July/August Favourites 2015!

Sooo… July and August have been pretty busy months for me! Where do I begin? Firstly, in case you didn’t know, I have been working for Celia Holman Lee since April or May but I worked a lot more for her in July and August. I even worked with her at the Rose of Tralee Fashion Show. Working with her has been a ultimate dream, I still can’t believe Richard got me that opportunity. I am sad it has come to an end for now. She was a dream to work with, we laughed a lot and I have learnt a lot about Fashion and the industry and I loved every minute of it.

With Celia after the Rose of Tralee Fashion Show.

Back in July, I got to meet Youtuber Alfie Deyes, better known as Pointless Blog, and he liked and commented on my vlog, making my channel views go crazy!! I have suffered a lot of migraines and anxiety attacks the last two months which also due to hectic lifestyle and personal reasons (which states why I haven’t been blogging a lot lately!) I have been redecorating my room and it is finally finished! In early August, I met another Youtuber, Marcus Butler! I also met Jake Quickenden. My acne has almost cleared, one more month and I am finished! I went to the Dome in Tralee for the Rose of Tralee 2015 and it was great craic altogether! I got to hang out and party with the beautiful ladies from the Laois Rose Centre, whom have got a special place in my heart. I adore those ladies, they are such incredible women to look up to.

With Mam and Night 1 of Rose of Tralee 2015.

With Anne Marie and Bernadette from Laois Rose Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other than all that, I have been packing for Spain ( I move in one week, ONE WEEK! I am not prepared, in my head, I feel like I am just going on holiday!) So I have decided to combine my July and August favourites! I’ll stop rambling now!

Books

In July, I read To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time (I know such a crime!)  If you have not read it, GO READ IT NOW! It is a very good book, quite different to my typical book. In short, the book is about Scout Finch, her older brother, Jem , and their friend Dill. All three spend their summers spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbour, Boo Radley. Scout and Jem’s dad, Atticus is a respected lawyer, but when he defends a black man, Tom Robinson against made up rape charges, the trial exposes the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

Then in August, in like one week, I read The Maze Runner series. My goodness gracious, I couldn’t put the books down! Ashamedly, I did see The Maze Runner before I read the book. But the book is 100% much better than the movie, and I loved the movie! The books had my heart racing and I couldn’t sleep as I wanted to know what happened next! They say on the back that they are adrenaline filled and they certainly are. So here is what the Maze Runner is about: Thomas arrives in a glade at the center of a giant labyrinth. Like the other youths dumped there before him, he has no memory of his previous life, only his name. But something is different after Teresa arrives (who is the only girl sent to the glade). They soon realise they need to get out of the Glade and the maze. Thomas quickly becomes part of the group, but he knows he is different from the rest and  certain members of the Glade recognize this too, once they’ve been bitten by the grievers in the maze. Thomas shows the gladers a unique perspective that allows him a promotion to Runner very quickly. Thomas tries to convince his fellow gladers that he knows a way out. It is gripping and intense. If you loved The Hunger Games, this is a must read.

Outfit

Working with Celia means you get to dress up some days for work.

My first favourite outfit is this blue and gold dress from Born Boutique. I think it was around €69. I got so many compliments when I wore it. It is so flattering. These dresses are great, they cut at the middle of your waist and can give the illusion of being slimmer. They also hide your stomach!

This dress is from Born Boutique

This outfit is from swamp. Top is €29 and the Skirt is €49

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This other outfit I love is a blue lace crop top and a fabulous black Tulle skirt from Swamp. If you know me, I LOVE TULLE SKIRTS and more than likely buy one every time I see one in a shop. Tulle skirts are in for this A/W so I’d advise you to go by one! They are great.

Music

Fifth Harmony,  if you don’t know these girls by now, where in the name of god have you been living? The girl band released their debut album earlier in 2015 and there is a few gems on it including this song, Brave Honest Beautiful, which happens to be one of my favourite songs right now. I can’t stop playing it. It’s on repeat, all the time. No joke! I am pretty sure it will be the same for you!

 

So 5 Seconds of Summer have been working hard on their second album (SECOND ALBUM, THEY HAVE COME SO FAR!) and their leading single from the album ‘Feels Good, Sounds Good’ is ‘She’s Kinda Hot’. I see the trend in leading singles, first ‘She Looks So Perfect’ now ‘She’s Kinda Hot’! Maybe it’s just a biased opinion but I feel this song is step up for 5SOS, as in they could fully be classed as punk rock rather that pop punk! I feel like this is the game changer for them. It’s sounds like old school My Chemical Romance and I FREAKING LOVE IT!

 

And what would my favourites be without added these boys, One Direction. Drag Me Down, which is their first single without Zayn (it still hurts!) and it is pretty damn good. Just like 5SOS, One Direction’s sound has matured, which makes me a happy girl! Of course, the video is great! Also, I’ve always appreciated Harry’s vocals but jeeeez the feels on his vocal in Drag Me Down kill me everytime!!

 

Food

So I think I might have a problem with Blueberries. I have become addicted and when I see something that says ‘Contains Blueberries’ or ‘Blueberry whatever’, I most likely will buy it just because it has blueberries!! My latest love is Blueberry bars.

Make Up 

So I wrote a blog about Acne and my story with it recently and included most of the products I use. Recently, I have been using two other products also, and I love them! Coconut Oil is all you have been hearing in terms of beauty throughout 2015 and I can see why. I use it as a makeup remover and within one minute, all my make up is off and my face feels great. You take a little bit of the coconut and rub it between your hands until it turns to oil and you message it all over your face until you think all your makeup is removed. I usually do this in sections, so I would repeat this step 4 or 5 times. Then you get a wet Muslin cloth and wipe away the makeup/oil and now you have a fresh, clean face! Also, as I mentioned in my acne blog, I have some scars on my face. I was told to use Bio-Oil to try reduce the scars and I have to say, it is working. It is a slow process and I do have to put it on twice daily. If I miss one day, you can see the difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youtuber

If you didn’t know, I have been Vlogging and making YouTube videos! I am loving making videos and I am super excited to make loads more. Check out my latest video. If you want, like the video and subscribe to me, PRETTY PLEASE!

 

Home Decor 

You might know, I am redecorating my room, well I am actually finished now! So when I saw this Love Sign, I had to have it. It is so pretty and girly. It is from Pennys (Primark) and I think it was €5 or €7. I also got my hands on these lipstick holders (FINALLY). I got them on Esty.com and they were €5 I think! These are great, I can see what lipsticks I have and they look so organised!

 

That’s it for my July/August Favourites, I’ll see you in a month for September faves!

xoxo

 

 

 

Meet Stereo Kicks!

If you don’t watch X Factor, you will probably have no idea who I am about to talk about. If you are a fan of boybands and haven’t heard of these boys, keep reading! You’ll fall in love with another one by the end of this (if not, let me know, I’ll convert you, trust me!!!)

Image belongs to http://www.theguardian.com

Tom Mann, Jake Sims, Barclay Beales, Casey Johnson, Chris Leonard, James Graham, Reece Bibby and Charlie Jones all auditioned for the 10th season of UK X Factor as solo singers. They all made it through the first two auditions but failed to make it through bootcamp. But all was not lost for the 8 boys, they were given a life line. Like One Direction when they were on X Factor in 2010, the 8 boys were asked if they would like to go forward as a band. They were given just 24 hours to rehearse before they had to sing at bootcamp as a newly formed boyband. They sang Snow Patrol/Leona Lewis’ Run and their journey started! They blew the judges away with their performance, and were one of the only few acts who received a standing ovation from all four judges. With all their own individual vocals, the judges knew this band was going to be something special, especially Simon Cowell, with him saying ‘Honestly, one of the best groups we’ve had on the show’.

 

They made it through Louis Walsh’s Judges Houses and got to the live shows. Fans got to suggest a name for the group after their Judges’ Houses performance. Week after week, Stereo Kicks wowed the judges and the public with performances such as ‘Everybody‘, ‘Let It Be Medley/Hey Jude‘ and ‘Boys of the Summer‘ and began building up an incredible fanbase, which is continuing to grow. Stereo Kicks lasted until week 8, where their last song was the one that started their journey on the show.

They are hottest thing since Mr Simon Cowell created One Direction and I don’t think that Simon is going to let them slip through his hands even though many people have spent too much time saying 8 boys won’t work, there is too many of them etc. These same people aren’t actually listening to the amazing vocals these guys have. Plus there is already a successful X Factor boyband in the world with 5 members. The world needs something fresh in the boyband scene and I believe these 8 boys are it.

The X Factor Tour is currently on and after going to one of the Dublin dates, the majority of the people going to the tour are for Stereo Kicks. The crowds are going mental for the 8 boys and rightly so.

It’s now time to get to know the 8 boys :

Tom Mann (@TomMannMusic)

 

Casey Johnson (@CaseyCodyJ)

 

Jake Sims (@JakeSims)

 

James Graham (@itsjamesgraham)

 

Chris Leonard (@ChrisOfficial_)

 

Barclay Beales (@BarclayBeales)

 

Reece Bibby (@ReeceBibby) 

 

Charlie Jones (@CharlieJones)

 

Stereo Kicks recently done their first headline show at Showcase Live and done a cover of Coldplay’s Fix You. This cover is insanely good. Those words don’t even do it justice to be honest, when I first watched it, I cried unknownst to myself and only realised when I took off my headphones. ( Chris does get his words a little mixed up in the song but that’s why we love him okay?! 😛 )

They also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit On The Side and performed a stellar performance of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space!

 

I am lucky enough to have met the boys (only 7 of them though, Casey snuck off before I could meet him 😦 ). I met them back in November when I went to Fountain Studios for my birthday.

Jake and I. Image belongs to me.

Chris and I. Chris got a little excited when I said I was Irish! Image belongs to me.

Tom and I. I was so happy I got to meet him. Fave forever! Image belongs to me.

Reece and I. Image belongs to me.

James and I. Image belongs to me.

Barclay and I. Image belongs to me.

Charlie and I. Image belongs to me.

The world better start preparing for Stereo Kicks. Everyone is going crazy for them, girls, boys, and even mothers! (Yes that does include my mother, even though she is still struggling to get all their names right! 😛 ) I promised myself that I would never get attached to another boyband on X Factor after the heartbreak I went through when One Direction came 3rd (I had voted A LOT of times, you can forgive me for crying okay?!) but when I heard that Chris and Tom were in this band, and heard their audition at bootcamp, I was already too emotionally involved. I am glad I am supporting these boys. I am already so proud of them and I will travel the world if I had to see them.

Simon Cowell / Syco, sign these guys now because you’ll be making the BIGGEST mistake ever if you don’t.

 

 

My Highlights of 2014!

2014 has been one rollercoaster ride! It’s been a bit of a crappy year for me and my family to say the least but throughout the sadness and bad news, I have had some of the best times of my life this year! Below I want to share some of my favourite highlights of 2014 (in no particular order!)

Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

The Commonwealth Games took place in August in Glasgow. It has been on my bucket list for years to attend them and when the opportunity arose that I could go, I grabbed it with both hands (and grabbed my mother too!) and headed to Scotland.

My passport and plane ticket to Glasgow. Image belongs to me.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go was to see Tom Daley dive. Tom was diving in the Men’s Individual 10m Platform Diving competition on the 2nd of August and up until 9am that morning I hadn’t got a ticket, I was devastated, even though I did see him on the Thursday night when I went to see Jack Laugher dive in the 3m Men’s Springboard competition,  I wanted to see him dive. But luck was on my side and at 9:58am on the 2nd of August, I got the last ticket to see Tom Daley dive that evening in the Final and I saw him win Gold. I shook with happiness when I got the ticket!

With my ticket to see Tom Daley dive in the Final!

Tom with his Gold medal. Image belongs to me.

As I mentioned earlier on, I got to see one of my other favourite divers, Jack Laugher dive in the Men’s 3M Springboard Final on Thursday 31st of August and I witnessed him win Silver.  Luck was on my side again, as when I was at the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, I got to met him. He ran over to me after I called his name so many times like I was Rose calling Jack in the titanic! I was extremley happy. My trip to Glasgow was a very successful one. A few more things off the bucket list 😉

Jack Laugher and I at the Closing Ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Paris

One of my best friends lives in Lyon, France and she turned 21 this year and I wanted to surprise her with an unforgettable birthday present. So I secretly flew over to Lyon, even though she found out on that day I was arriving, and surprised her. But what she didn’t know was that I had got two standing tickets to see One Direction in Stade de France in Paris on the following Friday! So on the 19th of June, we carpooled to Paris, one of the longest but most beautiful and exciting road trips ever, and at midnight we arrived in Paris! We got up early the next morning and done a bit of site seeing before the concert! We saw the Arc de Triomphe and had breakfast in a cute cafe on the Champs Elysees.

Melo and me at the Arc de Triomphe.

After that, we took the Metro and went to the Eiffel Tower! It was such a beautiful day and the view was beautiful. Melo and I have this thing were we like to take cool photos in iconic places and what better place to do this than the Eiffel Tower!

Melo and me in front of the Eiffel Tower.

5 Seconds of Summer in London

On March 3rd, I got to see 5 Seconds of Summer in Shepherd’s Bush in London with my 5SOS buddy Giana and some other girls I became friends with through the boys!

WIth Giana, Deanna and Zoe at Sheperd’s Bush.

We queued from 9am that morning, it rained and was so cold. The things we do for those 4 Aussie babes!! The venue is a intimate venue with a capacity of 2,000 people. We were standing, hence why we were queuing so early. We ended up being front row and that was an amazing experience. Every time I see 5 Seconds of Summer live, they just get better and better. I’ve been to over 60 plus concerts and this was up there in my top ten concerts. It was one of those concerts where you just got lost in the moment, in the music. Being there with friends I had made through the boys was even better. Giana and I have this tradition and it’s #GettingDrunkAt5SOS and we have so much fun playing games in the queue! I find it amazing how some of my good friendships are formed because of bands! Looking forward to seeing Giana in London at 5SOS next June 😉

Turning 21

On the 3rd of November, I turned 21. 21 years old. What a milestone to hit. I had my dream 21st Birthday party on the 31st of October, in Great Gatsby style! It was one of the best nights of my life and I got to celebrate it with all my closest friends and family. I will never forget that night (even though I did drink a lot!) because I finally felt happy, within myself and in my life. At one part of the night, I stood alone with the bottle of champagne the pub gave me for my birthday on the dance floor and looked around and just smiled. I had never been more happier in my life.

Me before my 21st Birthday party.

Meeting Shane O’Donnell 

In 2013, Davy Fitz asked a certain 19 year old man to play in the All Ireland Hurling Final Replay and wanted him to do one thing and one thing only – score goals! That man certain done that! Shane O’Donnell scored 3-3 in the replay and Clare won the All Ireland! Shane O’Donnell became the Niall Horan of GAA that day! He became my favourite hurler that day too, purely because of his hurling skills.. Nothing to do with his looks at all! 😛

Shane O’Donnell and I in O’Moore Park in Portlaoise.

3rd night of Where We Are Tour in Croke Park

I was privileged enough to go see One Direction on their Where We Are Tour in Croke Park 3 times. On the Sunday, I got a standing ticket and went with my friends Flozey and Susan (plus her sister Janet!). The two previous nights were incredible but the 3rd and final night was something special. I don’t exactly know why it was more special than the other two, but it was the best show of the weekend. I got some incredible photos of the boys and Harry even waved at me (The video is on my Instagram!).

One of my favourite photos of Niall that I took. Image belongs to me.

How big 5 Seconds Of Summer Became

2014 was the year of 5 Seconds of Summer. They were the breakthrough artist of the year and took the world by storm. With two number one singles, with ‘She Looks So Perfect’ and ‘Don’t Stop’ in the UK and USA, and their debut album reaching number one in the USA. The boys seem to be a huge success in Ireland also, with both ‘She Looks So Prefect’ and ‘Don’t Stop’ reaching number one here and ‘Amnesia’ and ‘Good Girls’ both charting in the top 20 singles and the album also debuting at number one. I’m incredibly proud of these boys and look forward to what 2015 has in store for them.

When I met the boys in 2013 in London.

Being front row at Cody Simpson and having Jackson Harris sing to me

On July 4th, I saw Cody Simpson in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin. Thanks to my friends Sophie and Jade, I had a front row ticket to the show. For his support act, he had Jackson Harris, an American singer. One thing I certainly haven’t forgotten is Jackson singing to me. I barely knew of him before the show but by the end of his set, he truly won me over. When Jackson was singing his song Right Kind of Wrong, he spotted me singing along to the chorus and of course I got all shy and embarrassed, which made him come over to right in front of me, he knelt down, held eye contact with me and smiled while sang to me and even held my hand. I got so hot and bothered that my friends Jade and Sophie had to fan me down when he stopped singing to me. My favourite thing about Cody’s concert (apart from Jackson singing to me!) was that it was an acoustic concert.  I wrote a blog about the concert so check that out!

Cody Simpson on his acoustic tour in Dublin 2014. Image belongs to me.

Jackson Harris on Cody Simpson’s acoustic tour in Dublin 2014. Image belongs to me.

Seeing Demi Lovato live in concert (FINALLY!)

For my 21st Birthday my best friend Sarah Coghlan ( she has an INCREDIBLE blog too, check it out!!) surprised me with a ticket to Enrique Iglesias’s concert in the 3 Arena on the 23rd of November. More importantly, Demi Lovato was Enrique’s support act. When I opened my card from her and saw the ticket, I was next to tears. I was shaking. She was making one of my ultimate dreams come. To this day, I still can’t thank her enough. When Demi came on stage that night, my heart stopped. I shooking and cried from the minute she came on stage. Demi has been a huge idol to me since 2010 or thereabouts. When she sang Skyscraper and Nightingale, I cried the whole way through both songs. I looked like such an idiot but I didn’t care. Nobody, not even Sarah (although she knows how much I adore Demi) knew how much that moment meant to me. I was so extremely happy. Nothing. I mean NOTHING, could of ruined that moment. I was with one of my best friends, who bought me that ticket, seeing my ultimate idol live. I still can’t believe it. Hearing my favourite song Neon Lights live was incredible. I never felt more alive than I did at that moment.

Demi Lovato performing Neon Lights in the 3 Arena, Image belongs to celebmafia.com

Meeting 4/5 of the Janoskians after sneaking into the Four Season’s Hotel

Jade and I snuck into the Four Season’s Hotel. Like I don’t know how we done it but we did. Thank god we did. We met Skip in a bathroom towel (love heart eyes emoji) and spoke to Jai properly and got him to follow me on Twitter. But we did get kicked out after that. We still managed to meet James and Luke outside. My favourite was finally meeting Luke, god I love him! He gave me a kiss on the cheek! Beau wouldn’t come out to meet us though 😦

The bathrooms in the Four Seasons are so fancy, I had to take a selfie.

Daniel (Skip) and I in the Four Season’s Hotel. He is wearing a Bathroom Towel. And only that! Image belongs to me.

Jai and I in the Four Season’s Hotel. Image belongs to me.

James and I. Image belongs to me.

Luke and . Image belongs to me.

 

Elizabeth’s Sweet 16th

My darling Elizabeth turned 16 this year. Words don’t explain how much I love that girl. I can’t believe she is 16. I can’t imagine my life without her. She is such a beautiful, kind hearted, loving, special lady and I’m so proud to be her cousin. She makes be a better person, she makes me smile when I’m down and she gives me strength when I am weak. She is such a strong girl for everything she goes through and she never complains and is always with a smile! She has taught me to treasure the little things in life.

Elizabeth and I a her Sweet Sixteenth Birthday Party.

My Dad getting elected for the Central Council Delegate for Laois GAA County Board

On the 8th of December, my Dad got elected to be Central Council Delegate for Laois GAA and I couldn’t of been any prouder of him. My Dad had a very bad year in 2014 and this was the lift he needed. The spark that had been missing came back into my Dad. Once again he was the underdog and once again shocked everyone and beat off all competition. I don’t say it to him very often, but I am very proud of my Dad and all he has achieved. He works so hard and does so much for Laois GAA and it’s nice to see that people appreciate my father. So Dad, if Mam has told you about this or is showing you this, I told you you could do it. Once you believe in yourself, you can do anything. You know what you are talking about when it comes to GAA and you are the man for any GAA job in my eyes. Words don’t even describe how proud I am of you. I love you Daddy.

My Dad and me at the Laois GAA Awards 2014.

X Factor in November

As part of my 21st Birthday present, I got to go to Wembley to see the X Factor Studios and my favourite contestants. It is something I will never forget! I wrote a blog about it, if you want the full story! I got to meet Only The Young and 7/8 of Stereo Kicks. I also made a new friendship with Tania who has been incredible to me since.

7/8 of Stereo Kicks. Image belongs to me.

Only The Young and I. Image belongs to me.

Becoming even closer to Sarah, Aislin and Joe

Sarah, Joe and Aislin. I’d be lost without them. It is as simple as that. I love the 3 of them so much it hurts. They mean the world to me. 2014 has given me so many good memories with this trio. I could talk all day about them. But they know why they made my 2014. I Love you guys.

Joe and I.

Sarah and I.

Aislin and I.

2015, please have less sad and bad moments for my family and me. Please me full of happiness and memories to cherish.

My Favourite Album of 2014!

My dear friend Joe nominated me to do this blog (Check out his blog!), and even though I hate him for putting me through the agony of picking my favourite album of 2014, I think it is such a good idea! Well done Joe 😉

The reason why I said it was agony of picking my favourite album is because this year has been an incredible year for some musicians, producing some top quality albums.  2014 was the year for newcomers and these newcomers certainly put their stamp on the music world. Sam Smith, who was announced the winner of the Brits 2014 Critics’ Choice award for 2014, released his debut album ‘In The Lonely Hour’ in May this year. ‘Lay Me Down’ is my favourite track on his album. Ariana Grande’s second studio album ‘My Everything’ came out in August and established Ariana as a major force in the music industry. Without a doubt, ‘Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart’ is my favourite song , which was penned by One Direction’s Harry Styles. It’s been two years since Ella Henderson appeared on the UK X Factor and many critics had questioned if the two year gap would be a good decision for her career, but Ella proved them wrong with her debut album ‘Chapter One‘, with every song written or co-written by Ella herself. In the first week, her album went straight into number one, making Simon Cowell a very happy man! Remember her arena audition where she sang her own song that took everyone’s breath away? Well Ella recorded that beautiful song and put it on the album and ‘Missed’ is undeniably my favourite track of hers. The treasured artists of the music industry also made sure they were heard this year with their outstanding albums. Ed Sheeran released his highly anticipated second album ‘X’ in June, and to date, it has been the most streamed album on Spotify of 2014, with over 400 million streams. Apart from ‘Thinking Out Loud’, my favourite song is ‘Tenerife Sea’. One of my queens Jessie J dropped her third studio album ‘Sweet Talker’. The leading single of the album, ‘Bang Bang’, made Jessie world renowned and is her most successful single to date. The success of this hit single made her album a chart topping album. Although ‘Bang Bang’ is the tune that has me running to the dance floor, my stand out song on the album is ‘Sweet Talker’. Many would say that 2014 was the year of Taylor Swift and her fifth studio album, ‘1989‘. This album is her first official pop album, having been a country-pop crossover artist on her previous albums. The stats establish that Swift done right by making this album as it is the best selling album of 2014. I have two favourite songs from ‘1989‘, they are ‘Wildest Dreams’ and ‘Wonderland’.

One Direction’s fourth consecutive album ‘Four’ is an extremely close runner up to my favourite album of the year (I mean it, the only difference is like 0.01%). Personally, I believe ‘Four’ is their best album. Like many of the critics, I believe this album shows maturity (apart from ‘Act My Age’, but we ALL secretly love that tune!!) and growth for the band, with a more rockier sound. The boys wrote 9 of the songs on the album, and even got Ed Sheeran to pen another song for them. Cosmopolitan clearly agree with me as they have named it number eleven on the 20 Best Album’s for 2014 list! Once again, stats confirm that One Direction aren’t going to be disappearing any time soon, as the album went straight in at number one in over 100 countries!! The song that gets me feeling warm and fuzzy is ‘Night Changes’, it is such a beautiful song and shows off everyone’s vocals.

But my album of the year goes to the real breakthrough artists of the year, 5 Seconds of Summer! It was probably obvious I was going to chose them, I never shut up about them and have been promoting them for nearly 3 years to everyone! If you don’t already know, I adore these guys a crazy amount (I have travelled more times to see them live than any other band to date!). If you’ve been hiding under a rock and have no idea who they are or want to refresh your memory of who they are, check out my previous blog on them!

The Australian pop punk band (NOT A BOYBAND) released their self titled debut album  ‘5 Seconds of Summer’  in June and within one week of it’s release in America, it charted in the number one spot in the Billboard 200, selling over 260,000 copies. 5 Seconds of Summer proved they were to be taken seriously in the music industry and soon became one of the most sought after bands at all music award ceremonies such as the MTV Music Awards and the ARIA Awards, entitling them to perform in front of some of the mega stars in the music industry. But it was them touring with One Direction on their tours ‘Take Me Home’ in 2013 and ‘Where We Are’ in 2014 that gave the platform for the Aussies to make a name for themselves. They soon became pals with All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth and co-wrote a few songs with him. ‘She Looks So Perfect‘ was the lead single of the album and no doubt was one of the songs of 2014! The boys wrote the majority of the songs on the album, all bar two in fact, with ‘Amnesia’ wrote by the Madden Brothers and their cover of The Romantic’s ‘What I Like About You’.  With songs like ‘Don’t Stop‘, ‘Good Girls‘, ‘18‘ and ‘End Up Here‘ proving their little cheeky personalities in their song writing and showing they are more All Time Low than One Direction. But these four pretty boys have an emotional side too, and this is evident in their tunes like ‘Long Way Home‘, ‘Beside You‘ and ‘Everything I Didn’t Say’. While writing this blog, I asked my mum what my favourite 5 Seconds of Summer song was (thinking it would make it easier for me) but she had them same answer as I first came up with and that is that I actually like them all and can’t choose a favourite. Although, after two consecutive listens to the album, I came to the conclusion that my top five favorite songs are ‘End Up Here’, ‘Good Girls’, ‘Long Way Home’, ‘Heartbreak Girl’ and ‘Beside You’ (Can I just say I absolutely love every 5 Seconds of Summer song on this album? Because I do!!)

Image from 5SOS-official.tumblr.com

If there is one thing I love more than lots of 5 Seconds of Summer songs, it’s hearing 5 Seconds of Summer live and they answered all my dreams in December this year when they released ‘LIVESOS’. This is their first live album and contains 14 songs, including ‘Disconnected‘, ‘Out of My Limit‘ and their cover of Green Day’s ‘American Idiot‘.

Image from http://www.5sos.com

So there you have it, my favourite album of 2014 belongs to 5 Seconds of Summer. In my eyes, 2014 belonged to those guys!

So, what was your favourite album of 2014? Comment below 🙂

My weekend at One Direction’s Where We Are Tour in Croke Park!

So one of the most highly anticipated weekends of the year for an Irish fangirl has been and gone and what a weekend it was! The biggest selling band in the world, One Direction, launched their biggest tour to date, the Where We Are Tour, with three sold out nights in Dublin’s Croker with the general capacity of 82,000 people, meaning over 240,000 people watching on over the three nights! I was one of the lucky few people that managed to go all 3 nights to Croke Park and I am so glad I did! Each night got better and better and for me personally, Sunday’s show was without a doubt the best night of the weekend! I managed to Live While I’m Young, I came away with some incredible Midnight Memories, I danced all night to some of The Best Song(s) Ever, I Happily enjoyed the Little Things One Direction joked about on stage all weekend and found out how Strong I am after surviving standing on Sunday by not getting killed by the younger, crazier fangirls! (Did you see what I done there  with the songs? I am a genius aren’t I?! Okay, Okay I know it was cringey but just giggle anyway!) One Direction performed a set list of 23 songs each night to the thousands of adoring fans who, despite the lashing rain, enjoyed every minute the 5 young lads were on stage.

Croke Park was a huge gig for Mullingar native, Niall Horan as 4 years ago, he auditioned for X Factor in Croke Park and hoped his dreams would all work out for him.

Niall’s Tweet 4 years ago.

I decided to grab a flag and remind Niall that his dream has all worked out and to show him I am so extremely proud of him.

My flag on Sunday Night.

From almost not making it through X Factor to selling out his home stadium 4 years later!

During Friday night’s show, Niall took a selfie with the 83,000 fans and posted it to Twitter a few hours later, showing his appreciation, still in disbelief that he was playing Ireland’s biggest stage!

Niall’s tweet after Friday’s show

 

Although the boys said it was Niall’s weekend, Croke Park was also a special moment for Harry, Liam, Louis and Zayn as it was and will be the biggest crowd the band have ever performed for. With this being a stadium tour, it meant a bigger stage and bigger production and the lads didn’t disappoint! The stage took up all of the Hill 16 and had a catwalk going down to the halfway point of the pitch. There was no shortage of pyrotechnics, with fireworks going off the minute the boy band phenomenon popped up on stage singing Midnight Memories. The stage itself had laser beam lights along the catwalk and projected laser into the stadium also. With many critics and non fans claiming One Direction to be a stereotypical boyband, they really aren’t! The entire show was chilled backed and not over rehearsed. The lads literally just messed around as if the were in a park on their own and not in front 82,000 plus people. They don’t need the choreographed dance moves or the ‘key changing stepping up from the stools’ like what Westlife done because that isn’t who One Direction are. Their fans know that One Direction can’t dance (well Liam can certainly move and Harry likes to think he can) so why would they make a fool of themselves learning ridiculous dance routines! Over all 3 nights, Niall and the lads mentioned how Irish fans ‘are the best fans in the world’ and with that, it must make me an unreal fan seeing as I went three times! 😛 (Okay, I like to think I am!)

The stage!

Liam and Harry were full of life on stage over the weekend and taking the Irish culture to heart. Liam declared his love for Superquinn sausages on Friday night and Harry begged the crowd to scream ‘2 bananas for a euro‘ on Saturday night. Harry also won the crowd over with his Irish accent, talking Irish and simply saying ‘What’s the craic Dublin?’ The lads showed they were having the craic by wowing the crowd with their Macarena skills, singing the Friends theme tune and explaining what flavour of crisps each member of the band was!

One Direction asked pals 5 Seconds of Summer (who are my faves, if you didn’t already know!) to be their opening act on this tour and let’s just say if Croke Park had a roof, 5SOS would have blown it off, that’s how good they were!  They sang 11 songs including She Looks So Perfect, Don’t Stop, Disconnected and a cover of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream (which might I add is better than the original!).

My photo of 5 Seconds of Summer

Calum on Sunday night.

Luke on Sunday night.

Calum and Luke on Sunday night.

Michael on Sunday night.

Michael on Sunday night.

Michael and Ashton on Sunday night.

Below are some of my pictures from Sunday night when I was standing in the Pink Zone and luckily enough to be so close to the boys!

Me at the stage before the concert started!

         

Croke Park gave Niall Horan his own unique Westmeath jersey as a reminder that finally a Mullingar man made it to Croke Park! 😉

With Croker being such a success, I have no doubt that One Direction will be back their soon and I am already looking forward to it. Gwaaaan Nialler, proud of ya buddy 😉

Now, as my acing body is still recovering from all the dancing and standing and as my post concert depression kicks in, I pack away all the One Direction merchandise and Irish flags. It was a good weekend lads, see ye next time! 😉

Conor Maynard

Is the name Conor Maynard one you know? If not, GET TO KNOW IT! And if you do know him, I bet it’s mainly for his own songs such as Can’t Say No and R U Crazy. Personally, I believe Conor Maynard is going to be one of the biggest male artist’s to come out of England. Since 2009, Conor Maynard has been uploading cover versions of songs on his own and with rapper and close friend, Anthony “Anth” Melo, who resides in Virginia, America. Together they have covered a variety of songs, including: Taio Cruz’s Dynamite, Rihanna’s Only Girl In The World and even wrote an original song together called Do It. Maynard caught the attention of singer/songwriter Ne-Yo when he watched a cover version of his track Beautiful Monster who in turn contacted Conor soon afterwards, and Ne-Yo soon became Maynard’s mentor. Maynard rose to success in 2012 when he was nominated for, and subsequently won, MTV’s Brand New For 2012 award, beating off competition from the likes of Lana Del Ray. Well now it’s time you heard the real Conor Maynard. His covers are heaven to my ears! My god, he makes these songs sound so much better. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE his original work and adore his album. I am waiting patiently for his second album, due to drop sometime in 2014. But you can’t deny the fact that his voice in some of these covers is simply breathtaking.

 

Check out some of my favourite covers Conor has done below:

• Mr.Probz -Waves (Robin Schulz Remix)

• Drake – Girls Love Beyonce

• Drake – Marvin’s Room

• Ellie Goulding/ Miley Cyrus/ Drake Medley

• Lorde/Avicii/One Direction Medley

• Pharrell Williams – Happy

• Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child

• Enrique Iglesias – Tonight I’m Lovin’ You ft Anth

• Jessie J – Price Tag

• Chris Brown – Yeah x3

• Taio Cruz – Dynamite

• Bruno Mars – Just They Way You Are

Now, try tell me you don’t like Conor Maynard after listening to some of these. 😉

5 Seconds of Summer.

Before you all get carried away thinking I’m talking about Irish summers, I’m not. I am talking about my favourite band, 5 Seconds of Summer. Now I guess you are now asking ‘Who the hell are they?’

5 Seconds of Summer are an Australian (and 1/4 New Zealand because of Calum) band who have taken the music world by storm. The young band is made up of Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Ashton Irwin and Calum Hood. It all started back in December 2011, when the boys started uploading home videos to Youtube and pleading to their small group of fans to ‘make them famous‘! They released their first Ep Unplugged in June 2012 and it went in at number 3 in the Australian iTunes chart but failed to chart in the official music chart. 5SOS soon became known worldwide as one of their fans just happened to be One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and he shared their single Gotta Get Out on twitter and the Youtube views on escalated quickly for the 5SOS boys . They released a second EP in December 2012 called Somewhere New and their success began to grow even bigger. Louis Tomlinson then managed to get the 5SOS boys to be 1D’s opening act on their Take Me Home tour in 2013.

Here is an acoustic version of their single Gotta Get Out, the song Louis shared on twitter. 

The song that made them receive fans worldwide was Heartbreak Girl which features on their EP Somewhere New. To date, the video has over 9 million views on Youtube. 

Now, before you start thinking ‘oh 5 Seconds of Summer must be a boyband if they toured with 1D!’ Nope, you’re wrong! Don’t make the mistake of  classing 5SOS as a boyband, they are a pop rock band. The Aussie boys have worked with All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth, James Bourne from Busted, McFly and Joel and Benji Madden from Good Charlotte.

On February 5th 2014, 5SOS released their latest single She Looks So Perfect worldwide on iTunes for pre-order and immediately, it went in at the number one spot in over 35 countries.

On Friday 28th of March, the boys reached the number 1 spot in Ireland’s official music charts.

On Saturday 29th of March, the boys received their first ever official number one in Australia.

On Sunday 30th of March, 5SOS were announced the official UK Number 1 single.

Today, the 1st of April, 5SOS released She Looks So Perfect in America and it went in at number one on the iTunes charts so I expect it to reach the number one spot in the official American charts soon.

For me, being a huge fan since June 2012, this success is so surreal! I can’t imagine how the boys themselves must feel.

One thing that is obvious, 5 Seconds of Summer are very grateful to their fans for making them so successful, thanking them daily on their twitter accounts. I’ve been lucky enough to meet the guys and they are genuinely nice guys and appreciated the fact I had travelled to see them live.

5 Seconds of Summer in London, November 2013

 

So I’d keep an eye on 5 Seconds of Summer, they are my ones to watch for 2014.

Below is the video for their single She Looks So Perfect and it is such a catchy song, I know it will be that song you can not get out of your head for days after 😛