The only trouble in Olly Murs' "Troublemaker" is Flo Rida

British X Factor contestant Olly Murs returns to the music scene with his new Flo Rida-aided single "Troublemaker."

Right off the get-go you know there's something wrong with that sentence. Once again Flo Rida has managed to slip into an otherwise perfect pop ditty just for the sake of publicity and radio airplay and blah blah blah. 

I'll be the first to admit that Flo Rida isn't always bad, he has his good moments, but when he has bad moments they're really bad as is the case in this song. His verse doesn't even rhyme half the time, it's a weak verse lyrically, and it interrupts the Maroon 5-esque vibe that the guitar riffs and Murs' voice create. (Mind you, we're talking about Old Maroon 5, not New Maroon 5).

Other than that there really isn't much to say. The song is perfect for UK radio, whether it will stand a chance in US radio is another story. It's a safe move for Olly, but then again he doesn't need to take too many risks this early in his career. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

Right.

"Right Place Right Time," Olly Murs' third UK album and US debut is out in November.

Little Mix's "DNA" makes up for the awful "Wings" catastrophe

When the X Factor winners released their debut single "Wings," I was disappointed to say the least. The song was corny and a little outdated and I started to see the promise they held slowly slipping through their fingers.

But then this gem was released. Listen below. "DNA." the title track off of their debut album, will serve as the second single. The electropop song begins with a slow, steady beat that isn't instantly engaging but later it climaxes. By the time the song gets to the chorus, it has grown into a massive, Saturdays-esque pop banger.

It's in his DNA, and he just takes my breath away

The anthemic chorus is a lot more credible than that of its predecessor. The drastic electronic beats paired with the beautifully united voices of these four girls turns this song into a sure hit. "Wings" is to "Born This Way" as "DNA" is to "Edge of Glory."

Whether or not these girls have what it takes to stay relevant is yet to be determined. Girl bands with great voices are a dime-a-dozen, and no matter how great they may be sometimes it doesn't work out (R.I.P. Girls Can't Catch).

Little Mix's debut album "DNA" is due out in November. 

The new Dolly Rockers single is quite possibly already the best song of the year

It's been a hot second since I last wrote an installment of Getting Dolly Rockered. I guess now I won't have to, because A NEW DOLLY ROCKERS SONG JUST LEAKED!

No, it's not from an old recording session with their UK label, it's it's produced RedOne! The man who produced the newly-released "Starships" by Nicki Minaj also produced this song. And let me tell you one thing...

Starships x 100 < Get You Alone

"Get You Alone" is an electro-pop ditty with bubbly beats and thundering synths. The lyrics are step up for the girls who, although already great lyricists, learned a thing or two in the area of theme-setting. The way the girls harmonize in certain areas to emphasize a certain word is glorious and is a nod toward their old material.

Although this song isn't instrumentally similar to any of their old material one bit, it still shows the same Dollytude these girls are known for. The chorus is also reminiscent of "Boys Will Be Boys" and "Automatic Girl" in the fact that the euphoric energy present in all three of these choruses are not present in any other song on the radio right now, or in the last few years for that matter. The girls sing their hearts out in a top-40 radio-friendly song, which is highly unusual nowadays thanks to the double-sided phenomena of auto-tune. Vocals: perfect.

The Dollies have never been ones to shyly wait in the corner to be picked up, and they're not about to change that now. The same care-free attitude towards hooking up found in "Je Suis Une Dolly" is refined into an ambitious, feministic exclamation as the girls confess they can't stop thinking about getting that certain somebody alone. These girls are cute as kitties but ferocious as lionesses!

Although it is unfortunate when a song leaks prematurely, especially a demo like this one, it's amazing how great just a demo from these girls sounds. The mastered version will probably leave me in tears, surely. Remember when the demo of Gaga's "Bad Romance" leaked and it was pretty good but then the real version came out and it just blew everyone away? That's what I'm expecting with this puppy, and I'm sure the girls won't disappoint!

I hope this leak gets the ball rolling on releasing material from The Dollies. Even if they're not done recording their album, they can at least release some singles periodically ala Neon Hitch (who is still releasing singles, five so far, no albums yet) or Paramore (a "singles" club is a bit annoying, but it's better than nothing). I don't know whether or not this song will be on the album, but I can tell you if it is it would be amazing. I don't know if this song will be a single, but I can tell you if it becomes one then the Dollies can say "hello" to their first No. 1 single in the states.

Out of respect I will not post a download link, but you can listen to the song below.

These songs are pretty much all I want to listen to this week

"Part of Me" - Katy Perry

When this song originally leaked back in 2010, shortly after the "California Gurls" and "E.T." leaks, I immediately fell in love with it. The song sounded like a dark version of Teenage Dream's lead single "California Gurls," but it really shows off Katy Perry's vocals amazingly. "This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me," she exclaims in the explosive chorus. The song was re-written in order to fit better with Miss Perry's current emotional struggle: her divorce with comedian Russel Brand. "You can keep your diamond ring," she bitterly sings to Brand. If this song is an omen to her future offerings, we might have ourselves a new, more radio-friendly Adele.

Listen to Katy Perry's new single here.

"Starships" - Nicki Minaj

Ok here's the deal with this song: it's actually three different songs. There's the beginning which is very "let's go to the beach" and kind of makes one think of Selena Gomez & The Scene's "Summer's Not Hot" but for adults. Then there's that little Jamaican-esque part that's really like a cheap rip-off of Rihanna's "Man Down" except not about killing people. And those are both rubbish. There's a part in between all that junk that's actually good. Very good actually. The RedOne produced track boasts a monstrous dance breakdown that is just so good you must hear it for yourself. Imagine Lady GaGa's "Bloody Mary" mixed with Kat DeLuna's "Everybody Dance." Yeah.

Listen to Nicki Minaj's new single here. 

The problem with this Katy Perry album cover is...

It's such a great picture of Katy, but all the rubbish around it kind of takes the attention away from it.

I get that it's called "The Complete Confection" and that she really likes candy and all that, but it could have been done classier, like this:

but that's just a thought.

All of those colors are really stunning, but in a bad way. In my opinion the album cover should have looked like this:



You see, this cover, is actually perfect. There are roses and an old-timey phone and a hair straightener (even though her hair is wavy in the picture) so it all looks very teenager-y but the dress she's wearing makes her look like a mature woman.

But if you're really caught up with using the official cover photo, you might fancy this:

You'll notice it's not perfect, but it's quite nice, yes?

Also, can we take a moment to admire the beauty of the cover art of "Part of Me"?

I like blonde Katy. I like the pose. I like the font. I like the dress. I like the way they put those pink stripes (that kinda remind me of a cat) in a way to make an "A." I love how the ends of the letters look like ripped ticket stubs, or a "part" of a ticket stub if you will. Why couldn't the same people that came up with this masterpiece have made the album cover? Why?

"Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection" will be released on March 27th. What do you think of the album cover? How does it measure up to the fanmade ones? Comments greatly appreciated!

I am all for eccentric Grammy performances, but I am not so keen on this one.

I am not against religious influences in music, much like Lady GaGa or Madonna often take, but this has taken that to another level.

It is a good idea conceptually to parodize The Exorcist, but when you actually do it make sure it does not look like the above.

I like the song, though, so the performance has got that going for it. And not much else.

K, thanks.

What do you think of Nicki Minaj´s Grammy performance?

Dia Frampton releases amazing cover of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games", remains true winner of The Voice

Meet Dia Frampton. She was originally one-fifth of indie rock band Meg & Dia, but later went on to find mainstream success as the runner-up of the popular NBC singing contest The Voice. She really should have won, I mean where in the world is Javier Colon? Nowhere, that's where.

While touring with The Voice mentor Blake Shelton, Miss Framps found the time to show a little love to our girl Lana Del Rey. And by 'show a little love', I mean 'completely diminish the talent of.' Below is Dia's rendition of the Lana Del Rey single "Video Games."

While Del Rey's version included classical instrumentation including harps and violins among other ambiance sounds, Frampton's cover is accompanied only by a guitar. It's no shock that Dia Frampton is more vocally talented than the song's original interpreter, but the way she redid this song is completely ridiculous. Irrelevant now is the original, in fact replace it in your iPods with this one.

Dia's delicate, wispy vocals walk along the simple guitar chords in perfect unison. The way she emphasizes certain words or vowels that Del Rey did not gives the song a completely different feel to it. Then, she lets her vocals soar in the chorus. "I heard that you like the bad girls. Honey, is that true?" she sings in her silky voice with just the right amount of rasp. It's utterly perfect.

The best part, though: the last chorus. Chills!

Request a download link in the comment box and I'll put one up ASAP

Dia Frampton's debut album Red is out in stores and iTunes now.

What do you think of Dia Frampton's cover? Do you prefer Lana Del Rey's or Dia Frampton's rendition of "Video Games"? Comments greatly appreciated!