Barry Harris - Toronto World Pride Set

Barry Harris, best known for his work with Chris Cox as Thunderpuss from 1997 until 2003. During their time together, they produced chart-topping remixes with their distinct tribal, big room sound with melodic elements for many heavyweights of the music industry including Amber, Britney Spears, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Donna Summer, Enrique Iglesias, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Holliday, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Shakira, Tamia, and Whitney Houston. Both Barry and Chris have continued to produce ever since they split in 2003.

Earlier this week, Barry released an extract of one of his live sets for Pride containing a number of brand new reworks and updates to some of the songs that him and Chris had remixed as Thunderpuss. Many of the new mixes contain elements from the original mixes they did, but they also contain contemporary sounds as well.

Part of or full tracks included in the set:
Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azaela - Problem
Barry Harris feat. Pepper MaShay - Dive Into The Pool
Barry Harris feat. Pepper MaShay - I Got My Pride
Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U
Chad Jack - Gag On It
Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & P!nk - Lady Marmalade
Ed Sheeran - Sing
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - Fancy
Katy Perry - Birthday
Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon 2K14
LeAnn Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight
Madonna - Don't Tell Me
Madonna - GHV2 Megamix Part 2 ("Ray Of Light", "Deeper And Deeper", "Music")
Mary J. Blige - No More Drama
Queen - We Will Rock You
Simone Denny + Barry Harris - Drama Queen (Texting U)

Suzanne Palmer - Hide U

Tamia - Stranger In My House
Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay

Listen and download here:

Britney Spears - Work Bitch

This is the proper new solo single from the superstar. After the success of "Scream & Shout" comes the attitude-laden club track. On the song she co-wrote, she encourages people to "work bitch" if they want to gain a specific luxury item or change in status. The majority of the song is spoken, however, there are very few sung parts, most notably the bridge. The song's bridge is incredibly strong, however, the song's lyrics are seriously cliché and inane. The monotonous production heavily influenced by Swedish House Mafia only changes after the bridge. The song ends up being mediocre and forgettable, however, this is shaping up to be a big hit.

-Listen to the song here (YouTube)
-Purchase the song here (iTunes)

Grade: D-

Special Amazon MP3 $1.99 Deals

For today, February 26 only, Amazon's MP3 store is offer 20 specific albums for $1.99 each! The albums included in the deal by the following artists: Muse, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Bruno Mars, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Tegan & Sara, Trey Songz, Passion Pit, Train, john Denver, Billboard #1 Hits: The 70s, Flo Rida, The Lone Bellow, Led Zeppelin, Fiona Apple, Aerosmith, Band Of Horses, Jennifer Lopez, Frank Sinatra, Ricardo Arjona, and Britney Spears.

View the deals and buy the albums here: http://kwn.me/4qg4

will.i.am feat Britney Spears - Scream and Shout

This is a new collaboration between the sexy popstar and the Black Eyed Peas hitmaker. They previously worked together on Britney's last album Femme Fatale. The electro/pop production is really repetitive and lacks a proper beat. It feels just too soft for a club-oriented track such as this. The lyrics are extremely basic and repetitive. Britney's voice in the spoken parts is almost unrecognizable as she is doing all sorts of faux British accents. She sounds okay during the few actual singing parts. will.i.am's voice is autotuned to hell and back so there is not much more to be said about that. The "It's Britney bitch!" sample from her own "Gimme More" is thrown in at a few places for effect. Britney and will.i.am just do not complement each other at all and the song ends up feeling far too disjointed and soulless. Overall this is a poor effort.

Listen to the song here (LoveBScott)

Grade: D

The Wanted - Chasing The Sun

This is the new single from the UK boyband whose single "Glad You Came" finally broke them into the U.S. market. "Chasing The Sun" is a brand new song written by Example that will be released on their U.S. EP due out on April 24. Their signature harmonies and a super catchy hook are there. The melody of the chorus and post-chorus chants call to mind the 2011 Britney Spears hit "Till The World Ends." Overall, this looks to be another hit for them.

The single will be available for purchase on April 17 in the U.S.

Listen to the song here (YouTube)

Grade: A-

Britney Spears - Burning Up

Yes, this is indeed a cover of the Madonna song from her debut album. It is reportedly going to be performed during her upcoming Femme Fatale world tour. The main version resembles Madonna's original, just slightly updated. Vocally, she sounds fine. Of the few covers she has done over the years, this is one of the better ones. So far, two remixes by Nick and Bit Error have surfaced. The Nick mix is funkier and harder than the main version. The Bit Error mix has a disco/house feel, calling to mind the Freemasons' remixing style. Both mixes are well done.

Listen to the original here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Rihanna feat Britney Spears - S&M (Remix)

The sexy third single off of Loud gets even hotter with the addition of Pop princess Britney Spears. She performs vocal duties on the second verse, the bridge, and throughout. Overall, Britney's added vocals complement Rihanna's and do add a little something. Brit's vocal on the chorus sound really good though. However, it feels really phoned in and rushed as a whole. A duet of this sort could have been something better had a little more time been put in. Fans of both Pop divas will definitely want to check this out.

Purchase the remix version here (iTunes)

Grade: B

Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me (Remixes)

This debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 based on just a week of sales, and has now begun to take off on radio. Remixes for this have begun to be promoted. Abe Clements, Adrian Lux & Nause, Jump Smokers, Mike Rizzo, Ocelot, Smoke n Mirrors, The Alias, and Tracy Young have remixed this so far. Since there are so many mixes, it would be a bit much to describe all of them in great detail.

The Abe Clements, Mike Rizzo, and Tracy Young's mixes are the best of the bunch. All are equally energetic, especially Mike's. Abe's incorporates the dubstep section nicely. Tracy's is dark and tribal, and her handling of the breakdown is a bit unexpected. Adrian Lux & Nause, Jump Smokers, Ocelot, and Smoke n Mirrors mixes are a bit on the busy and noisy side, and are just okay. The Alias mix sounded promising but feels a bit too metallic and is painful to listen to.

An extended version of the original is desperately needed and would be a great addition to this package.

Grade: B (for the package overall)/A- (for Abe, Mike, and Tracy's versions)

Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me

This is the highly anticipated lead single off of her new album due in the Spring. Produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke, "Hold It Against Me" is an Electro/Pop club-banger with just a hint of Dubstep. The lyrics are insanely catchy and are classic Britney. Her vocals are cute and flirty. These sound a lot less processed than the ones on her last couple of albums. The bridge is where the Dubstep production comes in. Overall, this is a great start to her new album era.

Listen to the song here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Kevin Aviance - Gimme More

This song originally came out in 2007. There were hundreds of remixes of Britney's original and dozens of covers. Now this song gets an update by legendary performer Kevin Aviance. In the main version, Kevin stays true to the original but adds his own additional style and flare by altering just the right lyrics. There are some remixes by Nick Harvey and Billy Waters & John Michael vs. TWB. Nick provides his usual hard, driving tribal mix. With the warped synths and just the right amount of elements of the original, it's really fun. There are all sorts of things happening throughout the mix that keep it fresh from minute 1 to almost 11. The Dubstramental by Nick is great as well. The Billy Waters & John Michael vs. TWB Drama mix does indeed have plenty of 'drama'. Also hard and dark, this one has grittier, sleazier synths. This is equally good. Both mixes are really well done. An acapella is also included for your remixing pleasure.

Purchase the digital single here (Masterbeat)

Grade: A

Britney Spears - 3

This is a new song that will be a part of an upcoming Britney singles collection due in November. There had been speculation for the last few days about what the song would be about. It turns out it's about a threesome. It's written in a way that's naughty without bordering on obscene. It could fit in with songs from both her Blackout and Circus albums, but it's still pretty different. The uptempo will be quite a floorfiller in clubs. Pretty good overall.

Listen to "3" here (MySpace)

Grade: B+

Britney Spears - Radar

This is the fourth single off of her Circus album. This was supposed to be the fourth single off of her Blackout album back in 2007, however, it was canceled. It has been said that the song had to be released as a single at some point in the U.S. due to contractual reasons with the songwriters/producers.

It is an uptempo Electro/Pop track that doesn't stray too far from the other songs on Blackout. Lyrically, it isn't anything special, but the hook really gets stuck in your head and it's fun to dance to.

Watch the music video here (YouTube)

Grade: B

Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye

She is the daughter of James DeBarge of the legendary 80's group DeBarge. This is her first single. Sampling a bit from Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye", the song is quite catchy and addictive. It does sound like a milder version of Britney's "Womanizer". That song has spawned a number of similar songs, especially with the production. Kristinia's voice is decent. She seems interesting enough.

There are remixes of this song by Mike Rizzo, Hot 22, and DJ Paulo. Mike Rizzo's are in a similar direction as the original. He keeps the swing beat. It's really good. Hott 22 and DJ Paulo's mixes lose the swing beat. Hott 22's are really nice, classy House mixes. Very pretty. DJ Paulo's are not as dark as one may expect given his previous work. These are a nice blend of tribal/electro sounds. A strong package overall.

Masterbeat is selling the remix package.

Grade: A-

Britney Spears - If U Seek Amy

This is the third single off of Circus. Ever since the song first leaked several months back, this one has been a fan favorite. Aside from the fun, electro/dance/pop production of it, the tongue-in-cheek chorus has created a small stir. It began a "did she or didn't she just sing that?" debate. The chorus can be interpreted two different ways. Just in case some people interpret it in the 'dirty way', a radio edit will be released to make it more suitable. This is pure cheeky fun.

Listen to the song here (YouTube)

Grade: B+

Britney Spears - Circus

This is the second single and title track from her upcoming sixth album. "Circus" is a followup to the hit "Womanizer." This one bears a slight resemblance to last year's "Gimme More", however, this one has better lyrics and production. This one is a lot catchier. Overall, Britney's vocals sound a lot better on this one. They don't sound as overproduced and manipulated as they did on some of the other Blackout songs. This is a nice marriage of the 'classic' Britney and the 'new' Britney.

The album Circus will be released on December 2.

Listen to the song here (YouTube)

Grade: A-

Britney Spears - Womanizer

After a lukewarm return to the music scene after a series of difficult times in her life, Britney Spears is trying to show that she is back and is staying. "Womanizer" is in a similar vein as some of the songs on the last album, which was Blackout. It has a fairly repetitive chorus and immediately calls to mind her song "Ooh Ooh Baby" which borrows liberally from The Turtles classic "Happy Together." The vocals are a bit more over-processed than usual, but that might have been intended for this particular song. A video was recently shot and is supposed to premiere in the next few days. The digital release of the single happened yesterday and this is already number one on iTunes! While this may not be amazing, it does have a little something that could re-invigorate interest and generate some buzz. An extensive remix package for the club release is planned so that may make the song better.

Listen to the song (YouTube)

Grade: C

Britney Spears - Break The Ice

This is the 3rd single from the fallen Pop-tart's latest album Blackout. Since the album was released, this has been a fan favorite, and now it is a single. The Electro/Pop vibe of the original will translate well into Dance remixes. A number of official remixes are coming soon.

The video premiered a couple days back. It is an anime styled video