The Sexxy Artist of Keeley Hazell

Keeley Hazell Profile :
Full Name : Keeley Rebecca Hazell
Birth of Date: 18 September 1986
Place od Date : Lewisham, London, England
Career: Singing, Modelling, Actress

Keeley Hazell Sexy Photo.....

Eva Mendez : Hollywood Artist

Eva Mendez Profile :
Full Name : Eva Mendes
Birth of Date :March 5, 1974
Place of Date : Miami, Florida, United States
Occupation : Actress

Eva Mendez sexy Photo....

It's my time tonight, it's my time, it's my time, my moment, I'm not gonna let go of it, my time, it's my time, and I'll stand proud

Yes! Well done, Finland.



I've endorsed "Lose Control" by Waldo's People before, and have been strongly behind this whole comeback of theirs since the first time I heard "Back Again"--it's as if they've taken my favorite of their old songs, "1000 Ways," as the jumping off point for their new and even poppier material. If Alcazar were Eurodance with guitar riffs, "1000 Ways" is what I always thought they'd sound like, and the reincarnated Waldo's People is living up to that. "Lose Control" is great dance-pop, like the '90's style but with the production values of today.



It wasn't Finland's national final I chose to watch, though (well, I couldn't--the video web stream only worked for people in Finland)--that was Denmark's final, which was generally a pretty enjoyable show. When did Denmark's final become such a...disco? The winning song, Brinck's "Believe Again," was co-written by Ronan Keating and sounds like it, but the number of up-tempo schlager, '80's pop, and electronic pop songs was so refreshing. Most of the talk will be about Hera Björk's "Someday," a classy schlager song well-written by some true Eurovision fans and well sung by Hera; it came close to winning, making it through all the various rounds until the final one, where "Believe Again" forced it into second place. If I'm being picky, the ballad opening of the song lasts a bit long for my personal taste, but it's a real shame "Someday" didn't win--a great schlager song like that would've been very welcome at Eurovision, at least for me. Still, second is a great achievement, something she and the writers should be proud of. Watch out for the "sorrow! There has been sorrow!" bit and the key change, complete with (of course!) pyrotechnics. If you're a schlager lover, just try not to go into meltdown.



I wonder if I'm alone, though, in feeling that girl group Sukkerchok's song "Det' Det" impressed me a lot more live than I was expecting it to. In its studio version, a lot of its light '80's melodic loveliness is lost, but on stage the song came alive musically in a way I never expected it to (I think the guitars must have been further back in the live mix, allowing the synths and vocal melody to stand out more, but that's not the only reason). It starts off like it's going to be "Hot N Cold" part two, but then completely changes up for the chorus. I was glad to see them make it through to the second stage of the competition (where they faced off against "Someday" and lost)--it was one of those experiences where you can feel yourself falling in total love with the song and the group as they go, and even the ill-advised hip-hop styling of one member couldn't stop that.



Trine Jepsen's schlager "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" was great, too, but something about the staging felt underwhelming. The song will still get play from me, though. In fact, for almost all of the Danish songs, there was something positive I felt I took away from the experience.

I chose to watch the Denmark final over Norway's second semifinal, so I still haven't caught up on that yet (I would have if the stream over at NRK wasn't mysteriously missing audio when I try to play the archived show).



Romania chose a harmless catchy danceable pop track, Elena Gheorge's "Balkan Girls," as its entry. There's not much more to say about it at this point in time--it could be disposable with time or its catchiness could give it a bit more enduring power (right now I'm definitely leaning towards the former). I've never thought of Romania as part of the Balkans, though.

Meanwhile, while three countries were choosing tracks that at least have some redeeming value to them, the UK was presented with this...



...with "this" being Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren making what sounds like the worst Idol winner's song ever. Granted, Eurovision songs aren't known for lyrical complexity and love some repetition, but put that (lack of) melody and those words together and the first half of that chorus is just intolerable. You all can keep Jade, that's fine, but is it really too late to swap out the song?

Jodie Foster The Best Actress

Jodie Foster Profile :
Full Name : Alicia Christian Foster
Date of Birth :19 November 1962
Placa of Birth : Los Angeles, California, USA

Career and Biography :
Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years, she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series "Mayberry R.F.D." (1968), on which her brother, Buddy Foster, was a regular. In 1975, Jodie was offered the role of the prostitute Iris in the movie Taxi Driver (1976). This role, for which she received an Academy Award nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category, marked a breakthrough in her career. In 1980, she graduated as the best of her class from the College Lycée Français and began to study English Literature at Yale University, from where she graduated magna cum laude in 1985. One tragic moment in her life was March 30th, 1981 when John Hinckley attempted to assassinate the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Hinkley was obsessed with Jodie and the movie Taxi Driver (1976), in which Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, tried to shoot presidential candidate, Palantine. Despite the fact that Jodie never took acting lessons, she received two Oscars before she was thirty years of age. She received her first award for her part as Sarah Tobias in The Accused (1988) and the second one for her performance as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991.
Have a fun......

Keira Knightley : Hot Artist

Keira Knightley Prrofile :
Full Name : Keira Christina Knightley
Birth of Date : 26 March 1985
Placeof Date : Teddington, London, UK
Career: Actress
Award :
2006 : People's Choice Award - Favorite Female Action Star
2007 : Empire Award for Best Actress

Keira Knightley Photo Picture....

Cameron Diaz : The Artist's Rich List

Cameron Diaz is pupular artist in the world. Hisfullnameis Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. In August 2008, Forbes Magazine listed Diaz as the highest paid actress in Hollywood. She reportedly earned $50 million in the period of a year ending June 2008. She has the artist's rich list.

My heart is achin' and I can't breathe, my soul's breakin', minus 31 degrees

This post is a fragment of something that's been sitting as a draft for nearly two months. Don't let that be an indication of this song losing its impact quickly, though--if anything, it's only become more powerful for me with time.


"Froze" is the latest Chris Brown demo to leak, and it's an excellent one. A ballad, synth-created icy sadness is its aura, with Chris singing about a broken heart. Almost epic and with a chorus I adore in every aspect--its lyrics, the half-processed and half-giant (aided by some layering) sound of Chris's vocals, the whispered backing vocals underneath, the simple melody of Chris's vocal melody (especially the whole "my heart is achin'" section) and the melody of those backing vocals--and a bridge that's fantastic as well. The subdued guitar and the harp-like ripples are just what the song needed to finish it off. If you could float in the middle of an ice cave, this song is what that experience would sound like. If it was ever a single, I'm picturing something like Usher's "Moving Mountains" or the reverse of Grégory Lemarchal's "Le feur sur les planches" for the video...or maybe a reversed version of Ferry Corsten's "Fire," only with, um, no woman in a bikini. Do it right and you could get something that sticks with you as much as the end of Najoua Belyzel's video for "Gabriel." Of course, if "Moving Mountains" wasn't a successful single, I don't know that "Froze" ever will be, but I'm completely captivated by it at the moment.

There's nowhere you can purchase "Froze" yet, but you can buy Chris's latest album, Exclusive: The Forever Edition, here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: maybe something about Eurovision national finals.

Money just can't buy you love

Vitally important information: the new Måns Zelmerlöw album comes out on March 25.

(Information credit to QX, which has some other interesting information about participants and albums; photo (c) Peter Knutson, also in QX.)

He's the main writer for the songs, worked with Fredrik Kempe and Eshraque "Ishi" Mughal (who's worked with Swedish rappers Lazee and Petter), and describes the sound as kind of like schlager-R&B, big choruses with a good beat.

Don't panic at the R&B part, everyone. It'll probably all be fine. I mean, even if rap's not your thing, just listen to the beats behind the songs Lazee's written or produced; some sharp crisp electro-R&B like that would absolutely be an interesting thing for Måns to be playing with. It's not Ishi's first working with a pop artist either--he did Darin's "Everything I'm Not."

Måns mentioned earlier on that he'd done another track with Kempe he considered submitting to Melodifestivalen, a giant ballad with a French march beat, so I expect that's on the album, too.

He's already done a photoshoot for the album and single, though I don't know whether it's guaranteed that shots from it will be used for both or either or in what capacity. It involved him in various sorts of semi-formal (button up shirt, button up shirt with tie) to formal (tuxedo) dress and lots of smoke (the photo in this post, though, is, as I said, from QX).

As with the past two years, I'm planning on doing a preview/run-down of each week's semifinal the Sunday beforehand, so that'll be starting...this Sunday! Wow, can it really be almost here already?

Speaking of releases, the cover art for a couple of the singles is out now--I've only seen BWO and Rigo's, but there may be more.

What do you wear when you need to impress?

The West End Girls' version of "A Little Black Dress" can be streamed here (if a song doesn't start to play, click the green button).

Proper post in a little bit!

Hot Artist Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra the ful name is Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), She is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, dancer, entertainer and sex symbol. She gained fame for her appearances in Playboy magazine, on the MTV game show Singled Out, on the TV series Baywatch and Summerland, for her appearances dancing with the Pussycat Dolls, and has since become recognizable for her roles in the parody films Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Disaster Movie. Patrick started her professional career in 1990 as a dancer at Kings Island theme park in Mason, Ohio in the show "It’s Magic", one of more popular shows in the park's history.
She moved to California in 1994, where she met Prince while auditioning for an all-girl rap group. Prince persuaded her to change her name to Carmen Electra and instead record a solo album. Soon after, she signed a recording contract with Prince's company Paisley Park Records, marking the start of a short-lived singing career.
Read More in Wikipedia...

Tyra Banks The Sexy Actress

Mini Biography of Tyra Banks :
Tyra Banks sh full name is Tyra Lynne Banks. She was born December 4, 1973, she is an American model, talk show host, actress, singer and businessperson.[3][4][5] She first became famous as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough. Banks is the creator and host of the reality television show America's Next Top Model and is co-creater of True Beauty. She also hosts her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.

Sexy Artist : Scarlett Johansson Profile and Photo

Scarlett Johansson Profile :

Scarlett Johansson she was born on 22 November 1984 in New York City to Melanie Sloan (of Polish descent) and Karsten Johansson (of Danish descent). Scarlett showed a passion for acting at a young age and starred in many plays. She has a sister named Vanessa Johansson, a brother named Adrian, and a twin brother named Hunter Johansson born three minutes after her.
Johansson's performance as Grace in The Horse Whisperer (1998) earned her a Hollywood Reporter Young Star award. And previously her Manny & Lo (1996) role received a nod by the Independent Spirit Awards. Scarlett has an older brother and sister and a twin brother. She divides her time between New York with her dad, and Los Angeles with her mother. Her acting career was launched in the off-Broadway production of 'Sophistry' with Ethan Hawke

Jessica Simpson : The Sexy Artist Photo

Jessica Simpson Th sexy artist photo.....

Jessica Simpson was born in Dallas, Texas, USA, 10 July 1980. Jessica has proven she is a rare talent with an ability to capture the hearts and minds of fans around the globe. Whether it be music or film, it is evident that she has a long career ahead of her as she continues to change and grow as an artis

So we'll be grownups for a minute and admit that we're just not in it

One more "rising artist I was introduced to by another writer" post, and once again, one I've mentioned in brief before: Pixie, a young British singer who I first heard about when Trixie of Karinski.net posted about her. Her launch is still being prepared for this year, but in the meantime, we've got several songs on her MySpace to entertain us.

"The Fall" is my slight favorite of the group and evidence that in Pixie we may have a new source of quintessential British pop...even if it does take Danes behind the scenes. Written by Jonas Jeberg, Mich "Cutfather" Hansen, Ruth-Anne Cunningham, and Pixie, it's playful pure pop--and by that I don't mean '90's sounding pop, electro-pop, '60's styled pop, or anything other than just pop--that skips along, cute as can be, while Pixie sings some pretty good lyrics about the end of a relationship. I've been humming "turn it up, turn it up for the people that say/we're movin' on and we'll be OK" since first hearing it.

"Boys And Girls" and "Mama Do" have a little bit more of that '60's influence, but it's been diluted; even if it hadn't been, though, Pixie's clear voice, even when she tries to deepen and fuzz it up here, gives the songs a decidedly more contemporary pop flavor. "Boys And Girls" is another catchy mid-to-up-tempo song, while "Mama Do," written by Phil Thornally and Mads Hauge, goes for a more dramatic mid-tempo approach, full of elongated words and "oh oh oh"s, and is the song where that '60's style is most played up; if Pixie's other songs are a bit too youthful for you, "Mama Do" is still one to check out--it's the one you can most imagine one of the female neo-'60's soul British singers performing and requires her to do smoky sass rather than pep.

All in all, they add up to a mainstream friendly sound, one which, with luck, the label backing that's apparently there, and the songs from the great songwriters she's working with* will see Pixie doing well for herself before the year is out. Hopefully the album is the great solid pop album it could be.

*Some of these songwriters are (though obviously not all of them will end up on the album):
-The Underdogs (Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown's "No Air," Stacie Orrico's "More To Life")
-Tim James and Antonina Armato (Hoku's "Another Dumbe Blonde," Aly & AJ's "Potential Breakup Song," Miley Cyrus's "See You Again" and "Fly On The Wall")
-Cutfather and Jonas Jeberg (where to begin? Separately or together, The Saturdays' "If This Is Love," Jordin Sparks's "One Step At A Time," Christine Milton's "Superstar," and many more)
-Brian Kennedy (Chris Brown's "Forever," Rihanna's "Disturbia," Jennifer Hudson's "If This Isn't Love," Jesse McCartney's "It's Over")
-Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen's new album, Kylie Minogue's "Wow," All Saints' "Rock Steady," Britney Spears's "Rock Me In," Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Catch You")
-RedOne (Darin's "Step Up," Lady GaGa's "Just Dance," and--well, you all know him by now)
-Steve Kipner (Christina Aguilera's "Genie In A Bottle," 98 Degrees' "The Hardest Thing," The Script's "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" and "Breakeven," and, umm, Natasha Bedingfield's "I Wanna Have Your Babies")
-Toby Gad (Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" and Beyoncé's "If I Were A Boy" [ugh], but much better includes Sita's "Happy" and the Veronicas' "Untouched")
-Arnthor Birgisson (I think--Pixie referred to an "Anthor" once and my guess is she meant Arnthor Birgisson, another "where to begin?" writer; Samantha Mumba's "Gotta Tell You," Shayne Ward's "If That's OK With You," Jennifer Lopez's "Play")
-Evan "Kidd" Bogart (Rihanna's "S.O.S.",Heidi Montag's "Body Language," Blake Lewis's "Surrender," Brandy's "Right Here (Departed), Sean Kingston's "Take You There")
-Karen Poole (and another "where to begin?"; Jamelia's "Beware Of The Dog," Kylie's "Wow," Will Young's "Switch It On" and "Let It Go," Groove Armada's "Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)")
-Stuart Chrichton and Tommy Lee (Jamelia's "Beware Of The Dog," D-Side's "Pushin' Me Out" [just Chrichton], DJ Ella's "Shine Like A Superstar," Delta's "In This Life")
-Kara DioGuardi (too much to mention--Hilary Duff's "Come Clean," Kylie's "Spinning Around," Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away," Paris Hilton's "Screwed," Enrique Iglesias's "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off The Lights," loads of Ashlee Simpson songs are just a few)
-Phil Thornally and Mads Hauge (done-by-many-people-but-eventually Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn")
-Teddy Riley (of New Jack Swing and Blackstreet fame)

It's no exaggeration to say that's an impressive line-up; she's obviously a big project and priority for her label.

There's nowhere to buy Pixie's songs yet, but you can visit her MySpace here.

Next up: that German song, maybe, or a British b-side that's a few years old.

This Gameboy's off to a level higher

I know Swedish singer and former member of Play Rosanna's had some buzz around her already--in fact, it was Don't Stop The Pop writing about her new material that introduced me to it--but I can't help taking the opportunity to shine the spotlight on her as well. As I mentioned a little while back, I'm probably going to end up writing about her work with Kocky, too, but in the meantime, let's focus on her own material. Rosanna may have grown up from her time in Play, but she still has a partly girlish voice. That's not a bad thing, though; it brings a playfulness to her music. Put that voice over some really well done poppy electronic backings, and you've got a great recipe. Use that recipe to make a whole album and...well, you'd have a pretty welcome solo debut on the music scene.

Gameboy is (as of right now) my favorite of her solo material, but that may be just because it's the poppiest of the songs we've heard so far from her. With all the cute beats bubbling up out of that musical backing, you might expect the lyrics to be just as lighthearted, and in a way, they are, as the title gives away; on the other hand, the device of the title is just the center of the song's key double simile, with Rosanna explaining to some poor girl, "He played you like a Gameboy, like a Gameboy/Couldn't find a better toy" and "He got what he wanted/Don't need no more." It never completely loses its sense of musical fun, though, even if the main verse-chorus structure is set aside less than three minutes into the song for a fade out with Rosanna quietly speak-singing lyrics that take a turn for the darker.

"Gameboy" isn't yet commercially available nor is there news of any sort of commercial solo release for Rosanna, but you can visit her MySpace here and buy her work on Kocky's latest album, Stadium Status, here (physical), here (digital), or internationally on iTunes here.

Next up: that male songwriter or a German female singer whose new song I've already mentioned on here.

Steven Seagel Biography

Steven Seagel Biography :
Steven F. Seagal (born April 10, 1952)is an American action movie actor, producer, writer, director, martial artist and singer-songwriter. He belongs to a generation of movie action hero actors (including Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme) who were featured in many of the Hollywood blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and 1990s.
A 6' 4" (193 cm) 7th-dan black belt in aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an aikido instructor in Japan. He became the first foreigner to operate an aikido dojo in Osaka, Japan. He later moved to the Los Angeles, California area where he made his film debut in 1988 in Above the Law. Since then, Seagal has become a well recognized action star, mainly due to his action films of the 1990s such as Under Siege (1992) and Under Siege 2 (1995) where he played Navy SEALs counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback. In total his movies have earned in excess of $850 million worldwide.
Seagal is also a recording artist and guitarist and the founder of Steven Seagal Enterprises. In addition to his professional achievements, he is also known as an environmentalist, an animal rights activist and, like other actors such as Richard Gere, is a supporter of Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama and the cause of Tibetan independence. Spiritualism and Buddhism play an important role in Seagal's life and he has been recognized by Tibetan lama Penor Rinpoche as a reincarnated Tulku. According to Seagal in a November 2006 interview: "I was born very different, clairvoyant and a healer".

Read More In Wikipedia..

You think our time apart is the problem, and I like you when you're not around

(Please do not post this song link elsewhere.)

A BIG thank you to every one who stuck around through my year end countdown. As a gift of gratitude, I'd like to offer up a brand new song straight out of the von der Burg studios. "Get It Out" is the debut single of the former Swedish Idol contestant Gathania who caught our ears with "Blackout" late last year (which isn't yet released). I quibbled with Alex last year when he asked why September-like songs were being given to artists other than September, who hasn't released brand new material since 2007 (which isn't that long ago, it's September, so I'm always wanting new material from her), mainly because Elin Lanto's "Discotheque" isn't from the people who always do September's music and she doesn't have the same management team as Petra, but "Get It Out" is from those same writers...and boy, is it September-like (second album September, I'd say). It doesn't have Petra's lovely voice on it, but given its music, it's easy to imagine her singing it.

Still, I guess if Petra is understandably distracted with promoting the reworked version of "Can't Get Over" in the UK (she's just filmed a music video for it), we wouldn't be getting new music from her for a little while, so another artist under the von der Burg wing--especially since Danny has moved on (you can imagine his voice on this, too, come to think of it)--is something I'll welcome; I've yet to feel like their output is suffering by spreading it around to some different artists. It's certainly not suffering on "Get It Out," which is, to be honest, fantastic and, at least a few listens in, addictive. Effortlessly catchy dance-pop but with that sophisticated Von der Burg edge--there's something almost haunting about the riff of the chorus and the song even flirts with the piano house style--it makes for what's got to be one of the year's best debut singles. When I heard that "Blackout" wasn't actually her first single, I was a little bit confused, but hearing "Get It Out," I think it makes perfect sense.

(Brief lyrical aside: in a song about finally arguing and both partners finally saying what's on their minds, "just let me fill your heart up with sorrow/'cause it's better than a rotten lie" is stuck in my mind.)

To buy "Get It Out," go here (physical); you should be able to buy it digitally within a few days here.

In other news, did anyone else not realize until now that apparently the West End Girls have a new single titled "A Little Black Dress" (which I think is a Pet Shop Boys track technically not released but available "out there" and done for that musical thing? Feel free to correct me or provide more information) coming out February 11?

Next up: more Swedish pop, either from another young woman or from a male songwriter.

#1 Metro Station, "Shake It"

Shake shake
Shake shake
uh-Shake it

I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that Metro Station came up with the chorus for "Shake It," got all excited, showed it to their label, and then were told, "Well, but you still need to write verses, too." One of the many great things about this faux-emo pop-rock-goes-electro single is that you can absolutely hear that, hear that this song was originally nothing more than a chorus, and yet the verses still manage to be more than filler. Of course, it's tough to come off as anything ther than filler when you're surrounded by that chorus, but the verses and bridge do admirably. Even more remarkable is that they manage to be so enjoyable while using every page in the pop-punk lyrical playbook. Quick, with the feeling of constantly pushing forwards towards something, they keep their hooks in a plentiful but repressed supply, never fully giving in to the temptation to let loose...

...until the song hits the chorus. Party anthem perfection of the undeniable sort, "Shake It" is the sort of song everyone knows they're not supposed to like, but ever time it comes on, the girls giggle and lean towards each other to confess how much they really love it and the guys put out their sternest faces so no sign of how much they actually like the song slips out. No other song this year was able to induce such instant exhilaration in me--even just thinking about the catchy chorus was enough to make me want to jump up and start jumping around, hands in the air, to the beat perfectly timed for doing just that. Neither was there any other single this year that I was always willing to play without hesitation, a fact even harder to believe because I've loved "Shake It" since its October 2007 appearance as an iTunes free download. None of its sheen has worn off for me and nothing--not the wannabe hipster but actually incredibly awkward styling of the group, not the "are they trying to be British?!" "accent" the lead singer puts on, not the fact that the group will probably never again produce anything even remotely approaching "Shake It"'s level of brilliance--can take away from the fact that Metro Station, having presumably sold their souls to the devil for the fun and catchiness embedded in "Shake It," managed to capture pop euphoria in a song.

As a matter of house-keeping, while we're on the subject of Metro Station, I'd also like to dig out an old draft of a post about Swedish pop-punk outfit Kid Down's 2008 single "I'll Do (It For You)"--which, as you'll see, I'm not recommending, but I had something to say about.

There are some really really awful lyrics in the verses and song-wise I don't think any element of it comes even close in quality to the chorus. In fact, the song never sounds more promising or more exciting than it does for the first 28 seconds. During the vocodered first fifteen seconds, in fact, you can even imagine Hellogoodbye or some dance project making the song. Those fifteen seconds easily transition into almost fifteen seconds of catchy upbeat pop-rock, more than good enough to get you thinking, "wow, maybe they actually are going to make a fantastic song!" Unfortunately, the first verse is OK but a little bit of a let down and the bits between choruses get progressively worse from there.

In practice, the song ends up playing out like a combination of Hellogoodbye and pre-'80's makeover Good Charlotte, but the pop-punk too often veers into the obnoxious end of pop-punk for me to endorse "I'll Do (It For You)." I'm therefore issuing a request: can someone please rescue those brilliant first 28 seconds (and subsequent choruses) from the rest of this song and use them to make something great? How about giving them to Metro Station and having them come up with some new verse melodies and lyrics? Or maybe even just new lyrics? Are Hellogoodbye looking for a new song opening? Or maybe there's some pop-rock group out there who'd sell the song better with their vocals.

Find it on: Metro Station

#2 Chris Brown, "Forever"

All you gotta do is watch me
Look what I can do with my feet

You know those annoying people who are always shouting "OH MY GOSH this is my song!" and then turn up the radio volume/knock everyone over on the way to the dance floor/bob along while shopping (chose as applicable) every time that song comes on?

Yeah, that's me with "Forever." I think everyone who knows me is sick of it, but I can't help myself--"Forever" is Chris Brown actually living up to his proper popstar potential, channeling the "aww, bless" reaction towards him that he had formerly used for mushy ballads into synth-coated pop music...and what a match it is. I don't know that I can say much more about him or it than I did back in April, so let me leave it here: "Forever" is perfect. The video, too.

Find it on: Exclusive: The Forever Edition

#3 Westlife, "Something Right"

I got nothing left to prove
And it's all because of you

(Yes, it got radio airplay in some countries in 2007 and I loved it then, but with no proper promotion of it, I decided not to count it as a single; in 2008, with a music video--which I'm choosing not to embed because it includes the inferior single mix--and single cover art released for it [and some consultation], it counts as an actual "single" according to my definition.)

Early into my time in Sweden, I found myself stuck on a bus miles and miles away from a very important place I was supposed to be at with absolutely no chance of making it there by the time I was supposed to. I was, to say the least, a bundle of nerves struggling to keep down the slowly rising panic.

I'd been in Sweden long enough at this point that, though the joy of hearing Swedish radio stations in the real world and not through headphones plugged into a computer was still present, it was no longer a novelty. Stuck in the middle of nowhere-near-where-I-was-supposed-to-be, I was barely even conscious of the fact that, as always, the bus had the radio playing, probably tuned to Rix FM or something like that.

Three minutes later, my heart had slowed to a normal level, a smile had crossed my face, and I was no longer clenching the handrail quite so tightly. I hadn't forgotten everything that had gone wrong, but it no longer seemed like such a big deal.

That's the power of "Something Right." This past year, I could count on no other song to make me feel like, even if everything wasn't right in the world, everything was survivable. As someone living in a country where Westlife have never made it big, I've always been free to cherrypick the good songs of theirs and avoid the ones I don't like, so consequently it's probably been easier for me to have a gently positive attitude towards their existence; if they've only averaged one song I return to over the past three albums, that's fine with me--no one else would have given me those three songs. "Something Right," a Swedish creation, is a mid-tempo boy band pop song, not edgy by any definition, and with a light percussion beat and piano part behind its perfect uplifting pop melody (avoid the single mix which strengthens the drums, though), but that in no way gets across the simple magic of this song. A better classic boy band sound from the past five years you'd be hard pressed to find.

Find it on: Back Home