Rihanna Releases "Rude Boy" Music Video

Rude Boy

Rihanna | MySpace Music Videos

So what does everyone think of the new Rihanna single/video, "Rude Boy"? I for one LOVE IT. "Rude Boy" has long been one of my favorite tracks from Rated R. The video is HOT. Rihanna looks absolutely GORGEOUS in all of her looks. I love the pop art feel of the video. Very colorful. Rihanna's Rated R is fast becoming one of my favorite albums right now and it's because of songs like this. While a lot of the album is darker, this song lightens things up a little bit.

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Leona Lewis Releases "I Got You" Music Video

Oh Leona Lewis. You sure do know how to make a deliciously cheesy pop video, don't you? "I Got You" continues to be one of my favorite songs off of Echo and for good reason. It follows in the footsteps of past Leona Lewis songs, in that it showcases her stunning voice with a big chorus and plenty of little riffs. The track was penned by Arnthor Birgisson, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha and is due out in the UK on February 21st and physically the following day. While I heard rumors that this would be Leona's second U.S. single as well, no word on a release here in the States. The video, directed by Dave Myers, was filmed in Los Angeles and premiered on February 12th. Check out the video and let me know what you think!

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Hall & Oates Done Right: The Bird & The Bee Pay Homage To True Musical Masters

I think my love for The Bird and The Bee somehow got lost in the musical clutter that has made up the past couple of years for me. I first became aware of the band back when I heard the club mixes for "F*cking Boyfriend." While I enjoyed the Ralphi Rosario/Jody den Broeder mixes, nothing about the band really stood out in my mind. Then, I bought tickets to see Lily Allen live (for the second time) in Boston at The Roxy. Who are "The Bird and The Bee?" Prior to the show, I bought their debut self-titled album (on Metro Blue Records) and basically shelved it until after the concert. Of course, after having experienced the supremely gifted duo (Greg Kurstin & Inara George) live, I was sold. Inara was just so charming as she conversed with the audience and when she sang - wow. Such a crisp, clean sound. I loved her voice. Together, The Bird and The Bee made beautiful music.

This was back in the summer of 2007. While I did follow the band via iTunes, seeing the release of the Please Clap Your Hands EP, "La La La" and a holiday release all in Fall 2007 ("Carol Of The Bells"), I inexplicably lost interest after that and by and large ignored all of their subsequent releases. March 2008 saw the release of the One Too Many Hearts EP, followed by a Live from Vegas iTunes Exclusive release that summer. December 9th saw the release of a new single from their forthcoming album. For me, it was "Love Letter To Japan" that temporarily reignited that spark that initially had drawn me to the band. It was uptempo, fun, had an awesome video...but I wasn't compelled to buy the new album (the band's Blue Note Records debut). Clearly, I had a musical brain fart!

Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future is an album that I NEED to get my hands on and STAT. Not sure why I didn't buy it when I first heard "Love Letter To Japan." While many bands today would have me begging their labels for club remixes, "Love Letter To Japan" was perfection just by itself. No remix necessary. That's why, when I heard about the band's upcoming 3rd album, I am expecting more pure pop perfection. Guiltless Pleasures Volume 1: A Tribute To Daryl Hall And John Oates will be out on Blue Note March 23rd and will be lead with a single, "Heard It On The Radio" (which you can hear on Popjustice - they featured it as a 'Song of the Day' last week). While the rest of the album is made up of Hall & Oates covers, "Heard It On The Radio is an original song, written to bring out that same "oldie but a goody" vibe that resonates within the rest of the cover versions. Speaking of the cover versions, go and check out four 10 second snippets on Popjustice.

"There's definitely no irony," says Kurstin of covering tracks by the genius duo. "They're great songwriters and these are great songs." Couldn't agree more and I for one, think that The Bird and The Bee are the proper band to do Hall & Oates justice. As you can see, the band covers many of the classics. I can't wait for this album. In the meantime, I'm going to pick up their last album for good measure.

Tracklisting:

1. Heard It On The Radio
2. I Can’t Go For That
3. Rich Girl
4. Sarah Smile
5. Kiss On My List
6. Maneater
7. She’s Gone
8. Private Eyes
9. One on One

Check out The Bird and The Bee on the Web:
Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//YouTube

Hot New Artist: Rox

ROX - My Baby Left Me

ROX | MySpace Music Videos

Where has this girl been all of my life? As soon as I heard the Wideboys remix of her new single "My Baby Left Me," I had to go and track down the original. This girl is TALENTED. ROX has got it going on and I hope she goes on all the way to the top of the charts.

ROX (AKA Roxanne Tataei) is a South London-based singer/songwriter, who has toured with a couple of my personal favs, Mark Ronson & Daniel Merriweather, not to mention appearances on Later...with Jools Holland and at Reading and Leeds Festivals and BBC Electric Proms. Quite a list of accomplishments, considering the talented artist is only 21 years old.

After courting a few labels , ROX joined forces with the London-based Rough Trade Records (Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian), who will release her debut album, Memoirs in the Spring. Among the top talents working with ROX on her debut, we have Al Shux (Jay-Z and Lupe Fiasco) and Commissioner Gordon (Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse).

ROX has received critical praise from the likes of The BBC Sound of 2010 Poll, MTV, HMV, The Sun, The Mirror, The Independent, The Sunday Times, News Of The World and MOJO Magazine. That's quite a lot of big-time media praise, wouldn't you say?

The new single, produced by Al Shux (who also produced and co-wrote "Empire State of Mind") "My Baby Left Me" will be released on March 15th and features remixes by the incomparable Wideboys, DC Breaks and Arms. Check out this girl when you get a chance. You won't be sorry. Also look out for an appearance at The Tabernacle in London on March 18th - her biggest hometown show so far! For a tasty treat, go and check out her previous single, "No Going Back," which you can see her performing live HERE.

Check out ROX on the web:
Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube