[Review] Colbie Caillat featuring Common - Favorite Song

When I first heard that Colbie Caillat was pairing up with rapper/actor Common for her new single, "Favorite Song," I was a little skeptical.  Sure, rappers have paired up with singer/songwriters in the past (Common paired up with Lily Allen on what would become one of my favorite songs!) but something in me just couldn't see Colbie's light & fluffy pop/rock style meshing with Common's hard-hitting hip-hop, and unfortunately a live performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show didn't make me a believer.

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Hot Video Alert: Gavin DeGraw - Sweeter

Photo credit: Debra Rothenberg/PictureGroup

"Sweeter" serves as the title track and second single from American singer/songwriter Gavin DeGraw's fourth studio album.  Written and produced by DeGraw and Ryan Tedder, "Sweeter" is a worthy follow up to "Not Over You," which was released all the way back in May of 2011. Why the wait Gavin?  "Not Over You" peaked at a reasonably decent #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart so you'd think that the label would have been a bit more aggressive with album promo.

Starting out with a funky, head-boppin' guitar solo, DeGraw comes in and starts showcasing his skills on the piano.  DeGraw really exhibits well-roundedness on this song, coming in strong vocally at the beginning of each verse, and showing restraint towards the end of each line, all the way through dazzling us with his beautiful falsetto.  He really sounds his best on those big wailing choruses, mixing the gritty & gruff hard elements of his sound with the soft & delicate falsetto.  This is DeGraw really in his funky pop/rock element and I love it.

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Macy Gray Covers Radiohead, Kanye West, Colbie Caillat, Metallica and More on New Album

Macy Gray is back ya'll! Covered is Gray's sixth studio album and her first with 429 Records, a subsidiary of Savoy Label Group/Nippon Columbia.  Joining Macy on the 429 roster are notable artists including The Bodeans, Everclear, Edwin McCain, John Popper (Blues Traveler), The Proclaimers, and Tonic.  That's an awful lot of bands/artists that were popular in the 90s and early 2000s, no?  No matter - I'm just happy that Macy Gray found herself a new label, having left Concord Records following the release of her 2010 flop The Sellout.

Now, a lot of artists have released covers albums in the past.  Some might be quick to call a covers album unoriginal, but that's far from the truth.  A covers album, when done well, is the perfect opportunity for an established artist to put his or her spin onto some other well known material.  Mandy Moore's 2003 album Coverage comes to mind.  This was Moore's first album dabbling in singer/songwriter type music, covering a variety of tunes from the 70s and 80s, including Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move," Elton John's "Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters," "Anticipation" by Carly Simon, Joan Armatrading's (another of Macy Gray's 429 Records labelmates) "Drop The Pilot" and first single "Have A Little Faith In Me" by John Hiatt.  While a commercial failure, Coverage was critically acclaimed, with most lauding Moore for her new mature direction.  While Mandy Moore stuck mostly to songs people know, Macy Gray chose to put her spin on a more obscure collection of tunes.

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