50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and porn

They didn't make a porno together. But they did record a song together. It was bound to happen eventually. Not just their collaboration, but the song they recorded about porn. On "She Wants It" (or "Ayo Technology" as it was once known), they go back and forth about doing things with the girls in their fave porno films. On paper, this probably seems like a power collaboration, and it could have been, but it just didn't work. The song is not as brazen as it sounds. It's rather tame. 50 Cent's verses sound clumsy and really forced. His spoked ad-libs and shoutouts work much better. Justin's portion are pretty good and would work best in their own track. A Justin-only version could be very promising. The instrumental and beats are really hot. Back to the drawing board.

Grade: D+

Judy Torres - I Don't

The former Freestyle diva is back with another cover. This time it is the cover of a Country song by Danielle Peck called "I Don't." This is just one of several Dance covers of Country songs that have been released from Robbins Entertainment. Previous offerings include "Forgive" and "The Dance", recorded by Reina and Rockell respectively. This may seem like an unlikely choice for turning into a Dance song, but the song lends itself quite well. Judy's vocals are in fine form here as they were just a couple years ago on "Faithfully" (originally by Journey). Her vocals seem to improve with age which is a rare thing nowadays. Valentin is behind this production on the main versions as well as the Candlelight mix. Out now.

Buy it here.

Grade: B+

Offer Nissim featuring Maya - My All

In some interviews, Israeli singer Maya Simantov had mentioned that Mariah Carey had been one of her musical influences. It was only a matter of time before she would cover a Mariah song either for a performance or one of her and Offer Nissim's albums. The song she did was "My All." There's no word on whether her take on the song will be on Offer and Maya's forthcoming studio album. A few weeks back, Maya performed a cover of the song from Mariah's 1997 album Butterfly. While she has been known primarily for doing the vocals on dance-oriented tracks, her cover was completely true to the original and even did away with some of the percussion that comes in later in the song. The guitars from the original were present for her cover. The minimal instrumentation created the perfect conditions for Maya's ethereal voice to take center stage. Her delivery was very controlled and powerful. She did channel Mariah in her delivery, however, she held her own. Watch the performance here.

Grade: A-

Gym class in the buff?

Keep on dreaming kids. But to the Gym Class Heroes, this is a great idea. Their latest single "Clothes Off" is a pseudo remake of the Jermaine Stewart dance classic. Just the chorus and the ad-libs are similar. The lyrics in the Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy-sung chorus now say "we have to take our clothes off." Yes. Jermaine's abstinence song has been changed into "harmless", sexy fun. The rapped verses are quite good though. With its set of dance remixes, this is all ready for packing dancefloors. Watch the video here.

Grade: A-

Friday Flashback: Chicane - Saltwater

This song became an Ibiza anthem almost overnight in 1999 when it was released. It was based on the song "Theme From Harry's Game" by the folk group Clannad. Lead singer Maire Brennan from Clannad provided the vocals for this lush track. The main versions were in a similar vein as Chicane's previous hits "Offshore" and "Sunstroke", however, this one was a lot more mellow. The remixes by the Thrillseekers, in both Ambient and House versions were absolutely stunning. And Tomski vs. Disco Citizens' mix was quite amazing as well. Check out the great video.

Nelly wants it done

On the heels of the tepid response to "All Good Things (Come To An End)" in the U.S. comes an 80's sounding dance-pop track, which is the 5th U.S. single off of Loose, "Do It." This one is a very party, club and radio friendly song that is sure to be everywhere in the next few weeks.

Was this the best choice for a 5th single? Maybe. Should "Maneater" have been re-released? Perhaps. But this is still a decent choice for a single.

There is also a fun remix with Missy Elliott which adds a little freshness.

Album Version
Grade: B

Remix with Missy Elliott
Grade: B+

Ready to try some China Wine?

Having already established herself as a regular on the club charts, Sun is now ready to take over the R&B and Pop charts with her brand of music.

She has already been quite successful both commercially and critically in Asia, and now she hopes to achieve the same here. Sun first came onto the scene a few years back with several singles which were promoted primarily to the U.S. Dance stations and clubs with their accompanying plethora of remixes. Each one fared better than the previous one.

Sun has been working on a proper U.S. debut album to introduce herself to the rest of the U.S. "China Wine" is a full blown clubbanger. She collaborated with Wyclef Jean who was a pretty integral part of Shakira's smash "Hips Don't Lie." The result is an equally catchy track that stands on its own. Tony Matterhorn and Elephant Man also appear on this track. This could be a surprise hit this Summer.

More information

Sun's U.S. website

Grade: A-

When Mariah feels it

This was originally supposed to be on Mariah's 2005 comeback album The Emancipation Of Mimi, however, issues involving a sample used in the song prevented the release. The song was recently previewed and full length version finally surfaced. In early 2005, a short cell phone recording that lasted just a few seconds had surfaced sounded quite promising. Due to the sample issue, the song could not appear on the first release of the album. Then plans for including it on the re-release were made, but then too, it couldn't be released. Was this track worth the wait? Oh yes! The song is a nice, slow Motown throwback jam. And Mariah sounds just great. She sounds very comfortable doing this style of music.

Grade: A+

This one is for the large n' lovely ladies out there

If you follow music, you have probably heard of rising star Mika. After the runaway smashes of "Grace Kelly" and "Love Today", his next single is a colorful ode to full figured women appropriately titled "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)." This one is very much in the same vein as "Love Today" with the Giorgio Morodor-eque instrumental production. The lyrics are rather witty and cute. The group sing along vibe of the track just adds to its appeal. It may be a little cheesey, but this is the good kind. This song could get some mainstream attention as it is prominently featured in the TV spots for the Oxygen television program Mo'nique's Fat Chance which is a pageant for larger women. Check out the music video.

Grade: A-

Jessica Sutta

She has been part of the highly successful girl group The Pussycat Dolls for some time now. Is she leaving the group for a solo career in clubland? No. But she has been featured on a couple of new dance tracks which will be quite huge in the clubs and on dance radio very soon.

The first one is a track with trance/electro genius Paul Van Dyk on the track "White Lies." It's a simple vocal track where Ms. Sutta actually sings. And she does a pretty good choice. Paul Van Dyk's usual melodic progressive trance sound is not as present here. It's a bit more electro house with his signature hi-hats and synths. It's a nice combo.

The other one is a track with Dave Aude. This one is in a similar vein, however, it is a little less vocal-oriented.

The former showcases her vocal talent much more. The latter shows a little more of her sexy side, not that she needs much help already.

Check out both ASAP.

"White Lies"
Grade: A-

"Make It Last"
Grade: B

Angelique + Junior Vasquez = HEAVEN

Legendary NYC-based DJ/remixer Junior Vasquez has remixed all sorts of songs throughout his career and has always kept us guessing what's next. During the Arena era (circa mid 1995 till early 1998), Junior remixed several international records and made them shine on the dancefloor. He did a couple for Beninese artist Angelique Kidjo including "Shango" and "Wombo Lombo." And now he is taking on not one, but two of her singles. Mixes for "Salala" and "Arouna" have been completed. The mixes for "Salala" shipped to DJs a few weeks back. The hard, driving tribal mixes are a complete 180 from the soft, acoustic original. It's a nice hands-in-the-air, sing along anthem now. The majority of the vocals are Peter Gabriel's as he was featured on the original. Angelique's vocals are present for the choruses and ad-libs. The "change" in the second half of the mix is quite noteworthy. Very underground-sounding. And the synth riff from Junior's epic mix of "While The Earth Sleeps" by Deep Forest & Peter Gabriel is very nice as well. These mixes will be released in a few weeks through The Orchard for legal download. This is not your mother's World music. Check it out.

Grade: A+

Rihanna to the DJ: "Please don't stop the music!"

Rihanna is everywhere right now! She just released her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad, has a number one single in the U.S. ("Umbrella"), an already huge second single "Shut Up & Drive", and an upcoming club smash "Don't Stop The Music."

Her Michael Jackson-sampling track is quite dancey in its main version and beckons you to turn it up loud and dance too. This has Summer club anthem written all over it. This is not the next single for radio, but should it be?

Armed with remixes by Jody Den Broeder, The Wideboys and Solitaire, there's a little something for all the DJs out there. And there's always the album version. All the mixes utilize a bit of the "Mama say mama sa..." chant from "Wanna Be Starting Somethin'" in various amounts. This is an instance in which a sample is used properly.

Buy this right away.

Brad goes online

It was never written in stone that Country music needs to be serious all the time. Country music lends itself very well to humor. Country crooner Brad Paisley has illustrated this on his latest single "Online." He sings about being "so much cooler online." Many can relate to his tale about creating a much more attractive version of themselves online. This simple, true-to-life song stands out in that it is a Country song, but in the conventional sense. This is a good first song for those getting into Country music. Must listen. And check out the hilarious music video. Buy the song here.

Grade: A-

Kanye meets Daft Punk

Kanye West doing Dance music? Okay. It's sort of true, but not really. Mr. West has creatively sampled from French Electronica duo Daft Punk's 2001 club hit "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." The robotic vocal hook from the chorus makes a very regular appearance in Kanye's empowerment song "Stronger." This may seem like an unlikely marriage of Kanye's fierce rhymes and these robotic vox, but it works. In fact, it works very well. This is not the first time Daft Punk's music has inspired a hip hop/rap track. A few choice vocals from "Technologic" became the basis for the chorus of "Touch It" by Busta Rhymes which burned up the radio and music video channel airwaves.

Taken from his forthcoming Graduation album, this song is a breath of fresh air amongst the various other new songs that contain a rather familiar sample. The music video is very futuristic and high tech and goes very well with the nature of the song.

Grade: A-