Fave Songs of 2011

Like last year, I've put together a list of songs that were the forty best in my mind. This has nothing to do with how good I thought the song actually was, just hope much I personally liked it. Therefore I might have given a song a negative review, but it might still appear on the list because I liked hearing it. I tried to stick with songs that belonged in 2011, so "Rocketeer" and "More" might have made it on the list, but they were already gaining attention in 2010. I'm saving songs like "Helena Beat" and "Turn Me On" for 2012 since I haven't had the full chance to appreciate them. So here it is, starting at forty and with one being the highest.

40. Papi
-Jennifer Lopez-

39. Blackout
-Breathe Carolina-

38.Don't Hold Your Breath
-Nicole Scherzinger-

37. Right There
-Nicole Scherzinger-

36. Neon Black
-Candy Coated Killahz-

35. Free
-Natalia Kills and Will. I. Am-

34. You Make Me Feel
-Cobra Starship and Sabi-

33. Set U Free
-Keshia Chante-

32. Never Say Never
-Justin Bieber and Jayden Smith-

31. Wait Till You See My Smile
-Alicia Keys-

30. Moment 4 Life
-Nicki Minaj and Drake-

29. Skyscraper
-Demi Lovato-

28. 123
-Craig Smart-

27. It Girl
-Jason Derulo-

26. Let's Play
-Kristina Maria-

25. Mean
-Taylor Swift-

24. ET
-Katy Perry-

23. Yeah 3X
-Chris Brown-

22. Call me Maybe
-Carly Rae Jepsen-

21. Judas
-Lady Gaga-

20. The One That Got Away
-Katy Perry-

19. When We Stand Together
-Nickelback-

18. Where Them Girls At
-David Guetta, Flo Rida, and Nicki Minaj-

17. Perfect
-P!nk-

16. Merry Go Round
-Suzie McNeil-

15. Wonderland
-Natalia Kills-

14. Tonight
-Enrique Iglesias and Ludacris-

13. I Wanna Go
-Britney Spears-

12. Higher
-Taio Cruz and Kylie Minogue-

11. Drama Queen
-Suzie McNeil-

10. Jar of Hearts
-Christina Perri-

9. California King Bed
-Rihanna-

8. Give Me Everything
-Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Nayer, and Afrojack

7. Just Can't Get Enough
-Black Eyed Peas-

6. Good Life
-OneRepublic-

5. What the Hell
-Avril Lavigne-

4. Mirrors
-Natalia Kills-

3. Coming Home
-Diddiy-Dirty Money and Skylar Grey-

2. Price Tag
-Jessie J and B.o.B-

1. Set Fire to the Rain
-Adele-

David Guetta - Turn Me On

David Guetta has thankfully left behind whatever "Without U" was and has returned to his usual dance style. "Turn Me On" is familiar turf, but it's a nice reminder that David Guetta isn't completely boring now.

The real star of this song, though, is Nicki Minaj. Just when she started to get stale with her style, she's shows off a completely different side of her. There is minimal rap in this song and instead she just autotune sings through most it. It shows that while Nicki's heart may be in rap, she can still change up when she needs to. This new style adds interest back into Nicki's voice. She sounds similar to Rihanna, and the song overall is very similar to "S&M." The blaring chorus, the sliding verses, the pounding repetition of the same phrase over and over again; it's all the same thing. However it's still just unique enough to be its own song and is still very catchy. And that's not all, while Nicki is mostly singing, she throws in one of her signature rap verses, and it's one of her better ones.

Lyrically I'm a little confused. Are they comparing a lover to a doctor? I'm not going to bother thinking about it, since it's a dance track. I'm happy to just bounce along with it, even if it doesn't make sense. It's not the first time that dance songs have abandoned sensical lyrics for just a catchy sound; and at least it's mostly actual words.

Overall it's a good revitalizer for both David Guetta and Nicki Minaj. Hopefully we'll stop hearing the boring "Without U" and "Fly" in exchange for this much more exciting song. The lyrics are the only weak point, but that's easy to ignore when it's such a great dance song.

Javier Colon - As Long as We Got Love

The X Factor is wrapping up, but The Voice will be returning in no time. Javier was a strong winner last season and he proves his place with this new single. Javier manages to find the perfect balance between his own identity and what's popular right now.

The song is immediately catchy, but builds into a nice pounding chorus. It's not quite dance, but will still get you moving. Javier stays true to his sound, while delivering a more pop piece. The addition of Natasha Bedingfield also really helps. This isn't one of those pointless collaborations that they just threw on to get attention; she actually does contribute and improve the song. With her voice it adds another side of the love song with a boy and girl together.

The lyrics are simple, but they have meaning to them. A lot of the lyrics are very cute and loving. Again, the song is delivered in an honest manner and I believe that emotion was put behind these words.

This song should remind people why Javier won The Voice. He's giving people what they want, but not losing his own personality. The song contains meaning and the Javier Colon voice. The music industry really needs more male singers right now, since there is an abundance of females dominating right now and not nearly enough competent males. Hopefully this song will make an impact and Javier will enter the music world again.

Nicole Scherzinger - Pretty

The last elimination episode on X Factor was pretty pointless, I don't think there was any doubt that Marcus Canty would be going home after being in the bottom two three times. But we did get some nice surprises from the guest performers; particularly judge, Nicole Scherzinger.

We've all heard songs about how looks aren't everything and we've all heard break-up songs, but this took both of those ideas and really turned it into something else. "Pretty" gives us a new look at a relationship where the man only tells the woman that she's pretty. Nicole then puts a spin on the word singing how she's, "pretty messed up and pretty upset." It drives a strong message and is something unique. Overall the lyrics are very good.

Nicole's voice also carried a lot of heart in it. She's been doing a lot of pop/dance lately, but this took on something different. She didn't sound so much like Rihanna as she sounded like P!nk this time. She really put soul and emotion into singing an emotional song. It came off as powerful and definitely made the song even stronger. Her vocal abilities weren't the best, but this is a live performance. When the actual single comes out I'm sure it will have cleaner vocals and help perfect the song.

This is a step in right direction for Nicole, her pop songs have been doing average right now. By doing something more Adele's style she is showing off a different side of her that I think people are really going to like. She's doing something unique and powerful and I think it'll be a hit.

Suzie McNeil - This is Christmas

Remember last year when I posted about Suzie's great Christmas tune, "For Christmas Time?" Well, history is repeat itself since she's back with another great holiday song. Suzie is the kind of singer who relies on the seasonal time since she's so underrated that any other time of the year her awesome songs usually go unnoticed.

"This is Christmas" is a really nice break if you're sick of hearing the same Christmas songs over and over again. There's nothing wrong with "All I Want For Christmas is You," or "White Christmas" but the fact is that all those songs sound the same anyway and since there's so many different versions you'll end up hearing the same stuff a hundred times in one month. But with "This is Christmas" we get to hear something a little different. The song is definitely modern with a pop style to it, but it still keeps the usual message. It's an upbeat tune and uplifting lyrics.

The song starts off a little slow, but builds into a catchy, strong, upbeat chorus. It's bound to get you dancing while make you smile with its happy lyrics. Suzie sings about all the aspects that make up Christmas, snow, family, happiness etc. It's really great to just hear it and think about how happy this time makes you feel. And there's a lot of strength behind the vocals, this isn't some quick cash grab for Christmas, a lot of effort went into making this a good song.

If P!nk or Madonna had song this song it would a major hit, but alas nobody knows who Suzie McNeil is. Maybe people will recognize the talent in this song and give her a chance, but that's probably just me being wishful. Anyways this is an awesome song for the holidays and I hope we hear more from Suzie in 2012.

Adriiana - We Are Young

Adriiana emerged a couple of years ago, but wasn't able to achieve much. Now she's back and is taking up the popular dance style. I've been noticing a lot of Canadian emerging girls doing pretty much the same thing, which is making a dance track by abusing autotune. As a result Anjulie, Victoria Duffield, and now Adriiana all sound pretty much exactly the same.

"We are Young" is really catchy but doesn't offer anything unique. We've been hearing the same thing for a while now, can't people try something just a little different? Having a song that's easy to dance to isn't quite going to cut it if you can't individualize yourself.

I've been trying to stop complaining about lyrics since I've found more and more that they're becoming not as important. However this song doesn't really have much structure to the lyrics at all. She is really all over the place and I have no idea what the song is supposed to be about. She sings "We are young," then "heartache to heartache," and it just goes back and forth like that. Eventually they seemed to realize that they couldn't fit in anymore cliches, as Adriiana then sings a repetition of not real words like "Oh na na na." It's clear that they did not put any effort into thinking of the lyrics and I wouldn't be surprise if it turned out they just wrote down the first couple of sentences that came to mind.

I don't think Adriiana is going to be able to get her breakthrough this time. It might be a good dance song, but it'll be forgot and replaced by the next autotuned song next year. Hopefully we'll be able to see some different things from emerging artists soon since this is really getting boring.

Justin Bieber - Mistletoe

Christmas is just around the corner, so let's start with a new Christmas tune. True, it's been out for a little while now, but I feels more appropriate to talk about when Christmas is actually in season. I've never really liked Justin Bieber, and not because I'm a hater, just because his music has a lot of problems. It can be boring, annoying, or in this case, both.

There are some words that just don't sound right when a seventeen year old white kid with a girly voice says; like "shawty" and "Imma Be." Who does he think he is that he can use words that belong to a completely different genre? Not to mention this is a Christmas song, it really breaks the traditional feel when you use words like that in a Christmas song.

But if that was the only problem I could easily forgive it; it's not. The song is incredibly slow and doesn't go anywhere. I know that for Christmas tunes this is sometimes in style, but it doesn't work with this song. The words don't carry a strong enough meaning, and with the slow pace there's no reason why I would want to listen to this song.

Furthermore, I really can't see what he's getting at with the lyrics. He talks about all the things that he should be doing, like playing in the snow and spending time with his family, you know, what Christmas is all about. But I said should, instead he's kissing his shawty. So after we get a million "with you"'s you're going to be bored and confused. Bored because the same thing over again tends to do that, and confused because why is he talking about not doing traditional Christmas activities, but instead kissing a girl who he could kiss on any other day of the year.

Yeah this song doesn't really work for me as a Christmas song; it just doesn't fit with the mood. If he picked up the pace and changed the Christmas theme it might serve as a regular single, but it's too late now. Bieber has yet to really have a smash hit, and I don't think he'll be getting one soon.

Rihanna - You Da One

This posts makes the fifth song by Rihanna that I've done, putting her two above everyone else. Is it because she's such a talented artist that I can't help but talk about her? No, sadly, it's not. It's because while most artists give us a bit of a grace period between singles and albums, Rihanna doesn't. I'm really getting sick of her, but "You Da One" has me really conflicted.

Let's start with the good: she's not doing the same old stuff. "You Da One" is really different and quite shocking on the first listen. The song offers a sing-songy island sound complete with an electronic breakdown at the end. This shows a new side of Rihanna which will give us a break from the repetitive dance music she's been shoving at us.

Now, onto the bad. This song has got to be the most annoying song Rihanna has ever released. Most of her songs I could listen to for a bit before I started to get bored; not this one. If the nonstop repetition of, "Oh na na, what's my name," or, "Na na na na c'mon," didn't drive you crazy, this will. The song's chorus is catchy enough to get stuck in your head even after the first listen. Which could be a good thing, but the problem is that it's more of a whiny chant than actual music.

Trying something new was a good idea, but it was a bad idea to release a song that will get old before it even ends its first play. Sadly this seems to be a theme this year, both Lady Gaga and Beyonce tried to go a little crazy to attract attention with "Judas" and "Countdown" and both songs failed. I could see that some people could like this song, but I'm not sure if it's going to be enough and, more importantly, if it's going to last. This song could be another hit, or it could flop and will hopefully be a wakeup call that Rihanna needs to take a little more time with her music.

Kelly Clarkson - What Doesn't Kill You

"Mr. Know It All" was good start for Kelly Clarkson's latest album, it doesn't look like it's going to make it to number one though; but that's okay because "What Doesn't Kill You" definitely will. It's really got that signature Kelly Clarkson sound that made her so successful, but she still sounds fresh and unique. This type of song has been done before by Britney ("Stronger") and Xtina ("Fighter") but Kelly holds her own with her powerful version.

We've heard Kelly sing about breaking up before, like with "Since U Been Gone," but "What doesn't Kill You" has got to be her most powerful song. Kelly completely expells power with her chanting chorus about, believe it or not, empowerment. The rest of the song is also delivered very firmly, overall connecting it into a great song.

The lyrics aren't particularily unique, like I said we've heard them befoe, but what's important is that Kelly is still able to put emotion behind them. The song is not only strong because of her voice but also because of the clear meaning that she's putting into her singing.

This is the sort of song that should take over the charts by storm. It's different from dance, but is still incredibly catchy. It has a lot of power and emotion that a lot of songs lack currently. And it's a return for the signature sound of Kelly Clarkson that we all love so much. Absolutely number one material.

Taio Cruz - Hangover

Taio Cruz has been really hit and miss for me. His team up with Kylie Minogue, "Higher," is one of the best dance tracks of the year; while his nonsense, tuneless, unoriginal, overplayed, "Dynamite," has got to be one of my most hated songs of all times.

"Hangover" already has one step ahead of "Dynamite" since it's not painful to lesson to. In fact it is a really good dance track. It's got a catchy chorus from Taio, eletronic breaks to connect the verses and an appearance from one of the biggest dance rappers, Flo Rida. Like "Higher" this is a song that's easy to just get carried away dancing with.

On the other hand, as almost of today's dance music has along with great catchy beats, is nonsensical lyrics. This song at least has some coherence, but really the idea behind it isn't that great. Taio sings about wanting to just keep drinking...even though he has a hangover? Yeah, weird. But lyrics seem to becoming less and less important in today's market, so I'm just happy that it's not absolute gibberish.

The song starts off strong, and does slow down in momentum. It's got a variety of different sounds that are all familar to Taio. Plus the verse from Flo Rida keeps things going. Overall I think that Taio Cruz might have his next big hit on his hands.

Now, as usual, a bit on The X Factor. I was absolutely crushed when inTENsity was booted off in favour of the Stereo Hogzz. So I moved onto Lakoda Rayne as my favorite act, and I was ready for them to get screwwed over like all my other favorite acts when they were in the final two with Stereo Hogzz. But to my amazement, the judges actually saved Lakoda Rayne instead. Paula must be feeling pretty down having to pick between two of her acts twice now. I'm hoping that Lakoda Rayne will make it, and we can get rid of Leroy Bell and Marcus Canty.

Beyonce - Countdown

After much confusion, it would seem as though this will be Beyonce's next single. Beyonce has been floundering behind the other major divas this year. "Run the World" was an epic failure, and "Best Thing I Never Had" was just plain boring. "Countdown" is anything but boring, but it still might not be what Beyonce needs.

Beyonce seems to have realized that she can't rely on the same sound over and over again, so "Countdown" is something completely different. It's a very speedy song that's more dancehall than actual dance. It's definitely interesting on the first listen, maybe even overwhelming. Once you get into it, it's got a good beat and is a pretty fun song.

The real problem with "Countdown" is that she's gone a little too far. With so many background instruments, electronic counting, and Beyonce smashing her way through the lyrics all at the same time, it can be a bit much. It tends to clash at points which throw off the overall- beat and rhythm. And as for the lyrics, I can't make any sense of them, so let's just not go there.

This song will certainly catch people's attention, and that may give Beyonce a boost (that along with her pregnancy.) But I still don't think that it's going to be the big hit Beyonce's no doubt been hoping for. As Lady Gaga's "Judas" showed us, even if a song is incredibly surprising the first listen, that's not enough to carry it to the top. We might be coming up to a hiatus from Beyonce with her upcoming baby, so it might be a while if she ever releases another album. If that time does come, hopefully she'll be able to reclaim the glory that has recently evaded her.

Enrique Iglesias - I Like How it Feels

I remember not too long ago when OneRepublic were talking about their song, "Good Life," and asked, "When was the last time you heard a song with whistling?" Well it seems as though all the major artists are following their example, since Britney, Foster the People, Maroon 5, Jason Derulo, and now Enrique Iglesias have all followed suit.

My first thought about a new Enrique song that featured Pitbull and had the phrase, "I Like" in the title was that we might be getting just another repeat of "I Like It." But it turns out that "I Like How it Feels" is something a little different. Enriques slows it down for the opening showing us a new kind of sound. Of course it eventually builds into a dancy chorus, but it's clear that effort was put into making a song that was something new.

The downside to the song though, is that even though it sounds a little different, it still gets tiresome just listening to Enrique chanting, "I like how it feels," over and over again. They tried to break it up by adding a Pitbull verse in there, which is good a idea in theory, but Pitbull was a bad choice. He's been so overplayed this year that hearing him has just got annoying, plus Enrique already featured Pitbull so it's not like it's anything new for him. I'd like to see him team up with someone else for a change, like Flo Rida or Nicki Minaj maybe.

"I Like How it Feels" is an overall average song. It's something unique while still dancy, yet it gets old fast. Enrique's last song, "Dirty Dancer," was a bit of an unexpected flop, so it's really up in the air whether "I Like How it Feels" will do the same, or continue his trend of hits.

Simone Battle - He Likes Boys

In honour of the X-Factor, and so I can work in another X-Factor recap, here is the first single from an eliminated contestant. Let's start by saying that there was a reason why Simone got kicked off the X-Factor. She was one of the less interesting contestants with average talent, as L.A. pointed out, it was a surprise that she made it as far as the live shows.

"He Likes Boys" isn't helping Simone's problem; like her, it's boring. The tune offers absolutely nothing new, there's nothing special at all put into this song. Then there's the lyrics. This song makes Katy Perry look like an advocate for homosexuality. The idea seems to be, how many gay stereotypes can fit into this song? And there's no meaning behind it whatsoever. It's just like a story about a girl who's boyfriend is gay...that's it. What it seems to be telling us is: A) You can tell if a guy's gay if he listens to Lady Gaga and watches Deseperate Housewives; and B) Real straight boyfriends can't be tender and sweet. Completely pointless and boring, no effort was put into this song.

After that downpour of disappointment, let's move onto the X-Factor. In the first of the Live Shows the judges had to reduce their groups to three each. Most of the decisions were pretty predictable, with a few that I don't agree with. I feel like Phillip Lomax got screwed; earlier they tell him he's good but he needs to stop sounding like Frank Sinatra if he wants to sell, so he does a pop song and they say that's not him and he gets kicked off. He was bound to lose eventually anyways, but they could have given him a better chance. Best moment of the show was when L.A. siad that the reason he was proud of Stacy Francis was because she wasn't crying. Ha, yes! My new favorite act is inTENsity, they're so adorable and actually really catchy sounding. But for my actual prediction of who's going to win, I'd say it's probably going to come down between Chris Rene and Drew Ryniewicz. Drew is obviously the leading favorite and she's a young, white, female pop star so I'm guessing that she's got a big market waiting for her.

Katy Perry - The One That Got Away

Believe it or not, this is the first Katy Perry song I've ever posted on. It's clear that they're just trying to set a new record for number one singles, and I was initially against the idea of another single from Teenage Dream, but "The One That Got Away" actually works quite well.

She slows it down and keeps it simpler this time, but she still has to usual Katy Perry effect so it probably won't suffer the same fate of Rihanna's "California King Bed." The sound is actually more similar to Katy's One of the Boys album which is a nice sound to hear again. It's not the kind of song to get you dancing, but she's had enough of those songs anyways. And this song is still catchy enough to get your head bopping. She starts with a prominent sound and continues the verses in this style, while during the chorus she chants, "The whoa-whoa-one that got away." I think that it's a good choice for the next single, something a little different to give us a chance but not too risky.

The lyrics this time are also something a little different, regret for a previous relationship that ended. While Katy's been mostly partying and bubbly so far, this shows a more emotional. The emotion isn't exactly present in this song, so Katy's not going to be competing with Adele and Bruno Mars for most moving song. However, like i said it still has a catchy tune so it's not completely dependant on emotion.

The question now is, will it go to number one and break the record? People are getting a little tired of Katy and this song isn't offering anything revolutionary. However she's had so much success so far and this song doesn't lack anything so I'm thinking it will at least be a top ten hit. So far it's had a low debut on the billboard, but I thinking will see a bit of a rising soon. I'm not sure if it's quite number one material but we can keep our fingers crossed.

Nicki Minaj - Fly

Nicki Minaj has displayed quite a bit of talent with her rapping skills and she's just had one of her biggest hits with "Super Bass." "Fly" contains the usual aspects that make her interesting, but by now the novelty is gone and there's nothing that makes "Fly" stand out.

As usual Nicki's got her quick bouncy rapping verses going on, but, like I said, we've heard this all before now. You could take the rap verses off of "Super Bass," "Right Thru Me," and "Your Love" and they'd all sound pretty similar to this one. It's been about a year since Nicki's been making an impact and by now she needs to try something different.

Adding Rihanna to the track was a good idea to spice it up a little, but Rihanna isn't particularly new either. She takes a slower approach to the chorus, but it's just the same thing over and over again with no feeling. By the end of the song it's just so boring and bland that it loses all meaning.

Speaking of the meaning it's also pretty lacking. It's the same old thing about keep on fighting. Really we already heard the same idea with another one of Nicki's song, "Moment 4 Life," so I don't see why we have to get it again. I think that Nicki's running out of material and it's time for her to go away.

This is a sign that Nicki Minaj is getting old and she can't rely on her unique style anymore. She's going to have to try something new if she wants to get another hit and maybe use some collaborations that aren't as overplayed as Rihanna.

The X Factor - Boot Camp

I'm doing something a little different today since there hasn't been a lot of interesting music this week and I've got a lot I want to say about The X Factor's Boot Camp portion.

My first thought was that they made it a little confusing at certain parts. The first bit showed quick clips of contestants singing and by the end the judges revealed the remaining 100. However since there's so many people it's hard to tell who exactly got it. Take Tora Woloshin for instance, I was disappointed since I didn't think she'd made it. All it showed was the judges nagging her for a poor performance and then you never saw her again until the very end of Boot Camp when it was revealed that she was going on to the next level. Also unnecessary and confusing was showing the judges debating, we have no idea who they're talking about so all it does is showing that there is debate going on, which is really quite obvious anyway.
But it definitely wasn't all bad. The acts were divided into groups and given a song to sing together, it wasn't very interesting seeing them all work together.

Now a look at some of the most noteworthy contestants. First off I just have to say that Nick Dean is the cutest thing ever; if he sticks around he's going to have lots of fans drooling over him. Then there's Stacy Francis, does that woman ever stop crying? I can forgive the death of her father since that really is something serious, but everything else is getting to be annoying. The judges give her some praise, she sobs, "They were so nice to me." The judges give her some critique, she cries, "If I get sent home I don't know what I'll do." When Stacy actually does lose she's going to have a serious meltdown. Quite the opposite, lovebirds Brock & Makenna were quite calm about their departure. Although personally I would have rather kept them and tossed the boring group, The Anser.

One of the best surprises was when it was revealed that a group of acts that didn't make it would actually be formed into two groups so that they could continue. This allows for a lot of the favorites to stick around while we can lose the less talented groups. Overall I think that that was a good choice and it's nice to see something unexpected for once.

Lastly my predictions for the finalists, Boys: Chris Rene, Girls: Caitlin Koch, Groups: The Stereo Hogzz, Over 30s: Tiger Budbill.

They're really running through this show fast, it'll be over in a couple of weeks. I personally think it would be better if they slowed it down so that we could get to know the contestants a little better and just eliminate a few each week. But at least it won't be long till we see the winner.

Bruno Mars - It Will Rain

Bruno Mars has been powerful in almost all of his singles with the amount of emotion that he puts into his words (let's pretend "Lazy Song" never happened.) He showed affection in "Just the Way you Are" then betrayal in "Grenade" now he's turned to sorrow and loss.

The emotion is clearly present in this song too. Bruno begs someone not to leave him and sings about the pain he's feeling. Between verses there's a lamenting vocalizing which also emphasises the powerful feeling of sorrow. The lyrics are original and not just the usual stuff, it's believable that this could be a song about a breakup and not just a song for the radio/Twilight soundtrack.

The problem with the song, and most of Bruno's other songs, is that it gets old really fast. The lamenting song is beautiful the first time around but it's not really worth listening to again. Even by the end of the song it's hard to keep listening to the words. The song is a slower ballad so it's not as catchy, and it doesn't have any particular points to keep you hooked. So, while it's a good song I'd rather not hear it more than once.

Bruno seems to have had a miss with his latest single, "Marry You," but he might be able to redeem himself with "It Will Rain." All of his songs tend to get old after a while, but "It Will Rain" is by far the worst so I'm not sure how it' s going to fare.

Also a note about music in general, at the start of the year I was focused on the war of divas, well it seems like we'll have another one this fall. Kelly Clarkson has lead the way with "Mr. Know it All," but Rihanna's made quite the impact with "We Found Love." Britney's got "Criminal," and Gaga's got "Marry the Night;" and Katy Perry's hoping for a new record with "The one that got away." Ke$ha, Madonna, and Christina Aguilera are holding out for next year. And as for Beyonce I have no idea what her next single will be, I've heard that it'll be "Party" and "Love on Top" and "Countdown" so I'm going to just wait and see.

Natalia Kills - Kill my Boyfriend

As I'm sure I've made clear in my last two Natalia Kills posts, I think that she is just the most amazing singer out there today. "Kill my Boyfriend" does not disappoint and may been her most interesting song yet.

The song starts out light and fluffy and lulls you into a sense of ease until you hear the line, "I'm gonna kill my boyfriend." At that moment you'll probably pause and think, "Wait a minute, what?!" After that we get into the usual dark and sexy sound that Natalia is notorious for. She's got a very catchy sound going, as usual, something kind of like Rihanna meets Sky Ferreira. Only 10 times better than both of them. The chorus will return to the bouncy light feeling, reminding us that this is supposed to be more of a humorous song. And there is something incredibly amusing about hearing a girl announce, "I'm going to kill my boyfriend," the way she might say, "I'm going to win the lottery."

Natalia Kills has shown that she can shine with both dark ("Mirrors" and
Wonderland") and light ("Free") sounds; and now she can put it all together into an awesome mix. Both sides are incredibly catchy and infectious and altogether this is song is just an amazingly enjoyable track.

Although Natalia hasn't really seen that much international success with her last three singles, so I don't see why this should be any different. But if anybody is actually reading this I would highly recommend you check the song out.

Also, another X Factor update. The auditions are wrapping up this week and there's definitely a lot of potential in some of the artists. I think I've found my favorite, Tora Woloshin, she's really powerful and I think she could win this thing. The highlight of this week I'd have to say was Tiah Tolliver's audition. In a rare occurrence, Paula was the villain and Simon defending the singer. Nicole finally cracked and let her pass, but not after much debate from the judges. I'm looking forward to Boot Camp!

Rihanna - We Found Love

So I've managed to keep up this blog for at least a year now. It was around a year ago when I posted my first song, "Only Girl" by Rihanna. Overall the time of a year I've come close to 2,000 views, which isn't great but I predicted it would be somewhere closer to 0. Anyways, coincidentally enough I've got another Rihanna song this week, and it's the 5th time Rihanna has been featured on my blog, much more than any other artist.

Like I've been saying before, Rihanna has an addiction to releasing as much music in as little time as possible. "Cheers" is still climbing the charts, and her album, Loud, has just wrapped up. But she's ready to release a new single and has a new album coming out later this year. And like I've been saying this leads to Rihanna music being a bit repetitive.

"We Found Love" is a pretty good dance track, but it's still quite obvious that it's just another typical Rihanna song. Her vocals are the same as always and she just repeats the same lyrics over and over and over. They sound pretty deep when you first hear them, but by the third time around: We get it, you found love. Calvin Harris assists Rihanna this time around and adds an interesting electronic sound. Except they use that to death too, so by the end the song is incredibly boring.

Like I said it is a good dance track and the lyrics do seem to have meaning, but after the creativity that was shown in "California King Bed" and "Cheers" and even a bit of "S&M" I'm wanting something more from her next lead single. If she can't do something different then she should just give us a break for a while.

The main reason why "We Found Love" isn't a good idea is because after listening to Rihanna straight for a year, a repetitive boring song isn't going to be turning any heads. As usual Rihanna will probably have success with this song and then we'll have another year to endure her nonstop music. After that can we please have a break?!

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call me maybe

There have been a lot of great songs in 2011, but there are those that just stand out whenever you hear them and you know that these are perfect hits. "Call me maybe" is looking like one of these. Simple lyrics, but still coherent and gets the cute message across. A catchy chorus with unique rhythm that is sure to get stuck into your head. And a bouncing bridge which will get your head bobbing. There's nothing too deep about the song, but it's sure to put a smile on your face and that's all I need.

Carly Rae has done a lot of a more depressing songs so it's nice to see her switch it up and give us something uplifting. The cheerful lyrics and just the overall bouncy feeling of the song gives off an aura of joy. It's easy to imagine a girl laughing as she falls in love.

The rhythms are uneven throughout the chorus, but this only adds to the hook of the song and makes the song more interesting. Overall it's incredibly infectious and with lyrics that match this song is the type of the song that will stick with you for a while.

A lot of great songs like this go by unnoticed sadly, though. Carly Rae already has a bit of a reputation behind her, so I'm hoping that that'll boost "Call me maybe" as a major comeback. It's not the kind of song that will get old soon, so I have nothing against hearing it a bunch.

In other music related news, X Factor premiered in the US recently. I've glanced at Idol and The Voice, but since X Factor has both Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul I've decided to dedicate some time to it. I've seen a few potential superstars, and some more annoying types. The most memorable part was definitely Nicole Collins who stopped her song and demanded a chance to try again. Once the judges told her that she sucked she chased them down and continued to beg for another shot. I'm hoping the rest of the series has more surprises.

Jason Derulo - It Girl

As usual Jason Derulo is jumping between styles. After the party track "Don't Wanna Go Home" he's now going to a catchy love song, similar to "What If". "What If" was a sweet song, but the problem was that a lot of people didn't really care for the slow style. Luckily "It Girl" manages to combine the tender feeling with a much more catchy and danceable sound. The sound starts out simple and builds into something that's not quite explosive, but very powerful. The song combines whistles, snaps, rhythms and genius lyrics that flow together perfectly and make a great song.

The song's beat has a nifty little bounce to it that is helped by clever rhymes and well placed snaps. So overall if it doesn't get you dancing it'll at least get your knees bobbing. Like always I am put off by using whistles as if it's a really lyric; but I can let it pass for this song. One reason is that it does overall at to the catchy feeling of the song;n and another is that the rest of the lyrics are very well written.

The lyrics range from sweet loving messages like "You're my greatest hit, girl" to clever rhymes. While a lot of love songs fill the words with emotion, this song instead keeps up the upbeat dance feel, yet still keeps the feeling alive. It's clear that thought really did go into the writing as they're not the usual cliches.

Overall this song makes a nice blend of affection and dance, it's just what Jason needs to make another hit. He's branching into something a little different, yet still keeping it catchy so he can always fallback on that. Of course nowadays sweet emotional songs are all the rage so he probably doesn't have to worry about that either. This is a super song and I'm looking forward to getting massive playtime.

David Guetta - Without U

If you combine David Guetta with Usher, what do you expect to get? A massive dance hit maybe? Nope, sorry but this song is quite far away from dance. The song is a slower lamenting post break up song. The problem is, this isn't exactly the best move for either David Guetta or Usher.

David Guetta's last hit "Where them Girls at" opened the way for his next big hit, if he followed up with another dance song he probably would have another success, but with this new style he's taking a risk. As for Usher, we just got used to his club dance style, and now he's doing something completely different. In "Without U" Usher lacks a lot of the power that was featured in some of his previous hits. It's definitely a step down for him.

Of course, I can't blame them for trying this out, 2011 has been full of slower ballads and such. But this song lacks any build it's just the same gentle lyrics again and again. This would be a good way to start, but it needs to go somewhere. Furthermore is the fact that Adele's "Someone Like You" has just topped the billboard 100 and that song is a really powerful lament, there is no way that "Without U" can compete with that. Perhaps if it had been released a little earlier than it would have been unique and been a better idea, but now it's just asking to be crushed.

And then there's the lyrics, an important part for this type of song since if you're not getting people dancing then you have to make them think about the message. Some of the lyrics are pretty but really it's just the same things again and again. Eventually it stops making sense and they're just trying to repeat 'Without you' as much as possible.

I respect the attempt to branch out in this, and I think this could have been a hit with a few changes. But from Usher I really expect something more powerful, even if it is a ballad and not dance. And David Guetta has held a strong hold in the dance world, I don't see why he needs to leave. Overall this song was just a bad idea in the wrong time.

Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know it all

Kelly Clarkson has been holding out this year while most of the major divas have been clashing. Now that the main competition is settling down she's set to dominate again; and she's going to start with "Mr. Know it all." I wasn't too keen on her last album, but she's changed up her style a little bit and it's an improvement.

"Mr. Know it all" doesn't take the powerful angry approach like some of her past hits, this one is mellowed up a bit. Though the lyrics are just as harsh as she's ever been. The song starts out smooth and transitions into a bouncy catchy chorus while staying out of dance territory. So Kelly has combined a catchy sound with her own style so she can still sound original and have a hit. This is a good message towards people getting worried about all music becoming too dancy.

Lyrically the song also displays a unique message. Kelly's often sung about breaking up and she does it again, but it's presented in a different way then before. The lyrics clearly have thought put into them and Kelly sings them with meaning and that's all it takes to give the song a real feeling.

So people have compared this song to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are." There is a similarity, but I don't think it's worth getting worked up about. The songs each have their own unique styles and it's not so noticeable that it will ruin the song, like "Already Gone." Songs can sound similar and not be direct copies of each other, if people like it then you're probably going to be hearing similar tunes a lot.

Katy Perry and Rihanna are the major pop stars of the last couple of years, but they're wrapping out now. So all that really leaves is Lady Gaga, and if "Mr. Know it all" can make it to the top or at least come close then that should open the way for the rest of Kelly's album.

Selena Gomez and The Scene - Love You Like a Love Song

Selena Gomez has got to be one of the few artists that I can never decide if I love her or hate her. Her songs are each very different, so one could be awesome, the next might be painful. No doubt her most annoying was her last single, "Who Says," but fear not, because she's left that behind for the dancy, "Love You Like a Love Song."

The song combines dance style, with clever lyrics, with a unique sound, so altogether it makes quite a nice song. Although it is the dance-pop style the song isn't super fast, it goes at its own pace which is a defining point for the song. The lyrics offer something a little new; it's not revolutionary but it clearly has more effort than some of the current major songs. The song also combines the mellow sound of the verse with the catchy chorus ("I keep hitting repeat peat peat.")

The song may seem like its lacking because it doesn't build up to anything particularly strong, but I think that it still sounds good and it shows unique style from Selena Gomez and The Scene. The song has had a lot of effort put into it and I would say that it is a major highlight for Selena. Knowing how her songs are so unpredictable I can't say if her next single will be this nice, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

Jessie J - Domino

As Jessie J tries to infiltrate America again she tries to emulate the current top star, Katy Perry. And, yes, she sound exactly like Katy Perry. Even if you know that you're actually listening to Jessie J you will still pause for a second and say, "This sounds a lot like Katy Perry."

The sound is a super bouncy dance piece that Americans love so much. Add that with the lyrics that are all about partying and having a great time and you've got the perfect hit. It's called "Last Friday Night" ... but apparently it's also called "Domino." Like "Last Friday Night," "Domino" is an awesome party song and would be a great hit for Jessie J, but we just heard "Last Friday Night." Katy's current number hit is being played non-stop, so why would we want to have to listen to all over again with the Jessie J version. On top of that why would we want to hear anything Katy Perry related for a while, she's been pumping out number one hits non-stop for more than a year now.

The sad part of this is that there's nothing wrong with "Domino" it's an upbeat dance song that is sure to grab everyone's attention while keeping the lyrics less than ridiculous. And there's nothing wrong with trying out a new sound that is proven to be a huge success, it's simply bad timing.

While we're talking about Katy Perry, rumour has it that her team are deciding whether or not they want to release a sixth Teenage Dream single. "Peacock" and "Circle the Drain" we're both suggested to be singles before the album was released. Both of them show new unique sides of Katy, although I can't imagine "Peacock" becoming a hit, with its complete lack of any tune, transparent lyrics, and clear sexual meaning. Whereas "Circle the Drain" offers us a stronger angry sound similar to some of Kelly Clarkson's hits which I think is the only possible remaining option for Katy. The other songs that have yet to be released are "Hummingbird Heartbeat" which is a really fun song that I really like, but the problem is that it's nothing more than a filler song with a toned down style of her other hits, like "Firework" and we've already heard that enough; and the two ballads "Not Like the Movies" and "Pearl" which although could be a good move for Katy are also a risk, like we saw with Rihanna's "California King Bed" and there's no need for her to end on a sour note.

Overall, like I said I think "Circle the Drain" is the only one that stands a chance, but really she could just end now and give us all a break.

Oh, right, "Domino" yeah...it's a good song but terrible timing.

Rihanna - Cheers

Even before Loud was released there were rumors that "Cheers" would be a single; after a ton of other songs we've finally got "Cheers" released as a single. And it makes it the fourth song by Rihanna on my blog, more than anyone else.

Rihanna is in a dangerous position right now. She's already pumped out a ton of singles from Loud and people are probably hoping for something fresh by now. On the other hand, "California King Bed" didn't quite reach major success, so being too different is also out. I'd say that she made a good decision with "Cheers" because it's got a signature Rihanna sound, party lyrics, yet has a different smoother style than her usual blaring vocals.

"Cheers" is more subdued than Rihanna's party jams which gives a nice feel of something that you can enjoy when you don't feel like going all out with dancing. Rihanna still blends in some of her familiar sound which all works together nicely.

But that she went into overkill mode... First off is the fact that she's sampling Avril Lavigne's "Yeah yeah yeah"s from "I'm with you," the sound is quite clashing and immediately creates a different mood to the song. The two voices have no blend at all and the "Yeah yeah yeah"s just come out of no where. Then there's the bridge which is a group of voices singing offkey. I can see that she's trying to create the party mood with that, but it really doesn't add anything to the song. It's weird and annoying and just slows down the song's momentum.

This song could have been super, but now it's just annoying. It'll probably still pull Rihanna out of her tumble with "California King Bed" and may even become a number one. After that we should be getting a break from Rihanna for a bit (she's only got like three songs left that haven't become singles.) But of course knowing Rihanna, it won't last long and she'll have another album out in no time.

Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat

This is another song that's been around for a while, but is only just getting noticed where I live. Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina first broke out of Romania and into the world earlier this year, and now Alexandra Stan is doing the same with a similar song. Like "Stereo Love," "Mr. Saxobeat" has a very european mysterious sound which I say can only help the song.

Musically the song is very interesting and is a great dance song. The saxophone in the background immediately sets up the song to be captivating and Alexandra's vocals carry the feeling. With a catchy hook and repitive beat it's easy to just dance to this song. Alexandra switches between a sexy whisper and a dancy chorus which both make the song strong.

On the other hand, however, the song is not lyrically interesting. The lyrics are quite repitive and feature a lot of breaks where there's nothing but, "Mm yeah!" over and over again. The term 'Mr. Saxobeat' is something that may have deep meaning or is just weird, and I'm leaning towards the latter. Other than that it's really just another invitation to dance sort of song. We've heard it before.

Overall it's a good song that sounds unique if you're looking for something to dance to; otherwise you won't find anything to special in the words.

Also, a little recap on music in general: Summer is nearing an end and it's still unclear exactly what is the song of the summer. Personally I'd say it's "Give Me Everything" which has enjoyed big success, however others would argue that it's LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" which also has been dominating this summer. Don't expect the hype to die down once summer ends though. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and Jason Derulo, three major artists, have all released new singles, "You and I," "Marry You," and "It Girl." It would seem as though Adele is releasing "Set Fire to the Rain" in America now as it's starting to climb the charts, and I'm betting it'll do just as good as "Rolling in the Deep." Britney has a poll to decide her next single and it looks like it's going to be "Criminal." Rihanna still isn't done with her latest album and has finally released "Cheers." I've heard rumours that Ke$ha's next single will be "The Harold Song." Finally Jessie J is working to emulate Katy Perry with "Domino" in production

Yeah so, it looks like there's going to be another big smash this fall.

Bad Meets Evil - Lighters

Remember last year when Eminem teamed up with major pop star, Rihanna, to create "Love the Way you Lie"? Or how about when Bruno Mars was lending his voice to rapper, B.o.B, for "Nothing on You"? Both songs were pretty big hits, so this leads to the conclusion that if Bruno Mars and Eminem teamed up it would be an even bigger hit. Also there's that other guy, Royce da 5'9, since he's also part of "Bad Meets Evil."

Rappers like Eminem have a reputation of being overall angry in their songs, but "Lighters" is a bit of different turn with a more sentimental emotional feeling to it. Of course you can still expect Eminem to rap with his usual intensity and foul language, but there's a different message behind this song. Bruno Mars sings the chorus and that's probably where most of the emotion comes from; as we've seen before, Bruno Mars, can make anything sound tender. He sets up the song with a very emotional verse, then we get rougher, but still emotional, verses from Eminem and Royce.

The lyrics for the most part have a lot of meaning in them; though for rap it's sometimes hard to tell if lyrics are just weird or have a deeper meaning. But like I said there's plenty of swearing in it, and if you're not into that the censored version is incredibly choppy. However, even without the censor the rapping is still a little choppy sounding, so maybe it's just the song itself.

This song combines many different strong emotions, similar to Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home" with the tender chorus but more intense rap verses. All parts of the song continue the feeling of many dynamic feelings no matter whose verse it is. Bruno Mars has yet to fail to deliver a hit, and Eminem has proven to be capable of massive smash songs. And I'm sure Royce da 5'9 will help too. So overall I can see this song being a major hit.

Demi Lovato - Skyscraper

One of the most annoying issues with the music market today is that there are too many kid singers who don't even understand the emotion that they're supposed to be singing about (Selena Gomez, I'm looking at you.) However, Demi Lovato is no longer just another Disney kid, she's had some serious trauma in her life, and you can really feel the pain in her song. "Skyscraper" isn't some empowerment song meant to feel you good about yourself no matter who you are, it's a personal song about overcoming obstacles. And that really makes it all the much stronger.

The song starts out tender but it builds and becomes stronger and stronger. Demi sings about losing everything she has, and by the pain in her voice I find it quite believable. The emotional edge holds true throughout the song and builds into a very moving climax. The song's style fits very well with Demi and it seems like she's forming her own identity. The style itself is similar to a Kelly Clarkson ballad, and considering how powerful Kelly Clarkson can be, I'd say that's a good sign.

The song has already achieved positive reception by the world, and I wouldn't be surprised if it grows into a major hit of the year. 2011 certainly has the feeling of a more emotional songs, instead of nothing but dance, which we've seen by P!nk's "Perfect" and pretty much everything by Bruno Mars; so "Skyscraper" should fit in there. As for the future of Demi Lovato, I'd say that it could go two ways. One: With the momentum from "Skyscraper" she could launch herself into a successful followup; or two: Considering how it took a breakdown and trip to rehab to get this emotion she might have run dry and fail to come up with another hit.

Black Eyed Peas - Don't Stop the Party

I've been really impressed with the last two singles from "The Beginning," The Peas' latest album, because they were anything but boring and offered a lot of variety for everybody. I'm afraid that "Don't Stop the Party" has put a stop to my adirmation and reminds me why I hated the Black Eyed Peas before this album. Sure, the start of the song sounds a bit exciting and might get you dancing, but it doesn't go anywhere. Like I was saying, the Black Eyed Peas can add a lot of variety, especially with the two distinct sounds of Fergie and Will. I. Am. But this song only features a little bit of Fergie, in fact it doesn't feature much else than Will. I. Am shouting, "Don't Stop the Party!"

At first you might like, but it's a high chance that by the end you'll just be wondering, "Is it over yet?" then if radio stations start playing it nonstop (like they do with every other BEP song) you will really grow to hate it. Lyrics are also pretty repetitive, they go from weird to just play old "Don't Stop the Party."

I know that the Black Eyed Peas' obnoxious style has worked before and I know that dancy club songs are popular, yet this song just offers absolutely nothing. I suppose I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that the Black Eyed Peas might have stayed good. The sad part is that since it is a Peas' song it's probably going to get super popular and we'll be stuck with it for the rest of the summer.

Craig Smart - 123

Craig Smart had a major time to shine last year when he collaborated with Longo and Wainwright on "One Life Stand." I didn't really find that song too interesting, but "123" is a step up for Craig Smart and is showing strong potential.

The song has strong vocals which is the first sign of improvement. This powerful singing is backed up by an equal emotion behind the adoring lyrics. For a still emerging artist it's not always common to have a powerful voice and real emotion, but this song is defintely showing the best of Craig Smart. This is why I say that it has stong potential; as we've seen lesser artists emerge with a minor hit, so it should be no trouble for Craig to do just as well if not better.

Not everything is perfect about this song though. The lyrics are pretty cheesing, but that can be forgiven since it still has strong emotion. On the other hand you will notice that the song is incredibly similar to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are." A sweet love song telling a girl how great she is, sound familiar? Furthermore, both Craig Smart and Bruno Mars have smooth tenor voices and both songs have similar background music. So overall it's hard to miss the similarities and this can take away from the effect of the song.

Considering how impressive the vocals are on this song I say that that can cancel out the fact that the majority of the song is borrowed from Bruno Mars. I'm sure it's still bound to have success, afterall "Just the Way You Are" was able to win over the population. If Craig Smart is going to continue a successful career he'll need to keep up his progress as a singer, but find his own style.

Britney Spears - I Wanna Go

It's funny how I heard all of Britney's new songs this year and planned to post about them, but always found something moer interesting. But not this time, "I Wanna Go," is clearly one of the best songs off of Femme Fatale and is certain to make even bigger waves than it has already.

The song is similar to Rihanna's "S&M" in several ways such as the pounding background music, the smooth creep into an explosive chorus, and the idea of being dirty. However Britney pulls off this idea a lot better in my opinion; while Rihanna is just been blatantly obvious that she's into dirty stuff, Britney shows a more personal side by revealing the need to express a dark side of herself to the world.

This song has a lot of content to it and its clear that a lot of work went into making this a hit. There's scooping lines similar to Pussycat dolls' "Buttons," there's a catchy whistling tune, and of course there's the classic Britney sound. The song's final chorus is quite powerful; there's a brief gap of silence, but we know that this doesn't mean it's over, sure enough it speeds into a final explosive ending. I can see a lot of Britney trademarks in this song's music and lyrics and I feel like this is a sign that this will be the big Britney song for 2011.

Britney has really caught my attention with this song, and she seems to have grabbed a lot of others' attention as well. I feel like this is one of her truer to herself songs and it's got the same style that has recurred throughout her career. Overall I think it's going to be a huge hit.

Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger

It seems like Maroon 5 have just been showing up everywhere; their song "Never Gonna Leave this Bed" is having success on adult charts, Adam Levine's team recently won the first season of The Voice, Adam's voice was featured or the new Gym Class Heroes' song; now we've got "Moves Like Jagger."

The song starts out with potential with a speedy beat that has promise to keep you dancing. But once you get to the chorus you'll start to be disappointed. The song is actually quite boring, just the recurring lyrics, recurring guitar lick, and recurring whistling theme. Not to mention that the song sounds pretty similar to their previous song, "Give a Little More;" they've sped it up so it's not quite so boring, but it's far from anything new. We get a little peak at something interesting when Christian Aguilera shows up with a verse of her own at the end; but at that point it doesn't really add much. If Christina had been featured more prominently than maybe the song will be a little more interesting.

There's really nothing too stimulating about this song. Musically it just repeats the same tune over and over again, and the lyrics don't offer us much. Judging by the song's current success on the charts though, I fear that we may be hearing it a lot more. I'm already bored of it now, I dread how I will feel after it's been overplayed on the radio. Even if you do like it now, I'm sure it will get boring the 50th time you hear it. There's really nothing to keep you coming back.

If you're looking for a catchy summer song from Maroon 5, I would much rather suggest "Stereo Hearts," not actually their song but Adam Levine features on it enough that it works. As for Xtina, maybe she'll have her own time to shine soon with promise of a new album.

Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts

With all the dance tracks out there currently it's nice to get something a little different that still sounds good. Adam Levine takes the lead on this song with a bouncy chorus, with Travie McCoy raps his signature style over the verses. The sound and lyrics are both unique and overall makes this song quite interesting.

It's nearly impossible to not just bounce your head to Adam Levine's pounding voice in this song. The rap verses aren't anything particularly special but they don't take anything away from the song either. This song's relaxed rhythms might remind you of something other hits like "Hey Soul, Sister," "I'm Yours," or "Rhythm of Life." Songs that you don't need to get up and dance to; you can just bounce along to them as you relax in a lawn chair. I'd like to also remind you of Travie's last summer smash, "Billionaire" which also took a more steady swing sound and was still able to be a huge hit. I think this song could do it again.

Lyrically it's a little weird; there's a recurring metaphor of stereos and the like. It's definitely different, but it does a get a little old, especially with Travie's verses. Still I believe that there is purpose in these lyrics and again it's not like it's something that will ruin the entire song for you.

Overall I think that this is a nice fun summer song. It doesn't have to be a chart topper, but it'll give us a break from all the dance music.

While we're on the topic of summer, I have come up with a system to describe my predictions for the song of the summer. It's like a pyramid diagram: On top are "Last Friday Night," "Give me Everything," and "The Edge of Glory," three very different powerful songs that all have a good shot at taking the title. Underneath that are "Party Rock Anthem," "Where them Girls At," "Dirty Dancer," and "Don't Wanna Go Home;" party songs that are good but don't quite go far enough. Beneath that is "Don't Stop the Party," and "I Wanna Go" two songs that haven't quite broken onto the big scene yet but have potential to also be massive hits. And on the bottom is Adele and Bruno Mars who both would have a good shot if they released something, but so far don't seem to have any plans. I've heard rumour that Adele is planning to use "Someone Like You" as her next single, if that's the case I'd say that that would be better for a post summer song. You can also add "California King Bed" to the side, which will probably be a hit but is completely not song of the summer material.

Summer has officially begun and so I say let the race begin!

Jennifer Lopez - I'm Into You

I didn't really care for Jennifer Lopez's last song, "On the Floor" and found her overall pretty boring; "I'm Into You" is a step up from "On the Floor" but it's still pretty boring. JLo trades the aggressive club song for a more island pop style of song. It's bouncy and catchy and is something a little fresh, but it's nothing that's going to remember the song.

Jennifer also borrows Rihanna's idea of repeating, "Na na na na" throughout the song. If "S&M" hasn't bored you yet, "I'm Into You" will; it sounds a little catchy at first, but again it doesn't really give you anything to hook you. Other than that the rest of the lyrics are just boring, generic stuff that we've all heard before. She talks about being drawn in by eyes and feelign luckier than a four leaf clover; not really thought-provoking ideas.

So really this song is just a piece of fluff that will be forgetten in a second. If you listen to it you could like it or you might not; but there's nothing to sway you eithe way particularily. It's got good rhythm and nice flow, but pointless lyrics and no build throughout the song. Like I said some people might like it, but it's not going to making any big waves.

David Guetta - Where Them Girls At

It's a triple attack of dance power in this amazingly catchy song. First we've got European DJ, David Guetta, at the wheel and he's already proved that he's able to come with incredibly infectious beats; then there's Flo Rida who's been topping charts with other similar club/dance songs; and finally the cherry on top, Nicki Minaj, one of today's best rappers. Altogether it comes up as a massive attack of a dance song.

The song immediately opens with a powerful drawing verse from Flo Rida, and explodes into rap verse from him. All of that will probably sound familiar to you, but then there's the surprise of hearing Nicki Minaj's voice come in. Similarily she sings a verse, but then builds into perfect rap; it flows wonderfully and is defintely one of her best acts. Then the songs brings it altogether into a great super dancy ending.

The structure of the song itself isn't too unique though, you may notice some similarities to Guetta's previous hit, "Sexy Chick." And Flo Rida isn't doing anything new, just he's usual rap/song style. That's fine since both those have proved to gain success and would still work as another great dance song. But what really puts this song above average is the appearance from Nicki Minaj. She's worked into the song seemlessly with Flo Rida and the two sound perfect together. Her rap verse is very well done and is another wonderful addition to the song.

Lyrically the song isn't anything special. Flo Rida is just rapping about girls and a club which we've all heard before, and you can't understand a word Nicki says when she's rapping. But really, when a song is this strongly dance based do you expect the lyrics to be any more than that?

I'd say that overall this song is definetly potenial to be a summer topper. It's chief competition as a party anthem would be Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night," but that's more of a out on the town theme, while this is a club tune; so they are different. Whether it's enough to keep them from clashing, we'll see. And if the two do come head to head for #1 of the summer, I really can't say who will come out on top.

Beyonce - Best Thing I Never Had

So we all remember the failure that was, "Run the World" and it seems Beyonce is trying to fix that slip up by copying one of her biggest hits, "Irreplaceable." However she went a little overboard and "Best Thing I Never Had" is pretty much an exact repeat of "Irreplaceable" and that's boring. The piano driven break up idea is the same, the lyrics that talk about being superior to her ex is the same, everything is exactly the same.

"Irreplaceable" was special since it was a little more real than this; you can't expect to say the exact same thing and it will have the same effect. The song is somewhat pretty in the emotional sense, but that's not really enough to redeem it from its banality. There's actually very little reason why this song should garner any attention at all. It's no different from "Irreplaceable," she just had a fail with "Run the World," and with mundane lyrics like "Best Thing I Never Had" there's no way of drawing listeners.

So on the one hand it is nice that Beyonce is returning to the style that works for her as that shows that she's learning from some mistakes, but just doing an outright repeat isn't exactly the best solution. Considering that Beyonce is also competing with Gaga's "Born this Way" album she is going to have to seriously kick it up so that she can return to center spotlight.

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

This chick has just about been everywhere, and with her talent I'm surprised that she hasn't been able to get massive hit yet. She's come close before, on her own or with a collaboration, but maybe "Super Bass" will put her over. Nicki Minaj is an awesome rapper and can make any song sound great with her rhythmic bouncy verses.

In this song she switches back and forth between two of her signature styles, her flowing bouncy one, and a rougher one. Personally I think that she should just stick to the flowing style to give the whole song a connected feeling, but having two does offer more variety. Lyrically this song isn't as deep as her last one, "Moment 4 Life," but is more about just having fun, which Nicki pulls off very well. I go party song is just as possible for her as a deep emotional song so she can make both sound great. The chorus is really no more than, "Boom boom ba boom" repeated but like I said the song is just fun and Nicki Minaj can get away with random lyrics.

The song doesn't really build at all. It starts at a bouncy fun level, but doesn't go anywhere from there. So in that sense it could get a little boring soon. I think that overall it is a great song to listen to for now, but can soon can repitive and uninteresting. A little work could have been done to fix this, but its too late now.

Also, another update on summer songs: I never realized how huge this summer is going to be. Added to the mix are a ton of dance songs, which might not make it to the top but will certainly be summer smashes, from Enrique, Jason Derulo, David Guetta, and Pitbull. Looks like my prediction for NKOTBSB was a little off since their song hasn't really been soaring up the charts. "Judas" looks like it's going to be replaced with "Edge of Glory" as Gaga's summer song, but I still hold firm that Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" will be the song of this summer. A couple other hard hitters coming up are Britney Spear's "I Wanna Go" and the Black Eyed Peas' "Don't Stop the Party."

Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory

So far all three of Gaga's "Born this Way" singles have made it to my blog and that's no coincidence, they're all incredibly remarkable in their own ways. Sadly, "The Edge of Glory" is a bit of a miss in this case. Overall it's another awesome song from Lady Gaga, but the timing of its release creates a few issues.

Lady Gaga almost always has something shocking and surprising, "The Edge of Glory" is good but not super; and since we just had the really unusual "Judas" it doesn't look so good in contrast. However "The Edge of Glory" is now going to take attention away from "Judas" which deserved a full run. Now though people will me interested in "The Edge of Glory" and "Judas" will lose its momentum, while "The Edge of Glory" probably won't be a super smash hit.

But with that aside I'll now look at the actual song. Like I said before it's not exactly anything particularily exciting, however it is a little something different from Gaga. She's showing us now that she's not just a dance-pop diva as has a little rockier and edgier sound. The chorus is sung with a rough sound which is also a little different from Lady Gaga's normal smooth vocals. The song builds after a big start to a bridge featuring a blasting saxophone. So it might not knock your socks off but there's still quite a lot of quality in it.

Lyrically the song isn't perfectly clear, but Gaga seems to be speaking to a lover. Judging by the line "I'm on the edge of glory with you" I get the idea of sharing a special moment with a special moment, I could be wrong but the important thing is that there is a meaning behind the song and it isn't a cliche or nonsensical. Ironically Gaga recently announced that she is now single, so maybe it wasn't the best time to release a love song.

Overall I can see that this could be another one of Gaga's many hits. There are many of reasons to love it, but we may have been expecting something a little more surprising from Gaga. But then again I guess not all her songs can be shocking since that would defeat the service.

Rihanna - California King Bed

It's taken three singles from "Loud" for Rihanna to finally achieve a song that really gives us something special. So far her last three songs have had success yet they lack anything new aside from typical Rihanna sound, but "California King Bed" truly goes out with something different. It brings us back to "Take a Bow" another slower, pretty song from Rihanna.

"California King Bed" starts with a tender sound, almost a lulling whisper. Already that's something that we don't see from Rihanna too much, but the greatest thing about the song is that it builds gradually throughout the song. By the first chorus Rihanna has already picked up the pace into something a little more intense, which then continues to longing lament and always growing into an explosive ending.

This song is not a dance track, but it still has a way to get stuck in your mind. No longer is Rihanna singing about getting on the floor or sex, but just a relationship that's hit struggles. It's really much more true and heartfelt than most of her other work. It combines beautiful sounds with Rihanna's signature blaring sound, but it works incredibly well to make a pleading love song. Experimenting with a new sound can be a little risky but we've already seen that Rihanna can slow things down with "Take a Bow" and I don't see any reason why this song shouldn't have any less success.

The lyrics are sweet and loving, but there is small flaw to be found here. The repition of the word "California," seems a little out of place and unnecessary. I don't know what a California King Bed is, but I can accept that; however when you add in California King, California Wishing, California Dreaming, it gets a little weird. I'm not sure what the idea behind this was as California really has no connection to a dying relationship. This song will be at its peak during the summer which does have a common theme of California, but this is far from a summer anthem.

Over all I'm really glad that Rihanna finally got it right and gave us somthing a little different. "California King Bed" is incredibly beautiful and has a lot more emotion than a generic dance song. I don't think it has a shot at song of the summer though since people want something a little more upbeat and dancy. Still I think it will be a big hit.

Emily Osment - Hush

I was going to post about Wynter Gordon's new single "Till Death" but Blogger was down for some reason and it deleted my saved post, so I don't feel like rewriting it. The most of it was that it was a good dance song and would have done good if it had been sung by Ke$ha or Britney, but will go unnoticed with Wynter.

Anyways onto today's main event, "Hush." Emily Osment may be a little overshadowed by the much more famous "Hannah Montana" star, Miley Cyrus, but she's defintely talented enough to deserve her own hits. Emily's sound isn't necessarily unique, but it is her own sound and not a rip off of someone else. The song's not another dance track which is also nice; it's bouncy and danceable, but it's more than just replay of dance beats. Emily immediately opens up with a perky sound that builds into something that is strong, yet not explosive. But then we get to the real heart and soul of the song, Josh Ramsay.

The song continues in the same style, but Josh is a thousand times stronger, more exciting, and more interesting. His pressence alone improves the already good song by that much. But Emily isn't pushed to the side completely, she and Josh trade lines through the always growing song which also adds to the song since it takes to two voices to put it all together. Using Josh is actually a really smart move since Emily hasn't had much success in the U.S. but with a familar Canadian voice she's presenting herself to Canada.

The song doesn't stop though, after the catchy duet between the two the song enters a Britney-esque electronic switchup while continuing the same vocal sound still present. The song clearly is well-written using many different techniques to keep you interested and it really works. It's too bad Emily isn't attracting too much attention, but maybe Josh's fame will allow her some success in Canada.

Pitbull - Give me Everything

Pitbull's been having a lot of success lately helping out everyone else like Jennifer Lopez, Usher, and Enrique Iglesias, but he's got another hit of his own and it's one of his best works. "Give me Everything" combines a little bit of..well, everything that's popular today to make a great dance smash. With catchy verses in the signature Pitbull style and a smooth dance chorus from Ne-yo combined with the interesting sounds of DJ Afrojack and Nayer, the song covers a vast variety of dance styles.

The rap verses feature clever lyrics, my personal favorite, "I'm not locked up like Linday Lohan." While Ne-yo's part takes on the more dance-centric theme of dance like there's no tomorrow. So whether you prefer catchy rap or dancy pop you'll be dancing all the way through this song. The song is a guaranteed hit since Pitbull has always had success with this style and, of course, dancy pop songs are all the rage.

It's certainly one of the best songs this year, but the question now is, is it a candidate for song of the summer? I think it will definitely be a huge summer smash, but it's going to competing with "Judas" and Katy Perry's new single, "Last Friday Night." While we're on the topic I'd like to say that I think Katy has a very good chance at earning this honour, "Last Friday Night" is a perfect summer song, and she's working on remixes with Dr. Luke to make it even more dancy. I may or may not give a more in depth review later.

Beyonce - Run the World

Beyonce wasn't present during the massive attack of female pop earlier this year, but "Run the World" has been released just in time for the summer race; one problem though, the song doesn't stand a chance. I may be a bit biased since I prefer pop over this urban style, but I can still say that there's very little to respect about this song.

You will soon find the song very boring, and that's at best, with it's repitive chorus and same old lyrics. The chorus is an incredibly annoying chant that drills into your skull, the sampling from "Pon the Floor" does not help in the least. The repitive chorus will easily get stuck in your head, and for this song it's not a good thing since it's just annoying sounds and painful vocals.

Moving onto the verse you may be slightly relieved that the pounding chorus has ended, but the verses don't offer much more. The lyrics would be a little creative if Beyonce hadn't used them a billion times before. We've heard the same girl-empowering message in "Single Ladies" and many other songs before; so that's boring.

So the song has no tune and no creativity in its lyrics, really it's got nothing going for it. I'll give Beyonce points for doing an urban song and not just going with the pop flow, but if you want to do something different it needs to actually sound good. I'll also give a thumbs up for not another, "You're fine just the way you are," song which I'm sick of, but again the lyrics are nothing new.

As a major powerhouse in the world of music, Beyonce cannot afford to start off her next album with such a failure of a song. Furthermore she's going to be competing with "Judas" and many other summer smashes which will really make "Run the World" look bad in comparison. Hopefully Beyonce has better songs for store for us because I seriously expected better from her.

Lady Gaga - Judas

Let me start by saying, this song is weird, it's even more shocking than the first time you heard "Bad Romance." This really should have been her first single off of Born this Way because unlike the song, "Born this Way" it really is something that will shock people into believing that Gaga could own the decade. Whether it's the blatant religious reference or the startling cry, "Juda-ah-ah-ah!" this song is certainly something that will stick in your mind, which could be good or bad.

Gaga delivers a very powerful sound in this very unique song. It's clear that she's putting her all into making this a strong emotional song for her and not just some moneymaking dance track. Still, like I said it's sure to get stuck in your head with its repitive chant that will have you humming it all day, and yes, she did use the same tactic on "Bad Romance."

Referencing Judas might be a bit begging for attention, but at least it's something different. Gaga seems to have some explanation for the song saying that it's a metaphor for falling in love with the wrong guy, which I guess makes sense. But I'd like to remind you of a song called, "Russian Roulette" which Rihanna claimed was about a relationship, but I didn't see it; "Judas" might be the same thing. People can say a song is about anything, but in the end if the listeners don't see then it's just a grab for a attention. We'll have to see what the people think once it's more popular to have a better idea though.

There's no doubt that this song will be a hit. Whether you love it, hate it, or are just plained confused by it, it is going to stick in your memory as a major song of 2011. Much improvement from "Born this Way" this song is incredibly interesting in sound, lyrics, and voice. So far it's my pick for 2011's song of the summer.

Keshia Chante - Set U Free

I will be going on vacation over next week so I'm throwing out my schedule for this week and am just going to post as much as I can before I leave to make up for it.

Anyways, Keshia Chante isn't exactly my favorite singer out there, but I really respect her for her experimental unique sound and not being afraid to try something different (unlike some artists out there.) "Set U Free" defintely proves this point as it is a very creative mix of sounds. Starting with a rough, dark electronic sound that it can easily get you hooked, the song then has a sudden change into a very dancy chorus. Throughout the song it switches between the two seemlessly; making the song a perfect combination to dance to.

Lyrically Keshia takes on the role of the Muse of the dance as she encourages that she can "Set your body free." It's a new way of saying the usual dance message, but it still sounds good. Plus it does make some sense and isn't just some nonsensical attempt at being unique. Both during a dark rap or during the explosive, catchy chorus Keshia is able to sound sexy and original. Overall her voice completes the unique lyrics.

I certainly see this as a hit in Canada, Keshia last song, "Table Dancer" was also a little experimental but didn't exactly make an impact. "Set U Free" though seems like an improvement and hopefully people will notice the catchy sound.

NKOTBSB - Don't Turn Out the Lights

Had a little trouble with this title since it's not just New Kids on the Block, it's not just Backstreet Boys, it's both boys in a super group! They seem to be calling themselves NKOTBSB so that's what I went with. We haven't heard too much in the way of new music from both of these groups, but this song shows that they truly aren't ready to turn off the lights.

Clearly effort shows instantly as the song starts, it's very dancy and starts very powerfully. The song continues to grow to the strong chorus that is completely irrestible to the beat of dance. The song sounds familiar to some other dance hits like Enrique Iglesias, Jason Derulo, and Taio Cruz; but still manages to sound great in its own way. This is a dance track that actually had the effort put into it to make an orignal hit and not just some duplicate.

Another common downside to major dance tracks are predictable lyrics, but this song defintely has something more unique. Instead of the usual, get on the floor and dance, or, beautiful sexy shawty, this song features more on a relationship. The speaker of the song asks his girl to not give up as there could be more to them. Again the lyrics clearly had time and effort put into writing them and it sound quite good in the song.

Just by pure fact that this song contains two major boybands is sure to garauntee it success, but it is also a very well written song with strong vocal, so that's probably gonna help too. I'm guessing we'll be seeing this song topping charts soon.

And one last thing, we're in Mid-April now so it's time to start looking out for possible songs of the summer. This one might be a teensy bit early, but I'm not counting it out. My money is on Lady Gaga's "Judas" which was just released this week; Gaga has been hugh with almost everything she does, and I doubt this will be any exception. The other person who has a big chance is Katy Perry, she's working with Dr. Luke on a single for the re-issue of Teenage Dream, it's obvious that she's only doing this so she can make another summer smash. Other possibilities include Britney, Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars, and new to the American scene, the stunning Adele.

Natalia Kills - Wonderland

Remember that song "Mirrors" that I mentioned earlier this year? No? I didn't think so; Natalia Kills is grossly underrated internationally. It's quite annoying that big stars that are sounding really fake, and someone who actually sounds good can't get her big break. But I've come to accept that there is some talent that will just go unnoticed; that doesn't mean that I won't notice it though.

The amazing thing about "Wonderland" is that it can sound incredibly edgy and sexy without even trying. We've got singers saying things like "If I told you I wanted your body would you hold it against me?" or "Chains and whips excite me" trying to sound dark, but Natalia just has to chant "Take me to Wonderland" and it sounds incredibly edgy. The song has creative sexy lyrics referencing several fairytales with a super catchy dance chorus.

The song has a unique sound that also adds to the darkness, but also keeps it very intriguing. The song also has a nice variety of sounds, starting with a singsongy flowing verse that soon builds into a thumping chorus chant. Everything about the song is near perfection just as "Mirrors" was. It's a shame that Natalia has gotten any attention yet, but "Wonderland" was in the movie, Beastly, so maybe that'll help. I've got my fingers crossed.

Jay Sean -- Hit the Lights

I was defintely disappointed with Jay Sean's last song, "2012," the good news is that "Hit the Lights" is a step up, the bad news is that it's not much of a step. Once again it's a dance track and it's quite catchy; but it's really not that special. With dancy sounds and beats the song can easily get you dancing, like I it's a step up from "2012" so that means it can be a dance song without sounding incredibly annoying. But this kind of dance music is not why we love Jay Sean, it's his cute songs like "Down" and "Do You Remember" that we're yearning.

The lyrics don't offer anything different from any other dance song. The music itself has some effort put into with interesting effects that makes the song sound a better more unique, but really that's not enough to make this stand out. A verse from Lil Wayne (this guy's just been everywhere lately) also doesn't add anything to the song and just further proves the point that this is nothing but a manufactured track to make quick money. Overall, this song won't stick in your memory and won't last.

Jay Sean had amazing success in 2009 with his break out in American, I don't understand why he's changing up his style so much. Change and evolution is good, but he really downgraded to nothing but cheap dance tracks. "Hit the Lights" isn't number one hit material like Jay Sean's older music and I hope he realizes this soon so that he can go back to the style that we love.

Girlicious - Hate Love

This song could very well be one of the last songs you'll hear by Girlicious as the band has been reduced to one member, and they didn't have too much success as a band; I'm not sure if just one girl can survive. Still, in the present day we've got "Hate Love" so let's look at that now. The most striking thing about the song is that it sounds very similar to some other singer like Rihanna and Beyonce. And I'm not talking about a few borrowed details, I mean at points you could confuse the song for Beyonce's "Halo."

"If I Were a Boy" and "Umbrella" and other songs that have been spliced into this track are all good so the tune is still good in the song, but it's still quite distracting. So it comes together to make a pretty catchy song, yet it's annoying that they would have to steal other people's music to make that. However, on the other hand there is some creativity in this song. The style is still something unique and at other points the song does sound more original. If the entire thing had been like this, it might have been a pretty good song.

Musically the song is quite creative, combining a variety of sounds. There is a recurring electronic sounds in the background which is mixed with a more urban sound. Vocally the sound is mostly pop with a bit of a soul/urban feel. The lyrics are somewhat interesting in a relationship context. The song is sung with enough emotions that it doesn't sound fake, but there could be more.

Overall the doesn't offer too much. It's a catchy sort of thing with a creative sound, but had it been more original it would have defintely been much better. Personally I don't think it's enough to keep Nichole Cordova, the last remaining member, afloat, which is a shame because I believe it could have been so much more.

Jordan Knight - Let's Go Higher

New Kids on the Block member haven't had the greatest luck with solo singles lately which we've seen with both Donnie Wahlberg and Joey MacIntyre and their latest singles. But Jordan might have a chance with his newest song.

The song has powerful synthpop sound that instantly creates a dance sound that works throughout the entire song. The catchy background sounds and strong vocals can easily make a great song to dance to. I find that one problem is, though, that the song feels like it should build, yet it stays at the same level from start to finish. It doesn't exactly ruin the song, but it does feel like something is missing and perhaps the song could have been better.

The song doesn't offer anything new, it's just a typical dance song. The lyrics are generic ones that have been used before in other dance songs. Musically it's still good but again it sound just like any other dance track you can find. This doesn't mean that the song can't suceed though. Jordan Knight has a strong voice and style that is similar to a lot of other male pop stars out there. He already has fame as a New Kid so if this song catches on he could have a dance hit.

Overall the song is fun, but just a little boring. It's a great dance track but you could easily find the same material from many other artists.

Selena Gomez and the Scene - Who Says?

Selena Gomez has yet to do anything super to seperate herself from the rest of the Disney Stars, and "Who Says?" doesn't seem to be the song that'll do that. Selena's problem is that she's boring and she doesn't have anything to keep people interested, which this song clearly emphasizes.

The song's message is one that we've all heard before, Be yourself, you're beautiful in you're own way, you know what I'm talking about. This theme has been present in "Just the Way You Are," "Perfect," "Firework," and "Born this Way" so why is Selena trying to pump this idea further? Some of the bigger artists were able to put their own spin on the idea through their songs, but "Who Says?" is just the same thing we've heard before. It's a nice message, but it needs to spaced out a bit before we all get sick of it; it probably would have been better for Selena to release this song later.

For a lot of songs with lame lyrics you can say, "At least it's got a nice tune," sadly not this time. The song is a little catchy, but not something particularily danceable. It's a real shame because we've seen that Selena can make a pretty ice dance track with "Naturally," and "Who Says?" could have at least been been made a little more interesting if it was more dancy.

Selena Gomez and the Scene have really just been hanging on by a thread with both "Round and Round" and "A Year Without Rain" not doing substanially great, "Who Says?" could be their third strike.

Mike Posner - Bow Chicka Wow Wow

Last year Mike Posner had a big breakout hit, "Cooler than Me", as well as a follow-up, "Please Don't Go", which did pretty good; now we'll find out if he can keep himself afloat. "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" is a slow jazzy love song with familiar vocals from Posner. Unfortunately, it may be a little too familiar since it sounds very similar to "Please Don't Go." A similar idea lyrically as well as a pretty much identical musical structure. The only difference is that the bouncy electric beats have been replaced with a jazzy guitar.

That's not the only problem with the song, though. It's not hard to see that with a name like "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" it'll have some nonsense lyrics; and I've had this rant before. In a dance song I can tolerate extra gibberish words if it makes the song flow; this is a dance song and I have no idea what, "Once I throw on this Bow Chicka Wow Wow" is supposed to mean. It seems completely unnecessary to even have something like that in the song, the entire song should be called something different. Perhaps there is some meaning to the lyric that I'm not seeing, but if have to serious analyze a song to understand a lyrics I think that the song failed. Furthermore, there is also a guitar as a lyric ("I can make you sound like *guitar*) which is just as bad as made up words since it doesn't really mean anything.

Overall I don't think Posner really worked hard enough on this song. If you liked "Please Don't Go" then you'll probably still appreciate this song, but he'd better try harder on his next single.

Kylie Minogue - Better Than Today

Recently I have been incredibly impressed with Kylie Minogue, her songs "All the Lovers" and "Get Outta My Way" were amazing and she did a great job with Taio Cruz on "Higher," yet "Better Than Today" is a disappointment. The song is generally just boring, nothing but a typical dance track. Familiar electronic sounds and uninteresting lyrics come together in this song to make a real bore.

By this time Kylie has already shown that she can be creative when making a dance song and she should keep going, yet this song just offers the usual, get on the floor and dance, message. The song itself is catchy, but nothing more than that, which again is a disappointment for Kylie. This song would be acceptable for someone a little smaller than Kylie Minogue, but she is a hugh superstar and really can't be releasing so-so singles.

Musically the song has bit more jazzy feel than other previous songs. It features a recurring electronic beat that can easily get stuck in your head and make you want to boogie throughout the song. Overall the song is okay and could easily fit into a dance playlist, yet if you're hoping for another great Kylie song, you're out of luck.

Alicia Keys - Wait Till You See My Smile

Alicia Keys hasn't had too much success with her latest album, and I doubt this song will change that, but I still think it deserves a chance to be recognized. Alicia puts away all of her rough sound that she often uses and goes for a totally tender side in "Wait Till You See My Smile," overall coming out more like one of her earlier hits "No One." The song carries a loving tone that is clear and I can certainly feel a warm connection to the speaker. The message is similar to Katy Perry's "Firework" or P!nk's "Perfect" in that it's trying to uplift a loved one, yet it is unique from those two in its own way.

The song follows a repitive slow sound that helps to create a very lulling style. The repeating lyrics in the chorus gives the feeling of a friendly hand being placed to boost your spirits, which I think is exactly what is wanted from the song. Once again we see that a true feeling from the singer is much more effective than a manufactured dance track.

The one downside to the song that I can find is also found in the repition. The song can be a bit boring if you don't like this slow type of song and the repitive lyrics don't add much more interest to the song. Personally I don't think this weakens the song in anyway since the emotion is very powerful and the repeating words really enforce this, but I can see how others might not respect this.

Alicia's last couple of songs have been mostly emotional breakup related songs, and since that doesn't seem to be selling maybe she'll have more luck with this more uplifting song. Again I find it doubtful that she'll actually have much success with this, but she's touched me at least.

Miranda Cosgrove - Dancing Crazy

Super cutie, Miranda Cosgrove, may be famous from the Nickolodeon show iCarly, but she's more than just a cute face, she's got great potenial as a singer. "Dancing Crazy" doesn't offer anything too new, a typical dance song, but Miranda has surprising strength and power in her voice for someone so young. "Dancing Crazy" quickly becomes a very explosive song that is very catchy. I'm pretty sure that Miranda's voice is much stronger than all the other teen sensations, ie Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.

The song isn't very original, the syle is similar to Ke$ha's "Tik Tok", but most notably Miranda sounds very close to Avril Lavigne. For now, this isn't a bad thing since the style does work very well for her. Avril has a unique powerful voice and Miranda could defintely follow in her footsteps. She just needs to make sure that she does find her own style too so that she doesn't just steal everything from Avril.

Miranda displays very strong potenial to be a major powerhouse in the not too distant future. Once she is able to evolve into her own sound and improve her song's to be a bit more original she may really have something. For now let's wait and see how "Dancing Crazy" fares.

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

So here it it, the so called best song of the decade. Lady Gaga's extreme success and the song's powerful sound mean that it is certainly going to be a hugh smash hit. Is it actually going to be the best song of the decade, it's possible but we'll have to wait and see.

The song immediately starts off with a powerful blast of music that builds with a combination of aspects that make a great song. Lady Gaga branches off from her usual pop dance sound for somthing more rockish sound, similar to that of "Speechless." The song itself has a disco feel with interesting sound effects through the song that make it especially danceable, without turning into a pure dance track. Overall the song is another evolution for Gaga, it's more than a dance song, but still incredibly catchy.

The lyrics of the song speak about being proud of who you are which Lady Gaga delivers with strength and conviction. The lyrics are straight to the point which further strengthens the message. However, this also means that they are slightly uninteresting and obvious. I'm not saying that there has to be some hugh metaphor and symbolism in the song, but it could be a bit more abstract. For example, previous Gaga hits "Poker Face" and "Telephone" both had meanings behind them that could be easily interpretted, but it also offered room for anyone to find their own meanings within the song. "Born This Way" can only be interpretted one way.

The song is something new from Gaga, yet it's not quite revolutionary. The sound is still similar to some of Gaga's other songs and the lyrics are a little transparent; it's good but maybe I was hoping for something just a little better. There's no doubt that this song is going to be one of the biggest of the year; and maybe it will make it to biggest of the decade too.

So there you have it, all of the major female pop singers currently have entered their shot to win this war. Gaga and Britney seem to be major favorites, but let's not forget P!nk whose song "Perfect" has been doing quite well. Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson have also stated plans to release new music this year as well, but nothing has been specified so I don't know if they'll make it.