Time for the latest installment of Getting Dolly Rockered! This time around we're going to talk about an amazing slow-jam (or at least slower than usual) by the Dolly Rockers called "Redbull & Lipgloss."
I know, the name in itself is makes me want to listen to the song, but I'm still gonna talk a little about it.
"I'm textin' and I don't know why the tears are fallin' on my eyes," a Dolly Rocker sings in the song's opening bars. The laid-back production is rather odd for the Dolly Rockers, but it serves them well here. Some of the production and noises make me (pretty) sure that the same person who produced "Je Suis Une Dolly" produced this puppy.
Quite frankly, I can't quite decipher much of the Britishly-sung lyrics on this song, and apparently neither have people online, as I haven't been able to find the lyrics anywhere. But anyway, I suffice. Even when I don't know the lyrics I know that it's quite magical when the girls sing "Redbull and lipgloss waitin' at the [] show" during the song's chorus.
The guiatar and synthesizer production of this track gives a very distinctive, Blondie-esque feel, but it's still obvious that it's The Dolly Rockers we're listening to here.
Their voices are flawless, the production is top-notch, and the song as a hole is one of my faves.
What do you think of "Redbull & Lipgloss"? Comments greatly appreciated!
Forget about Lady GaGa for a few minutes. Never has a new artist managed to create such an enigmatic persona, or such a great stir of controversy for it, as New Yorker Elizabeth Grant has. Under the psuedonym Lana Del Rey she rose to Internet fame with her first single “Video Games,” taken from her debut album “Born To Die,” and it’s accompanying video. The video became extremely popular in the blogosphere, garnering over 22 million views.
More recently, though, she’s created quite the buzz over her performance on “Saturday Night Live.” From “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams to “The Firm” actress Juliette Lewis, it seemed that everyone thought that Del Rey’s performance on “SNL” was embarrassingly bad. Because, quite frankly, it wasn’t the best performance ever given.
The thing about Del Rey’s music is that once somebody listens to her songs, the studio versions that is, it doesn’t matter just how amazing or disappointing she is live.
The girls are currently filming the music video for this song, their album's first single. "Tickin' Like A Bomb" is pure fire! Imagine Britney Spears' "I Wanna Go" but with euro-trash instrumentation and with much more...err...normal-sounding voices. "I'm about to go oh-oh-oh-oh-offfffff," the girls scream in the glitchy chorus. It's a slice of heaven, y'all. Out of the album I personally would have chosen "Let That Body Breathe" as a single before, but then again who am I, right? Hopefully "Let That Body Breathe" will serve as the album's second single because if not, that would be a huge injustice. Download the girls' FREE EP "Start A Fire" here!
"Stupid Hoe" - Nicki Minaj
Her Minajesty has done it again. This song was originally received to thoughts of hatred (by me) but now it's managed to make it's way into my head. The song sounds like it was produced by one of Minaj's buddies in a ghetto internet cafe. What with the "whoop" repetition and the beats that repeat and repeat and repeat, this song is not amazing production-wise. But then she starts to talk and it's just addicting! "I'm Angelina, you Jennifer. C'mon b*tch, you see where Brad at!" Minaj says in the song's first verse. This song was supposed to be a diss to Lil' Kim, which at first seemed like a bad attempt, but now it's starting to look more and more like a third degree burn. TUNCHI!
"National Anthem" - Lana Del Rey
While her debut album leaked in full last week, this song was one of the initial leaks. "National Anthem" has all the classic elements of a Lana Del Rey song, but it also has even more. During it's mesmerizing chorus Del Rey screams "Tell me I'm your national anthem!" in a very Sky Ferreira-esque manner. The backing violins and militant-style drums create a beautiful ambiance for Del Rey's whispered vocals. I could really go on and on about this song, so I will. Stay tuned for my review of Lana Del Rey's album to be posted later today or tomorrow. This song is hands-down a highlight from "Born To Die." Purchase Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die" on iTunes. Read the Pop Is A Bloodsport full albm review here
"Turn Up The Music" - Chris Brown
It's not a mystery that Chris Brown is not the best person in terms of role models, but this song makes all of that ethics stuff not matter for about four minutes. In the wake of the release of the Pitbull single he is featured on, Brown releases this amazing techno-house song that blows "Yeah x3" out of the water. The beats are sick and new, the lyrics are about music only (no innuendos for a change), and the overall result is a stunning song a couple of years in the future of music. "Turn up the music" Brown screams over the techno beat that later escalates until it finds Brown screaming at the top of his lungs to be heard over it. Quite the pop banger. Purchase this song on iTunes.
"Warzone" - The Wanted
While the boys of The Wanted are busy taking over the US (no biggie) with their hit single "Glad You Came," my iPod is currently blaring another tune of theirs. Their latest UK single "Warzone" is a lush power-ballad in the styles of their boy-band predecessors N'Sync and The Backstreet Boys. "I know I just gotta let go. I should've known," the boys sing in unison in the track's explosive chorus. This song is by far the best song on the album; everything from the vocals to the powerful, dubstep-y production is top-notch. This song will do just great here in the states. Of course, we should wait and let "Glad You Came" get to No. 1 first, no?
Above is the amazing single cover for Madonna's new single "Give Me All Your Luvin'"
As you can see, it's free of flaw. Everything from hair to the translucent black mini-dress to the facial expressions to the poses. It's. All. Flawless. If you think there is a flaw in this, feel free to put it in the comments so I can then proceed to correct your erroneous views.
With this puppy also came the M.D.N.A. press release. Here's what it said, basically.
SINGLE RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3
ALBUM RELEASE DATE: Mar. 26
A limited pre-order offer of the DELUXE edition of M.D.N.A. will be made available on iTunes starting Feb. 3.
On Feb. 2American Idol will air an exclusive preview of the music video for "Give Me All Your Luvin'" while the video itself in full will premier on Feb. 3.
There's tons more little details in the press release which you can read here.
I CAN'T WAIT!
To keep us sane until then (this Friday) listen to the leaked demo of the track, it's already amazing. Imagine it with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj!
As you may have recently noticed, radio listeners, Coldplay's latest album "Mylo Xyloto" has become quite the hit spawner. "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" did really good, but "Paradise" is doing even better. Wanna know why? Because the boys finally went pop.
Their newest record features their most radio-friendly tunes ever.Among them the beautiful "Princess of China" featuring vocals by none other than Rihanna herself. (That Rihanna reign just won't let up).
"Princes of China" is scheduled for release on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day. Quite tragic, when you really think of it. The song features Rihanna and Chris Martin reflecting over a love that could have been so great, but something along the way changed that, and everything went awry.
"Could've been a princess, you'd be the king / Could've had a castle and worn a ring / but no / you let me go" Rihanna aka the Princess of China (Don't ask me why in the world it's China) sings in the song's nostalgic chorus.
This song has about as many synthesizers as Demi Lovato's standout track "Unbroken" and that's saying something for anybody, but especially for an alt-rock band.
The amazing song closes with a hurt-sounding Chris Martin and Rihanna repeating "'Cause you really hurt me / Yeah, you really hurt me."
The best part of the song, though, might even be the delicious, anthemic "oh oh oh ohhhhhs" found in the son'g intro. Just. So. Good!
"Paradise" was amazing and all but this song is just next level ish!
What do you think of Coldplay's latest single? Comments greatly appreciated!
"Princess of China" will be released on Feb. 14 for radio airplay.
Chris Brown is undoubtedly the biggest idiot of this generation. Yes, not even Charlie Sheen is that bad. But when he does things like release such music perfection as his latest single "Turn The Music Up" it's almost easier to forgive him for all he's done.
"Turn Up The Music" is the second single from Brown's upcoming album Fortune. The song veers away from the more R&B-influenced techno-pop of "Yeah x3" and goes more into the grimy, clubby synthesizers of a deadmau5 remix.
"Turn up the music 'cuz I'm trying to hear the speakers blow," he sings over the winding house beats that veer on dubstep at some points of the song. Although the backbeat of this song could be a lot stronger, the beat is already extremely well put together.
The best part of the song, though, is the post-chorus bit where the son's producers really go bananas. The synthesizers begin escalating in pitch as Brown sings "turn it up, just dance" repeatedly until the instrumentation just reaches about as high as it could possibly go.
While this song is far from the amazing heights of amazing his songs "Kiss Kiss" and "Forever," there's no doubt that this song will get pretty high up in the charts, maybe even to No. 1.
There really is no explanation, is there? Quite silly Americans don't know what good music is. Instead, "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas charted on this masterpiece's date of release. And then "Down" by Jay Sean and Lil Wayne. How sad is this?
Then this puppy right here, easily one of the best albums of the decade, charted only at No. 27! Why didn't this amazing album go to No. 1? Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed A Dream" was No. 1 on "Unbroken's" release date. And a few weeks later Ke$ha's "Animal" took the No. 1 spot. WHAT IS THIS?
To this day I still don't understand the mediocre performance of McPhee's material on the charts. It baffles me. So much talent, so little recognition.
Maybe that's why she's taking her talent elsewhere; namely the TV industry. Her show SMASH is going to do great!
If you appreciate good music, go out buy this album. Do it because it's the right thing to do
I know I'm really late on the Coldplay train, pardon me on that, but this song is just too good not to talk about. After Recently having watched their performance of this track on Saturday Night Live, I have not been able to get over the epicness of this song. It's massively epic! "This could be para-para-paradise" the band's frontman Chris Martin sings over an ambitious techno-tinged rock productions that doesn't leave many silent gaps in between. The song lyrically speaks of a girl who is disappointed with how her life has turned out, so she turns to dreaming of paradise as her only way out. Quite tragic isn't it? I'm totally digging it though. Never have I heard a song this good by Coldplay. Never.
"So You're Alive" - Vincent Did It
Formerly known as Frankmusik, Vincent Did It is Vincet Frank's latest pseudonym. After parting ways (very bitterly at that) with his record labels, he decided to become an independent artist and do whatever the hell he wants, basically. This song is nothing at all like his old stuff as Frankmusik, which is what makes it so intriguing. It's so techno-y and glitchy and great. Be on the lookout for more of his music soon. And also, his debut album will be titled "Sopa Opera." Yea. Follow him on twitter for more strange shenanigans @VDItweets
"Want U Back" - Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd is loved and hated by the masses. Sometimes hated and loved by the same person at different periods. But this song, it's just pop perfection. Well, the solo version, because quite frankly Astro being thrown in there like a Bruno Mars hook is not really necessary, or pleasant at all for the matter. This song has extremely catchy lyrics, and I say this because even the verses are catchy, and a fun beat. It's like Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" but made in 2011. "Boy you can say anything you wanna. I don't give a shh no one else can have ya. I want u back, i want u back, want want u want u back" Cher sings in the chorus. And don't forget those amazing grunts! UHH!
"Turn Me On" - David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj
Yes, I hated this song at one point too. I actually deleted it off of my iPod. But now all the things I first hated about the song is what I now love about it. Minaj's strangely high-pitched vocals at first seemed annoying but they now sound fresh. "Make me come alive come on and turn me on. I'm too young to die come on and turn me on" Minaj sings in the song's drastically produced chorus. The synthesizers in this song are just off the hook! Kudos to David Guetta for producing such a great dance pop song, it manages to be good enough for the clubs, but pop enough to be the No. 1 song on iTunes. One downside though, Minaj's rap during the bridge is much too short.
"Born To Die" - Lana Del Rey
As soon as I heard this song I instantly fell in love with Lana Del Rey. No matter how much trash she gets for her "horrible performance" on SNL (which for the record was not bad at all) this song truly shows what Del Rey is all about. "Don't make me laugh, don't make me cry. Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough I don't know why" she sings during the calmly-produced chorus. Out of the few songs out by her this is one of the best. Not only are the lyrics extremely promising to what Del Rey will bring in her debut album, it's the production that wraps it all together. Without the calm, soft-rock production with a gangster vibe Del Rey might not be much.
Welcome to the third installment of Getting Dolly Rockered, a series of articles for us Dolly Rocker fans so desperate for new material that we have to think about the old stuff to keep us from insanity. This time around we'll be talking about the almost released single, "Boys Will Be Boys." The single was scheduled for release before the complications with the girls' record label began, and thus the release never meterialized. Which is sad because, I mean, listen to the song!
"Boys Will Be Boys" marks a huge change for the girls. While their previous singles featured fun production and spoken vocals, this song saw the girls in an epic, almost anthemic, production with sung-screamed vocals. The song is lyrically about that "boy in love with his own reflection." The song begins with a crunchy synthesizer beat to which more layers of synths are added as the girls begin the first verse.
"They never listen and they talk too much about stupid stuff, they're so freaking boring," the girls sing in unison in the track's amazing chorus. Their bratty and sassy vocals are complemented perfectly by the song's drastic production, creating an interesting contrast between the two.
"Boys will be boys will be boys will be boys," they all sing in the song's hook. The song's synthesizers and beats all collapse into eachother in the song's chorus creating a pop masterpiece that would have served as a great No. 1 hit for the girls. Sadly, it never came to be released. On the bright side, you can download it above! Enjoy!
What do you think of "Boys Will Be Boys"? Comments greatly appreciated!
From left to right: Tom Parker, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran, Max George
Meet The Wanted.
They're a British-Irish boyband that has taken over the UK with their catchy lyrics, amazing voices, and infectious club beats. Their first single "All Time Low" went to No. 1 on the UK charts. "Glad You Came," the lead single from the band's sophomore album Battleground, also went to No. 1, but had an ever greater impact, charting in nine countries.
Better make that 10, as "Glad You Came" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 85 after a performance on the Ellen Degeneres show as well as kicking off their first US tour.
"Glad You Came" starts off with Max George singing the song's chorus over nothing but the sound of a delicate piano. Soon though, it becomes obvious that this song isn't a ballad: the song's producer Steve Mac kicks the song into full gear as he throws in some Ibiza-ready Caribbean-influenced synthesizers that become the song's distinctive feature.
"You cast a spell on me, spell on me.You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me," Nathan Sykes sings in the song's first chorus. The song structure for this song is amazingly simple but incredibly efficient; the repetition in the song's lyrics is what makes it catchy. "And I decided you looked well on me, well on me. So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me," Siva Kaneswaran continues in the second verse.
The song really flourishes during it's pre-chorus, though, when a stronger backbeat joins the instrumentation and the great pop songs turns into an amazing club track. "Turn the lights out now, now i'll take you by the hand. Hand you another drink, drink it if you can," Tom Parker sings in the pre-chorus, "Can you spend a little time? Time is slippin' away, away from us so stay, stay with me I can make, make you glad you came."
Suddenly the chorus that was previously sung by Max George over a piano is reprise by the whole band over the clubby synths and strong beats creating a euphoric ambiance comparable to that of Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It." After the chorus comes a great sing-along series of "oh oh oh ohhs" to the tune of the chorus that creates an anthemic feel to the already feel-good track.
And simple enough, Max closes up the track the same way he opened it: over a piano.
While Jay McGuiness (in between Nathan and Tom) doesn't have a solo in this song, watch out for him,his voice plays a big role in a lot of songs by The Wanted.
As the boys tour the US (they're playing New York City tonight) they are promoting the American release of this amazing single. Help them out by trending the hashtag #requestGLADYOUCAME on Twitter and by requesting this song on your local radio station. It's already No. 85 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 66 on iTunes, help them climb to No. 1, they're worth it.
While Dev's debut album was released in the UK last year, us stateside still await the re-vamped release of "The Night the Sun Came Up." And hopefully this song won't be on it.
"Don't Hurt" is a recently-leaked collab between Dev and Timbaland and these are the reasons why it should not be on the American release of "The Night the Sun Came Up"
1) "Bass Down Low" is already on the album
2) This song sounds just like "Bass Down Low"
3) It just would not be right, at all.
Above are NERVO, an Australian pop group consisting of two twins who's surname is Nervo. Creative. These girls have received tons of promo due to touring with Britney Spears on her Femme Fatale Tour as well co-penning some seriously impressive songs (Ke$ha's "F*ck Him (He's a DJ)" and David Guetta's "When Love Takes Over") as well as putting on some seriously amazing shows.
Recently these girls have collaborated with Swedish DJ Avicii on a new track called "You're Gonna Love Again." The song, to speak eloquently, is pure fiya!
The song's production is slow at first, only a steady beat and a few synths here and there. Then when the song's chorus kicks in the production starts to escalate and escalate until it reaches its climactic peak and all hell breaks loose. Avivii's infamous club production is at its best in this breakdown. The icy-cool synthesizers coil round the twins' vocals while they sing "People come home you don't have to be scared, 'cause you're gonna love, you're gonna love again."
This song is extremely club-oriented, but with the right promotion it could definitely be a huge hit on the radio for these girls.
What do you think about NERVO and Avicii's collaboration?
The Dolly Rockers first gained popularity with their song "Je Suis Une Dolly," but it was "Gold Digger" that really showed the world what the Dolly Rockers were made of.
"Gold Digger" was the first and only single the Dolly Rockers released via Parlophone, "Je Suis Une Dolly" serving as a B-side. The care-free ditty talks about one those girls who is, well simply put, a gold digger. "She's out for a prey if you're straight or gay she won't end up alone" they sing in the pre-chorus.
The song samples heavily from "Stool Pigeon" by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, but makes it a million times better! "There's a brand new girl that's goin' round, turnin' the boys upside-down. Gold digger!" The chorus sees the girls in n extremely British-sounding pop situation where they cooly sing the hilarious lyrics of the track.
"Fit blokes don't count for much unless they've got money to pay for the glitz and the refurb' tits" they sing in the song's second verse. The Dolly Rockers' ability to turn any situation into a hilarious pop song is unheard of in the pop world. These girls are like Garfunkel & Oates on an acid trip!
Sadly, and unfairly, "Gold Digger" peaked at 46 on the charts.That doesn't count for much though: this song is good enough to be No. 1 and in my head it always will be the song that changed British pop music for the good.
Stay tuned for the next issue of Getting Dolly Rockered: "Boys Will Be Boys"!
For those of you who sadly don't know who Alexandra Burke is: she was on the British X Factor, she won, she has a great voice, the rest is irrelevant. This is the relevant part, she just released her latest single "Elephant" and it is massive.
Alexandra's latest single is far from her previous ones. While on her hits "Broken Heels" and "Start Without You" she strutted around on R&B-based pop beats, on "Elephant" she delves into the dark electronica spectrum. "Oh, there's an elephant standing in the room," she says in metallic, auto-tuned vocals during the song's anti-chorus. Nothing more than a simple beat accompanies her delicate vocals.
Then when all your goosies subside (because that anti-chorus is surrisly chilling) the bridge kicks in: "You wanna talk, you wanna talk about it?" she repeats over and over. The song's explosive bridge is catchier than it's anti-chorus, it's truly the anti-chorus that is the highlight of the song
Personally I can't wait until this song hits the airwaves, it's rumored to be released here in the US (!!!). Quite frankly we need a little stirring and "Elephant" could do just that.
One Day I'll do a formal introduction piece on them, but today let's just get down to the music!
The Dolly Rockers are currently working with RedOne after parting ways with their British record label. And it's a painful wait. The good thing is that these girls left us quite a few tracks from their old recording sessions to keep us happy until their material with RedOne is released. In Getting Dolly Rockered I will be exploring every single one of these songs, in a desperate attempt to not explode from impatience while waiting for their new single. Enjoy!
Above is "Je Suis Une Dolly," arguably the band's most popular song. The song is a careless little ditty that's just so damn feel-good you can't help but dance around to it like an idiot. The track shows the Dolly Rockers getting a "little wild on holiday" and doing all sorts of fun shenanigans. The track's title means "I Am A Dolly" is English.
One of the song's best assets are the girls' adorable British accents. They're literally almost indecipherable to the American public during the bridge! "Thinksjkhfkdsfhkshfdkgkfhgf for a beer, do you fancy it?" is about as much as I get out of it. It's amazing.
The girls visit a bar full of married men and drink a little too much, then later wake up to realize they've slept with with a "garden gnome with platform shoes and a shiny dome" whose "hands look French, but they're Roman."
The song is extremely fun to sing to, and the video is equally fun!
The girls strut around London town in there extremely cute Dolly Rocker attire and "flash their pants" (pants means underwear in England) while they can-can. These girls all look like a hoot and half, who wouldn't want to hang out with them?
If you like the Dolly Rockers make sure to stay tuned, I'll be posting another Getting Dolly Rockered post very soon!
Above is the newly-released music video for Brit-pop band One Direction's latest single "One Thing."
The band's choice to release "One Thing" as a single is safe and predictable. It's an incredibly catchy tune (maybe even more so than "What Makes You Beautiful") and is right up the alley of what these boys do best: woo girls.
However predictable this release is, it's amaZAYNg!
I' usually not one to freak out over songs like this, but this song is just everything and more. Something about their music always just makes me smile. Their lyrics are great, their production is superb, and the video is better than expected.
1D show their fans how proudly British they are and give them a tour of London in none other than a red double-decker bus. How British is that? Then they show tons of screaming girls ala Jonas Brothers music video. It's all extremely fun and innocent, as are all of these boys' videos.
Clearly I was born in the wrong country. Something to ponder: How long until these boys' innocent music videos begin to get more and more risque?
I know I hopped on the Lana train a little late...erm, very late...but I just had to share this with anyone who hasn't heard of her. Nevermind the fact that her father is a millionaire. Nevermind the fact that she's signed to Interscope Records. Nevermind that her real name is Elizabeth Grant. Nevermind anything you've heard about her, all you need to know is whatever she sings above.
Lana's voice is not anything special, per se, but her true talent lies in the blend of the elements of her music and the ambiance it creates. "Born To Die" is the latest single from her debut album of the same name. The song instantly has the feel of a dark Oh Land song, mixed in with the oldies-sampling savvy of Kanye West. "Feet, don't fail me now," she pleads in the song's first verse, almost emotionlessly. The song has an almost diluted instrumentation, as if it was being listened to through a bottle.
Neon Hitch is one of the best things to ever happen to the world. I'd been wanting to start an ongoing series showing all you guys Neon's amazing pop singles, but as soon as I discovered this track I knew I had to post about it.
(the above is a clean version)
"F*ck U Betta" has been floating around the internet in the form of live performance videos and live rips, but just recently this track's studio version was released online.
The Benny Benassi-produced track has an amazing beat throughout, but it's truly in the chorus where things go completely bananas! "She can love you good, but I can f*ck you betta, betta-etta-etta-etta-ay" she sings in the chorus, accompanied by Benassi's impressive club breakdown. the song is pure club bliss. The song's distorted series of "betta"s are the best part of the song.
The subject of the song is definitely original. Neon talks about the fact that even though her ex-boyfriend may have a girlfriend who is prettier than her, she can still...erm...love him betta.
While this isn't Neon's best single in my opinion, it is undoubtedly her most club-ready and her most production-impressive one.
*EDIT* It grew on me. Damn.
Meet Gin Wigmore. I won't give you the how-do-you-not-know-her schpiel I did yesterday with The Charlies, because I just discovered Gin Wigmore about thirty minutes ago thanks to my friend Hannah ( imnosoldier.tumblr.com ) who opened me up to her magnificent music.
Wigmore is from New Zealand and was formerly a soap opera star...but no one really cares about the background, do we? We wanna hear the music! Here it goes.
It's like Amy Winehouse's instrumentation with Duffy's voice and Hailey Reinhart's growls. "Too Late For Lovers" is from her first album "Holy Smoke." The track starts out with some soft guitar riffs and sounds kind of like a soft ballad until Wigmore's vocals invade the track. Her Duffy-esque singing sings "Oh it's too late for lovers. Save me, why won't you save me?" in the song's amazing chorus. Her voice gets a certain rasp at certain points during the song that add so much depth to the track it's amazing.
"Hey Ho" is also from "Holy Smoke." No she's say saying "hey" to a whore, it's more along the lines of "hey, ho, nobody knows you're not coming home" as she sings in the chorus. The track deals with the desire Gin has to cause some serious harm to her ex-boyfriend. Don't mess with this girl! "Believe me baby, you won't come back again" she says oh so nonchalantly. The song's music video is great too, forget Lady GaGa.
There’s absolutely no question to us music lovers that Hilary duff can do no wrong. But once in a while there comes some intellectual thinker (albeit a real idiot) who questions this fact of life. People like that inspired this recurring column, Why Hilary Duff Is Flawless. Here I will explore one song per post and its video (if it has one) and why this proves beyond a doubt the flawlessness of the currently-dormant (and pregnant) pop diva.
Please check out exhibit A, below
The track you listened to was "Reach Out" by Hilary Duff, the first (and sadly only) single off of Hilary Duff's second greatest hits album, "Best Of."
Hilary had been working on material ever since her Dignity tour, planned for a Dignity re-release. She had recorded "Reach Out" and "Holiday" and was planning on recording one more original song, and include several remixes in the re-released album. Hollywood Records, however, cancelled this re-release, leading Duff to form a greatest hits album just to terminate her contract with the label.
"Best of" contains two brand-new tracks, "Reach Out" and "Holiday" (which will make the plot of another post VERY soon). Of these, it was "Reach Out" that really showed what a woman Duff had turned into. Long gone were the barely-noticeable innuendos and talk of love, this song is purely physical.
The song produced by Ryan Tedder includes some sever drum beats and an appropriately placed sample of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" mixed with some slick guitar licks. "Reach out and touch me before I go insane. Reach out and touch me, why do you make me wait? I'm a dime and you're so on the money" Duff sings in the song's infectious chorus.
As if this song wasn't good enough, there are some sick remixes of this puppy. Among them is the extremely grimy Richard Vission remix that changes the drum beats and guitar licks for some grinding synthesizers and siren-like beats. It's maybe even better than the original!
Now let's talk video. Check out Exhibit B below:
This video is perfect, even though there's a this-should-def-not-be-here rap in the beginning and the middle...but it's still fantastic. The video makes some slight homages to Madonna's "Erotica" (albeit in color) with the blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenes of Duff with her hands tied or blindfolded. (luckily there's a gif for that, please don't blink)
Then there are the flawlessly-directed scenes of the Disney princess grabbing grapes and looking all sorts of sexy. Or the scenes of Hilary touching mirrors and looking hawt.
Like this:
But nothing on this video is as great as the parts where Hilary plays with her hunk-du-jour. Whether she's clinging on his leg while he facelessly stands there, hugging him while he facelessly stands there, or performs oral sex on his thumb while he facelessly...stands there?
(like this)
... it's just flawless.
Selena Gomez could never.
Demi Lovato could never.
Miley Cyrus can come close, maybe.
But Selena could never.
What are your thoughts on Hilary, "Reach Out," and these amazing gifs?
Meet The Charlies.
They're formed from the remains of formerly-famous Icelandic pop group Nylon.
And they're about to change your life forever.
Nevermind the history, here's the facts: The Charlies have released the best pop EP to ever be released (yes it's even better than Sky Ferreira's As If! EP).
The track that first turned me on to these girls was "Let That Body Breathe." (below)
This song is anything but coy. "I'm just a girl with the nerve and I do what I want. Make a boy wanna beg on his knees for my love" one of the girls sings (I honestly have no idea which) in the song's first verse over some nice pop production. then things get serious in the pre-chorus where the production grows into a tense "hit me up boy, hit me up boy boy boy!" part. Then there's the oh-so-delicious chorus "So baby baby please just oh yeah yeah yeah let that body breathe!" they sing in the chorus over some sick synthesizers that would make any pop producer jealous. As if this wasn't enough to give Max Martin a run for his money, there's a dubstep breakdown. And it's magnificent.
Ok, so these girls are good, but how good? That's when you listen to "Tickin' Like A Bomb."
There's absolutely no question to us music lovers that Hilary duff can do no wrong. But once in a while there comes some intellectual thinker (albeit a real idiot) who questions this fact of life. People like that inspired this recurring column, Why Hilary Duff Is Flawless. Here I will explore one song per post and its video (if it has one) and why this proves beyond a doubt the flawlessness of the currently-dormant (and pregnant) pop diva.
Please check out exhibit A, below
Exhibit A:
The song is called "Play With Fire" and it served as the first single from Duff's latest full-lenght studio album Dignity. The song was a huge departure from Duff's previous pop-rock work. What with the synthesizers, cool guitar licks, prominent drums, and altered vocals its like a completely different girl is it not? Yes, yes it is.
The incredibly cool track begins with some interesting alien-like sounds before breaking into by far the most electro-pop work that Duff has released in her whole career. Not only this, but Duff also takes main writer credits on this beauty. It doesn't sound like a big deal at first, I mean there's artists that write their music completely alone, right? Well it's a big deal. It's a big freaking deal for Hilary Duff.
Her previously childish songwriting found in her previous albums has completely matured into a sort of confident, almost cocky ex-girlfriend status. "Love me, love me, feed the flame if you want me back again. Burn to the sky, higher and higher. Baby can you play with fire?" Duff sings in the song's drum-laden chorus. The tone of the song is incredibly intriguing. It's like the guy who couldn't give Hilary what she needed bumped into here at the grocery store and all the wrath that she had been feeling for years comes out in the form a big fat BURN!
"Don't ask me let me tell you how I've been since when you left. Since you left me for dead. Finally every tear has dried, I've wiped you from my life," she sings cooly in the song's opening verse.
The change in maturity of this track is amazing. The year or so between the two albums was enough to turn Duff from a rebellious teenager to a fully competent, and confident, woman.
As if all this wasn't enough, there's the video. The gorgeous video. See exhibit B. Exhibit B:
The above video, as you have noticed, includes, but is not limited to: fire, breaking glass effects, multiple Duffs (!!!), shimmery, geometrically-designed dresses, and lot's of hair flipping (!!!@#$%#$@%@!!!).
Seriously, I feel like I've said enough. EDIT: I just found these, and they have changed my life. video in a nutshell.
Reblog, Like, & Follow if you like this post.
What do you think of Hilary Duff's "Play With Fire" or the post in general?
I promised that this third (and last for a while) post of The Latino pop scene would be about one very special person. Meet Fanny Lú.
Check out her beautiful Colombian features, her amazingly curled blonde hair, and great smile.
The Colombian singer first came on the scene back in 2006 with the tropical pop hit "No Te Pido Flores" (English: I'm Not Requesting Flowers) and became an overnight superstar in Colombia. The track starts out like a ballad at first, slow and with Fanny's soft vocals. Then when the chorus comes around, the party starts. The then-sad song turns into a cute little ethnic ditty with all the sabor a Colombian artist could ever muster (watch out Shakira). The track speaks of a girl who doesn't want flowers or chocolates, she just wants her man to make a dedication to her. The track was even chosen as the theme song for numerous soap operas in Latin America!
"No Te Pido Flores" along with the following single "Y Si Te Digo" (English: And If I Tell You) also marked the first time in a while since a female had become a prominent figure in tropical pop. The track became extremely successful in Asia, Europe, Latin America, even reaching No. 1 in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, and US Billboard Tropical Songs charts.
The music video for the song encompasses this perfectly. At first a gloomy, rainy set, then when the chorus begins everything turns colorful and happy. Check it out below.
Fun huh? The track was off of her debut album "Lagrimas Calidas" (English: Warm Tears) which reached spot No. 13 on the US Billboard Tropical Albums chart. But in Colombia and Mexico it went straight to No. 1 and stayed there for a whopping nine weeks.
With all the success the singer received, there was great anticipation for her next album. She didn't disappoint.
On October of 2008 she released "Tu No Eres Para Mi" (English: You Are Not For Me). The track takes a step away from the ethnically strong sound of her part album, and more into a mainstream pop direction with streaks of accordions and instruments of the such. The track is 100% fun. In the song Fanny relays everything her ex-boyfriend told her (he can't live without her, he hates every second he is away from her, etc. [oh bollock]). Then in the song'c catchy chorus she sings "I want you to know that you're not for me. i always knew but I never listened. Don't even think about coming around here with your entanglements and cheap stories" (English Translation)
The nestled into a comfy position at No. 1 in Argentina, Peru, Chile, Columbia, and Mexico. The Wilmer Valderrama-featuring video features Fanny and her friend performing voodoo on her ex-boyfriend, and watching it all through a crystal ball. There's a reason to this, though. Check it out below!
The album spawned another hit single, "Celos" (English: "Jealousy"). The track was released in early 2009, and then again as the "urban remix" featuring regueton artists JKing and Maximan. The track immediately went to No. 1 in Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, and the US Latin charts. The urban remix is the best version of the song as it features an interesting electro-pop production and a catchy chorus.
"Tu No Eres Para Mi" was the first single off of "Dos" (shall I really translate?). Fanny revealed that with this album she wanted to explore many different soundscapes and not limit herself to her tropi-pop success. The album was a huge hit throughout Latin America and also Spain, where Fanny toured for the first time with this album, establishing her as a prominent popstar in Spain.
Fanny received co-writer and co-producer credits on 8 of the 11 tracks of the album, much like her previous one.
Fanny Lú had become a global popstar that everyone loved. She was nice, cute, had catchy music and funny music videos. But until now there was nothing to separate her from all the other good-good popstars, or separated her into the artist category. That is until now.
"Fanfarron" (English: "Phoney" more or less) is the first single from Fanny's third album. The track is a delicious mariachi-pop ditty that shows big changed from Fanny's previous material. While in her past singles she always played the sweet little girl who had an innocent smile on her face even when she was dumping someone, in "Fanfarron" she plays the ex-girlfriend with some serious 'tude. "Yo me convenci que mejor sola que engañada por ti. Llorare, yo se que es asi. Pero ten por seguro que soy mas fuerte sin ti" (English: "I convinced myself that I'm better off alone than being cheated by you. I'll cry, I know I will. But be sure that now I'm stronger without you" she sings in the song's explosive chorus. The song has the perfect blend of pop elements and hip-hop beats mixed in with mariachi sounds that make this song extremely appropriate for a Mexican-themed dance party. The song's distinct sound shows that Fanny is taking better grip of her guns and experimenting with a music genre that Paulina Rubio first made famous.
The music video perhaps shows just how much of an artist Fanny really is. A joint collaboration between her and the video's director Simon Brand, the video for "Fanfarron" is a fun guy-judging, choreography-killing, flawless-looking piece of work. Not to mention that she looks absolutely beautiful in each take.
The video begins with Fanny dressed in a tight-looking lawyer outfit while her and her jury step all over (literally) the accused man (the fanfarron, if you will). Then there is the scene with Fanny in the bank vault and the dancers climbing out of steamy boxes and looking all flawless and whatnot. Then, like a real diva, she performs a sick dance to an added drum breakdown before the bridge. Flawlessness still exists! The video was choreographed by Mihran Kirakosian who also choreographed other flawless works with pop royalty including Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and P!nk. Not to mention he was also a dancer on Madonna's Confessions tour. Is there any greater badge of approval really?
"Felicidad y Perpetua" (English: Happiness and Perpetual) became Fanny's third album, and I have yet to listen to it, but when I do, expect a full review up on here.
Reblog and Like if you liked any of Fanny Lu's material!
Enrique Iglesias has got pretty popular in the States and Europe due to his catchy club tunes that are usually served with a cold verse by some popular rapper at the time. But if you change that formula a little. Let's say change the male rapper to a woman, and make the feature song into a duet, and you've got FIRE! Below are two recent collabs of Iglesias with Dev and Jennifer Lopez. Enjoy! "Naked" - Dev & Enrique Iglesias
This track was download hastily by me. Iglesias' douche-popclub tunes on the radio were great and all, but combined with Dev's staright-forward electro ditties didn't sound like an enticing combination.
And I was wrong.
Once I gave this song one listen I immediately changed my mind. The song is produced by The Cataracs, Dev's producers, (leading me to believe this is for inclusion in Dev's US release of "The Night the Sun Came Up" this January?) and is full of electronic influences and a great little ghoul-like shriek in the breakdown similar to that at the beginning of Iglesias' "Tonight (I'm F*cking You)." Dev's low-toned vocals open the track, speaking of how inappropriate she is for Enrique, but Enrique counters with the fact that she's the only one that keeps him up at night. Then comes the delicious pre-chorus. "I don't care what they say it's our life life life. We can dance if we want, make it feel alright" they both sing over escalating beats before all this pulls away in the chorus.
"So tell me baby will you be there when I wake up? Even with no make-up?" Dev asks Enrique over a punching beat to which he replies "And you ain't gotta doubt a second if I miss you. Every time I'm with you."
Then they both, in a truly climactic point in the song, "I feel naked."
It's pure magic. The techno elements have always suited Dev's voice, but Enrique seems right at home in them too, and for good reason. If he would back away from the eurotrash production he so often frequents and delve into the electronica scene with The Cataracs some really good music could be made!
"Mouth 2 Mouth" - Enrique Iglesias feat. Jennifer Lopez (not official cover art, that picture is way too inappropriate to show on here)
In a song that I dare say is even better than the one above, Enrique and Jennifer (the hottest Latinos ever) collaborate. The song begins with them both saying "We live, we love, we touch." Great start, huh? Then starts the slithering synthesizers that back Enrique as he sings about a late night booty call ("innocent crime") he can't seem to focus on because all he can think about is Miss Lopez.
Then the then-dormant slithering synths become extremely prevalent behind Iglesias' vocals in the chorus. "I can't catch a single breath baby, help me now. Hurry up it's killing me the way I need your mouth to mouth" he sings. Later J.Lo joins, "I say you make me feel alive. I say you bring me back to life." So steamy!!
The comes Lopez's verse which is almost a mirror of Iglesias', but in female perspective. "But in the back of my mind you're all I'm thinking of" she sings before the explosive chorus.
DJ Frank E, who is also responsible for the touching ballad "Tonight (I'm F*cking You") (so touching, that one), produced this gem and it is glorious. The combination of J.Lo and E.Ig (that doesn't work so well) is sensual without being sexual, per se. That's what makes this song so great. It's like they're both holding a thin sheet over what they're doing an it's the listener's imagination that fills in what's happening in between the sheets.
Proof enough? Let's start a protest. We need more Enrique duets! Reblog if you agree!
"La Nina Que Llora en Tus Fiestas" - La Oreja De Van Gogh
This song by Spanish pop-rock band La Oreja De Van Gogh (Van Gogh's Ear) release their first single from their upcoming album, adopting a new wave sound. "La Nina Que Llora En Tus Fiestas" (The Girl Who Cries At Your Parties) has production reminiscent of Muse's "Uprising" but the connotation in this song is completely different. The song has a great synthesizer that winds in the background and turns the song from a sad rock song to sick, demented even, ditty about an obsessed girl who can't stop thinking about her guy.
The video is simple enough, but it shows off the band with their new lead singer, who is drop-dead gorgeous. PULLOUT QUOTE: "Mirame con la estrella polar a mis pies. Vuelvo a casa perdida otra vez porque no se dejar de adorarte." Translation: "Look at me with the pole star at my feet. I come home, lost again because I don't know how to stop adoring you."
"Ya No" - Dulce Maria
Remember how I previously mentioned that pop-rock was a thing of the past? Well, remember Hilary Duff and how whenever she sang pop-rock it was flawless? Meet Dulce Maria, the Mexican counterpart of Hilay Duff. She can do no wrong. As one-fifth of the now defunct REB (like Anahi and Christian Chavez mentioned in Part 1) she is now trying to launch a solo career, and doing pretty well at it. "Ya No" is her latest single and it's heartbreak o'clock in Candy Mary ville. The pop-rock track is accompanied by a few diluted synths here and there and it is amazing!
The video shows off 1) her great physique, 2) her great acting skills (RBD we formed off of the popular soap opera "Rebelde") and 3) her virtual flawlessness. PULLOUT QUOTE: "Ya supe todo y puedes marcharte. Esto ya es mucho y no puedo perdonarte." Translation: "I found out everything and you can leave. This is too much and I can't forgive you."
"Lluvia De Estrellas" - Jot Dog
Yes, they're named like the Spanish word for Hot Dog. No, they don't have hot dog mentions in any song or music videos. For those of you with open minds, welcome to the world of Jot Dog. "Lluvia De Estrellas" (Rain of Stars) are like an odd mix between No Doubt and Ellie Goulding. The band's great lyricism mixed with top-notch production create a beautiful ambiance in the track.
The music video is jaw-dropping. There's Final Fantasy elements, and some sexy make-out sessions and, and the great storyline. It's. Just. Too. Great. PULLOUT QUOTE: "Tú eres mi lluvia de estrellas, tus ojos me hacen volar. Me llevas a otros planetas, donde me haces gritar. Mi destino no es mio si conmigo tu no estas" Translation: "You are my rain of stars, your eyes make me fly. You take me to other planets where you make me scream. My destiny is not mine if you are not with me."
Stay tuned for Part 3, the grand finale consisting of only one very special artist!
Meet Kerli.
In case you've been living under an Estonian pop-depriving rock, Kerli Koiv is an Estonian pop singer (duh). Her first album was a collection of depressed anthems (Aptly titled "Love Is Dead") and dealt with song talking about Kerli coming out of depression. The album's biggest single "Walking On Air" was its most mainstream, while most the rest were angry rock songs.
This time around Kerli is switching things up a bit. Her perspective of love has changed. with the single "Army of Love." The song is an upbeat rave-pop track that explores the idea that Kerli cares about nothing more than love, and her desire to create an "army of love" is to spread love to the world. Whatever, the message is there, but the production...
IS AMAZING!!
"Army of Love" is the catchiest thing that Kerli has ever released. It shows her venturing into a more mainstream side of music, while still staying true to herself. Through the rave-happy beats, there are dark undertones.
The music video is as visually enticing a Lady GaGa video and as simple-minded as Ke$ha video, in other words it's perfect for the average human!
After the release of this video, the next glimpse into Kerli's second album was revealed in the form of a demo. A glorious demo. A glorious demo that puts all your favorites to shame. "Zero Gravity" is the epitome of "next level ish." Not only does it start out slow and builds into a maniac techno-pop instrumentation, but after the anti-chorus a sick electronic breakdown follows and it is breathtaking. I have never heard anything like it. It's so fresh, yet so simple.
Then there are the assorted live rips, song snippets, and leaks from the new album. All of them Are spectacular. They all point to a more electronic vibe that still stays true to what Kerli is best known for, as shown in "Speed Limit."
Kerli's second album is undoubtedly one of the albums I'm most expecting this year.
Moonchildren, reblog away.
I recently got back to the states after a week-long visit to my hometown of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. The trip was lots of fun and all, but what really stood out to me is that the music on Latin Top 40 radio is getting a lot better.
Last time I visited (last summer) the radio's big hits consisted of pop-rock tunes, which as we all know are 2000-and-late (sorry K. Clark) mixed with songs in English that were also popular stateside. All of the innovative techno-y, electronic music was coming from not only other countries, but other languages.
This time around I heard a lot more variety and innovation on the radio, which really stunned me. Being a native Spanish-speaker I was able to understand the lyrics in the songs and even came to notice that the lyricism of Latin pop music is a lot better than that of its American counterpart.
So, with that said, I'd like to share my discoveries with you. Maybe you speak Spanish, maybe you don't. Who cares? The point is these songs have great production, great music videos, and are an amazing beacon of hope for the future of Latin Pop
(Most of these songs will be in Spanish, but I will also post a a few popular English-speaking song that are popular in Mexico at the moment) "Libertad" - Christian Chavez & Anahi
This song ("Liberty" in Spanish) is a duet between two ex-members of pop-rock band RBD (R.I.P.). Christian Chavez is a newly-launched solo gay-pop star and Anahi is a soap opera actress trying desperately to get her solo singing career going (and sadly failing at it). It sounds like a bad idea, but just listen and take a watch at the amazing video. It's like Mexican Adam Lambert! The stuttering hook, the auto-tuned vocals, the synthesizers and heavy bass. This song is worthy of American Top 40 radio!
Check out the ever-so-subtle undertones of comparing anti-gay movements to that of murder and the holocaust. Classy, huh? PULLOUT QUOTE: "Nada es perfecto y el defecto es bello tambien"
Translation: "Nothing is perfect and defects are also beautiful"
How's that for an it-gets-better pop hit?
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"Fanfarron" (English: "Phoney" more or less) is the first single from Fanny's third album. The track is a delicious mariachi-pop ditty that shows big changed from Fanny's previous material. While in her past singles she always played the sweet little girl who had an innocent smile on her face even when she was dumping someone, in "Fanfarron" she plays the ex-girlfriend with some serious 'tude. "Yo me convenci que mejor sola que engañada por ti. Llorare, yo se que es asi. Pero ten por seguro que soy mas fuerte sin ti" (English: "I convinced myself that I'm better off alone than being cheated by you. I'll cry, I know I will. But be sure that now I'm stronger without you" she sings in the song's explosive chorus. The song has the perfect blend of pop elements and hip-hop beats mixed in with mariachi sounds that make this song extremely appropriate for a Mexican-themed dance party. The song's distinct sound shows that Fanny is taking better grip of her guns and experimenting with a music genre that Paulina Rubio first made famous.
