New Katy Perry Promotional Photos!

Photos by Ari Michelson

Two new Katy Perry photos surfaced today (above), appearing to be from the video shoot for Katy's hit single "California Gurls." Check out the video if you haven't yet. It's cute. So far Capitol has released 3 promotional shots from Perry's upcoming new album Teenage Dream (due out August 24th) and if these fun shots are any indication, we're in for quite a treat. Can't wait to see the album artwork!

Photo by Emma Summerton

Check out Katy Perry on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Diana Vickers Reveals 'The Boy Who Murdered Love' Artwork

Pop starlet Diana Vickers unveiled the single artwork for her second single off of Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree, "The Boy Who Murdered Love." Diana looks pretty in B&W with the color overlay.  The little hearts are a nice touch, taken from the beginning of the video.  "The Boy Who Murdered Love" is out July 12th in the UK.  Vickers' first single "Once" is currently #65 on the UK singles chart.  Check out TBWML video again below:

Check out Diana Vickers on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Lolene Isn't Faking It, She's the Real Deal

I PROMISE that I'm going to do a proper post on UK pop artist Lolene but I just had to do a quickie here featuring the album artwork for her debut The Electrick Hotel, due out via Capitol Records on August 24th.  Admittedly I'm late in catching the Lolene train but I finally made it and I gotta say, I'm enjoying the ride so far.



Her first release managed to hit Top 5 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Chart, while her first OFFICIAL single "Rich (Fake It Til You Make It)" (give it a listen above) is at #26 and steadily climbing.  Lolene is a beautiful and talented artist who really loves her fans, as evidenced by her personal tweets to nearly everyone who reaches out to her. Check out the album's tracklisting below, featuring production from The Messengers, Nelle Hooper, Sam Sparro, Richard Vission and more. In addition, Lolene co-wrote the entire album with talent like Sparro, Luciana, Alex James, OAK, Nasri and more. Looking forward to hearing much much more from this girl.

Tracklisting:

1. Intro (Welcome to the Electrick Hotel)
2. Sexy People
3. Rich (Fake It Til You Make It)
4. Lion Heart
5. Ordinary Girl
6. Under The Bus (featuring Sam Sparro)
7. Interlude (Room Service)
8. Carousel
9. Radio
10. Die Without Love
11. For The Record
12. Bang Bang
13. Limousine
14. F*cked Up
15. Beautiful Disaster

16. Dancing On Diamonds (BONUS TRACK)

17. Zoo (BONUS TRACK)

Check out Lolene on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hot Video Alert: OK Go - End Love

Chicago/DC-bread/Los Angeles-based band OK Go is back with a new single and video in "End Love." While nowhere near as groundbreaking as their video for "Here It Goes Again" (the famous treadmill video) it's still visually pretty cool. "End Love" is the fourth single lifted from the band's new album Of The Blue Colour of the Sky (following third single "This To Shall Pass," and a break with their record label Capitol Records/EMI).  Check it out above! Thanks to The Prophet for the latest string of video updates.

Hot Video Alert: MGMT - It's Working

It's the next MGMT single that's not really supposed to be a single because the band isn't releasing any singles. From the bands new album, Congratulations, "It's Working" is the third single album track to be released and the second music video (following first single to "Flash Delirium"). Hey, listen. I respect an artist for wanting the body of work to be celebrated as a whole, but you can do that without coming off as prententious. At anyrate, the video is pretty cool. Check it out.

Hot Video Alert: Kelis - 4th Of July (Fireworks)

Kelis has released the STUNNING video for her new DJ Ammo-produced single, "4th of July (Fireworks)," the second single off of Flesh Tone is out in America now and will be released in the UK on July 5th. The video (which sees Kelis continuing on with the "tribal" themes seen in her "Acapella" video) was co-directed by Kelis, John "Rankin" Waddell and Nicole Ehrlich and filmed in the desert just outside of Los Angeles. The video features Kelis in HER ELEMENT as the the elements (earth, wind, water and fire).  Now I'm even more excited to see Kelis and Robyn together next month. This concert is going to be SICK.

Hot Video Alert: Pearl and the Beard - Will Smith Medley

"Pearl and the Beard is three voices, one cello, one guitar, one glockenspiel, one melodica, several drums, one accordion, ninety-six teeth, and one soul."

If you haven't heard of Pearl and the Beard yet then you need to jump on that shit.  NOW.   I was turned on to this delightfully quirky folk trio a couple of years ago by a good friend of mine and while they briefly fell off my radar, a recent show in Cambridge, Massachusetts has reignited my interest.

Emily Hope Price, Jeremy Styles, Jocelyn Mackenzie/Photo by Juliet Hinley

Signed with indie label The Family Records, this New York-based band consists of "former strangers" Jocelyn Mackenzie, Emily Hope Price and Jeremy Styles and MAN, do these guys make beautiful music together.  Each artist brings something to the table, whether it be Styles' smooth falsetto, Mackenzie's powerhouse vocals or Hope Price's mesmerizing cello-playing, these guys put on a show.  Oh! and the three part harmonies they create are truly standing ovation-worthy.

Photo from Tea and Brie dot com

For a little TASTE of what these guys can do, check out the delicious medley of Will Smith's hits (including "Men in Black," "Miami," "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" and more.)  Yes, it's from November of 2009 but it's BRILLIANT.  Check out these guys on tour this summer if you can. Absolutely a must-see.

Jul 09 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
July 10 Philadelphia, PA@ Green Line Cafe
July 11 Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
July 12 Dayton, OH @ South Park Tavern
July 13 Cleveland, OH @ Wilberts
July 14 Ypsilanti, MI @ Elbow Room
July 15 Chicago, IL @ Darkroom
July 16 Madison, WI @ The Project Lodge
July 17 Minneapolis, MN @ Kitty Kat Klub
July 18 Milwaukee, WI @ Club Garibaldis
July 21 Cincinnati, OH @ North Star Tavern
July 22 Columbus, OH @ Treehouse
July 23 Lynchburg, VA @ The Muse Coffee Company
July 24 Washington DC @ The Velvet Lounge

Check out Pearl and the Beard on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//Vimeo//iTunes

Hot Video Alert: Neon Trees Cover Justin Bieber's 'Baby'

The new Billboard.com column Mashup Mondays is probably one of the most exciting online music experiences since Radio 1's Live Lounge. This weeks "Mashup" features Utah rock quartet Neon Trees covering Justin Bieber's Top 5 hit single "Baby." The band kicks it up a notch, throwing in a doo-wop twist and a little "Stand By Me" for good measure. Whether you LOVE or DESPISE Justin Bieber, you'd best check out this slice of musical brillance. Check out Neon Trees' MySpace page for tour dates this summer.

Neon Trees

Other worthy mashups worth checking out:

Florence + The Machine - I Don't Wanna Know (Mario Winans)
Jewel - "The Needle and the Damage Done" (Neil Young)
We Are The Fallen - With Or Without You (U2)
Jason Derulo - Heartless (Kanye West)
Kid Sister - More Than Words (Extreme)
Kevin Rudolf - Halfway Gone (Lifehouse)
Jason Castro - Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)
Diane Birch - What Is Love? (Haddaway)
Jay Sean - The Man Who Can't Be Moved (The Script)
We The Kings - Paparazzi (Lady Gaga)

Check out Neon Trees on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter

Erika Jayne: Queen of the Dance Chart

Congratulations to the lovely and talented Erika Jayne, who lands the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot Dance/Club Play Chart (Issue Date June 26th 2010) for her new single "Pretty Mess." "Pretty Mess" will be Jayne's fourth consecutive #1 (succeeding previous singles "Roller Coaster," "Stars" and "Give You Everything." According to Jayne:

"They say good things come in threes, but I think I would have to disagree."

"Pretty Mess" is the title track of her debut album, which is out now on E1 Records (check out my review HERE) and was written by Jayne herself and Producer/Songwriter Peter Rafelson. The remix package (which is available now) features bangin' mixes from Dave Audé, Tracy Young, DJ Escape & Johnny Vicious, Larry Tee, Bill Hamel, Klubjumpers, Rafelson himself and Marshall Stack. The super hot music video was co-directed by choreographer Mikey Minden (Pussycat Dolls, Girlicious, Paradiso Girls) and photographer Mike Ruiz. Well done girl. Keep owning that dance chart.

Check out Erika Jayne on tour this summer:

June 19th/Aura/Portland, OR
June 20th/Portland Pride/Portland, OR
June 27th/San Francisco Pride/San Francisco, CA
July 3rd/Toronto Pride/Toronto, CANADA
July 10th/Santa Barbara Pride/Santa Barbara, CA

Check out Erika Jayne on the web:

MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//iTunes//YouTube