Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster

This is the latest single from his upcoming new album. He continues to experiment with dance/electronic sounds on this song. Vocally, Ne-Yo is on-point. However, this song takes a few listens to truly get into it. There are remixes of this by Low Sunday, Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda, and Tony Moran & Warren Rigg. Low Sunday's mixes basically expand upon the original making it more dancefloor-friendly. The Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda mixes are a bit hard and twisted with a tough bassline. Tony & Warren's mixes are pure peakhour bliss. All are good, but Tony & Warren's is the best of the bunch.

Purchase the digital single with mixes at Masterbeat

Grade: A-

Various Artists - Just Dance

Record labels Island Def Jam and Ultra have collaborated to bring the music buying public this mixed CD. It features some of both labels' recent hit singles in remixed form. It must be mentioned that his compilation is continuously mixed. Some of the remixes featured were previously unreleased in any form, and some still have not been in a full, unmixed state. The choice of songs is good. Some of the songs are new and fairly recent. A few are bit older (like last year). The mixing is decent. It is a bit jerky in some parts with the first vocals of a song just suddenly starting when a track does on the CD. Otherwise, it's a good package.

Tracklisting:
01. Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) (More English Extended)
02. Rihanna - Disturbia (Jody den Broeder Remix)
03. Ne-Yo - Mad (Ultimix)
04. The Killers - Human (Armin van Buuren Club Remix)
05. Duffy - Mercy (Hott 22 Vocal Remix )
06. Mariah Carey - Touch My Body (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Club Remix)
07. Kim Sozzi - Feel Your Love (Extended Mix)
08. Anastacia - Absolutely Positively (Moto Blanco Remix)
09. Sharam feat. Kid Cudi - She Came Along (Ecstacy of Club Remix)
10. Kraak and Smaak - Squeeze Me (Fedde Le Grand Remix)
11. Utada - Come Back To Me (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Club Mix)
12. Lionel Richie - Just Go (Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Club)
13. Guru Josh Project - Infinity (Klaas Vocal Mix)
14. Annet Artani - Alive (Jason Nevins Electrotek Club)
15. Alina - When You Leave (Numa Numa) (Basshunter Extended)
16. Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted (DJ Alex Extended Mix)

This CD is available at Target, Best Buy, and Amazon. It is available digitally at iTunes, Amazon's MP3 store, Rhapsody, and Masterbeat.

Grade: B

Christian George - Strangers

Christian George has been on the scene for some time now as a model, dancer, stylist, occasional actor and now singer. His first single is the sexy "Strangers." He sings about staying anonymous when meeting a potential lover for the night. The lyrics flow rather well. Despite the mature subject matter, the lyrics are not vulgar. The main version is Electro-Dance/Pop. Although Christian may not have the strongest vocals, he manages fairly well. Over time, he could grow further and then be lumped into the same category as other R&B/Dance/Pop singers Craig David, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake and Darren Hayes.

This one is currently being promoted to the Dance clubs with a plethora of remixes. Jack Rokka, Thomas Gold, Speakerbox, The Wideboys, Funk Generation, and Rod Carillo provide the mixes. All the mixes are House-oriented. The Wideboys and Thomas Gold ones are a bit more Electro than the others. All the mixes have a "classic" feel to them, with the exception of the Rod Carillo one. His is a bit more modern. Slightly tribal.

Twisted Dee and Alyson Calagna have also done mixes which were not a part of the first set. These ones are a bit more hard-hitting and are Circuit-oriented. These would make a great addition to the already strong package.

There is a music video for this song. It's pretty racy. NSFW.

Listen to full previews of the original and some of the remixes on his official website.

Purchase the mixes here.

Original
Grade: B+

Remixes
Grade: A-

New Kids On The Block featuring Ne-Yo - Single

The 80's boyband is back with a followup to the minor hit "Summertime", which was one of their first singles in over a decade. Featuring R&B crooner Ne-Yo, this song has the makings of a pretty good-sized hit. It's a mid-tempo, but could easily be remixed into an uptempo. Another plus is that this samples the opening part of Cyndi Lauper's modern standard "Time After Time." NKOTB's vocals complement Ne-Yo's very well. Overall, this is one of the better new Pop/R&B songs out at the moment.

Listen to this one on their MySpace.

Ne-Yo - Closer

After having had a string of successes through his own singles and songs he wrote for other artists, he's back with a new single off of his next album that is sure to replicate the success he has had. The latest one entitled "Closer" is an uptempo, House/R&B hybrid. The sounds of clubland are slowly trickling into some of the recent R&B and Hip Hop singles and he has continued with that after the Stargate-produced "Because Of You." This one isn't excessively club-oriented, but with an extended mix, it could possibly work in that environment. The vocals are smooth and emotive as usual. U.S. radio stations have begun to pick up on this one. An R&B remix of this one that tones down some of the beats could do the trick on some stations that are not quick to embrace this one. But given the success of Rihanna's recent "Don't Stop The Music", they probably will eventually.

Grade: A-

Rihanna - Take A Bow

This is not a remake of the Madonna ballad from Bedtime Stories. This is the just-announced single off of the May 27 re-release of her acclaimed 3rd album Good Girl Gone Bad. So far, this is the only new song on the re-release. Additional bonuses may be announced in the coming weeks. "Take A Bow" is a ballad a la Beyonce's "Irreplaceable." It is written by Ne-Yo and Stargate who also were a part of that song. It is also thematically similar, however, this is not simply a knock-off or carbon copy. While this one isn't overly new, it is decent. Rihanna's vocals have improved considerably since her last album and they are showcased nicely on this one.

Listen to it here.


Grade: B+