Katy Perry – “California Gurls”
Published May 09th 2010
Filed under Reviews
Katy Perry’s lead single California Gurls from her upcoming second album premiered this week via her official website with the statement “Summer starts now!”. California Gurls, produced by Dr. Luke, features rapper Snoop Dogg and sounds like a summer anthem which could rival the success of Katy’s 2008 huge hit I Kissed A Girl.
The problem with California Gurls as a lead single and also a comeback single is that the chorus has no stand out lyric to catch onto. Having listened to the song quite a number of times, it’s hard to remember any of the lyrics from the chorus. The only thing that keeps me returning for another listen is the addictive melody present throughout the track.
The production on the track sounds a bit raw and unfinished. On first listen, it sounded like it was an unfinished demo. The vocals are swallowed by the music for most of the song and it’s hard to understand why it was intentionally produced that way. California Gurls also sounds very similar to Dr. Luke’s recent hit with Ke$ha, TiK ToK, to the extent where the chorus of each song could be interchanged between their respective tracks and fit perfectly with the only alteration being the pitch.
Regardless, California Gurls is a strong enough lead single to become a hit despite its similarities to TiK ToK and it’s a solid effort from Katy showing some progression from the sound of her debut album One of The Boys. Even Snoop Dogg’s rap doesn’t sound out of place or forced although the misspelling of “girls” in the title could have been avoided but it’s hardly surprising as it seems to be a Dr. Luke reoccurring trend.
You can listen to California Gurls on Katy Perry’s official website now.
I Gotta Sucky Feeling
Published January 26th 2010
Filed under Videos
Muzic Junkie’s Youtube account hadn’t been used properly yet so to start it off, I uploaded a mash up of two number 1 singles from 2009; I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas and My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson. They both fit quite well together.
Check it out:
I’ll post more of these mash ups when I make some.
Katy Perry Album Update
Published January 18th 2010
Filed under News
Katy Perry has been busy in the studio since finishing The Hello Katy Tour last year. Since returning to the studio, she has been working with Greg Wells (Fingerprints and Ur So Gay), Timbaland (If We Ever Meet Again), The-Dream and Tricky Stewart who she just finished up some studio sessions with. Last Tuesday she went back into the studio with Dr. Luke (Hot ‘n’ Cold and I Kissed A Girl).
Dr. Luke told Music Mix on Wednesday:
I’m working on Katy Perry’s record right now. Literally, yesterday was our first day, but it was amazing. I’m really proud of the work we already did. You know, of my songs that I’ve done, Hot ‘n’ Cold was one of my favorite ones. It’s just fun. I like making songs where you can make people have a good time and have joy. That’s like the best thing you can possibly do, you know?
According to some sources Katy was also in the studio with Calvin Harris. The album, the follow up to 2008′s One of The Boys, is set for release sometime this year.
Ke$ha – “Animal” Album Review
Published January 17th 2010
Filed under Reviews
Ke$ha’s debut album was released digitally on January 1st following the release of her debut single TiK ToK which went to number one in several countries.
The album opens with the infectious Your Love Is My Drug which on first listen makes you think you’ve heard the song a thousand times before but somehow it still sounds fresh. While not being incredibly innovative, the chorus will get stuck in your head for hours after listening to it. As far as singles go, it’s definitely a contender but should be a later single in the campaign as it has the same sound as TiK ToK.
If you’ve been to clubs any time in the past few months, then you can’t have missed out on hearing TiK ToK which gets a spin a few times per night. TiK ToK was the perfect debut single for Ke$ha as it established exactly who she is as an artist. Like most of the songs on Animal, TiK ToK is about being drunk at a party.
Throughout the album, it’s hard not to hear similarities to Avril Lavigne’s 2007 effort The Best Damn Thing. Although it’s not surprising since Ke$ha wrote some tracks with Avril which didn’t make the final cut of the album. The sound of The Best Damn Thing isn’t only on the tracks by Dr. Luke, who worked on most of The Best Damn Thing, but also on tracks like D.I.N.O.S.A.U.R. which doesn’t sound too distant from the “rapping” and beat of Avril’s I Don’t Have To Try.
Kiss ‘n’ Tell is a strong contender for the second single. You can instantly tell it’s a Max Martin and Dr. Luke track which echos Katy Perry’s Hot ‘n’ Cold in the chorus sonically and in structure.
The slower songs on the album are quite good and while they show Ke$ha’s diversity between up-tempo and mid-tempo songs, some of them are too similar to each other. In particular, Blind and Dancing With Tears In My Eyes could interchange their choruses and the only thing that would make you realise they weren’t the real chorus of the respective song is the lyrical content. Having said that Blind is the stronger of the two and a contender for the best song on the album.
Other highlights on the album include the title track, album closer Animal and Hungover, both mid-tempo but quite different to the aforementioned with Hungover using the metaphor of a hangover to describe being broken-hearted and Animal which is the perfect way to end the album. The mid-tempo tracks really show an honest side to Ke$ha while still maintaining her party girl image in both Hungover and Dancing With Tears In My Eyes.
Overall Animal is a very nice debut and looks set to be a very successful album campaign.
