2012: The Year of Madonna

It's the moment you've all been waiting for...the return of M.D.N.A. Yessir, her Royal Highness, Ms. Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone is BACK with a hot new single and she's ready to blow all those other bitches right out of the water!  At the ripe YOUNG age of 53, Madonna proves with her new single why, after all of these years she still has what it takes to play with the new generation of pop starlets.  The Martin Solveig-produced "Give Me All Your Luvin'" is single #1, taken from the icon's forthcoming twelfth studio album, entitled MDNA, due out March 26th through Live Nation/Interscope. If 2011 was the year of Britney, then 2012 is surely the year of Madonna. Get ready kids...

Today's release of "Give Me All Your Luvin'" comes just three days before Madonna's much hyped, highly anticipated Bridgestone Super Bowl halftime performance, at which time it's expected that she'll perform this song as well as a small medley of other hits from her illustrious nearly 30 year career.  You best believe that I'll be "watching" this weekend's game for no other reason than to catch Madonna KILL it during the halftime show. In honor of her upcoming Superbowl performance, Billboard.com compiled some of Madonna's 'Best TV Performances.' Check out that list HERE.

The super-fun video football themed video for "Give Me All Your Luvin'" was directed by French design/directing collaborative MegaForce, the group behind Kid Cudi's "Pursuit Of Happiness," "I Can Talk" by Two Door Cinema Club, and Metronomy's "A Thing For Me" videos.  Joining Madonna in the video are Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., who play two very enthusiastic cheerleaders.  The video starts out with a very clear message:

"Fans can make you famous, a contract can make you rich, the press can make you a superstar, but only luv can make you a player."

Hmm. Sounds like Madonna wrote that bit, doesn't it? Next up we see M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj (looking fabulous in a long black wig with bangs) cheering away on the shoulders of two mysterious masked/wigged cheerleaders.  The masks worn by the rest of the troupe are a little creepy, looking like identical Japanimation characters - big painted green eyes, a virtually non existent little nose and tiny painted pink lips, all wearing identical black wigs with bangs and matching cheer leading outfits with a big "M" on the front.  Enter Madonna, looking fierce and fabulous as ever in a gorgeous khaki trench, pushing a buggy.  Madonna eventually loses the classy trench and, rockin' a sexy long sleeve black leather number, with hotpants and fishnets to complete the look. S-S-S-EXY Mama. How old are you again?

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Hot Video Alert: Sam Sparro - The Shallow End

Since releasing his BRILLIANT self-titled debut album back in 2008, I've been eagerly awaiting new material from 29 year old Aussie-born/U.S. & UK based singer/songwriter Sam Sparro. Well folks, that moment has FINALLY arrived.  "The Shallow End" is the first tease of new stuff from Sparro, who's sophomore record, Return To Paradise, is due for release in May via EMI. HALLELUJAH!

I'm uncertain, whether or not "The Shallow End" is Sparro's first single or if it's just a promotional teaser of what's to come.  Given the low LOW budget of this "music video," my guess is that it's the former.  The video appears to be a mix of "behind the scenes" footage of Sparro and his band, friends, producers, etc. recording, what I'm guessing to be the forthcoming new album.  There's a lot of footage of Sparro goofing off, playing with his puppies, walking around in a tank, generally acting really casual.  Regardless, at this point I'll take what I can get of Sparro. His first album remains to this day, one of my favorite pop albums of the past few years.  Hell, I'm so desperate for new Sam Sparro, I'll even accept him with that creepy, perv-stache plastered above his upper lip.

Musically speaking, "The Shallow End" doesn't really deviate too far from the electro-soul sound of Sparro's last string of singles (including the Grammy-nominated hit single "Black and Gold") which I guess is a good thing.  According to the press release, Sparro brought on musicians from all over the globe to record Return To Paradise, working with long-time producer and collaborator Jesse "Golden Touch" Rogg.  Other collaborators include the delectable Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Sia), Jono Sloan (from Empire of the Sun), Tim Anderson (from Ima Robot) and Lester Mendez (Shakira, Nelly Furtado).  Musicians wrangled in to play on the album include Stuart Zender (founding bass player from Jamiroquai), violinist Caitlin Moe, the horn section from Hercules and Love Affair, as well as Midnight Magic, Charlie Wilcocks, Dave Wilder, Felix Bloxsom and Sparro's very own brother and father on guitars.  Helping out on the songwriting end, Sparro worked with Best Coast's own Bethany Cosentino, Florence + The Machine's Isabella Summers and Swedish singer/songwriter Erik Hassle (who appears in the video below). Sounds like an AMAZING cluster of talented folks here. From the official release:

"The results are an eclectic collection of songs about love lost and the quest for happiness. Stylistically, there are songs that range from 80′s electro soul and disco dance floor fillers to beautiful ballads."

Can't wait to hear what else Sparro has got.  Sounds like a worthy follow up to me.  Check out the homemade video for "The Shallow End" below and download Sam's debut album on U.S. iTunes HERE before the new one comes out this spring.

UPDATE: Sam Sparro has announced a U.S. "Mini-Tour"! So exciting! Check out the tour dates below:

February 4th//San Francisco, CA//Independent
February 6th//Los Angeles, CA//Key Club
February 19th//Boston, MA//Brighton Music Hall
February 21st//New York, NY//Highline Ballroom
February 23rd//Philadelphia, PA//World Café
February 24th//Washington, DC//Rock and Roll Hotel
February 26th//Atlanta, GA//Masquerade
February 27th//Orlando, FL//Social
February 28th//Miami, FL//Bardot

Check out Sam Sparro on the web:

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

Hot Video Alert: Adam Lambert - Better Than I Know Myself

In case you missed it, 30 year old singer/songwriter (and American Idol alum) Adam Lambert premiered the video for his brand new single, "Better Than I Know Myself" earlier today.  The beautifully shot Ray Kay directed video features Lambert playing two different versions of himself, good versus evil, if you will. The video plays out in a split screen format, with each "version" of Lambert confined to it's own space. The evil dwells in a dark, blueish green tinted space while the good inhabits a much more zen, warmly lit room.  Very literal but still effective at getting the point of the video across.  In the end, breaking free from the confined space, Lambert's character seems to achieve some sort of balance and all is well again.  Definitely one of more interesting videos to come out in a while.  I'm wondering if it's supposed to be autobiographical in any way, given some of the star's recent press. Hmmmm...

Now...let's discuss the song.  Despite being impeccably performed my Mr. Lambert, "Better Than I Know Myself" is rather drab as far as Adam Lambert singles go.  It's a mid-tempo electro-pop ballad produced and co-written by Dr. Luke (Ke$ha, Katy Perry), Cirkut (Jessie J, Rihanna) and Ammo (Pitbull, Britney Spears) along with Claude Kelly who also served as co-writer on the track.  Lambert has one of the best male vocals in pop right now and he certainly sings the hell out of this song, but it's lacking something for me.  I don't know if it's the hook, or the depressing subject matter or what. Something just isn't connecting with me and I can't quite figure out what it is.

Released on December 20th, the single peaked at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Currently sitting at #83, now that the song has officially been sent to radio (as of January 23rd), I'm hoping that the video helps give the song a little boost up the charts.  This very well could be a grower for me, and if the past is indicative of anything, we'll likely see a swarm of bumpin' dance remixes in the coming months which will likely give the song new life.  "Better Than I Know Myself" serves as the official lead off of Adam Lambert's forthcoming sophomore album, entitled Trespassing, which is due in March on RCA Records.  While Lambert did co-write many of the album's tracks, he also paired up with some of the industry's most talented songwriters and producers, including Pharrell Williams, Benny Blanco, Bonnie McKee, Nile Rogers, Sam Sparro, Bruno Mars, Nikka Costa, BC Jean and more.

UK Adam Lambert fans unfortunately have to wait until March 12th to download the single, but U.S. fans can download it on U.S. iTunes HERE. Check out the video below!

Check out Adam Lambert on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//VEVO