Melanie Fiona's Incredible 'Change The Record'

Is it just me or has the music industry shut up shop early this year? I know things wind down in December but we're in the middle of a pop drought and I'm starting to get thirsty! Labels have responded by churning out singles from long-dead albums just to have something on radio, which is allowing a couple of forgotten gems to have their moment to shine. The most notable is Melanie Fiona's "Change The Record".

To be honest I had all but forgotten about the Canadian soul singer. I loved her debut but just couldn't get into The MF Life. With one exception. "Change The Record" stands out on Melanie's sophomore set like Adele in Ethiopia. It's a bouncy pop hit with a distinct retro undercurrent courtesy of producer Los Da Mystro. He's not exactly in the same league as RedOne or Dr. Luke but the frequent The-Dream collaborator was responsible for Bey's epic "Schoolin' Life" and the only amazing song on Unapologetic (ie. "Nobody's Business") - so he's definitely one to watch.

This is proof that Mel can mix it up. Her soul ballads are unreal but she's had diminishing returns on the charts, so a catchy upbeat number with a hot rapper - B.o.B's contribution fits perfectly - is a good idea. I hope "Change The Record" gets promoted because it's incredible. Watch the cheap and cheerful video below. I may have to dust off my copy of The MF Life and have another listen.

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Brandy Drops The Cheapest Video Of 2012

What the hell is this? Brandy doing bad choreography in front of 10 people she paid to look mildly interested is not the basis for a video - particularly when the super-catchy "Put It Down" turned out to be something of a sleeper hit. This mess (below) looks like it was thrown together on Windows Moviemaker by Ray J after his second bottle of Patron. I know it's hard to fund big budget clips when you're on the grind - and the D List - but I've seen more interesting visuals from unsigned acts on YouTube.

It's a shame because "Wildest Dreams" is a great song. I love that Brandy takes it back to her '90s hey-day with a slick mid-tempo R&B anthem that boasts an instantly hummable chorus. Her vocal is great and she sounds a lot more comfortable playing the wide-eyed innocent than the sultry seductress she tries and fails to be on some of Two Eleven's more underwhelming tracks. I'm not sure how "Wildest Dreams" will be received by radio programmers - it's probably too subtle to make much of an impact - but it's the only song on her album (apart from the Breezy duet) with any kind of commercial appeal and deserved a decent video.

Song: 8/10, Video: 1/10

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Alicia Keys' Girl On Fire - Video Review

What the fuck is this? "Girl On Fire" had me under its spell from the first listen and I've been patiently waiting for an equally flawless visual to accompany the song. Instead we get Alicia Key's doing housework and paying her bills. Come again? I honestly can't remember the last time a video for a major artist missed the mark this badly. A good film clip adds another dimension to a song. This doesn't even reflect the tortured lyrical content. When I think about a girl on fire, I imagine a woman battling her inner demons - not sweeping the floor.

At least Alicia looks good. The styling and cinematography is beautiful and I love all that green light. For the first 15 seconds I was really excited. But then the 31-year-old superstar just stands in front of some pretty wallpaper and does some chores. I get it. She's a mother, a daughter. But the whole damn clip jumps the shark when she starts doing magical housework. And I'm not being rude - but choreographed meal preparation? Is AK angling for a spot on the Food Network? Then there's the whole lame sub-plot with her husband/boyfriend trying to steal her headphones. By that stage I really had zero fucks left to give.

Something went seriously wrong here. "Girl On Fire" is a concerted effort to give Alicia a more commercial sound after slipping into adult contemporary territory on The Elements Of Freedom. Instead of winning back younger fans, this visual will only appeal to housewives wishing they had magical cleaning powers. I get what she was going for - her point is that every female is a superhero but if she wanted her video to reflect a woman's struggle why not make it realistic? This plays like black Mary Poppins on mushrooms. What a bitter disappointment.

3/10

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Alicia Keys - Girl On Fire - Review

The R&B baton has been passed to Alicia Keys while Beyoncé works on her next game-changing masterpiece and she clearly means business. I thought buzz single "New Day" was a minor triumph but "Girl On Fire" is some next level shit. Released in three different formats (pared-back ballad, mid-tempo pop song and urban radio-friendly club banger), the Jeff Bhasker/Salaam Remi-produced anthem should usher in another record-breaking era for Alicia. It's that good.

I was completely obsessed with AK's last album but it lacked a killer lead single like "Fallin'" or "No One". That situation has been remedied. "Girl On Fire" has drawn criticism for dumbing down Alicia's sound but I think that's ridiculous. Sure, the song is a calculated attempt to win back the kids. So what? The woman is 31 years old. She should be making commercial music. If the poor bitch came back with a power ballad, the same critics would be whinging about her churning out the same old thing.

What I love about "Girl On Fire" - apart from the goosebump-inducing vocal, flawless production and haunting chorus - is the fact that it lifts your generic urban-pop hit from the gutter and transforms it into art. Take the Inferno version (below). It sounds like a slick hip-hop revision "Empire State Of Mind (Part 2)" and boasts the best rap Nicki Minaj has delivered since "Monster". Alicia's similarly titled album is now my most eagerly-awaited of 2012. Watch this explode.

10/10

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My Interview With Mya

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favourite turn-of-the-century urban-pop divas. Mya had a huge run in the early noughties with epic hits like "Case Of The Ex" (below), "Free" and her massive number one Moulin Rouge collaboration "Lady Marmalade". Sadly, she fell off the music radar almost as fast as she arrived. Devoted fans understood that she was stuck in label hell but most of us thought she had retired and currently knocking back cocktails on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. It was interesting to hear all the challenges the now 32-year-old faced and inspiring to learn that she's still on the grind with her heart set on a major label comeback. Read the entire interview over at Idolator. Now excuse me while I dust off Moodring and party like it's 2003.

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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 Tumblr, admitting that his first love was a man. It's only a slight exaggeration to say that the Odd Future collaborator's announcement shook the music world to its core. Which is kind of strange. Gay pop stars are everywhere these days - so why is Frank Ocean's decision to come out so important and newsworthy?

With all due respect to the flag-flying gays doing their thing in the music business, the vast majority cater to relatively niche markets (Jónsi, Rufus Wainwright, RuPaul and Sam Sparro) or came out well into an already successful career (George Michael, Ricky Martin and Darren Hayes). Adam Lambert is the only gay singer of note to really wear his sexuality as a badge from the very beginning. But pop fans have always been comparatively gay-friendly and he had the most successful TV show in the world to help introduce him to the masses. Frank, on the other hand, works in a section of the music industry where it's still completely acceptable - and commonplace - to call someone a fag and drop homophobic remarks. The urban music scene celebrates hyper-masculinity with all that talk about bitches and hoes. Frank just turned the whole genre upside down and inside out. And he's not an unknown. The velvet-voiced crooner has been hailed as the next big thing. He won almost universal critical acclaim for his mixtape and has collaborated with hip hop heavyweights like Kanye West, Jay Z and Beyoncé.

This is a man that sang about fucking his girl long and good on "Novacane" - so it's no surprise that his coming out has been a complete mind fuck for some fans. And yet, the overwhelming response has been positive. Artists like Rita Ora, Trina and Tyler, The Creator praised his honesty, most haters shrugged off the news after a couple of days and a herd of curious gays jumped on iTunes to check out his amazing music (I suggest starting with "Swim Good" - below - or the epic 10 minute triumph "Pyramids"). Beyoncé even penned a tribute to him on her website. The response gives me hope that the world is actually changing. Frank's bravery has inspired me more than I ever imagined and I'm more excited than ever to hear Channel Orange. If it's half as good as the buzz singles, we're in for one of the best albums of 2012.

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Alicia Keys Drops B'Day-Inspired Club Banger

Working with Beyoncé on "Put It In A Love Song" obviously rubbed off on Alicia Keys because her new single sounds like a cut from Queen B's game-changing B'Day album. I know that sounds like shade but it's not. I love the upbeat, percussion-heavy R&B sound that Bey's 2006 opus introduced to the masses and "New Day" (below) is one of the best songs to derive inspiration from that sound. Produced by AK's husband Swizz Beatz, the slick club-banger represents a radical change of pace from the gentle Element Of Freedom era. Alicia pulls off the transformation from soulful songstress to club doyenne effortlessly and tears up the vocal like only she can. I love the drum-heavy production and that chorus is a total grower. Give it a couple of listens and you'll be hooked! I'm almost disappointed that this isn't the lead single from the R&B icon's new album. If she has better tunes than this in the can, we're in for something really special.

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My New Obsession Is "My Car Pay (4 My Bitch)"

My new jam is called "My Car Pay (4 My Bitch)". Yes, I'm now officially one of those tragic white guys that drive around the suburbs blasting hood anthems in their cheap Korean vehicles. Fuck my life. If I had any shame, I'd be embarrassed but I don't and the infectious club-banger is the year's guiltiest pleasure. In addition to stunning lyrics like "my car pay for my bitch, my bitch pay for my dick" and a backing track that I'm pretty sure I heard in Ibiza in the early noughties, the video remakes Michael Jackson's "Thriller". So who is this modern poet? Genasis is a G Unit rapper - 50 Cent's crew - and he clearly has a sense of humour. Or perhaps he is just completely delusional. Either way, this is a lot of fun and I'm completely obsessed.

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Serena Williams Is The New Nicki Minaj

Poor Onika. Her reign as the hottest hoe in the rap game is over before it started. It was inevitable with more talented divas like Azealia Banks on the horizon but I'm guessing noone expected Serena Williams to be the bitch that snatched her crown. But that's exactly what happened yesterday when the tennis star dropped her first hood anthem. The as-yet-untitled future classic is the hottest of hot messes but I love her stunning rhymes. Serena's flow is heavier than Janet's first day period with epic lyrics like "on the court I serve them up, no subpoena" and "I cook the track up like a frozen pizza". Iggy Azalea is locked in a room somewhere taking notes. There isn't a lot of information about the athlete's budding music career but I need this to happen. Listen to the hottest urban jam of the year below.

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The Day R&B Died - Brian McKnight Releases "If Ur Ready 2 Learn (How Ur Pussy Works)"

Brian McKnight has one of the most celebrated voices in R&B. Not to mention a glittering career that stretches over three decades and reaped 16 Grammy nominations. Imagine my surprise when the soul superstar got on Twitter and declared he was recording a song called "If Ur Ready 2 Learn (How Ur Pussy Works)". What kind of fucked up alternate universe is he living in? This is the man that made school girls - and boys - around the world swoon with "Love Is" - his 1993 duet with Vanessa Williams from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack. What's next? Aretha Franklin dropping a club-banger called "Let Me Rim Ur Asshole"? The saddest part is Brian making a YouTube video (below) to explain this mess. R&B officially jumps the shark when he nonchalantly starts singing "let me show you how your pussy works because you didn't bring it to me first". Has it really come to this? I'm shaking my head so hard right now, I look like Katherine Hepburn.

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Elle Varner & My New Fave Urban Jam

When I'm not reveling in pop trash or stanning for some ancient hoe that hasn't had a hit since 1984, chances are I'm kicking back to some R&B. One of my current faves is Elle Varner. The talented 23-year-old has been making huge waves for about a year now with her smooth, retro-tinged sound. Her debut single "Only Wanna Give It To You" was a top 20 hit on urban radio and the follow-up is currently shooting up the same chart. I absolutely love "Refill". Elle's fun jam sounds like something a tipsy Alicia Keys would sing on karaoke night at the club. It's simple and understated but still quirky - I think I hear a fiddle - and I worship her crazy vocal delivery. The clip, which premiered last week, is a rather elaborate affair with an in-depth storyline about star-crossed lovers. Why didn't she jump off the bus? Good dick is hard to find! If this is an indication of what's to come on Perfectly Imperfect, her debut can't drop fast enough.

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Estelle Finally Has An Amazing Song

And it flopped like everything else she has ever released. Seriously, what is it with this poor bitch? With the exception of the Kanye West-assisted "American Boy", Estelle can't give her shit away. Usually that's because the diva's music is dire middle-of-the-road R&B but "Back To Love" is an absolute anthem. I fucking adore this song. The Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis-produced (he did Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie and Keri Hilson's amazing "All The Boys") gem covers unusual ground - lyrically and musically.

It's written from the perspective of someone that struggled through a break-up and finally got their groove back. Think of it as an unusually mature memo to an ex saying hey, I'm alright. The production is a breath of fresh air too. I love that it's upbeat and extremely catchy without sounding like a Taio Cruz demo. If only Estelle pursued this kind of material more often she wouldn't be a one hit wonder. We all know she's talented but "All Of Me" is such an uneven bore. I like the next single ("Wonderful Life") but apart from that it's a cure for insomnia.

Anyway, none of that matters at the moment. Just check out her one great contribution to popular music below and get ready to fall in love.

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Mary J - Nice Song, Shame About The Video

I think I'm the only person that actually likes Mary J. Blige's new single. Feedback for "25/8" has been vicious but once you get past the cringeworthy title, it's a really good song. Not quite "Be Without You" or "I Am" but still a massive improvement on other "My Life II" cuts like "Someone To Love Me (Naked)" and "Mr Wrong". The R&B icon delivers vocally and the old school production is pitch perfect. So why did her label spend no money on the clip? Honestly, this makes "Love On Top" look like Avatar. Mary J. basically stands around in a series of unflattering outfits against what looks like a screensaver I had in the 90s. And then there's the saddest dance interlude of 2011. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the soulful diva started waving her hands around aimlessly, surrounded by a bunch of broke-down male dancers. The whole thing reminds me of Kelly Rowland's heinous "Commander" video but with less imagination and an even lower budget. This woman has notched up nine consecutive top 10 albums in the US. Her talent and stature demand so much better.

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Listen To Monica Or Die!

If there's one lesson to take from Monica's latest video, it's that you should always follow her advice or end up in a bodybag. The lead actress in "Until It's Gone" makes the mistake of ignoring the R&B diva's sage words and let's just say the poor bitch has one of dem days and then some. The clip is a bit melodramatic - my favourite part is when our ill-fated heroine sadly declares "Monica told me he would never change!" in a voiceover - but I love it. A good sob story never goes out of fashion and the concept gives a whole new meaning to the lyrics. "Until It's Gone" is the lead single from Monica's soon-to-be-released seventh studio album and it will probably be ignored outside America like everything else she has released since "Angel Of Mine" but the rich man's Brandy still does it for me. I love her voice, the fact that her hair hasn't changed since 1995 and her non-stop tweeting about Jesus. Watch in amazement as the wisest woman in R&B wipes the floor with your fave's wig. Don't take it personal.

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