PLL Recap Season 4, Episode 8: “The Guilty Girl's Handbook"

I've never liked or trusted Mona in any season of PLL but in last nights episode, she may have finally done something to make me like her just a little. 

This episode is kind of all about the aftermath of last episode. Emily and her mom are staying in a motel while their house is being rebuilt.  Her mom is super emotional about everything it seems like and I don't blame her. I feel so bad for Pam! Especially when Emily says she wants to build houses again next summer, this time in Nicaragua, Pam gets really sad about Emily leaving her by herself. I had a slight thought during this scene that Emily could help her family by rebuilding their own house! Haha I don't know if that's possible but if she knows the people she worked with, she could put a team together and build the house back up in no time.  Side note for Emily: did she ever return the key that she stole from her mom? I know she wanted to but didn't get the chance before, but it would save her mom's job! Her mom had her run some papers to the station in this episode and I was expecting them to show Emily returning the key then, but it was never mentioned. Does she still have it?

Aria's brother Mike feels like he is in danger among his own teammates after Mike's teammate's car was trashed and everyone thought it was Mike's doing. Mike is now taking martial arts classes with Jake which brings him back into the picture for Aria once again. 

Spencer does some snooping through her mom's lawyer files and finds that Wilden was the detective who covered Toby's mom's death at Radley. Not all of the dads add up after she talks to Eddie, a Radley employee who believes that Wilden might have been paid to lie on the report about how Toby's mom died. Eddie also thinks that it is odd how Wilden went from being a patrol man to a detective so quickly. No real answers are given in this scene but it does cause some suspicion as how to why Wilden lied on the death report.

Hanna's mom doesn't get released on bail which is awful but even worse, she is being transferred to the state prison which is far from Hanna.

Because Hanna loves her mom so much, she decides she wants to admit to murdering detective Wilden herself. She enlists Mona's help because Mona is a lying expert and can help Hanna seem more convincing.  These scenes were super intense and kind of scary actually! Mona is really good at lying and helping others lie.

The scenes that were reenacted as if Hanna killed Wilden were kinda cool because it made me think that that's how Mona goes through her stories before she lies. That is how she actually does it, she visualizes it to make sure it's flawless and believable then thinks it out so that she too believes it happened. Bitch cray

Hanna's mom talks to Caleb to ensure he is looking after Hanna and making sure she doesn't do anything stupid, like lie and admit to killing Wilden to save her mom. 

In the end of the episode, before Hanna can turn herself in, Mona goes down to the police station and does the unthinkable. She admits to killing Wilden. I don't see any ulterior motives here other than having Hannah indebted to her forever but it was a good thing for Mona to do!!

I thought Caleb might have turned himself in to stop Hanna from doing it, and I was hoping that didn't happen. I was glad to see Mona turn herself in even if it was a lie, but I still don't know why she did it.

I loved the way this episode ended. Something about the girls getting good news for once was exciting. I liked how they showed each girl receiving the news separately and then coming to together at the police station to see Mona getting questioned.

Questions I now have...

I still want to know where Paige has been this whole time?

I heard the actress to plays Jenna is pregnant in real life so I wonder how that will affect her character on the show?

Will Mona's confession free Hanna's mom?

If Aria and Jake start dating will Ezra be out of the picture for good?

What is the link between Toby's mom's death and Wilden? Did she really commit suicide or was she killed?

-Till next week (which looks crazy) bitches!

Ariana Grande "Baby I"

I love surprise artists. The ones that come out of nowhere and take over your iPod immediately. When Ariana Grande released her first single "The Way" I had no idea who she was. Turns out she is from Nickelodeon. What impressed me the most about her is that she can actually sing which makes her different from other Disney or Nick stars. She also doesn't try to be super innocent or sing bubble gum pop. Seems like she knows who she wants to be as an artist which helps to ensure that audiences won't have to deal with the genre changing whiplash that is Miley Cyrus.

Her new single is called "Baby I" and it's just as good as "The Way" if not better. She has a sample of some Britney in the "Oops I Did It Again" era, if you know that song you'll know the similarity when you hear it. Everyone compares her to Mariah Carey which you can't deny when  she's in falsetto. Being that Mariah is one of the greatest voices of the generation and the best selling female artist of all time, I'm sure Ariana is cool with the comparison.

I am looking forward to her debut album and I hope it follows the sound of these first two singles. Check the singles out below and some of her other YouTube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEyMPsRfaxY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjzENV7rhhI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QkbfSPPUX0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sV0S8qWSy0
 

PLL Recap Season 4, Episode 7: “Crash And Burn, Girl!”

I'm big on routines. I like to plan my days out and know ahead of time what my schedule will look like. One of my routines involves watching Pretty Little Liars every Tuesday night at 8 pm. 

PLL is ABC Family's most popular show and set a record for being the most tweeted-about show, raking in 1.3 million tweets during the season premiere. I follow most of the cast and crew on twitter and find myself focusing more on my twitter timeline then the show sometimes. 

Last night's episode kept my attention on the screen though because it was pretty intense. The past two episodes of PLL have been plot-movers to me. It feels like things have really started to happen, changes are taking place. Because PLL is known for having really intense season and mid-season finale episodes, I think the viewers expect really big things to happen every week. I find myself feeling that way sometimes too during certain episodes, complaining that there isn't enough action or suspense. I sometimes walk away saying "what was the point of that episode?" I shouldn't expect the writers to kill someone off every episode or have Hanna get hit by a car once a month but I do like the feeling that the plot is moving, changes are taking place and the girls are taking action.

Last night's show began with the girls comforting Hanna at her house. It seems like the ice is starting to melt between Emily and Spencer. Thank god, because I like it better when all the girls are getting along and have each other's backs. Now more than ever, they need each other to fight A, who has really upped the ante by sending Ashley Marin to prison. Hanna is obviously distraught over this, but still tries to remain upbeat with an unrealistic belief that her mom will be home in a matter of days.

While the girls are helping Hanna cope with her mom's murder trial, Spencer and Hanna's boyfriends team up to do some detective work of their own. Caleb and Toby visit an airplane center, I don't know what the hell the place is called. But it is some sort of building that holds the computer files containing details and information from the night of the fire. The guy at the counter who helps them find information looked familiar to me at first before I realized he was Jenna Marshall's date to Wilden's funeral. This was from episode one this season, and I remember thinking his character would come into play at some point. His name is Nigel Wright and he blows his cover when talking to Caleb and Toby by saying it was foggy the night the plane landed. He would not have known this if he wasn't there or at least involved enough to recall the night's weather that well. Later on, Toby reflects on this conversation, looks at the compass he found from the night of the fire with the initials N.W. on it, puts two and two together to realize this guys is four kinds of shady. When they go back to confront Nigel, he runs off scared but not before admitting he was paid by CeCe Drake to fake a flight plan. Who knows if this is the truth or not seeing as how he may or may not be dating Jenna.   I never trusted Cece but I distrust Jenna even more. So, who is lying here? We may not know for a while but I'm sure Caleb stealing Nigel's phone will provide some insight! This could get juicy!

Emily steals a key from the police station, a key that her mom is supposed to have possession of. I kind of hated this part of the episode because not only was she stealing from the police department, she put her moms job in danger. The key is to Wilden's apartment, where the girls find raw, rotten meat with an old note from A. Wonder what this could mean for the cause of Wilden's death? Was A involved?

Emily's mom Pam is now in trouble at work for the missing key that Emily has. I hate that Emily has put her mom's neck out there after all the mess that the Fields family has been through lately. Pam is talking to her husband on the phone when a car comes crashing through their house at full speed. Now, Pam hasn't always been my favorite character on this show just based on how strict she is and how she handled Emily's coming out but damn I definitely don't think she deserves to get child services called on her or to get hit by a car while standing in her living room!

Aria didn't have a huge role in this episode but her brother Mike did get accused of trashing a guys car and Aria thanks Ezra for sticking up for Mike over it. Does this mean Jake is out and Ezra is back in? This plot should advance in the next few weeks, I don't think they'll keep Aria in relationship limbo for long.

At 9 pm when the episode finished, I had a lot of questions that I am hoping to get answered in the coming weeks. Typically that means it was a good episode if it left me hanging a little.

Questions I now have:

Who was driving that car that hit Emily's house?

Will Emily return the key and save her mom's job? Or will A frame Emily's mom for something?

Where the hell is Paige?

What is the connection with Nigel Wright, Jenna and CeCe? 

Will Hanna's mom spend the rest of her life in prison?

-Till next week bitches!!

Fifth Harmony in Lansing 7/13/13

Anyone who has seen X Factor in the US knows of the girl group Fifth Harmony. If you haven't seen this show, that's okay. Open a new tab on the Internet now and YouTube them.  But make sure after 3 hours and 25 performances later, you come back to my blog and finish reading about them.

It has been said they are the next big girl group in a music market that is badly in need of one. As if that isn't bold enough, they have been called the female One Direction. Not only were they founded in the same way that 1D was, (each member tried out as a solo act and the group was formed by the judges) but they also placed third in the competition like the boys did in the UK and are working with Simon Cowell and similar producers as 1D.  Fifth Harmony consists of five girls ages ranging from 16-20. Ally, Camila, Dinah, Lauren and Normani all tried out for X Factor as solo acts. Simon, seeing the potential for a girl group, paired them up to form a group that would make it all the way to the finale and hopefully go on to sell millions of records. 

After the season of X Factor ended, the girls were signed to Syco Music and Epic Records where they work with Simon and LA Reid. They are working on their debut album and currently have two singles released to date: "Miss Movin' On" and "Me and My Girls".

They are now embarking on a mall tour across the country to promote their music and start to build some buzz before their album is released in the fall. I was fortunate enough to see them in Lansing, Michigan in their very first concert performance ever.

I felt odd being surrounded by 12 year old girls who were screaming in excitement because I'm not obsessed with these girls the way they are. I didn't write 5H on my face, I didn't get there at 8 in the morning just in case they did an early "meet and greet" and I can proudly say that I did not cry when the girls walked on to the stage. But I will admit that I do have an obsession with this group's talent. I love a good girl group. My heart is still recovering from the Danity Kane break up and there is in fact a gap in the market for a group like 5H.  I will always have my favorites (from 5H it is Lauren & from DK it was Aundrea) but what I love most about this group is that all five of these girls can really sing and that is not the case for every girl group out there. It was blatantly obvious during their performance that they deserve some recognition and I hope they get it!

Kelly Rowland Talk A Good Game

So Kelly Rowland released an album on June 18th called Talk A Good Game.  This is her fourth studio album and in my opinion her best to date. I was a big fan of her 2011 album titled Here I Am so I was expecting big things from this album. 

My favorite songs are rarely the singles that artists release and this album is no different. Kelly was definitely not afraid to be a little bold with her content in her first single appropriately named "Kisses Down Low". It is a catchy song but a surprising single choice to me. She has a few other risqué songs on the album like "Freak" and "Stand In Front Of Me" and while I don't push the "seek" button when these songs come on, they aren't the highlights of the album.

The standout songs on the album were "Gone", "Talk A Good Game", "Red Wine", "This Is Love", "Love Me Til I Die" and "I Remember".

Some of these songs are upbeat, some are slow, some are about heartbreak and some are about love. Regardless, these songs stick to the R&B sound that I love so much from her. 

Kelly's other single choice, "Dirty Laundry" was a smart one because although it isn't a catchy club song, the lyrics drew in the listeners and the hype that surrounded any possible Beyonce/Kelly feud from the Destiny's Child days made this a must-listen song this summer. Plus, it was produced by The-Dream which never hurts.

Although there were several standout songs on this album, two stood out to me immediately as my favorites. "You Changed" was the first one. Anytime I can hear all three members of Destiny's Child on a track, I'm down. Even the sleeper song "Nuclear" that they released at the top of this year was played heavily on my iPod. Something about their voices in harmony just gets me. "You Changed" is a much better song than "Nuclear" just because it has a clear direction and is better produced.

My absolute favorite song on this album is "SkyWalker" ft The-Dream. I love The-Dream as a solo artist (Love King is in my top ten favorite albums of all time) and he can do no wrong as a producer. This song is so catchy and when the hook starts 40 seconds in, I can't help but get a little hype. 

This album is one of my favorites to be released this year so far and I feel like Kelly deserves a lot is credit for putting out two solid albums in the last two years. She is definitely heading in the right direction as far as her sound and I hope she stays in this lane.

The last thing I have to say about Kelly is that she is really underrated. I can't think of many artists more underrated except for JoJo (and that is an entire blog post in itself, wait for it). As an R&B artist, there are no other females, besides Beyonce, with the equivalent vocal ability and record sales that Kelly boasts. Some artists may be able to sing as well as her, but they sure as hell can't dance like her or sell albums like her. She was always my favorite member of Destiny's Child and I still wonder why she isn't the most popular.

If you haven't purchased this album yet, I recommend it. She talks a good game and backs it up too!

Get To Know Me

I never thought I would blog.  I only thought you could start a blog if you had something interesting to talk about.

I wish I could write about traveling, but I have only left the country a few times and it was for vacations with my family.  I wish I could write about books, but I mostly read popular trilogies that everyone has read and leave little room to dissect intelligently.  I wish I could write about cooking and trying new recipes, but the last thing I made was scrambled eggs and there isn't much to talk about with that.  I like to write for fun, when there isn't any pressure but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what I thought was “fun” to talk about on a regular basis.

Only recently have I realized that I like to talk about pop culture a lot.   I start my day with Google News.  Not to learn more about what Obama is doing in office, not to learn about what construction is being done in my hometown, and not to look at the latest in technology.  I pull up the news to find out the latest about Rihanna.  I care about what she wore on her tour, what new tattoo she has and who she is hanging out with.  I love finding things out and telling my friends about it or Tweeting about it before other people know.  Something about delivering news excites me. 

I don’t like everything that I see on Google News in the Entertainment section but I do have regular searches that will come up on my blog a lot.  One of those topics, which I couldn’t even make it through the first few paragraphs without mentioning, is Rihanna.  I can bet that almost half of my blog posts will be Rihanna related.  I can also bet that I will talk about Pretty Little Liars and a lot of other shows that I watch often.  I love music, R&B and hip hop mostly; and I am sure music will be a common topic in my blog. 

I think that writing about what interests me will force me to blog and write more often.  Seeing as how I am a writing major starting my senior year of college, I want to write as much as possible before I graduate.

I don’t want to do a long intro to my blog  or about myself because I think that readers will find out more about me through my posts.

Follow me on Twitter: Kaye_Talk

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

-Kaye Talk