NO DOUBT – NEW SINGLE “Stand and Deliver”

 

They're Back!

No Doubt are finally back!  Just before their tour rockets around the United States, they have released a cover single for “Fans” who purchased the tickets, unsurprisingly it spread all over the internet like Bai Lings Legs.

 

The song is… quirky,and that makes it true to the original (thank god she didn’t try a British accent!) they did a great job, and Gwen’s Vocals are fantastic. Keep in mind this is just a cover song of Adam and the Ants 1981 single “Stand and Deliver”, it wont be on their new album, in which case the song is not the be all and end all but it’s a very nice song!

The best part is, it completely draws you back to their yesteryears of raw ska and new wave music, like their independent album “Beacon Street Collection” .  I think it helps bridge the gap between Gwen’s iconic solo career and her roots with No Doubt. It’s a way of saying, we’re the same as always, and we haven’t changed.

All I can say is that their cover captures a more feel-good essence than the original, and I give it Three stars, and wait with baited breath for some original material from this talented band.

Check out No Doubt, May 1st Live on the Today Show (America) and also (If you watch it) They will be performing a cameo in Gossip Girl with “Stand and Deliver” on the episode airing 11th May.

To listen to the song simply google the song name and you’ll find a link from somewhere, it’s everywhere at the moment so you won’t have much trouble, unfortunately Youtube is trying to turn all Big Brother on us so they are deleting videos, restricting people not from the United States from watching a lot of videos. Don’t bother with Youtube. They are just hindering the publicity that artists deserve.

Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow – Single Review

The Black Eyed Peas, Dressed in Black.

So due to overwhelming demand from not just fans, but radio stations in Australia, America, and let alone the general public, the released was significantly pushed forward to 30th of March. GOOD MOVE. This is easily one of the main reasons that the song has shot straight to the top slot of the iTunes charts in America, and the top 5 in Australia. The song is currently sitting on three times the sales of the next biggest selling single “Poker Face”, which is definetly a sign of phenomenal sales, given Lady Gaga’s popularity of late.

To the song, I’m no huge fan of Fergie these days, I was definetly into her solo stuff and work with the Black Eyed Peas, except when I noticed how much she was completely ripping off Gwen Stefani she lost a little bit of credibility. Not to mention the simply ear-bleedingly good ‘Labels or Love’, living proof that 80% of women(and some men) will consume anything affiliated with Sex In The City, no matter how vapid and dull.

The song incorporates simply incredible beats, fantastic, and that is what the songs about, without a doubt. There are a few similarities to Kayne West (Not in a good way) and Lady Gaga, first of all, the use of autotune makes Fergie sound like a tween chipmunk, and it doesn’t sound very original when Will I Am sings “Stronger better Faster” under the influence of autotune, it’s a ripoff of a song that is a ripoff (Kanye West’s “Stronger” which stole the entire song off Daft Punk), it’s like ‘meta-plagarism’.

But after a while you look past the abhorrently shrill and misplaced vocals, and you begin to see that behind all the stupid and predictable “rap battle-isms” like “We So 3008 you so 2000 and late” (Snap Fergie) is what the Pea’s really stand for, Hot beats, a vocal diversity that is unmistakable even with autotune, and an energy in the delivery of their songs. Which leaves little to be argued about their fifth album, which I love because it is “The E.N.D” which just works up their hardcore fans into thinking they are breaking up, when it really means Energy Never Dies.

Now I will refer to exhibit A, this encapsulates the core problem I have with the lyrics in the song.

“Beats so big I’m steppin on Leprechauns, shittin all ya’ll with the boom boom”

Will.I.Am is effectively stating, that he is squashing leprechauns while defacating on the listeners, what makes it worse is that it’s not even said in jest, he just…declares it. What happened to the lyrical style of “Where is the Love”?

So let’s just ignore the fact that the lyrics make Soulja Boy sound like a 47 year old Arts Graduate, and accept that the song is great, it’s not as invigorating as “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”, but they are being smart by choosing to take the direction of captivating and strong beats, fast pace nonsensical bullshit is the new thing, and there is nothing wrong with listening to this song, so long as you don’t draw some emotional meaning from it. (Unless you have something against leprechauns)

My Final rating is possibly misleading, so let me explain it

Beats: 5 Star

Tempo: 5 Star

Lyrics: 0 Stars

Vocals: 1 Star (The autotune on one hand is horrible, but on the other isn’t altogether unbearable)

Final Rating: 3 Stars – this song is good, but the Black Eyed Peas could’ve done the same song with decent lyrics, the lyrics in it aren’t really interesting, they don’t add anything to the song as a whole. Still I just love that the Black Eyed Peas are back.

Christina Milian – “Us Against The World” Single Review

Christina Milian

Christina Milian, in her own words, is “Well overdue for a comeback”, and personally after stumbling across her new single from the upcoming album “Elope”, I believe she is deserving of a comeback, her music is very interesting, and she’s a realistic contender against the big name artists like Beyonce who dove head first into the adult pop market seamlessly transitioning to their adulthood. However Christina Milian was unable to do this as well, and after her first album she remained unnoticed.

Yet, the new single “Us Against The World”, it hits all the right notes, it’s like Beyonce’s Halo but more spiritual and yearning, it has more of a natural feel to it.  The striking beats along with the harpstrings compliment her feminine yet mature vocals, this is music that exudes strength and resilience. This song is not radio friendly,which is why it was a poor choice as an opening single and subsequently wont chart impressively unless there is an incredible promotional campaign to get her music out there again.

This song recieves 4 stars, it’s inspirational, relaxed, but introspective, and it’s definetly a piece of art. The accompanying music video is fantastic, she herself had the outfits designed to ring true to the metaphors of the lyrics and to represent visual metaphors. The Music Video is below if you wish to watch it, I highly reccomend you do, even if it to just hear the song itself. Don’t expect some major hook, just listen from start to finish and at the end you will understand the song. It works together as a song, not a chorus and a verse.

This single is from her upcoming album “Elope” which was chosen due to the literal meaning of the word, to run off with the one you love, which is an overall theme of the album, especially in “Us Against The World”. Keep an eye out of the album, definetly give it a chance!

“New” Single – Ciara “Love Sex Magic”

 

Ciara's New Single "Love Sex Magic"

Ciara has released the second single from her third album ( A Triple Disc Album called “Fantasy Ride”, which with constant delays is beginning to live up to it’s title)

The single, is “Love Sex Magic” and it features Justin Timberlake. BOY do her vocals sound sexy in this song. it perfectly suits the song, she doesn’t fall victim to the same breathy whispy crap that Janet Jacksons been doing in her latest albums, she commands attention in the song.

This song is well produced, simple, but hook friendly, and they both do a great job, and it’s great to see that there are some promising singles from this album, because judging from “Go Girl” and “Never Ever” it was going to be a bland and forgettable album, with little or no direction.

“Love Sex Magic” has great potential and due to extreme radio airplay in Australia as well as the United States, this song is destined to go into the top ten without a doubt, and will launch “Fantasy Ride” and Ciara back into the spotlight worldwide.

This song recieves three stars, I have very little to criticize about the song, it’s well done and doesn’t try to be some incredibly fast and energetic song, just a conglomerate of hooks and sexual vocals.  The song makes very little sense, but it’s catchy and I’m glad Ciara got it right for once!

Upcoming Album – Keri Hilson “In A Perfect World”

Keri Hilson's Debut Album

Keri Hilson, RnB songstress, is completely underrated, and has the talent and the style to make it big finally, after teasing us with glimpses of herself in “The Way I Are” by Timbaland. After listneing to a set of new tracks from Keri Hilson, I’m convinced her debut album, which is long overdue, “In a Perfect World”, with smashing tracks like “Alienated”, “Return The Favour”, and “Energy”, will eventually find success with the right dosage of promotion and live performances.

Keri Hilson does not have enough current exposure as a solo artist to be recognised the way she needs to be, her music is definetly hit quality, addictive, and intense. I believe that she should possibly do a lot more promotion in Australia and the United Kingdom, she needs to go onto chat shows around America and perform, to showcase her talents properly. The release of the album has been poorly planned because it has been pushed back over two years, and most of the songs have changed due to the changing market and inspirations in Keri Hilsons writing.

Watch out for “In A Perfect World” which will be released on the 24th of March. Below you can checkout two of the songs from the album, the first being Energy a slick production with the perfect combination of heartwrenching vocals and deep fast beats.

Secondly We Have “Alienated” a similar combination of striking beats and emotional vocals, but this time with dreamy synth beats.

So, what do you think of Keri Hilson, are you a fan already? Do you enjoy these songs? Do you think she will find success in the musical industry in America, or should she go overseas?  Leave a comment below and tell me your opinion!

Natalie Bassingthwaighte – Someday Soon Goes “Gold”

 

Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Barely a week after her album debuted at number 1, Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s second single “Someday Soon” (Of which the majority of readers have voted to be a fantastic single) has been certified Gold for selling over 35,000 copies, which is a very, very impressive result and it shows the staying power and resilience of her music, that it does not arrive one week and depart off the charts the next.

 

Alive (The First Single) has also been certified Gold a month ago, and is definitely on it’s way to achieving platinum status. It is rare for most singles to achieve sales of the threshold that receives a Gold certification, and this shows that as about 7 of her singles have been certified gold or platinum, which is only an example of her popularity with adult markets as well as young people. I say this because young people often download one song off iTunes the week it comes out, and after that do no purchase anything else, whereas adults are more inclined to purchase a physical single, and usually it is not during the week of release , which results in a single having a decent life in the charts but without a high peak position.

Lady Gaga – Love Game – Update

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s Third Single will be Love Game, as previously mentioned, a song which has already taken off all over the world, and expect it to spread just  as quickly and with the same ubiquitous charm that Poker Face had. Poker Face is faring quite well in the United World Chart  having risen from last weeks position of number 3 to 2nd place, and do not be surprised if it reaches the number one spot next week , as it is only 9000 points away from the top song at the moment (Right Round “Flo Rida” featuring Kesha not Katy Perry) this week it garnered 318,000 points! This best part is that Poker Face was released and had peaked in most countries apart from the United States over 4 months ago , meaning this huge chart position is based on the United States only, which is a great effort!

Also be on the lookout for a deluxe edition of “The Fame” as I am almost certain that one will be released depending on the success of Love Game, this should include either leftover tracks (B-sides) or new tracks, as she is always in the studio and the company will be eager to release more music before the next album, which will be at least another year or two depending on the longevity of “The Fame”.

New Music First – Natalie Bassingthwaighte “In His Eyes”

Natalie, from her GQ photoshoot

Ok, thankfully Natalie performed an acoustic set of six songs at the Australian Open, congrats Serena, and Nadal, sad that Federer didn’t win, but he wasn’t as focussed as Nadal was. Anyway enough of that crap, this is a very touching song, called “In His Eyes” which Natalie explained before playing it that it relates to her grandmother unable to adapt to life after her grandpa died, and that the magnitude of the event and it’s aftermath was intense and emotionally complex for Natalie herself, as she used to spend a lot of time with them, camping around Australia, a yearly tradition which crumbled to pieces upon the tradgedy of his death.

You won’t be able to see it in this video since she’s wearing sunglasses (fair enough, it was 44 degrees…) but when she performed live at the Toff In Town, she openly shed a few tears, it was so touching to see somebody so passionate about their music and not their image. Throughout the performance tears kept coming, and I’m not surprised, for such an emotional song it’s just so beautiful, uplifting, introspective, and inspirational at the same time, it sounds alot like Cindy Lauper’s “True Colours” and this is no exaggeration, this song could be an incredible hit, either way I’m sure it will stay in the minds of many fans who can relate to dealing with the tradgedy of death and the long hard road of grieving that many are unable to conquer alone.

Make no mistake, this is a true hit in the making

I give this song 4 and a half stars, in one word, beautiful.

Upcoming Single – Lady Gaga “Fashion”

Lady Gaga

After searching through the net I came across a new single by Lady Gaga called “Fashion”, the snippet only goes for a minute, and it is her version of a song she wrote for a singer called “Heidi”, not surprisingly it suits Lady Gaga considerably better.

The beat is dramatic and addictive, as most of her new songs seem to be. This is a great song, but like “Eh Eh” it doesn’t have the overwhelming hit factor that “Poker Face” “Papparazi” “Summer Boy” and “Just Dance” do, this is because those songs appeal to such a wide demographic, male, female, young  and old, and that is what makes a hit, something that everybody shares.

Anyway Checkout the song, it’s only a preview, if you like this and you haven’t purchased Lady Gaga’s album yet, I really reccomend it, it’s a fantastic album.

Jessica Mauboy – “Burn” New Single

"Burn", The Single

Jessica Mauboy’s new number 1 single “Burn” has been physically released and is proving to be even more succesful than her previous hit “Running Back” with Flo Rida. The B-side “Runnin” was probably not included on the album “Been Waiting” due to the similar name to her double platinum debut single “Running Back Feat. Flo Rida”, but boy is it a great B-side! The B-side has  a suave and sexy electronic beat, in the vein of Kylie Minogue’s seductive single “Slow” (No coincedence considering the producers of the song worked with Kylie herself), alongside Mauboy’s distinct and strong vocals, each time she performs or releases a new song, she is constantly building up her image, she’s doing it the hard way, by herself, without the publicity tsunami of Australian Idol to thrust her into the spotlight.

The Physical CD Single has been released in Australia and I highly reccomend you download it from either Itunes or, better yet pay 3-4 dollars for the physical Cd single, a cheap price considering it has 4 cd quality tracks, and on Itunes that would cost $6.80 (For lower quality digital only songs?????? Why would you bother)

Burn Itself has lyrics as such

“I need a doctor cause this is starting to burn” and “I’m on fire, no way to cool me down, boy you’re burning me up”

which ironically aren’t some kind of subtle allusion, she’s talking directly and frankly about when she contracted an STD from her boyfriend and that is what made her realise that he was sleeping around, which Mauboy describes is why “I dumped his ass”. Good girl, good song, frank lyrics, a little filty but you get that!

Fortunetly the b-side “Runnin” has surfaced on youtube from a fan, so just watch the video below and tell me what you think! “Runnin’” was written by Mauboy, Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci and produced by Egizii and Musumeci