About This Site
Each month I select 20 songs (10 songs twice a month) that I am either hooked on or am curious about. Most of the music I select are rock, hip-hop, R&B and pop songs.
My song selection comes from 20-30 CDs I get from various sources each month, as well as recommendations from iTunes and Amazon. I also check out the charts in US, UK and Japan.
Kansas City native R&B singer, Janelle Monae released her debut album, The ArchAndroid in May of 2010 from Bad Boy Records label. This single, “Tightrope” had placed on top 10 tracks of the year on numerous music magazines and blogs.
When Bruno Mars came out, he had clean cut pop singer image, but recently he was arrested for possession of cocaine. Despite his recent arrest, this guy can write and sing great pop songs. He has already proven himself with
Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” and
Cee-lo’s “F**k You”. His latest single is also addicting and climbing up the chart.
There is no doubt that John Legend is this generation’s hottest R&B star. And there is also no doubt that The Roots is one of the most talented musical groups. If they decide to work together, there is gotta be some good stuff. The album is mostly covers of not-so-popular soul music from the 60s and 70s. This single has been around for a while, but I hadn’t really listened to it until the album came out recently. “Wake Up Everybody” is a cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes cover.
I first heard of this R&B singer in 2007 when he had the hit, “
Can’t Help But Wait.” Trey’s fourth album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure only has one standout track, and that’s this one, only because Nicki Minaj nails her part. This just makes me anticipate for her debut album even more. With Missy Elliott not releasing anything recently, Nicki is hands down the hottest female MC in the game right now.
Hawaiian producer/singer, Bruno Mars is on a super hot streak right now. He started out by being featured on B.o.B’s, “
Nothin’ On You” as well as Travie McCoy’s “
Billionaire.” His produced track, “
F**k You!” for Cee-lo Green is a hit as well, and Bruno Mars is about to release his debut album, which includes the #1 single, “Just the Way You Are.”
From the title, and how it became an internet sensation, you would think it’s just a novelty song, but this is a good song. Gnarls Barkley’s vocalist, Cee-Lo Green will be releasing his solo album this winter, and from the sound of this single, it’s going to be a good fun soulful record.
A lot of people called this Toni Braxton’s “comeback album.” I felt like I heard that phrases a lot in the past year, similar for Whitney Houston and Monica. I do like the sampling of this danceable track, but so far none of the songs I’ve heard from the album makes me think that she can take over the charts like she did in the 90s.
I wasn’t aware that Monica was releasing a new album, until I found that AmazonMP3 was giving away this song for free (for limited time). I had seen an ad for her reality TV show, but was happy to see that she had a new recording. This latest album, Still Standing is her second highest charting album to date (best was 2003’s After the Storm). “One in a Lifetime” is not a single (yet), but I thought it was catchy and preferred over her other two singles.
British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz have been mostly known as a songwriter for artists like Britney, Justin and Leona Lewis. But in 2008, he decided to release his own album (produced by himself). In late 2009, Taio Cruz released his second album titled Rokstarr. The single, “Break Your Heart” turned into a huge hit in UK, staying #1 for three weeks in a row. The Ludacris remix edition also crossed over into the US, and reached #1.
Jay-Z’s version was a #1 hit for several weeks in a row. This version is slightly different than Jay-Z’s and lacks the punch, but it is still good. The track has been a big hit in the UK where it has been in top 10 for several weeks now. When Alicia Keys was a guest on Colbert Report, she performed this song along with Colbert who inserted his own version of rap verse. It’s hilarious and worth checking out as he raps: “shoppin’ mall is close, my community is gated; my shorties are all private school educated; Home theater system, 60-inch plasma; clean suburban air, much better for my asthma”
Jason DeRulo had a huge hit late last year with “Whatcha Say” and now he has released his debut album, titled Jason DeRulo. The second single, “In My Head” reached #1 in UK and top 10 in the US so far. This song sounds like something a boy band like Backstreet Boys would sing.
Nneka’s father is Nigerian and mother is German. She grew up most of her life in Nigeria until she was 18, and since then divides her time between Germany and Nigeria. She reminds me a lot of Neneh Cherry. Her song is poetic and her music is unique. With Lauryn Hill out of picture (though there are a lot more rumor of her comeback), Nneka could make a good dent in the US for her rap/R&B style of music.
This track by Mary J. Blige has been released as a single several months ago, but I thought I would review it now that her ninth album, Stronger With Each Tear, has been released a couple of weeks ago. Her last three albums have been debuting at #1 spot, but this time, she had stiff competition from
Susan Boyle
and ended up settling for second place. She still belches out emotional songs, but I tend to like more of her upbeat songs, such as this one which features rapper Drake.
All of Alicia Keys album has debuted at #1 spot, except this one was intercepted by Susan Boyle, who continues to sell her albums weeks after its release. Alicia is riding high on the success of Jay-Z’s “
Empire State of Mind” where she was featured. She even included her version, “Empire State of Mind Part II” on this album. This single, “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” is not as strong as “
No One” or “Fallin’” but is slowly climbing up the charts.
Indian British R&B singer, Jay Sean had a big hit a couple of month ago with “
Down” featuring Lil Wayne. With his US debut album being released, he is dropping his second single, “Do You Remember” featuring Sean Paul & Lil Jon. It has Lil Jon’s signature shouting, and Sean Paul’s incomprehensible verses. How could you not like this song?
If you are Imogen Heap fan, you may be upset at the fact that producer JR Rotem and young R&B star, Jason DeRulo have sampled her track, “Hide And Seek” or maybe you are happy that thanks to this track, a lot more people are discovering Imogen Heap. Either way, “Whatcha Say” has been getting a lot of airplay in the US, and may possibly take the #1 spot soon (it is currently sitting at #2, behind Jay Sean’s “
Down”.
A lot of people were talking about this Whitney Houston “comeback” album, and lucky for her, the album, I Look To You took the #1 spot, which she hasn’t done since The Bodyguard Soundtrack. She performed live on morning TV show, but her voice failed to deliver. She blamed it on Oprah saying she talked too much during the interview a day before, and that’s why she’s not sounding that great. This track, “Million Dollar Bill” was produced by Alicia Keys, and although reminds me of wedding or cruise ship song but at least it’s doing fairly well on the R&B chart. What I want to know is if she will be able to generate any top 10 global mega hit from this album.
Jay Sean’s real name is Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, and he is Indian British. He recently signed to Lil Wayne’s Cash Money Records, making him the first Asian British artist to be signed to a US label. Jay Sean has released a couple of albums which was a moderate success in the UK (but big in India, following his appearance in the Bollywood movie). Now that he is associated with Lil Wayne, he should find a bigger success, as this first single is proving to be. “Down” is already a top 10 single in the US. The music video was available for a free download from iTunes in middle of August.
I was almost ready to dismiss Keri Hilson as she wasn’t generating huge hits despite all the backing from major producers and rappers. But this song finally put Keri on the top 10 map. My only concern is that despite its strong chart success in both UK and US, I don’t notice Keri so much on the song. This seems more of Kanye’s song or even Ne-Yo’s. Hopefully that won’t make Keri into a hook singing side kick. I do want to mention that Kanye really shines on this song, and mentioning Michael Jackson on the song probably helps, too.
no sample
I was looking for a track in honor of Michael Jackson’s death, but was surprised to find that iTunes or Amazon MP3 were not releasing any tribute album for a good cause. I didn’t watch the entire Memorial Service, but some of the performances such as Mariah’s “I’ll Be There” didn’t sound as good as she did 15 years ago. I was happy to find this version with Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo did at this year’s BET Music Award, which had a lot of tribute for Michael Jackson, including Ciara doing “Heal the World.” Maybe in several months, iTunes will do a similar thing they did for Frank Sinatra, where the contemporary artists cover the legend’s hits.
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