In the world of English songs

Министерство общего и профессионального образования Свердловской области
МКУ «Управление образования городского округа Красноуральск» Свердловской области Муниципальное автономное общеобразовательное учреждение средняя общеобразовательная школа №6

Направление: лингвистическое (иностранные языки)

Тема: «In the world of English songs»

Автор: Зламанюк Виктория Александровна, 9 «а»

Руководитель: Курбанова Юлия Геннадьевна, учитель английского языка

Место выполнения работы: МАОУ СОШ №6

Красноуральск

2015

Content

1.Introduction 3

2.The main part 5

2.1. The musical TV project “The Voice”: English or Russian? 5

2.2. The most popular songs of the project “The Voice” 6

2.3. My research 14

3.Conclusion 16

4.Resources 17

5. Supplement 19

1. Introduction

The project urgency:

the project «In the world of English songs» is actual because our mass media, such as radio, TV have a lot of musical entertainment programmes. They are full of English songs. People enjoy watching these programmes on TV and listening to them on the radio. I am not an exception. My project will help to learn the history of popular English songs, get information about their first singers and enjoy the “world of English songs”.

Purpose: studying the phenomenon of English songs’ popularity in Russia.

Tasks: 1. to watch musical project “The Voice” and analyze what songs are more popular in Russia;

2. to enhance my knowledge about English songs and the singers;

3. to do research to find out students’ opinion about English songs;

4. to analyze and sum the results of the research;

5. to compose and make a presentation of my own song in English.

Hypothesis: I suggest that English songs are more popular than songs in other languages.

Object: the phenomenon of English songs’ popularity.

Subject: English songs.

Research methods: studying of information, a survey, analysis and synthesis.

Literature review:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, contains the most complete disclosure of the content of this project. It gives a lot of interesting and useful information about English songs and singers.

Problematic questions:

Are English songs more popular than songs in other languages in Russia today?

What are the most popular English songs and singers?

Do Russian teenagers like English songs?

Practical significance:

This project can be used at English lessons. It also can be used for extracurricular activities. I am sure that this project is very useful and that’s why I am going to continue my work at this project. I think this project has great future.

2. The main part

2.1. The musical TV project “The Voice”: English or Russian?

People can’t live without music. They listen to different songs every day: at home, at work, on the way to school. Music makes their life brighter.

There are a lot of musical programmes and projects on TV in Russia. People watch them with pleasure. One of the most favourite projects is the musical project “The Voice” on the Channel 1. People have watched the third season of the project this year. I am a fan of this project too. I enjoy listening to different songs and singing them. Especially I am fond of English songs.

While watching this project on TV I noticed that there are a lot of English songs there. I decided to find out how many songs were sung in English in this project.

I watched the project “The Voice” every week. There were 197 songs in this project, 89 (45, 2%) of them were sung in English, 88 (44, 6%) - in Russian and 20 (10, 2%) were in other languages (French, Portuguese, Italian, Ukrainian). As you can see English songs are as popular as Russian.

2.2. The most popular songs of the project “The Voice”

I decided to find out which English songs are the most popular in the musical project “The Voice” and tell you about the history of these songs and their singers.

You can see the most popular songs of the project in the table.

Song	Authors	Singers
1. "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You"	Gerry Goffin, Michael Masser	Georgy Yufa, David Mgeladze, Busha Goman
2. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"	James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome	Anastasia Glavatskikh, Michael Blaze
3. “House of the Rising Sun”	Folk song	Pyer Edel, Aglaya Shilovskaya
4. "Why"	Annie Lennox	Maria Zaytseva, Ksana Sergienko
5. "Stop!"	Sam Brown	Natalya Vinokurova, Diana Sharapova
6. "Listen"	Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, Knowles	Sevil Veliyeva and Alexandra Vorobyova
7. "Stayin' Alive"	Barry, Robin, Maurice Gibb	Asya Pivovarova
8. “Woman in Love"	Barry and Robin Gibb	Irina Burenkova

"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966 in a New York studio and released it as a single later that year. It became number one on the Billboard (an American music magazine) chart and number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its title is a pun on the 1963 comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. This song was sung by Anastasia Glavatskikh and Michael Blaze in the musical project “The Voice”.

“House of the Rising Sun” is an American folk song. It is supposed to be written by Georgia Turner and Bert Martin. This song tells of hard times in New Orleans. The most well known version was recorded by Eric Burdon and the Animals in 1964.

This song has been performed by many musicians, including Tommy Emmanuel, The White Stripes, The Eagles, Bob Dylan, The Animals and Nina Simone (the same jazz singer who made “Feeling Good” famous). It was also the first song Tony Blair learned to play on the guitar.

This song is featured as one of the 20 Best of War Child; it is in their album, containing many other musicians. This song was chosen by Pyer Edel and Aglaya Shilovskaya in the musical project “The Voice”.

"Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser. It was originally recorded by American singer George Benson for his 1985 album 20/20.

The song achieved worldwide success in a cover version by Hawaiian singer Glenn Medeiros released in 1987. It reached Number 12 on

the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks at number one on the UK singles chart in July 1988. He also recorded the song in Spanish. The song became quite popular in Spanish-speaking countries when Argentine singer-songwriter Sergio Denis also recorded a cover version for his album Afectos (1985), with Spanish lyrics written by Rolando J. Hernández. The song is currently used on Thinkboxs commercial in the UK. It was the most popular song of the project “The Voice”. It was performed by Georgy Yufa, David Mgeladze and Busha Goman.

"Why" is the first solo single by the Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released in 1992. It was taken from her debut solo album Diva and reached number 5 in the United Kingdom and number thirty-four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached number 6 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart.

Annie Lennox was born on December 25, 1954. She is a singer and a songwriter known for her work with the Eurythmics and as a solo act. Her hits include “Sweet Dreams,” “Who’s That Girl?” and “Why.” She also won an Oscar for Best Original Song Into the West for the film in 2004.

The song “Why” was sung by Maria Zaytseva and Ksana Sergienko in the musical project “The Voice”.

"Stop!" is a song by English singer Sam Brown. Sam Brown (born Samantha Brown, 7 October 1964, Stratford, London, England), is the daughter of the rock and roll star, Joe Brown and singer Vicki Brown. She is an English female singer-songwriter best known for her work in the late 1980s, although she has continued to release material since then.

The single was originally released in 1988, missing the UK top forty and peaking at number fifty-two. It was not until 1989, however, that the single became a hit, when it peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. "Stop!" became Brown's biggest hit to date, spending twelve weeks on the UK chart. It was the 35th best-selling single of 1989 in the UK.

Natalya Vinokurova and Diana Sharapova have chosen this song in the project “The Voice”.

Some participants of the musical project “The Voice” have chosen songs by Bee Gees.

"Stayin' Alive" is a disco song by the group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees (Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977 as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It is one of their signature songs. In 2004, "Stayin' Alive" was placed at number 189 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2004, it ranked number 9 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In a UK television poll on ITV in December 2011 it was voted fifth in "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song".

Upon release, "Stayin' Alive" climbed the charts to hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 4 February 1978, remaining there for four weeks. In the process, it became one of the band's most recognizable tunes, in part because of its place at the beginning of Saturday Night Fever.

This song was sung by Asya Pivovarova in the project “The Voice.”

“Woman in Love" is a song performed by Barbra Streisand and taken from her 1980 album, Guilty. The song was written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who received the 1980 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

After the success enjoyed by the Bee Gees in the late 1970s, the band was asked to participate in musical endeavors for other artists, and Streisand asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her. This album ultimately became Guilty. "Woman in Love", as the lead single, became one of the most successful songs of Streisand's music career. It spent a total of three weeks at the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Streisand's fifth (and last to date) number one on this chart. It also spent five weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, her sixth number one on that tally. The song also proved very popular internationally, reaching number one in many countries, including in the UK Singles Chart. The song sold more than 10 million to date.

About midway through the song, Streisand holds a note for about 10 seconds while singing the line: I stumble and fall / But I give you it all (the word "all" is the one held for that duration). During the chart run of "Woman in Love", Casey Kasem claimed in an edition of the radio program American Top 40 that this was the longest unaltered note held by a soloist in a number-one song. However, this was corrected a few weeks later as at the time, Lovely Day by Bill Withers, All Out Of Love by Air Supply and Dim All The Lights by Donna Summer had longer notes held. Streisand has openly stated that she doesn't like the song because she doesn't believe in the meaning of the lyrics. She has rarely performed the song live but she did however sing it on a couple of dates on her 2013 European tour.

This song was sung by Irina Burenkova in the project “The Voice”.

"Listen" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé Knowles. The song was written by Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Knowles, and produced by The Underdogs Matt Sullivan and Randy Spendlove for the soundtrack album Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture to the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, in which Knowles' character Deena Jones sings the song to assert independence over her controlling husband. Columbia Records released "Listen" as the lead single from soundtrack album on December 5, 2006. It additionally appeared as a hidden track on international editions, and on the deluxe edition of Knowles' second solo studio album, B'Day. The Spanish version of the song, "Oye", was released on the EP, Irreemplazable, and the Spanish deluxe edition of B'Day.

"Listen" is a soul-R&B song; its lyrics make reference to tenacity, love, the refusal to defer dreams and finally rise towards fame. Itsinstrumentation includes bass, drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, and violins, among others. The song was a critical success. Contemporary music critics complimented the strong and emotional vocals of Knowles, and added that the lyrics perfectly elaborate on Deena Jones's life. "Listen" won Best Original Song at the 2007 Critics' Choice Awards. It was nominated in the same category at the 2006 International Press Academy Satellite Award, at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards, and at the 2007 Academy Awards.

"Listen" peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and generally peaked inside the top 20 positions in European countries. It fared better in the United Kingdom where it reached number eight thanks to a live duet performance of Knowles andAlexandra Burke at The X Factor, where Burke emerged as the winner after singing "Listen" during the finale. The song was also covered by Charice and Melanie Amaro during the finale of the first season of the The X Factor in the US, where she emerged as the winner. Two accompanying music videos were filmed for "Listen"; the performance version was directed by Diane Martel, and the second one, being Vogue Shoot Version, was directed by Matthew Rolston. "Listen" was also a part of her set list on The Beyoncé Experience (2007) and I Am... Tour (2009–10). This song was chosen by Sevil Veliyeva and Alexandra Vorobyova, the winner of the project “The Voice”.

2.3. My research

I decided to find out what kind of songs Russian teenagers like to listen to. I did research. 56 teenagers of the 9^th grades of our school answered my questions. 40 students (72%) like to listen to English songs, 8 students (14%) enjoy listening to Russian songs. 8 pupils like both Russian and English songs.

25 students (45%) prefer listening to songs about love, 24 boys and girls (43 %) are fond of songs about holidays and parties. 7 teenagers (12 %) like songs about animals, money, people, life.

19 teenagers (26%) prefer listening to pop music, 21 students (29%) like rock music, 6 pupils (8%) enjoy jazz and 23 teenagers (31%) are fond of hip hop. Other students (6 %) like classical music, rap and club music.

The most favourite English songs of teenagers are: “Recovery” (by James Arthur), “Bang Bang” (by Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J), “Summertime sadness” (by Lana Del Rey), “Love you like a love song” (by Selena Gomez), Berzerk (by Eminem).

The most favourite singers are Lana Del Rey, Selena Gomez, Beyoncé, The Pretty Reckless and Rihanna.

33 students (59 %) would like to sing songs in English, 23 teenagers (41 %) wouldn’t like to do it.

As you can see from my research English songs are popular today. Most teenagers like to listen to songs in English and would like to sing them. That’s why I decided to compose the song in English and sing it. My English teacher and my mum helped me to do it. And of course, the song is about English!

3. Conclusion

In conclusion I would like to say that English songs are more popular today. We can see this phenomenon in TV programmes and teenagers’ life. So, my hypothesis was proved. I have told you about popular English songs and presented you my song. I hope that my project will be very useful for the students who like learning English and for the teachers of English. It can be used at our English lessons. Thank you very much for your attention!

4. Resources

Information

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Man's_Man's_Man's_World

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Rising_Sun

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing's_Gonna_Change_My_Love_for_You

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_(Annie_Lennox_song)

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop!_(Sam_Brown_song)

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stayin'_Alive

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_Love

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listen_(Beyonc%C3%A9_song)

Pictures

1. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Beyoncelisten.jpg

(Beyoncé)

2. http://img1.1tv.ru/imgsize480x360/PR20141219234242.JPG (A.Vorobyova)

3. http://ring.cdandlp.com/capricordes/photo_grande/114316231.jpg (James Brown)

4. http://kursk-izvestia.ru/storage/press/big/2014/10/06/4_543221444ebf2.jpg (Michael Blaze)

5.http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000006ZRA.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_V1115847136_.jpg (the Animals)

6. http://s5.filetrip.net/p/26577/163324-Realtv-News%20-%20The%20Voice%203%20-%20Pierre%20Edel%20interpr%C3%A8te%20%C2%AB%20House%20of%20the%20rising%20sun%20%C2%BB.mp4.jpg (Pyer Edel)

7. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FBQX1HJZL.jpg (Glenn Medeiros)

8. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/srPRC4Whuts/maxresdefault.jpg (Georgy Yufa)

9. https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTVNUcByiOSa6vKFAU-V1LPb2P7560uTjGNvARfpzg7P1F6gd6MrA (Annie Lennox)

10. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Sam_Brown_-_Stop!_(CD).jpg (Sam Brown)

11. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n3-GncB4tWE/maxresdefault.jpg (Natalya Vinokurova)

12. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/Bee_Gees_Stayin_Alive.jpg (Bee Gees)

13. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CLZaF3-adgw/sddefault.jpg (Asya Pivovarova)

14. http://img1.liveinternet.ru/images/attach/c/10/109/809/109809789_Barbra_Streisand_Woman_in_Love__1980_.jpg (Barbra Streisand)

15. http://pic.rutube.ru/video/1a/c7/1ac72994c83f60c81f5f0316891dde2a.jpg (Irina Burenkova)

16. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ck8sOre4HZk/hqdefault.jpg (Maria Zaytseva)

5. Supplement