Music & Me

Getting To Know You - The King & I
Not really a mainstream song, such as the likes of S Club 7 or Steps, but this song was definitely a huge part of my childhood. Why? Well, I used to be in the West End musical production of The King & I, by Rodgers and Hammerstein in the London Palladium. I played the part of 'Cute II' - one of the twin princesses out of the Siamese childeren - for two years, when I was 6 and 7. I also played the part of a 'swing' for a few months, which meant I would fill in for any of the other children if they were sick.
Out of all the songs from the musical, this definitely stands out, as a) it's probably one of the most famous, and b) this is the song which I probably participated most in. I can still remember holding hands with all the other children, skipping around Elaine Paige (who played the role of Anna) singing the lyrics to the song, with our hair slicked back into buns with crowns and wearing the same bright costumes as there are in the film version.



Forever and For Always - Shania Twain (2002)
Again, not really a song that you would probably think of when you think of a pre-teen girl, but growing up, I never really had control over the car radio.. Which meant it was my always parents's choice, aka 105.8, Magic FM.
As a current listener of Pop/mainstream music, I never really was a big fan of slow, strong ballads, but from now and again something would come up on Magic which I loved, for example Michael Buble, or as you can see here, Shania Twain. Without knowing it, Magic had actually introduced to me the the world of Country, the one genre which I have now grown to love (which is explained in my next track choice).
This song 'Forever and For Always' is one of my favourite tracks from Shania's album 'Up!', which is special to me as it was actually the first album I had ever bought!



Fearless - Taylor Swift (2008)
Fearless. This was the easiest and fastest track choice for me; not only is it my most played song on my iTunes, it is my favourite song ever to be honest. If anyone ever asks me to think of a song or think of an artist, it will definitely be this song, and Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is my idol and inspiration, and the one person in the world that I would love to meet.
Fearless, which is also the name of her second album, was the first album that I had ever listened to where I loved every single track, and could easily listen to every day without getting bored. Her Fearless Tour in 2009 (which is where all the footage from the music video is from) was also probably the best night of my life; I had front row seats on the side, and actually caught a guitar pick after Taylor's violinist had pointed out that she loved my handmade T-shirt.
Her Fearless Platinum Edition album also includes a DVD with bonus features, and it was then when I realised that out of all the songs on the album, Fearless was actually my favourite. This was because during all the backstage footage, they played the song Fearless in the background, and that was the first time I song had actually made me cry.
So from then on, Fearless has always been my favourite song, and the lyrics from this song were actually my '15 words' in our year 11 yearbook.
And just to finish this post, below is a graphic with the words from the album art - what Fearless means to her - which basically sums up the album: