Rated Beyonce - Grown Woman

I finally heard the full version of Beyonce's new single 'Grown Woman' this evening, albeit at mediocre quality. It's been a long time coming; it must be pretty hard to put together a new album when you're popping out a baby, so I'll let her off this time. First thoughts are:

1. It's pretty awesome.
2. It's a better lead single than 'Run the World', which was an uber grower.
3. It's a brilliant track to tease a new album with. I only hope the album matches this quality.
4. It's a Beyonce song... always a bonus.
5. I want to dress in tribal garb, open a bottle of Prosecco and drunkenly bogle around my flat.

This is an amazing Timbaland production, with a distinct & memorable tribal arrangement. It's a blatant tongue in cheek number, which is nice because we get to see that Beyonce doesn't take herself too seriously (although she probably does). This is an instant 'like' for me, but I can see it softening even the hardest of Beyonce haters. Also, it performs fantastically well on tour:

Rated Selena Gomez - Come & Get It

It's a Disney war out there in the charts at the moment. Demi Lovato is taking no prisoners with her incredible vocal range and knack for picking out a pretty awesome pop song and Bridget Mendler is, well, not as good/frankly quite mediocre. So that leaves space number 3 and who's filling it but Bieber's leading lady Selena Gomez.

Once part of 'Selena Gomez & the Scene', a goodish pop band who released an incredible song called 'Naturally' one time. She's now going solo and her new single is pretty damn awesome. 'Come & Get It' is a tribal Bollywood infusion with a catchy chorus and a sexy as hell electro synth riff. 'When you're ready come & get it/ na na na, na na na' she demands throughout the Stargate produced track. There's nothing else on the chart circuit quite like this right now and it's a style that suits Selena perfectly.

If there was ever a song to put her firmly on the pop map it's right here. Come & get it!

5/5

Rated Charli XCX - True Romance

This young popling arose from nowhere, at least to my knowledge. 20 year old Charli came to my attention when I was presented with the video to her single ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)’ on a well known streaming channel. Sampling a track by Gold Panda, this electro-Asian masterpiece features a distinct Sitar-on-acid production, layered underneath Charli’s Marina Diamandis type vocals. It’s instantly infectious, loveable, and bloody brilliant. It’s a good thing the rest of her debut album True Romance is pretty solid.

Opener ‘Nuclear Seasons’ starts off with haunting ‘oohs & aahs’ then kicks into a post apocalyptic electronic affair, setting the dark tone for the remainder of the record.  The pace quickens with the likes of ‘Take My Hand’, a bleeping monster of a track & gets rougher with ‘Cloud Aura’ featuring rapper Brook Candy. The latter has a gorgeous chorus, meandering across softened beats before a biting ‘Ima fuck your shit up’ rap segue. 

Not shying away from a power ballad, Charli belts out her own take on the classic pop form. ‘You’re the One’ is an incredible track; intricate lyricism and hooks everywhere make this an album highlight. It’s her debut single ‘Stay Away’ that shines brightest though. It opens with a grumbling synth that’s relentless under the breathy verses and continues behind the stunning bridge & chorus: ‘I knew you were no angel, but God what did I do?/ Do you remember what I said the first time that we met/ Stay away, won’t you just stay away?’

Rated Demi - Demi Lovato

Pure pop has taken a back seat for a while. It’s been overrun by an onslaught of dub step breakdowns, with even the supremest pop beings succumbing to peer pressure. Queue Disney alumni Demi Lovato, star judge of the US Xfactor and performer of amazing pop morsels  like ‘Give Your Heart a Break’ and ‘Skyscraper’. She’s here to save the day… right?

Demi Lovato isn’t big news here, however that recently changed with her new single ‘Heart Attack’, which reached #3 in the UK Itunes chart and received 4/5 on this very blog. Whether her presence as a judge on the Xfactor is responsible or if it’s just down to the awesomeness of ‘Heart Attack’, it matters not. What’s important is that she’s being recognised and here’s why:

1. She’s got one hell of a voice. 

2. Her songs are pretty good.

3. She’s cute, like really cute.

4. She takes the piss out of Simon Cowell who’s old enough to be her grandfather.

5. She makes Britney Spears look like a personality void vegetable.

6. She just released a song called ‘Heart Attack’ and it’s brilliant.

7. She isn’t a twee pop princess with an angelic past.

Now, onto Demi, her new studio album. It opens with ‘Heart Attack’; amazing. The second track and second single is ‘Made in the USA’, which starts off a bit like a copy of a Miley Cyrus song, but soon forms its own identity with country pop production and belting vocals. Showcasing her foray back into pure pop is ‘Without the Love’, a song with a chorus so frickin’ catchy it will embed itself in your brain for days. It’s the euro dance inspired, Ryan Tedder produced ‘Neon Lights’ that sticks the most, with a euphoric chorus and some incredible vocal blasts from Demi. This is a contender for single 3 and if it’s not I want a meeting with her management.

Rated #Beautiful - Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is the queen of the comeback single. It seems that every time she releases the first song from a new album these days, it feels like a comeback. Whether this is a generational thing, that we feel like she needs to work that little bit harder to maintain some semblance of success, I'm not sure. So for the sake of continuity let's call her new single '#Beautiful' another comeback after the poor performance of her last album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. 

#Beautiful sounds like a car crash song title, but thankfully this is nothing short of pop perfection. Featuring American artist Miguel, who opens up the track for us, this is a soulful mid tempo ballad with no mention of the word "hashtag" (what a relief!). Miguel opens with smooth vocals, taking the helm for verse/chorus number 1, followed by Mariah belting out in a more appropriately controlled manner than usual. 'I like when you run red lights/ Don't stop till you thrill me/ Oh how you thrill me' she swoons over the low key r'n'b production. This is a classy pop affair, the classiest we've seen Mariah in a long time and one of Summer 2013's brightest tracks.

5/5

Rated: John Newman - Love Me Again

John Newman. Not a name many are familiar with, not unless they are huge fans of the fantastic 'Feel the Love' by Rudimental, which features John's incredible vocals. So if you're not a fan of that song get the f*ck off my blog you tasteless imbecile! Only joking... sort of. 

Anyway, John is giving us a flash of his solo capabilities and I promise you're not going to be disappointed. His stunning rasps light up 'Love Me Again', an uplifting anthem of a track, with a booming chorus draped over a retro tinged arrangement and a mid section that threatens with a dub step growl. This is an impressive debut, perhaps not for the number 1 spot but certainly deserving of a place in the top 10.

4.5/5

Rated: Katy B - What Love Is Made Of

It's been a while since I posted... apologies if you thought I was dead or something. Hi - I'm back! So what better way to celebrate than with an amazing new track from funky dub step princess Katy B. Her new single is long overdue, following on from her incredible debut album On a Mission which included some bloody brilliant tracks (Title track, Broken Record, Lights On - to name a few). Hoping to bag herself her first number 1, she's releasing 'What Love is Made of'.

This is a smooth house track, with a gorgeously constructed chorus and soft beat production. Compared to some of the harder tracks from her debut, this is pretty tame. She gets lyrical about a man with her soulful, gentle vocals, whilst maintaining perfect control throughout. There are no gimmicks here, just great music from a great contemporary female British artiste. 

5/5