Heather DeLuca - 95.1 WAYV

Friday, December 30, 2005

Movies and Music: The Year in Review

Well, its been quite a busy week leading into the New Year's Weekend. Its Friday night and I am combing my closet trying to come up with SOMETHING to wear to the WAYV Big 80's New Years Eve Bash tomorrow night at Trump Marina. Of course I am like every other woman--I simply have NOTHING to wear.

Frustrated attempting to concoct my party ensemble, and since I am listening to The Emancipation of Mimi (one of my favorite CD's of the year), I decided to take a break and give you a rundown of my personal list of the best albums of 2005.


5. Something To Be--Rob Thomas's effort to make a name for himself away from his band Matchbox 20 paid off a million times over--literally. His first solo effort went to number one its first week and has since gone platinum. The tunes are INFECTIOUS and Rob's image has gotten hotter than ever. Tunes like "Lonely No More" and "When The Heartache Ends" are as uncharacteristic for Rob as his new haircut--but it works. Rob will be back in the studio with 20 in January but I say give me more ROB and just ROB.

4. Fireflies--Faith Hill was widely criticized in 2002 for her album CRY, my personal favorite in her catalog. Cry's R&B edge put off her country fans and was a a commercial flop--and no one noticed more than Faith. On her 05 release FIREFLIES Faith runs right back to her country roots with tunes like "Mississippi Girl" as if she has something to prove to her critics and her fans. However, this is not the country Faith we were introduced to in 1993--this Faith is all grown up and it shows most on the headstrong "I Ain't Gonna Take It Anymore" and the haunting anthem "Paris".

3. Breakaway--I hate to admit this but when I was first given an advanced copy of the latest Kelly Clarkson CD, I was convinced it wouldn't merit more hits than just the title track. I COULDN'T have been more wrong could I? It took awhile for me to warm up to "Since You've Been Gone" but once "Behind These Hazel Eyes" hit the AYV airwaves I was forced to take a second listen. This time I heard what millions of Kelly fans had already figured out. Kelly has broken the American Idol mold and has easily created 4 of the most memorable singles of the year. Something tells me her new song "Walk Away" will take her well into 2006 too.

2. Late Registration--Kanye West is not your typical rapper. He is a socially conscious, politically aware lyricist who just HAPPENS to rap. Add in the fact that he is one of the most coveted music producers in the industry and you find yourself just HAVING to find out what all the fuss is about. Kanye's 05 chart-dominator "Golddigger" was too brilliant to get off your radio or out of your head. Throw Jamie Foxx onto the track and you've got, well--Gold. Late Registration does what few CD's can do. It smashes the sophomore jinx moving leaps and bounds beyong Kanye's Grammy-winning debut College Dropout. I can't recommend this CD enough if you are looking to broaden your collection.

1. The Emancipation of Mimi--I was lucky enough to be in New York City with Mariah Carey for the launch of MIMI. A 15-year Mariah fan, even I couldn't forecast that THIS would be the album that would return her to platinum and critical status. On my first listen of Mimi I got CHILLS because it was the first album since her 1990 debut that I loved all the way through right away. I knew it was something special, but after the "Glitter" debacle I didn't think anyone else would give it a chance. Something clicked with the first single "It's Like That" enough to give Mariah the momentum she needed to release its follow-up "We Belong Together". Music journalists labeled this tune "The Retutn of The Voice". The tune stayed at #1 on the Billboard charts for almost 3 months and helped to gain Mariah a new fan-base and 8 Grammy nominations. 5 million copies-sold can't be wrong.

Don't forget to listen to Ryan Seacrest Sunday night at 8pm on WAYV as he counts down the Top 40 songs of 2005. Talk to you next year! Happy new year! Heather

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