Musical Snippets: Britney Spears, Joss Stone, Ryan Ferrada, Alexandra Burke, Rob Thomas & More

Lots going on in the pop music world of late. Here's a little rundown of what caught my eye.

Britney Spears - 3 - This week saw the release of the new Britney Spears single, "3" which will be the lead single off of Britney's upcoming The Singles Collection due out November 24th. The track was debuted on September 29th on New York's Z100 and will be available to download October 6th in North America. Major Industry publications and blogs are a buzzin' over the new single, which was produced by hitmaker Max Martin. I too am lovin' the track. It's nothing new and sounds like it could have come off of her last record - but it's fun. I am a little bummed that "Unusual You" wasn't really promoted here in North America as that has always been one of my favorite tracks off of Circus, but with the tour over and a new album in the works - I guess it makes sense to cease promotion. Listen to the single HERE.

Joss Stone on Jimmy Kimmel - If you're going to be in the LA area Thursday, October 1st (tomorrow) you can grab your tickets to see Brit songstress Joss Stone. I totally would if I were in the area! I've been dying to see her live for years. Girl needs to do a small club tour or something to promote her new album, Colour Me Free out October 20th in the States (November 2nd in the UK). First single "Free Me" is oozing with sexy soul appeal and with collaborations from Nas, Sheila E, and Raphael Saadiq - it's looking to be a hot one. Get your tickets HERE.

Photo by Kenton Thatcher

Ryan Ferrada - Room 501 - The half American, half Spanish ALL SEXY Ryan Ferrada is gearing up to release his latest album, Room 501. If sexy first single "Dirty In The Club" was any indication, his album is going to be HOT, harmless poppy fun. According to Ferrada's latest blog post, "90% of the album is up-tempo, and 90% of the lyrics are about sex!" For the ballad lovers, don't worry. There's at least one ballad on the album as well as a song dedicated to Ferrada's grandmother. Room 501 looks to have it all - dance, R&B, pop ballads and even the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Producer Greg Fitzgerald (Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Jessica Simpson) worked with Ferrada on the album, which is due out before the end of the year. "I am not a fabricated puppet," Ferrada says. "I'm fully involved in every aspect of the album. From writing the lyrics, to directing the producer so he understands the kind of music I love doing." Sounds like he's a boy that knows what he wants.

Alexandra Burke - Pre-Order Overcome Today - The debut album from X-Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, doesn't come out in the UK until October 19th, but you can pre-order it now on various websites. Lead single, "Bad Boys" featuring Flo-Rida comes out in the UK on October 12th. A U.S. release is also expected sometime in the new year, following a five-album record deal with Epic Records. Overcome features production from Stargate, Red One, Ryan Tedder, Freemasons, Element and The Phantom Boyz who produced the first single. Pop singer Pixie Lott also gets writing credit for a track on the album. This looks to be one of the pop albums of the year. Pre-order the album on Amazon, HMV, Play and Tesco.

Rob Thomas - Someday (Video Premiere) - Matchbox 20 frontman and solo artist Rob Thomas premiered his new video on VH1 this week. Check it out HERE. "Someday" is the second single off of Thomas' second solo album, Cradlesong, which came out in June. His first single, "Her Diamonds" managed to hit #23 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks. The video for "Someday" was filmed on the streets of New York City. Thomas is currently on tour right now with special guests OneRepublic and Carolina Liar. Check out upcoming tour dates HERE and watch the music video for "Someday" HERE.

New Band - James Mercer (The Shins) & Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley/Gorillaz) - This is exciting news. The Shins frontman James Mercer is joining forces with Danger Mouse to create a brand new band - (temporarily) called Broken Bells. The group's debut album is due out next year on Columbia records and has been in the works for a while now. In an interview with Pitchfork, Mercer teased at a new project. According to a new story on Pitchfork, this collaboration isn't just a one night stand. Mercer and Danger Mouse are in it to win it and have already started conceptualizing past the first album. I'm very intrigued by this collaboration, but sincerely hope that we haven't heard the last of either Gorillaz or Gnarls Barkley. Sign up for Broken Bells updates on the OFFICIAL SITE.

Jewel Records Up-tempo Album - Don't mistake me - by up-tempo, we're not talking about another 0304 (which I don't think would be the end of the world to be honest) - we're talking about a sound similar to that of 2001's This Way. OK. I can live with this. I loved This Way, which featured the single "Standing Still," which managed to hit 25 on Billboard's Hot 100. The album also featured "Serve The Ego," which turned into the first club hit for Jewel, hitting #1 on Billboard's Club and Dance Charts. According to Jewel via her blog, the upcoming new album will be produced by Dann Huff (whom she worked with on This Way) and will be serviced to country radio. According to Jewel, "I'm very excited about how the music business is changing...there are no rules, and everything seems possible." The singer goes on to say "I'm looking at making more records more frequently and releasing them, but maybe start to cut back on the two year-promo it has typically taken to get them out there." Sounds good to me. As long as she releases the occasional club track, I'll be happy.

Alesha Dixon - To Love Again - To help celebrate the re-release of her second album, The Alesha Show - The Encore (due out November 22nd), Alesha Dixon is releasing a new single called "To Love Again." The "sumptuous," new single is a piano-led ballad written by Gary Barlow due for release in the UK on November 15th. The three-track digital single can be pre-ordered now on the UK Itunes store for £1.99. No remixes included but a boy can dream. Listen to the new single HERE.

Photo credit to Alex Lake

Amy Winehouse Launches Lioness Records - If we are to believe what we're reading, Amy Winehouse is on the mend. It's about time! And while I'd love to hear more information about Amy's forthcoming 3rd album, I'll take all the news I can get! Amy has launched her own label, Lioness Records, the name for which was inspired by a Lioness pendant given to Winehouse by her grandmother. The labels first release will be Introducing Dionne Bromfield, the debut album from 13-year old Brit Dionne Bromfield - due out October 12th. Wow. Pretty talented! No wonder Amy set her sights on making her a star. According to Bromfield's official MySpace Blog, she was taking to the London Streets to film the video for first single, "Mama Said" on Tuesday September 29th. Pre-order Dionne's debut album HERE. This is all fine and good...but bring on some new Amy material!

Sarah McLachlan Releases New Single - One Dream - Hard at work on her new album, due for release in April 2010, the new single is already available for download on iTunes. Get it HERE! I'm definitely excited for some new pop balladry from this uber-talented Canadian. In addition to prepping for a new album, Sarah McLachlan will also be readying Lilith Fair for a Summer 2010 comeback. Busy lady! She was lovely singing "I Will Remember You" during this years Emmy Awards. Very touching. I'll always have a soft spot for Sarah.