Moody Monday : Crikey! There must be something in the water.

by shmuttie

Australians. There are about 21 millions plus of them that populate our planet, mostly of course in Australia, the land down under. Famous for their competitive can-do attitude, a country filled with vast scenic landscape, from deserts to rolling mountains to miles of endless sandy beaches and coral reefs, there is one thing that always intrigues me. Australians are every where and they have infiltrated our television screens, movie screens and radios. They mask their accent so cleverly, adopting American, British and all other sorts of accents that I am always left pleasantly surprised when I finally do find out  that they are Australian. This normally happens when I accidentally catch them doing an interview or picking up an award (as in the case of Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett I am embarrassed to say).

So here’s just a few of the talented female Aussies out there to feast our eyes on early in the week. See if you can remember where you last saw or heard some of these Australians. Have we forgotten anyone?

CATE BLANCHETT

photo by Annie Leibowitz, courtesy of Castle and Cottage

NICOLE KIDMAN

courtesy of W magazine

THE VERONICAS

MIA WASIKOWSKA

courtesy of BlackBook magazine

TONI COLLETTE

EMILIE DE RAVIN

photo by Jason Bell

RACHEL GRIFFITHS

ABBIE CORNISH

ANGUS & JULIA STONE

courtesy of Impressionable Youth

MISSY HIGGINS

photo by Adrienne Overall, courtesy of Adeli’s Music Blog

KYLIE & DANNII MINOGUE

courtesy of Esquire Magazine

MELISSA GEORGE

courtesy of Sprinkled in Pink

PORTIA DEROSSI

property of The Advocate, courtesy of SassiSam

Tuesday Tunes: So who’s got the X Factor after all?

by kranARI

Recent events have got me thinking- wondering really to be precise. In the past few months we’ve watched X Factor events rapidly unfold behind the scenes, involving judges and older contestants alike. All these events have made me wonder who has shined this past year and it’s been pretty hard to figure out!

Has it been Dannii who has “stolen” her sister’s (Kylie’s) spotlight by announcing that she has fallen pregnant and is overjoyed to share this joy with the world?

Has it been Cheryl who has stolen the nations’ hearts with her blossoming career and her constant family drama with Ashley Cole (famous cheating pig of a footballer – what kind of a man cheats on Cheryl Cole, I have yet to figure out how this is humanly possible)  <I’ve inserted and extra beautiful picture of Cheryl just to make my point>

Has it been Simon, who has in the past couple of weeks been on several talk shows announcing that YES he is engaged! (as if the world cares that he has finally chosen to settle down with the  clone of his dreams). The following specimens will prove my above point – in which I believe them all to be clones of each other.

specimen A    

specimen B    

specimen C    

Or has it been Alexandra Burke who has proven that she can do anything better than men “with broken heels”?

No, no I must be mistaken…it has to be JLS who is rumoured to be launching their own range of condoms…

The truth is it has been an eventful year on the X Factor Front. But the real reason I’m posting this article is to remind you of a “Little Voice” called Diana Vickers, otherwise known as “The Claw” or “The Screaming Cat”.

I actually really like Diana and am here, excitedly awaiting the release of her new album “Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree”. I do believe that due to the fact that this is going to be her first release under this label that it is inevitable going to sound quite “poppy”.

When we first got to know Diana a couple of years ago on the X Factor she came across as the “Marmite” of the competition (you’ll either love her or you’ll hate her) and the quirky girl with a great sense of style and an unusual voice. She sang her own renditions of classic songs like Nat King Cole’s “Smile” and mixed up even more contemporary tunes like Damien Rices’ “The Blower’s Daughter”. Somehow, I had the immediate sense that she had an unusual gift but was not going to last long in a competition geared towards pop artists who have lots of marketability.

Marketability however can be relative. Having seen Diana perform in the starring role of “Little Voice” this past year, I have to say I was amazed how broad her repertoire was and how much her vocal ability had evolved in only the span of a year! I remember sitting through her last solo and thinking that this girl has something special this quality will make her shine.

In the long run, the key point to remember is that she is only a 19 year old girl who is just starting to explore the music world in a more professional sense. Perhaps when she settles into her own style and comfort, she’ll be brave to step outside the pop boundaries of success and embrace that side of her that we initially came to love on the X Factor.

Click on the HERE to watch her first music video single release “Once”.