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.

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.

Ellie Goulding and Fernando Garibay unleash beautiful video for beautiful remix of "Lights"

Above is Ellie Goulding, a British songstress I can't seem to ever get enough of. Her album Lights is a pop masterpiece. Her single "Lights" is also amazing. But even more amazing than the original song is the Fernando Garibay remix. 

Garibay is responsible for many of Lady GaGa's hits as well as some great offerings from the Sugababes.

The Fernando Garibay remix of "Lights" is some of the man's best work. While the original "Lights" was drastic electronica, this remix is more like a trance production with seriously fat bass. It's gettin' bigga! The synthesizers are like candy in my ears. It's almost like a Tiesto production, if you think about it.

Accompanying this is the music video for the remix, which is merely a re-worked version of the original video. Nevertheless, it's beautiful eye-candy to accompany the ear-candy. Ellie + Fernando = pure suga!

What do you think of Ellie Goulding's remix? Comments greatly appreciated!

Wednesday Rewind: "Hollaback Girl" - Gwen Stefani

Welcome to the first installment of Wednesday Rewind. I'm going to be publishing one of these puppies every Wednesday. I'll talk about amazing pop songs from the past that are timeless enough for you to keep on your iPod next time you do a music sweep.

This post is going to deal with Gwen  Stefani's amazing and underated single "Hollaback Girl" from her album Love. Angel. Music. Baby released in 2005. Easily one of the best songs on the album, "Hollaback Girl" went to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100.

"Uh-huh, this my sh*t, all my girls stomp your feet like this," Stefani sings in the song's intro. The cheerleader-inspired chants of the song are catchier than anything on the radio today, to be honest. The hand-clapping, campy nature of this song makes it perfect for singing along with friends. This is why this song will be the soundtrack of countless memories for people growing up in the 2000s.

"This sh*t is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" she screams in the song's chanty bridge. This song truly taught me how to spell bananas. Seriously, there is no better way.

What do you think of this week's Wednesday Rewind! What song should I choose for next week's Wednesday Rewind song? Comments greatly appreciated!

Marilyn Monroe serves as a muse for Jessie and the Toy Boys in latest leak

Yes, another post about Jessie and the Toy Boys. Yes, another post mentioning Marilyn Monroe. But this is for a good reason, I don't dare be redundant for trivial reasons!

"Marilyn" leaked a few days ago, but I never got around to listening to it. I lost precious time, because now I can't stop listening to this track! The delicious dark bubblegum-pop track starts with a genius whispered verse about the tragedy of life and all that good stuff...but then...

"Marilyn, why'd you die young? Was it pressure? Was it cutting through?" Jessie asks the iconic star. Much like the Nicki Minaj song "Marilyn Monroe" this track ponders the connection between today's celebrities to her, possibly the biggest star of the past. 

The blonde chanteuse asks Marilyn for advice, "What's the secre that you can reveal?" before asking the chilling question: "Were you feeling the way I feel?" There's nothing released by this group better than this. Nothing.

The bridge is truly the most haunting part of the song. I don't want to spoil the experience, because trust me it's goosebump-giving, but there are these things involved: cake and a loaded gun. Yeah, I know.

I came up with a formula to show just how great this song is: "Marilyn" >>> life.

I really hope this song makes the final cut for This Is How Rumors Start, or better yet becomes a single. Chills!

What do you think of Jessie and the Toy Boys' latest leak? What do you think of them in general? Comments greatly appreciated!

Madonna's album cover for "M.D.N.A." is just...

EVERYTHING

Neon Hitch proves that she can rule the airwaves and "love" you betta

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.

Kerli prepares to release new album, reveals new view of love

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.