I found myself listening to a lot of Britney this evening, and it has really hit me; Femme Fatale was not only a fucking amazing album, it had basically, all singles; save like two songs. Strong, strong album… I mean, Criminal? That song is GOLD. Til the World Ends? Dance anthem; it will be playing at my end of the world party. Let’s just say this: THAT REMIX WITH KESHA AND NICKI MINAJ SAYS IT ALL. She even “dabbled” in dub-step with Seal it With a Kiss, and NAILED IT. There’s a reason number four of her four number one singles (seriously, she’s only had four… WTF), came from this album.
Then, I get a little disheveled. She follows Femme Fatale with perhaps the most phoned-in album of her career? What the hell!?! I mean, they say Blackout was her phoned in album (albeit, pretty brilliant, surprisingly), but she practically left Work Bitch as a voicemail it was so phoned in (yes, it was catchy, but if this were Femme Fatale, it wouldn’t have gotten up off of the cutting room floor). Now, let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth, it isn’t all bad. I fucking LOVE Perfume; that, like Criminal, is highly underrated, and is arguably pretty high amongst her top 20 songs. But let’s be honest, most of Britney Jean is pretty shit, and that, to quote Britney herself, makes me feel like “I’m sad”. I love my girl, and I want her making the type of pop I KNOW she’s capable of; looking at her track record, you can’t deny the consistency and staying power.
Sorry, jut had to get that off my chest. I love Britney. Always have, always will. Bitch has been through some shit, and whether you love or hate her, you have to acknowledge that she’s a fighter, and when she’s properly medicated (we all have some mental issues, and treatment is the key), she’s a true diva. Hopefully, the next album will bring her back to the spotlight she deserves. Now I kinda want to go to Vegas and see her before her residency ends… perhaps I should talk to James about that…
Britney’s lastest single, the total earworm 3 will in fact 
You know you expected this; of course I had to post a Britney song, I still have Britney fever!! However, instead of just posting something off of Circus, I wanted to post one of my favorite B-side/unreleased tracks of hers, and a song that many of you have probably never heard. This song was released on the deluxe/international version of her self titled 3rd album, Britney. I haven’t heard it in quite some time, and yesterday, in prep for the show, I was listening to lots of Britney, and this song popped up, and I instantly remembered how much I loved it. This is such a sweet pop ballad, and it makes me wonder why I wasn’t on her official release of Britney. Either way, this track is fantastic, and I’m glad that it came back into my life. Britney fever continues!
I discovered Natalie randomly through one of my many music blogs that I follow, and after listening to her recent release 1000 stars, this is by far my favorite track from the album. At my first glance of the title I thought it was a cover of that Liz Phair song, but I was extremely surprised and elated that it turned out to be something totally different. I love the beat and the haunting synth that pops and moans throughout the song. I do have to comment on her last name, which is somewhat of a doozy; how do you even pronounce it? Any Aussies that can help me out (Natalie’s from down under)? Well, regardless of how you pronounce her last name, Natalie has released a decent pop album, and this track struck me, and as such, I had to get the word out about it. It really reminds me of a great early 90s track that has been refreshed for today; and the result is music to my ears.
I was riding in the car the other day, and BBMak came on the radio. I instantly got out a pen and wrote BBMak on my hand, because I have completely forgotten about this amazing boy band for far too long, and I wanted to rectify that as soon as possible. When I got home, I put both of their CDs in the computer and ripped the mp3s for my iPod, because I have missed these guys, and didn’t even know it until I randomly heard them on the radio. I had a serious love affair with BBMak back in the day, and I was very sad that they disbanded after their second CD. Both of their albums were very great, and each one of these boys is very swoon worthy. I did some scouring for info on the internets, in order to find out what they are up to these days, but didn’t find much. I hope they are well, and are still making music, because they are just far too talented to let it end with BBMak. I wish that I would have gotten the chance to see them in concert, because I have a live DVD, and they are amazing; they all played like 3 or 4 instruments, and their harmonies are just incredible. Welcome back into my life BBMak! I’ve missed you!!
I guess this continues the “blast from the not so distant past” theme of this week’s 5SF, and I am glad to keep it going; there is so much great stuff that I have in my music collection that has been collecting dust for absolutely no reason. I read that Katharine is working on a new album due out later this year, and I hope that she has more success with her sophomore release. I have no idea why her self titled debut didn’t do much better than it did, because it is an impressive pop album, filled with fantastic vocals and very well produced songs. Katharine was my favorite on her season of Idol, and I was glad that she got through to the final two because I knew it would mean a record deal. Her debut album is great, and actually made my year end list in 2007. After listening to it again this week (I have to say, I am glad that I am going back through my massive music collection and dusting off some old favorites… I have no idea why I didn’t do this before!!), I am still scratching my head and wondering why this album didn’t make her an instant superstar. Katharine McPhee is arguably one of the most beautiful women on this planet; both in appearance and voice, and I would have thought that to be enough to propel her to the stardom that she deserves. Here’s hoping that her next album will allow her star to truly shine.
Yet another album that I have been wrongly ignoring is the amazing Ghosts, by ex-Sugababe Siobhan Donaghy. This was another album that made my favorites list in 2007, and deservedly so; it is an interesting electro-pop record with haunting vocals and infectious rhythms and song arrangements. This song is just so beautiful and unique that I couldn’t help but love it, and it makes me long for more great stuff from Siobhan in the near future. This is one of those songs that you hear, and you think to yourself, “self, that is a weird, beautiful, strange, and interesting song, isn’t it? You know what self, it is… and I LOVE IT!”. Well, that is at least what I said to myself when I heard it the first time… what do you think?! The whole album has a similar weirdness that this track possesses, and that makes it unique, interesting, and actually very good!
Now, I am sure than more than a few of you were expecting this; so don’t act surprised that Britney (the only other album released this month that did so) made my year end list. I for one, was filled with trepidation about Britney staging another “comeback” so close to last year’s failed attempt, but after hearing Womanizer, I knew that she wasn’t playing around this time. The song, albeit annoying to some, has everything that is necessary to be a pop hit; and it was. In fact, Womanizer was only Britney’s second number one single, after the massive pop classic Baby One More Time, and if that isn’t indicative of a comeback, I don’t know what is. 
I must say that I almost forgot about Blackout; not only is miles above Blackout, but Britney managed to actually sing on this album, and it sounds like she did way more than phone it in (which is what was wrong with much of Blackout, and why it didn’t really serve as a real comeback). She picked top producers, like she always does, but this time, they gave her hit after hit to fill her record to the brim with radio-ready pop singles. Seriously, this may be the most single-heavy album of her career; this record is put together with the style and swagger of a greatest hits record. 
I first saw the video for this many, many months ago, and I searched the interwebs high and low trying to get my hands on this track so that I could feature it. Well, I couldn’t find anything, and then I saw it was FINALLY available on amazon a week or so ago, so I quickly ordered the CD, and now I can finally feature my praise for this track properly this Friday. This is the lead single from out artist Matt Alber’s recently released record, Hide Nothing. His voice has that husky, and sexy quality that is certainly reminiscent of fellow out artist Rufus Wainwright, and I can’t help but notice that he’s quite the swoon-worthy guy; just check out those eyes! The first time I heard this song, I knew that I wanted to hear a lot more from Matt, and I have eagerly been waiting for his CD to get released so I could feature him here, and let you guys know about this amazing artist. Definitely do yourself a favor and check out his videos on youtube; not only can he sing beautifully, but as I mentioned, he is quite a handsome guy!
I have been told by a few of you to give James’ new release a chance, and after hearing this song on BBC 1 the other day, I can see why you wanted me to; this track is sweet and ever so beautiful. I couldn’t really get into James’ debut that was released last year, but it wasn’t because it wasn’t good; I can definitely recognize his talent, and I certainly get that he is good at what he is doing. However, it just didn’t mesh with me for whatever reason, so when I saw he had released another record, I wasn’t that interested. Well, color me interested now, because this song is sweet music to my ears. I am glad that I listened to your recommendations and checked him out again… also, this is a big nod to the amazingness that is BBC 1; they play so many songs that I wouldn’t expect to like, but do!!
Many of you may not know this about me, but I used to be a certified Jesus Freak (especially musically). When I was in college, ALL of my music was pretty much contemporary Christian, with my favorite band being the amazing Jars of Clay. Through Jars of Clay, I found Bebo Norman, and I still count both of them amongst my favorite artists to this day (even though I am not as “into them” as I was back then). Well, I saw somewhere randomly that Bebo had a song about Britney on his new record (which was released a couple of months ago), and it prompted me to check out his newest release. The song is really sweet, and touching, and honestly, it is nice to know that people really do see the what the media and the press can do to stars like Ms. Spears, and offer compassion for her having hard times because of it. Bebo definitely writes from a very Christian perspective (being that he is a Christian artist), but I have never gotten a sense that he is offering anything but compassion and understanding; without judgment. In this song, he’s coming from a place of compassion, and find that refreshing; especially in a time when so many others that call themselves Christian come from a place of such hatred. One thing that I learned when I was so into church, was the God, Jesus, and Christianity as a religious identity isn’t meant to be a tool used for damning, persecuting, or judging anyone; it is meant to be a tool for showing compassion, understanding, and love. Since I came out, church hasn’t been a big part of my life, partly because of the hate and hypocrisy I constantly see splattered about the news, but little things like Bebo’s music remind me that not all Christian’s are like that; some of them really are coming from the place that the Bible says that they should… a place of love and hope. Regardless of whether you interpret Bebo’s message to be love from God, or just love from someone that cares, Christians like Bebo really seem to exemplify what I came to know as Christianity in the first place; and when I heard that in this song, I really loved it. I appreciate Bebo’s compassion, and after listening to his recently released self-titled album, I remember why I loved him so much; he is a fantastic singer, artist, and musician, and he seems to be a truly fantastic person at heart… if only other Christians could see that you can love God without hating someone who doesn’t fit the mold perfectly through your eyes. To speak quite frankly, it isn’t about believing in God; it is about being a good person, and caring about others, and seeing that we all struggle through different things in our lives, and offering compassion to those in their time of need. If only those that judge and hate could show the love that they are supposed to subscribe to, perhaps we’d all be better off for it. Religious or not, I think that’s something we could all learn from.
In kind of a way to honor Ladyhawke’s solid debut record finally coming out in the US this week, I wanted to feature my favorite track from the record. Since there has been so much continued press and hype about her in the music blogosphere, I didn’t feel the need to focus on her specifically, because I felt that it had been covered, and that the word was out there. I will say that I am definitely impressed with her debut, and I do believe that you will see it amongst my albums of the year; but again, I felt like everyone else had already raised that flag, so I didn’t need to. Well, her record is finally out in the US this week, and to celebrate, here’s my favorite track from the album. It is definitely a little eighties, and it is a toe-tapper that will have you bopping your head and wanting more. You may not have heard about Ladyhawke from me first, but know that just because I haven’t said anything, doesn’t mean that I don’t give her a big thumbs up as well.
To round out the bunch, here’s one of my favorite one hit wonders from the nineties. If you recall, last week, I said that I would pepper future 5SF’s with these little gems, and this is one of my favorites. This song wasn’t really HUGE, but it is definitely one of those tracks that is a MAJOR ear worm. I seriously cannot skip this track if it comes up on my ipod, and if it comes on the radio, I find myself singing along at the top of my lungs. I have to this day, never heard another Merril Bainbridge track, but this one more than makes up for anything else she may have done; it’s pop perfection. Even if you hate this song, I can bet that even you know the words. Songs like this are a perfect example of the one hit wonders from the nineties, and these tracks REALLY take me back there. Enjoy!