SERIOUSLY UNDERRATED STARS #79 - KELIS

Yes, seriously.

Over the last few years Kelis has had her share of ups-and-downs in the music world, you'd agree. Everyone remembers her hot debut Caught Out There (off her album Kaleidoscope) and her mega smash hit Milkshake (off her album Tasty); but sadly, Kelis seems to be forgotten in some places on this earth with her recent delivery - the Flesh Tone album.

Don't get me wrong, we love Kelis' earlier stuff. Caught Out There was an anthem for a whole range of genres with the "I hate you so much right now" lyrics being screamed from a variety of gay boys and indie-pop junkies alike.

The same with Milkshake - it was heard on the lips of anyone and everyone who wanted you to know that they brought their milkshake to the yard. I know I certainly brought mine, hell yeah.

But let's talk Flesh Tone. Written and produced by David Guetta with help from Benny Benassi, Tocadisco, Jean Baptiste and Boys Noize; you'd wonder what could possible go wrong. Apparently, a lot!

Acapella was released as the lead single. It is full of Guetta's signature thumpin' beats; Kelis' rough, sexy vocals; fit with one of the hottest videos of this decade. For me, it's one of the best songs of this year - easily top 5. Chart performance? Meh. It barely touched the sides, apart from the UK where it reached the top 5.

I'm talking about what should have been a mega smash here people! What's wrong with the world - THIS SONG IS AMAZING.

Anyway.

Acapella was followed with 4th of July (Fireworks), and as of now, Scream. Both are great tracks, however the "rumoured" forth single, Brave, is what I'm waiting for.

Short summary - the album is an ass-moving, leg-shaking, heart-thumping, smile-making must for anyone wanting to pump more than Shania Twain when they're running around vacuuming half naked (it works for me anyway). Do yourselves a favour and buy it.

You can watch the video for Scream below. And, if you're really up for it, it also comes in a 3D version on Kelis' VEVO page on YouTube.

Enjoy my people. Much love.

Queens of Clubs, Nadia Ali

There are only a few voices on the club scene that you instantly recognise when you lose yourself to the beats on the floor. Unique vocals that bring a big smile to your face, and before you know it, you have yourself singing and dancing away like you're 16 years old again in your bedroom, all alone, and possibly naked.

Some of those vocals belong to big, power-house divas. Others to more unique, softer and not so 5-octave-range lasses. If we think about some of the successes (not necessarily chart-wise) over the past couple of years we think of Inaya Day, Kelis, Robyn, Luciana, Crystal Waters, Haley... the list could go on.

One however stands out of the crowd for me - Nadia Ali.

Most of you would know her as the vocal talent behind the group iiO. From 2002-2005 iiO filled our ears with joy with hits such as At The End, Smooth, Runaway, and of course their global smash hit Rapture (which went top 10 in most European countries, top 5 in the UK and Australia).

Since then Nadia released a solo album, Embers, in late 2009. For me, the album is one of the best albums of the last year - soothing vocals and great sounds that take you on a journey through the albums 13 tracks. Crash & Burn was released as a single in late 2008, the lead in to the album, which for me was a great starting point.

Nadia has since released the singles Love Story and more recently, Fantasy - all with a great selection of remixes (as you can imagine).

Move forward to today. Nadia is set to release a 3-part album series called The Queens of Clubs. Each album will be titled after a different 'stone', the first of which called the Ruby Edition. The albums are due out over the next 4 months, with remixes of all her album tracks plus additional tracks in which she's featured over the course of the last year (Better Run with Tocadisco, Try with Schiller both feature on the first album).

And lastly before I head off, Nadia has featured on a brilliant track with Chris Reece titled The Notice. It's a great house number, once again she delivers her smooth and sexy vocals. I've included the clip for you below to enjoy.

If you haven't purchased Embers as of yet, do yourself a favour and click on the iTunes link (found here) and grab it now! I guarantee you'll enjoy it. Much love.