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Album Review: Yael Naim

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:30:55 PDT

We can get a taste of Yael Naim's light, pretty vocals pretty much anytime we turn on the TV these days and see that commercial for the MacBook Air, which uses Naim's sweet tune "New Soul." For those of you who want to hear more than just a 30-second snippet of the French-Israeli singer-songwriter, I highly recommend you check out her newly released (in the States, anyway) self-titled album. It is, in a word, lovely.

Her voice has an airy, innocent quality to it, whether she's singing in English, French, or soft, rapid Hebrew. Some of the tracks, like "Paris," consist of simply Naim, a strummed guitar, and a soothing cadence, though there is, of course, also "New Soul," which is more upbeat and utilizes some fun instrumentation. For more about Yael Naim,

read more. "Too Long" is one of my favorites, with a melancholy tinging her sweet voice (which sometimes reminds me of Sarah McLachlan's). Another good one is "7 Baboker," a haunting track that gives a sense of holiness and reverence. She also covers Britney Spears’ "Toxic" as a twinkly, slowed-down, dreamy tune, not unlike something we'd hear from Bjork. It's not the best song on the album, but it has an endearing quirkiness. As is the case with most music, this album won't suit every mood. I would recommend it for the stressed-and-need-something-soothing mood. Naim will surely help you out. Source

Girl Crush of the Day: Yael Naim

GiggleSugar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:30:00 PST

I am seriously obsessed with this song. Just ask GeekSugar who informed me that "New Soul" by Yael Naim is the addictive little ditty that accompanies those Apple ads for the MacBook Air. We were practically co-authoring a dissertation together on why that is a perfect song for this product. (Don't hate us because we have fun jobs!) Oh, yeah, and check out Yael. She's adorable and you might never get the song out of your head . . .

Singer to Watch: Who’s Singing That MacBook Commercial?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:30:22 PST

I have a serious weakness for a pretty, quirky folk song a la Regina Spektor. When done well, songs out of this genre can feel so light and ethereal that you want to sprout wings and fly - or, buy a new laptop.

That’s at least what the folks over at Apple are hoping French-born Israeli singer Yael Naïm's song "New Soul" will inspire you to do, as they've featured it in their new MacBook Air TV spot. Computer or no, the commercial might send you racing to iTunes to get this song and others from Naïm into your library ASAP.

"New Soul," from her self-titled album with songs in French, English, and Hebrew, is incredibly infectious, yet personal. The album has been popular in France since its release in the Fall of last year, and I suspect Apple may have just launched her crossover career. Remind anyone of Feist and the Nano?

To watch Naïm's video for the MacBook tune, and a beautiful live performance covering Britney’s Toxic (seriously!),

Catch Up With Our 2012 CES Coverage So Far

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:50:44 PST

We've left Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean we're done with CES. Missed any news, releases, or photos? Catch up with all of our CES coverage so far, and stay tuned for lots more gadget goodness!

Cameras

Polaroid adds WiFi to its new SC1630 Smart Camera.
Speaking of WiFi, the Sony Bloggie Live can livestream your videos with a connection.
Like Instagram? You'll love the new Panasonic Lumix GX1 that has photo filters, tilt-shift tools, and scene selections built in for easy photo editing. Just like Instagram.
Samsung helps you get the perfect self-portrait with the WiFi-enabled DV300F.

Tablets and Ultrabooks

The Samsung Galaxy Note: is it a tablet or is it a phone?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is slim and sleek.
We're drooling over the Gorilla Glass-backed HP Envy 14 Spectre ultrabook.
Acer is banking on ultrabooks in 2012 and beyond. They rolled out two new Timeline ultrabooks along with the world's thinnest ultrabook, the S5.

Smartphones

We're looking forward to the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone.
The LG Spectrum is the perfect phone for streaming-video lovers.
Sprint is getting two new 4G LTE phones soon: the Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper.
AT&T adds a whopping eight new Android and Windows Phone smartphones to its 2012 lineup.
Huawei hopes to break into the US mobile market with the Ascend PS 1: the world's thinnest smartphone.

See the latest on TVs, headphones, trends, celebrities, and more after the break.

Ludacris Shows His Soul at CES

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:01:22 PST

What's the Consumer Electronics Show without a sprinkle of celebrity-endorsed gadgets? This year, hip-hop mogul Ludacris was on hand to introduce the latest additions to his Soul by Ludacris headphone line.

In 2012, the new finishes are all about shine. The SL300 noise-canceling headphones come in chrome gold, and the SL150 hi-def headphones are chrome silver. The SL100 model now has a white finish with gold accents. Soul's line of earbuds, the SL49 and SL99, also has new color options including a green and black combo, red and black, pink and white, and platinum.

We spoke to the musician-restaurateur-actor-entrepreneur for more on his life in the tech industry:

Style meets Soul - Ludacris said his life is "all about setting trends and pop culture," which is infused into the design of the Soul product line. He draws inspiration from a little bit of everything including fashion and cars.

Listening must-haves - Though it's like naming a favorite child, Ludacris keeps a pair of the SL99 earbuds in his pocket for whenever, wherever, and the SL300 when traveling for the noise-canceling experience.

Apple fan - He names the iPhone 4S and iPad as the nonheadphone gadgets he can't live without.

Pricing and availability for the new Soul headphone and earbud designs hasn't been announced, but the current line on sale ranges from $70 to $300. Check out photos of the Soul line in the gallery.

Pilot Scoop: House of Lies

Becky Kirsch — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

The major networks aren't the only ones trotting out new midseason shows; Showtime is getting in on the fun with tonight's premiere of House of Lies. The 30-minute comedy has a great cast that includes Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell as slick, fast-talking management consultants.

What it's about: Cheadle leads the way as Marty, who has essentially sold his soul for a fat paycheck, along with the three other people on his team (Bell, Ben Schwartz, and Josh Lawson). Marty's not all business though; he's got a "psycho" ex-wife who works for a competing firm, and a young son whose top priorities are shoe shopping and landing the role of Sandy in the school production of Grease.
Where it works: Cheadle is as excellent as always, and getting an inside look into Marty's world is appealing, especially since this is Showtime we're talking about here. Whether or not the raunchy debauchery that Marty gets into is realistic, it makes for good entertainment.
Where it doesn't: Though I laughed a couple of times, sometimes the pilot feels too smug for its own good. There's also the issue that Marty consistently freezes time to break the fourth wall and explain what he's thinking, which is a little too reminiscent of Zack Morris's timeouts on Saved by the Bell.
You might like this show if: You're into Showtime's Californication; the humor is similar and there's just as much nudity.
When it's on: Sundays at 10 p.m.

To watch a preview of the show and see some pictures, just

6 Reasons Bachelor Ben's Season Will Be Craziest Yet

Tara Sharp — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:10:00 PST

Host Chris Harrison always promises the current season of The Bachelor will be the most exciting one yet, but if last night's premiere of Ben Flajnik's season is any indication, this may take the rose for the craziest one. While we initially thought the old lady contestant would be the newsmaker, she turned out to be the least of the dramatic moments from the night. From this first episode alone we've gathered some clues as to how Ben's search for "the one" will unfold. Check them out below and let us know in the comments if you agree!

Possible girl-on-girl love: The first feud has begun, between Carrie-Bradshaw-wannabe Jenna and mean girl Monica, who's more interested in her new lady friend than Ben. Watch the video above to see this season's inaugural cat fight evolve into lesbian territory.
Drunk drama: Jenna's disastrous, alcohol-fueled night began with her forgetting the quote she was going to wow Ben with when they first met, creating a very awkward introduction. Then an extremely emotional Jenna spent the rest of the first night talking nonsense, fighting with Monica, and crying in the bathroom so long she was the last contestant to the rose ceremony. Miraculously, she still received a rose.
Brunettes for the win: As soon as the ladies started spilling out of the limos Ben made a comment that he liked the brown-haired beauties, then five out of the seven girls he booted were blondes (naturally or otherwise). Plus, we could've sworn the "in this season of The Bachelor" glimpses of his final lady showed a brunette.
Stripping down: According to the promos, Ben and one of his ladies (who looks like Courtney, the model) bare more than their souls to each other. We see the pair strip down to their birthday suits before frolicking in the ocean, which Ben tells People isn't a big deal. "I have no problem with male nudity. When a beautiful woman asks you to go skinny-dipping on the beach, you don't say no. Granted there are cameras around, but it's a bare butt. It's not that big of a deal to me."
Scent of desperation: If the over-the-top antics of this initial episode are any indication, this season is full of some desperate women. From the rapping to the soccer playing to the horseback riding to the contestant who brought her grandma for good luck, the ladies managed to find very creative ways to try to get the bachelor's attention. And it worked for some, the girl who arrived via horse, Lindzi, received the first impression rose!
Ex-files: In the promos for the season we see a woman surprising Ben in San Francisco, much to the chagrin of the other contestants. It could be an ex-girlfriend, past Bachelor or Bachelorette contestant, or maybe even Jennifer Love Hewitt!

After the jump, see what's coming up in this season of The Bachelor!

15 Days of Holiday Giveaways, Day 9: Win an Intel Core-Powered Lenovo IdeaPad Ultrabook

SavvySugar — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:34:36 PST

It's the holiday season, and we're getting in the spirit with our third annual 15 Days of Holiday Giveaways! Every day for the first 15 days of December, one of the PopSugar Network sites - plus our sister sites PopSugar Shop, Fashionologie, and ShopStyle - will feature a new fabulous giveaway.

For our ninth day of holiday giveaways, we are giving away a Clementine Orange Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook, powered by a second generation Intel Core processor. This Ultrabook is the ultimate combination of style and functionality with breathtaking speeds, ultra-fast booting times, and the slim Ultrabook design that is just 0.6 inches thin and weighs less than three pounds. It's the perfect laptop for the on-the-go, tech-savvy soul!

This giveaway has ended.

After you enter our giveaway above, don't forget to enter CasaSugar's giveaway of $1,000 to Design Within Reach, PetSugar's giveaway of three Limited Edition iRobot Roomba 780s, GeekSugar's giveaway of two Xbox Kinect prize packages, BuzzSugar's giveaway of a year of movie tickets for you and a friend from MovieTickets.com, BellaSugar's giveaway of $2,000 to Saks Fifth Avenue, and Fashionologie's giveaway of a $1,000 shopping spree to Theory. Good luck and happy holidays!

Kanye West and Adele Lead the Talented Pack of This Year's Grammy Nominees

Katie Henry — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:07:05 PST

The 2011 Grammy award nominations were announced last night in LA during a live televised concert performance. Kanye West took top honors with seven nods, and not far behind was soulful singer Adele with six. Popular artists Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, and Taylor Swift were also among those recognized - see BuzzSugar's entire list of Grammy award nominees! Lady Gaga, who is up for album of the year, best pop solo performance, and best pop vocal album, opened and closed the show with two of her hot tracks. Usher, Ludacris, and best new artist contender The Band Perry also performed while Katy, Nicki, and other popular musicians announced the nominees. The Grammy awards take place in LA on Feb. 12, and hopefully, ailing singer Adele will be fully recovered from recent throat surgery to take part in the show.

Announcing the 2012 Grammy Award Nominations

Rose Curiel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:51:21 PST

For the second year in a row, the Recording Academy has given a hip-hop artist the most Grammy nominations. Last year, it was rapper Eminem with eight, and this year, Kanye West leads the nominees with seven chances at the golden gramophone, including a song of the year nod for "All of the Lights." West is also nominated twice in the rap album of the year category for his collaboration with Jay-Z on Watch the Throne and his own album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Brit crooner Adele wasn't far behind Kanye, picking up six nominations for her album 21, as well as a shot at song of the year with "Rolling in the Deep."

Bruno Mars also did well, racking up six nominations (that's down one from last year for those keeping track), while newcomers like Nicki Minaj and dubstep artist Skrillex are up for the best new artist category. See what other artists have a chance of walking away with a Grammy during the February 12 award show when you read more