Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks - Celebrate

This is a new song Whitney recorded with the American Idol just a few days before she died. "Celebrate" is from their upcoming movie Sparkle. The song is a rousing, feelgood Disco/House/R&B track. It calls to mind "Million Dollar Bill" from her last album. Both Whitney and Jordin sound great together. The two divas complemented one another beautifully.

There is no word on whether this song will get remixes but Joel Dickinson has already made a fluffy teadance ready anthem. He includes a couple of lines and high notes from "Million Dollar Bill" that fit so well adding to the playful atmosphere of the song. The beats are hard but the Disco-lite production calls to mind a dark room with a shining mirrorball at the center.

Listen to the original here (YouTube)

Listen to Joel's remix:

The remixer has kindly provided a limited time download of the remixes in 320 KBPS MP3 and WAV formats.
320k MP3: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?3d25a92jw3598n2
24-bit WAV: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?u7ivy4ijc3o9jbt

Grade: A

Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

This is the lead single off of her forthcoming sophomore album. After a string of hits on radio, she is back with another song that will do the same. Written and produced by Ryan Tedder ("Bleeding Love", "Halo", "Already Gone"), this one may not grip the listener as quickly as some of her other singles, but this one is a grower. The lyrics may be a tad cliche in some parts, but they work. This song does call to mind some of Tedder's other songs, but this one is much Rock-ier. Jordin's vocal performance is top notch as can be expected. A decent start to her new album era.

Buy the song here (iTunes)

Grade: A-

David Archuleta - Crush

He had been a favorite ever since the last season of American Idol began and many were predicting that he would either win or come in second. He ended up doing the latter. His first proper single was premiered on New York mega-station Z100 earlier today.

This first single is a midtempo pop/rock, pseudo-ballad a la Jordin Sparks' first post Idol single "Tattoo." Some were concerned about David being marketed towards a younger audience given that he is quite young as well. That audience had been really supporting him week after week on Idol. However, this song has a little something for people of all ages. This one could prove to strike a chord with many different audiences. What remains to be seen if this sound is the one he is going to be continuing with.

Overall, he is beginning his music career on the right foot.

Listen to the song here.

Grade: A-

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+