Dragonette - Let It Go

I don't know if I ever mentioned it before, but I absolutely love Dragonette. I think they are one of the best acts out there right now; such a unique sounds and always catchy. "Let It Go" does not disappoint.

The song follows a mellow electronic beat with consistent electronic, almost distant, vocals. The song displays many of Dragonette's signature sounds like Martina's pronounced vocals and echoing effects. However, it also sounds fresh and unique. The song doesn't build up too strong, but it works in the mellow style. It still manages to create a powerful effect with other tricks, such as when the music holds back and the vocals come forward for the second verse.

Lyrically, the song is hard to make sense of, but that's nothing new for Dragonette. Their songs have always been a little kooky with poetic lyrics that could be interpreted different ways. Lyrics are important to me, and so this is a bit of downside, but it's not like it's unexpected, and it least the lyrics do seem to have some purpose and aren't just some nonsense over a dance beat. If you analyzed the song, there's probably a meaning or two to it, my guess is sex, but it could be anything.

Dragonette smashed international with Martin Solveig on "Hello" last year so the world is ready for something new and unique from them. It's bound to be another big hit in Canada, but it's hard to say whether it will get noticed anywhere else in the world. Canada has been getting a lot of recognition in the world of music lately, Carly Rae Jepsen had her big break out, K'naan getting some success, even Flo Rida's got some new protegee from Canada. So let's cross our fingers that Dragonette can ride on the success too.

Carly Rae Jepsen - Curiosity

Carly Rae Jepsen has just been doing amazing lately. "Call Me Maybe" was a huge hit in Canada and now it's making a strong run in the US as well; now it's time to move onto her next single, "Curiosity."

"Curiosity" is an interesting blend, on the one hand it's got a darker feeling that "Call Me Maybe," but it's still got her perky sound. While the verses offer a more mysterious sort of sound, the chorus bounces right back up to the usual fun sound. It's easy to just nod along with the catchy "Oh oh oh"s and forget about the rest of the song.

The biggest snag for me is the lyrics; I don't exactly follow them. My first thought was that it was about being stuck in a toxic relationship, yet now I'm thinking it might be something more positive. The first verse seems to be about being hurt in a relationship, yet other lines where she talks about following him home in the rain, make it sound like it actually is love. It doesn't help that the chorus is just "Curiosity oh oh oh" repeated over and over again. It sounds like it does have a deep serious message, yet it's really hard to follow. The song just doesn't seem to have much direction and bounces around randomly.

If it was a catchy song the lyrics could be overlooked, and this song is catchy, but not as much as "Call Me Maybe." It's a bit of a step down when people are expecting more. You could say that since they're a little different in style that they balance out to be the same, but we're not looking for "Call Me Maybe" part two, we're looking for another big move from Carly Rae. So with a good, but not great, tune and confusing lyrics, I think you may be disappointed.

Carly Rae still can look forward to "Call Me Maybe" smashing in the US, but that might be all she gets; "Curiosity" just doesn't seem like it will hook listeners in the same way.

Justin Bieber - Boyfriend

It's been a bit of a slow start for 2012. Lady Gaga is gone for now, Rihanna is fumbling, Kesha and Christina Aguilera are holding off for a bit, and Katy Perry is just adding on a few final hits to her Teenage Dream. Madonna was supposed to be the big smash comeback, and she pretty much failed at that. But I think this song is one of the first big moments of the year.

We all knew that it was coming, Justin Bieber couldn't keep being the cute little boy that he debuted as. With "Boyfriend" he makes the full transformation from an annoying squeaky voiced boy to a sexy singer. He's really filling the void that Justin Timberlake has left us. Mike Posner briefly filled it, and now Posner is writing for Bieber, would you look at that. And when I say this, I don't just mean that he's similar to Timberlake, I mean that he is completely emulating his sound. He's got the deep, sexy sound mixed with the high tenor sound. He's got the spoken parts, and the stretched out chorus.

Bieber is fully embracing a new sound. "Boyfriend" is full of spoken, rap verses and combined with smooth choruses. Lyrically, though, he's pretty much the same as always. He wants to be your boyfriend, just like he has for the last five songs or so. But I think that's easy enough to ignore, it's not like you have too many other options when you're eighteen, and this message has been working for Bieber so far.

I was never a fan of Timberlake, so this song isn't one of my favorites, but I can tell that it's going to be big. This is the moment when Bieber fully enters the world of music. Sure he's had a few songs before that disappeared quickly, but I think this one has potential to be a hit. Even if it doesn't fall before reaching a new peak, it'll still be remembered for it's new sound. Still, I'm betting we'll be seeing it at number one soon. We've been waiting for something big to make this year special, this might be it.

Emeli Sande - Next To Me

I've been to busy to stick to my usual schedule over the current couple of weeks, but I'll try to balance that out by doing two posts this weeks. Anyways, we've got something interesting today with Emeli Sande. Once again, she's a unique sound that could really shake up pop music. It's been all about switching things up lately, what with Adele and all, and I think Emeli Sande is doing just that. She's similar to Adele, but very different as well.

The song may come off as a bit boring at first, but I find most slower songs tend to do that. Once you give it a couple listens you'll see how catchy it really is. It's got a kind of old-fashioned nostalgic style to it. It's not your typical dance song, and that makes it interesting. Of course, saying that has lost it's meaning lately, but I still stand by it; I think you will be interested once you hear the song.

I say it's not a dance song, but that doesn't mean it's any less catchy or danceable. The chorus is very powerful and what really brings the song to life. With a combination of "Woohoo"s and "Eh"s and it creates and steady beat. Add that with the underlying piano melody and smooth vocals and you've got a song that's very easy to move to.

It's really nice to see that we won't have to put up with the same sound over and over again. I commend people like Sande for bringing something fresh to the table. This song is unique, but still has the formula for success. Hopefully it'll be a break out from another unique artist.

Demi Lovato - Give Your Heart A Break

Demi Lovato returned to the scene last year with the emotional ballad "Skyscraper." It was a powerful song, but we have been a little overwhelmed with pain and suffering in music with people like Adele, Christina Perri, and Bruno Mars. Luckily, Demi switches things up a bit with the very light-hearted new single, "Give Your Heart a Break."

It's got a bouncy melody, cheerful lyrics, and a warm voice from Demi. One of those things has got to make you smile. Despite the song having a much less serious message from "Skyscraper," Demi still conveys true emotion. It's a loving song and you can really feel the loving feeling in her voice. Overall it reminds me of the peppy songs "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen or "Angel" by Aleesia. It's just something fun that is sure to brighten up your day. The fact that it's also a very well done song makes it just that much better.

"Skyscraper" might have given Demi some positive attention, but I don't think it was as successful as they would have wanted. Hopefully, "Give Your Heart a Break" will be able to do a little better. It's catchy, it's fun, I'm sure people will love it. And with all the currently being expressed on the radio, it'll be nice to do what the title suggests and give your heart a break.

Adele - Rumor Has It

Before I get into this song, I'd like to say how thrilled I am about Carly Rae Jepsen breaking out into the States. She's always been such an amazing singer and "Call Me Maybe" deserves all the success it's getting. I just heard on talking with Ryan Seacrest and Justin Bieber. I think we'll be hearing a lot more of her soon.

Anyways, onto Adele. Adele is just amazing, right, you can't go wrong with her, right? Well, "Rumor Has It" is something that went wrong. It's just such a let down. We heard true power whether it was anger in "Rolling the Deep," pain in "Someone Like You" or a little of both in "Set Fire to the Rain." But there's none of that in "Rumor Has It." It's sad to say, but Adele needs to sing about painful break-ups if she wants to keep the style that's been keeping her so success.

So, it's not the most emotionally powerful song, but it can still be a good song, right? Apparently not. It is nearly painful to listen to. It's just her repeating the title line over and over and over again. There's no catchy tune to it or anything. It's just that pounding line over and over and over again. I would expect this kind of thing from Rihanna, but Adele...she's the superstar who's always put such meaning into her words. "Rumor Has It" doesn't even have any meaning to it. And if it did it would be killed after the fifth time you hear her repeat the same line. Really, Adele, this is such a disappointment.

So, it's not an emotional ballad and it's not a dance track. Analysis: It's not what people want. It doesn't have the same sort of message that Adele is famous for, and it'll either leave you scratching your head thinking, "What happened?" or "We get it, the 'Rumor has it.'" I mean, I can understand why she would want to try something different, but this is not the right choice.

So you're choices are it's boring, it's painful, or even if you're a big fan of Adele then it's a disappointment. It could still be a big song since Adele is just riding off the momentum of her previous smashes, but I expect the success will be much less than what she's used to. I've got my fingers crossed that she'll realize her mistake and release "Turning Tables" next.

Calvin Harris - Feel So Close

Something that has always bothered me is how DJs like David Guetta and Tiesto get the major credit for hit songs when there's really someone else singing. We'll be having none of that with Calvin Harris, though, he actually provides his own vocals for his song. "Feel So Close" is an interesting mix of being both unique and redundant.

You will immediately notice that this is the usual pop song you'll hear on the radio. Calvin Harris sings in a laid-back style that you really don't hear too much right now. It's far from the upbeat dance tracks, yet it's more upbeat than the emotional ballads. It's something new and interesting that is sure to get people to notice. And, as he is still a DJ, the song is full of catchy electronic sounds. So it still is essentially a dance song, just with much more mellow vocals.

Calvin Harris got international fame early with Rihanna's hit "We Found Love" and this song shares a key similarity: It's the same sentence over and over again. "We Found Love" was catchy enough that it took a while for it to get old, but it got old all the same. I can see "Feel So Close" doing the exact same thing. It'll be fun for the start of its run then you'll get to the point where you think, "How many times to I have to listen to the same lyrics?" It could easily get stale and a pain to listen to.

Something that we've really learned about music lately is that it pays to be original. I think that this song has enough novelty to get people's attention and boost itself up the charts. However I don't think it's really number one material and it could easily fall as quick as it rises.