In Case You Haven't Heard Part II

Promises promises. I know I promised a more POP-focused post following my rock-themed update back on September 9th, but life happened. Apologies.  Now the tunes I wanted to mention here are even more outdated but that's OK.  There are still some quality tunes here worth talkin' about. In this post we cover new stuff from X-Factor winners, Little Mix, UK dreamboat Ben Montague, pop cutie-patootie MIKA, Canadian popstar Esthero, plus a couple more. Enjoy!

How this little JAM slipped by me I'll never understand, especially considering how invested I was in season 8 of the ORIGINAL X-Factor.  Little Mix (formerly known as Rhythmix) are a four-piece girl group comprising members Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirwall and have the distinction of being the FIRST group to ever win it all on The X-Factor.  While they took their sweet-ass time to release any new tunes, first single "Wings" proves that these girls are well worth the wait.

Following the release of the girls' first #1 single, a decent enough POP cover of Damien Rice's tear jerker of a singer/songwriter ballad "Cannonball," they unleashed a proper up-tempo dance/pop tune on Great Britain in the form, of the TMS-produced hit "Wings," which went on to become the girls' second consecutive #1 hit single. You go girls!  The single was released on August 26th, backed by a tight remix package, featuring dance floor makeovers by The Alias and Sunship.  As nice as the remixes were, the song really shines brightest in it's original form.  It's a forceful little stomper of a pop tune, chock-full of plenty of soul and punchy attitude.  

Upon first listen, you could swear Little Mix has been singing together for years, rather than being the prime example of "manufactured" pop, a group made up of four solo singers plucked from the X-Factor reject pile by mentor/judge Tulisa Contostavlos.  The girls prove themselves and THEN some in their first official single, taken from their forthcoming debut album, DNA, which is scheduled to drop November 19th via Syco/will.i.am.   Here's hoping they do well enough in their native land to warrant a trip over here to the States.  If Cher Lloyd could do it successfully, I see no reason why these girls can't!

Download "Wings" on UK iTunes and check out the colorful and fun video ABOVE.

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[Review] The Veronicas - Lolita

Be still my heart. Fav Aussie twin-pop outfit The Veronicas (Jessica & Lisa) are BACK with a new single and it doesn't entirely suck!  Hallelujah!  It's hard to believe that I last saw the girls live back in 2008 when they opened up for Natasha Bedingfield. What a show that was!  After four years, The Veronicas are back in a big way!

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Massive Album Art Update - Part 1

After my West Coast vacation, I've been M.I.A. (save for one album art update from Chicago). I apologize. I've been busy with work and personal stuff. The plan is to start regularly updating again so bear with me. I find album art updates to be the easiest way to break back into a blogging routine, so here goes nothing! - All artwork found on Coverlandia.

Colour Me Free is the long anticipated 4th studio album from British soul chanteuse, Joss Stone. This album has been pushed back a couple of times by Stone's label, a move which Stone has been vocal about in the press. Now with an official release date scheduled for October 20, the promotional materials are starting to come together, starting with some album artwork. The album features collaborations from Jeff Beck, Sheila E, Raphael Saadiq, Dave Sanborn, Nas and Jamie Hartman.

"Say Goodbye" is the second single released off of the new Katharine McPhee album, Unbroken - due for release on January 5th. A beautiful ballad, "Say Goodbye" is more like what I expected her first album to sound like. Following less than a month after first single "Had It All," "Say Goodbye" appears to simply be a promotional single although I can't confirm that this single won't be officially released to radio.

"Thinkin'About You" is the second single off of the new Mario album, D.N.A. (following "Break Up" featuring Sean Garrett and Gucci Mane). The album is due to be released on November 3rd in the U.S. (November 2nd in the UK). No word yet on a release date for the second single, but I'm guessing it will be closer to the album's release date this fall.

I know that I already included the single artwork for the new Natalie Imbruglia single, "Want" in my last update, but it was pretty low quality. I just wanted to take the time to upload a new higher res version of the artwork. Natalie truly looks fantastic on this cover and the song is definitely growing on me (as are the remixes). Check out the stunning video here.

No Angels are a popular girl group out of Germany. Released September 11th, Welcome To The Dance is the fifth studio album from the girls and the second post-reunion album after the girls broke up in 2004. After reforming in 2006 (minus one member) they recorded 4th album, Destiny which featured productionj from Jiant & Twin, Max Martin, Steve Mac among others. The first single is "One Life", the video for which can be seen HERE.

This is the album artwork for the new Norah Jones album, The Fall, set to be released November 17th (November 16th in the UK) via Blue Note Records/EMI. I'm really excited to hear this album. I have Jones' last 3 albums and while there's no denying her talent both as a singer and as a songwriter, her last 2 jazz albums have bored me to tears. After hearing Jones collaborate on The Lonely Island c0medy album, Incredibad (listen to "Dreamgirl") I got excited about her new sound. This new album marks a new direction for the singer collaborating with producer Jacquire King who has worked with Kings of Leon, Tom Waits and Modest Mouse. This new sound sounds very promising, especially since Jones has assembled a talented new group of musicians for the new album. Can't wait!

I'm certainly interested to hear what Ryan Tedder and the rest of OneRepublic has to offer here with their second studio album, Waking Up. Admittedly I only really got into OneRepublic after hearing the remix of "Apologize" that appeared on Timbaland's Shock Value album. Since then I've heard a lot from Ryan Tedder on various pop songs (Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" co-written with Jesse McCartney and the controversial "Halo"/"Already Gone" by Beyoncé & Kelly Clarkson respectively). I also enjoyed "Stop and Stare" off of the Dreaming Out Loud album. Perhaps this new album (and new single "All The Right Moves") will get me excited about the band once again. It doesn't appear that they are going in an urban direction with this album but here's hoping we get some interesting remixes.

Wow. I can't believe I Am...Sasha Fierce has already had 7 singles released. Insane! "Video Phone" is set to be the 8th single released from Beyoncé 's album, and one of the least exciting singles if you ask me. Out digitally on September 22nd "Video Phone" will also be released in a physical format on November 1oth. I'm hoping for some hot remixes like we saw for previous Sasha Fierce singles, "Sweet Dreams," "Halo," "Ego," "Diva" and others.

"Tardy For The Party" is the new single from Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kim Zolciak. If you've been watching the Bravo show it's evident that Kim is passionate about her music career...at least semi-passionate. The divorced mother of two attempted to get into the country music business during Season 1 where she met with a vocal coach (who told her she didn't know what she was doing) and producer Dallas Austin. Season two shows Kim working with new ATL cast member Kandi Burruss (formerly of Xscape), moving in a distinctly pop/dance direction. The single was released on September 1st on iTunes and subsequently reached the Top 10 on the iTunes Top Dance Tracks chart. Kim is currently rumored to be working on her debut album and while I don't really think Kim has much in the way of vocal talent, this song is very catchy. I'd definitely be interested to hear what the album will sound like. The single artwork on the other hand...very amateurish.

Yet another piece of artwork has been released for the new Madonna single "Celebration," this time from the vinyl single release. "Celebration" marks Madonna's 40th number 1 single on the Billboard Dance Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The video has been released for the song, using the Benny Benassi remix and featuring a guest appearence from Madonna's own daughter, Lourdes. Madonna looks amazing as usual. The compilation album of the same name is out in the UK on September 21st and in the US on September 29th. The album was released on September 18th in several European and South American countries.

Finally, the single artwork has been unveiled for the new single, "Forever Is Over" by The Saturdays. I absolutely LOVE this single. I've said in the past that it reminds me of a classic Girls Aloud track and this cover is very reminsicent of an old Girls Aloud single sleeve. As if the song couldn't get any better, look out for terrific remixes from Buzz Junkies and Manhattan Clique. The single is the first off of their upcoming as-yet-untitled second studio album (apparently Colonial Masses was just an internet rumor). The single will officially be released on October 5th, followed by the album's release on October 12th.

The CD/DVD version of The Veronica's live tour was released in Australia on September 1st. The tour began in South Wales Australia back in February 2009, having the girls play all throughout Australia and New Zealand before heading to the U.S. in June, playing Buffalo, NY on June 3rd. The tour took the girls all over the U.S. and Canada, before moving onto Japan in early August. The girls are also playing some dates in the UK starting on September 23rd in Glasgow - promoting their new UK single "4Ever" and album Hook Me Up which is due to be released on October 5th. Having seen these girls open for Natasha Bedingfield in an intimate setting like the Paradise Rock Club, I have no doubt that they could fill an auditorium. I'm glad they are continuing to see international success. Go girls!

I love that DJs are releasing mainstream albums nowadays. I guess this has always been the case, but dance music is certainly attracting a higher calibre of artists. I remember back in 2002, purchasing DJ Sammy's Heaven album. I loved that album! While there were no big name collaborations, the vocal element that these singers added to these straight up dance tracks helped get me into dance and house music. More recently I've really been getting into French DJ David Guetta's new album and now Dutch DJ Tiësto's forthcoming album Kaleidoscope is set to become one of my favorite dance albums of the year. Featuring collaborations from Sneaky Sound System, Priscilla Ahn, Calvin Harris, Tegan & Sara, Emily Haines of Metric, Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, Cary Brothers and Nelly Furtado - Kaleidoscope is everything that I want out of a dance album.

"Yesterday" is the first single off of the new Toni Braxton album, due for release in February of next year. Now signed to Atlantic Records, Braxton recorded "Yesterday" with producer DJ Frank E. The song premiered on September 11th and is expected to be released digitally very soon.

Midwinter Graces is the new seasonal album by Tori Amos, expected out on November 10th. Following the May 12th release of Amos' 10th studio album Abnormally Attracted to Sin, I was surprised to hear that she'd be releasing another album so soon. Midwinter Graces is Amos' first seasonal album. You can see the tracklisting HERE.

Wow. Don't get me wrong, I've always found John Mayer to be quite attractive, but there's nothing sexier than a classic black & white photo if you ask me. "Who Says" is the first single off of Mayer's fourth studio album entitled Battle Studies, due out on November 17th. According to Mayer, this new record is going to be a slight departure from his previous efforts, going in a more experimental direction. I'm all for artists trying new sounds and look forward to hearing what's next for Mayer. No word yet on a release date for the single.

"Walkin' On The Moon" is the new single from Atlanta-based Terius Youngdell Nash (AKA The-Dream) and features a guest appearence from Kanye West. "Walkin' On The Moon" is the third single off Love vs. Money and features remixes from Craig C., Low Sunday, Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel.

Natasha Bedingfield Collaborating with Wyclef Jean & Sam Sparro

While it seems like I saw Natasha Bedingfield in concert at Paradise Rock Club just yesterday, it was actually sometime last year (what an awesome show - The Veronicas opened!).

She's hard at work on her new album in the U.S. According to a recent email update, Natasha has been in the studio with "musical genius" Wyclef Jean and Sam Sparro, whom she says she's going to make a "cool collaboration" with. Good news! She's also been writing with Brian Kennedy (producer on Rihanna's "Disturbia") and Mike Elizondo, whom she wrote much of her last album with. About Mike, Natasha says "I like working with him so much. He is so versatile and plays almost every instrument excellently."

Photos Courtesy of NatashaBedingfield.com

According to her update, Natasha's headed back to the UK for a month or so to work on new material and hopes to have a new album out by the end of 2009.

Check out Natasha Bedingfield on the web:

Official Site/Facebook/MySpace/Bebo/YouTube

The Veronicas Cover Jonas Brothers!

Check out this video of the Veronicas cover "Burnin' Up" by the Jonas Brothers! Not too bad! Me likes! This "cover art" was performed it live on Yahoo's Pepsi Smash program. - Photos Via JonasBrothers.com and TheVeronicas.com, respectively

More Upcoming Remixes!

Robyn - Cobrastyle

I first heard this song on an episode of "Greys Anatomy" (don't judge me!) in it's original form by the Teddybears. When I heard Robyn's cover that sort of solidified it for me as a favorite. Seeing her open with it on her US club tour was also pretty spectacular. There's a remix by Muscles of this song that was included on the "Konichiwa Bitches" single, but it wasn't anything special. These mixes promise to be much more of a "house" feel and I can't wait to hear the the Mason mix.

Mason Vocal Mix

Mason Dub

Adam K & Soha Remix

Bloody Beetroots Remix

Bloody Beetroots Instrumental

The Touch Remix

The Veronicas - Untouched

I bought the new Veronica's album without really knowing much on it, other than "Hook Me Up," which I thought was alright. I kind of shelved the album until more recently when I saw them open up for Natasha Bedingfield. They were great live and the show reinvigorated my interest in this Aussie girl sister group. Previously, the only remix for this song (one of my new favs) was by Listen Deep. You can purchase it on iTunes...but I don't think it's too fantastic. It's fun but I was really looking for something more club friendly. A new promo promises just that. Can't wait to hear these, especially the Eddie Amador mixes.

Eddie Amador Club Edit

Eddie Amador Club

Von Doom Radio

Von Doom Mixshow

Von Doom Club

-Via DJRicoMixshow Forums

Music I want...