[TOP FIVE KILLERS] February 2011

The Top Five Killers will be tracks that I recommend you get your hands on each and every month. They will have inspired me to dance, laugh, cry or simply want to scream with glee. At one stage throughout the given month I would have been at a moment where I couldn't live without that song. Yep, let's just say they would be my best of the best.

And so, we kick off with February's Top Five Killers. In addition however, because this is a new topic I'll look to complete each month, I feel sorry for January so I'm giving you a double-dose -- January and February. Enjoy.



JANUARY

Nicole Scherzinger
Don't Hold Your Breath
[VIDEO]

Keisha Buchanan
Under Control
[AUDIO]

Tim Berg
Seek Bromance
[VIDEO]

Rihanna
S&M
[VIDEO]

Nadia Ali
Rapture
[AUDIO]

FEBRUARY

Alexis Jordan

Good Girl

[VIDEO]

Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull

On The Floor

[AUDIO]

Lady Gaga

Born This Way

[AUDIO]

Zoë Badwi

Accidents Happen

[VIDEO]

September

Resuscitate Me

[VIDEO]

LISTEN TO NEW IAN CAREY WITH "LAST NIGHT" FEAT. BOBBY ANTHONY & SNOOP DOGG

US DJ Ian Carey is back ready to hit us with a hot new tune, collaborating with none other than hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg and Bobby Anthony. Last Night is Carey's latest track ready to hit charts and clubs globally.

The last time Carey made a splash in Australia was in 2008 under the name of The Ian Carey Project with the hit track Get Shaky. The track, which reached #2 on the ARIA Singles Chart, achieved a 2x platinum status (>140,000 copies sold).

Last Night has a good chance being another big hit for Carey. Of late we've seen a number of great dance tracks feature across the airwaves and make it (commercially that is). Think Hello (Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette) and Take Over Control (Afrojack feat. Eva Simons)... and of course you have the whole David Guetta influence in the charts. Last Night provides another potential cross-over as it adds a pop element and a likeable sound.

Enjoy!

[VIDEO PREMIERE] KANYE WEST "ALL OF THE LIGHTS" FEAT. RIHANNA

My favourite track off the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album, All of the Lights is Kanye West's forth single (behind Power, Runaway and Monster). The track, which features Rihanna (looking freakin' hot in the clip, as always), also features additional vocals from John Legend, The-Dream, Elly Jackson (of La Roux), Alicia Keys, Fergie, Kid Cudi and Elton John. Quite a line up.

The track has hit top 30 status in Australia, according to the ARIA Singles Chart, and is also starting to make waves on the US Billboard and UK charts.

Directed by Hype Williams (who also directed Jessica Mauboy's Get 'Em Girls and Saturday Night - why were they so bad???), the clip is good. A little sore on the eyes with all the "flashing", but it's a good clip.

Anywho. Enjoy!

KYLIE MINOGUE KICKS OFF HER "APHRODITE LES FOLIES TOUR 2011" IN DENMARK

That's right people, over the weekend Kylie Minogue kicked off her Aphrodite Les Folies Tour 2011 in Denmark - ya hoo!

What that means for us is:

+ the track list is out, so we know what awesome numbers she'll be performing at this anticipated concert
+ we can start counting down 'til Kylie releases dates for her Australian leg of the tour
+ we can literally have our hearts skip a beat as we watch a preview trailer of the gig

OMG - GET HERE ALREADY WOMAN!

Set list for Les Folies 2011:

1. APHRODITE

2. THE ONE

3. WOW

4. ILLUSION

5. I BELIEVE IN YOU

06. CUPID BOY

‎07. SPINNING AROUND

08. GET OUTTA MY WAY

‎09. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO

10. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL

‎11. SLOW

12. CONFIDE IN ME

‎13. CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD

14. IN MY ARMS

15. CLOSER

‎16. LOOKING FOR AN ANGEL

17. THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL

18. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT/CAN’T BEAT THE FEELING

19. BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

20. PUT YOUR HANDS UP

21. IF YOU DON’T LOVE ME

22. ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS

23. ALL THE LOVERS

[VIDEO PREMIERE] Britney Spears // Hold It Against Me

After what seems to be a year-long tease of snippets/extracts/portions of Britney Spears video for Hold It Against Me, it is finally released!

The video, directed by Jonas Akerlund (who directed Lady Gaga's Paparazzi and Telephone videos), certainly lives up to his reputation. It's a full on video - and personally - I think it's one of her best clips to date. All I can say is...

WOW

I'M IMPRESSED

Well done Britney, great video.

You'll need to visit The Hype Now for the video, as it seems everywhere else on the 'net seems to have it blocked if you're in Australia, so I can't embed it [LINK]

Edit: see the vid below now!

Enjoy!

[VIDEO PREMIERE] JESSICA MAUBOY "WHAT HAPPENED TO US?" FEAT. JAY SEAN

This morning Sony have released the video to Jessica Mauboy's latest single to be taken from the Get 'Em Girls album, titled What Happened To Us.

The track features UK artist Jay Sean (who I don't normally take a liking to), but in this track, which is clearly one of the best from the album, he works. The J Mau and J Sean combo is a perfect vocal match.

Unlike the Hype Williams directed videos prior to this (Get 'Em Girls and Saturday Night), this video was filmed by local talent Mark Alston. In my opinion he's done a much better job with this video too - it's less marketed and feel more natural. Effortless and not offensive to look at. Don't even get me started with what they did with Snoop Dogg in Get 'Em Girls. Talk about cringe-worthy.

Co-penned by Jay Sean, Australia's Israel Cruz (think Freak Tonight that was covered last year by Scarlett Belle) and Billy Steinberg (who co-penned The Veronica's When It All Falls Apart), What Happened To Us will be a surefire hit for J Mau. Expect this to reach top 10 status at least.

Big ups from me guys - this reminds me a lot of the old Jess we know from the Been Waiting era. Enjoy.

KATY PERRY FEATURES KANYE WEST ON "E.T." REMIX

Katy Perry's forth single to be lifted off the Teenage Dream album is ET. The track has already had success in Australia reaching #5 on the ARIA Singles Chart and achieved platinum sales status (>70,000 copies sold).

Written by Perry, Dr Luke and Max Martin, the track has been compared to TaTu's All The Things She Said. Random if you ask me - I don't hear it.

The global EP release sees a Kanye West remix added, as well as remixes by Benny Benassi and Tiësto; and is scheduled to be released over the coming weeks. The music video will feature the Kanye remix, and will be directed by Floria Sigismondi (who directed the music video for Christina Aguilera's 2006 single Hurt).

Anywho. Take a listen. I actually love the Kanye remix - much better. It's a very clever move by Perry... I wonder if it'll give her a forth #hit in a row on the Billboard chart...?

Enjoy.

[FRESH RELEASE] JENNIFER LOPEZ FEAT. PITBULL "ON THE FLOOR"

I am seriously one of the happiest men on this planet knowing that Jennifer Lopez is back with a mega-hot single. The Latino babe has been one of my favourites for years (seriously, how could you not love Waiting For Tonight?), so when I heard she was releasing new material in 2011 I was on it!

On The Floor is J Lo's latest track and it features guest vocals by none other than man-of-the-moment Pitbull (he seems to be everywhere at the moment!). The track - with a sexy club beat - is very, very catchy and samples Kaomoa's 1989 single, Lambada. It was produced by RedOne and will be officially released in the US in the coming week.

The new single is taken from J Lo's seventh studio album titled Love? to be released worldwide in late March/early April. Loads of hot producers and songwriters have contributed to the album, although nothing yet has been confirmed for the final track list. That list includes Wynter Gordon, Darkchild, Pharrell, Danja and of course RedOne.

I expect to see the video in the coming weeks, but for now, take a listen to the track below. I LOVE IT!!!

Visit J Lo's iTunes profile to keep track of the upcoming release [ITUNES]

Gaga's Born This Way is Billboard's 1,000th #1 Hit

Unless you've been hiding under a rock over the last three days you'll know that Lady Gaga's epic new single Born This Way has smashed a multitude a records worldwide.

The latest smash seems to be doing no wrong for Miss Gaga. As of this week the track debuts at #1 on the Billboard charts, the 19th song in the history of the chart to do so (it's predecessor being only a few weeks ago - Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears).

In addition to this tremendous feat, the track is the 1,000th song to achieve to coveted top spot. And, the most amazing part about that is that the track managed to very easily secure the top spot after being available to download after only two days. TWO DAYS. Earlier today Gaga took to her Facebook account to say the following:

"Thank You so much to Radio+Monsters for making Born This Way the 1000th #1 in Billboard History. Thank You for believing."

Clearly she's happy. You can tell 'casue she said the word monster. So there.

In case you're still having trouble identifying with the fact that Lady Gaga is AMAZING or that she completely and utterly rules the pop world at the moment, let me point out these little bits of information:

+ In a recent interview with Jay Leno, Gaga answers a question about the so-called similarities between Born This Way and Madonna's Express Yourself. In her response Gaga admits to being one of Madge's biggest fans. True story. See the interview here on Chart Rigger's blog. [VIDEO]

+ Gaga cleaned up with another three Grammys at the weekend awards. That takes her total to FIVE over a period of two years. Beat that haters.

+ There is clearly NO COMPARISON between Gaga and Miss Spears. Whilst Britney is teasing fans with her upcoming video for Hold It Against Me, the song is sliding down global charts quicker than Britney can say bring-it-on-I'll-take-you-down-I'm-Britney-bitch. Hmmm. All I see is Gaga's Born This Way smashin' her records.

+ She is the Mother Monster. Paws up.

Bow down haters. Queen Gaga reigns.

Just in case any of you forgot whilst you've been busy comparing to Britney Spears or Madonna.

Queen Gaga reigns surpreme, and here's iTunes as proof. Eat that.

Excluding Norway of course. Who listens to anything Norwegians do anyway?

[FLASHBACK] SAVAGE GARDEN "I KNEW I LOVED YOU"

In honour of today, Valentine's Day, here's a lovey-dovey flashback. Savage Garden, aka Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, came to pop success locally in 1994 with their debut single, I Want You. It was a top five hit in Australia and paved the way for a great, yet short career.

Savage Garden's debut self-titled album achieved x12 platinum status (> 840,000 copies sold) and spawned five top 40 singles in Australia, with two of those hitting the coveted #1 position - To The Moon & Back and Truly, Madly, Deeply. Additionally, Truly, Madly, Deeply went on to become a #1 hit in the US on the Billboard charts - a brilliant achievement for any artist, let alone an unknown Australian group.

Following the success of their #1 self-titled album the boys released their second album, Affirmation, in 1999. Again, another succeful album hitting the #1 spot and achieving x8 platinum status (> 560,000 copies sold), with another five top 40 singles in Australia. The track's second single, I Knew I Loved You, peaked at #4 and it today's Valentine's Day flashback.

With opening lyrics like...

"Maybe it's intuition,
some things you just don't question.
Like in your eyes,
I see my future in an instant
and there it goes
I think I've found my best friend"

...it's hard for this song not to make you wanna grab your lover and give 'em a big smoochie.

Enjoy. Happy V Day to all of you x

Lady Alien, I mean, Lady Gaga performs at The Grammys

You could be forgiven for thinking you were watching an episode of Babylon 5 if you saw Lady Gaga's presence at he 53rd Grammys. The current Born This Way campaign saw Gaga arrive in a pod-like coccoon down the red carpet, with her then performing the lead single on stage.

A few quick points you should note about this performance, and potentially what we're going to see from Miss Alien herself in the coming months:

+ Miss Gaga is sporting some new bone structure from parts of her body, specifically her cheeks and shoulders. Expect this to be the norm from today forward. You have been warned.

+ We have some hair-whipping action. I suspect Willow and Gaga have spent some time together over the past month sharing a bit o' chorey. We'll see Willow with extra bones next, you just wait.

+ The dancers seem to be sporting some kind of androgynous look. I'm assuming they were born that way. So, maybe we will see Gaga supporting both genitalia after all. Hmmm.

Anywho - I know there are a lot of haters out there at the moment about this song (because they could do so much better - pft), but you know what... I love it! Sure, it didn't grab me as much on the first listen like Bad Romance did, but hey, who cares? Born This Way is a great pop song, with an equally great message... so how about the haters get off their horses and enjoy the frickin' thing.

Whilst I can't post the video here, check out the information and full video via The Hype Now.

Purchase Born This Way digitally today [ITUNES]

Lady Gaga, Born This Way album cover REVEALED!

EDIT: seems as though The Music Network got it wrong! The real cover, and my thoughts, are here.

Lady Gaga's Born This Way album cover has been released via The Music Network's site this morning. It shares the same makeup and jagged-bone look that the Born This Way single does - interesting. Not sure how I feel about the cover yet... it does look a lot like something from the early 70's. Not sure if it's the hair, the chiseled cheeks, or the black and white shot. It's odd and eerie... yet strangely inviting.

Thoughts?

How did I miss The Naked and Famous?

The Naked and Famous are an indie pop/rock band who originate from Auckland, New Zealand.

Triple J listeners will be familiar with the tracks Young Blood and Punching in a Dream, both released in 2010, and both of which made the Triple J Hottest 100 for 2010.

Their debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, was released late last year, giving the guys a #1 album in their homeland and a top 40 album here in Australia.

So, knowing all of that - how did I miss these guys? I love their sound (it reminds me a little of MGMT Oracular Spectacular era) and their feel (raw, fresh and very catchy). Young Blood, which was originally released in June last year, is finally getting some decent airplay and is racing up the Australian charts as we speak.

I've just got my hands on their album - and so far, I like I lot. Check out Young Blood below... it's a great preview to the album, which I think, is going to get some decent spins on my iTunes.

Purchase Passive Me, Aggressive You digitally today [ITUNES]

IT'S HERE! Lady Gaga // Born This Way

It's here - finally!!!

Lady Gaga has premiered Born This Way globally, and very, very shortly you'll be able to purchase it digitally.

Listen below - what's your thoughts???

[VIDEO PREMIERE] NICOLE SCHERZINGER "DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH"

Here it is - finally. Nicole Scherzinger releases the video to her latest single, Don't Hold Your Breath.

If you've been following my blog you'll know we've been waiting for this for a while now. There has been a number of versions of this track across the 'net over the last few months, so it's nice to get the final single version out there!

The release date for the single has been rumoured for March, so keep your eyes on iTunes (or here!) for more info as it's comes about. [ITUNES]

LISTEN TO NEW DIDDY-DIRTY MONEY WITH "COMING HOME" FEAT. SKYLAR GREY

P Diddy is back, along with fellow mates Kaleena Harper and Dawn Richard (ex-Danity Kane) to form the group known as Diddy-Dirty Money.

Side note - do you remember Damaged by Danity Kane? Or Bad Girl? Lurve those tracks - check out Damaged here in case you've forgotten how awesome it is. [YOUTUBE]

Now, where was I? That's right, Diddy's new venture. Diddy-Dirty Money formed in 2009, released their debut album late last year (titled Last Train to Paris), and to date, have released four singles off that very album. All have done so-so in chart success, however their latest single, Coming Home featuring Skylar Grey, is probably their most successful both locally (US) and now, kicking off globally.

It's has a very familiar structure to it... male hip hop/rap artist singing verse, with female solo on vocals for chorus. Think B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams (single: Airplanes)... or Eminem feat. Rihanna (single: Love The Way You Lie). You get the drift. I guess for me, this track really works. It is very similar to Love The Way You Lie - which is not surprising considering Skylar Grey co-wrote both tracks.

Currently sitting in the ARIA Singles Chart at #31 this week, we're expecting it to rise to the top 20 when next weeks chart is released. In addition, I wouldn't be surprised if this is in the top 10, top 5 even, in the coming weeks.

For now, stay tuned, watch the vid, and enjoy.

Purchase Coming Home digitally today [ITUNES]

LISTEN TO NEW CHROMEO WITH "HOT MESS" FEAT. ELLY JACKSON

Canadian electrofunk duo Chromeo (childhood mates P-Thugg and Dave 1) may finally have themselves a global hit! The boys, who hail from Montreal, Quebec, have been fairly successful in their homeland, yet they've failed to make a real splash globally.

Chromeo have released three albums over the course of the last seven years - their debut album, She's in Control, was released in 2004. Late 2010 they released Business Casual - their most successful album to date - and off that is the single that I think may make some noise for them globally.

Hot Mess is the name of that track. It's very 80's synth with sexy guitars, very reminiscent of Prince's hey-day. So much so in fact, that I've already been dancing 'round mixing the lyrics of Hot Mess and Prince's Kiss in my bedroom. Hmmm, too much information.

Anywho. What really seals the deal for me is that Hot Mess features the guest vocals of Elly Jackson (lead singer of La Roux). Elly adds the perfect finishing touch to the track. Oh... I just love it!

Check out the video below - unfortunately it doesn't feature Miss Jackson, but it's a good clip none the less. Enjoy!

Look out for Chromeo feat. Elly Jackson on iTunes soon. The current album version does not contain Elly on vocals. [ITUNES]

Evidence that the UK needs to CHILL OUT

I don't know why I'm surprised as you'd kinda expect this - but yes - this is what you'd say and classify as someone going too far and needing to CHILL OUT.

Rihanna's latest single (and one of her bloody greatest), S&M, has been renamed in the UK, according to the new UK Top 40 chart compiled by the BBC. Whilst news surfaced over the last week that the video has been banned in over 10 countries worldwide due to the raunchiness of it all (oh, puuuuulease); apparently that wasn't enough for the sour-pusses that grace the dismal/miserable part of the world that is the UK.

What appears in the BBC chart is the title Come On, instead of S&M. Seriously? Even RiRi had a spastic about that one via her Twitter account. According to MTV.com:

"Are you f---ing kidding me??? I'm on it!" she wrote in one tweet after being asked by a fan about the new title. When asked by another fan if she was OK with the change, she replied, "Absolutely Not!"

Hmmm. How does the saying DRINK A BUCKET OF CEMENT AND HARDEN THE F**K UP sound?

What the video via my previous post [BLOG]
Purchase S&M digitally today [ITUNES]

[FRESH RELEASE] Far East Movement feat. Ryan Tedder // Rocketeer

Far East Movement; the boys that brought us the platinum #2 single in Australia, Like a G6; return with another hit (expected to hit the ARIA #20 this weekend). Rocketeer is the name of the new single, and it features guest vocalist Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic).

I actually really like this track. It's has Tedder's familiar yet beautiful/soulful vocals in the chorus, and the FEM boys elsewhere. It's a solid pop number, but I doubt it will match the global success of Like a G6. Will it be a radio hit? Probably.

What I did find surprising was that Tedder didn't contribute to the writing of the track, however another super global success - Bruno Mars - did. Nice.

Purchase Rocketeer digitally today [ITUNES]

Hush lilttle monsters don't say a word...

... Mumma Monsters gonna give you a mocking bird A SINGLE COVER.

This morning, Lady Gaga tweeted the single cover to Born This Way. In addition, instead of waiting until Sunday 13th February for the digital release (the same day as the Grammy's) - the track will now be released on Friday 11th February 2011.

OMG

GIVE IT TO ME ALREADY

[FRESH RELEASE] Garçon Garçon // Stay in Touch

Garçon Garçon!

Who on earth are Garçon Garçon? Well, you'd be talking about two sexy Sydney boys by the name of Nick and Nathan. The boys (to quote their Facebook fan page)...

"... (combine) new wave synths with a unique '80s feel and a dash of blatant pop, Garçon Garçon write intelligent songs with catchy hooks. Coming from different musical worlds of classical and punk rock, the duo conjure a sound as complex as it is podium busting."

Nice. For me the boys remind me of a raw Cut Copy. All fresh and young, with that 80's-synth feel that makes my heart skip a beat. It's just like when I heard Frankmusik or Grum for the first time. Love, love, love.

Garçon Garçon's debut single, Stay in Touch, was released only last week. I'm very excited about their first release, and it's great to see these boys get some decent press (see: DNA Magazine, SX Magazine, TimeOut Magazine).

Me - do I like? Yes. Me - do I approve? Yes. Me - will I be following these boys until their new EP (aptly titled "EP") comes out? Yes.

Should you be doing the same? Yes. I think we'll be hearing a lot more from these beautiful Sydney boys - look out!

Read a very good interview with the boys on Coco: Ideas [SITE]

Purchase Stay in Touch digitally today [ITUNES]

[FRESH RELEASE] Tiësto vs Diplo feat. Busta Rhymes // C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)

Heard this before? Hell yeah. Tiësto and Diplo first treated us with the instrumental number (titled C'mon) in mid 2010. Now, fast forward to 2011, introduce Busta Rhymes and you're ready to blow your eardrums to one of Summer's biggest club hits.

C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) is racing up the ARIA Club Chart faster than Paris Hilton's knickers fly off (ok, so maybe not that fast). In fact, as of this week it's at #7.

Get ready to hear this one a lot over the coming months!

[FRESH RELEASE] Alexis Jordan // Good Girl (plus - the Freemasons remix!)

Whilst we have Happiness still sitting pretty in the top of the ARIA charts (peaking at #3 only a few weeks ago), Alexis Jordan is starting to wet our appetites with a taste of her music, that specifically of her latest single - Good Girl.

Good Girl is another catchy pop number... does it possess the same bum-shaking groove that Happiness does? Maybe not? Is it likable? Yes. Will I probably end up loving it? Ah, yes. Clearly with a line like...

"Good girl, but I've been bad before..."

...I'm destined to love it. Me, and every other bloody gay man globally. You gotta give it her though, she's pretty cute.

HALT THAT ASS!

Enter my boys from Brighton, aka the Freemasons, and BAM! If there was a gay man that lacked connection to the track he certainly doesn't now.

The Freemasons edit (video below!) brings us back to that happy place where Happiness left off. OMG - I feel a Whitney Houston Million Dollar Bill moment coming on. Be. Prepared. To. Shake. Your. Ass.

[VIDEO PREMIERE] Zoë Badwi // Accidents Happen

And here we have it - the video premiere of Zoë Badwi's latest track, Accidents Happen.

The video features Miss Badwi walking down a street full of action (is that George Street, Parramatta?); only narrowly missing a whole range of 'accidents'. What we certainly don't mind is the potential accident, aka hottie, that she runs into in the beginning of the clip. That's an accident most wouldn't mind passing up.

Anywho. The follow up track to the platinum single Freefallin' was the second most added track to Australian commercial radio this week... so, do we expect that Zoë may have another hit on her hands? Here's hoping - I love it.
Enjoy!

Purchase Accidents Happen digitally now [ITUNES]

Were you BORN THIS WAY? Gaga 2011 wrap up.

Are you up to date on all the hype around the much anticipated release of Queen Gaga's single (and album of the same name), Born This Way? There have been updates via almost every form of media since Lady Gaga announced on New Years Day that we'd be blessed with her musical talents starting from February.

So - what a better way to keep on top of things than to provide a update of what's come through over the last 5 weeks!

Let's start with the basics:

BORN THIS WAY (single)

released 13th February 2011

BORN THIS WAY (album)

released 23rd May 2011

Full lyrics for Born This Way were released on the 28th January via her Twitter account [LYRICS]

And, as per the announcement via the site for the official 53rd Grammy Awards, Queen Gaga will be performing Born This Way LIVE on the 13th February, coincidentally the same day the track is released - oh she's a clever girl our Gaga. [GRAMMYS]

Other interesting tid-bits you little monsters can feed on are:

--  There are three confirmed tracks for the Born This Way album
--  Those tracks are Born This Way, You And I, and Edge of Glory
--  Another track by the title of Scheiße was showcased at the Thierry Mugler fashion show in Paris mid January. It is not known at this stage if it will be on the album (as per my blogpost last month). [BLOG]
--  Scheiße is German for shit. Literally.
-- We know legendary producer RedOne has contributed to the album. RedOne is the musical genuis that worked with Gaga on Just Dance, Poker Face and LoveGame.

How exciting! As per Gaga's tweet two days ago...

"So many nights I've wept, too many thoughts to say. But now its less than 12 days left, till I was Born This Way. X Mother Monster"

Ya-hoo!



DO YOU HEART SIA LIKE WE HEART SIA?

Last Wednesday my crew and I headed down to the iconic Enmore Theatre in Sydney to catch one of the only good things to come out of Adelaide, and that good thing is none other than Sia Furler.

As one of Australia's most talented singer/songwriters, Sia demonstrated exactly what you want to see at any decent gig. She entertained the crowd, she delivered perfect vocals, and... she caused a hella lot of people to jump, dance and sing/scream/yell to awesome tunes.

Sia showcased the talent off her latest release, We Are Born, which certainly didn't displease any of her fans. We Are Born is Sia's forth and most successful album to date - it peaked at #2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and won two ARIA awards in 2010 (Best Pop Release and Best Independent Release).

The show opened with The Fight, the albums' opening track. It was a great way to start the show as it lead into the third official single, Bring Night. Both tracks are full of energy, which certainly saw us shake-our-groove-thang just two metres away from the stage!

Throughout the show Sia covered tracks from her previous albums Colour The Small One and Some People Have Real Problems. My highlights were Buttons, You've Changed, and of course, Sia's most successful single release to date - Clap Your Hands.

It was a blistering 40 degrees celsius in that theatre - but through all the sweat, the shoving around, the lack of water and the shear desire to sit before my legs gave way, Sia successfully delivered what I would call one of the best gigs I've been to in years.

Sia - clap your hands girl. You are truly an exceptional artist, I can't wait to see you again!

The award winning We Are Born is out now, buy it online [ITUNES]

WHICH VERSION DO YOU PREFER? DAVID GUETTA'S "WHO'S THAT CHICK?" FEAT. RIHANNA

I can't believe I have been seriously waiting since October last year to be able to post a blog update on this video. That is, a video that will play with uninterrupted sound and picture (bloody YouTube copyright - bah). Seriously, October! That's like 700 million years ago (edit: 4 months actually).

Snippets of Who's That Chick first appeared on the internet as part of a global Dorito's ad campaign (yes, Dorito's - the chips). If you, the consumer, purchased a packet of specially marked Dorito's you had the opportunity to scan the barcode (or something of that nature) and upon doing so, you had the opportunity to watch one of two versions of a video clip for the song.

Yes, one of two versions.

Version one, aka the day version - Rihanna bouncing 'round in brightly coloured clothes with dancers in an environment that looks like someone took an acid trip and vomited up a Care Bears playground. Version two, aka the night version - Rihanna all sexy, goth, dark and ready to rumble... with Elvira maybe. Or Edward Cullen.


Scenes from versions one and two!

I was fortunate enough to catch both videos online (with uninterrupted sound and picture) some time ago, but have been unable to find them to post on here for y'all to see! Until now - enter version three. Version three, aka the David Guetta version - it features parts of the Care Bears vomit-land with David Guetta DJing watching RiRI over TV monitors. Typical Guetta.

Anywho - I present to you version three. FINALLY. Watch, enjoy, dance your cute little asses off.

BRITNEY SPEARS DROPS "FEMME FATALE" COVER

So... thoughts? The dear Brad from MuuMuse is literally wetting himself (I wouldn't expect anything less Bradley x)... me... well, at least Britney Spears is being consistent with the use of that font. What is it? Art deco or something? I do like the subtle '7' at the end of the 'F' on Fatale too.

I digress.

Femme Fatale is the name of Brit's seventh studio album (hence the 7 on the cover), largely produced by the pop genius duo that are Max Martin and Dr Luke; and the image above appeared via Brit's Twitter account yesterday. Whilst no official release date has been announced as of yet, it is understood that we'll expect Femme Fatale sometime in mid-March.

Additionally, the video for Brit's latest track, Hold It Against Me, is due out any time now. It was directed by Jonas Åkerlund - famous for his BRILLIANT work on Telephone (Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce) and Who's That Chick? (David Guetta feat. Rihanna). Stay tuned, I'm actually excited about seeing the clip!

Purchase Hold It Against Me digitally now [ITUNES]

[VIDEO PREMIERE] RIHANNA "S&M"

SEX SEX SEX SEX

Dirty, sweaty, hot, 
boot-licking, mind-blowing, 
heart-pounding sex.

Clearly there is nothing else on Rihanna's mind when she and director Melina Matsoukas came up with the idea for the video for RiRi's new single, S&M. Whether it's the pale pink semi-catsuit complete with riding crop, the volume of ball gags on the extras, or even the newspaper dress complete with the words 'whore' and 'slut' printed on them; RiRi is CLEARLY thinking about sex.

I think we all secretly hoped she would entertain us with a clip that matched the lyrics of what is a dirty and hot pop song. S&M is one of my favourite tracks off Rihanna's 2010 release, Loud, so I'm fucking stoked she released it as a single. Apparently, so is the rest of Australia - S&M is expected to debut at #1 on the ARIA Singles Chart this weekend!

Oh Rihanna. You sexy little minx.

Purchase S&M digitally now [ITUNES]

[FRESH RELEASE] Zoë Badwi // Accidents Happen

If you're a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I don't hide the fact I love Australia's hottest dance export, Zoë Badwi. Miss Badwi scorched the charts with her smash hit Freefallin' in 2010, and as of this week, you can purchase the follow up to that number, Accidents Happen, online.

Accidents Happen is another hot house number. Produced by the boys from TV Rock (yes, we love you too boys), it begs for a spin on DJ tables across the country.

The video was shot a few weeks ago, and is expected to drop in the coming week. Stay tuned as I'll be posting it on here! In the mean time, get your ass over to iTunes to buy it now! [ITUNES]

Tip - the digital release features an awesome acoustic mix of Freefallin' too!