It's no wonder Christina Aguilera has been shrugging off all the Gaga-copycat rumours so confidently - Bionic is a 100% Christina record. Bionic sounds nothing like a Gaga record and even now lead single Not Myself Tonight sounds less like a Gaga song and more like a Christina song. We all know Christina can sing circles around Gaga, but she flexes her voice the most on tracks like Glam and You Lost Me. Some surprises on Bionic include some spoken words by her husband and her child so the record tugs at some heartstrings here. Earlier on, I stated Lift Me Up was the clear ballad standout but on the album, it gets a little "reggae makeover" and the emotion we witnessed at the Hope For Haiti Telethon is lost here. Now, the ballad that seems to be really doing it for me is You Lost Me but the ballads are kept to a minimal while she goes uptempo for majority of the album. A surprising collaboration with Nicki Minaj on second single WooHoo surprisingly works, although at times, I can't tell if it's Nicki or Christina in some parts of the song. Bionic marks a new era in Christina Aguilera's ever-changing musical career and Bionic is a 100% Christina record, resassured.
Big News: Christina Aguilera blown away by Idol's Katie Stevens!
Christina Aguilera performed on the American Idol Grand Finale along with a medley with the Top 6 girls from Season 9. Apparently, the pop singer was blown away by Katie Stevens, who finished 8th earlier on. Speaking on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM show, she said: "When that one contestant came on and did, 'I am beautiful', I was like, 'Is that me, real quick, on the record?!'
"She did so good! I told her - because she was talking about how she grew up listening to me - that I could tell because you did a fantastic job. I was really blown away."
They met each other backstage and Stevens told Aguilera that she grew up listening to her.
Usher continues his Hot 100 domination with OMG while last week's #2 Katy Perry's California Gurls slips to #3 despite earning the "Airplay Gainer" title. Lady Gaga's Alejandro leaps over Ke$ha's Your Love Is My Drug at #6 and #7 respectively. Earning herself a Top 10 debut is Miley Cyrus with brand new single Can't Be Tamed, arriving on the Hot 100 at #8. The Black Eyed Peas' Rock That Body sits right outside the Top 20 this week at #21 while Alicia Keys' Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready) enters the Top 30 at #27 this week. Carrie Underwood's Undo It is quickly making its way up the charts, leaping to #59 this week up from #73. Colbie Caillat's I Never Told You reamains at #63 for a second week in a row. Christina Aguilera's Not Myself Tonight falls to #73 this week but the second single WooHoo featuring Nicki Minaj off Bionic debuts at #79, which isn't so bad, I guess. Jason DeRulo's Ridin' Solo returns to the Hot 100 at #84.
Glee bows at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart while Lady Antebellum's Need You Now slips to #6. Charice's debut international album slips to #28 with barely any promotion this week. Miranda Cosgrove's Sparks Fly falls to #43 this week. We Are The Fallen's Tear The World Down falls to #104. Emily Osment's All The Right Wrongs EP falls to #181 after re-entering the charts at #132 last week.
As previously posted, Crystal Bowersox lost to Lee DeWyze at the American Idol Grand Finals. But nevertheless, you can expect her to be signed too. I'll go out on a limb and say Lee ink a deal with RCA and Jive will pick up Crystal. (Update: I was right! Crystal's with Jive and Lee's with RCA. Oh gosh, I'm a genius!) Nevertheless, here's her Idol single, Up To The Mountain. Enjoy!
Ne-Yo has been working on a new album lately and here's what he's managed to produce. Beautiful Monster serves as the lead single for his brand new album Libra Scale. This upbeat dance/R&B number wasn't exactly what I expected (a haunting ballad) but nevertheless, it's pretty catchy. Beautiful Monster isn't as good as previous singles Closer and Miss Independent from his last release Year of the Gentleman but Beautiful Monster could go on nicely to be a hit. Enjoy!
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
Christina Aguilera took a break after giving birth to her son a few years back after her last studio effort Back To Basics. The dance/pop is obviously something everyone is trying to go for as it's one of the hottest genres and the easiest stuff to market right now. Lead single Not Myself Tonight from Bionic isn't doing too well, but with the upcoming American Idol Grand Finale performance, it's sure to go up. This should help album sales following the huge Internet hype. I've always enjoyed her ballads, and the clear ballad standout on Bionic is Lift Me Up, a ballad she did for the Hope For Haiti telethon. I'm sure you guys would love this album. Enjoy!
Nicole Scherzinger new track: Nobody Can Change Me
After several unsuccessful ventures into a solo career in the music industry, Nicole Scherzinger, better known as the lead singer of successfuul girl group Pussycat Dolls. Scherzinger will be releasing her debut studio album as a solo artist with this song Nobody Can Change Me. If I were to be honest, I don't think she's going to do well with this single as she's just all over the place in the music industry and we can pretty much either expect to hear a brand new single, or have her debut album shelved again. Only Nicole Scherzinger herself and Melody Thornton are left in the Pussycat Dolls, and I'm actually looking forward to hear more PCD music. Nevertheless, check it out.
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
Te Amo serves as the album's third international single while Rockstar 101 serves as the fourth US single. Rockstar 101's music video is set to premiere on May 25th.
Jessie James new track: Boys In The Summer (Final Pop Mix)
Everyone's vying for a summer hit this summer, including pop/country singer-songwriter Jessie James with the lead single Boys In The Summer from her upcoming sophomore album to be released by the end of this year. The track previously leaked but what we have here is a final, mastered version of the pop mix and I must admit, the song has grown on me a lot. Jessie has confirmed on her Twitter account that the music video for Boys In The Summer has already been shot and you can check out some behind-the-scenes exclusive sneaks peeks at the video HERE. Enjoy!
Justin Bieber new track: Somebody To Love (ft. Usher)
Looking to stay in the music headlines, teen sensation Justin Bieber gained his highest charting single with Baby, which featured Ludacris and went on to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Of course, he's ready to move on with a new single. Ryan Seacrest premiered a new mix for Justin Bieber's Somebody To Love, which features reigning Hot 100 #1 artist Usher. Smart. Enjoy!
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
Usher's OMG reigns supreme holding up at #1 on the Hot 100, trailed behind by Katy Perry's California Gurls debuting at #2, the lead single from her sophomore album Teenage Dream. Ke$ha's Your Love Is My Drug moves up to a new peak of #7 this week. Lady Gaga returns to the Top 10 again, with Alejandro shifting to #8 from #11 last week. Alicia Keys moves up again with Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready) rising up to #35 this week. Charice's international single Pyramid feat. Iyaz debuts at #56 thanks to the album release. Another track on the rise is Colbie Caillat's I Never Told You moving up 2 spots to #63 this week. Carrie Underwood's third official single Undo It from Play On moves up to its current peak of #73 while fellow American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson wounds out the Hot 100 with All I Ever Wanted.
Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 returns to #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and Asian singer Charice debuts at #8 with her international debut album. We Are The Fallen's Tear The World Down debuts at #33, selling about 13, 000 copies in its first week of release. Daughtry's Leave This Town earns the "Greatest Gainer" title thanks to a performance of September on American Idol. American Idol Season 9 compilation disc which includes studio recordings of the Top 10 debuts at #77 this week. Emily Osment's debut EP All The Right Wrongs returns to the Billboard 200 albums chart at #132 after debuting and peaking at #117 earlier on.
As many of you know, Christina Aguilera is shrugging off all accusations of her being a copy of Gaga, but it seems she's still doing okay. Lead single Not Myself Tonight from upcoming album Bionic debuted at #23 and will probably hit the top 10 when she promotes it more. Here we have Bionic's title track that isn't as catchy as I hoped but nevertheless, enjoy!
We Are The Fallen - Tear The World Down (Album Review)
Track Listing: 1. Bury Me Alive 2. Burn 3. Paradigm 4. Don't Leave Me Behind 5. Sleep Well My Angel 6. Through Hell 7. I Will Stay 8. Without You 9. St. John 10. I Am Only One 11. Tear the World Down
We Are The Fallen's debut album Tear The World Down is ridden with big rock numbers and rock ballads, and behind that sound is the core of We Are The Fallen, lead singer Carly Smithson. Few American Idol alumni have crossed to this side of rock, and it seems Smithson's voice was tailor-made for rock. "Tear the World Down sounds like a big movie soundtrack" as is claimed. And in fact, it does. The strings, the choirs, give the album a haunting feel so easily heard on their debut single Bury Me Alive. Clear standouts on the album include Bury Me Alive, I Am Only One, and Don't Leave Me Behind. So they sound like a big movie soundtrack, but who doesn't love that?
Track Listing: 1. Pyramid (featuring Iyaz) 2. Reset 3. In This Song 4. Nobody's Singing to Me 5. Thank You 6. I Love You 7. In Love So Deep 8. All That I Need to Survive 9. Nothing 10. The Truth Is 11. I Did It for You 12. Note to God
Charice, widely known to be the Internet sensation that got her big break through The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. However, her international debut album is less than spectacular. Sure, she's got the voice, but the problem is that her album is scattered with a bunch of songs from different eras as songs like Thank You, In This Song, All That I Need To Survive, and basically, all of the album's ballads, are all too cliched. It's songs like I Love You and lead single Pyramid featuring guest rapper Iyaz that lend the album a more urban hue. Her soaring voice lives up to expectations, but she still isn't at Mariah/Celine/Whitney heights yet. Her fellow Pop/R&B artists like Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis have all moved the game on, while Charice is Mariah Carey circa. 1990. While it's not surprising Charice will sell, Mariah shouldn't be too worried about new competition.
Verdict: ☻☻☻☺☺
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
Big News: Miley Cyrus & Christina Aguilera to be June's Artists of the Month!
Two artists mainly Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera will be June's Artists of The Month. Christina Aguilera will be appearing as the first Artist Of The Month as her upcoming release Bionic will be available on the 8th of June and thus will be June's Artist of The Month for the first half of the month and followed by teen sensation Miley Cyrus who will be releasing her new album Can't Be Tamed on the 22nd of June and will thus be featured in the second half of the month.
Plus, I've included a new poll in the sidebar on who's album are you most looking forward to this year. Remember to vote!
• Kris Allen's new single The Truth featuring Pat Monahan of Train has already been released digitally and he will promote it with a big live performance on the American Idol Grand Finale this May. This has been rumoured for a really long time now but it's finally confirmed.
• Leona Lewis has posted on her Myspace blog that she will be opening for Christina Aguilera on Aguilera's summer tour. Bionic, Aguilera's new album will be released June 8th and will be going on tour almost after. Lewis herself has been preparing herself for her debut tour The Labyrinth Tour which already has confirmed dates in the UK and Ireland. And of course, the North American leg will be shared with Aguilera as said, and you can expect more worldwide dates to be announced for The Labyrinth Tour.
• Allison Iraheta's publicist Gina Orr has confirmed on her Twitter that Don't Waste The Pretty will be Iraheta's upcoming single. Also, her live televised performance of Don't Waste The Pretty will debut on The George Lopez Show which airs next Wednesday, May 19.
• We Are The Fallen are going on a headlining tour to promote the release of their debut album Tear The World Down and according to their official site, are embarking on a European promo tour. Tear The World Down was released on the 11th of May in the US and 10th in the UK.
Rapper Eminem debuts right atop the Hot 100 with Not Afraid pushing last week's #1 Usher's OMG to #2. Ke$ha's Your Love Is My Drug stays entrenched at #8 while 3OH!3's collaboration with Ke$ha on My First Kiss debuts at #9. Thanks to the performance on American Idol, Lady Gaga's lastest single Alejandro leaps to #11 up from #16. The Black Eyed Peas have another hit on their hand it seems, their Idol Gives Back performance obviously hasn't seen the effects wear off yet as they jump to #36 after debuting at #62. Colbie Caillat is still creeping up the charts as I Never Told You climbs up 3 spots to #65 this week. Miranda Cosgrove's Kissin' U is slipping pretty quickly, falling to #91, but then again, with no promotion... Carrie Underwood's current single Undo It returns to the Hot 100 at #95. Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted without any promotion has managed to peak only at #96 and has slipped to #98 this week.
Godsmack's The Oracle debuts at the summit of the Billboard 200 albums chart. Country trio Lady Antebellum's Need You Now holds steadily at #2, even earning the "Greatest Gainer" title this week. Miranda Cosgrove's debut album Sparks Fly falls to #32 from the debut at #8 last week.
Just yesterday, Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson's contribution to the Sex And The City 2 soundtrack in the form of Love Is Your Colour premiered and now we have R&B songstress Alicia Keys' contribution. This song Rapture is a cover of the Blondie classic and Keys' version is pretty good. Check it out! Enjoy!
This month's Artist of The Month We Are The Fallen released their debut album Tear The World Down today. The band has been touring the nation with other rock bands like HIM. Their headlining tour starts Thursday and they'll be heading to Europe later. Get their album HERE!
Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson new track: Love Is Your Colour
R&B powerhouse divas Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis have come together to duet on the upcoming movie Sex And The City 2's soundtrack. The track Love Is Your Colour reminds me of Cyndi Lauper's True Colours but other than that, it's nice to hear Jennifer Hudson on record again, who will be releasing her sophomore effort in September while Leona Lewis has already released hers last November. Enjoy!
Pop singer found fame with single Love Song which peaked to #4 on the Hot 100 and it was thanks to that hit that Bareilles didn't get dropped from her label. Now, she's back with new music, with this new track called King of Anything. Her new album Kaleidoscope Heart will be released later this summer.
Katy Perry's new single California Gurls just premiered and now here's a newly leaked track called E.T. (Futuristic Lover). Perry has mentioned in an interview that her second record will be pretty much like the first one, which is a good enough recipe for success. Check it out! Enjoy.
Christina Aguilera new track: WooHoo (ft. Nicki Minaj)
Christina Aguilera is set to release her third studio album Bionic on the 8th of June. The lead single Not Myself Tonight from Bionic has debuted and peaked at #23 on the Hot 100 but once promotion kicks in full swing, I'm sure it'll start rising the charts. Here we have a new track set on Bionic called Nicki Minaj featuring female rapper Nicki Minaj. Enjoy!
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
Big News: We Are The Fallen unveils "I Am Only One"!
The Artist of The Month We Are The Fallen has given People.com an exclusive sneak peek at an exclusive album track I Am Only One, a slow burning ballad. Below I've included a live performance of I Am Only One acoustic on a radio.
Katy Perry new track: California Gurls (ft. Snoop Dogg)
Katy Perry has scored herself massive hits since her debut single I Kissed A Girl hit #1 and Hot N Cold hit the top 5 in many territories. Katy Perry has been working on her second studio album and what we have here is the premiere of her first single California Gurls which will serve as the lead single for the as-yet untitled sophomore CD. With no doubt, California Gurls will be a hit. Enjoy!
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
• American Idol Season 8 winner has had a fantastic chart runner with his debut single Live Like We're Dying which quickly became a Top 20 hit in most territories. Moving on to the next single, The Truth was long rumoured to be Allen's second single off his self-titled major-label debut album. A new version featuring Pat Monahan of Train started streaming on his official website and has since been announced as the official second single released on the 11th of May.
• Daughtry's sophomore album Leave This Town has since gone platinum and are ready to move on to their third single September which has no official release date. Second single Life After You released from Leave This Town has already sold more than 600, 000 copies.
• Katharine McPhee has had a relatively good chart run on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart with first single Had It All from sophomore CD Unbroken. McPhee is now ready to release her second single and its Terrified, a song many have come to know if they are avid American Idol watchers. Didi Benami from Season 9 of American Idol performed Terrified in Hollywood Week to rave reviews, boosting McPhee's digital sales. McPhee has recorded a new version of Terrified with Zachary Levi which is available on iTunes now.
• UK pop princess Pixie Lott recently released the music video for Turn It Up, the fifth single from platinum-selling debut album of the same name. A new mix for Turn It Up can be heard in the music video, which gives a sample of the tweaks that might be placed on the US version of the album. The single Turn It Up will be available June 7th.
• To be released on the 17th of May, UK's pride Alexandra Burke will release her current single All Night Long. Burke has had a string of successes all over Europe, doing promotional work for her debut album Overcome and her singles like Bad Boys. Burke too has also been working on a US version of her album.
Usher collects another #1 on the Hot 100, this week with OMG, a song he performed recently on American Idol, but leaped to #1 up from #6 thanks to airplay. Ke$ha stays strong and at its peak of #8 with Your Love Is My Drug. Lady Gaga's Alejandro moves up to #16 and expect it to move up again thanks to an American Idol performance. Timbaland is creeping up the charts as well with the help of Katy Perry, who's If We Ever Meet Again rises and peaks to #37 this week. Two divas see a rise in their latest singles as R&B songstress Alicia Keys' Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready) and Christina Aguilera's Not Myself Tonight moves up to #44 and #46 respectively. Miranda Cosgrove's single Kissin' U flies up the chart to #54 up from #95. Thanks to promotional performances on American Idol, Rock That Body by the Black Eyed Peas and Shakira's Gypsy debut at #62 and #65 respectively. Colbie Caillat's I Never Told You is making its way up the Hot 100 as well, rising to #68 this week. Kelly Clarkson's remains in the bottom-tier of the Hot 100 with her current single All I Ever Wanted, which is unsurprising since Clarkson has been on the road for her All I Ever Wanted and is probably too busy to do any promotion or a music video.
B.o.B. storms the Billboard 200 albums chart as his album arrives at #1 while iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove's debut studio album Sparks Fly debuts at #8. Country trio Sons of Sylvia's debut album Revelation arrives at #32.
Just recently, a Lindsay Lohan track called Stuck found its way to the internet but there was absolutely no news about her music career. The upcoming album is supposedly titled Spirit In The Dark but there is no news about Lohan's music career. I didn't find Stuck very good but if you're a fan, you should check this new track Can't Stop, Won't Stop which just leaked. We'll just see what happens from now. Enjoy!
Download Link: HERE Download Link 2: HERE Download Link 3: HERE
Big News: Jason DeRulo nabs "Best Album of March"!
Pop/R&B star Jason DeRulo has certainly proven himself to be a major player in the music industry, nabbing chart-topping hits Whatcha Say and In My Head all over the world. DeRulo is getting ready to release his third single Ridin' Solo tomorrow in the US and on the 31st in the UK. Getting Best Album of March means he beat R&B veteran Usher, country newcomer Danny Gokey, UK pop sensation Ellie Goulding, and teen pop/R&B sensation Justin Bieber.
By the way, April had too few notable releases for the poll for Best Album of April and thus I'll be combining it with May's releases like what I did in January and February. The poll for Best Album of April/May will be available at the start of June.
iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove has been signed to Columbia and released her debut single Kissin' U which has already managed to peak at #87 on the Billboard Hot 100. With the album's release, it's without a doubt it's set to rise, or at least stay on the Hot 100 for another week. Sparks Fly is ultimately safe and predictable, and one wonders if she'll ever outdo her Disney peers. Enjoy!
Nickelodeon hasn't managed to produce a star that has managed to compete in the mainstream music industry unlike Disney who has produced chart-topping threats Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Jonas Brothers and to a stretch, Ashley Tisdale, Jordan Pruitt and Vanaessa Hudgens. Thus Miranda Cosgrove's breakthrough to the music industry is vital to Nickelodeon's place in the music industry. Cosgrove's debut single outside of iCarly and the Nickelodeon machine is Kissin' U, a safe, pop number that's easy on the ears. While Cosgrove is fitting into the pop/rock vibe, if a young pop/rock number is what you want, Disney's Demi Lovato has far more substance.. and range. Kissin' U plays it safe, and should go on to be a moderate hit, but doesn't break any new ground. But at least it works.
Big News: We Are The Fallen - Artist of The Month for May!
As I've mentioned earlier, We Are The Fallen, a new rock band fronted by Irish lead singer Carly Smithson will be May's Artist of the Month. Their debut album Tear The World Down arrives May 10th in the UK and 11th in the US. Their debut single Bury Me Alive is available on iTunes and Amazon now. If you haven't seen the single cover for Bury Me Alive, here it is.
Miley Cyrus is going to release her new album Can't Be Tamed on the 22nd of June and the lead single off the record called Can't Be Tamed got its world premiere today. The music video has already been shot and you can expect to see it on the 4th of May. She's gone for a dance/pop song and I'm a little disappointed as I thought she fitted in with the pop/rock vibe really well and as her range is growing, hopefully there are going to be glorious ballads to show off her growing range. Miley fans should like this no matter what. Enjoy.
We review the latest in 21st century. Mostly we do pop, but it doesn't really matter, along with new music premieres, video premieres, album premieres. If the links don't work, please notify me in the cbox right below and I will post a new link in the cbox. Thanks.
Artist Of The Month. (November 2011)
The Power Rangers of British pop, The Saturdays, are returning this year with a more mature sound and image, with the girlband taking a stab at the pop/dance wave with their fourth album On Your Radar's first single Notorious being a total flip in direction in their sound, and was noticeably more clubby compared to their previous singles and albums. They then took things a level further with the complete rave-tastic All Fired Up, which is without a doubt their best single release, not surprising since the track was produced by production powerhouse Xenomania, the machine behind pretty much all of Girls Aloud's discography. The pop five-piece are charging forward with the Christmassy ballad My Heart Takes Over before their album On Your Radar drops November 21st!
