Forgotten Artist - Jennifer Paige

Jennifer Paige is a famous one-hit wonder artist from the 90s. I always thought that she was from  Europe. After I done some research, I found out that she is American. She was born in 3rd September 1973, almost 39.

Most people would known her for her one-hit wonder single "Crush". However, I know at least 3 songs from her (good thing about living in Asia, International artists like to dump their singles here including the flop one).

I always wonder why Jennifer Paige couldn't gain success as much as other artist. She is pretty and has a good voice. She is also a great singer "live". I would say the reason for her failure is bad management. Well, I never heard any gossip saying she had a feud with her record company. Perhaps, maybe she failed because she refused to sold her soul? :p . Well, there is no negative thing that could be said to Jennifer Paige. Her only downsides to me is she doesn't have a memorable face. Believe it or not, she already had 3 albums

From left to right: Jennifer Paige (1998), Positively Somewhere (2001), Best Kept Secret (2008)

Jennifer Paige singing "Crush" live

Now, I would like to give my thought about her single discographies.

1 - Crush - released in 1998 - 8.5/10

Crush is the first single released by Jennifer Paige. It is the first single I ever heard from her as well. At that time, I was only 10. Crush is a simple pop song with a bit of r&b flavor. Crush was not only a hit in USA where it peaked at #3, it also a worldwide hit where it peaked at #1 in Australia & Canada, #4 in UK, and Top ten hit in most European countries.I would say that the song intro will give you immediate hook. It so catchy that it made you want to fully listen to the song. The melody of the song is just brilliant. The lyric is simple. It is just a song about her having crush about a guy but not like she wanted them to be together. It just a little crush and Jennifer sung this song perfectly. She sounded sultry without being slutty unlike current pop stars. The good old days where talent surpass image.

The Music Video (MV) did make sense. Jennifer sometimes playing eyes with the guy in the backseat. She was a bad bad girl in the video in a non slutty way. Haha.Jennifer looked so young with her short hair.  She has become hotter these days with longer hair.

Which is hotter: The guy that she with or the guy she had crush on the video

2 - Sober - released in 1998 - 6.5/10

 

Honestly, I'm not really familiar with this song. Sober is slower song compared to Crush. It is a nice pop ballad which was a minor hit in some countries. Although it is just a minor hit, Sober is actually better than most songs out there currently as well as during the time the song was released. I don't know why this song flopped so hard. Maybe because the lyric is hard to be related with. Well, at least for me. I love the video. There always be some videos which are more toward artistic more than making senses and this video is one of them.

Jennifer on the floor

I don't know how well the video went along with the song and I also don't know where Jennifer was in. Since there was an Aeroplane, I suspected that she was  in an airport. But what airport so cramped and white? There were also some scenes of people doing crazy thing in the taxis. Hurm, like I said, maybe it is more toward artistic aspect rather than logical. The song itself sounded kinda heavy. One thing that very clear is that Jennifer Paige can sing. She possessed a very good voice. Her tone is so nice and raspy.

3 - Always You - released in 1998 - 5.5/10

Always You is the 3rd single taken from Jennifer Paige debut album. This song is a minor hit here in Asia. It is a decent dance song. It sounded like a dance song that hits the radio these past few years. Well, actually this was a remix to the slower album version. Surprisingly, this song flopped so hard when it was released in 1998. Poor Jennifer.

Jennifer in Always You video

The video is something different. Jennifer recorded herself, traveling around going to her lover's house. In some shot, she looked like Laurie from cougar Town. There nothing much to say about this song.






4 - Stranded - released in 2002 - 7/10

Stranded is the 2nd single from Jennifer Paige 2nd album "Positively Somewhere". The song became a hit in Asia. It always pop up on MTV (back in the day where MTV used to play music all the time). The song sounded a lot like Michelle Branch debut single "Everywhere" except, this song is more laid back but lack the punch that Everywhere had. I always thought that Stranded copied Everywhere but the truth is it was the other way around. Stranded is actually a cover of a band called "Plumb" (well, not really a famous band). The Plumb version came in 1999, a year before Michelle Branch's Everywhere.

Is she stealing a car?

The video is about Jennifer stranded somewhere pulling her music equipments, strolling around and i don't know, stealing a car???






5 - Underestimated - released in 2008 - 5/10

Underestimated is the 2nd single from Jennifer 3rd album "Best Kept Secret". For some reason, I couldn't found the video for both 1st single of her 2nd and 3rd. Not that I ever saw the videos to begin with. Maybe they never exist. Underestimated to me is just a filler song. Yup, not really a great song. Pretty decent. It was nice, maybe for album track. As a single, this song is kinda weak.

The video is pretty much straight forward. She was fed up with his boyfriend, so she just spent his money shopping and drove his car until it scratched. She still pretty after a decade from her debut.

6 - Ta Voix (The Calling) Duet with Laam- released in 2008 - 5.5/10

This is the 3rd single from her 3rd album. This song is a duet with French singer Laam. She look a bit like Jessica Mouboy. I have never heard or seen this video on MTV. I pretty much searching it in youtube. This song is pretty weak. It is a slow song. a bit rockish. This song is sung in two languages, Jennifer sings in English while Laam sings in French. Nevertheless, this song is quiet dry for my ears.

The video is about Laam and Jennifer shared a same man and they never see each other but they know about each other existence.

Laam in the video if anybody curious

7 - Beautiful Lie Duet with Nick Carter- released in 2009 - 6/10

Jennifer Paige latest (well, not so new, it was 3 years ago) is a duet with Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys. We got two underrated talented singers singing together. The result is ok. Beautiful Lie is a decent pop song. It was not as good as Crush or Stranded but it is better than most singles Jennifer had come out with. It has some nice beats.

The video is simple. It just Nick and Jennifer singing while there is a story of a couple robbing a jewelry store.

Wow, Jennifer Paige has produced 3 albums and I know 7 singles that she had released (thanks Youtube). Yet, she only known as the Crush singer. The problem with her is that after Crush, she failed to release a song that on par with it. Every single she released so far couldn't even come close to Crush. She is so talented. She can sing live. Maybe she lacked some superstar charisma on stage but no one can deny her voice.Quiet a shame talent like her got wasted for someone who can't even sing live. Furthermore her singles are better than most crappy songs currently in the radio. Well, I heard she will release her 4th album soon. Hope it will enjoy some successes.

My thought of Her
Beauty - 7/10
Voice - 8/10
Live performance -   7/10
Singles - 6/10
My Final Verdict:
I like her :)

Alahai sinetron Indon n k-drama

Aku x paham kenape org mesia suke sgt tgk sinetron indon especially my mom. To me, they are rubbish. If you think Malaysian actors acting are bad enough, think again. You still haven't see the worst. Actors are not perfect. Aku tgk drama Jepun or english, byk gak yg kayu. Aku tgk citer thai, pon byk yg kayu. Tapi diorang ni walaupon berlakon very bad, xde la plak kite tgk cite2 tu sakit ati. Masih leh diterima.

Tetapi, drama Korea and Sinetron Indon, aku x boleh tgk. Korean drama are full with actors that cannot act. They have a good story line but the acting are so bad. It too plastic and transparent. Honestly, the only good thing about Korean drama is their handsome and pretty plastic surgery boys and girls (well, mostly but not all).

Sinetron Indon laen plak cerita. Not only the drama are full with bad acting actors, cerita tu sendiri x best. Sinetron Indon sgt x best sbb
1 - Pelakon dia kaku mcm kayu
2 - Pace cite dia lambat.
3 - Mesti ada slow motion sblm iklan.
4 - Nak wat monolog dalaman tapi cakap kuat2 sorang2 mcm org gila.
5 - Jalan cerita sinetron2 dia mostly 80% sama je.
6 - Jalan cerita sangat x logik

Masa aku blaja dulu, ada lecturer dari Indon. Katanya "Sinetron yang ditayang di Malaysia adalah sinetron picisan". Tp bagi aku, sama je semua.

Org kita selalu kutuk drama melayu x real. berlakon mcm kayu. Tp cuba bandingkan dgn Sinetron, korang blh bandingkan betapa kayunya pelakon indon. Kalau x, masakan pelakon malaysia yg memang kayu tahap x leh lentur mcm Asyraf Sinclair & Miller ape ntah boleh famous kat sana? Instead of talent, diorang ni more to beauty je.

Well, this is just my 2cents.

Dah lama meninggalkan alam blogging nie. Terasa rindu nak meluahkan apa yg terbuku di dada. Want to write in English but my English is not that good. but, who cares right? haha. Mostly in this blog, aku just nak tulis pasal pendapat aku tentang music tempatan or international music (not necessarily English). Aku ni bukanla ada ilmu tentang hiburan, but I like entertainment. Aku suke hiburan Melayu, english n Jepun. sometimes layan cite thailand, cina etc. Bollywood dah lama tinggal. Rarely suka dgn hiburan Korea n Indonesia (sebenarnya tak layan sgt pon).