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.

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"

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!