The Wheel and Axle

Guess who’s turning 71 today even though she doesn’t look her age at all? The incomparable Cher, that’s who! The multi-talented icon has had a long and glorious career, and to date she’s still very much active – musically and socially. (You should be following her Twitter account as she’s a riot, especially when criticizing and throwing shade – emoji abuse, and all – at the despicable Trump, among others.)

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Although Nicky Byrne will always be my favorite Westlifer (and probably favorite person), we must concede that Shane Filan was the lead singer for a reason. Yes, Mark Feehily also had a more… divatastic voice, but Shane’s voice was just the right combination of power and restraint and captivating-ness (I know, I know, not a word).

It’s just a shame that post-Westlife, none of them really hit it big as solo artists. There was some mild success here and there, but nowhere near the behemoth of Westlife at their peak. And yes, despite their inability to breach the US market, they were the biggest boy band of their generation (and after). The reality, I guess, is that Westlife lasted so long that by the time they split up fourteen years later, they were much older, and their demographic had moved on.

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Happy 51st birthday, Janet Jackson! Despite all the challenges of the past decade or so, you remain to be an icon and a living legend. There are so few of you left, so here’s to more decades for you to design!

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Happy 67th birthday, Stevie! You will always be an icon, a legend, a Wonder!

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Here’s something to make your Friday… toxic!

This went viral a few weeks back, but it’s still just so much fun. Totally would love to see this live next time I fly AirAsia.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Despite all the criticism that she was the Spice Girl who sang the least, among other things, Victoria Beckham has always been and will always be my favorite Spice Girl. Even when she was still Victoria Adams, prior to her marriage to that gorgeous soccer player, she fascinated me: the classy style, the smouldering looks, the occasional smile, the cheeky deadpan humor. Victoria has a sophistication that I adore, one which I believe hid an ultimately down-to-earth lady (no matter what others thought).

And her singing voice? It may not be as powerful or polished as Emma’s or the Melanies’, but I always liked the quality of her voice in the same way that I love the bedroom-y, husky voice of Westlife’s Nicky Byrne (another “underdog” in his own group, love ya, babe!).

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We all have our guilty pleasures. One of these, for me, is the campy yet surprisingly earworm-inducing late 90s pop group Steps, who many considered as a bit of a spiritual successor of the glorious and amazing ABBA.

Well, since 90s pop group reunions seem to be all the rage these days, of course Steps cannot be left behind, can they? So here they are, back for their 20th anniversary with a new song.

And as always, it just stays in your head.

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I can’t believe I never saw these before. I knew Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart Head were the best singers on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast (hence they got a lot of singing parts in Once More With Feeling), but I didn’t know they did this for the Rocky Horror tribute.

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Trust me, I would so watch this if they actually made a full-length feature. Victoria’s the best, especially because of how she can make fun of herself and the criticism she usually gets, and James is just too too adorbz.

Another version of a Beatles classic that never fails to be good no matter who sings it or what form or genre it takes. And this one? The message is made even more relevant for the times.