Love At First Listen - Parachute's "Under Control" & Jordin Sparks's "Battlefield"

Is Will Anderson the doppelganger of Panic At The Disco's Brendon Urie??

Parachute - Under Control: I anticipate the moment I discover a fresh new band by a slight moment of chance I happen to catch something by ear. This time, I give the credit to Nivea, for allowing a band called Parachute and a few seconds of the first verse of the song "Under Control" to be featured in one of their commercials, for whatever they were trying to sell. What stuck with me were those few lines by a soulful rock voice, accompanied by a simple, repetitive piano melody that instantly clicked with me. I later found out that soulful croon belonged to lead singer Will Anderson, who helped to slowly build the song up to a powerful mid-section of soulful backing vocals echoing and emphasizing parts of the ultra-catchy chorus.

Parachute is a Virginia-based band that has gone through a bit of a reincarnation. They began as Sparky's Flaw, then recently Parachute VA, later dropping the VA for legal reasons. Their major label debut Losing Sleep was recently released on iTunes and will physically hit stores tomorrow(5/19). To me, their sound is reminiscent of early Maroon 5, although Will's vocals are a lot less whiny and their songs sound more earnest than egotistical. I love the fact that they are embracing the aim to appeal to a wider mainstream audience through melody, and this song is a prime example of the kind of music that resonates with many, including myself. **Potential Song of 2009 Contender**

Jordin debuts her latest on the Idol results show last week

Jordin Sparks - Battlefield: The American Idol 2007 winner is back to the fray with her fresh lead single off her yet-unnamed sophomore album due out later this summer. The song is pretty much epic, from the bombastic drumbeats that provide the support throughout the song to Jordin's exasperating, nonetheless cliche, message about love equated with a war zone. It's catchy as heck, with memorable lines like "You better go and get your armor" that can be amusingly misheard as "you better get your drama".

Written by the 'it' songwriter of the moment Ryan Tedder, his signature style is pretty evident on this track and it tailor-made to be embraced by radio. Moments of the song remind me of the haunting vocal of Rihanna's "Umbrella" which was a hit two summers ago. And dare I say this song may very well garner the same distinction as this year's summer jam.