New music videos from Pink and Vanessa

Pink's "So What" is an absolutely hilarious video, a true feast for the eyes. And it features her ex-hubby, for whom the song is about (sarcastic of cause)! Damn this girl rocks! Especially love the part when she's flashing in front of the paps haha. Watch it here (they won't let me embed the video argh!).

And Vanessa Amorosi has revealed the video for her new single "The Simple Things (Something Emotional)". A nice simple video which reflects the song perfectly, and she looks amazing.

P!nk's funhouse

Pink has revealed the title of her fifth album, and it's called "Funhouse"! The album hits stores in Australia on October 25, and the US on October 28.

The music video for the first single "So What" premiers this Friday, August 22nd. Reception to the single has been overwhelming positive. In the US, it is the #1 most added song at two radio formats (Pop and Adult Contemporary), and it's also the #1 greatest gainer at radio. In Australia, it's sitting comfortable at #1 on iTunes. Will "So What" become Pink's third Australian solo #1 since 2000's "Most Girls" and 2002's "Get The Party Started"?

Female stars gather for charity single

The likes of Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood are gathering together for the "Stand Up To Cancer" campaign, each contributing vocals to the single "Just Stand Up".

Produced by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid, the track will be available to download on iTunes from September 2nd. The singers will share the stage to perform the single on the "Stand Up To Cancer" television special, airing on September 5th simultaneously on ABC, NBC and CBS.

Madonna turns 50

The Queen of Pop is now half a century old! Happy Birthday Madonna!

Britney's back and looking AMAZING!

Here are the ads starring Britney Spears, promoting the 25th annual MTV Video Music Awards, and WOW, isn't she looking amazing?! You could be forgiven for thinking these clips were shot three years ago before Britney's private life turned into absolute hell. But it seems safe to say that the worst is finally behind her, and that her proper "comeback" will be a great joy to watch. Brit is currently working on her fifth studio album, the follow-up to last year's "Blackout" (which performed well considering it received virtually zero promotion from Britney who was still battling her inner demons).

It was at last year's VMAs that she stole the show (for all the wrong reasons), with her ironically now iconic, disastrous performance of "Gimme More". It makes me so genuinely happy to see Britney look the best she has in years, happy and relaxed. In years to come, hopefully people will look back on that troubled period of her life, and honor Britney as a TRUE survivor.

Keys down under

Soul diva Alicia Keys is coming to Australia in December for her first major tour in four years. It will include arena and winery shows. 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will be supporting Alicia at all shows. Tickets go on sale August 22.

December 10:
Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
December 12:
Sydney, Acer Arena
December 13:
Hunter Valley, Bimbadgen Estate
December 14:
Bowral, Centennial Vineyards
December 17:
Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
December 18:
Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
December 20:
Swan Valley, Sandalford Wines

This week 10 years ago: Australia's #1 single

There are some songs that remain absolutely timeless, and "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls is no exception. Taken from the phenomenally successful "City of Angels" soundtrack (which spent two weeks at #1 in Australia), the song became their biggest and most memorable hit worldwide.

It spent five consecutive weeks at #1 and a total of 33 weeks in the ARIA Top 50, and was accredited 2x platinum for sales of more than 140,000 copies. Unfortunately, the Goo Goo Dolls have remained "one hit wonders" in Australia, with further singles failing to make an impact on the charts. But you'll still here "Iris" on the radio every now and again.

Is Hilary "so yesterday"?

Times are tough for the Duffster. Her latest album "Dignity" (2007), which showcased a more mature Hilary moving into the electro-pop genre, scared off the kiddie fanbase who once bought her albums in the millions. As a result, Hollywood Records is pulling the plug on the former Lizzie McGuire star.

With current Disney golden girl Miley Cyrus taking the pre-teen world by storm with her Hannah Montana television series and subsequent music career, it appears Hilary has become what her signature tune suggests - so yesterday! What's worse is the fact Hollywood Records, without Hilary's support, have decided to release a "Best Of" compilation to cash-in on her greater-selling back catalogue, and to make up for the financial loss of "Dignity" (which struggled to shift 400,000 units in the US, and less than a million units worldwide).

Word is Hollywood Records wanted a brand new studio album out by the end of the year, but as Hilary refused to be rushed, this new compilation is the solution to complete her 6 album deal. What's so ridiculous about this release is not only Hilary's lack of notable hits (and I use that term "hits" very lightly), but the fact this will now be her second(!) worldwide singles collection. In 2005, Hilary released "Most Wanted", a compilation of all her singles up that point. This is from a girl who's only released three studio albums in her entire career people!

BUT on the bright side, sources say Hilary has wanted out of her Hollywood Records contract for over a year now in order to make music in which she has greater "artistic" control. She's said to be in talks with several labels. Good luck to her.

"The Best Of Hilary Duff" is due for release on September 23, 2008 (pre-order on Amazon.) The pitiful track list consists of a lazy twelve tracks: eight "hits", two new tracks and two remixes of the two new tracks.

1. Reach Out
2. Holiday
3. Stranger
4. With Love
5. Play With Fire
6. Wake Up
7. Fly
8. Come Clean
9. So Yesterday
10. Why Not
11. Reach Out (Remix)
12. Holiday (Remix)

Surely they could have added some unreleased crap in order to please the few die-hards she has left? Notable singles "Beat Of My Heart" and "Our Lips Are Sealed" aren't even included. Even though the album cover (above) uses a year old photo, damn she looks hot with dark hair. My advise? Give up the music career and do some modelling.

So what?!

The world's favourite dyke Pink is back with her rockin' new single "So What", the first to be released from her fourthcoming fifth studio album. It's everything we have come to love from Pink, filled with guts, attitude and humorous sarcasm. I especially love the start of the second verse which goes "The waiter just took my table and gave it to Jessica Simpson, SHIT!" LOL!



The track is very similar to past hits "U and Ur Hand" and "Cuz I Can" - not surprisingly, the producer behind those two Pink classics is also behind "So What". The man in question, Max Martin, continually proves that when it comes to pop, he knows what the people want. There's no official word of when the single will be released, but the album - which has yet to be titled - will be out October 25 2008.

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, the never-dieing "I'm Not Dead" passed it's 100th week in the ARIA Top 50!

On Britney's radar

Apparently "Radar" will be the fourth single from Britney's latest album Blackout, which has sold around 2.5 million copies since its October 2007 release. An official cover (above) leaked onto the internet and there are reports that Brit will direct the video herself (hopefully with greater success than her last attempt with "Do Somethin'"!). The track sounds very similar to Rihanna's "SOS".

Current single "Break The Ice" is beginning to make an impact on the charts worldwide, following monster singles "Give Me More" and "Piece Of Me".

Jesse goes US Top 10

His new single may be called "Leavin'", but Jesse McCartney ain't going anywhere. After an impressive Hot 100 debut last week at #14, it climbs Top 10 this week at #10. This is now Jesse's biggest US hit. His previous peaks on the Billboard Hot 100 are as follows:
- "Beautiful Soul" (2004) #15
- "She's No You" (2005) #91
- "Right Where You Want Me" (2006) #33

The video above is an acoustic recording he made of the track.

The new album Departure is released May 20 in the US, May 31 in Australia, June 4 in Japan and June 9 in the UK. Australian and Japanese editions will include his version of Leona's "Bleeding Love" as a bonus track.

Madonna's first week sales

Madonna's Hard Candy debuted at #1 in the US with un-remarkable sales of 280,000. Mariah, whose recent album E=MC2 debuted with sales of over 463,000, must be celebrating with champagne. This is also a significant drop compared to first week sales of Madge's last studio effort Confessions On A Dancefloor which opened with 350,606 copies sold. Considering "4 Minutes" has been a bigger hit compared to "Hung Up" in the United States, this result is quite surprising.

Hard Candy sold 14,585 copies to debut at #1 on the Australian ARIA charts (having shipped 35,000 copies). Not a bad result, but not AMAZING either, especially for a superstar like Madonna. In comparison, Kylie's X sold over 16,000 copies in its opening week and Delta's self-titled third album last year sold 22,000 copies in its opening week.

The album has so far debuted at #1 in 18 countries. Will it have a lasting impact?

"Retouch My Body"

HILARIOUS Mariah parody posted on Perez. Listen here.

Track-by-track review: Hard Candy

After the brilliance of 2005's "Confessions On A Dancefloor", Madonna is back with her 11th studio effort "Hard Candy", and it's a flawed record. The moment I heard Madonna was gathering the hottest hit-makers of the moment to create a record that would give her urban cred, I was worried. Madonna has often been a mainstream trend-setter, plucking obscure producers (William Orbit, Mirwais, Stuart Price) to come out with a unique sound everytime, which would set her apart from the competition. Now it appears she's doing the opposite, desperate to mimic the likes of younger, more "hip" female popstars such as Nelly Furtado and Gwen Stefani. You can't help but feel this album represents Madonna's mid-life crisis as this attempt to be accepted by the younger generations reeks of desperation. Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Pharrel Williams are all on board, but instead of working together to create something fresh, innovative and daring, they have simply re-used their previous works and added Madonna's vocals. Madonna's albums have always felt personal to her but on "Hard Candy", she sounds detached as ever. Here's a track-by-track review:

Candy Store
Ja Rule did this in 2005. Like most of the material on this album, Madonna is 4 minutes too late (no pun intended...really). Dreadful lyrics (no Madonna, as much I love you, I don't want a piece of your turkish delight) on top of typical Pharrel production (not bad, but not a patch of his classic works with Britney and Gwen). It comes off sounding like a demo. I just hope this song is a piss-take, and that she's not actually taking herself seriously. There is something extremely disturbing about a 50 year old woman whispering "my candy is raw" multiple times. *Puts on "Erotica" to remember the days when Madonna could pull off hot and sexy so effortlessly*
2/5

4 Minutes
The first single in which Madonna provides guest vocals on a trademark Timbaland track. Justin proves why he's at the top of his game. Even though the lyrics are shit, his effortless, smooth vocal performance is pure class and saves "4 Minutes". With the two Tims are on board, this is the US hit Madonna has been having wet dreams over for years. Too bad it still can't get her to #1.
3/5

Give It 2 Me
My first thought: production sounds half-baked. Some great synths happening in the chorus. It's all safe fun, nothing remarkable. Apparently this is second single.
3/5

Heartbeat
Probably my favourite on the album. I love the weird vocal arrangements, and her high-pitched vocals in the bridge. Memorable chorus, lets pray this is a single. My only complaint is the breakdown in the middle in which Madonna pulls off her best Nelly Furtado impersonation *rolls eyes*.
4/5

Miles Away
Certainly not miles away from sounding like a more up-tempo cardboard copy of Nelly Furtado's "All Good Things Come To An End". It's nice enough, probably her best vocal performance on the record.
3/5

She's Not Me
The silky production of this electro-dance track is terrific. The verses are completely cringeful (she was stealin, stealin, stealin, and now you're feelin, feelin, feelin). The bridges and chorus are great though (although instead of "love you", a "fuck you in the shower", would have been a bit more interesting).
3.5/5

Incredible
Hmmm...the production sounds dated. I've definitely heard this track before, but can't put my finger on it. I like the verses, but the chorus is cheese galore.
2/5

The Beat Goes On
A 70s-style slow-groove from Pharrel. Nothing like the demo that leaked months ago, although it retains the hypnotic "on and on and on the beat goes on". One of the album's better tracks. Features a non-eventful Kanye West appearance.
4/5

Dance 2Night
Second Justin duet, although Justin lets Madonna take up more vocal time. Features the terrible lyric "you don't have to be rich and famous to be good"...um ok. The chorus is reminiscent of classic Michael Jackson. This track is actually very street-wise and "cool" in a retro kind of way. One of the better tracks in which Madge sounds in her element.
4/5

Spanish Lesson
DREADFUL. Worst song on the album in which Madonna attempts to teach us Spanish. Oh the pain, it doesn't get any cringier than this. How did this make the final cut!?
1/5

Devil Wouldn't Recognise You
A shameless re-hash of Justin's "What Goes Around (Comes Around)". An example of where Madonna sounds like a guest vocalist on someone else's track. It's not bad, I like it, but its not Madonna.
3/5

Voices
Album finishes on a serious, dramatic note. Decent track, not much to write on it.
3/5

Mariah's car crash performance

A performance she'd rather forget, I'm sure. The pre-recorded vocals do an "Ashlee Simpson", but Mariah continues on like a pro. But her live vocals don't appear to be in fine form, is she loosing it?

Mariah proves who the real queen is

Mimi debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 with her album "E=MC2", selling 463,000 copies. This is Mimi's biggest debut sales week ever. It's also the highest sales week of the year, surpassing the 375,000 start of Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static" in February. Mimi celebrates her 6th chart-topping US album, now tied with Madonna and Janet Jackson for the title of female artist with the second most #1s (although Madge will be a step ahead when "Hard Candy" takes top spot in a couple of weeks). The top honour goes to Barbara Streisand who has scored 8. Wow, how gay are the US?

Mariah kicks Mariah-wannabe Leona Lewis' "Spirit" off top spot (we still love you Leona!) which sold 205,000 copies to debut at #1 last week. This week "Spirit" sells 95,000 copies, sitting comfortably under her idol at #2.

Janet Jackson must be digging her grave after hearing of Mimi's $UCCE$$. While "Discipline" also debuted at #1 in the US, late February, it did so with a pitiful 181,000 copies. Mariah has sold more in her first week then what Janet has sold in 2 months. "Discipline" continues Janet's string of flop albums, reaching disastrous positions worldwide, most notably the UK where it peaked at #68!

Mariah debuted in the UK at #3 selling 34,800 copies. Ironically, she was outsold by Leona who sold 36,000 copies at #2 - OUCH! "Bianca is soooo upset!". Indie band The Kooks took top spot with 66,000 copies of their album "Konk".

Rock remix of Leavin'

This is an awesome unofficial remix of Jesse McCartney's new single "Leavin'". It turns the track into a pop-rock song, much like Jesse's more traditional sound. I'm not sure who created it, they posted it on YouTube, but I can't seem to find the source anymore. The cover art was made by me. Hope you like it!

Download

Kelly sings for Pope

Kelly performed "Ave Maria" for Pope Benedict XVI, before an estimated crowd of 30,000 people, at St. Joseph’s Seminary, April 19.

She is currently working on the follow up to last year's controversial "My December" which sold 2 million copies worldwide. The new record, which will include collaborations with OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, is due later this year. In September, she resumes her sell-out US tour with country icon Reba McEntire.

So I've just heard the 30 second samples of Hard Candy

And I have to say I'm feeling a little more optimistic about this record! A couple of cuts sounds a bit naff (most notably the opening track "Candy Shop"), while others sound very promising ("Miles Away" and "Devil Won't Recognise You" in particular). Only a week to go!!!

Jesse's bleeding love

A one and a half minute clip of Jesse's version of Leona Lewis' monstrous hit "Bleeding Love" (which he co-wrote with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder) has leaked onto the net! While it dosen't live up to Leona's masterpiece (and no other version ever will), Jesse's version sounds pretty damn awesome. The production reminds me of Timbaland's remixed version of OneRepublic's "Apologize".

Lets pray a full HQ mp3 leaks soon!!!