A Bored Gifted Student

     I finished my homework early today, as usual. It took me just a few minutes to do an overall review on the poem given by Mrs.Montgomery, my Literature teacher. I am thinking what else do I need to do for the class preparation tomorrow. I did almost everything, finished all five homeworks and even read a few chapters on history, for tomorrow's class. I even finished the report that my teacher gave me which the submission date is by next week. I felt like for a moment, I have nothing to do because I already did everything. So, I lay on my bed looking to the left , to the right and to the ceiling, wondering what things can I do next? I look around my bedroom and all I see are medals and prizes that I won from school competitions. I picked up the thick folder from the piles of books, opened it and saw certificates with my name on each of them. I entered and represent my school and won most of the competition first prize, each time. I am not just doing great academically but I am also excel in sport which I joined the swimming squad. I am good in arts, you named it, I can do pretty much anything. Music is very easy for me, I am able to play most of the instrument. I learned very fast, able to memorize anything in a split second, good in presenting in front of people, and I am very organized. I managed my time very well, which some people said, genius or gifted student are either one of the nerds or geeks. I proved them wrong, I am very good socially, I have heaps of friends in and outside of school. I have been very active in school and most of my time have been organized to do certain things. Its almost like everything was planned for me. Everything was great up until now, I felt like I am lost and tired. Can the right word be bored? 

       I woke up the next morning, still remembered what I thought to myself last night. I took a few minutes to relax and made up my mind. I decided since I am very bored because I did pretty much everything for nineteen years of my life, why not I just take one whole week for myself after my high school graduation and doing what normal people did. I should just stop organizing my time and  also stop thinking what to do for tomorrow. I should free my mind and do what everyone does, that is do not plan for tomorrow, just go with the flow. While most of my friends busy searching for colleges, I am doing things that I always wanted to do, wake up late, playing video games until late at night, go for a road trip, and anything that ordinary people would wanted to do in their life. I enjoyed each second of the free moments I had and never regretted what I had decided. I am Edward Morra, whom was once a bored gifted student , now I am still a gifted student of course, but the more happier person who sometimes plan for tomorrow but most of the time just go with the flow. Life is more fun when you least expected. 

Daniel Powter

Have you ever heard the name 'Daniel Powter' ? Well, are you familiar with the song 'Bad Day' ? If you are, then you must know who he is. My favorite singer is Daniel Powter! Actually, I have a lot of favorite singers and bands but I prefer to listened to his songs most of the time. ^_^


His background information: 

Birth name : Daniel Richard Powter

Date of birth : 25th February 1971

Origin : Vernon, British Columbia, Canada

Genres : Piano rock, Pop rock

Occupations : Singer-songwriter and pianist

Years active : 2000- present

Labels : Warner Bros, Sony BMG

6 Facts about him:





1. He played violin when he was young.
2. He changed to play piano after a group of children bullied him and destroyed his violin.
3. He suffered dyslexic (learning disability), which caused him having trouble in university .
4. He dropped out of the university to pursue his own musical career.
5. He learned all the songs by ear and recording new melodies that he created.
6. He performed at the Berlin installment of Live 8 (a simultaneous group of concerts) in 9 countries intended to raise awareness of poverty in Africa and put pressure on world leaders for aid.

Not so "Bad Day" for Powter! 

Bad day is a song written and performed by Powter. It was released as the first single from his second album 'Daniel Powter'. It was first released in Europe in mid 2005. This song was submitted for commercial production and was chosen by Coca-Cola as the theme song for an ad campaign in Europe.

"Bad Day" hits everywhere!!

- Achieved the #1 spot in the U.S. and Ireland.
- Achieved number #3 on the overall European airplay chart.
- Reached number #1 on national airplay, Germany.
- Achieved number #1 on the single charts, Republic of Ireland & Italy.
- Achieved number #2 in the UK Singles Chart.
- Achieved number #7 on the Canadian Singles Chart.
- Reached number #1 on both Billboard Hot 100, Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts.
- Was the most successful single of 2006, ranked by Billboard Magazine (in the U.S.)
- Was one of the three "one hit wonders" to become Billboard's single of the year.

And the best of "Bad Day" goes on and on and on... 

The scenes in the official music video "Bad Day"
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH476CxJxfg&ob=av2n  )

- Was used in the fifth season of American Idol in the farewell video packaged for eliminated contestants.
- Featured in the compilation album "Voices from the FIFA World Cup" during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 
- Currently a popular song to play in sporting events, usually whenever the home team loses.
- Played after the 2008 U.S. Presidential election after John McCain's concession speech.
- NFL.com used the song in their commercial for playoff Fantasy football (since 2007)
- Has been certified 2x platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in the U.S. for digital sales of over 2 million.
- Features as a free download on the iTunes Store (August 2-9, 2005).
- Revealed on the 16th July 2008 by BBC News that "Bad Day" was the most played song in the UK during the period 2003-2008.

Powter's Success!

Daniel Powter with his daughters at the World Premiere of  Walt Disney Pixar animation, Ratatouille.

The song "Bad Day" made him success in his career, making him the first solo Canadian male artist to top the Hot 100 since Bryan Adams in 1995. The song also reached number #1 in Powter's homeland of Canada. (Woohoo! Go Canada!)

This song came fifth in the British Record of the Year 2005. In 2006, he won in the New Artist of the Year category at the Canadian Juno Award, was also nominated for Best International Brealthrough Act at the BRIT (British Record Industry Trust) Awards. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, he received a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance nomination for the song.

Discography

Studio Albums

I'm Your Betty (2000), label by Outside Music

Daniel Powter (2005), label by Warner Bros Records

Under The Radar (2008), label by Warner Bros Records

Compilation Albums

 

There are 2 albums, B-Sides was the released in 2007 under Warner Bros Records in the form of digital download format. The second is as showed below. 

Best of Me (2010), label by Warner Bros Records

I enjoyed all of his songs. But my most favorite songs are:

Next Plane Home in the "Under The Radar" album.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E4j_n17cTI&ob=av2e  )

Free Loop (One Night Stand) in the "Daniel Powter" album.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEY_mg2y-rg&ob=av2e  )

Don't Give Up On Me in the "Under The Radar" album.
     ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcCPwN-97gM  )

 I can relate to his songs because it's like as if he sang them with all of his emotions. I can listened to his songs anytime, when I'm sad, disappointed, happy, excited, just about anytime even when I want to go to sleep. :)  Not that his songs is boring or anything but it's because they made me calm. (^_^)

To those that never heard about him or listen to his songs, please try to go to YouTube or download them. Doesn't hurt to try right?

And to those who are also one of his fans, *high five*. Keep supporting him and his songs. Don't forget to download or if you can afford to buy his album, PLEASE buy the original.. 

Daniel Powter at the MTV Asia Awards 2006 in  Bangkok, Thailand.

These are the links that you can find his background, informations on his album details, and songs.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Powter 

2. http://www.youtube.com/user/warnerbrosrecords

 

-The Cranberries-

Band's Biography

Origin                     :  Ballybricken, Limerick, Ireland

Genres                    : Alternative rock, Pop rock, Folk rock, Jangle pop, & Celtic rock

Formation years       : 1989 (under the name " The Cranberry Saw Us")

Years active             : 1989-2003 , 2009- present

History

Here's what I found out a little about this band. First, this band were formed by the Hogan brothers, Noel and Michael. They formed this band which was named ' The Cranberry Saw Us' in the year of 1989. The band consist of 4 members, Noel and Michael Hogan, Fergal Lawler (drummer) and also the singer, Niall Quinn. A year later (1990), Quinn left the band.

The remaining band members held an audition and advertisement to replace their singer, they chose Dolores O'Roirdan. (You might be wondering why they chose a female vocal, right?) Well, that's because she sang "Linger", one of the song from their band but what makes her special was that, she gave that song a twist. She turned that song into a rough version. 

Notice the years they were active? There is a gap between 2003 to the year 2009. That's because in September 2003, they decided to take some times to pursue individual careers. The band members reunited later on January 2009. They have a reunion to celebrate Dolores becoming an Honorary Patron of University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin). They don't have any intention to reunite and continue singing as 'The Cranberries' but then later changed their mind. They recorded their latest album 'Roses', which was released on 27 February 2012. 

Discography

• Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993)

• No Need to Argue (1994)

• To the Faithful Departed (1996)

• Bury the Hatchet (1999)

• Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001)

• Roses (2012)

Band members           

Noel Hogan

Fergal Lawler

Michael Hogan

Dolores O'Roirdan

• Dolores O'Roirdan - Lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm & lead guitar, acoustic guitar.
• Noel Hogan - Lead & rhythm guitar.
• Michael Hogan - Bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals.
• Fergal Lawler - Drums & percussion.

In my point of view, I don't hate or love their song. The first song that I've heard from this band is 'Zombie'. That's how I get to know this band. As for me, I love all type of music, from classical to heavy metal. I have no problem whatsoever, I am very open-minded when it comes to music. I can even listens to any type of music in any language. That's who I am.

To those who are fans of 'The Cranberries', keep supporting them!! And to those that never heard of this band, try listening to their songs. (Doesn't hurt to try,right?) Who knows that you might enjoy listening to their songs. (^_^)  

Here's their latest picture.