R&B

I don't have a lot of time to write a full blog on this music video but just like the song it was recorded for, this video is dark, violent, edgy and one of her best works yet. I've really warmed to this new Rihanan from the Rated R era, previously she was just a wooden throwaway pop star but in this video she actually shows some charisma and real vunerability...in a very high fashion way of course lol!

Well, two of the hottest divas in the pop music industry have had both their collaborations leak online (coincidence?). Video Phone by Beyoncé, an old track from her I Am...Sasha Fierce LP has now been remixed with vocals from GaGa and will appear on the Platinum Edition of the album. While I've always admired the slick, eerie beat-driven intro from the original which has thankfully being extended with some Wild West themed effects, the track has always been too overlong and plodding for my liking. While GaGa adds a refreshing twist to the song, both her and Beyoncé showing plenty of swagga, I still find that this track is a bit of a bore. Hopefully my opinion of this song will change when the "wild" delayed video premieres on the 23rd November (as rumour has it)!
Listen to Beyonce's Video Phone (Extended Mix) here!

I had to print the cover for Rihanna's latest single, Russian Roulette, in the biggest size the blog would take. Pretty sexy, eh? And is that a barbed wire bra she's wearing?

Anyway, enough about Rihanna's agressively airbrushed cover photo, let's talk about that single for a minute. Russian Roulette is Rihanna's return as a solo artist (discounting those cameos with Jay-Z and Kanye 'Ima gonna let you finish' West. And yes, it's her first solo single since that incident with Chris Brown.

So what's it like? Russian Roulette is very much a moody, brooding ballad. Written by Rihanna herself along with Ne-Yo, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this was a Ryan Tedder number. It's got that sparse beat, a little light instrumentation with all of the focus on the vocal performance. And it's perhaps the finest stab Rihanna's had at a ballad in ages.

It seems like an age rather than a mere three and a half weeks since Alexandra Burke's debut single* Bad Boys first premiered on the Chris Moyles show on BBC Radio 1. And once we had gotten over the shock of finding out that this single wouldn't be the typical post X-Factor ballad (holy cow!), it would, in fact, be a highly danceable electropop tune (get outta here!) and it would feature everyone's favourite American rap gentleman, Flo Rida (*faints*). We've all been waiting for the bloody music video already!

Hey guys! I've had a sudden urge to start writing again and thought I'd bring you some of the singles being released in the next few weeks. You can see them all below. And I will be reviewing everyone of them. Yeah, that's right! You might ask how I will have time to write all these reviews? Well, instead of writing a review for each individual single, every week I will do a round up of all the singles being released during the week. This allows me to cover more singles and my thoughts and opinions on them. But more importantly, I get to here feedback from you guys. Except reviews for singles being released 21st August 2009 tomorrow. Bye!

21st August 2009:
Biffy Clyro: 'That Golden Rule'
Erik Hassle: 'Don't Bring Flowers (After I'm Dead)'
Flo Rida featuring Nelly Furtado: 'Jump'
Ian Carey Project: 'Get Shaky'
Jet: 'She's A Genius'
Lily Allen: '22'
Noah And The Whale: 'Blue Skies'
T.I. featuring Mary J. Blige: 'Remember Me'

Song: Stuck With Each Other

Artist: Shontelle featuring Akon

Album: Shontelligence and Confessions Of A Shopaholic: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Release Date: 22nd May 2009 (IRL), 25th May 2009 (UK)

Genre: Pop, R&B

Peak Position: 50 (IRL), 23 (UK)

Song: Sugar

Artist: Flo Rida featuring Wynter

Album: R.O.O.T.S.

Release Date: 22nd May 2009 (IRL), 25th May 2009 (UK)

Genre: Southern hip hop, electronic rap, R&B

Peak Position: 27 (IRL), 19 (UK)

Song: Boom Boom Pow

Artist: Black Eyed Peas

Album: The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)

Release Date: 22 May 2009 (IRL), 25 May 2009 (UK)

Genre: Electronic rap, R&B

Peak Position: 1 (UK), 4 (IRL)