Prince Royce feat Pitbull & Jennifer Lopez - Back It Up

This is the latest single from the crossover Latin/R&B singer. He teams up with Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez for this fun song which is sure to be massive on radio and dancefloors this Summer. It is a groovy, sexy midtempo which showcases Prince Royce's vocals. Oft used rapper Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez add some flavor to the song. It's a strong collaboration.

-Watch the music video here (YouTube)
-Purchase the song here (iTunes)

Grade: A

Austin Mahone feat Pitbull - Mmm Yeah

After the misstep that was "Banga Banga" comes Austin's brand new single. It draws upon the 90s House classic "Nu Nu" by Lidell Townsell. The first verse and the "mmm mmm yeah yeah" hook have been used. The first verse serves as the chorus. The song has an overall Spring/Summer vibe and is sure to be huge during Spring break. Despite being overused recently, Pitbull's feature here is fresh.

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

Grade: A

Priyanka Chopra feat. Pitbull - Exotic (Remixes)

This is the latest single from the Bollywood actress and red hot rapper Pitbull. Produced by RedOne, this club banger is in a similar vein as Jennifer Lopez's "Live It Up", which also involves RedOne and Pitbull. Despite the seemingly ordinary lyrics and conventional production, the addition of the Hindi language hook after the chorus makes it stand out. There are remixes by Cahill, Moto Blanco, and Zumba. Cahill's is their usual funky house goodness. Moto Blanco and Zumba's are a bit closer to the circuit/big room style. Every remix is great.

Listen to the original here (YouTube)

Grade: A-

Jennifer Lopez feat Pitbull - Live It Up

This is their latest collaboration after doing "Fresh Out The Oven", "On The Floor", a remix of "Papi", and "Dance Again." Produced by RedOne, the song is tailormade for the dancefloor. The song doesn't really deviate from the formula of the aforementioned singles. Despite some of them doing quite well, this one ends up falling short. Pitbull's rap is really lackluster, almost sounding like it was written using Mad Libs. Jennifer's parts are only slightly better. The production is quite noisy and uneven sounding. Overall, this one is not a good single.

-Listen to the song here (YouTube)

Grade: D+

Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - Dance Again

This is one of the new songs from Jennifer's upcoming greatest hits collection. Produced by RedOne, this is a club-oriented track. Attempting to re-create the success they had with "On The Floor" last year, this song is in a similar vein. Jennifer sounds much better vocally on this one. Although not bad, Pitbull's rap feels unnecessary and out of place. A sample from the Dub Of Doom remix of Nightcrawlers' 90s club hit "Push The Feeling On" (Pitbull sampled the main riff on his hit "Hotel Room Service") during the second rap break is really interesting. Hopefully a full solo version will be released later on just as was done with "On The Floor." Overall, this is a fun song.

Listen to the song here:

Grade: A-

Pitbull feat Marc Anthony - Rain Over Me

This is the latest single from Pitbull's latest album Planet Pit. Latin/Pop singer Marc Anthony makes a guest appearance on the synth-heavy Dance track. This is Marc's first English language musical appearance in over a decade (the last time was on his 1999 self-titled album). Marc just sings the chorus, nicely complementing Pitbull's fierce rhymes. This could hopefully help Marc re-introduce himself to the English market. This is shaping up to be a major hit during the Summer.

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

Grade: A-

Jennifer Lopez feat Pitbull - On The Floor

Just as she begins her tenure as a judge on American Idol, the singer/dance/actress/entrepreneur is back with a new single. Taking a bit of the melody from what is known as the "Lambada" song, this song fuses a slice of the old with a bit of the current electro/pop craze. Pitbull's sections on the track feel unnecessary. It almost feels like JLo is guesting on her own song. Her vocals are cute. There are remixes for this by CCW, Low Sunday, Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda, and Ralphi Rosario. CCW and Ralphi provide circuit-oriented mixes. CCW's is dark and energetic, perfect for peak hour play. Ralphi's mixes are slightly electro-ish with some melodic piano elements. Both Low Sunday and Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda's mixes are a mix of tribal and electro. All of the versions are good, but CCW is the clear winner of this package.

Listen to the original here (YouTube)
Purchase the digital single with all the remixes here (Masterbeat)

Grade: B (for the original)/A- (for the remixes)

NOW That's What I Call Club Hits

This is the first release in a new series from the people behind the other NOW compilations. The concept of NOW That's What I Call Club Hits is a bit different from some of the other current hits compilations such as those from Ultra Records or those Total Club Hits type ones. While the song selections may be similar, those are all continuously mixed. This NOW one is unmixed for the most part. Some of the songs have been sequenced and edited in a way that there is no silence between the shift from one track to the next, but each track begins like it's supposed to.

Almost all of the songs appearing on the compilation are radio edits. Only a few are slightly longer. If those longer ones were shorter, a couple more tracks could have been included.

Here's the tracklisting:
01. Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Guetta" (David Guetta's Electro Hop Remix)
02. Sean Kingston - "Fire Burning" (Dave Aude Radio)
03. Flo Rida - "Right Round" (Benny Benassi Remix Edit)
04. Pitbull - "I Know What You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" (More English Radio Edit)
05. David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - "When Loves Takes Over" (Electro Radio Edit)
06. Kid Cudi - "Day 'N' Nite" (Crookers Remix Radio Edit)
07. Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo - "Knock You Down" (Bimbo Jones Radio Remix)
08. Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake - "Love Sex Magic" (Jason Nevins Sex Club Radio Mix)
09. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain - "Blame It" (The New Devices Remix)
10. Lady Gaga - "Lovegame" (Dave Aude Radio Edit)
11. Kelly Clarkson - "My Life Would Suck Without You" (Chriss Ortega Radio Mix)
12. P!nk - "Please Don't Leave Me" (Digital Dog Radio Edit)
13. Katy Perry - "Waking Up In Vegas" (Calvin Harris Remix Edit)
14. The Killers - "Spaceman" (Tiesto Remix)
15. Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne - "Let It Rock" (Filthy Dukes [Radio])
16. Bad Boy Bill feat. Alyssa Palmer - "Falling Athem"
17. Empire Of The Sun - "Walking On A Dream" (Kaskade Remix)
18. Depeche Mode - "Wrong" (Thin White Duke Remix)
19. Jackson 5 - "Dancing Machine" (Polow Remix)

The tracklisting of the compilation is quite strong overall. Even though a majority of the songs/remixes featured have been released digitally, they have not been released on a CD of this nature unmixed. In addition to the Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Rock and Alternative acts, some choice Dance/Electronic ones have been included, making this compilation quite eclectic.

The compilation will be released in the U.S. in both CD and digital form on September 22, 2009.

Buy and listen to clips of all the songs here (Amazon)

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

Pitbull - Hotel Room Service

This is the followup to the still monstrous "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" which has yet to peak. Following his formula of sampling heavily from a club classic of the past, he samples the main instrumental hook from the Mark Kinchen mix of "Push The Feeling On" by Nightcrawlers. The combination of Pitbull's rhymes and the Nightcrawlers sample may sound really odd on paper, but it really works. It could be one of the big Summer songs this year.

Listen to the Pitbull song here (YouTube)
Listen to the Mark Kinchen mix of "Push The Feeling On" here (YouTube)

Grade: A-

Pitbull featuring Lil' Jon - Krazy

This is the lead single from the Cuban-American rapper's forthcoming fifth album. This is the latest single of his to contain a sample that is featured almost throughout the track. This time, he samples from "Cream" by Federico Franchi. It's an unusual choice for a sample, but it just works. The lyrics are standard Pitbull and Lil' Jon fare, however, with the sample and everything, this makes for a hot club track.

Watch the video here (YouTube)

Grade: B

Enur - Calabria 2007

The familiar sax sample has made regular appearances in clubland for the last 5 years. It most notably was used in the official mashup "Destination Calabria" by Alex Gaudino and Crystal Waters. The song did pretty well on the European charts and did only slightly well on the Dance radio chart here. Signed to Ultra Records in the U.S., this mishmash of Reggae, Rap, Hip Hop and Dance has already begun to get considerable airplay. Pop and Rhythmic stations are jumping on board and giving this one prime exposure. Mega station Z100 has championed this one and the other stations are following. "Calabria 2007" also features a somewhat scandalous video that is worth noting as well.

Miami-based rapper Pitbull has gotten into the act and has recorded a track called "The Anthem" that also contains the ubiquitous sax sample. It almost sounds like the familiar Latin drum beat used in Bob Sinclar's "Rock This Party" from last year. This one could be huge in clubs with the right remix. Although, all is really needed here is an extended version.

Overall, the "Calabria 2007" track would work well in the clubs as it would be a floorfiller, but maybe not so much on the radio, but it's doing well. The vocals could grate on your last nerve after a short time.

Grade: C+ (for "Calabria 2007")

Grade: B+ (for the Pitbull track)