MTV Sessions Featuring Kyle Patrick

When I received an e-mail from MTV stating that I had won tickets, I was really excited - I was gonna get to watch the lead singer of a band that I have been listening to forever, and also it was gonna be my first studio recording experience!

Rachel and I reached the venue just 1.5 hours before the doors opened and we were pleasantly surprised that we were second in queue.

That's me being annoying LOL.

And here's a decent photo for your sanity, or not.

Snazzy looking tickets that they didn't let us take home :(

The studio was pretty neat and the stage looked awesome. We stood right at the front and we were literally brought closer to the star of the show. I was kinda resting my knees against the stage while waiting for the man to come out. Hahaha. A little too close for comfort me thinks.

My iTouch on the stage LOL how annoying are we really.

Anyway, fast-forwarding to the recording, VJs Holly Grabarek and Richard Herrera hyped up the crowd and did an introduction whilst standing among the audience. I'm pretty sure I was captured on camera since I was standing next to Holly, and it was so awkward even though I'm a broadcast student and I've had plenty of experiences in front of the camera. Sigh, I just hope I look normal when they screen it, lol.

Handing the baton over to the band, Billy Justineau (keyboard), Kevin Rice (drums) and Jared Scharff (guitar, also guitarist of Saturday Night Live) and Kyle kicked it off with Follow Your Heartbeat. Seriously, the song was perfect as an opener. It's fun, upbeat and has such relevant lyrics ("I'm ready now, ready now, ready now" - that's the most apt it gets). He danced all around the stage and infected all of us with his energy. What a crazy ball of fun he was!

Keeping the momentum going, he continued with Wild Ways where he really impressed me with his falsettos in the chorus, and he did not falter one bit. Watching him perform is always a pleasure, because he is one of the most sincere and consistent performers ever.

He then took it slow with his rendition of Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine, which he quipped as one of his favourite songs. He slightly mispitched one of the higher notes but other than that he absolutely nailed the song, especially my favourite part (the never-ending 'I know I know I know...').

He then brought out his Gibson SJ-200 Custom Honey and treated the audience to acoustic versions to a few songs from The Click Five. While setting up, he conversed with the fans in whatever Singlish he learnt on his last trip here in 2011. He used chiobu and chope in a couple of sentences before saying that Singapore is like his second home, which earned him lots of 'awwws'. Aww indeed!

The crowd of mostly teenagers were obviously Click Five fans and sang along to Jenny, Happy Birthday, Empty and Don't Let Me Go. He looked visibly pleased with himself until he stopped abruptly in the middle of Empty before lamenting that even though he has played the song for hundreds of times, he still forgets the lyrics sometimes. How cute, haha! I'm guessing MTV will cut that part out though.

Spot me! (Photo credits to Aloysius Lim and MTV Asia)

The band then came back on stage and Kyle started crooning out the very emotional Baby Don't Board That Plane. The song sounds brilliant on the record, but listening to it live was another thing altogether - he put so much emotion into it and it was just... for lack of a better word, amazing!

He finished off his set with the lead single from his EP, Go For Gold! He said that the song was written when he was preparing for a marathon, and added that joining the marathon was one of the worst decisions ever. Hahaha. Anyway, Go For Gold was definitely the highlight of the whole showcase and Kyle even jumped off the stage into the crowd at one point. He also sung to me at the second chorus, and my natural reaction was to sing back. He gets bonus points for crowd interaction. Heh.

Photo credits to Aloysius Lim and MTV Asia.

He came back on stage for a surprise encore (it turned out that the production team needed him to re-do two songs) and sang Follow Your Heartbeat and Baby Don't Board That Plane again. I'm not complaining though!

My first ever studio recording session experience definitely ended on a good note (literally) and I had a blast! Kyle and his band could do no wrong. There was an improvement in his vocals compared to when I last saw him in 2010. He also looked much, much better without those long ugly sideburns he previously had. Thank goodness.

Rach and I ended our day with a meal at Aston's and camwhoring at some cave thingum nearby. Lol we never even knew it existed.

All these derp has to stop hahahaha

It was a great day! Thank you MTV Asia for bringing Kyle in! And also to Rach for the awesome company! Couldn't have asked for more. :)

For those who missed it, MTV Sessions: Kyle Patrick will premiere on MTV SEA Saturday 8 September at 11am (WIB), 12pm (SG/HK/PH) and 1pm (MAL).
Also, check out my review of Kyle's self-titled EP here!

Kyle Patrick - Kyle Patrick EP Review

Just like the album cover, Kyle Patrick's very first solo EP is bright, happy and about as pop as you can get.
Kyle Patrick, better known as the lead singer of powerpop band, The Click Five, embarked on a solo project which has been in the works for five years. The result? A well-produced album with five tracks written, arranged and performed by this talented man.

Follow Your Heartbeat is the opener for this EP and it starts with Nintendo-like digital sounds. The song is wholly about having fun and basically following your heart. The song did not really leave an impression on me but after a few listens, the chorus, the 'ready now, ready now, ready now' hook, and the reggae-inspired instrumental were stuck in my head.

Go For Gold is the lead single from this EP and is easily my favourite track. Uplifting lyrics, a catchy tune and the 'ohhh ohhh ohhh' hooks are definitely what makes the song so enjoyable. With Kyle writing this song in line with the 2012 London Olympics in mind, he has achieved his purpose. I personally enjoy this song more than the theme song for London Olympics (Muse's Survival).

The track is accompanied by a not-as-stellar music video but it is enjoyable all the same. There was also a 3D version released so that fans can watch it with the personalised 3D glasses shipped out by the man himself (Mine's still in great condition, accompanied with the envelope). What I found interesting about the video was that it was done in (almost) one take. The flashing lights towards the end of the video were really distracting and it hurt my eyes a little though. That aside, have I mentioned that Kyle looks absolutely dapper in that full blue suit?

Wild Ways is the last of the upbeat tracks in this EP. The song is catchy but predictable. As soon as the track started, I expected a few 'HEY!'s and 'HO!'s and the first one comes within 5 seconds of the song. The constant beat and synths in the backing track complement Kyle's vocals and he displays some neat falsetto in the chorus. It is one of those feelgood songs which makes you want to jump around your room in a gig and just let your hair down.

The mood changes drastically with the next song, Baby Don't Board That Plane. It did not really do it for me at first, but as the track went on, I started to appreciate it. Kyle's deep voice brings out the emotions in the song really well and the use of the instruments is amazing. For example, the use of the percussion in the beginning was not as significant and fades off during the chorus but as the song progresses, it builds up and the military-like beats from the snare drum adds on the to desperation as depicted by the lyrics of the song. If Kyle ever sung this to me, I'd definitely not board that plane.

The EP closes with a cover of Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine. I personally love the original and I feel that I may like this version even more - it has the same feel as the previous track and Kyle's vocals were showcased so well thanks to the stripped down percussion in the instrumental. A strong finish to an amazing EP.

Honestly I wasn't expecting much from this album but trust me, I was totally floored by it! Definitely one of the best albums this year. Here's to more good music from Kyle!

Get this EP on Bandcamp or iTunes!

P.S. I really hope I get to see him perform for MTV Sessions in Singapore next month!

The Click Five!

Yup so went to watch the Click Five today! We all had fun. Met Mel, Jon and Rach at SCAPE and went into the event where Jean joined us for a while. They played acoustic songs and seriously, they are damn awesome live. Pre-ordered their new album! I managed to shake Kyle's hand during the autograph session. HE WAS SO NICE. And I totally almost got a hug from Ethan. I asked for one and he said 'okay' but the darn security pulled me away. Damn it! And I totally regretted not asking for a guitar pick. At least I got to see them up close and got autographs!

The (fan)girls!

Kyle approves :)

Haha so today my fangirl mode was totally switched on. Sorry to Rach for bursting her eardrums. Hehe. Gonna see them tmr. Please let me and Jon handle everything successfully. :)

To end off the post:

Haha oops I realised I cut off the 'T'. Uh well. AUTOGRAPHED POSTER!

All in all, today was really fun.

Starting work tmr! Let's go!!