Madonna feat Nicki Minaj - Bitch I'm Madonna

The Diplo produced Trap/Hip Hop song is the 3rd single from her Rebel Heart album. It has been a fan favorite that went viral after Madonna performed this on Jimmy Fallon's show. It's a catchy, silly song in its original form with Nicki Minaj joining her in the middle. Remixes by Dirty Pop, Fedde Le Grand, Junior Sanchez, Oscar Gaeten, Rosabel, and Sander Kleinenberg will be released later this week on the digital remix EP. Dirty Pop's mix is a hard-hitting mainstream Electro/Tribal one. Fedde Le Grand's swing beat mix incorporates some elements of the original but it has lots of fun vocal effects and stutters. Junior Sanchez goes in a Deep House direction, using just a few re-arranged vocal and instrumental samples. Oscar Gaeten's mix is a tribal dub with just a sprinkling of vocals. Rosabel's main mix uses the most vocals and ends up utilizing the vocals the best. The dub mostly uses Nicki's vocals. Sander Kleinenberg's mix is atmospheric with some cool orchestral and EDM elements. Rosabel's ends up being the best of the bunch.

Grade: B+

Aiden Leslie - I Just Go (Remixes)

This is the singer-songwriter's newest single. It is a melancholy midtempo dubstep inflected ballad. It has the feel of an early 90s Erasure track. The song has been spiced up for the dancefloor with a massive package of remixes. All of the mixes are well-done, however, the best of the bunch are by Frank Lamboy, Mike Rizzo, and Taj. Frank Lamboy's is a hard peak hour stormer while Mike Rizzo's is more mainstream and chill. Taj's accessible big room mix with a massive drop will work the best overall.

-Purchase the song here (iTunes)
-Purchase the remix package here (Amazon)

Grade: A

Madonna - Ghosttown (Remixes)

This is the second single from her critically acclaimed Rebel Heart. The song had been a favorite when it was released as part of the first 6 in late December of 2014. The power ballad is a post-apocalyptic love song (the cinematic music video released last week plays up that post-apocalyptic angle) and has one of the best vocals on it that she has done in a long time. Remixes have also been produced. Dirty Pop, Don Diablo, Mike Cruz, and Thrill. Dirty Pop provides a straightforward Electro/Pop mix. Don Diablo's heavy Electro mix has some nice moments when the vocals come in, but the emotional aspect of the original doesn't translate well. Mike Cruz's circuit mix brings the energy but the production doesn't go with the vocals. Thrill's mix has a good production but it doesn't go with the vocals either.

Listen to the mixes here (YouTube)

Grade: A+ (for the original)
Grade: C (for the remixes)

Madonna - Living For Love (Remixes)

This is the lead single from her forthcoming 13th album Rebel Heart. The song is a return to her Dance/Pop roots. It's an uplifting song produced by Diplo about moving forward after a breakup. It features traditional House elements including a groovy piano hook and straight out of church diva backing vocals. There are plenty of remixes already by Dirty Pop, Djemba Djemba, Mike Rizzo, Offer Nissim, and Thrill. The Dirty Pop remix is an electro-drenched one with a limited amount of vocals. The Djemba Djemba one is close to the original however it strips down certain sections. His mix uses all of the vocals. Mike Rizzo's remix takes the concept of the original and turns it into a hands in the air floorfiller. Offer Nissim delivers a darker, big room full vocal take that is appropriately titled as it does bring the drama. Thrill's remix is techy and plays up some of the choir backing vocals but it lacks direction. Overall, Mike Rizzo and Offer Nissim's mixes are the best of the bunch in addition to the fantastic original.

-Listen to the original here
-Listen to the Dirty Pop remix here
-Listen to the Djemba Djemba remix here
-Listen to the Mike Rizzo mix here
-Listen to the Offer Nissim remix here
-Listen to the Thrill remix here

Grade: A