It’s the Femme Fatale bitch!

Love her or hate her, Britney Spears is definitely something. It’s what that ‘something’ is that causes a lot of discussion, tabloid stories and back and forth battles between her fans and Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters on virtually any platform you give them. I am a Britney fan and have been since she was every prepubescent boy’s dream in her little school outfit back in the days of ...Baby One More Time. I was more interested in the red cat suit and wondering how I could ever fit into it, but that’s a different story entirely. Things have changed since the early days – the songs are racier (but in a tongue-and-cheek kind of way), the outfits smaller and tighter (with the occasional ‘hello kitty’ moment) and, to quote one of her new songs, Britney’s been down and up and down and up and down.)

Being the huge Britney fan that I am I nearly had a stroke when I found out that a new album was in the works. With the release of ‘Hold It Against Me’, ‘Till The World Ends’ and shortly afterwards all of Femme Fatale in its glory I was absolutely blown away. It was nothing like Circus (where you’ll find my battle cry of ‘la la la lalala la la’) and sounded more like Blackout could have been had Britney realised she was recording an album at the time. Then, in an uncharacteristic move for Britney-of-late, she decided to do some promotional concerts before embarking on tour. But she was stiff. You could see she was trying, and ‘Till The World Ends’ wasn’t a hassle, but otherwise it just wasn’t great. Not bad, just not great.

And then there’s the tour. Now any Britney tour brings with it so many questions, the first one being ‘will she actually sing?’ She didn’t during The Circus Starring Britney Spears but, then again, I don’t really expect her to. Girl’s been lip-synching her way across the world for over a decade and it’s never let her down yet. Problem was, if the dancing didn’t pick up and she wasn’t singing, what the hell was the show going to be? But just when you think this southern girl with an unparalleled love of cheese grits might just be heading towards the end, she comes out in full force for the Femme Fatale Tour.

The first thing that was nice about the Femme Fatale Tour that the Circus Tour didn’t have was a lot of material from the album it was meant to be promoting. Starting off with ‘Hold It Against Me’ and going through some of her best material before ending with an amazing performance of ‘Till The World Ends’ with Nicki Minaj it was a new Britney on stage. Can she dance like she did when she was 17? Definitely not, but 13 years, two kids and a broken knee will do that to a girl. What was different here, and something that was missing since the somewhat underwhelming performance of ‘Gimme More’ at the VMAs, was that she was feeling it. She’s having fun and she’s engaging with her audience (and if it means throwing her legs around a guy’s head then a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do). To clinch the deal she also came out of nowhere and started SINGING, despite the fact that her voice is a few octaves deeper before the mastering process begins. But she sounds good.

At the end of the day I love Britney and what she does but more than anything else it’s nice to see someone who truly hit rock bottom bounce back with so much energy, so many hair extensions and so much sparkling goodness!



Blog article courtesy of James Sharp who runs the B-Horror Blog.

'Her Name Was New York'

"If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl."

Amy Winehouse, the star who made soul music, pumps and big hair cool again.

So Long Amy Winehouse

My all time favourite Amy Winehouse song and video. RIP Amy, your music will live on.

'I'm Still An Animal'

A life changing song and video. Full album review coming shortly.

GUETTA CONTINUES ELECTRO POP DOMINATION

Has there been a month that has gone by in the past year and a half where we have not heard a David Guetta song on the radio?? Well, prepare for another electro / dance pop filled year, gleaming with surprises.

Nothing But The Beat set to be released on 26 August 2011, will feature two discs, one instrumental – *sigh of relief for all the die-hard dance fans*. And a more commercial ‘vocal’ disc featuring contributions from heavy weight artists including Nicki Minaj, will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson and Chris Brown. The inclusion of usual collaborators such as Akon and will.i.am are of no surprise. The suspense comes in the form of unexpected guests Jennifer Hudson, Jessie J and Timbaland.

Having heard a leaked track Titanium originally recorded with Mary J Blidge, it is clear that this album will make waves and almost certainly break boundaries in the pop / dance sphere. Despite the track exuding chemistry between vocalist and producer it has been reported that Mary J Blidge’s vocals have been replaced with that of Australian pop star Sia.

There are more surprises though. Nicki Minaj, who although no stranger to working with Guetta, has reportedly recorded a more vocally indulgent record. Having heard Nicki sing (in the recording process) and being surprised by her ability I am rather thrilled by this inclusion.

Could this be the start of a new electro pop era?

Track listing for the album:

Disc one:

1. "Where Them Girls At" (featuring Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj)

2. "Little Bad Girl" (featuring Taio Cruz and Ludacris)

3. "Turn Me On" (featuring Nicki Minaj)

4. "Sweat" (Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta)

5. "Without U" (featuring Usher)

6. "Nothing Really Matters" (featuring will.i.am)

7. "I Can Only Imagine" (featuring Chris Brown and Lil' Wayne)

8. "Crank It Up" (featuring Akon)

9. "I Just Wanna Fuck" (featuring Timbaland and Dev)

10. "Night of Your Life" (featuring Jennifer Hudson)

11. "Repeat" (featuring Jessie J)

12. "Titanium" (featuring Sia)

Disc two:

1. "The Alphabet"

2. "Lunar" (David Guetta and Afrojack)

3. "Sunshine" (David Guetta and Avicii)

4. "Little Bad Girl" (Instrumental Version)

5. "Metro Music"

6. "Toy Story"

7. "The Future"

8. "Dreams"

9. "Paris"

10. "Glasgow"

Lady Gaga on Howard Stern

A very interesting listen. Very honest! Gaga pre-records her hits on her BlackBerry... proof that you can run the world from your BB.

Listen below...

I must have!!

For The Love of Drag

"Ladies, start your engines and may the best woman win!"

It started off as curiosity when Ru Paul’s Drag Race was recommended to me by my ex Twitter hag. A show about competing drag queens... not quite sure what I expected but I soon became highly addicted. Yes its delightfully camp, bitchy and down right hilarious… but there is also something admirable about a man in a dress who can pull it off.


I started watching season two, having since
watched season one it is clear that season two is far superior. I immediately loved the characters, whether it was Jujubee (my favourite of all), the stylish token Asian who resembles Kimora Lee Simmons coupled with the sass of Tyra Banks or Tatiana, the nasally stick insect who channels a teenage girl and who’s Britney Spears impersonation is the best I have ever seen.

It must take a lot of balls to get tucked – still not quite sure how that all works, and get into a dress to become someone else and pull it off with such confidence. However competing seems to come naturally to them as the ‘girls’ battle it out for top honours to become America’s next drag super star, wondering how many there are of those exactly, hmmm… Some took to it like fish to water with their ability to stun the judges on the runway, including Ru Paul himself, with their uniqueness, nerve and talent. Those who didn't, well they had to lip synch for their lives as Ru Paul encouraged them "Good luck and don't fuck it up"

Standout queens for me were:

Jujubee

Jujubee, definitely one of the funniest and prettiest queens! She shines with her style and sharp wit. One of her best moments in the show was when she read all of the other girls for filth (see video below).

Pandora Boxx

The name really is fantastic, isn’t it! She embodies the ultimate camp drag queen with her humour being less sassy but more dry and quirky. Think Goldie Hawn meets Kathy Griffin.

From having to compete in numerous challenges, from promoting cooking grease, pole dancing, celebrity impersonation to putting old dudes in drag… This show has it all! It’s a darn side better than Jersey Shore, and face it… we all need a guilty pleasure, even if does involve watching a show about men who dress as woman and tuck their junk.



Ru Paul’s Drag Race has run for three seasons and currently has an 8.1 rating on IMDB.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Nicki Minaj

Gone are the days of gritty female rappers like Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliot, who owned the early 2000’s with their ghetto street cred.

Enter 2011 and there is a new rapping sensation who has catapulted onto the scene. Bursting with talent, quirkiness and lots of pink everywhere, Nicki Minaj has become synonymous with the female rap genre. Dethroning all of her predecessors with both glamour, grace and wit – a definite new breed of rapper.

With the current state of the music scene it is very difficult to stay relevant, with artists having to tread a thin line between remaining in the spotlight but not overexposing themselves. So has it become a matter of clever marketing? Absolutely!. Nicki and her entourage have combined genius marketing with formidable talent to create a monster, enrobed in pink.

Its all formula really – blend all of the current winning strategies in the industry to create an overall package. Collaborations, one of those strategies… was the foot in the door for Nicki. With most pop songs requiring an urban edge and often relying on some appeal from the likes of Kanye or Pitbull, it was becoming a matter of eenie meenie. Naturally some serious strings were pulled to get her noticed, which resulted in her collaborating with serious heavyweights including Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Rihanna.

Through her invaluable contributions and confidence on all her collaborative ventures it soon became clear that this pink chameleon was destined for even bigger things. So was it surprising that a solo album would follow? Was it surprising that it is so good? Definitely no on both counts. Pink Friday, with Songs like Your Love, Right Through Me and the smash hit Super Bass, has cemented her into her own superstar persona. Its no surprise that Billboard Magazine dubbed her the “First Lady (Gaga) of Hip Hop).

Ok, so she may not have a meat dress but the put on British accent, pink and blonde wigs and sharp wit are dynamite and not to mention animal friendly! Its all in the marketing… and talent of course!

The Inbetweeners Movie!

Yay! It's coming soon and it looks good.

Inked

Since I was 17 I have always wanted a tattoo, in fact I came very close to getting one at the time. Despite taking two pain killers and being so amped, the place happened to be closed and I chickened out after that. Thank the pope for that! Otherwise I’d be looking like an absoulute douche with a generic tribal tramp stamp.

Fast forward five years, gain a few kilos along with some wisdom and a ditch the pain killers. I finally decided that now was the right time. I strongly believe that if you want something today that seems impulsive you should wait a couple of months, if you still want it, go for it. That is exactly what I did.

I was shit scared, I won’t lie – asking the hardcore tattoo lady if it hurts was a stupid thing to do. She gave me a look that probably could do more damage than any tattoo needle. So, feeling like a real pussy I decided that I would own the experience and overcome my fear of needles. Fanta Orange in hand, I made my way to Wildfire in Canal Walk (yes, they rip you off, but I prefer to not look like a leper afterwards). Much like a doctors appointment, the worst part is waiting on the expert. Ok, so shirt off and stencil on I was waiting for the first sting, Adele playing through my iPod for some chilled vibes. Eyes open to not look like a total woes in front of the tattoo dudes! “Ready?” he said, “Yeah, def” I said with less hesitation than anticipated.

To answer the question, yes it does hurt. Does it hurt like drawing blood? No, does it hurt more than a cat scratch? Yes, unfortunately as I am so used to my cat scratching me. Over in twenty minutes with minimal bleeding but a slight light headed feeling. I rushed out and made a call… then realised, shit! I didn’t pay! Haha, I had to run back and apologise to the scary tattoo lady. She be scary. Also forgot my Fanta Orange, which I really needed. A great experience, with no pain killers or tribal.

REVIEW: BEYONCE: 4

Almost a year later than previously hinted at, Beyonce has released her 4th studio album. Despite the mediocre publicity and spectacle in the run up to the album’s release, fans have loyally been as eager as ever. Have they been let down?

Beyonce tends to spring surprises on her fans with new material with Run The World (Girls) being no different. As was the case with Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – What is the point of the parenthesis?? Run The World (Girls) introduced fans to a new sound overnight, with no warning. Generally fans and critics alike were not thrilled by the latest offering…

Some complained about the weak lyrics, some threw shade because of the thankless Major Lazer sampling of Pon de Floor. I would have to say that it is the riskiest track on the album, not original in its concept but risky in applying it to the current pop music scene. The outcome of the risk is probably not what Beyonce was hoping for, but that’s the risk you take.

What threw me particularly was that Run The World (Girls) in no way set the tone for the full album, being the only song of its tempo was quite surprising. Song after song that surfaced and it became clear that Beyonce had indeed killed Sasha Fierce (why, oh why?!). I get that artists need to evolve for the sake of longevity and growth, but alienating your fan base is always a risk.

Hyped for its unique sound, which was dubbed to be something completely different from anything else, I was expecting something ground breaking. Ironically the most progressive sound on the album shines through in the lead single with its female empowerment chanting lyrics and its synth and drumbeats.

The rest album of the album features strong gritty vocals with that being the main focus. Despite this strength, the weakness in these meaningful songs are located in the underwhelming musical presence with generic background sounds reminiscent of Boys To Men and Phil Collins. At times the Adele influence beautifully creeps through with stand out tracks like I Was Here, Best Thing I Never Had and Start Over with the latter being the most emotional and raw, yet they seem to just not hit deep enough.

What lets the album down is the attempt to combine the mature sound with bold mid-tempo tracks like Love on Top and Party, and all this with a total of only ten tracks. Featuring cheezy lyrics and a sound that resembles an 80’s version of Motown music, these mid-tempo tracks are what cause the album to digress from its intended direction and overshadow the strengths.