Delta Goodrem Ruins Dance Music

If you thought Dulta's Arcade Fire rip-off "Sitting On Top Of The World" was terrible, wait until you hear her desperate attempt to jump on the dance bandwagon. "Dancing With A Broken Heart" sounds like a Celine Dion remix from the late '90s gone wrong. Because we all know that the stunning Canadian's remixes were flawless. It's hard to pinpoint where the second single from the famed plastic surgery addict goes wrong. To be honest, I always thought...

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Bertie Blackman - Saviour Of Australian Pop

Bertie Blackman has returned to slap some life back into the Australian indie-pop scene with the lead single from her fourth studio album Pope Innocent X. I've featured the quirky diva several times on the blog over the past few years and fell head-over-heels in love with Secrets and Lies (ranking it as one of my top 40 albums of 2009). Happily, "Mercy Killer" picks up where that opus left off - at least as far as quality is concerned. Bertie's new...

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Ricki-Lee Robs Britney, Sinks To New Low

Ricki-Lee's descent into irrelevance continues apace with the latest single from Fear & Freedom. The weight-loss spokeswoman has always been a basic bitch but - until recently - her music has been flawless. I still love the sticky-fingered diva's first two albums and ranked "Raining Diamonds" as one of the best singles of 2011. Even "Do It Like That" (AKA the world's cheapest Beyoncé rip off) was palatable in its remixed form but there's no excusing...

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Lana Del Rey Conquers Sydney - Live Review

Lana Del Rey brought that wintertime sadness to Sydney last night with the first of two sold-out shows at the Enmore Theatre. The perennially-doomed queen of ominous indie-pop has divided the music world more than any other artist in 2012. Some dismiss her as a gimmick, while others - like myself - swoon at the very mention of her name. For me, Born To Die is the ultimate concept album. Liz Grant (Lana's real name) has breathed her very own film-noir...

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Rita Ora Gets It Right

I have a lot of time for Rita Ora. She's gorgeous, can actually sing and has the Navy pressed, stressed and obsessed. And we all know why. Jay Z has hand-picked the Kosovo-born beauty to replace Rihanna as the face Roc Nation when that mess reaches her expiry date and the plan is more or less on track. "RIP" went straight to number one in the UK, while "How We Do (Party)" did damage in other markets - notably reaching the top 10 and going platinum...

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Melissa Tkautz Unveils Greatest Hits Artwork

Australian pop legend Melissa Tkautz is releasing a greatest hits compilation. Start crying and shaking. The flawless diva behind seminal classics like "Read My Lips" and "Sexy Is The Word" will unveil the full tracklist over the next few days but I'm hopeful a couple of unreleased gems like "Fake It Good" and "Not Enough" will make the cut. The Hits & More drops August 10. Let's pray iTunes can cope with the dema...

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Country Queen Lisa Gail Allred's Latest Shocker/Masterpiece

"You're the one who makes me melt from the love that I have felt" chirps genius wordsmith Lisa Gail Allred on her breathtaking new single. "Coffee Or Tea" is the follow-up to "3 Second Rule" (AKA 2012's ultimate guilty pleasure) and delivers pretty much everything we've come to expect from the genre-defying Texan songbird. There are corny lyrics, a chorus that gets lodged in your brain like an extremely painful tumour and the most arresting vocals...

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Bat For Lashes Returns With Laura

Bat For Lashes is probably my favourite clinically depressed indie-pop diva. Two Suns is still my preferred choice of listening material when I'm in a mood - so basically every day this year - and I have no hestitation ranking that album's lead single as one of the best pop songs of all time. And while her new single "Laura" doesn't quite reach the ominous heights of "Daniel", it's a hauntingly beautiful piece of music. The first taste of Natasha...

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Is Racism Rife Among K-Pop Fans? The Sweet Cake Saga

This was originally going to be a simple post introducing Sweet Cake. They are an adorable new girlband from Indonesia and already have a cute tune called "Cinta Yang Indah" under their belt. But during my search for more information on these powerhouse vocalists/all-around entertainers, I stumbled across a familiar phenomenon - an outpouring of hate and racist remarks from irate K-Pop fans. Sadly, it's not an isolated event. I noticed exactly the...

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When Did Justice Crew Suddenly Become Amazing?

You have to hand it to Sony for sticking with Justice Crew. The 7-piece hip-hop boyband won Australia's Got Talent in 2010 but never really happened. That sounds extremely harsh when you consider that their first two singles went platinum but both peaked well outside the top 10 and they experienced diminishing returns with their next couple of records - the most recent of which, "Sexy And You Know It", did not chart at all. However, instead of sending...

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Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness - Video Review

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Lana Del Rey's "National Anthem" video and praised it for being moody, evocative and for having something to say. The first two adjectives definitely apply to the latest visual (below) from my favourite indie-pop goddess but I'm not sure about the latter compliment. "Summertime Sadness" finds the perennially doomed and depressed diva on autopilot. Sure, the clip is absolutely gorgeous to look at. That's a given. But...

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Jenifer - Sur Le Fil

I've been posting a lot of French pop music lately. Nobody seems particularly interested but that's never stopped me. My latest obsession is Jenifer. She's basically the French Kelly Clarkson - albeit without the huge voice and power ballads. The 29-year-old diva won the first season of Star Academy in 2002 (an Idol/X Factor type talent show) and has remained (relatively) popular ever since, while other contestants have faded into oblivion. I imported...

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Christina Parie Talks X Factor, Avril & Katy Perry

Christina Parie first came to Australia's attention as a contestant on last year's X Factor. Her rock chick attitude and quirky covers made her an instant fan favourite and she eventually placed 6th. Warner Music saw something special in the 16-year-old and recently released her debut EP - the surprisingly enjoyable 16 & Unstoppable. It's Avril Lavigne meets The Veronicas pop/rock for moderately angst-ridden teenagers but it works for me. I met...

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A First-Hand Account Of La Toya's Erotic Club Tour

The absolute nadir of La Toya's otherwise epic and era-defining career has to be 1995's erotic club tour. While many of Ms Jackson's mid-90s mishaps have innate camp appeal, I don't find anything amusing about this sorry debacle. Toy's abusive ex-husband basically forced her to perform in strip clubs across America to capitalise on her post-Playboy status as the sexiest woman alive. And judging from the footage that has since surfaced, it was every...

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Georgi Kay - Lucky Number 13

Earlier this week I wrote an article for Idolator about women on the cusp of pop greatness. The title of the piece was 12 Women About To Pop In 2012 but math has never been my strength and I, rather stupidly, profiled 13 soon-to-explode divas. One had to go and Australia's Georgi Kay drew the short straw. Shame. The 19-year-old has been generating buzz for the past couple of years on the indie singer-songwriter scene but she reached a whole new audience...

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Critically Acclaimed Madonna Shade

I've been quoted in a BBC article about the cancellation of Madonna's tour. This shit is comedy gold. I always knew my big mouth would take me places! I'm also available for insightful commentary on Rihanna, Cheryl Cole and Delta Goodrem if requir...

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Madonna's Turn Up The Radio - Video Review

I remember when a new Madonna video was an international event. These days the poor bitch has to settle for a couple of middle-aged gays losing their shit on Twitter. Life is cruel. "Turn Up The Radio" is the third visual from her aluminum-selling MDNA album and, happily, marks something of a return to form. Don't get me wrong. This is no masterpiece and it pales in comparison to the latest efforts from relevant pop stars like Katy Perry but it's...

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Jenefer Siân Drops Killer Mixtape

Early last year I wrote a post about budding diva Jenefer Siân. She released a couple of homemade - literally - pop songs that caught my attention and I eventually got to see her perform live in LA. It was a great show and she is a great girl, so I've been gagging for new material. The wait is finally over with a new mixtape hitting the net on Friday. I Wish A Bitch Would is a huge leap forward from her first few attempts. The Welsh born, Hollywood-based...

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Katie Price's Cross-dressing Ex Releases Single

Every time I think I've scraped the bottom of the pop trash barrel, along comes something even more tragic. Tonight's gem is the debut single from Jordan's cross-dressing Ex. Alex Reid re-defines hot mess. His career progression went something like this: Cage fighter > sexing Katie Price > famed transvestite > international embarrassment. Shake my fucking head. Anyway, the 36-year-old has extended his 15 minutes by releasing a song called...

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Mexican Pop Queen María José Remains Better Than Ya Faves

Sometimes I think Mexico is my spiritual home. With flawless divas like Paulina Rubio, Lucero, Patricia Manterola, Fey, Belinda, Anahí and Lorena Herrera churning out albums faster than a Korean girlband - there's always something new and utterly defining to discover. One of my favourite Mexi-pop icons is María José. Her last two albums featured on my best of 2009 and 2010 countdowns, and I still play her amazing Katy Perry rip-off "No soy una Señora"...

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Katy Perry's Part Of Me - Movie Review

The immensity of what Katy Perry has achieved during the Teenage Dream era can not be overstated. Love her or hate her, the statistics are mind-boggling. Five consecutive US number one singles. Six US chart-toppers in total. Eight top five hits. A record 69 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten. In the space of one album, the 27-year-old catapulted from the B List (I say that with affection) to the very top of the pop ladder. For all...

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Pop Legend Brigitte Nielsen Returns!

This is a great week for music. Frank Ocean released his flawless debut, No Doubt previewed their first new single in over a decade and Brigitte Nielsen came out retirement to record a faceless dance record that will, most likely, never get an official release. I'm beside myself! So, where do I start with Sylvester Stallone's former wife? The 48-year-old Dane is a true eccentric. The occasional model/actress has a reputation for being all kinds of...

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When Did P!nk Become So Beige?

P!nk's new single is already #1 on Australian iTunes and will, no doubt, usher in another era of unprecedented success in this country. Shame then she's still churning out the same old shit. The 32-year-old's last two albums went an incredible 22-times platinum between them and established Alecia as our pop star of choice. I've always thought her popularity over here stems largely from her anti-establishment attitude and the perception that she's...

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The Glorious Return Of Ysa Ferrer

I love French pop music. It's fresh, fun and - most of the time - kinda classy. At least in comparison to the shit that gets made over here. Over the years, I've featured Lorie, the legendary Mylène and, more recently, Shy'm but I can't believe I've overlooked the Queen of the gay scene, Ysa Ferrer. She is a high-camp force of nature with a loyal cult following from Madrid to Moscow. I live for her refined plastic surgery, less-is-more approach to...

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Ilia Darlin Continues To Win

The more I hear of Greek synth-pop diva Ilia Darlin, the more I love her. She first appeared on my radar in early 2011 with a cute Lady Gaga knock-off called "Car Crash", which she appears to have subsequently disowned, before emerging again in January this year with the poptastic "Hit Me". Her sound and image continue to evolve with "Even When I Lose I'm Winning". This flawless pop gem has a distinctly '80s vibe that I love and the kind of anthemic...

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Jessie Ware's Finest Moment

I'm extremely wary of over-hyped English pop divas. For every Ellie Goulding there are ten Little Boots and watching the wannabes crash and burn isn't as much fun as it used to be. The current queen of the British pop scene is a sultry singer called Jessie Ware. All the usual suspects are hailing her as the next big thing but until now her biggest hit - the rather dire "110%" - landed at a Róisín Murphy-tastic #61. So is she any good? Jessie reminds...

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Alanis Morissette Releases Her Best Song In Years

And nobody gives a shit. It's a shame because we need the Canadian superstar now more than ever. Her razor-sharp lyrics and unwavering honesty are the perfect antidote to the mindless club-bangers polluting the airwaves and she's finally tapping into the pop-friendly sound that made Jagged Little Pill one of the highest-selling albums of all time. That classic captured the hopes and fears of a generation but it also set Alanis up for constant failure....

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Why Frank Ocean Matters

Earlier this week reports began circulating online that rising R&B star Frank Ocean had recorded love songs about men on his hugely-anticipated debut album Channel Orange. Most fans dismissed the rumours or simply put the references down to storytelling - they reasoned that he was simply singing the songs from a woman's perspective. The reputable urban music blogs ignored the story altogether until the talented 24-year-old posted a letter on...

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The Most Eye-Popping Video Of 2012

Do you like gay porn and pop music? If the answer is yes, then - chances are - The Aikiu's new video is for you. I'm not going to pretend like I have any idea who these guys are. According to their website they hail from Paris and have released a couple of well-received EPs. Obviously tired of waiting for the world to catch on to the magnificence of their sweet electronic sound, they took matters into their own hands and delivered the year's most outrageous video to promote new single "Pieces Of Gold". The song is great but, let's face it, most...

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Lana Del Rey's National Anthem - Video Review

We've already passed the half-way mark of 2012 - how scary is that? - and, somewhat surprisingly, Lana Del Rey's Born To Die remains my favourite album of the year. It's not a perfect collection of songs but the big-lipped bombshell pieced together a beautifully tattered piece of Americana that somehow lives up to the hype. Almost as importantly, I think the 26-year-old is the first pop star since Lady Gaga to emerge with a complete and cohesive...

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International Love For Eva Simons

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about Eva Simons and predicted that 2012 would be her year. And, as usual, I was right! This week, the Dutch diva scores her first UK number one hit courtesy of her fabulous feature on will.i.am's "This Is Love" and tops the US club chart with solo single "I Don't Like You". A pretty good week by anyone's standards! Australia has also succumbed to the "Silly Boy" singer. "This Is Love" jumped into the top 10...

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Et Alors, It's French Pop Diva Shy'm!

It's been a while since I featured some quality Euro-pop on the blog, so I was really excited when a friend told me that flawless French diva Shy'm was back in the game with a new song and album. The gorgeous 26-year-old has a long list of hits under her belt but I thought she had retired to pursue a career in television after rocking my world with 2010's epic dance opus Prendre L'air. It turns out that Dancing With The Stars was just a passing distraction...

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