Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”
Published July 27th 2010
Filed under Reviews
Katy Perry has released the second single, the title track from her upcoming album, Teenage Dream. Like her previous, huge, summer hit California Gurls, Teenage Dream is also a Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco collaboration.
Teenage Dream still has a strong beat with an insanely catchy melody which California Gurls has, except it’s less fun but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s an end of the summer song which is perfect for the time of year it’s being released. Katy sings about how someone she fell in love with reminds her of being a teenager. Lyrically, it’s much more serious than California Gurls and the melody is very melancholic to support the lyrics. The lyrics also make a reference to California again in a subtle way. The tempo is almost the same as California Gurls which will make sure Teenage Dream gets played in clubs just as much as the latter.
Katy’s official Youtube channel uploaded a music and lyric video with images from the yet to be released video for Teenage Dream which you can view below:
Teenage Dream is out now in support of the upcoming album of the same name to be released August 22nd.
McFly – “Party Girl” New Single
Published July 14th 2010
Filed under Reviews
McFly have taken a risk and changed up their sound completely for their fifth studio album, having re-signed a new profit-sharing deal with their old record label, Island Records. The lead single is the Dallas Austin produced, Party Girl, which sounds a bit like McFly singing their own version of Lady GaGa’s Bad Romance.
While Party Girl is a departure in sound for McFly, it still sounds like a McFly track somehow. This is probably because the vocals aren’t edited too much so they’re still quite distinctive, but Party Girl also somewhat sounds like a progression from their single Lies.
McFly also announced their second single from the, yet to be titled, new album would be the Taio Cruz track Shine A Light later in the year, along with the launch of their new Super City website and a thirty minute movie which will accompany Party Girl.
Party Girl will be released on September 6th through Island Records.
Maroon 5 – “Misery” and “Hands All Over”
Published July 13th 2010
Filed under Reviews,Videos
Maroon 5 have released the lead single, Misery, from their upcoming third album, Hands All Over. Misery is a typical Maroon 5 song, as it sticks to their unique sound which makes you instantly recognise that it’s Maroon 5 when you listen. While it doesn’t sound very innovative, it’s still a catchy song which is what Maroon 5 have always been about (although this may not be the best song to lead an album with, but it does sound similar to This Love).
The video for Misery premiered recently too. It’s also a typical Maroon 5 video as lead vocalist, Adam Levine, has a love interest as usual. However, this time his love interest treats him badly by beating him, throwing him off buildings, causing him to get knocked down by a car and stabbing his friends while still continuing to display her love for him by kissing him at the same time. It’s quite a funny video while still remaining somewhat true to the lyrics of Misery.
Hands All Over is scheduled for release on September 21st with the following tracklisting:
01. How
02. Never Gonna Leave
03. Wasted Years
04. Last Chance
05. Don’t Know Much About That
06. Out of Goodbyes (featuring Lady Antebellum)
07. I Can’t Lie
08. Give a Little More
09. Misery
10. Stutter
11. Hands All Over
12. Stay Out Of My Life
Natasha Bedingfield – “Touch”
Published May 19th 2010
Filed under Reviews
Natasha Bedingfield’s new single Touch was thrown onto the US iTunes Store yesterday with no announcement of a new album campaign starting so soon. Touch, written by Natasha herself, Steve Kipner and Julian Bunetta, sees Natasha trying out a new sound unlike anything she has done before. It also doesn’t sound like it’s ripping off anything around at the moment. It’s very fresh, uptempo, feel-good, dance-pop.
As a lead single, Touch could be a slight risk. While it shows a clear progression in Natasha’s sound and builds on previous songs such as The One That Got Away and Not Givin’ Up, Touch isn’t a sure-fire hit. A guaranteed hit is something Natasha probably needs, especially in the UK since her previous effort, N.B., flopped but regardless she returned with something surprisingly original, interesting and a bit daring.
Touch opens with a hypnotic, synth-building verse featuring some of Natasha’s best signature storytelling lyrics which made songs such as These Words, Unwritten, We’re All Mad and Backyard so interesting and unique. The story in Touch is told quite cleverly, with the second verse explaining what led to the coffee-spilling incident which happens in the first verse. A lyric in the second verse which demonstrates Natasha’s clever storytelling is:
It seems that spilling coffee was no accident at all
After each verse, the song erupts into a melodic, dance-driven, feel-good chorus which instantly creates the atmosphere of a summer night’s party. If handled correctly, Touch could be a huge summer hit with such a chorus.
Overall, Touch is quite an impressive lead single for Natasha and hopefully it will aid her return to success in the UK after a disappointing sophomore stint.
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Touch, taken from the Natasha’s third studio album (second in the UK) and follow-up to 2008′s Pocketful of Sunshine (2007′s N.B. in the UK), has yet to be added to radio or scheduled for release internationally. The upcoming, yet to be titled album also has no tentative released date.
Kylie Minogue – “All The Lovers”
Published May 15th 2010
Filed under Reviews
I was reluctant to write about Kylie Minogue’s new single All The Lovers from her forthcoming album Aphrodite when it premiered yesterday as the song didn’t grab me as fast as a lead single should. After a lot of listening, the song has started to grow on me and I’ve made up my mind about it.
All The Lovers is a mid-tempo, electro-pop ballad and very coherent to Kylie’s sound. While the melody and production are both very good, All The Lovers just doesn’t sound like a lead single. Nice is the only way to describe the song. It sounds more like a third or fourth single from an album campaign because it’s not all the things a lead single should be. It’s not instantly grabbing, it’s not pushing any boundaries and it doesn’t get stuck in your head. Having listened to the song multiple times, if I was asked how the song goes, I would have no idea how to sing it.
The song sounds like it could have been released anywhere between 2005 and now. It’s not a fresh sound but it’s more powerful than most mid-tempo ballads. I wouldn’t describe All The Lovers as anthemic, but it does sound very strong and melancholic. The production, by Kish Mauve, is very polished but it’s almost more crucial to the song than the melody or the vocal.
Lyrically, All The Lovers is nothing new. The most interesting piece of writing is probably in the chorus where Kylie metaphorically talks about her ex-lovers as if they’ve passed away. Elsewhere in the song, she generically talks about dancing and being with the person she loves.
For the middle-eight, the track gets completely stripped back to just Kylie’s vocal and a piano before launching back into quite a hypnotic instrumental, the only experimental and refreshing part of the song, before reaching the final chorus.
All The Lovers is a nice song but that’s about all there is to it. It would make a very strong album track but as a lead single, it doesn’t make much sense. It should have been left to become one of those songs like Speakerphone, a standout album track which the fans can appreciate but nothing more.
Kylie releases All The Lovers on June 28th followed by her eleventh studio album Aphrodite on July 2nd.
