E.Mo.Tion by Carly Rae Jepsen

I admit it. I was one of those who dismissed Carly Rae Jepsen as just a one hit wonder for Call Me Maybe. And it is a fact that she really did nothing significant after that song. That is why her latest album E.Mo.Tion nearly landed in the recycle box. But new albums are getting scarce these days, so I changed my mind and I’m very glad I did.

E.Mo.Tion is one of the best releases of the year. I do not know how it will fare in the coming music awards season but it certainly deserves to win some trophies. Carly’s singing is so vibrant. The mix sparkles and all the wonderfully catchy songs make for upbeat listening. But what I find most interesting about it is that it feels like I am listening to one single after another. They do not make them like this anymore so I am really glad that Carly got the feel of a true pop album in this one.

The catchiest of the contents is of course, I Really Like You, which feels like a boy band hit from the ’90s. Carly goes even further back for her dance tracks, E.Mo.Tion and I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance which echo R&B from the ’80s. She also does very well with the retro feel ballads like Run Away With Me and All That.

The album is all so young and fun and don’t you just love the fact that she has kept the entire package wholesome. A lot of female singers nowadays are total turn offs because of their foul language. Well, she does joke “I’m pregnant” in I Really Like You but then not really because it is Tom Hanks who mouths the line.

Speaking of I Really Like You, people are still talking about the video of the song. Not because Justin Bieber is in it. That is no surprise. He and Carly are both from Toronto. They are wondering how on earth Carly got Tom to do that. The Academy Award-winning actor lip syncs I Really Like You in the video and the result is both funny and strange. Still, it has been viewed over 100 million times and is quite a coup for Carly.

The video was doubtless inspired by the Dubsmash fad that swept the world early this year. Dubsmash is the app that allows users to lip sync to songs, film dialogue or famous quotes on the Net. This was what Maine Mendoza was doing with exaggerated faces when she was discovered. She was named Yaya Dub in honor of Dubsmash and what happened next is now History in capital letters.

And now for a look at the latest Billboard hit charts and get a load of those new titles by several new artists. I am sure it will take me hours of listening to samples to find out what they sound like. But judging from the presence of these new products, it is great to know that the music industry in the US of A is very much alive. Here are the Top 20 tunes in the Hot 100 singles:

The Hills by The Weeknd; What Do You Mean? by Justin Bieber; Hotline Bling by Drake; Can’t Feel My Face by The Weeknd; 679 by Fetty Wap featuring Remy Boyz; Locked Away by R. City feat. Adam Levine of Maroon 5; Watch Me by Silento; Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift; Stitches by Shawn Mendes; Good For You by Selena Gomez feat. A$AP Rocky.

Cheerleader by OMI; Lean On by Major Lazer and DJ Snake feat. Mo; Photograph by Ed Sheeran; Trap Queen by Fetty Wap; Downtown by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Coz; My Way again by Fetty Wap feat. Monty; Hit The Quan by iheartMemphis; Renegades by X Ambassadors; Cool For The Summer by Demi Lovato; and Drag Me Down by One Direction.

 The Top 20 Albums are: Fetty Wap by Fetty Wap; What A Time To Be Alive by Drake and Future; Cass County by Don Henley; Cold Beer Conversation by George Strait; Beauty Behind The Madness by The Weeknd; Tangled Up by Thomas Rhett; 1989 by Taylor Swift; Every Open Eye by CHVRCHES; Caracal by Disclosure; Dodge and Burn by the Dead Weather.

Trapsoul by Bryson Teller; Hamilton: An American Musical, the original soundtrack of the Broadway show; Kill The Lights by Luke Bryan; X by Ed Sheeran; Honeymoon by Lana del Rey; Better Nature by Silversun Pickups; DS2 by Future; GO:OD AM by Mac Miller; Badlands by Halsey; and Brave New World by Amanda Cook.