...becoming... the album (updated)

Note: (more) sarah stuff on this post. my waking hours are filled with dreamy thoughts of meeting her in person, ergo, i can't write about anything else but her. hahaha! ikanga ni gewi, ibang level!!!

sarah's latest album, becoming, is like a coming out album for her... coming out from the young girl image to a young lady. all original and mostly english songs. a little different from the usual birit or teeny-bopper songs. i hope this is the start of her transition from mostly cover songs to her own works. she's got the voice, no doubt about that. and i'm glad her album did justice to her, especially since this is supposed to be released in other countries too.

i'm proud to say na hindi mapapahiya ang pinoy sa album na to. here's a quick review:

I Still Believe In Loving You
so sad. it showcases the other side of sarah's vocal acrobatics. more soulful and sort of suppressed. i feel like the opening range is too low, but then i realized later on that it is to set the tone of the song. i can't think of any other artist who can sing this as passionately as sarah. (biased! hehehe!)

Iingatan Ko (Ang Pag-ibig Mo)
probably the most teeny-bopper song in the entire album. something on the level of Lumingon Ka Lang. i found it weird for a love song. it does have a catchy tune though.

You Mean The World To Me
this is my fave of all the songs. upbeat, latino-style, santana-ish guitar ripping, heavy beats. the vocal's extraordinarily sarah and her diction was perfect! i could have mistaken her for a foreign artist had i not remembered i'm playing her cd. i hope she'd use this song to give herself edge in dancing.

Carry My Love
i would like to think this is the next Forever's Not Enough. not as birit-loaded, but a little too wordy for me. a nice song all in all. "you are my safe inside the storm" is my fave line. it was already released as the second single from this album.

After Love
foxy! now this is what i'm talkin' 'bout! she's smokin' hot on this song! if sarah wants to break into the non-kiddie scene, she needs more songs like this. her voice was so seductive, "airy", and playful in a mature way. i hope when she performs this live, she'd wear her hair down (a little wavy touch could help), have red shimmery lipstick on, and NOT smile her signature bungisngis. =P

Baby Blue
a different vocal arrangement for sarah. sort of country-ish, with the acoustic guitar coming in and out from the background to blend with her voice. i can almost hear kids singing this on the streets. hehehe! for me, i love this when i'm driving. i hope this gets a lot of airplay. Belinda Bye Bye was the last country-ish opm song that i knew made it into the mainstream.

Ala-ala Mo
i feel like this is the tagalog version of I Still Believe in Loving You. mushy lyrics. hehehe!

And I'm In Love Again
an upbeat love song that will leave you singing "du-du-ru-du-du-du". it has a catchy beat that's easy to stomp your feet to. probably one of the songs you might wanna play while going about at home. one of my faves in the album.

Kaibigan
a strong candidate for the graduation anthem of the new generation. or maybe the ultimate retreat theme song. not my cup of tea, maybe because of my age. but for teenagers who are still discovering and forging bonds with friends, this is the song to burn on souvenir cds. =) gosh, i feel so jaded writing this down.

Don't You Worry
if sarah will be entering the sing-and-dance scene, this is probably the best single to use as a vehicle. funky with a little hint of hiphop. her dancers will have a blast. oh please, don't let whiplash do the dance moves. they need the new gen dances to take care of this. maybe anime or maneouvres, as i remember them.

Magliliwanag Rin... Muli
an inspirational song that i think sarah might be singing at EDSA4, if there will be such a thing. this, for me, is the best among the tagalog songs in the album. nice lyrics and, well, very inspiring. i won't be surprised if sarah will guest in one of those talent search shows on their grand finals and perform this song. i'm sure she will shine, and i'm sure the contestants will try to overpower her voice on this song. it has a nice range, but i think she can still push the bar up. ahhh, maybe it was made that way for when she needs to make a new rendition at concerts.

Is This Love?
r&b-ish song with a touch of slow rock. i would think this could pass for a seductive song. one of those types you can girate to, and feel sexy about.

Peace Is All We Know
move over World Youth Day theme song! hehehe! this song is bordering on "Christian" and "Pop" genre. like a younger jamie rivera with better vocals. ooops, i'm not trashing jamie rivera, but. yeah. nuff said. well, they are both thomasians, so go USTe! hehehe! for the sake of university spirit.

So Heartbroken
it has the same intensity as the first track, I Still Believe in Loving You. she sounds mature in this song too. the first and last tracks seem to set the mood, or maybe they just arranged it that way so when you want to loop into playing the cd over and over again, there's no big transition? dunno, but they did a good job starting and ending it with mellow songs.

i love listening to her album, it seems to have a little bit of everything. i can say she's matured in her style of singing. this album will crush all the impression that she's trying to sound like other artists. her voice is just that wide a range that she can cover any style she chooses to use. i might be biased, but i know that the album is a good buy.

UPDATE:
the music of "Ala-ala Mo" and "So Heartbroken" is the same! hubby je mentioned this to me last night. i didn't even realize! and to prove it, he played the english song on our pc, and the OPM one on my player. exactly the same, halos pati arrangement ng vocals! it's not a direct translation though.

je was revoking my sarah-fan-license since i didn't figure it out before he did. i told him, well, he's just been converted to a sarah-fan himself. that was my goal when i made him a copy of the album. =P

he can sing the chorus of sarah's songs na!!! good job hon! and meron na nga rin syang peborit eh, which he sings with much gusto last night. nyahahah! oh, let's just watch the concert and let sarah do the singing. =)