Another Libera DVD?!!

My favorite boys' choir, Libera, has just announced that they will be giving a FREE CONCERT in Armagh, Ireland on Friday, August 9th.  OMG, it's free!!!!!!!  And what's even more exciting is that they will be filming the concert for who knows what (but we probably do know what, it will most likely be for another Libera in Concert DVD!!).  

I, unfortunately, cannot make it (if only they would come to the US!) because plane tickets cost a bajillion.  I really wish I could, though, and I'll definitely buy the supposed DVD when it comes out.  Man, I'm so excited right now!

For those of the Libera fans that can make it to the concert, I hope you enjoy it immensely and please, please, please blog about it so that others (ME!) can pretend we were there too.  :)

The Good Things of Life

Hello everyone!  Sorry I haven't posted in while.  It's been very hectic, and I don't think that I'll be able to write my post on my new nail polish design this weekend like I planned.  :(

However, good things have been happening around here too!  

1)  A few days ago, my gym shoes started falling apart, so my lovely mother offered to take me to Target (I know, I know, Target is a horrible place for gym shoes) because I was so desperate.  The gym shoes there were quite disappointing (a given), expensive (also a given), not very professional, and ugly (I don't know anyone that really likes neon colors ALL over their shoes.  Neon shoelaces are okay, just not everywhere else).  I was so disappointed, but needed shoes so badly that I settled down on one not-so-ugly-looking pair.  My mom could tell that I really didn't like them, so she suggested Nordstrom Rack.  By then, it was already 8 pm and we were on a tight schedule.  We quickly went to the nearby Nordstrom Rack, which had TONS of more options that were so much better.  I chose the least expensive pair (still about $50) and was kind of feeling guilty about it.  My mom told me that it was okay since my feet weren't growing anymore.  However, I was still feeling very selfish, so I almost put them back.  Up at the cash register, I was almost about to tell the lady I didn't want them until she rang them up and said they were ten dollars.  Oh my goodness.  Ten dollars.  The lady and I thought that it was a mistake, but it wasn't!  I walked out of Nordstrom Rack holding the $10 gym shoes, thanking God, and having a mini celebration with my mom.  

2)  Though I didn't win my doubles match, I won my singles match in the first badminton meet!  What a great way to start off the season.  :)

3)  As a fund-raiser for the badminton team, all girls are required to sell at least 50 small bags of Warheads candy, each for a dollar.  In the past, my sales were quite pitiful because I was a very bad salesperson.  I'm still a very bad salesperson, but I was able to sell 26 bags of candy in three days' time!  Wooot!  *This is all thanks to my very generous classmates.  Or maybe thanks to their generous appetites for candy.  Why people like sour candy is a mystery to me.  Chocolate for the win!!*

4)  My dad came home from a business trip!  He was gone for a really long time, and the house just didn't feel the same without him.  He also brought back great presents.  :D

5)  I had a great girl talk with one of my best friends today at church.  She just cracks me up every time.  Thank God for best friends!

6)  An awesome video of Libera's new song, "The Moon Represents My Heart" (a much loved Chinese song), came out a few days ago.  The most exciting thing is that it's in Mandarin Chinese!  How awesome is that?  It's not a full video, but it hints at a new music video that may be coming out soon.  For those of those lucky enough to go to the Libera concerts in late March and early April in Taiwan, Libera might sing this song!  Check it out right here. 

Okay, well this is the end of the good things that have happened to me this week.  I feel like writing this post is a great reminder of how good God is to us when we don't even realize it! 

Exciting news!!!!!!

Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness Ohmygoodness!!!!

I just came home from a rather long badminton practice to amazingly joyful awesome news!!
Drumroooolllllllll.....

LIBERA IS COMING OUT WITH A NEW ALBUM!!!!

YAYYY!!!  It's been so long since they came out with new songs so it's quite the exciting news for me.  I'm also happy and excited because they'd just come out with a new album right when I discovered them.  Since then, they've made a couple albums, but those albums are more like "The Best of..." and stuff like that.  It's so exciting for me (and for you too, I hope)! 

Most people (and you, if you don't know who Libera is/are) look at me weirdly when I say that I enjoying listening to a choir comprised of young boys in grade school.  If you're wondering how I came to love this young boys' choir, check out this post here. 

Here are a few pictures that MIGHT be for the new album!  Personally, I find it weird when people are taking pictures of me while I eat.  But hey, whatever works, haha!

Thanks to Inna from BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS* and Lexi from Mini Angels for breaking the exciting news.  You can find links to their blogs in the column on the bottom right.  

Blogs I Follow

Hello!  You may have noticed that my blog has morphed drastically since the last post.  First of all, the whole background/theme is more plain, with a gray-ish color scheme.  I don't really know why I changed it; I guess I wanted a blog that was easier on the eyes?  I really don't know, haha.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to figure out how to give it all a light blue tint soon though.  

Secondly, I've got some new gadgets in the right-hand column.  You can now follow my posts by email just by entering your email into the little box.  At the very bottom, there's a list of the blogs that I follow.  And here's a little rundown on what they are about...

-BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS*, Dear Libera, and Mini Angels are all blogs about the Libera boys choir.  Whenever there's new info for Libera fans, you can expect these three blogs to keep you on your toes.  

-Booyahitsriya is a blog made by a close friend of mine.  Her blog features fashion, make-up tips, and of course the ever popular music of the month.  

-hello...mero is also a blog by one of my friends.  I don't really know how to describe it though, since it covers anything that crosses her mind.  She's currently studying in Singapore (lucky duck!  I've always wanted to be a transfer student of sorts) and she updates readers on her latest experiences.   

-MY MILK TOOF (the cutest blog EVER): I've already done a post on this, so check out the link here.

-The Christian Pupil (my cool Christian blogger friend :)): same for this blog, check out the link right here. 

Please, please, please check out these amazing blogs!  Meanwhile, I'll go finish my post about the new nail design...

Libera: Flashback on 2012 Concerts

Here's a great video by a fan, Yuki BOL, that captures bits and pieces of almost all of Libera's amazing concerts during the year 2012.  The first part covers the choir's meet and greet/autograph session after their concert in Singapore.  The second part has pictures and short videos of Libera in the Channel Islands, Ireland, and a couple more places.  They've gone to so many locations in Asia and Europe, and they've even come here to the US (though not during 2012, and sadly before I found out about them).  I believe that Yuki has gone to almost all of their concerts this year, except for one.  Wow... that makes me a little jealous, but very impressed at her great fandom and ability to travel at the same time!  To keep up with Yuki and the latest news on Libera, check out her blog, Dear Libera.  She also has a Youtube channel that can be found here.  Take a look and remember to like the video if you enjoyed it!

Libera: Vote for Your Favorite Music Video!

My favorite choir, Libera, is having a Music Video Voting Contest!  For those of you who are also fans, please check out the link and give your favorite video a vote.  Non-fans, please also check out the videos (which can all be found on Libera's YouTube channel).  Who knows?  You could be discovering a new artist(s) to follow!  A couple things to keep in mind, though: You are only permitted to vote once AND you vote through your Facebook account. 

It was a really hard choice for me, since I like so many of the Libera music videos.  If you wanted to know, I voted for "O Holy Night" because I absolutely adore Christmas songs.  Also my favorite soloist, Ralph Skan, is featured in the video and I love the whole church scene.  Actually, I don't even know if it is a church...?  But anyways, it was a beautiful song.  *PLEASE DON'T LET MY CHOICE INFLUENCE YOURS!  LIBERA WANTS TO KNOW WHICH VIDEO YOU LIKE THE MOST!*  Have fun choosing! 

Libera: Song of Life

I hope you've been having a great weekend because I definitely had a very good time.  I'm in California right now for a wedding, and I'm pigging out on really good food (more to come on the next post, or maybe the one after). 

Anyways, I suddenly realized that I never showed you all my favorite Libera song, "Song of Life"!  For those of you who don't know what Libera is, check out the link right here before you go on.  But this song is the most beautiful thing I ever heard.  It was the second Libera song I listened to, because after I heard the first one on Pandora, I immediately looked them up on Google and found "Song of Life".  The main reason I like this song above all the others is because of the soloist, Ralph Skan.  His voice gives the song its own character and makes it flow.  Here it is, and make sure to like the video on Youtube if you enjoyed it immensely!

Liberaaa....

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!  To celebrate, my family is having friends over for a barbeque.  I didn't know about this little party until our friends were arriving.  Oh well, at least there's good food to eat!  :D

I know I said in my off-season Christmas music post that I'd talk about one of my favorite vocal groups.  Get ready for a huge amount of gushing.

Libera is a boys choir from South London.  I may be wrong, but I believe there are about forty or so boys in it, even though they don't all go on tour.  They usually start out at about age seven to nine (called the mini-boys), and can range up to about age eighteen.  Some of the boys leave the choir after their voices have broken.  But the die-hard members stay on because it has been such an amazing part of their life.  The unique thing about Libera is that with every generation of singers, more young ones come in when the older ones leave.  In that way, Libera has gone on for 15+ years.  Cool, huh?  

As it says, Libera 2011 members that were on tour.  (choirfan.wordpress.com, Courtesy of French fan Fan_de_LoK)

Another piece of important info is that the choir is run by a man named Robert Prizeman.  He is truly a genius and deserves more credit than he is given because he has written many songs that Libera sings, directs them AND plays instruments during their concerts, and he arranges the boys' voices into astonishing harmonies.  Not to mention he deals with a bunch of pre-adolescent boys during tours. 

Reasons I love this choir...

1)  Their voices are freakingly angelic and high.  The first time I heard a Libera song (props to Pandora!), I thought the people that were singing were girls.  Imagine the surprise on my face when I found out that they were BOYS.  

2)  It is so different from a lot of the music that I usually listen to.  They sing mostly classical sounding music, and a large number of their songs are in Latin.  I like pop music and "pure music", which is what I categorize songs with acoustic guitars and actual pianos, instruments like that.  I'm very surprised with myself that I kept listening to Libera.

3)  The soloists are above stellar.  Only a choice handful of boys are continuous soloists, and I do say that the director of Libera, Robert Prizeman, has picked them well.  If you think about it, during concerts, soloists have to sing by themselves LIVE.  That's a bit scary...  but whaddya know?  All reports from concerts say that they sound great every time! 

      This should probably go with number three, but I'll give it it's own number.

Ralph Skan!  (dearmadine.blogspot.com)

Tom Cully!  (inridi.blogspot.com)

4)  Ralph Skan and Tom Cully.  My favorite soloists ever in Libera.  You can hear Ralph here in one of my favorite songs, Song of Life.  Hint, he's the one that sings first.  Ralph is currently in Libera, but sadly, his voice is getting lower so he won't be singing solos soon.  Tom Cully is probably the best soloist Libera ever had, in my opinion.  He had an amazing range, and while he was in the choir and you heard someone sing super high, you immediately knew it was him.  He left some years ago, but still comes back to help with the choir sometimes.  You can hear him here in You Were There (he also sings first).  If you really want to hear him sing super high, you can listen to Ave Maria here.  Hint, he sings alone and so high that your throat hurts when you hear it.      

Less legit reasons of why I love this choir...

1)  I think it's awesome how people younger than me can become so famous.  Especially young boys singing.  Super obsessed fans in Japan (yes, they tour largely in Japan.  Actually, the people in Japan are probably their biggest fans!) fight to get autographs from boys that are the same age as my sometimes-annoying younger cousins.  

2)  The mini-boys are so cute and adorable.  I know they're not much more different than other boys in elementary or grade school, but they look so innocent in their white robes! 

Lookin' spiffy in the white robes...  (thenobleartofmusic.blogspot.com)

3)  They rock their signature white robes pretty well.  Libera wears white robes to most of their concerts (their formal concert attire, haha).  The boys say that it originated from monks long ago.  Oh, and their hoods on their robes are gigantic!  It looks like the mini-boys could get lost in them!  :)

4)  Libera's name is Libera!  For those of you who don't know, it's Latin for "free".  Their name came from this song, here.   

Libera takes Moose on tour!  (libera.org.uk)

5)  Their group mascot is a small stuffed moose called Moose.  

That's all that I could think of for now.  Whew...  It was quite a lot to type.

I'm really sincerely sorry if you read through this whole post and had no interest whatsoever in Libera.  I just had to share it with potential fans!  If you'd like to know more about them, you could go explore their website, Facebook, and Twitter.  Numerous fans have blogs completely devoted to "all things Libera" that you can google.  My favorites are called *BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS* and Mini Angels.  I'll keep updating with little random facts I've learned about Libera, and also with Daves Highway and the Gardiner Sisters.  

Thank you all so much for reading, and have fun rest of the weekend!  Happy listening!