Jordin Sparks - Tattoo

This is the first proper single from the 6th winner of American Idol. After the lukewarm response to her coronation song/obligatory Idol single "This Is My Now", "Tattoo", a midtempo ballad has been chosen to begin her career. This Stargate-produced track sounds very similar to Beyoncé's smash hit "Irreplaceable" which reigned over the Hot 100 not that long ago. It is so strikingly similar that during the first few bars, one may begin to sing, "to the left, to the left." The good news is that Jordin's vocals are on point, however, the lyrics being sung sound very Disney-ish. This one doesn't really feel like it is single material. Time will tell how long Jordin's career lasts.

Jordin's vocal performance
Grade: A-

The song, overall
Grade: D+

Colton Ford - The Way You Love Me

Adult film actor Colton Ford has occasionally recorded music for club consumption throughout the years. He's back with a new single called "The Way You Love Me." His previous singles haven't achieved the amount of success they deserved, but, this new one deserves all the success and praise it gets. Co-written by Ford and producer/remixer Quentin Harris, the lyrics are meaningful. And Ford's vocal performance is quite decent. The main version by Harris is a nice Summery, classic-sounding production. And the seemingly low budget music video is surprisingly sexy without being vulgar.

Grade: A-

Heidi Montag featuring Spencer Pratt - Body Language

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have become household celebrities after their stint on the MTV reality series The Hills. Are they striving to be Pop stars as well? Maybe. A song called "Body Language" featuring vocals by both of them recently surfaced. The song is a mixture of accessible 80's electro-pop and Timbaland-styled beats. One would swear that this was done in the same vein as Timbaland's recent hit "The Way I Are." The beats are almost identical, and there is synth-pop sound throughout from a very well-known song. Timba's sounded very much like "Push It" by Salt N' Pepa, and this one is directly from Yazoo's "Situation." Heidi's singing is surprisingly good. She may not be the best, but she sounds fine. Spencer's rap is a tad generic, but works fine. There's a version without rap as well. The lyrics are fun and simple. This song is perfect for radio and the clubs. This one was reportedly not a single, but given the general response to it, it should be.

Grade: A-

Melody - I Did Yo Boyfriend

Newcomer Melody is bragging about how she slept with the someone else's boyfriend because this other woman apparently doesn't know what to do to please him on her single "I Did Yo Boyfriend." Yes it is as bold as it sounds, but it comes off as more hilarious than angry. This song calls to mind "Don't Cha." It's fun for a little while, however, it gets boring fast. This one may work fine on the dancefloor, but that's about it. Buy it here.

*Note: This song receives two grades:
Grade: A (for the comedic value)
Grade: D- (Overall quality and staying power)

Tatiana Okupnik - Don't Hold Back

Tatiana represented her native country of Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004. She placed 17th. But that's not where it ended. She went on to be quite successful in Poland. And now she hopes to become established outside of her country with the song "Don't Hold Back." The album version is a mid-tempo Dance-oriented vocal track. This one calls to mind NY-based electronic music duo iiO's "Is It Love" (the original album version, not the new main version that became the single version). Tatiana's vocals are slightly accented, but it gives it some distinction. Her voice is very rich and controlled. The backing vocals for the pre-chorus and chorus are almost choir-like. They really add to the song and give it an inspirational feel. There are some remixes for this one. The main one is the NY Dance Mix which was done by Tony Moran with Jody Den Broeder and Warren Rigg. The mid-tempo is transformed into a thundering club anthem. All vocals are intact, and the new loops and effects that were added make it even better. It is absolutely stunning.

Album Version
Grade: A

NY Dance Mix by Tony Moran, Jody Den Broeder, Warren Rigg
Grade: A+

BWO - Let It Rain

After releasing a cover of the song "Save My Pride" originally recorded by fellow Swedes Alcazar, they are back with a mid-tempo followup called "Let It Rain." The overall vibe of the song calls to mind Robbie Williams' "Millenium", however, it works here. The simple lyrics and gentle vocal delivery are nice. Remixes of this would work well, however, no remixes have been planned. However, the followup single to this one, "Rhythm Drives Me Crazy" has plenty of remixes. Both singles from their 3rd studio album Fabricator will be released on August 22 in Sweden.

Grade: B+

M.I.A. - Jimmy

This is the second single off of her forthcoming album Kala. She draws upon yesteryear's Bollywood for the instrumental portion of her song. Recreating the hypnotic instrumental from the 80's Hindi song "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" from the movie Disco Dancer, M.I.A. is ready to go to the clubs, not that she needs much help in the at area. Alternating between talk-singing and actually singing, she also takes time to sing with the original melody of the song. She even uses a little bit of the Hindi refrain from the original. It's very fresh and fun. And her colorful Bollywood-esque music video goes perfectly with the song and pays homage to the classic original.

Grade: A+

Inez - Stronger

With the opening vocals of the song, many may swear they are listening to an iiO/Nadia Ali song, but they're not. Inez's voice has the same ethereal, earthy quality that Nadia's has. After having seen a small release over a year ago, "Stronger" finally gets the proper release it deserves via Tommy Boy Records.

In addition to some of the mixes that appeared on the original release, there's a new mix by Jody Den Broeder. Jody's is a light electro-house production that stays close enough to the original. Eric Kupper's mix is a perfect balance of Dance with Pop sensibilities. Inez's vocals are the focal point on all the vocal mixes.

A CD maxi with the Jody Den Broeder mix can be purchased at PerfectBeat. The U.S. iTunes store has some of the mixes from the original release too.

Jody Den Broeder mixes
Grade: A

Eric Kupper mixes
Grade: A

All the other mixes
Grade: A- (average of all of them; they were all pretty good though)

Head to Head Battle: Sean Kingston vs. JoJo - Beautiful Girls

Determining whose version came first is one of those "chicken and the egg" situations. It has yet to be definitively determined. Both are very Reggae/Dance-oriented, and utilize the basic melody from Ben E. King's standard "Stand By Me." The lyrics are about being away from that special love of yours for a long period of time. Very relatable.

Sean Kingston's version of this song has slowly become the 2007 "song of Summer." It is quite difficult to go anywhere without hearing this one. It's all over the music video channels when they play videos and on the radio. And Sean's album just came out last week.

R&B leaning Pop singer JoJo hit it big a year ago with "Too Little, Too Late" but then took a backseat on the Pop scene for a while. Her version first surfaced on her MySpace a few weeks back. Radio stations have begun to play this version alongside Sean's one. This one is a bit more R&B/Freestyle-oriented (think of Inoj's "Love You Down", Corina's "Summertime, Summertime" and Kandi's "Don't Think I'm Not").

Overall, both are listenable, however, it is definitely all about JoJo's. Her vocals are very gentle to the ear and are really smooth.

The Winner: JoJo

Sean Kingston
Grade: B-

JoJo
Grade: A-

Head to Head Battle: Buzz Junkies vs. Booty Luv - Don't Mess With My Man

This is not the first time, nor the last time that two (or more) covers of exactly the same song on different labels have been released within a very short time span. This time the song being covered is by Lucy Pearl from 2001 which had a set of palatable remixes by Mood II Swing and Wookie.

First we have Buzz Junkies featuring Elesha on the All Around The World label. AATW has released a good number of covers every year for the last several years. Mixes are by Moto Blanco. The Moto Blanco mixes are quite simple and straightforward. They are pretty good.

And then we have Booty Luv on Hed Kandi (in association with sister label Ministry Of Sound). Their cover is a bit more electro-sounding. This is their fourth cover in a row. "Boogie 2Nite" (originally by Tweet), "Shine" (originally by Luther Vandross with some amazing mixes by the Freemasons) and "Be Without You" (originally by Mary J. Blige, and was also covered by the AATW label's WiFi; it is worth noting that this was not issued as a single but was just for a compilation). Mixes for this one are by Seamus Haji and Thomas Gold. This single is to precede the release of Booty Luv's debut album Boogie 2Nite by a week in September.

Vocals on both are rather decent. The Buzz Junkies one is slightly better on vocals though. Same with production of the Moto Blanco mixes. The Booty Luv's remixes are decent too. Seamus Haji's mix is highly reminiscent to his mix of "Boogie 2Nite." The Thomas Gold mix is much funkier.

The Winner: Buzz Junkies featuring Elesha

Buzz Junkies featuring Elesha
Grade: A-

Booty Luv
Grade: B+

Audio Club - Hot Bangin', Super Sexy

After "Sumthin Serious" only did slightly well on radio earlier this Spring, Audio Club are back with a decent followup. New York's Z100 had been giving plenty of airtime to their first single, however, the rest of the country didn't catch on. Given that it was on Ultra Records, a New York-based dance label, the song would have gotten airplay on the dance stations, however, the song only gained some attention. With the release of this new single and a forthcoming debut album on major label Interscope, there could be renewed interest in the previous single while simultaneously playing this new one. This song is in a similar vein as there previous single, but not as contrived. Audio Club is best described as a Fergie-type singer plus a rapper with dance-leaning beats and productions. Could this be the beginning of a whole new "he raps/she sings" revolution as there was throughout much of the 90's? Perhaps. It has almost become a pre-requisite for female-sung uptempo tracks to feature an alternate mix with a male rapper on it. They just took it one step further. This one is much better than their previous single and is a lot more fun. Listen to it on their MySpace.

Grade: B+

Sexy?! NO NO NO!!!!

Justin definitely brought sexy back last year, but the ladies of Girls Aloud want to also. They are back with a hot new Dance/Pop track called "Sexy! No, No, No." The intoxicating intro is extremely noteworthy. The sudden jump into a Jamelia "Beware Of The Dog"-eque production is quite a pleasant surprise. The vocals are pretty decent from here on out. With its layering and manipulation of the main chorus throughout the track, it may take a few listens to get accustomed to, but it is a nice change from the cookie-cutter singles that are churned out year in, year out. Will Tony Lamezma remix? Let's hope the answer is yes.

Grade: B+

They want danger

They first gained attention with "The Rejection" over a year ago and followed it up with an EP featuring several tracks. No proper album yet, but hopefully one is in the works. Of the Dance/Rock-oriented EP, "Give Me Danger" became the next single. It has the feel of a Depeche Mode or Erasure track. The vocals definitely will call to mind Dave Gahan. Not a bad thing though. This similarity could hopefully cause fans of Dangerous Muse to check out Depeche Mode and Erasure if they have not done so already.

Just as was done with "The Rejection", "Give Me Danger" has received some remixes. Peter Rauhofer headlines on this project, however, there are over half a dozen other mixes that are worthy of attention as well. Peter Rauhofer opted to go in the electro-house direction he has been dabbling in for the last couple of years. For a song of this nature, it is quite appropriate. The slowed-down vocals lose some of the "oomph" found in the original. The production doesn't have the feel of "danger" as may have been expected, however, it is pretty decent.

A CD maxi containing the original, Rauhofer and other mixes was issued a few weeks back. It is available at some brick n' mortar stores, however PerfectBeat and Amazon are good options as they have carried it and may do so for some time.

Original Version
Grade: A

Peter Rauhofer mixes
Grade: B+

Is JLo the next Queen of Disco?

Definitely not by a long shot, however, she has gone in the 70's Disco direction with her latest single "Hold It, Don't Drop It" which is currently the lead single off of her much-anticipated new English-language album. This is just one of many other 70's/80's-sounding singles that are currently burning up radio airwaves. And this one is quite nice. It definitely calls to mind Beyoncé's first, true solo hit "Crazy In Love" with the old school-styled orchestral elements as well as Christina Aguilera's retro throwback "Ain't No Other Man." This is is not a carbon copy of either songs, but one can't help but think of those two songs. This may not be an indicator of what Ms. Lopez's forthcoming album may sound like, but if it is, it's not bad at all.

Grade: B+

Elliot Yamin - Wait For You...Remixed

He was in the final 3 during the 5th season of singing competition American Idol. His first post-Idol album and single have been out for some time now. "Wait For You" has been doing pretty well on the Pop radio format and has begun to get some play on Rhythmic stations as well. The song is an in-between R&B/Pop ballad. It has the feel of some of Brian McKnight's music.

Trendsetting Pop station Z100 in New York has been changing things up a bit and is playing a remix by Jason Nevins. This mix basically takes the piano and bass from the original and adds some rock guitars plus some familiar drum loops. And the vocals on top of this production sound a lot better. The song still has the emotional element found in the original, but it's just a little faster. It's well-done.

Jason did two slightly different mixes. The GTR (Guitar) mixes are a little more Dance/Rock-ish while the Synth mixes are a little more clubbier.

There is also a mix by Midi Mafia which is not really a Dance mix in the conventional sense. It's basically an Urban mix. This is quite suitable for the Rhythmic format. It feels a little more generic in this incarnation, but it's decent at best.

Album Version
Grade: A-

Jason Nevins mixes
Grade: A+

Midi Mafia mix
Grade: B