Leona Lewis - Collide

Leona Lewis is back, my favourite X-Factor contestant ever, she has become an artist now in her own right and Collide proves that Leona is not a one trick pony, Collide is a faster paced song compared to "Happy and Better In Time" but keeps the same dark pop lyrics in the same vain as "Bleeding Love" with lyrics such as "Crash in to me & at full speed" - in the same way that "you cut me open" are dark images in a pop world. I have been a massive fan of Leona since day one, when that shy girl went for her audition I knew she was a winner. I always remember when she was in the final and Gary Barlow told Simon Cowell that he "has a big responsibility with Leona" and he was right, Simon has invested a lot of time and money in Leona who has gone on to become a huge international success and a worthy ambassador of British talent.
I think the good thing about Leona is that you can give her anything to sing and she sings it. One of my favourite tracks of Leona is "I Got You" and although it did not do as well here we forget that it came from a hugely successful album campaign with "Echo" and that she released it 6 months after the album! With "Collide" she has gone for a "Love Takes Over, Only Girl In the World" type sound, that gets in your head, as does the productions behind it. Collide was written by Autumn Rowe and produced by Sandy Vee, the team behind Rihanna' "Only Girl In The World & S&M" as well as Alexis Jordan ("Good Girl") & Katy Perry' ("Firework") to name but a few of their pop masterpieces, so all in all a good combination to make a hit I feel.

I reckon this will be another number one for Leona, who after criticism for releasing slower songs has gone away and thought about that and come back with a song that is not a million miles away from her previous offerings, but has evolved in a way that is refreshing. I can imagine the remixes of this song will be Ibiza anthems.

I love it and hope all the Leona fans get behind the campaign and support her once more, I for one am Happy to see her back, I love her voice so much and she is stunning.

Skylar Grey - Invisible

Skylar Grey, to me is one of the most exciting artists around at the moment, so often those that write some of the best songs are overshadowed by the artists singing them, however for the likes of Grey & Lady Gaga there are a few that manage to hold on to a tune of their own and release as a credible solo single and even go on to build a whole album of genuinely brilliant music. Skylar Grey (real name Holly Brook Hafermann) has already built quite the name for herself at a young age, she wrote sections on all 3 versions of Eminem & Rihanna' massive hit "Love The Way You Lie" which scored massive international success, she also co-wrote Diddy Dirty Money's massive international hit "Coming Home." Skylar also features on Dr Dre' single "I Need a Doctor" also with Eminem.


Now Skylar Grey is releasing her own material from the album said to also be called "Invisible" later this year. I basically love the single "Invisible". It represents how so many people feel and the lyrics hit home just how bad some people become when they are ignored, or made to feel like they don't belong. In a way this song sits perfectly alongside Christina Aguilera' "Beautiful" and Lady Gaga' "Born This Way" because it fights the good fight, that people should not be made to feel bad about themselves and that we all have a part to play & we are all special in our own way. Skylar has teamed up with Brit music producer AlexDaKid who is also one of the most exciting and talented producers out there at the moment, helping make "Invisible" a unique and beautiful song/masterpiece.


I love Skylar and have been very excited about her album for a long time, I love her voice and style, she has a real presence and I feel she is going to be huge in the coming months & years and become another firm favourite artist of mine.
 I can't write enough about how much respect I have for a talent like Skylar - she is incredible and you should all check her out now for yourselves!

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

At the moment, there are so many good acts out there, each have their own unique style and great music, right now though, I think the leader in uniqueness is the one and only Nicki Minaj. Although not lighting the charts with number one hit songs her style is interesting, her voice incredible (both musically and when she just talks - love her accent) and her album is pretty amazing! So with 'Super Bass' we see a different side of Nicki, previous songs 'Right Thru Me, Moment For Life feat Drake, & Check On It feat Will.I.Am' are good songs and show her versatility as an artist.



Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday



Nicki Minaj seems to be the most sought after artist there is at the moment,having also worked with Christina Aguilera, Usher, Jay Sean, David Guetta, Rihanna, Trey Songz, Britney Spears, Eminem and Kanye West to name but a few, my favourite so far being the duet between Minaj and Christina on the totally underrated track 'WooHoo' from Christina' 'Bionic' album see my previous post on this HERE. 'Super Bass, Your Love and I'm The Best' are so far my to favourite songs to come from the 'Pink Friday LP', which is well worth a purchase.

She has a lot of comparisons to Lil Kim - I personally do not see it, but each to their own, Lil Kim has had a great career so I do not see that it is a negative, but I do not think their music is similar at all.

'Super Bass' is out now, a great video and I think Nicki' best shot at the top 10 in the UK. Buy it now or give the deluxe edition of 'Pink Friday' a go! You might be surprised at how many different styles are on this album. 


9/10 - for the song, video and album!

Britney Hold It Against Me video

Britney Spears is back with new single and video for Hold It Against Me, firstly, is it a good comeback song? I am not so sure for a comeback as such,  it's OK but I don't like the video - just seems like she has tried too hard. I think I will always be a fan of hers to some degree but I am more old school Britney more so than new stuff, my old classics are Slave 4 U, Born To Make You Happy and Toxic. Still more recent tracks like Gimme More or Womanizer are quite strong tracks in the past few years.

Secondly, Hold It Against Me is a good song, it sees Britney going down a different road in terms of her musical style, however the video is not quite there, I like that they have used her old videos and showed how she has changed over the years, but the video does not feel right, bit try hard, but a valiant effort on the Spears camp.

Only time will tell if she can keep up with the likes of Gaga Beyonce, Rihanna and Katy Perry who are all leading the way in music at the moment.

Chris Brown - Yeah x3

OK, so I finally like a song by Chris Brown, not since 'I Can Transform ya' and 'No Air' a duet with Jordin Sparks have I liked a Chris Brown song, but this is pretty damn good.. within keeping of the current sounds by dare I say it, Rihanna... David Guetta, Black Eyed Pea's and many other acts opting for a dance infused sound. Brown seems to be back on form and previous 'discrepancies' seem to have been forgotten, perhaps not forgiven.. anyway Yeah x3 is a really good track that has been in my head all weekend and the video displays some fantastic choreography.


What do you think?

Bruno Mars - Doo Wops and Hooligans

A third time at number one in the UK for Bruno Mars. I am really liking his music, normally as you can probably see from my blog it's all about the Diva's but rarely a musical male comes about that grabs my attention.


Highlights from debut album Doo Wops & Hooligans are Marry You, Just The Way You Are, Grenade and Runaway Baby' of course all tracks are amazing, I was unaware just how talented Bruno is, having written other big hits including Cee Lo Greens F*ck You, Travie McCoy' Billionaire, K'Naan' Wavin Flag and Flo-Rida Round Round. It seems there is no stopping this young guy from conquering the world. He has scored 3 UK numbers in a row and repeats the success across the world. Glee has covered his songs in the second series, including one that has not been released yet so that can only help in getting that song promotion (I wont mention as I know my readers in the UK might not have seen that episode yet).


Just The Way You Are is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard, and the album talks about every day type things that we all think about or do, it is a very real album if that makes sense?! If I was to choose anyone for him to work with, it would be Rihanna.


Anyway right now I am loving Grenade so here it is, the album Doo Wops & Hooligans is out now and is well worth a purchase.

Rihanna - Loud

So the new Rihanna album, is it a good follow up to the not even cold from the epic promotional trail of Rated R.No is the answer, it feels slightly rushed and something's missing, it covers too many genres. BUT, Rihanna is a megastar so it doesn't matter does it? The tracks that stand out for me are those that stick to the dance vibe that Only Girl In The World' was moulded from, such as S&M and Who's That Chick. Other good tracks are the duets, obviously the Eminem track Love The Way You Lie and the Drake duet What's My Name and of course the woman wonder that is Nicky Minaj who seems to have worked with just about everyone in the past year, the track Raining Men features Minaj' amazing vocals and one of my favourite lyrics,
 "It's raining men, fat bitches" which makes me laugh out loud everytime for some reason. 

Rihanna has achieved so much for her years, she is one of the most fascinating artists out there and seems to continually reinvent herself and keeping her music new and relevant. Whilst I am a fan and the new album has provided some good tracks, I do feel it was rushed to escape the darker sound of Rated R. I am sure however, Rihanna has nothing to worry about, with an endless que of people waiting to work with her.

Whenever I may think Rihanna has done a bit of a duff track, I remind myself of the long, long list of greats she has done, and in no particular order:-
Umbrella, Russian Roulette, SOS, Pon De Replay, Disturbia, Rude Boy, Don't Stop The Music, Take A Bow, and so many of the duets and songs she has featured on.

Overall though, current album 'Loud' scores a 7/10 for the fact it provides some good songs, but hardly any greats. Below is new video for What's My Name featuring Drake. Wow that's some red hair.

Shontelle - Perfect Nightmare

I AM BACK.. thank god. I recently moved house and lost internet connection for 3 weeks, and whilst I am not a mass internet junkie I did miss not being able to blog!

I am currently sifting through lots of new music I just purchased due to lack of net and wanted to review the new Shontelle single, 'Perfect Nightmare'. I love it basically. People are comparing her to Rihanna all the time because lets face it.. they are from the same country!! Thats stupid to do that becuase whilst I see slight similarities I don't think they are the same at all, musically especially. Both have their own sound and it seems to me there is plenty of room for the both of them.


The last single, 'Impossible' reached top ten here but deserved better, it is a great song. 'Perfect Nightmare' is so good, it is a good change from 'Impossible' and shows Shontelle is progressing naturally as a real contender for chart success, she just needs to get the promotion right and get plugging away and songs like these could fly up the chart. Shontelle' career does not just stop at singing, she writes as well and has worked with her major competitor Rihanna on her latest offering 'Loud'

Perfect Nightmare is available to buy now.

Rihanna - Only Girl (in the world)

WOW! Rihanna is back - with a club banger - thank god!! Back to the her best. I liked 'Rated R' but it was a little darker and if it was not for 'Rude Boy, Russian Roulette & Firebomb' I perhaps would of gotten bored of it quickly.. I am a fan though and love many of the others, 'Take a Bow' 'Umbrella' 'SOS' & 'Don't Stop The Music' there are soo many to name you forget how many songs she has had, and how many she has worked on. Rihanna seems to dominate the charts and there seems to be no stopping her everything she touches turns to gold. I get the feeling she is going to around for years to come. I am looking forward to new album 'Loud' if the new song is anything to go buy. Below is a radio rip of 'Only Girl (in the world)' or if you want to hear a decent version head on over to the official website. I BLOODY LOVE IT.' What do you think?

http://www.rihannanow.com/

Alexis Jordan - One to watch?

I seem to write about a lot of people who never make it over here in the UK or are yet to 'make it' as I put it. People like Jesssica Mauboy, Dragonette & now Alexis Jordan, currently here showcasing some of her work I can only hope that we hear more from her. First single is called 'Happiness' and I really like it, it's a catchy dance track with plenty of humming ability attached to it. I like her too and the video is also good, check it out below.

From the same country that bought us Rihanna, Shontelle and even Livvi Franc, Alexis looks set to follow in the success of her fellow Barbadians. With a voice that has been described as 'perfect' she was first noticed by the judges of America's got Talent and despite making it past auditions was eliminated in the semi finals. Despite this she was signed to Jay'z records label Roc Nation where he became her mentor and all this before her 18th birthday.


I think 'Happiness' will become a huge hit over here when it is released.

Natalia Kills - one to watch part 2

Natalia Kills is an English born, up and coming act, her new single Mirrors is described as the 'Just Dance 2010' which is quite a massive deal to be compared to one of my favourite artists of all time, the single was released digitally to I-tunes USA and I am patiently awaiting the UK release.

So has she got what it takes at this early stage? I think so!! Her self produced track 'Zombie' has tinges of Rihanna' 'Disturbia' and a video to match. Plus the digital release of robotic/futuristic sound of 'Activate My Heart' shows that she is not just a one trick pony.

Kills is sexy, talented and has sparked the interest of many big names such as Akon and Will.I.Am. I for one am very excited to review the album 'The Perfectionist' when it is released here soon.



Furthermore, Natalia produces her own online series 'Love Kills XX' which ties in with the theme of her music.

Be ready for Natalia Kills, as you will be hearing her name again and again over the next god knows how many years, and I can't wait to see what she has to offer, I am as excited about Kills as I was about GaGa in 2008 which can only mean one thing 'success story' - defo one to watch.


www.nataliakills.com/ 
http://www.youtube.com/user/NataliaKillsVEVO