britney then spent many years under the tutelage of a number of vocal coaches. By the time Larry Rudolph sent for her to audition for a recording contract there was very little she didn't know about professional singing.

By that point, her voice had changed a little from the Broadway-style belting vocals of her pre-teens. In the TV documentary "The rise and rise of Britney Spears" she sings a snippet of "Open Arms" and what you hear is a sweeter voice than before, but still a strong and conventional one, perhaps a little like Leann Rimes. But when her first recordings emerged a year or so later she didn't sound like that at all.

The voice that rocked a startled world was like nothing we had ever heard before. Where the 8-year-old Britney sounded like she was 21, the 16-year old showbiz veteran seemed actually to have regressed a few years. The fine technique she had spent her whole life developing had been replaced by a much more constricted voice featuring a whole encyclopaedia of mannerisms – the most obvious of which were her strange guttural croaks and groans.

There has been a lot of speculation about what went on during that first year at Jive, but we can be sure that no one actually set out to make her singing worse. What we are able to gather is that a great deal of time and thought were expended on figuring out how to market this new artist and ensure she would make a massive impact.

Somewhere along the line, someone, probably Britney herself, hit on the idea of playing a character – an innocent girl with Lolita tendencies. And this character she played would have to SOUND right as well as look right. So what would a naughty angel sound like? Britney came up with a comprehensive answer: a mixture of the youthful innocent, the sweet kid full of love and longing, the little girl with a bruised heart, the not-so-innocent jailbait pr*ck-teaser, and the party girl with a lot more than dancing on offer.

Unfortunately, in adopting this recipe for success, Britney was signing a pact with the Devil. Her strategy would make the desired impact on a world full of jaded listeners who had long since binned pop music. It would get her an audience for her great songs and give her a platform on which to display her gift for performance art. It would also give her an edge over any possible competition. But on the downside, it meant she had to put that beautiful pre-Jive voice away in a locker and pretend it never existed.

She must have known even then that, for everyone who was drawn into her web of fascination, there would be someone saying she couldn't sing. For everyone who willingly entered her hall of smoke and mirrors, there would be someone making fun of her croaking mannerisms and saying she sounded like a chipmunk. She even said that she didn't want everyone to like her, and she wasn't joking - the character she was trying to create would have been a failure if it didn't produce ambiguity, doubt, and conflicting emotions.

All the same, it must have hurt her many times over the years to know that Disney's people placed her singing completely on a par with Christina Aguilera's and well above Jessica Simpson's, that she had the pure singing talent to take a completely different career path if she had wanted to, and that her career strategy meant trading respect for the mega-stardom she wanted. But Britney was determined that she was going to be a megastar, no matter what it took, and she was prepared to deal with the consequences.

I have often wondered what Britney's "Crossroads" co-star Taryn Manning meant when she said Britney "had a beautiful voice in real life", but it dawns on me now – the young actresses spent a lot of time together off-set and in their trailers, and Taryn heard the private Britney take her pre-Jive voice out of the locker for a little dust-down and realised that the public Britney's vocals were indeed simply part of her act.

This is not to say that she could come out as the new Leann Rimes tomorrow if she felt like it. No, she has been playing the part of "Britney Spears" for too long now. She admitted herself in 2002 that her voice was changing, and it's still a work in progress, constantly being brought up to date to match the changes in her public image.

On her first album, almost every song contained the basic elements of the naughty angel mixed together. On her second and subsequent albums, the various Britney characters are stranded out more, and additional nuances are added to them. And a new character, the increasingly rebellious, assertive and defiant young woman was beginning to raise her head and now seems to have become the dominant force.

However, although this kaleidoscope of role-play and characterisation makes Britney’s recordings fascinating and intriguing, although it creates the constantly changing patterns that dispel any risk of boredom, it would be wrong to say that this is what defines the character in her vocals, for that would make them cold, charmless and manipulative and they are anything but that. In fact, behind all the acting out you can hear the sound of laughter and the beat of a very warm heart.

To get us further in this analysis we need to find some of the musical qualities that make Britney's vocals so appealing. If we take her faster songs first, we find that the basic methodology has remained a constant over the years. If you follow a timeline from BOMT through OIDIA and Overprotected to Toxic and eventually My Prerogative you can hear that the prototype unveiled with BOMT has been developed and polished and perfected. You will note the steady improvement in technique, the introduction of more variety, and the abandonment of the early "little girliness".

Always present is her unusual phrasing – it's as hard to describe this as it was with Frank Sinatra, but it all has to do with how long she holds each word, how long she leaves each space, and the internal rhythm this generates in each phrase. Endless attention is given to the enunciation of individual words and to the ways in which phrases are begun and ended. And then there's her accent - the many vocal excerpts from "The rise and rise of Britney Spears" reveal that, from mimicking other singers as she sang their songs, she had fully absorbed the professional showgirl's ability to lose her accent – yet Britney's Louisiana twang has been obvious since the start of her recording career, and remains with her to this day.

Britney's slower songs and ballads are even more revealing of her musical intelligence and craftsmanship. What is particularly interesting is that, although these present her best opportunities to act out the various nuances of the Britney character, and although on several occasions (as on "Lucky" and "Satisfaction") she seems to have made a deliberate choice about which part of her complex persona should receive the emphasis in a particular song, she sings most of them absolutely straight, with fewer mannerisms than in her faster songs, and the listener is left to place his or her own construction on the interaction between voice and lyric and what it means.

If you listen consecutively to four songs from the special edition of the OIDIA album – "When your eyes say it", "You've got it all", "Heart", and "Dear Diary" you can listen all you want for signs of a ****ty girl looking for - or a Lolita-like teenage temptress but all you actually hear is a sweet, charming and rather innocent girl in love taking four different lyrics and four different tunes and singing them in four different ways.

Very few pop singers seem to have any conception of applying an individual approach to each individual song. That Britney does this all the time tells us that, far from being the rough and amateurish performer some imagine, she is, in fact, extremely professional and surprisingly preoccupied with technique. And she does have plenty of technique to draw upon, from the little sobs and emotive yelps at the end of many lines in her ballads to her perfectly controlled vibrato and the delicately drawn little arpeggios in such songs as DLMBTLTK and "From the bottom of my broken heart".

Everything about her singing is so graceful, understated and lacking in bombast and excess. There is wonderful delicacy, variety and distinctiveness. However, even this formidable array of craftsmanship would not be enough to make listeners fall headlong in love with Britney's voice and with Britney herself through her voice. What does that is her warmth, humour and humanity, the sense of a beautiful soul, and the extraordinary emotional connection she makes with so many of her listeners.

I can speak about this from my own experience. I didn't like pop music at all till my boyfriend wore me down with his constant worship of Ms Spears and made me listen to In The Zone.

I'm not sure that I really got it at first, but I listened right through in one go. Then I listened to it again. And again. And then I asked him if he had any more of her albums and I began listening to them too. I was well and truly hooked. Each time I listened to a Britney album it was a trip. As I listened with my eyes closed my boyfriend watched my smiles, my frowns and my little tears.

And now, in brazen defiance of the ridicule of friends, I will come out and say that no singer intrigues, delights, puzzles and satisfies me like Britney Spears. No other voice opens up such a tide of feeling within me or awakens such love in my own heart. Her voice says what I want to say. She seems to feel what I want to feel. The purity and sweetness and fervour within her expose me to my own passions and make me more spontaneous and impulsive, more generous, and warmer, and kinder.

How many pop singers can change your life and make you a better person? Britney Spears may not have a big diva voice. She may or may not be any good at singing live – who really knows? I'm happy to know that on CD she has one of the most magical and alluring pop voices ever heard since recording began. And to know that, as the Daily Telegraph said, she is THE pop artist of her generation.

I'll do my album countdown tomorrow. I just don't feel like doing it today. Anyway, I still can't get my hands on "The O.C", I've asked the shop-owner to find for me and that I'll hunt him down if he doesn't! ok, I didn't say the last part, but I was kinda annoyed that I've been going to the same shop three days consecutively, yet I didn't get what I want. So, instead of throwing my frustration by 'killing' the shop-owner, I bought the original version of "Smallville" Season 3 DVD Box! Do I regret my decision? 50-50! I regretted because I spent at least 30+ bucks on it, while I can actually get them for less than 10 bucks if I were to wait for the pirated ones. I don't regret because I'll get the watch it TODAY! =D Nah, I've bought it, so I wasted at least 20+ bucks, it doesn't matter. I'll move on. Worse come to worse, my mum will just give me another nagging on how fast I spend my money away, like water! o.O Actually, I'm suppose to save money if I were to go to Singapore. =(

My dad's business is definitely not doing well. He didn't tell me about it, but I just know it because he has been acting really 'weird' these past few days. The last time he acted like that was during the 1997 recession period. =( With all my hopes up of going back to Singapore and this has to hit on me? It's totally unfair.

I don't know why I'm feeling very down today. I'm sad... very sad... =(

I was so excited yesterday, thinking that I could finally get my hands on "The O.C" and "Smallville" Season 3 DVDs, but I was wrong! By the time I got to the shop, it was already closed! Curse the stupid Bus system in Jakarta, for letting me wait for a good half an hour! *cursing* Anyway, I'll go after work today to get them and I won't be taking bus today, I'll ask someone to send me there. =D

Anyway, I'll continue with my countdown!

My Top 20 Favourite Movies of 2004:

20. Passion of The Christ

19. Alfie - "With such abundance of gorgrousness and diversity, how can a man choose to settle with one."

18. I, Robot

17. Bride & Prejudice - I will never forget the snake dance! Haha.

16. Vanity Fair - Reese Witherspoon gave a strong performance.

15. The Bourne Supremacy

14. Finding Neverland - Johnny Depp better be nominated for next year Oscar. It'll be better if he wins of course.

13. AVP: Alien VS Predator

12. The Stepford Wives - Not Nicole's best work, but it's very enjoyable.

11. Shrek 2

10. National Treasure

9. Taking Lives - One of the best thriller ever made. It's just too over-looked. This is a great movie.

8. The New Police Story - Definitely my favourite mandarin movie of 2004! And Daniel Wu's acting is solid!

7. The Day After Tomorrow - Ther special effect is awesome! With the tsunami just happened a few days ago. =(

6. Closer - puts Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman & Clive Owen together, you have a fantastic movie.

5. Troy - Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom! Although it wasn't as mind-blowing as I thought it would be, but I enjoyed the show.

4. Shattered Glass - Hayden maybe awkward as Anakin, but he's an amazing actor. "Shattered Glass" prove just that. I always love con movies. =D this is one of favs along with "Catch Me If You Can"

3. The Incredibles - People behind Pixar are geniuses!

2. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban - The best Harry Potter movies to date!

1. Spider-Man 2 - Definitely the movie of 2004 for me!


My Top 10 Least Favourite Movies of 2004:

10. Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow - It's in this list, simply because of Gwynneth Paltrow.

9. The Grudge - I thought "Ju-On" is bad enough, but "The Grudge" is worse.

8. Timeline - Trying to make the viewers believe that we can travel through time by the same concept of fax machines... Stupid!

7. 2046 - No denying in the quality of the actors, but this movie is too boring for my liking.

6. Van Helsing - one of the year's most disappointing movie.

5. The Forgotten - I like the storyline, and the whole un-explainable thingie. If only the ending is not so abrupt and sudden, this would make a great thriller.

4. Saw - Take the gory part out, this movie has no substance. The twist might be cool, but the acting is just too lousy.

3. The Chronicles of Riddick - The worst 'super-heroes' movie out there with "Daredevil"

2. Wicker Park - If the first one hour of the movie is a little more fast-pace and with more 'actions', this movie would be nice because I really like the last part of the show.

1. Exorcist: The Beginning - Worst movie of 2004 in all aspects, enough said!


My Top 5 Songs written for a Motion Picture:

5. "Old Habits Die Hard", Mick Jagger ("Alfie")

4. "Carwash", Christina Aguilera feat. Missy Elliott ("Shark Tale")
- I never knew carwashing is so fun!

3. "Accidentally In Love", Counting Crows ("Shrek 2")
- It's a great pop song! "Come on! Come On!" It's pretty damn infectious too.

2. "Ordinary", Train ("Spider-Man 2")
- It's a rocking cool track just like the movie.

1. "Breakaway", Kelly Clarkson ("Princess Diary 2: Royal Engagement")
- It's approriate lyrically and Kelly has one of the best voices in the music industry currently. Love the track and it literally makes me want to fly! =)


I'm only left with the albums countdown. =) Got to go now, Chiao!!!

I had a great christmas this year! It was pretty fun and definitely eventful. :) My friends and I went to a resort on Friday. There was this christmas eve/Countdown party at the hotel we're staying, so we spent the entire night on that party. It was pretty fun. The next day (Saturday), we spent most of the time on the beach: doing some water activities, lying on the sand and just chills... :) Came back on Sunday!!!

I'll continue with my end-of-year countdown!!! :)

My Top 10 Songs of 2004:

10. "Breakaway", Kelly Clarkson
- There's no reason not to like this song. Kelly's fantastic singer and this is a great pop song.

9. "How Come", D12
- Forget about "My Band", because "How Come" is the real quality song from D12! It's hard, it's definitely edgier. "How come, you don't even call no more". Love it!

8. "In The Shadow", The Rasmus
- I have no idea why I like this song. I rarely like very loud music, and this song is loud, yet I love it! It's because of this song that I bought their album which totally sucks! Haha...

7. "Anything", The Calling
- My favorite The Calling's song so far! There's nothing fantastic about this track, but the lyrics is so sincere, sweet and simple that make it such an enjoyable track for me.

6. "My Happy Ending", Avril Lavigne
- The song that make me bow down to Avril's musical talent rather than just her 'stupid' image! Great song...

5. "Just Lose It", Eminem
- Eminem at his mockery best! Although, I'm quite disappointed at how he recycles his old hits into this one, but this song is damn addictive, no denying!

4. "Everytime", Britney Spears
- Britney's most heartfelt and best ballad, in my opinion. The song she compose and wrote! It's a beautiful piece of music.

3. "This Love", Maroon 5
- Playful lyrics, sing-a-long chorus and infectious music all rolled into one!

2. "American Idiot"/"Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Green Day
- The two tracks that make me realize that Green Day has been around for a long time now! I prefer "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", yet "American Idiot" is so damn fun! "Maybe I'm the faggot America"... smooth...

1. "Toxic", Britney Spears
- This is definitely my record of the year. Britney's long deserved No.1 hit and nothing excites me more than this song in 2004!

So there ya go, I'm done with My Top 10 Songs of 2004! That is definitely the toughest category of them all! Out of so many hundred of hits that has been churned out in 2004, I'm only choosing 10! It's freaking tough, but I managed to come out with it and I'm actually pretty happy with how my Top 10 turned out! :D The surprising thing is that, there are a total of 4 rock songs, 4 pop songs and 2 Hip Hop songs. I've been known as more of a Hip Hop fan than rock, but 2004 has so many hip hop acts appearing and disappearing, that makes me lose interest in this genre of music. And when that happens, rock seems to impress me more: Maroon5, Green Day, The Calling, Simple Plan, Jet, The Rasmus! (I know some of them aren't really rock, but they're instrument-playing bands, so I generalize them as rock bands! ;)

Top 10 Honorable Mentions:

10. "Get Out (Leave)", JoJo
- She's more talented musically and vocally than Ashlee Simpson! It's a given! This song is definitely a winner! But having a 13 year-old singing: "Get Out! Leave! Right Now!" is not something I'm used to! =P

9. "My Boo", Usher & Alicia Keys
- Ok, I hate Usher's "Confession", but I won't discredit a great song like this!

8. "She Will Be Loved", Maroon 5
- "It's not always rainbows and butterflies, it's compromise that moves us along.." This is one of the best song of 2004! I'm so pissed it's not nominated for "Song of the Year" Grammy Award! Yet, "The Reason" was! Oh phur-leeezzz...

7. "Try", Nelly Furtado
- "Try" is definitely my favourite or rather the BEST Nelly Furtado's song ever released. As much as I love "I'm Like A Bird", I'm so glad her voice isn't as squeaky in "Try"!

6. "Talk About Love", Brandy feat. Kanye West
– Love the beat, love the lyrics, love Brandy, love Kanye West! Enough said!

5. "Numb/Encore", Linkin Park & Jay Z
- Mixing Hip Hop and Rock is tough, but they pull it off. It's a great track!

4. "Nobody's Home", Avril Lavigne
- This song kicks ass! I love it!!!!

3. "Penny & Me", Hanson
- They did the whole album by themselves, they support themselves with no label and "Penny & Me" is a fantastic track. More mature than the "Mmmmmbop" era.

2. "What U Waiting For", Gwen Stefani
- One of the most fun pop track of 2004! Gwen is outright pop, she's so not ashame of it, even it's the year of Hip Hop!

1. "If I Ain't Got You"/"Karma", Alicia Keys
- Alicia makes great music, but it's so proven with these 2 tracks! Her vocal, the lyrics, the piano… fantastic songs!

Most Over-rated Songs of 2004:

5. "Goodies", Ciara
- I actually like this song, but then, do I think this is a great song? NO! So it's definitely over-rated!

4. "The Reason", Hoobastank
- I don't see the big deal about this song. Lyrically, it's nothing great! Vocally, it's nothing fantastic. Compare to Maroon5, they're B-grade band! Ouch...

3. "Let's Get It Started", Black Eyed Peas
- I HAVE no idea how this song could be nominated for "Record of the Year" in Grammy! It's enjoyable to listen to, it's addictive, it does make me want to dance. But again, mediocre track!

2. "Pieces Of Me", Ashlee Simpson
- Ashlee's debut success is comparable to Avril's. However, I don't see why she could have that kind of success. "Pieces of Me" is nowhere compare to "Complicated".

1. "Yeah!", Usher
- I get the groove, YEAH! I get the moves, YEAH! But it's so mediocre, definitely YEAH!

I'm done for the day, need to go off for lunch!

Hey, I'm back with my end-of-year countdown, and now I'll be counting down my Top 10 Favourite Videos of 2004! :)

My Top 10 Favourite Videos of 2004:

10. "Rumours", Lindsay Lohan
- Lindsay looking extremely sexy in this video. There's nothing FANTASIC about it, but Lindsay's just too sexy and hot, excluding her from my Top 10 list is just so damn wrong. =)

9. "Predictable", Good Charlotte
- For some weird reasons, I think this video is kinda artistic, cool and refreshing.

8. "Karma", Alicia Keys
- Alicia looking extremely hot in the video! Damn, to think that Alicia could look hotter, sexier and prettier than Beyonce with her fringe covering her fore-head! =)

7. "American Idiot"/"Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Green Day
- I absolutely adore Green Day's lead singer. At least, his image! =) Maybe, I want to be 'geeky' sometimes. =) Anyway, I think it's cool! "American Idiot" is a more fun video, while "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is much deeper. Love them both!

6. "My Prerogative", Britney Spears
- Britney on bed, who can resist? Hehe… I know I can’t!!! Putting Kevin in this video, marrying in the video and then having a wild party in the church! This video is controversial, sleek, sexy all rolled into one!

5. "This Love", Maroon 5
- It's sexy, enough said!

4. "What You Waiting For", Gwen Stefani
- Gwen just makes this video magically wonderful and likeable to watch. I love it! Although it seems very nonsensical, but the video is very fun to watch.

3. "Just Lose It", Eminem
- There's always Em's first video of his new album that gets people attention to actually buy his record. After impersonating Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Elvis Presley and Moby, in "Just Lose It", he tried Michael Jackson and Madonna and hell, he's absolutely hilarious in the video. Come to think of it, I'll give kudos for anyone who is able to look so much like Wacko Jacko and Madonna at the same time. o.O The kids are definitely cute! =P

2. "Toxic", Britney Spears

1. "Everytime", Britney Spears
- As much as I think "Toxic" is one of the best videos ever produced, I placed "Everytime" higher that it simply because it always gives me chills whenever I watch the video. I don't know how to put it in words, but watching Britney 'died' in the video because of her love for music, is just too much for me. Not to be girlie or anything, but this is the only video that could make me cry. So, the entertaining, the professional and the almost-naked Britney in "Toxic" comes second.

And now, comes my least favourite videos!



Top 5 Worst Videos:

5. "Confession Part 2", Usher
- Showing his perfectly-shaped body or not, this video is soooooooo stupid!

4. "Lose My Breath", Destiny's Child
- Why is that those artistes whom I most excited about their come-back always disappoint. "Lose My Breath" is a sexy song, but the video ain't sexy enough. Having Destiny's Child trying to make a video just like any other Hip Hop acts take away half of their credibility and half my respect for them.

3. "Yeah!", Usher
- Hate the song, so I might as well hate the video right? Come on, this video looks like a B-grade "Like I Love You". Sorry, Usher! As much as I hate Justin Trousersnake, I don't think your video is that great!

2. "Take My Breath Away", Jessica Simpson
- There's just something so wrong about Jessica on a very sexy outfit, driving around and singing "Take my breaaattthhhhhh aaawwwaaaayyyyyyy..." Huh????

1. "Pieces Of Me", Ashlee Simpson
- The song is not deep, the singer is not deep. Heck, even the video is not deep and looks extremely cheap!

I'm done with the video sections!!!!!!!!!!! Now, My Top 10 Most Shocking News!

My Top 10 Most Shocking News:

10. Fantasia Barrino winning American Idol Season 3
- Not that I want Diano Degarmo to win, but I don't think Fantasia is an idol material, and it is proven with her debut album that didn't do as well as the rest of the American Idol winners!

9. George W. Bush elected again to be the President of the United States of America for another 5 years.
- I'm happy President Bush won, but I just didn't expect he would!

8. Shrek 2 being the FOURTH Top Grossing Movie of all time in the U.S.A.
- The movie is good, but the FOURTH Top Grossing Movie of all time, it's kinda off-track!

7. Beyonce winning 5 Grammy- Beyonce is a great singer, but I don't think she deserves 5 Grammys at all! She's nowhere compared to Alicia Keys.

6. AARON WHAM doing a hip hop dance!
- Sorry, I just have to add this one! ;)

5. Every news regarding Usher's successes
- He's wayyyyy toooo over-rated!

4. Britney didn't win the VMA 2004
- I'm still mad!!!!!

3. Justin Timberlake 'showed' Janet Jackson's breast on the Super Bowl halftime show
- Wardrobe mulfunction? MY ASS!!!!

2. Britney injured her knee while shooting "Outrageous" video
- I have the shock of my life when I heard Britney had her knee injured again and need to go though operation. Dancing is her life and if there's anything wrong with her knee, it would be tragic! I'm glad she's ok though.

1. Britney's getting married on Las Vegas and having it annulled
- The first time I heard it, I say "bullshit". Then, I saw it on a news programme on a respectable channel and I realize it's no lie! I'm shocked! I'm extremely shocked, my heart could fall out. Then, when I heard her divorce, I'm almost stoned to death! =)

I'm done. As you see, I don't include her marrying Kevin as a shock, because it isn't. I also didn't include Ashlee's lyp-synch scandal, because I'm not shock too! :) I'll do the rest soon.... see ya!

Like I said, I'll be doing my End-of-year Chart Countdown and it'll start today! But before, I start counting down on others, I might as well start with "ALL THINGS BRITNEY". I mean, she is going to take a break from her career and the fact that she has just released her very first Greatest Hits Compilation album in November, I just thought it's appropriate for me to do a chart to close a chapter of Britney's career in my book! So here they are:

My Top 10 Favourite Britney's Songs:

10. I've Just Begun (Having my Fun) (from "Greatest Hits" album)
- I love this track! Bloodshy and Avant is bloody genius!

9. Breathe On Me (from "In The Zone" album)
- Love the beat, love the groove, love britney’s vocal. This track is sexy, seductive and dangerous.

8. Stronger (from "Oops! I Did It Again" album)
- A much more edgier Britney's song during her bubblegum-pop era!

7. Me Against The Music (from "In The Zone" album)
- A great dance song! If I want a good workout at home, I'll just play this track! Fantastic song!

6. Born To Make You Happy (from "Baby One More Time" album)
- Who doesn't like this song?

5. Baby One More Time (from "Baby One More Time" album)
- The song that propels Britney into superstardom! Up to now, it's still one of Britney's most successful song!

4. Everytime (from "In The Zone" album)
- Without hesistation, this is britney's best ballad ever! This track is simple, yet so magically beautiful and soothing to listen to. It's sweet and sincere!

3. I'm a Slave 4 U (from "Britney" album)
- The most un-britney song, yet the beat is so infectious, contagious. I love this song, especially when Britney declares that she's a slave!? Hehe.

2. Toxic (from "In The Zone" album)
- One of the greatest pop track of 2004! Enough said!

1. Touch Of My Hand (from "In The Zone" album)
- It's bold! It's provocative! It's honest! And Britney sounds amazing in this track! Definitely the best song Britney's ever produced, at least in my opinion!


My Favourite Britney's Albums:

4. Oops! I Did It Again
- It's edgier than her debut, it's her second best selling album, but it comes fourth place in my chart! I love this album, but not as much as the rest!

3. Britney
- This is the most risky album Britney's ever produced, yet, there are so many quality and potential songs in this album. Britney definitely made a few mistakes on this album. Still, I love it!

2. Baby One More Time
- It's the most bubble-gum pop album, but it's also Britney's best vocal album. Her voice is strong, deep, edgy and sexy! Plus, it's her most successful album and it's her debut!

1. In The Zone
- NOTHING beats this album, for me! It's on my top list for favourite album of all time!


My Top 5 Favourite Britney's Videos:

5. "My Prerogative"
- It's a great video, and the inclusion of Kevin in the video is so naaauughhhhtyyy! :)

4. "Overprotected(Darkchild Remix)"
- It's a great video, in all aspects! Everyone will love it!

3. "Everytime"
- It's sweet, sincere and oh-so-tragic! =(

2. "I'm a Slave 4 U"
- The dancing, the moaning, the humping. This video is sexxxxyyyy!

1. "Toxic"
- Like I have always said, one of the best videos ever produced!


My Top 5 Favourite Britney's Look in her Videos:

5. "Lucky"
- That glam Hollywood golden-girl look is weird, but it's nice too! I like it!

4. "Stronger"
- The black eye-liner! She's strong in this video, love her look!

3. "Sometimes"
- Sweet, young and innocent! Britney's is so damn cute in this video! :)

2. "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know"
- Forget about her bikini top and short jeans! Look at her face, and you'll know why this video is in the 2nd spot!

1. "Toxic"
- I love all 4 different looks she had on in the video: The sweet air-hostess, the bad-ass red-haired girl, the dangerous black-haired girl and the seductive blond-haired girl with diamonds!


My Top 5 Favourite Britney's Costume in her Videos:

5. "Outrageous"
- In the basketball jersey, she looks pimping! :P

4. "I'm a Slave For You"
- The pink panty on top of her tight pants! :P super-woman? Woaaaa....

3. "Oops! I Did It Again"
- The tight red-leather suit! Aw.... :D

2. "Overprotected (Darkchild Remix)"
- the pink outfit! Cute...

1. "Toxic"
- The diamond "suit"! (It's no suit, she's totally naked, except with a silver thong!), so her best costume got to be her skin! Wohooo....


I'm done with "ALL THINGS BRITNEY"! So I'll be back my the rest of my End-of-Year Countdown! :)

My auntie from Hong Kong came back three days ago. Naturally, my mum told her about my intention in going back to singapore to study. To her, it wasn't a good idea too! Oh phuuurrrrrrrrrrrleeeeeeeeeeeez, is there someone here who actually support my intention of studying in Singapore? I'm very upset!

I WANT A TICKET TO WATCH THE MTV ASIA AWARD 2005 IN THAILAND! How the hell can I get the ticket.....????!!!!????? COME ON, Maroon 5 is attending and performing. I DON'T WANT TO miss that!!!!!!! AND AND AND AND CHRISTINA AGUILERA will be hosting the event! Damn... it's going to be awesome.. HOw come MAA hosted in Singapore, we have B-list artistes hosting: Ronan Keating, Mandy Moore, Coco Lee, Shaggy, Vaness Wu & Michelle Branch? And MAA hosted in THailand, CHRISTINA AGUILERA will be hosting. :urgh: I think I'm going crazy!!!!!! :(

Oh yeah, I'll be doing end of year chart since 2004 is coming to an end. You know, something like Top 10 albums, songs, videos, movies and stuffs like that! I'm sure I'll have fun trying to come out with my Top 10s! :)

Before I go, "POlar Express" is not a good movie and did I ever mention that Alicia Key's "Karma" is a damn good song? :P

I didn't go to work yesterday... I was having a bad headache and sore-throat. and it comes naturally as an excuse to re-juvenate at home! :D

Sometimes, when you have nothing to do, or practically nothing to think about, your mind wonders to a place you thought you would never have. I just did yesterday. I was bombarded with tons and tons of messages that just kept passing through my brain, whether I like it or not. And the more they try to penetrate through my brain, the more I think about them. The more I think about them, the more I depressed I get. Why do we always think about the worst outcome rather than the best outcome?

Anyway, the morning's been pretty boring... Normal work routine and then I come across this article: "Local Family Has Daughter Born Without a Face" It's horrible, it's terrible. I feel so sad after watching the video they show. How could one possibly live with no face? She's young now, but what happen after she is a teenager? The agony that she will go through and stuffs like that... :( I wish her the best!!! For full article, Click here

Watched a couple of old films on DVDs! "Life As A House" deserves two thumbs way up! It's a great movie, although the storyline maybe cliche, but the performances by Kevin Kline and Hayden Christensen are great! "The Talented Mr.Ripley" is fantastic too! As always, I don't like Gwynneth Paltrow, but luckily she didn't appear too often for me to want to switch it off. "Girls Next Door" is hilarious and Elisha Cuthbert is freaking SEXY! :) "Frailty" is another kick-ass movie. Although it's not as scary as I thought it would be, but it's disturbing. The twist is just so cool! I love it!

Watched "National Treasure" with Jane! The movie is cool, but Jane is not! haha... I doubt she will ever come to my blog, so it doesn't matter! :) "Do you think Nicholas Cage gain weight?".... "What's with Diane Kreuger? She looks as if she is having constipation.".... "What National Treasure? It looks like an ancient stuffs that could be bought for a buck per item".... hem..now u know why I said she ain't cool? haha...

Exclusive Pic:

^I know Britney smokes too, but I never knew Avril smokes too... :P

Wohooo.. My company's server is being hacked! o.O haha.. Ok, I'm kidding... But the server is getting really f*cked up and all stored datas are all jumbled up! My withdrawal form just come out all of a sudden, when not a single client requested for it. Weird!!! haha...SO, I'll be so damn freaking free today from 9am all the way till 5pm with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do! And I don't think that's a good thing lorz.. I'll be so damn bored!

Is there a possibility where U can get both lucky and unlucky on the same day? I was freaking unlucky while I was at work yesterday. Did my recordings and calculations wrongly, took hours to search for the mistakes that I made and then re-did the whole damn long statement OVER AGAIN from the beginning. Yet, at night, my dad gave me some money, asking me to buy some new clothes or anything I want to buy! NO, I didn't ask for it and since he gave it so willingly, I accept it with open hands too! :D Now, if only my dad will say, "GO! go! Get out of the house and go Singapore and study!" hehe...

WOOOO...BRITNEY SPEARS made her first public appearance on the red carpet since her wedding with her husband, KEVIN FEDERLINE. Although she didn't perform, her being present in an award show is exciting enough for me. I know she's leaving the music business for long, and I don't blame her, looking at how she feels so at ease and feels so in love with Kevin just makes me want her to lead her current life forever. Yeah, I can see she gained weight, but so what? There's no freaking reason for her to stay thin right now, anyway! Still, she looked gorgeous and I absolutely love her. For once, Kevin Federline dressed up for such a big event and I'm happy he doesn't try to embarrass himself and Britney. Yet, what's with the hat and the sneakers? Haha... He has some weird sense of style. Oh yeah, one more thing, Kevin sounds like a man! haha... I thought his voice will be just as squeaky as Justin Timberlake or David Beckham, but his voice is actually deep, mature and manly! :P Good for Britney! ONE MORE PLUS POINT: He may gain instant fame by just marrying Britney, but at least, he doesn't try to steal the spotlight from the real superstar! While Britney is being interviewed, he actually doesn't try to butt in! :)

Some pictures:









^if you notice on Britney's knee, u can see a HUGE SCAR! :( I hope it doesn't hurt, but as far as I know, such scar can't vanish! :(

It's Monday! Darius is going back to Singapore today and the NP people have already started schooling and I'm still stuck here in Indonesia... :(

Looking at the brighter side of things, my dad said he will think it (me going to singapore) over thoroughly and he will give me an answer as soon as possible. I definitely see that as a chance. Previously, whenever I ask her if I'm allowed to go back Singapore and study, he will give an instant "NO!" for his answer.

Anyway, I went out with Darius last night. Went to a mall called Kelapa Gading! It was my first time there as well, so I feel as much like a foreigner or a tourist as Darius. Haha... I'm definitely not the best person to show anyone around Jakarta, because my Indonesian sucks to the core. I even use English to ask for direction! :P

Like I promised, pics I took using my Samsung Hp:


^That's Stephanie and Eileen! haha..they took themselves one..I didn't even know about it...


^That's Phyoe with his 'best' 007 impersonation. haha.. I wonder what's with his hair.. :P


^I took this! Good right? That guy is Goh Boon Huat and the girl is Junni! :P


^The ultimate cheeko pek, Kelvin Loo (The front) and the soccer crazy Joshua.


^That's our infamous 'gay' boy, Aaron Tan! Haha...


^Barry! Trying to be Kawaii... haha...


^Trying to seduce..but of cos he failed badly! haha..


^Our pride! The NJC student, Jason See! Haha...

That's all for today! :)

It's December 2nd! I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Britney Spears. :) I will post some pictures that I took using my hp up... not very good quality lo..but not too bad la... I'll post it up 2molo.. :)

I came back from Singapore last night and I'm already missing all my friends there. :( Damn... Anyway, I've been taking planes since I was young and yesterday was the worst experience I had. Not to worry, my plane landed savely. However, to have a stranger suddenly came up to me and asked me whether I know anything about the plane crash yesterday was definitely not I wanted to hear 20mins before I took my flight. To make matter worse, the plane that crashed was the same airline that I would be taking. He said he was a Strait Times reporter, reporter or not, he is an ASSHOLE. Anyway, I'm alive and kicking, although I really miss Singapore. :(

I had lots of fun during my one-week trip in Singapore. Special thanks for Boon Huat, Barry and Phyoe for spending their entire week with me. :) I appreciate it, dudes! I will definitely talk to my parents about allowing me to study in Singapore again. But don't get all your hopes up, because I've asked numerous times and I've been turned down all those times. BUt I'll definitely give it another try. I met most of the people I want to mee, although there are some whom I didn't. I just want to apologize!

Fannie - I don't know if you'll come my blog again, but I'm really sorry for not contacting you while I'm back in Singapore. If I have the chance to visit Singapore again, I'll definitely want to see you. There's lots of catching up to do between us. :)

Ferny - I'm really sorry for not contacting you as well. I only met up with Lydia once, so I didn't have the chance to contact you. I'm sorry. However, if my pleas on studying in Singapore is successful, I'll make sure you'll be one of the first people I want to contact. :) Sorry again.

I guess I won't go on with what I did for the past week that I spent in Singapore. I'm happy after not seeing one another for 8 months, they are still very enthusiastic in seeing me. haha... I'm flattering myself. :P Anyway, wait for my good news ok? :)

Lots of love.....