April was a wonderful month of worship! While I was able to listen to a few new contemporary songs, my main focus this month was worship material. A lot of the stuff I listened to wasn't exactly new, but these songs are still extremely relevant. Each worship tune uniquely influenced me, as many praise and worship songs usually do.
1. Boldly I Approach - Rend Collective - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QDnVD7gu5Y
My new favourite worship song for the moment. It is extremely unique in its style; normally this folkish type of song isn't used in a worship experiment, but Rend Collective have done an amazing job using the genre for that purpose. The dynamics are also extremely special, with smooth transitions from each section of the song.
2. Baby I Need You - Kim Taylor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxxhALen93E
I love slow acoustic songs like this one. This might classify me as slightly sappy, but I do love emotional songs. They seem to take music to another level with a new purpose. A stool, one mic and an acoustic guitar provides perhaps my favourite musical experience in the world.
3. I Really Like You - Carly Rae Jepsen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77PzXCKDyVQ
BEST Dance song EVER! My siblings and I have been having awesome spontaneous dance parties whenever we hear this song. It is extremely upbeat, catchy, and also a typical pop song. It's good that this song has been mediocrely successful, as I like Carly Rae Jepsen as an artist. I first saw her on Canadian Idol, and her enthusiasm, dedication and passion were hard to miss.
4. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4
I have only recently started to re-listen to this song, even though it is one of my all time favourites. I've been researching for more ideas for cover songs for my band Called Out, and this one popped out at me. The amount of covers of the song is staggering, but I think it is because the song is so open to interpretation. Clearly, this song is a classic.
5. Where Can't I Find You - Sky Terminal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-em44bgX-o
About 3 years ago, Sky Terminal used to do something called Off the Floor Fridays, where Marcel, the lead singer, would do acoustic covers of his own songs. These videos, still on YouTube, show his raw talent, that has been refined even more so with this new album released last year. His control has improved, his tone, almost every aspect of his vocals have all progressed forward!
6. She Looks So Perfect - Five Seconds of Summer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2BYmmTI04I
I'm actually surprised that this band has completely fallen off the face of the Earth. Last year, especially during the summer, this song was huge, being played all over the place. Yet now, I haven't heard of them in what seems like forever. The band and their sound seemed to be so unique, and fresh, especially for a boy band.
7. Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpyfrixXBqU
Although released last year, this song is strongly building up a case for song of the year already. It is dominating the iTunes charts, radio charts, YouTube hits, e.t.c. And Ed Sheeran is plastered all over the news, with new music collaborations, goodwill stories, and essentially making sure his name is a household topic, if it wasn't already!
8. Where Are U Now - Skrillex and Diplo feat. Justin Bieber - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKS1xjqEv8o
For a debut album, this record is filled with celebrity guest singers. It includes Justin Bieber (of course), Kiesza, and many other top performers. That's a great way to start off as a band, or dance duo as these guys prefer to be called. Actually, from what I can gather, the duo's name is Jack U, and their individual names are Skrillex and Diplo.
9. Hideaway - Kiesza - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D70UT2wUnoM
Interestingly, the majority of the song was finished within 90 minutes. Kiesza's producer developed the track, and before she had to leave for a flight, she wrote and cut some vocal tracks for the song. The actual writing process apparently took around 10 minutes only. Later, they finished up the track, and the rest is history.
10. This is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFRjr_x-yxU
Another amazing artist story! Phil was raised in a Christian home, but said he began to make the faith his own when he started to lead worship for his youth group at the age of 13. Since then, he has travelled worldwide spreading his worship music to different churches, and has released seven CDs. God has truly blessed the ministry of this man.
