Part 2 samples: Describe a piece of music that you love

Describe a song that you like.

You should say about:
 What its name is;
 What kind of music it is;
 Where/ When you first heard it;
 And explain why you like it.
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Sample 1

Well, there are many tracks that I put on repeat. However, if I had to choose one, it
would be Born this way by Lady Gaga. It’s a pop song from her 2nd album with the
same name. The song quickly reached number 1 on Billboard Hot 100 Chart and
received positive feedback from both the public and critics.

It is a pure pop song, but the fact that Gaga is the actual composer makes it more
exciting. In an interview, she said that she wrote the song in only 2 minutes. I
remember when I heard this song for the first time, I was at home after school. It was
about 11 years ago. I was watching the Grammy awards, and then the presenter
introduced her performance. I have to confess that I was completely hooked on the
song after the first 15 seconds.

There are a variety of reasons why this song is always on my playlist. Firstly, the
rhythm of the song is very catchy. Its upbeat melody immediately lifted my spirits
and made me dance along with the beat. Secondly, I was impressed by her creative
performance. The choreography, light effects, and her stunning outfits contributed
to making her stage near perfection. She was able to dance the entire time, but still
held her breath to produce perfect vocals. Last but not least, the lyric of the song
totally touched my heart. I was amazed by how powerful words were. She
encouraged people to believe and love themselves. Her message was clear that
even though we have different backgrounds, we all should be respected and
treated fairly regardless of age, sex, or race.

I think this song will never get old, and it’s always a part of contemporary pop
culture.
 put on repeat (v): tua đi tua lại
 positive feedback (n): phản hồi tích cực
 the public and critics (n): công chúng và giới chuyên môn
 composer (n): nhà soạn nhạc
 hooked (a): bị hấp dẫn, thuyết phục
 rhythm (n): nhịp
 catchy (n): băt tai
  upbeat melody (n): giai điệu sôi động
 lifted my spirits (v): nâng cao tinh thần
 choreography (n): vũ đạo
 light effects (n): hiệu ứng ánh sáng
 touched my heart: cảm động
 respected (a): được tôn trọng
 treated fairly (a): được đối xử công bằng
 contemporary pop culture (n): văn hoá nhạc pop đương đại

Describe an interesting song

You should say:
 What it is
 Which country the song comes from
 What story the song tells
 And explain why you think it is interesting
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Sample 2

There are many intriguing (arousing one's curiosity) songs that imprint in my
memory. However, if I had to choose one, it would be “The Earth song”. This song is
written and composed by Michael Jackson who is one of the greatest American
artists of all time. He is also known for the name “King of Pop”.

There are many meaningful messages Michael wanted to deliver to the public. He
put more of an emphasis on environmental problems. Deforestation and
overexploitation of natural resources have caused negative influences on our
own life as well as the habitats of wildlife species. The lyrics repeat during the
song “what have we done to the world” just like an alert for all of us. Besides, he
wants to remind us about compassion and love. Michael mentions violence issues
in the music video, and he shows the consequences of war on innocent people,
especially children.
The reason why I think this song is brilliant is because of its content. Unlike lots of
banal [bəˈnɑːl] pop songs which only talk about love, “The Earth song” carries a
wonderful message. Michael is a true genius. He knows how to use music to
capture the public’s attention about urgent problems, and it was very smart.
Moreover, this song also convinced me of its composition. Michael starts the song
with a soft angelic voice and then he switches to a raspy voice at the end, which
makes the song more absorbing (intensely interesting; engrossing) and
mesmerizing (capturing one's complete attention as if by magic).

It has been about almost 30 years since this song was released, but it still has a
place in people’s hearts. And I think that made him a legend. I believe “The Earth
song” is always the greatest song in Michael’s career.
 intriguing (a): thú vị
 imprint in my memory (v): in đậm trong trí nhớ
 meaningful messages (n): thông điệp ý nghĩa
  environmental problems (n): vấn đề môi trường
 Deforestation (n): nạn phá rừng
 overexploitation (n): sự khai thác quá mức
 natural resources (n): tài nguyên thiên nhiên
 negative influences (n): ảnh hưởng tiêu cực
 habitats of wildlife species (n): môi trường sống của động vật hoang dã
 violence issues (n): vấn đề bạo lực
 innocent (a): vô tội, ngây thơ
 brilliant (a): tuyệt vời, sáng chói
 banal (a): sáo rỗng
 capture the public’s attention (v): thu hút sự chú ý của công chúng
 composition (n): cấu trúc, thành phần
 raspy voice (n): giọng khàn
 absorbing and mesmerizing (a): hấp dẫn và đầy mê hoặc
 legend (n): huyền thoại
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Sample 3

Well, to tell the truth, I have always been a fervent (nhiệt thành) admirer of music,
so I am regularly in the habit of listening to innumerable songs from all genres.
And one of the songs that is played repeatedly on my Spotify playlist is ‘’Whistle’’ by
BlackPink.

‘’Whistle’' is a track from BlackPink's debut single album title ‘’Square one.’’ As soon
as it was released, it immediately dominated the K-pop charts and helped the girl
group bag their first music show win.

The song ‘’Whistle’’ is genuinely an addictive song thanks to its mind-gripping

(interesting or exciting) whistle sounds paired with BlackPink’s stunning vocals
bringing this popular hit to life. The song blends a booming hip-hop melody with
guitar-driven pop, and it grabs our attention like a whistle, which sticks in the
mind for hours on end.

‘’Whistle’’ spreads a message about a girl’s hidden longing for a boy and
expresses how much she adores being with him which beautifully illustrated through
lyrics by Lisa ‘’24/365 I only wanna be with you during the day and and night..'' . The
girl character in this song also realizes that there are many other boys who would
like to date her, but she only has eyes for the one who has captured her heart.
One fascinating aspect in this song is the metaphor of whistle for emotions
between lovers. The song compares the lovers’ feelings to the whistle since it is
something impossible not to notice. Thus, lyrically, the song somehow enunciates [ɪ
ˈnʌn.si.eɪt] passionate emotions.
In a way, ‘’Whistle’’ is rare a song that I was captivated and completely blown
away no matter how many times I’ve put it on repeat. After many years of its release,
it still remains a jumping off point for fantasy and my all-time favorite.
 A fervent admirer of sth/sbd (noun): người ngưỡng mộ cuồng nhiệt ai
đó/cái gì đó
 Be in the habit of doing sth (noun): có thói quen làm gì đó
 Innumerable songs (noun): vô số bài hát
 To immediately dominate sth (verb): ngay lập tức thống trị cái gì
 Bag sth (verb): bỏ túi/đem về cái gì
 Genuinely an addictive song (noun): thật sự là một bài hát gây nghiện
 Mind-gripping whistle sounds (noun): âm thanh huýt sáo hấp dẫn tâm trí
 Stunning vocal (noun): vocal hết sảy
 A booming hip-hop melody (noun): giai điệu hip-hop bùng nổ
 guitar-driven pop (noun): thể loại nhạc pop dẫn bởi guitar
 grab sbd’s attention (verb): thu hút sự chú ý của ai
 Stick in the mind for hours on end (verb): dính trong tâm trí hàng giờ
 Spread a message (verb): lan toả thông điệp
 Hidden longing for sth (noun): niềm khao khát ẩn giấu
 Capture one’s heart (verb): giữ trái tim ai
 Fascinating aspect (noun): khía cạnh hấp dẫn
 The metaphor of sth for sth (noun): ẩn dụ của cái gì cho cái gì
 Enunciate passionate emotions (verb): trình bày những cảm xúc mãnh liệt
 Be captivated and completely blown away (verb): Bị cuốn hút và hoàn
toàn bị thổi bay
 A jumping off point for fantasy (noun): Một điểm khởi đầu cho trí tưởng
tượng
 All-time favorite (noun): yêu thích mọi lúc
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Sample 4

Since I am a music aficionado [əˌfɪʃ.i.əˈnɑː.doʊ], I listen to different kinds of music

genres and one of the songs that would be played in my all-time favorites is ‘’Haru
Haru’’ from Big Bang.

I remember hearing this song for the first time way back in High school. When ‘’Haru
Haru’’ was released in 2008, the song not only solidified the quintet as leaders of
South Korean K-pop industry, but also launched their route to worldwide
superstardom and helped shape K-pop as we know it today.

‘’Haru Haru’’ which translates to ‘’Day by Day’’ in English.

It combines hip-hop influences with nostalgic piano-based pop ballad. Moreover,

thanks to its evocative nature, with love regrets communicated through forceful
raps and frantically (in a hurried, excited, or disorganized manner) delivered
lyrics, “Haru Haru” became one of South Korea’s top songs of 2008.
It is a song of sorrow and heartbreak that became sort of an anthem for lovers of
the band. I am partial to this song due to the meaning exhibited through the song
lyrics. The lyrics express agony and heartbreak that everyone in the world can
relate to, regardless of language of culture. I’ve long wondered under what
circumstances which prompted G-Dragon-leader of Big Bang to write this song, was
it his personal story?

All in all, to me ‘’Haru Haru’’ is one of the songs that showed the world that K-pop is
more than just a sound and it will always be a song that keeps me hooked.
 A music aficionado (noun): người say mê âm nhạc
 Music genre (noun): thể loại âm nhạc
 All-time favorite (noun): yêu thích mọi lúc
 Solidify the quintet (verb): củng cố (chỗ đứng) ban nhạc (5 người)
 Launch the route to… (verb): mở đường tới…
 Worldwide superstardom (noun): siêu sao thế giới
 Shape K-pop (verb): định hình K-pop
 Hip-hop influences (noun): sự ảnh hưởng hip-hop
 Nostalgic piano-based pop ballad (noun): bản nhạc pop-ballad dựa trên
nền piano lưu luyến
 Evocative nature (noun): bản chất gợi lên
 Forceful raps: lời rap mạnh mẽ
 Frantically delivered lyrics (noun): lời bài hát được trình bày một cách
cuồng nhiệt
 An anthem for lovers (noun): Bài thánh ca tình iu
 Be partial to sth (adj): rất thích cái gì đó
 Meaning exhibited through the song lyrics (noun): ý nghĩa được trình bày
qua lời bài hát
 Agony and heartbreak (noun): đau đơn và đau long
 Language of culture (noun): ngôn ngữ văn hoá
 Be more than just a sound: Hơn cả chỉ là âm thanh
 Keep sbd hooked (verb): làm cho ai bị cuốn hút