Lily Rose Cooper (AKA Lily Allen) Heads Back Into the Studio; Features on New P!nk Album

PHOTO CREDIT: Simon Emmet

I've pretty much been a bloody mess ever since the day Lily Allen Rose Cooper declared her plans to retire from music.  Crying. Shaking. Hiding in the pantry. I've been an absolute wreck.  Then T-Pain released his hit single, "5 O'Clock," featuring "Who'd Have Known" from Allen's Cooper's 2009 sophomore album, It's Not Me, It's You and the world was a brighter place.  Despite the fact that Allen Cooper didn't appear in the video, and the fact that the sample wasn't anything new, her voice was all I needed to hear, apparently. Oh, I suppose I should address the white elephant in this post, before we get too much farther. IT'S F**KING LILY ROSE COOPER NOW BITCHES!

Read more »

[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.

Read more »

Hot Video Alert: Professor Green feat. Lily Allen - Just Be Good To Green

My only complaint about the Professor Green/Lily Allen video for "Just Be Good To Green" is...not enough Lily Allen! I love the whole look Lily's got going on. The song's aight but the more I see Lily Allen, the more I DON'T want her to go away! What do you lot think of the song/video? The single is due out in the UK on July 11th.

Sneak Peak - Professor Green feat. Lily Allen - Just Be Good To Green

A sneak peak of the video for the Professor Green/Lily Allen collaboration, "Just Be Good To Green" has been released and it looks...interesting. Lily Allen looks (and sounds) fantastic. I'm really hoping that Lily doesn't completely abandon her music career. Both albums have been amazing (in my humble opinion) and have sold reasonably well (Alright, Still - 3X Platinum in the UK/It's Not Me, It's You - 3 X Platinum in the UK), especially internationally. Don't throw in the towel Lily! Keep recording! "Just Be Good To Green" will be released July 11th in the UK and is based on an 80s song by The SOS Band called "Just Be Good To Me," re-imagined in 1990 by Beats International in the form of "Dub Be Good To Me." Professor Green's album will be released on July 12th.

Hot Compilation Alert: Doctor Rosen Brings Us His Best of 2009

"Remixer extraordinaire" Doctor Rosen is back with a 2009 Remix Compilation that contains his take on tracks by Eminem, Phoenix, Weezer, Lily Allen, Britney Spears and more! I first heard the Doctor when he released his track-by-track re-interpretation of Lily Allen's last album, It's Not Me, It's You, (appropriately titled It's Not Me, It's Doctor Rosen). That remix album left me yearning for more from the Idaho-bread, LA-based producer/remixer.

While Rosen is known for his bootleg remixes, he's now making a name for himself in official circles as well. After being hired to do a remix for Interscope Records (Chris Cornell's "Scream," produced by Timbaland) it's been non stop mixing action for Dr. Rosen. In the near future we can expect official remixes of Lady Gaga/Beyonce, Tegan & Sara, Blue Roses, Vistosso Bosses and more.

In the meantime, check out this remix compilation. For me, this is PERFECT. Tackling everything from Britney's "Womanizer," to tracks by Drake and Weezer - this remix compilation sums up 2009 quite nicely. Well done Dr. Rosen. Keep churning out the hits!


Tracklisting:

1. Drake - FOREVER (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
2. Weezer - I Want You To (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
3. Lily Allen - Never Gonna Happen (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
4. Phoenix - LISZTOMANIA (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
5. Eminem - WE MADE YOU (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
6. Alaska In Winter - BERLIN (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
7. Lilly Allen - FUCK YOU (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
8. Mission District - HEARTBREAKER (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)* previously unreleased
9. Britney Spears - WOMANIZER (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)
10. Sliimy - WOMANIZER (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)* previously unreleased

Check out Dr. Rosen on the web:
Official Site//MySpace//Flickr//YouTube//Twitter

Hot Music Video Alert: Lily Allen - Who'd Have Known?

Massive Album Art Update - Part 2

Here's part two of my "Massive Album Artwork" update. The artwork comes from a variety of sources including Popjustice, Coverlandia and official major label resources.

The Best of Enya is the Irish singer's 4th best of set, the last one being 2002's Only Time - The Collection boxed set. Due out on November 16th, the album will be available in both a standard version as well as a deluxe CD/DVD version. While the album doesn't contain any new tracks, however "Aníron," from The Lord Of The Rings will appear for the first time on an Enya album. While I don't identify as an Enya fan per se, I do appreciate the beautiful and ethereal quality to her voice. While her stage presence leaves something to be desired (she's very shy and awkward, from what I've seen) she has a beautiful voice. I also love this artwork. I love the way her red dress pops against the black background.

I'm surprised that All Or Nothing is going to be British singer Jay Sean's debut U.S. album. Maybe this is because I've been more intently focused on the UK music scene and I've seen quite a few singles released over the past couple of years. Due out on November 23rd, All Or Nothing features Sean's hit single "Down," featuring U.S. rapper Lil' Wayne, hitting the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart. The album will be released on Universal Music Group's Super Monday, with all of the label's higher profile albums being released on the Monday before the holiday to take advantage of the start of the busy shopping season. Jay Sean has seen success in both the UK and in the Asian markets, but has yet to tackle the U.S. music scene. With a successful first single in the bag, this seems like the perfect time for Sean to launch his career in the States. "Do You Remember," the second U.S. single was released to radio on October 10th and features guest appearances from Lil Jon and Sean Paul.

John Mayer's 4th studio album, Battle Studies and will be released on November 17th, a follow up to 2006's 2X Platinum Continuum. First single "Who Says" was released on October 13th and so far has peaked at #26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. I really like "Who Says" and am excited for Battle Studies. It's apparently a sonic departure from his last album, being described as a "fresh style of song writing." This should be interesting.I love Mayer's look on the album cover...B&W...well styled...sexy.

29 year old British singer Katherine Jenkins isn't your average pop star. In fact, she's not really a pop star at all. Jenkins is a chart-topping, award-winning mezzo-soprano, hitting the top of the UK album charts and winning two consecutive Classical BRIT Awards. Impressive! "Believe" is believed to be the lead single off of Jenkins' forthcoming best of compilation, due out October 26th. It also happens to be the title of the CD, which can be pre-ordered on Jenkins' own website. The album also features "Bring Me To Life," which has been remixed by Almighty. Beautiful girl, beautiful voice - it's hard to believe that at just 29, she already has 7 albums under her belt. Impressive indeed.

As I mentioned before, Katy Perry is getting ready to release her first live album, an MTV Unplugged album no less. I love the cover artwork, a photo still from her live performance. Perry looks stunning in pink. With a smile on her face and a guitar in her hands, Katy Perry looks like she's in her element. The album is due out on November 17th.

This is the artwork from American Idol Season 8 winner, Kris Allen's debut album. The set is due out on November 17th and features collaborations with Claude Kelly, David Hodges, Salaam Remi, Joe King of The Fray, Toby Gad, Alex Band of The Calling, Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Lindy Robbins, Chris Daughtry and Mat Kearney. PHEW! Now that's quite a list! Allen released his debut single on September 21st (digitally on September 25th), "Live Like We're Dying," which was originally done by Irish band, The Script. If the single is indicative of the sound Allen is going for, I think it's going to be a strong album. What's more...how cute does Kris Allen look on the covers? *DROOL*

To capitalize on the MASSIVE success of Lady Gaga's debut album, The Fame, she's releasing The Fame Monster, due out on November 24th. In addition to material originally included on the previous release of The Fame, The Fame Monster includes 8 new tracks. According to an interview in Rolling Stone Magazine, Gaga said that "originally [my label] wanted me to put out three songs and now it's much more than that, it's a new album's worth of material." 4 of the new tracks are produced by RedOne ("Bad Romance," "Alejandro," "Monster," "So Happy I Could Die"), while Fernando Garibay ("Dancing In The Dark"), Rodney "Dark Child" Jerkins ("Telephone"), Teddy Riley ("Teeth") and Ron Fair ("Speechless") produced one track each. Lady Gaga wrote all of the songs, including lead single "Bad Romance," due to be released on October 19th. This is one release that I'll have NO problem purchasing. I am also loving the artwork for the album. So different than anything I've seen Gaga wearing before. Very interesting. I think of the two, I prefer the blond Gaga. The dark haired photo reminds me too much of an early Shakira.

I'm not really too sure what I think about Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester's debut solo single, "Somebody To Love." While it's got the electro-pop production and features silky smooth vocals by one of my favorites, Robin Thicke, the song just lack energy from it's leading lady. Meester seems to fade into the background here. Produced by Mike Caren and Oligee (Flo-Rida, Cobra Starship), the single was released on October 14th and serves as the lead single from Meester's as yet untitled debut album. A video for the single is due out sometime this month, followed by a UK release sometime in December. I expected more out of this single, especially considering how much I enjoyed her featured vocal in the Cobra Starship track, "Good Girls Go Bad." I'm still choosing to remain optimistic about her debut album, due out sometime this Fall.

"Trouble Is A Friend" is the second single off of Australian singer Lenka's debut self-titled album, released in September of 2008. Lenka's first single was "The Show," in June, followed in August by "Trouble Is A Friend." The newest single will be "We Will Not Grow Old." The talented Aussie singer/songwriter and actress first gained U.S. attention when her song "The Show" appeared in an Old Navy commercial. Two of her songs, including "Trouble Is A Friend" were featured in the U.S. TV show Grey's Anatomy as well as the American reboot of 90210. I love what I've heard so far out of Lenka and look forward to hearing a great deal more.

"Who'd Have Known" will be the 5th (4th in the UK) single off of Lily Allen's hit album, It's Not Me, It's You and I couldn't be happier. "Who'd Have Known" has always been one of my favorite album tracks. It was written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, and samples Take That's single "Shine." The single is due for a release on November 23rd, preceded by the video which portrays Allen as an obsessed Elton John groupie. Brilliant! I love this video. Lily is hilarious. She and Elton John are apparently friends in real life, despite media reports saying the opposite. I also quite enjoy this single artwork, although it does stray away from Allen's posing around some gigantic numbers and letters, as she had in the artwork for her previous singles. Allen looks beautiful and sounds beautiful.

Lola (AKA Jennifer Lopez) has a hot new single "Fresh Out Of The Oven." Yep - that's the title. "Fresh Out Of The Oven" featuring Pitbull, produced by The Neptunes will NOT be on Lopez's forthcoming album, Love? due out January 25, 2010 in the UK and January 26th in the U.S. This single is a "buzz single," being released strictly for promotional purposes. Lopez's label confirms that Lopez is NOT adopting a new persona, saying "Lola is just for this song....She hasn't become Sasha Fierce. There won't be anything to do with Lola on her Love? album." While I'm confused as to why this song won't be featured on the upcoming album, which has been described as a return to Lopez's dance/pop roots - it's certainly doing it's job creating a buzz. I'm pumped for some new Lopez. Anything beats 2007's Brave bomb.

Malice In Wonderland is Snoop Dogg's 10th studio album. Wow. That's quite a career! Due to be released on December 8th, 2009, the album was produced by Dr. Dre, Nottz, DJ Quik, The Neptunes, The-Dream, and more. Expect guest appearances by The Game, The-Dream, R. Kelly, Kid Cudi, Soulja Boy - just to name a few. First single, "Gangsta Luv" was produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. I'm loving this album artwork. It's a dark and sexy cartoon. To be honest, I'd rather not see Snoop Dogg's mug on another album cover.

This is the "new" posthumous single from Michael Jackson, off of his This Is It compilation album due out on October 26th. The album promotes the motion picture release, Michael Jackson's This Is It - a film chronicling what was going to be his big comeback tour. While originally tauted as a new single, information recently came to light, revealing that Paul Anka co-wrote the song with Jackson in 1983. Sa-Fire later included the song on her 1991 album, back when it was called "I Never Heard." While the single was released to radio only on October 12th, it impressively debuted at #43 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song itself isn't really anything impressive, but it's "new" to most of us so naturally people are going to love it, especially with it being so soon after Jackson's death.

"I Wish" is the second single from English electro-pop group Mini Viva, due out November 30th. Produced by Xenomania, managed by Simon Fuller and signed to Geffen Records UK - Mini Viva consists of Frankee Connolly and Britt Love. Debut single "Left My Heart In Tokyo," was released on September 6th and in my opinion is a total club stomper. While I haven't yet heard any snippets of their second single, I'm really excited. I've been following producer/remixer Cahill's tweets and he's been talking about working on the new single. I can only imagine with Cahill on the remix, that it's going to be a smash. No release date has been set yet for Mini Viva's debut album, but I imagine that it will be early next year.

As I previously mentioned in another post, Norah Jones released her new single, "Chasing Pirates" on October 13th. The single is definitely different than anything Jones has done before and that's totally a good thing. I'm really excited for her forthcoming album, The Fall, due out November 17th. The artwork is nothing new...in fact it's practically identical to her album artwork. The single artwork includes a different pose and a few more dogs. Go download this single now on iTunes!

My Weekly Last FM Chart

Here's this weeks Last FM chart, chronicling this past week in terms of most listened to artists and songs.

Most Listened To Artists:

1. Jordin Sparks

2. Regina Spektor

3. Duffy

4. Blake Lewis

5. Lily Allen

This past week, the new Jordin Sparks album came out. As a result, Jordin appears in both my most listened to artists for the week as well as most listened to tracks. I've been dealing with a bad cold/flu this past week, so the soothing sounds of Regina Spektor and Duffy were helpful in making me feel better. Blake Lewis...as I get ready for his new album, Heartbreak On Vinyl...I went back and listened to his debut album, as well as his new brilliant single "Sad Song." Good stuff! Lily Allen...there's always room for Lily! Her music just makes me happy.

Most Listened To Songs:

1. Jordin Sparks - The Cure

2. Jordin Sparks - Don't Let It Go To Your Head

3. Jordin Sparks - Faith

4. Brooke White - Hold Up My Heart

5. Jordin Sparks - Walking On Snow

Hmmm...turns out I didn't to the same song more than twice this past week. All of these songs I listened to 2 X exactly. Other songs that made the list include the rest of the Jordin Sparks record and the Brooke Hogan/Flo Rida jam, "Ruff Me Up."

Lily Allen - 22 - Single Artwork Revealed

via Coverlandia

As previously reported, the new Lily Allen single is "22," (August 24) the video for which came out last week. Now...we have the single artwork! I love all of the artwork for It's Not Me, It's You." It's playful and fun. What do you think of the new artwork?

Check out Lily Allen on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube//LastFM//Twitter

Lily Allen - 22 Video Premiere

And the 4th Lily Allen single off of her second album is..."22!" Not an obvious choice for a single if you ask me, but it's a good song. The video isn't the most up-lifting video, especially coming after the hilarious video for "F**k You." I guess I don't know what I was expecting...the song after all, is fairly melancholy. At this point, I'll take all the Lily Allen I can get!

Check out Lily Allen on the web: Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube//LastFM//Twitter

My Favorite Music Videos RIGHT NOW!

So, I'm not ashamed to admit it...the disposable income I do have goes to music AND the occasional music video, which I then put onto my iPod for some enjoyment on the T(rain). Here are some of my favorite music videos of the moment.

• Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) - Dirty, slutty good fun. The song is a bit overplayed right now, but this is my late-discovery. This is my walking around the city jam.

• VV Brown - Shark In The Water - I've talked about this girl before, but I can't stop raving! Her album is out in the UK soon and this is her latest single. She looks stunning in the video!

• Lady Gaga - Paparazzi - One word...E-P-I-C!!

• Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester - Good Girls Go Bad - Fun little peak at what Leighton Meester's debut album is going to sound like. Plus Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship is mighty cute.

• Paradiso Girls feat. Lil Jon & Eve - Patron Tequila - Fabulous, fun summer pop. The girls look hot as ever.

• The Killers - Dustland Fairytale - Brandon Flowers = SEX

• Wale feat. Lady Gaga - Chillin' - Love Gaga in anything.

• La Roux - Bulletproof - If you haven't heard of La Roux yet, CHECK them OUT NOW. They are a new act out of the UK and they're doing a small U.S. tour this summer.

• Pussycat Dolls - Hush Hush; Hush Hush - Call me gay (I am gay), but I love me some PCD. This song is plenty of fun and the girls look amazing.

• Freemasons feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) - Sophie has been my girl ever since I saw the video for "Murder on the Dancefloor."

• Gossip - Heavy Cross - Two words...Beth Ditto!

• Dan Black - Symphonies - Wish he was able to release his cover of Biggie's "Hypnotize," but this is a suitable replacement single.
  
  

• Paloma Faith - Stone, Cold Sober - Beautiful video, beautiful girl.

• Jordin Sparks - Battlefield - Video is a little boring, but the song is still ace in my book.

• Tinchy Stryder feat. Amelle Berrabah (of the Sugababes) - Never Leave You - Loved his song "Take Me Back," as well as his follow up single "Number 1." This one isn't as good as it's predecessors, but I do love me a featured vocal by a Sugababe.

• Frankmusik - Confusion Girl - Love this dude! Can't wait to get his album. It's going to be fantastic! I love the appearance in the video from Aussie singer/actress Holly Valance.

• David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over - Holy dance hit! Congrats to Kelly, who, although was dropped from her label recently, collaborated with dance genius David Guetta and put out this number 1 dance hit!

• Daniel Merriweather - Red - Beautiful song. Beautiful man.
• Lily Allen - Fuck You (Explicit) - Hilarious video.

VV Brown Remixes & My Latest Ebay Music Buying Binge

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better. I mentioned earlier this week that VV Brown was releasing "Shark In The Water" as her next single, which is an awesome track with a super sleek video. Now I learn that there's an impressive remix package being promoted by the label? Sweet! I'm definitely on the prowl for these! The promo boasts remixes by Wendel Kos, Louis La Roche, Crazy P and Zombie Disco Squad.

1. Wendel Kos Sunlight Mix

2. Wendel Kos Dubb

3. Louis La Roche Remix

4. Louis La Roche Dub

5. Crazy P Mix

6. Blame Mix

7. Zombie Disco Squad Remix

Check out VV Brown on the web:

Official Site/Blog/Facebook/Bebo/YouTube/Twitter

Speaking of remixes, while perusing Ebay today I snagged a "rare promo" of mixes for Lily's last single, "Not Fair." At first I questioned the official label as this was the first I had heard of any remixes of "Not Fair. Now...I don't know. I'm thinking it might be legit! Remixes are by Style of Eye, Annie Nightingale & Far Too Loud, Kris Di Angelis, Eddie Kid & Richard Searle and others.

1. Annie Nightingale & Far Too Loud Electro Radio Edit
2. Annie Nightingale & Far Too Loud Electro Mix

3. Annie Nightingale & Far Too Loud Bassline Mix

4. Kris Di Angelis & Dobie Circus Remix
5. DJ NG Funky Dub

6. DJ NG Urbance Mix

7. DJ Urbance Long Radio Edit
8. Eddie Kid & Richard Searle Mix

9. Style of Eye Remix

Check out Lily Allen on the web:

Official Site/MySpace/Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Bebo/LastFM

My final Ebay purchase today was the new Little Boots promo with remixes. Little Boots is another fantastic UK artist who churns out hot little electro numbers (see "Meddle" and "Stuck on Repeat"). Her new single "New In Town" features remixes by Drop The Lime, Fred Falke and Bimbo Jones, and A1 Bassline.

1. Fred Falke Remix
2. Bimbo Jones Remix
3. A1 Bassline Remix
4. Fred Falke Instrumental

5. Drop The Lime Dub

6. Bimbo Jones Edit

Check out Little Boots on the web:

Official Website/MySpace/Twitter/Facebook/Bebo/YouTube/LastFM

F**k You Lily, F**k You Very Much

I was excited to hear that Lily Allen was releasing "Fuck You" as her next single. It's been one of my favorites since before the album came out...since she posted it on her MySpace page. It appears to have been a digital single as the only things out now on CD are promos. There's a dirty and a clean version out now in most countries via iTunes. Check it out!

I also wanted to talk about how much I love the artwork for this album and it's singles. Sure, Lily is photographed wearing the same outfit with the same back drop, etc...but that being said...it's simple and fun. I enjoy simple and fun when it comes to album artwork, just as much as I enjoy something a bit more lavish and flashy. Well done Lily's record label. Well done.

Artwork courtesy of Coverlandia

Check out Lily Allen on the web:

Official Site/MySpace/Facebook/Twitter/YouTube/Bebo/LastFM

Lily Allen - Not Fair Video

The video for Lily Allen's brand new single, "Not Fair" has made it's way onto the internet. It's cute. I am diggin' the whole new country vibe that it's got goin' and Lily looks terrific. I'm looking forward to seeing her in April, assuming that her recent troubles don't keep her from traveling to the states. Fingers crossed! Check out the video for "Not Fair" here. - Via Popbytes

New Album/Single Artwork - Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Mandy Moore

I love album art. I obsessively tag my music in iTunes (which is rough, since I have almost 35,000 songs) and even go as far as to make my own amateur artwork if I can't find it somewhere else (OCD?). Coverlandia, as I've mentioned before, is one of my favorite album art resource - both for official and amateur.

Today, Coverlandia posted the single artwork for Lady Gaga's new single, "Lovegame" and Lily Allen's 2nd single of It's Not Me, It's You, "Not Fair." I love both of them. Gaga is looking fabulous per usual and Lily is looking fun and girly.

Mandy Moore's artwork I posted about yesterday. It's the new cover art from her forthcoming new album, as seen on her official website. It's simple, yet beautiful. No frills or bling. Stripped down and very natural. Gorgeous!

I discovered all sorts of new music blogs today and learned a bunch of new, juicy pop news. Another big update coming later tonight or tomorrow!

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You

I've been listening to Lily Allen's new album since it came out this past Tuesday. Well...truth be told, I've been listening to it since the album leaked a few weeks back but I bought it on Tuesday and it's really quite excellent. It's definitely a bit more electro than her last album Alright, Still but it still has plenty of lyrical bite. I'm really getting excited about seeing her live in a couple of months. Favorite tracks include:

• Everyone's At It
• Fuck You
• Not Fair
• The Fear
• Back To The Start
• Who'd Have Known
• Him

I honestly like the whole album though. It's definitely a CD I can listen to straight through without skipping past anything. 100% filler free!

Lily Allen, Joanna Pacitti, Kimberley Locke & Utada

Lily Allen: I was super excited to find out that Lily Allen was going on a US club tour this April. Tickets went on sale today for her Boston show at the soon-to-be-opening House of Blues. I saw her twice a couple years back when she last visited Boston. The first time she showed up at the now closed Axis (or was it Avalon?). She then returned a few months later and performed at the Roxy. Both were good shows! Her new tour is in support of her new album, It's Not Me, It's You - released this Monday and Tuesday in the UK and US, respectively. Apparently, through a special partnership between Amazon & MySpace Music, you can get Lily's new CD for $3.99 but I can't seem to figure out how that works. Oh well. Get the CD in your respective countries this week! Oh...and pick up tickets for her tour!

Joanna Pacitti: This girl's been the center of quite a bit of controversy/drama in her time. A current American Idol contestant, she's been getting a lot of flack from a previous big-time record deal with Geffen Records. I guess current Idol laws only prevent anyone with a CURRENT record deal from auditioning for the show. This is calling into concern Idol's tendency to let people on who actually have or had music careers of some sort. I don't know how I feel about this. I do like the idea of crafting someone with no professional music background into a new star...like Idol did with Kelly Clarkson...but at the same time, there are some Idol contestants from years past that came close to winning that I had NO desire to hear from ever again (Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, etc.). So part of me likes the idea that truly talented individuals, no matter what their professional background, are getting through.

At any rate, I downloaded a couple of Joanna's tracks - her single "Let It Slide" from her 2006 debut album, and then "Out From Under," which appeared on the soundtrack album for the 2007 film Bratz...and was recently covered by Britney Spears on her new album. I have to say, vocally, Joanna's version of "Out From Under" is stronger, but production wise I much prefer Brit's electro-infused cut. What do you all think of Idol's history with letting former industry professionals onto the big stage?

Kimberley Locke: I've always loved Kimberley Locke. I have to admit that her season of Idol was one of two that I did not watch and I now regret it! I need to start watching American Idol: Rewind! Locke's first album was fun. Her second album was way more grown up and she's already mulling over ideas for her third album. According to a recent Q&A session that appeared on her official MySpace Blog...here's what she had to say about her third album: "I have definitely thought of recording a dance album. It makes total sense! I have had so much success on the dance charts. This is not out of the question. A dance album will be in the top three options for the next album."

This is really exciting news! While I adore the album and single versions of her songs, remixes are where it's at for me! According to her MySpace page, Billboard Magazine has released their year end charts and Locke was named the 6th top dance artist of 2008! I hope she seriously considers a dance album! That would be fantastic! Read the rest of the Q&A here.

Utada: I was excited to see that remixes are being released for Utada's new single that I mentioned a few posts ago. Remixes are by Quentin Harris, Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel, Tony Moran & Mike Rizzo. Can't wait for these! Brilliant! The song is quickly growing on me! The song is the first single off her new album called This Is The One.

New Album Artwork

Coverlandia is a great resource if you are in search of new or recent album artwork from your favorite artists. The talented crew of the Coverlandia blog posts official and fanmade artwork for top artists from all over the music charts! Here is some of my favorite official sleeve artwork from the past couple of weeks. What's your favorite? - Via Coverlandia

Still don't think I've heard this song all the way through. Love this album art though. Beautiful!

So glad Melinda Doolittle is back! Loved her on Idol, and while I though Jordin Sparks was more Top 40 material, Melinda had tons of talent, no question! Single artwork is on top, album art below.

I think Daniel Powter (of "Bad Day" fame) looks sexy here.

I love the campaign they are using for Lily's new record! She looks amazing! This is the single (top) and album (bottom) artwork.

Love the vintage look of this. Katy is gorgeous.

Beautiful and festive.

Not 100% sure this is official or not, but regardless. I'm SO excited that Kelly is back with some new material! Word is we can expect to hear this in mid-late January.

Danny Saucedo was a contestant on the Swedish version of American Idol. This is his new single off his new album.

Not sure if Ciara could ever come up with a better set of singles than she had with her last album. "Goodies" and "1-2 Step" were hot! Ts artwork is fun. Love the comic book inspiration!

I guess Beyonce is releasing two singles at a time now? I'm still stuck on "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" and "Diva" isn't really doing it for me. Perhaps it will grow on me. "Halo" is gorgeous, no doubt.

Love Anastacia. Still need to pick up her new album. Perhaps I'll wait to see if it gets released in the U.S. This is her new European single and the sleeve art is virtually identical to that of her first single, "I Can Feel You." The only difference is Anastacia is facing the camera. Her first single's sleeve had an off the shoulder shot. She's stunning! Kind of miss her sunglasses though.

This is the debut single from Alexandra Burke - the new X-Factor winner for 2008! It's a cover of "Hallelujah," most famously sung by the late Jeff Buckley.