Posted by | Filed under Justin Timberlake, New Music
‘Take You Down’ is a new leak from Justin Timberlake which surfaced online last night. The track is reportedly a demo produced by The Neptunes, and features accompanying vocals from an unknown female artist. The song is made up of heavy drums and flirty lyrical content.The singer is quite slick in pursuing his love interest on the club-ready beat. I think it’s a hot song which will have his fans itching even more for a musical comeback. Though, we know that’s not about to happen any time soon as the former N-Sync star loves the success that a prosperous acting career has given him.
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Posted by | Filed under Jazmine Sullivan, New Music
The Jazmine Sullivan assisted ‘Cocaine’ was recorded during the previous recording sessions of rapper Eminem‘s latest new album ‘Recovery’.
The song has a very nice R&B soul feel to it which is different for
Eminem because it’s not something he often does. His sound is often
more hard and aggressive.If anything, this type of song is something you would normally affiliate with Jazmine’s style, or even Alicia Keys. Surprisingly, Alicia was the one who was originally tagged on the song. Listen to the cut below.
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‘We Rock The Night’ is an unreleased JLS song that was recorded during the sessions of their latest platinum-certified new album ‘Outta This World’. During an interview with the UK’s Glamour magazine, Marvin and JB spoke about the song which was recorded over in America. Understandly, you can easily hear why the song did not make the cut.It appears they were experimenting with a really hood type of American sound. It would not have sat well with their UK supporters. Remember when Craig David ditched his UK roots and went all American on his second album? He recieved a negative response. Although, you can still hear some American influences on the project, at least they’ve managed to stick close to a formula that they’ve been successful with.
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Posted by | Filed under Alicia Keys, New Music
Producer Swizz Beatz has launched his own series of free weekly mp3s titled ‘Monster Monday’ (clearly, he was inspired by Kanye West‘s ‘G.O.O.D. Fridays’ series). The latest track for this Monster Monday is a track by his R&B songstress wife Alicia Keys entitled ‘Speechless’. The track features rapper Eve.The laidback melodic soul groove from the young pianist is backed by an electric guitar and is dedicated to her 9-week-old son Egypt Daoud Dean. It’s the type of sound I would love Keys to indulge in for the next album as it’s simply put – an organic, authentic Alicia Keys song. The cut, which very much samples Kanye West‘s ‘Devil in a New Dress’, is practically an eargasm. Win!
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The criminally underrated JoJo has been busy recording her new album ‘All I Want Is Everything’ after leaving her previous label Blackground. Now the 19-year-old is hoping to finally release the new album after signing with Interscope. ‘Hollywood’ is one of the new batch of songs to surface from those recent studio sessions.The beautifully sung, piano-laced melodic ballad exposes the rough injustices of Hollywood. She emphasises the sad nature of desperate individuals selling their soul for fame when the truth is, once you become invaluable to the industry, it chews you up and spits you out. Pop genius!
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Posted by | Filed under Craig David, New Music
UK R&B crooner Craig David
has been keeping us up to date on the progress of his new album which
will definetely see an early to mid 2011 release. One thing about CD is
that when he says he is dropping a new album at a particular time, he
means it. He’s been jetting back and forth between London and Miami to
get it finished.One of the new tracks to surface from those latest recording sessions is the Jim Beanz produced ‘Dirty Mouth’. The 29-year-old finds himself encountering a woman who lets loose some sexy banter after several drinks. Our Mr ‘Fill Me In’ finds himself gliding those smooth R&B vocals over a synthesised dance cut.
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It samples a song from Faith’s late husband – the Notorious B.I.G‘s ‘Warning’ and sees the ladies vowing to make sure they get it right with finding ‘the one’. Both chicks hold it down vocally and the track definetely sounds like something Faith would have done earlier on in her career. Good song. Take a listen to the cut below.
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‘Gone’ pales in comparison to the monster smash that was ‘Dilemma’, and as unfair as it is to compare both songs, they WILL be compared. The track sees producer Jim Jonsin sticking to an urban element whilst still maintaining a contemporary edge (autotune and more). As for the track itself, the jury is still out on that one.
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Kim Kardashian is following in the footsteps of her other socialite pal Paris Hilton by making a hilarious play for the music industry. At present, she is recording a brand new studio album and the first song lifted from those recording sessions is The Neptunes produced ‘Shake’.
Everyone on Twitter is saying it sounds like a Britney Spears track which easily could have been lifted off her previous albums ‘Blackout’ and ‘In The Zone’. In which case I have to agree. It’s fun, it’s catchy and dare I say it, but it’s hot as well. She might be another talentless socialite known for um, THAT sextape. But guess what? I don’t care what anyone says, I can definetely groove to this! Talented or not. What do YOU think about it?
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I hate everything about this version. A beautiful epic powerballad was basically tranformed into an UPTEMPO song with added finger snaps just to give it a bit of a club groove. I’m so disappointed in this. I could not even enjoy the vocals because the hideous arrangement just threw everything right off. If you’re going to completely switch up the dynamics and signature of such a beautiful song, then as far as I’m concerned, it shouldn’t be touched.
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Nicole did what she could with the new version but I don’t really like it. You could tell she was trying to go for that similar essence as heard in Tina’s version but her vocals were straining in parts. She should have just sang the song in her own regular voice rather than try and go beyond notes that her voice simply can’t hit. The 32-year-old pop singer is also just about to release her first single ‘Poison’ on November 29th from her as-yet-untitled debut solo album and a music video for it dropped recently.
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Releasing this only magnifies the fact that she can NOT sing and only got as far as she did because of her looks. Ms Cole really needs to stick to catchy uptempo beats in the future. The X Factor judge will release her sophomore new album ‘Messy Little Raindrops’ on November 1st, and will take to the The X Factor stage this coming Sunday.
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The singer, who turned 29 yesterday, does deserve praise for sticking to her urban roots (unlike most) but she definetely could have come a lot harder. ‘I Ain’t Thru’ is the lead single from the singer’s new album which will drop sometime in December. As of now, no tentative release date has been set and a video for the song will be shot in New York City at the end of the month.
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The original track (minus Drake) is the confirmed second single from her ‘Loud’ album, and a Philip Andelman-directed music video for the song has already been shot in New York City. Great track!
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The ballad goes by the name ‘The Ballad of Hope She Cheats: Sex So Good’. The live instrumentation is more soulful and jazzy, whereas, the midtempo version is straight up R&B. She sings it well but the original midtempo version is far better in its production.
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Her debut album ‘Late Nights & Early Mornings’ has also been pushed back to early 2011, which was predictable considering that the music video for the original song has yet to premiere. Listen to the audio after the jump.
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The 25-year-old takes on a massive piano-laced gospel ballad, complete with a choir. This is probably the most soulful Leona will ever get. After all, she does not have the most soulful of voices and if this was Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce or even Faith Evans, you’d probably feel yourself levitating into a church.
However, I liked that in part she tried to go a little deeper with her tone to put more life and soul into the track, even if it doesn’t come naturally to her. Evidently, she’s just not a natural gospel singer, and I would say she excells the most with the softer falsetto. But she did a good job regardless. The overall song itself is very much cohesive for a soundtrack to a movie about the struggles of a group of African American women. Beautiful song.
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The empowering midtempo is brimming with confidence and self-adulation where the 27-year-old tells her female haters to quit it because it’s not her fault she’s an attractive lass. It’s not as balladry as initially expected since you can now hear some of that pumping bass.
In Ustream, Keri says the songs concept was not that of a cocky perspective. She elaborates that ‘Pretty Girl Rock’ is a song relative to everyone. She stresses it’s meant to be a feel-good song to boost ones self-esteem no matter how many pimples you may have on your face. “Everybody is beautiful. I want everyone to be able to sing that record” she says.
Verdict: Decent, but not smash-worthy.
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The bass-heavy song is furiously fierce with its pounding drum machine beats, synthesisers and punching lyrical content. ‘Shut ‘Em Up’ is believed to be lifted from the recording sessions of her upcoming ‘Basic Instinct’ LP. The track sees the songstress making it her mission to put down the gag on her haters through hard work and sheer success. In fact, she stresses that the more they talk sh*t, the more power they give her.
I’m really digging this. The beat is absolutely bananas and already, I am seeing another hot dance visual. This is the type of song I was hoping Keri Hilson would put out. Can you imagine if she did? The online buzz would be crazy because then, everyone would be saying it would be some sort of answer back. Still, you’ve got to admire their defiant attitudes expressed in their new music. Girl power.
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The 18-year-old is preparing to release her new album on Music World/Columbia. Now she is showing us that she is ready to make a splash with ‘I’ll Be There’. The track pays much emphasis on the singer’s stunning vocal range.
The powerballad is backed by a nice piano melody before the production builds up with the added bass and drums. I’m in awe at how much her vocals have matured over the years. The singers transitioning from young girl to young woman has been a nice progress. Awesome song. Gifted singer. Nice message.
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The veteran songstress yet again uses another Notorious B.I.G sample for the uptempo R&B groove, largely consisting of electronic synths over a handclapping beat. The ladies are faced with a relative dilemma – being in a problematic relationship that is just way too hard to walk away from.
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Whilst I think it’s a decent song with both ladies holding their own vocally, I had large expectations for this new album. Sadly, I’m just not connecting to it as much as I would like to. The new project is slated to hit the shops in the US next week Tuesday on October 5th.
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‘Run The World’ is pretty inclusive of The-Dream’s production foundation of pounding bass lines and heavy synthesizers. It seems the singer has reworked the album so that it would cater more to urban-pop territory than a dance-pop one. Not that I’m complaining because I’m a massive fan of urban J.Lo and I’ve always stated that urban J.Lo is who I can gel with the most.
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I can’t say I’ve been all that impressed with her pop stuff, but when I first heard ‘Fresh Out The Oven’ last year, I couldn’t get enough. This was the direction I was hoping she’d go for. Although I’ve enjoyed her last few leaks, I’m not that hyped about a J.Lo album until she gives it to me hardcore smack bang in the face. However, this song is really good and my interest is slowing coming back a little.
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EVERY passing month, a new urban producer has come forward to say they have been enlisted to work on the new Kelly Rowland album. Maybe Kelly is not as comfortable as embracing this dance direction as she’s been making out. The constant album pushbacks pretty much mirror the poor mishandling of Mya‘s ‘Liberation’ project which also suffered a slew of pushbacks before it eventually got shelved. Remember when I kept mentioning the Mya situation when it was first announced that Kelly had signed to Universal Motown? I just knew this was a bad move. Her people seriously need to get their act together because this is not a good look by any means.
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The metaphorical ‘Lifeguard’ starts off as your typical Stargate ballad. You have your usual handclaps and the likes. And, as much as Ms Norwood sounds great, the track is bordering on formulaic and predictable. However, as the song further progresses, something happens. It suddenly climaxes throwing out a massive chorus of rocky drums and guitars. It seems Brandy is further experimenting with her sound beyond her usual R&B. I don’t mind a little bit of indie now and then.
If anyone is going to venture outside of the genre that they started out with, can we at least get something besides the increasingly popular electronic beats? That said, this is a nice track from Brandy, and I cannot wait for her new album to drop next year. The singer is currently preparing for her stint on popular reality show ‘Dancing With The Stars’ when it returns to US TV screens on Monday, September 20th.
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The first couple of leaks from the project have been quite dance-driven, but this song switches up with pace and direction. The midtempo pop ballad has that Stargate stamp with its hand-clapping beat and piano accompaniment. It’s a nice song and her vocals are strong and powerful. As a matter of fact, if Rihanna‘s ‘Take A Bow’ and Shontelle‘s ‘Impossible’ had a musical baby, this is how it would sound.
As underrated as she may be, at least she has her songwriting career to fall back on. She has co-written ‘What Is Love’, ‘Starting Over’ and ‘Everbodys Girl’ for Jennifer Lopez‘s new album ‘Love?’. She has also co-written Mary J Blige‘s ‘The Breakthrough’ and has penned songs for the impending albums of Adrienne Bailon and Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester. Not bad at all!
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The spread of the Western-style pop cut is blended with some urban undertones and a 60s resonance. In fact, it sounds like the type of cut Duffy would slay. It has a nice beat but it’s far from lead single worthy. Melody’s screaming on the track becomes a little unnerving after a while, but once tamed, she has quite a good singing voice. Melody has always been my favourite one from the Pussycat Dolls, and I always felt that she deserved just as much shine and accolade as PCD’s frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger.
The 26-year-old has always been vocal about her frustrations with Nicole getting all the preferential treatment. Remember when she let rip about it two years ago in concert when PCD supported Britney Spears on her ‘Circus’ tour? You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. What do you think about the track? Does Melody have what it takes to carve out a successful solo career?
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The singer has been updating fans about her upcoming new LP on her twitter page and last night admitted that she was in the studio with Chuck Harmony. A release date OR an album title have yet to be announced. However, the LP will serve as the follow up to 2009′s ‘Epiphany’. Her first two albums were brilliant so I’m definetely anticipating this third album. Are you?
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The 27-year-old taps into her pop side as she declares her womanhood against a production plagued with guitar strings and sparse handclaps. As a matter of fact, the midtempo pop ballad would unquestionably sit well on a Jessica Simpson record. You can tell she certainly means business with the conceptual album but hopefully, such a transition doesn’t permit her supporters to become alienated. As nice as the track may be, I miss fiesty swaggerfest Keri and it’s those type of records that also helped her debut album to go gold. I’m just not sure if releasing non-radio friendly songs like the doo-woppy ‘Breaking Point’ would be the right step to continue that winning streak. ‘No Boys Allowed’ is set to drop in stores at the end of the year.
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After all is said and done, Rihanna just wants to have fun. Coming of age to the sounds of Stargate (‘Rudeboy’, ‘Take A Bow’) and songwriting abilities of CRI$TYLE , Rihanna has two things on the mind – catchy melodies/hooks that get stuck in your head and making people shake their rumps. Rihanna certainly does that with the euro dance-pop ‘Only Girl’. True to form, it sounds quite similar to a lot of dance-pop records on the radio, but it will do it’s job and vocally, she sounds really good!
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As I stated on twitter several hours ago, ‘Only Girl’ has a similar vibe to her previous hit single ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’, which was released pre-Lady Gaga. When folks point the finger that she’s jumping on the Gaga/dance-pop bandwagon, such accusations could not be further from the truth. ‘Only Girl’ is loud, it’s spunky, it’s upbeat and most of all, it’s electronically catchy. This will be a certified hit as radio stations scramble over themselves to add this to their highly ranked playlists. If Rihanna is concerned about the song not performing to it’s full potential, she need not worry. The pop songstress stays churning out the hits for people of all ages, races and sexual orientations to sing together as LOUD as they can.
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