Darkness can't get me to sleep yet

What's on my playlist at the moment?



Alex Gaudino, "I'm In Love (I Wanna Do It)" (as featured on Xenomania News and Popjustice)
An uplifting pop-dance track with an instrumental from Italian dance producer Alex Gaudino, topline from former Xenomania member Tim Powell, and vocals from young American singer and former Xenomania development project Maxine, "I'm In Love (I Wanna Do It)" soars straight into summer anthem status.



Sky Ferreira, "Obsession"
Previously recorded but unreleased by Adam Lambert, the Ryan Tedder-penned "Obsession" is Sky's American debut single. In contrast to the pure electro-pop sound of her UK debut, "One," "Obsession" is an electro-glam shoutalong which finds a throaty-sounding Sky demanding her love interest's full attention. The middle eight's "ain't nothing wrong with OCD/long as it's for me, long as it's for me" might be the earworm that burrows itself furthest into your brain, but the hooks elsewhere do a more than adequate job.



Usher feat. Jay-Z, "Hot Tottie"
It feels like cheating on Max Martin to confess that the song from Usher's new Versus EP that has drawn most of my attention is the Ester Dean-penned "Hot Tottie," but the vaguely exotic-sounding electro-hip-hop come-on is my favorite thing Usher has done since Confessions (unless you count the "pow pow pow" line in "OMG").



Sirens, "Stilletos" (as featured on Don't Stop The Pop)
Though they've been around since 2003, the new single "Stilettos" is the first time I've paid attention to thus far hit-free British girl group Sirens. The synths here surround you in a perfect mix of gentle and sharp, but I'm at a loss to explain why this song works just so well for me--suffice to say, it does.



Katy B, "Louder" (as featured on Karinski)
British singer Katy's current single "Katy On A Mission" may be riding high in the UK midweeks at the moment, but it's "Louder," a late-night dubstep track, that I prefer.



One Night Only, "Say You Don't Want It" (as featured on #1 Hits From Another Planet)
Pop-rock with a big singalong chorus and hints of electro influence? Yes please.



Armin van Buuren vs. Sophie Elllis-Bextor, "Not Giving Up On Love"
The collaboration between Dutch trance producer Armin and British singer Sophie is another song channeling that late summer feel, mixing uplift and melancholy, but can you ever really have enough songs in that vein? Not when they shimmer like this one.

Need a second to breathe

If I'm remembering what I read correctly and if what I read was correct in the first place, "Whataya Want From Me," a song on Adam Lambert's upcoming album For Your Entertainment that was written by Max Martin, Shellback, and Pink, was originally scheduled to appear on Pink's Funhouse album--well, that much we know for sure. The rumor I read, though, was that the song was written about a relationship Pink had when she and her husband Carey Hart were separated and headed for a divorce. When she began to reconcile with Carey, Pink removed the song, then called "What Do You Want From Me," from the album at the last minute.

I'm not sure that the timeline for this story quite works out--Funhouse came out in October 2008 and I don't know of any Pink-Carey reunion stories that broke before January 2009 (though if you were trying to fix a rocky relationship, you certainly wouldn't be publicizing it early on in the process)--but I could imagine it being the case given the narrative of "Whataya Want From Me." As emotional context, that story works, but whether the song was written about another man, Carey, or from a theoretical perspective based on what Max thought would make for a good song doesn't matter in the end. Whatever the inspiration, "Whataya Want From Me" succeeds in being one of the most heart-tugging radio-ready pop songs I've heard this year, better than all the Max collaborations that did make it onto Funhouse besides "It's All Your Fault" (which "Whataya Want From Me" bears a bit of a resemblance to).

Is it wrong to call the sound of someone going through emotional turmoil musically delicious? That's what this song is for me, both lyrically and instrumentally a mix of hope and sadness that makes for emotional complication I can't get enough of. The sparse verses, with their crestfallen guitar riff (yes, a guitar riff can be crestfallen), set the mood, but it's in the gorgeous gently pop-rock chorus that the song really shines, with a melody that shows Max at his songwriting best. The subject matter--essentially "I'm really messed up right now, but please don't let that scare you off because I'm trying and I think we can make this work if you're willing to take it slow"--isn't incredibly uncommon, but thanks to some strong songwriting from all parties involved, "Whataya Want From Me" ends up being compelling, making "what do you want from me?" both a nervous query as to whether the narrator is setting him/herself up to get hurt again and a plea to understand what it will take to get his/her partner to stay. It's all the messed-up emotions of trying to form a relationship after a tough breakup balled into one beautiful little midtempo package.

Since "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Just Like A Pill" (both co-written and produced by Dallas Austin), Pink has shown herself to perhaps be the American singer best capable of portraying the darker, complicated side of the emotional spectrum in perfect for radio but also emotionally affecting midtempo songs. That's in large part due to that just-raspy-enough voice of hers, but time has shown her to either be a great songwriter in her own right or a seriously fantastic muse for great songwriters. "Whataya Want From Me" would have been an excellent addition to the Pink canon, but Adam does it justice, might even make it better with a voice that tends to pierce through the musical background instead of get fuzzy around the edges to meld in with it. Maybe it's just the novelty of hearing his voice on one of these songs, but for me it feels as if he manages to get away with the repetitive nature of the second half of the chorus a little better than Pink might have. Pure speculation, though.

Anyway, the point: "Whataya Want From Me" is one of those songs that had me singing along at first listen and also never fails to make me feel something, even if what I'm feeling isn't perfectly clear cut. There's a certain kind of glory that can come from a pop song with a bit of pace to it and this pop-friendly a chorus forcing you to muck about in those kind of emotions, even if it is a simple kind of complexity, that comes when a song resonates musically and emotionally and those resonances enhance each other...and "Whataya Want From Me" has it.

Preorder Adam Lambert's debut album, For Your Entertainment, here (physical).


I couldn't properly work it into the post, but I needed to mention that the first verse can seem a little weak lyrically but the second verse makes up for it. "It's me...I'm a freak" may not translate to amazing on the screen, but sung, it never fails to get me.

Take you away from here

I've fallen into a bad habit recently of starting these long, involved posts and then never finishing them, leaving them lost in the cobweb filled word of "Drafts" for who knows how long, and then rushing out a quick one or two sentence description of each song I'm loving at the moment (though strangely my last rambly long post got finished in one sitting). It's certainly not for lack of good music to write about--it's more a matter of songs that I love so much that I really want to do them justice or multi-part issues or explorations of subjects that cry out for a little more effort and my seeming ADDish inability to finish them.

I'll try to hit that middle ground sweet spot more often, though, because I need an outlet to talk about how much I'm enjoying Martin Stenmarck's new album, how excited I am about the new Adam Lambert album (I have apparently listened to each of the 30 second clips--well, except "Time For Miracles"--fourteen times on my iPod alone), how lovely the Sugababes' "Wait For You" is, how much bounce Anna Abreu's "Music Everywhere" puts in my step, or how hard I fell for Blake Lewis's "Left My Baby For You" (I've said before how much I love "Heartbreak On Vinyl," and that still holds true as well).

In the meantime, there are a couple of projects based around the end of the decade that are worth your reading time: Chart Rigger's 40 best pop songs of the '00s and XO's year-by-year review of the '00s. It's really easy to get caught up in the excitement of now and songs that you instantly love are a hugely important part of pop; having spent all Friday a week ago with that adrenaline rush you get from loving, really loving a new song, I'm certainly not going to knock the appeal of the here-and-now. A bit of distance, though, can sometimes make for a better, more insightful read and can take you back to some pretty special songs (and memories, even if the songs no longer hold the power for you now that they did then).

Hold on just for a while

A few notes on artist and songwriter-related subjects:

Martin Stenmarck's upcoming album, I Septemberland, features five songs from the team at Swedish music publishing and production company TEN (A*Teens, Amy Diamond, Erik Hassle). In this case, though, the songs don't seem to be by the Tysper/Grizzly/Mack team (who in addition to the aforementioned successes have also been the creators of Industry's "My Baby's Waiting" and VV Brown's "Shark In The Water") but rather by Elof Loelv and Kim Wennerström, who also worked with Erik Hassle and produced Malena Ernman's "La Voix." Kim is also a member of the band DYNO and Elof has worked with them (if you're not already a fan, now's the time to fall in love with them; they're overdue a post here, but in the meantime, check out coverage on #1 Hits From Another Planet and Don't Stop The Pop), who are now under TEN's wings. Anyway, I wouldn't expect a change in Martin's style, but hopefully this is a good sign in terms of quality meeting accessibility. The song titles TEN is involved with are:

I Septemberland
Gråa Hjärtans Sång
Happy Ending
Jag Vill, Jag Vill, Jag Vill
J, Jeff och Jesus

Kris Allen apparently wrote some songs with Eg White (Will Young's "Leave Right Now," "Who Am I," "Let It Go," "I Won't Give Up," "Tell Me The Worst," James Morrison's "You Give Me Something," Adele) for his upcoming debut major label album. The tracklisting isn't finalized yet, so it's uncertain which if any will make the cut.

(Side note: the first tastes of Adam Lambert's new music is out, but it's a non-album power ballad, "Time For Miracles," for the 2012 soundtrack and is apparently not indicative of the sound of the album. Oh, and Dr. Luke recently mentioned he was adding retro synths to a song for Adam--I'm hoping he means Van Halen's "Jump"-style synths.)

Bosson released a greatest hits collection this past summer. Did anyone else not know that? A quick glance at the tracklisting doesn't show any new songs beyond a version of "One In A Million" featuring Elizma Theron. I hope he releases new material soon...and that it's more like his older songs, not like "Wake Up." He's friends with Twentyfive Productions (Lisette Vares, Danny's "I Need To Know") on MySpace, which could mean they just produced the new version of "One In A Million" or he's working on them with new stuff.

As Paul of Fizzy Pop and PopMuse have written, the video for Will Young's new single, "Hopes & Fears," is out. It's a great song, one of those gentle mid/up-tempo hybrids that just makes you feel better about the day.

Seven of the songs on Magnus Carlsson's upcoming album Pop Galaxy are by Pitchline (Velvet's "Take My Body Close" and "Come Into The Night" and a song with Elin Lanto that I still hope to hear some day--speaking of which, Scandipop has great Elin news about a new single and possible participation in a certain music festival).

Kleerup, Natasha Bedingfield, and newcomer Jonas Myrin (you might know him best as the male mannequin in Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Get Over You" video) all worked on a song together--presumably for Natasha. It was such a surprising combination that I had to mention it.

James Morrison has a new single, "Get To You," coming out to promote the rerelease of his second album, Songs For You, Truths For Me. It's produced by Mark Taylor, the same man who produced "Broken Strings," his excellent duet with Nelly Furtado, as well as many, many other songs. It's not quite as great as that earlier single, but it's good.

Nanne's great recent single "Otacksamhet" was co-written and co-produced by '80s Swedish popstar Paul Rein. Given how much I ADORE the Epicentre-penned "Kom Hit," on which Nanne duets with Paul, I'm thinking they should collaborate more often.

I'm sure all the hardcore Agnes fans already knew this, but half of Agnes's demo version of "Say Love," the song which eventually ended up being released by Sandra, is streaming in the music section of the website of the song's cowriters, Epicentre's Anders Wikström and Fredrik Thomander.

I just wanted to hold you in my arms

On the one hand, I'm thrilled that Adam Lambert is getting to work with a plethora of big-name songwriters; I hope that adds up to top-quality material, a to-die-for mix of pop, electro, dance, and rock that still feels like Adam and no one else. On the other hand...



I hope his debut album has time for a song like his cover of Muse's "Starlight." At the risk of sounding too pretentious, there's a clarity and beauty to it--a magic to it, as there is a magic to the original track--that his debut album (due out November 24) would do well to remember.

So leaving me behind was your first step

I LOVE the final single version of Frankmusik's "Confusion Girl." It's the perfect balance between Vince's quirkier side and the more mainstream intermediate version of the song we heard, with an end result of a fully charming pop song that's the best version of this track we've heard. The single is out July 12 in the UK.



On the Frankmusik front, a new song, "Dancing In The Dark," is streaming on his MySpace, along with previews of the remix version of Vince's album.

The lead single from Ola's new album is called "Sky's The Limit" and will be premiered via a performance on June 22 and released that same day, I think. It's written by KeiOne, Json, and Ola, which does make me a bit nervous--that could mean it's a step closer towards R&B, while I tend to prefer Ola as a vehicle for the pure pop songs of Tony Nilsson and Bassflow. Still, ideally it could mean Ola releasing something that stirs up more excitement about him (though in terms of chart success pop seems a surer bet than pop-&B in Sweden); plus, he's definitely spent time with Tony and Peter "Bassflow" Boström, so maybe we could get a great mix. I do love Adam Tensta's "80s Baby," KeiOne-produced hip-hop meets pop with just the right combination of hardness and breeziness; I'm just worried about how Ola's voice will match with this sort of music as well as quality overall.

Speaking of Peter Boström, he's just done a remix--or, as it's more accurately being called, a remake--of Mando Diao's "Gloria." I'm not going to put it up there with his best work on, say, Martin Stenmarck's singles, but listen to it 20 minutes into the 10-10:30 block here.

Since the sporadic nature of my recent posts meant I never did a fully rundown on the American Idol finale, I'd like to add that I am happy for Kris, not angry with the result (and hoping I'll end up wanting to buy his album--no one's going to agree with me and it's probably best for his commercial viability that he doesn't, but I'd love him to be singing songs like Ryan Cabrera's best work), but I stand by my earlier comment that I'm "hoping Adam ends up being the best popstar America has" (maybe you could qualify that with "male popstar," given the real lack of competition on that front--I'm not talking just about music, though obviously that's important, but all-out exciting popstarness--but even that caveat is probably unneccesary) "Kiss & Tell," which #1 Hits From Another Planet posted a few months ago, still gets frequent plays from me--I want Adam to make the glam rock which suits him so perfectly and which the U.S. could really use a dose of, but I also want him continuing down an electro-pop route like that of this old demo song, too.

With every step it's harder to believe

(Eurovision post coming soon!)

Thanks to Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Allison Iraheta, I've felt more invested in this season of American Idol than last year. Still, if you gave me a choice between the Cathy Dennis co-written winner's song, "No Boundaries," on sale on iTunes in its studio version by the two finalists on May 22 (and also co-written by Kara DioGuardi)...

...and Heidi Montag's "Blackout," also a Cathy Dennis co-write, available on iTunes as of today...



there's no contest as to which I'd rather listen to. I actually like last year's song, but Cathy and Kara, I know there were probably certain parameters you were given, but really?

Of course, if neither of those are to your liking, you could go with several songs from Glee, Fox's new comedy which debuted after Idol but won't continue until this fall. If you've ever wanted to hear glee club versions of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (the female lead on this debuted the main female role in Spring Awakening)...



(that video will only play for Americans, I think, but you can hear parts of the song and see parts of the scene in the trailer; obviously, spoiler alert for anyone planning on watching the show)

...or Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" (sung in peppy upbeat style by the rivals earlier in the show)...



(ditto on only being accessible to Americans)

you're in luck.