Blog: I Try Too Hard

i've been playing olly murs ' " heart skips a beat " non-stop since i discovered it a few days ago. i can't seem to get it out of my head. it's such a cheeky song - featuring slick reggae like beats and a hook that will get stuck in your head for days. i always have a soft spot for these sort of light pop tracks because they provide breathing space in between a sea of over produced tunes. it also helps that olly murs is a cute looking chap. so who is this guy? he was the runner-up [...]

new artist alert. check out the debut single " heaven " from scottish singer emeli sande . after several years of working behind the scene as a song writer for artists like leona lewis , cheryl cole and tinie tempah - emeli is ready to step out into the spotlight. back in 2010, she signed a publishing deal emi music publishing . later it was announced that she had also been given a record deal with virgin records . hooray for my work! emeli is currently revamping her debut album, [...]

talk about a throwback to the early 2000s. remember sean paul ? i used to break it down to his tracks like "we be burnin'", "temperature" and "(when you gonna) give it up to me". he was the pitbull of the early 2000s. for real! he was featured on every track and had a moderate solo career. hell, he even was on a beyoncé track ("baby boy") before she became BEYONCÉ, alroight? well now mr. sean paul has returned with not only a comeback single but also a new do. gone are the rows and [...]

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in case you missed it, here is the hauntingly beautiful music video to the equally hauntingly beautiful single " someone like you " from adele .

i love me some frankmusik so i'm not sure how this amazing track slipped by me. regardless, you must check out his new single " no i.d. " featuring colette carr . this sassy collaboration is an electropop dreamfest. it's insanely addicting and will have you pressing repeat nonstop. his second full length studio album do it in the a.m. , which drops tomorrow, is a hook-laden synthastic confection from start to finish. the album is so bouncy it's like an extra shot of caffeine to go with your morning brew. just what [...]

kelly clarkson's music video for her new single " mr. know it all " has arrived.

is it me or does it look like kelly lost weight? she looks amazing!

don't be fooled by the cover art of rhianna 's new single " we found love ". angry rihanna is not back. fun/electro-pop rihanna is still here. seems like she's not taking a break post- loud because she's set to release she sixth studio album this fall. "we found love" kicks off this new era with the help of producer calvin harris . one blogger describes her single as "a three-minute explosion of glittering, euphoric synthesizers and pulsating club rhythms–all with a distinct electro-Caribbean gloss". rihanna's vocals float lightly over shimmering synthesize beats. she isn't pressing [...]

last year, vv brown made a big debut into the music scene with her single " shark in the water ". now she's back with an explosive new single - " children (keep on singing) ". the track, produced by chuck harmony and features a rap verse by chiddy of chiddy bang , is centered around that ice cream truck ring tone. you know the one i'm referring to - " do your ears hang low " aka fat kid anthem. for this single, vv and harmony offer a new twist to the tune - [...]

coldplay just dropped a brand new single " paradise " from their upcoming release mylo xyloto (don't ask me how to pronounce that - i've tried multiple times and have embarrassed myself at work). the track is far darker than previous single " every teardrop is a waterfall " featuring full orchestrated strings and chords - the type of coldplay track i like the most. the track is immediately identifiable as a coldplay song - chris martin croons during the versus and the explosive chorus is instantly sticky. the hooky falsetto chorus consists of the repetition of [...]

i can't help but urge you to get david guetta 's new album nothing but the beat . i haven't listened to an entire album and then replayed it again in a while. however nothing but the beat has been on constant repeat on my ipod and itunes. of the thirteen tracks it's hard to pick the strongest because the entire album is solid - i compare it to timbaland 's 2007 masterpiece shock value where there were hits after hits after hits. one of [...]

congrats to maroon 5 and christina aguilera for reaching number one on the billboard hot 100. major big ups to christina though for notching her first number one in over a decade! welcome back to the top, christina.

just in case you didn't get the memo. beyonce is pregnant.

kelly clarkson 's new single " mr. know it all " leaked a few days ago and i've been giving it a few spins to digest it. my thoughts? imagine bruno mars ' " just the way you are " with the vocals of p!nk . "mr. know it all" is a pop-rock mid-tempo track with major potential to take over the radio. kelly's voice is grittier than usual - i prefer her clear vocals a la breakaway/my december. her raw vocals, however, doesn't bother me so much though. it's more that i wish the track featured more of [...]

leona lewis 's music video for her new single " collide " is out. i still don't know how i feel about this track.

truth. i bought two bottles of red wine, one bottle of skinny girl sangria (hooray!), a bag of skittles and trader joe's veggie sticks. no joke. i think i'll be fine and survive. hurricane irene doesn't scare me one bit. i'm going to stare down at her and laugh at her face ... or i'll be hysterically crying under my comforter listening to disney toons hoping that it'll calm me down.

evanescence is back with a brand new single after five year hiatus. their comeback single, " what you want ," is a hard-hitting track featuring powerful and danceable rock beats. the highlight of the track has got to be amy lee 's vocals. i actually forgot how much i liked her voice. i've always admired her strong vocals and ability to be hard and soft at the same time. while amy said evanescence's new material is influenced by electronic sounds, synthesizers, and trip-hop, i couldn't hear any of that in "what you want." in fact, "what [...]

marina and the diamonds just dropped her bring new single " radioactive " and it is gigantic. it's absolutely amazing. stop what you're doing - press play and listen.

i'm not sure why it has taken me forever to post this, but the track that i've been returning to this entire summer has been 2ne1 's " i am the best ". taken from their 2nd mini album, "i am the best" is a huge club banger that is three minutes and thirty seconds of pure adrenaline. if anyone can help, what is the track they're sample during the chorus? it sounds so incredibly familiar. i've been blasting this track everywhere - from my vacation in fire island to walking to work to just laying in bed. something [...]