When the Cheshire emerges...

I was listening to a mix of songs on my computer one night, which included Delta Goodrem's first album. It made me think of how huge Innocent Eyes was when released - and how much it impacted on people. I know one of my friends listened to it every day after school for a long time, and it still doesn't surprise me. It's quite a beautiful pop album, very raw in a way. I turned 14 that year, and Goodrem was a teenager herself having written the songs - so it was extremely relatable to a lot of her fans.

A personal favourite still is Will You Fall For Me, a simple song about unrequited feelings. I thought to look up a live version on YouTube - and then found she had re-recorded it last year as part of a 10th anniversary release which I had no idea about.

And I didn't like it.

Apparently this came out in November 2013...

She had changed the arrangement a bit, and it sounded too mature for what it should be. Like, Celine Dion mature - which means not in a good way. I think the appeal of this particular song is that it has more of that innocence attached to it. But that does not mean you should rework it with a children's choir in the chorus.

It just reminded me of one other time when I was really disappointed by a different version of a song. Avril Lavigne performed I'm With You on Rove Live when she was really big, and I was scarred by that live version for a while. Although it's still a good song, she managed to rip a small piece of its soul with that performance.

Do you have a song you've had ruined by a different version? Or one that's been made better remixed or reworked by someone else?

The landscape of today's ARIA charts (for those outside Australia our national music charts) has changed dramatically from the dominance of the Spice Girls and Britney Spears.

More and more potential one-hit wonders are bursting onto the scene, and those with seeming longevity are either churning out hits to an inconceivable extreme or waning in terms of quality content.

The pop scene has well and truly changed since I was seriously in the loop.

Last week I decided to look up the ARIA charts and see how many songs I knew. The list has since changed but I'm sticking with what I researched.

For all the accolades and countries its topped, I'd never heard this song before in my life. Honestly. But it's quite beautiful, catchy in a good melodic way. Like.

2(1) Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton (MACK)
I HAD heard this before and knew who actually sung it. And I like this song too, very up-tempo and my style.
I'd never heard this before, and I've never heard of MKTO. And I don't want to again. Couldn't last a minute of the song.

4(3) Just Give Me A Reason - P!nk feat. Nate Ruess (RCA/SME)
I'd only heard bits and pieces of this song, but to hear it in full was nice. I do like it - but I hate the fact it's the Fun. lead singer that comprises the male half. His voice does suit the song but I reeeeally don't like the few songs of theirs I've heard. Anyway, I thought the film clip was pretty good too.

Time for a Europop lesson.

Some non-Europeans might remember Greek singer Sakis Rouvas as the dude who swung into the Athens 2004 Olympics Closing Ceremony (literally) before falling mid-routine. Others remember him more fondly as performing one of Eurovision's best songs in recent years with 2004's Shake It (quite frankly, as the favourite that came third he was robbed). He of course also represented Greece again in 2009.

He is also quite possibly one of the world's most prettiest men. #justsayin'

I bought his latest album six months ago when I was in Athens as a tool to help me improve my Greek should I start taking proper lessons. While that's currently a work in progress, I finally listened to the album all in one hit last week.

If anyone survives the Greek economical crisis it will probably be him. Damn, his songs are catchy.

Sakis Rouvas performing Shake It for Greece at Eurovision 2004

I haven't been this excited to listen to a full album repeatedly in some time. He doesn't sing any English tracks on Parafora (Madly), but on hearing more than his Eurovision fare I totally see why this guy is Greece's king of pop. It's damn good stuff.

Even if I don't understand a whole lot of it.

It makes me wish I could understand more, which is the point. That's good. Yet the words swirl around my head for much of the day as I'm trying to work, eat and watch TV. I've taken it further to listen through all the other Greek songs on my iTunes as I cook each night, and vow to understand it all fluently one day. Especially for the sake of Mr Rouvas and what he is trying to sing to me.