[Hot Video Alert] Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

After his last album failed to produce anything resembling a hit, Owl City (AKA Adam Young) continues in his quest to avoid being another ONE HIT WONDER, this time enlisting the support of relative newcomer and bonafied hitmaker, Canadian singer/songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen, who's own single "Call Me Maybe" catapulted her into superstar status and earned her #1's all over the world.  Pretty smart if you ask me. So far, the new single entitled "Good Time" has peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Owl City the second Top 20 hit of his career.

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Carly Rae Jepsen Releases 'Call Me Maybe' Dance Remixes; Set to Join Justin Bieber on 'Believe' Tour

26-year old Canadian teen-pop superstar Carly Rae Jepsen turns CLUB PRINCESS on the recently released remixes of her international #1 hit "Call Me Maybe."  The JAM-packed remix EP was released on May 22nd and features remixes from Manhattan Clique, Almighty, 10 Kings vs. Ollie Green and Coyote Kisses.  Listen to the remixes BELOW and download them on iTunes NOW (iTunes US/iTunes UK).

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[Hot Video Alert] Justin Bieber - Boyfriend

I feel a FEVER comin' on...specifically a BIEBER fever.  To the delight of screaming little girls all over the world, Justin Bieber premiered the video for new single "Boyfriend" on MTV and VEVO at 7:50 PM this evening.  I'm embarrassed and a little bit ashamed to admit that "Boyfriend" marks the very first Justin Bieber post here on Music Is My King Size Bed.  So go easy on me!

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Kosovo-Born British Singer/Songwriter Rita Ora Drops Hot Debut U.S. Single & Video

Hot off the success of her collaboration with DJ Fresh, Kosovo-born British singer/songwriter Rita Ora is ready to make a splash over on this side of the pond, releasing the video for her debut U.S. single "How We Do (Party)."  Produced by hip-hop hit makers The Runners (Keyshia Cole, Chris Brown, Usher), "How We Do (Party)" is the ultimate party song, borrowing lyrics from Notorious B.I.G.'s 1993 single "Party and Bullshit."  Released March 20th on Jay-Z's Roc Nation, "How We Do (Party)" was written by Andre Davidson, Andrew Harr, Bonnie McKee alongside a troop of other talented songwriters.

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Justin Bieber Protege, Carly Rae Jepsen Lands UK #1 with Second Fastest Selling Single of 2012

As if the sudden rush of notoriety here in America wasn't enough for Canadian singer/songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen, now she's become an overnight success in the UK as well. Pretty effing fantastic.  Jepsen's smash single, the uber-catchy "Call Me Maybe" not only crashed into the top ten on Billboard's Hot 100 chart but following it's release last week in the UK, the former Canadian Idol contestant has the pleasure of having the SECOND fastest selling single of 2012 to date, with nearly 107,000 sold in the first week and an impressive out of nowhere #1 debut on the UK Singles Chart.  Pretty impressive.  Jepsen comes in only second to the DJ Fresh & Rita Ora jam "Hot Right Now" which sold an impressive 128,000 in it's first week of release back in February.  Whichever way you slice it, this is no small feat and Carly Rae Jepsen has a lot to be happy about.

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Ones to Watch in 2012: Pepper

Pepper is someone I've been hearing about for a few months now, however it wasn't until recently that I decided to give her a proper listen and BOY have I (and you) been missing out. This girl's a vocal powerhouse.  While she has yet to release a single, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer.  Per Pepper herself via her official Twitter, "First single out soon, album to follow later in the year."  In the meantime, Pepper's been releasing a series of acoustic tracks to keep us occupied and impressed, all of which you can hear below, starting with her latest punchy pop masterpiece, "Higher" (BELOW).

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Hot Video Alert: Greyson Chance - Waiting Outside The Lines

Greyson Chance should just get used to the Justin Bieber comparisons right now. That's all I'm saying! While that's certainly not a bad thing, it will be important for him to maintain his own image and sense of individuality. This 13 year old singer/songwriter is definitely one to watch. His version of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" became an instant hit on YouTube with over 34 million hits and counting. That performance got the attention of Ellen DeGeneres, who eventually signed Chance to her newly formed record label, ElevenEleven (in association with Maverick/Geffen Records). His debut single, "Waiting Outside The Lines" was released at the end of October and features a music video directed by Sanaa Hamri.  The video features the young Chance playing the piano and singing, very much like Vanessa Carlton in her "A Thousand Miles" video, minus the swarms of female fans.

Chance is currently working on his debut album, expected out sometime next year. While we're waiting, check out the video below for "Waiting Outside The Lines" and download the single on iTunes HERE. Also worth a look, Chances' stunning "Paparazzi" cover (HERE) that started the whole craze as well as his performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (HERE). Justin Bieber, watch your back!

Check out Greyson Chance on the web:

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

Hot Video Alert: The Motherload

Rather than doing a whole string of individual posts with music videos, I thought I'd kill a few birds with one stone, so to speak, and post a BUNCH of recently released music videos from some of my favorite artists...and some of my least favorite ones as well.  Here we go!

I've had my eye on Shontelle ever since "T-Shirt" was released back in 2008 off of her debut album, Shontelligence. While I liked the song, I lived for the club remixes, so my love for new single "Perfect Nightmare" should come as no surprise. The Darkchild-produced track starts out as your run-of-the-mill R&B ballad but as soon as the song hits the 1:15 mark it's turned into a full-on club banger. Work Shontelle! Work. This is a hot song. Vocally she's not THAT impressive on this track but after releasing a power ballad like "Impossible" it's TIME for Shontelle to have a little fun and do something more up-tempo. The Colin Tilley-directed video was shot in both black & white and in color, seemingly telling the story of a former lover. The single is lifted off of Shontelle's sophomore album, No Gravity which so far has peaked at #81 on the Billboard 200.

Check out Shontelle on the web:

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

Just for the record, I DO NOT have "Bieber Fever." That being said, you can't deny that Justin Bieber is talented. He's got the voice (for the time being). He has the industry hook ups (HELLO! Usher?). He's got the crazed fans worldwide. "U Smile," the latest single to be released from My World 2.0, was written by Bieber, Jerry Duplessis, Arden Altino, and Dan August Rigo, and produced by Duplessis and Altino. The Colin Tilley-directed video for the ballad features Bieber on piano belting out the lyrics, all the while wooing a pretty blond girl, whom he met as he was bombarded by a group of autograph-seeking fan girls.  The video makes me feel bad for Bieber.  How can he ever have a normal life again? Every time he steps out anywhere he's probably facing a raging mob of teenage girls.  Released back in March as a digital single, "U Smile" peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Check out Justin Bieber on the web:

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

Recovery might very well be Eminem's most commercial album to date.  While Eminem is no stranger to collaborations, this album seems like it's FULL of them.  Rihanna, P!nk...even his most recent Lil Wayne-assisted single "No Love" is a bit commercial sounding, thanks in part to the sample of Haddaway's "What Is Love" that appears throughout the track.  Produced by Just Blaze, "No Love" will serve as the third single off of Recovery with a video directed by Chris Robinson.  The video seems to tackle bullying  A (likely heavily edited) version of the single will be released to radio on October 5th. So far the single has peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Check out Eminem on the web:

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

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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

Massive Album Artwork Update - Part I

I know that some might view a blog post full of album art as a cop out. Trust me...these album artwork updates aren't cop outs. Those who say that have never tried formatting a blog post in Blogger. It's suck a process! Blogger can be so finicky sometimes. It drives me INSANE. I actually spend longer on these Album Artwork posts than I do writing some of my other posts. Anyway, lots of new artwork to catch up on so here we go with part #1.

While not the lead single off of Adam Lambert's major label debut (due out by year's end), "Time For Miracles" is the lead single off of the 2012 movie soundtrack. Produced by Rob Cavallo (Paramore, Green Day, Avril Lavigne), the track has already been tauted a potential "power-ballad smash" by Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak. 2012 is the new big budget disaster pic from director Roland Emmerich, due out November 13th. The single will be released on October 20th. I'm definitely looking forward to some new material from Adam Lambert.

Former Mis-Teeq member and solo artist, Alesha Dixon is re-releasing her second album, The Alesha Show - dubbing this one The Encore. Lead single off of the reboot is the John Shanks-produced/Gary Barlow-written ballad, "To Love Again." Not too crazy about the song to be honest. I think Dixon has a perfectly adequate voice, but I much prefer her on an up-tempo track. I don't know if this song is going to be enough to make the album jump up the charts, but who knows. There are 2 other new tracks on the album (including one co-written by Paloma Faith and one produced by Xenomania), out in the UK November 23rd. The single precedes the album on November 15th.

I'm loving the artwork campaign for Amerie's In Love & War album. It's artistic AND sexy at the same time. The music on the other hand...I haven't really been inspired by any of Amerie's new material. Perhaps I haven't given it enough of a chance. There is no release date yet for "Pretty Brown," the third single released from the new album, due out November 3rd. It features hip hop artists Trey Songz.

I don't know if it's bad boy/thug appeal or what, but there's something about Asher Roth that I just find sexy. "She Don't Wanna Man" was actually the 4th single released off of Roth's debut album Asleep In The Bread Aisle. The single came out in July and features R&B artist Keri Hilson. The 5th single, "As I Em" was released on October 6th. I think we can expect big things from Roth, who's only 24. Lots of talent there.

This Britney Spears collection makes me excited...like VERY excited. Not sure if I could or should drop $100 + on the Ultimate Fan Box Edition, but part of kind of wants to. I think I'm going to wait to see what remixes & b-sides are released with each of the singles. I did purchase the Girls Aloud singles collection...in that case, we got a lot more remixes and b-sides. The Britney collection is only offering one extra track per single. We'll have to see. The black cover is for the domestic release of the compilation, due out November 1oth while the purple cover will be on the CD/DVD Edition and International version of the album. The Box Set will be released internationally on November 24th. The album artwork is a bit boring. I'd rather have a new photo but I'll take what I can get.

Mama's Song was first previewed on Billboard.com and is now available for download on iTunes. While not an official album single, it's nice to hear this little teaser off of the album. I'm still really loving "Cowboy Casanova" and am really excited to hear what the new album (Play On - due out November 3rd) sounds like. Mama's Song was co-written by Kara DioGuardi and Carrie Underwood herself.

Darin is another cutey. Oh and go figure, he's Swedish. The Swedish pop singers are all cute. Can anyone clarify what this single (a cover of the Coldplay song) is for? It's not on his 2008 album, Flashback. I know it was recorded in 2009 but I can't seem to find out what it's promoting or if it's just a stand alone single. Regardless, Darin looks great on the single artwork. Darin will be releasing his first UK single in November, a duet with Kat DeLuna called "Breathing Your Love." The track was produced by RedOne and released in Sweden one year ago.

It seems like everyone is releasing a greatest hits album these days. "Alpha Dog" is the first single off of the upcoming Fall Out Boy Greatest Hits album, Believers Never Die. Making an early appearance as a demo on Welcome To The New Administration, the single is due out November 16th (internationally on November 17th). The Greatest Hits album comes out on November 17th and features 15 tracks plus 3 bonus tracks.

And we have another "Best Of" compilation. This one, by the always amazing Janet Jackson will be released on November 17th. Number Ones (called The Best in international markets) is a two-disc album that contains all of Janet's hits PLUS the new track, "Make Me," co-produced by Rodney Jerkins and Miss Janet herself. The album is to be released jointly by A&M/Universal & EMI and features 33 of Jackson's number 1 singles. Wow. What a career! This is a hot song. Can't wait for some remixes.

When I was in Germany this past Spring, one of the CD singles I picked up was Jennifer Paige's "Underestimated." We here in America of course remember Paige for her 1998 hit single "Crush," which managed to hit #1 in several countries that year. Since then, her U.S. success has been relatively non-existent, but she has managed to find a following in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. According to Italian website "Beautiful Lie" is the new single by Jennifer Paige and features Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys fame. Interesting collaboration indeed. It was apparently recorded in LA this past summer, hitting radio in Germany Austria and Switzerland on October 6th. It's due for a digital release in Europe on November 20th. The single is the first off of Jennifer Paige's upcoming 4th album of the same name. Can anyone shed some more light on this track or her upcoming album? Check out this video of Carter and Paige chatting about the single. You can also hear a bit of the single in the clip, which sounds pretty decent.

Christ. 15 years old and he's already a heart throb. Poor guy. Must be rough. Justin Bieber is a Canadian singer who started out on YouTube before hitting the mainstream, signing an album deal with Island Records. His debut album, My World is set to be released on November 17th and is preceded by two singles - "One Time" (released July 7th) which peaked at #12 on Canadian pop charts and 21 in the U.S. The second single, "One Less Lonely Girl," was released on October 6th. Bieber recently made an appearance on NBC's The Today Show (October 12th) where he performed 3 songs in front of a crowd of screaming girls. He's also touring with Taylor Swift on the European leg of her Fearless Tour. Looks like there's lots in store for this talented young singer.

Real Housewife of Atlanta star, Kandi Burruss released her new single "Fly Above" on October 7th. This is Kandi's first single since 2001's "Cheatin' On Me," from her debut solo record Hey Kandi. Formerly part of the R&B group Xscape, Burruss has been writing up a storm since Xscape and her first solo album. Now is the PERFECT time to release a new single. With the popularity of the Bravo show, Kandi's in the spotlight once again and man does she deserve it. Writing hits for the likes of Destiny's Child ("Bills, Bills, Bills," "Bug a Boo"), P!nk ("There You Go"), and TLC ("No Scrubs") - it's about time Kandi wrote herself a few hits. Kandi has previewed snippets of the new track on her reality show and I like what I hear. This track has potential, as does her forthcoming album. An EP will be released on November 10th, including lead single "Fly Above."