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First Listen: Jennifer Lopez, ‘Louboutins’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:31:14 +0000

The first single from Jennifer Lopez’s new album Love? (which is due out in January ‘10) has made its way to the Internets a few days ahead of its official debut which is scheduled to take place live at the American Music Awards this Sunday night. Louboutins is the name of the new track from J. Lo aka Jenny from the Block aka La Diva Latina aka Lola … Ms. Jennifer Lopez:

Jennifer Lopez’s lead single from her next year release “Love?” has hit the web. Titled “Louboutins”, the song will be performed live for the first time at 2009 American Music Awards on November 22. “Louboutins” reportedly is produced by Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and written by The-Dream. Rumor also suggests that the song was meant to be recorded for Brandy’s forthcoming release, but following Brandy’s exit from Epic Records, it was handed over to J-Lo. Jennifer Lopez is expected to release “Love?” on January 25, 2010. A promotional single called “Fresh Out the Oven” has been unveiled earlier this month. Coming from production hands of The Neptunes, the dance track has Pitbull lending his vocal on the lines.

Considering how poorly J. Lo’s last album Brave did when it was released a couple of years ago (do any of y’all even remember it at all?) I’m very curious to hear what Jennifer’s new sound is like. I would love for her to drop another killer track like Get Right, Play or Waiting For Tonight (to name but a few of my fave J. Lo songs). Louboutins, an obvs shout-out to the expensive designer shoe line, is our first taste of what J. Lo has in store. After the jump, listen to the song in full …

I mean … it’s OK … but it’s hardly anything special. It’s a bit too slow for me to really love it … I’m not sure what she’s trying to say in the lyrics, to be honest. I guess she’s ready to break up with some guy but in order for her to do it right she has to “throw on her Louboutins“? Yeah, whatever. I’m not impressed just yet but with the right remix, it could be a better song … I’m hopeful there’ll be better tracks on Love?. Meh. What do y’all think? Is this song a hit?

PS: For those of you interested, you can click HERE to hear J. Lo’s other new track Fresh Out of the Oven (Featuring Pitbull) which may give a bit more insight into what Lopez’s new album may sound like.

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First Listen: Tori Amos, ‘Midwinter Graces’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:36:50 +0000

Tori Amos’s new holiday album Midwinter Graces, which we first heard about back in September, will finally be available for sale next Tuesday November 10 but starting today we are able to listen to the album IN FULL right here online:

Tori Amos’ first ever seasonal album, Midwinter Graces, is an album that has been in the making for the past 40 years. Raised in the Baltimore area under the watchful eye of her Methodist minister father, Tori grew up playing holiday carols at Sunday services and Christmas Day celebrations in her father’s church. These were the songs that gave a young Tori her first taste of music, and now, almost 40 years later, Tori gets her own chance to re-imagine classics like “What Child, Nowell” and “Star of Wonder.” Tori will also add her own bittersweet bliss to the season with original tracks like “Pink and Glitter” and “Our New Year.” Amos has teamed up again with longtime collaborators Matt Chamberlain (drums), Jon Evans (bass), and Mac Aladdin (guitar.) Tori has also enlisted the help of a big band and an orchestra, with stunning John Philip Shenale arrangements to create her new seasonal classics.

You may recall that last month we got to listen to snippets from Midwinter Graces but now we can hear all 12 songs in full. After the jump, enjoy your first listen of Tori’s first ever holiday album …

I’ve listened to a few of the tracks already and LOVE them. Tori Amos doing holiday music is just too beautiful … I love her voice and it is so nice to hear the harpsichord again. I’ve already placed my pre-order for Midwinter Graces … remember the deluxe version of the album contains 2 extra songs Comfort and Joy and Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night) as well as a bonus DVD. I think if you listen to these songs you’ll want to get your pre-order in as well. Ho, Ho, Ho!

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First Listen: Adam Lambert, ‘For Your Entertainment’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:32:19 +0000

Earlier this week we got our first look at American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert’s album artwork for his debut effort For Your Entertainment (which is ENTIRELY too LOL-worthy to get into again) and today we get our first look at the cover artwork for the first track off his new album, also titled For Your Entertainment:

Um, I think Beyoncé needs to check her belongings because it looks like Glambert pilfered her funky hand jewelry to use as his own. Unfortch, his fingers are too stubby to make this hardware look right. BUT, not only do we get to check out the single cover artwork but we also get to hear the song itself — after the jump …

Meh, the song ain’t terrible. It’s got a nice beat … and it’s catchy. I’m not a big fan of Lambert’s music thus far but this song ain’t all bad … once you get past the single artwork ;) What do y’all think … do we love?

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First Listen: Imogen Heap, ‘Thriller’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:38:47 +0000

Imogen Heap, who is one of my fave female singers of all time, paid a visit to the Dermot O’Leary radio show on BBC Radio 2 this past weekend and performed a live piano version of Michael Jackson’s hit song Thriller. Now, anyone who is at all familiar with Imogen Heap should be well aware of her musical style and can appreciate the way she transformed the song into one of her own … for those of you unfamiliar with Imogen, her cover of Thriller can give you an idea of just how amazing she is:

Because we are just a few days away from Hallowe’en, MJ’s Thriller is getting a lot of play all over the place … which is why I think it was very smart of Imogen to cover it on this radio show. Unfortch, I couldn’t find a way to download the track but after the jump you can hear it in full in a You Tube video that has been made available online …

Haunting, beautiful … and even a bit poignant. Hearing it performed by Imogen Heap gives the song new life, I think. I am VERY excited to be seeing Imogen live in concert on November 09 … I wonder if she plans on performing this cover on her new US tour. What do y’all think … isn’t this Thriller cover fantastic?

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First Listen: Rihanna, ‘The Wait Is Ova’?

It's Trent, Bitch! — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:38:21 +0000

Last Saturday we saw photos of Rihanna on the set of her new music video and you may recall she was rockin’ an eye patch for the shoot. Today we get to see more photos from the music video shoot AND we get to hear a snippet of the song itself. First up, the pics:

You may recall that Rihanna posted a tweet on her official Twitter profile which announced the presumed release date of her new album (November 23) along with the line The Wait Is Ova. It was speculated that that might be the title of her album … and it very well may be … but new video from the shoot of her music video gives us a sneak listen of the first single and the line The Wait Is Ova is clearly heard in the song. Chances are, that’s the name of the single (and possibly the album as well). After the jump, check out the video and hear for yourselves …

It’s hard to judge the song from just this clip but … it sounds like it could be a hit. I can’t wait to hear it in full … the wait is, indeed, over and I couldn’t be more excited. Woot!! What do y’all think … do you like what you hear?

UPDATE: Ryan Seacrest just updated his Twitter account with the following announcement:

heads up – tomorrow i’ll have @rihanna’s new single “russian roulette” at 8:23am pst/11:23am est. I’ll link u when i get it

I guess the song title isn’t The Wait Is Ova despite the fact that she sings the line in the song. HMMM. Well, we’ll know tomorrow what the song sounds like so … it won’t be long now.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

Preview Tori Amos’s New Holiday Album ‘Midwinter Graces’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:00:43 +0000

Last month we learned that the musical goddess Tori Amos would be releasing a holiday album titled Midwinter Graces this Xmas season and not only got to see the official album cover artwork but we also got to see the album tracklisting. Today we get to check out a new promo image from the album and can preview clips of each of the songs on the disc:

Okay … I love me some Tori but the promo photos for this album are sooooo over-the-top (including the album artwork). I understand that this red dress was created by designer Bernard Chandran … even still, I am really looking forward to hearing this album in full. Undented is reporting that the disc will be released in a standard version and a deluxe version which will include two extra songs, Comfort And Joy and Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! (Silent Night! Holy Night!), as well as a bonus DVD. Thus far there is no word on what the DVD will contain but, knowing Tori, it’s bound to be amazing. After the jump, hear a short preview of the album and check out two more promo photos from Midwinter Graces — these next two photos are much less dramatic and are deffo worth checking out …

And here is a You Tube vid that features short clips of each of the songs included on the standard version of the album:

If you would like to hear each of these clips individually you can do so HERE or you can stream in full What Child, Nowell and Star of Wonder HERE. It’s going to be an amazing Winter Solstice this year … thanks to Tori Amos providing the soundtrack :) Ho! Ho! Ho!

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First Listen: Leighton Meester, ‘Somebody To Love’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:21:31 +0000

Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester, who provided guest vocals on the Cobra Starship single Good Girls Go Bad, released her first single as solo artist earlier today … which we get to listen to here on the blog right now. The track, Somebody To Love, features sexy crooner Robin Thicke on vocals and, in all honest, is not a bad song at all. Here is the cover artwork for Leighton’s debut single and the lyrics to the song:

Somebody To Love (Featuring Robin Thicke)

Paris France to Michigan
London town and through Berlin
I can’t believe this place I’m in
Everywhere and back again
Porcelain and China Dolls
Give me one and I’ve seen them all
Got my back against the wall
Wonder where I’ll be tomorrow?

But wait, now how long could this take?
It’s hard to find a man,
When you’re gone before he wakes.
They say it’s hard to achieve
But can’t a girl believe?

CHORUS:
Is there somebody who still believes in love?
I know you’re out there
There’s got to be somebody
I search around the world
But I can’t seem to find
Somebody to love

ROBIN THICKE:
Baby girl, there you at
Looking at me like a putty cat
Wondering where that thing is at
Wondering where your ring is at
Nobody ever did it quite like this
Nobody ever did it quite like you
Do your hair, I bought you shoes
We can hit the town like superstars do
You lookin’ for love? Then let me show you love
Give me the key to your heart
I can give you what you want
When you’re waiting for love
And you’re lookin’ for someone
I’mma turn this gossip girl into a woman

CHORUS:
Is there somebody who still believes in love?
I know you’re out there (I know you’re out there)
There’s got to be somebody
I search around the world
But I can’t seem to find
Somebody to love

Is there somebody who still believes in love?
I know you’re out there
There’s got to be somebody
I search around the world
But I can’t seem to find
Somebody to love

Je t’adore, Je t’adore (I love you, I love you)
Make a move, do the thing
Turn around, strike a pose
Je t’adore, Je t’adore (I love you, I love you)
Make a move, do the thing
Turn around, strike a pose
Ooh, I like it
Ooh, I need it
Ooh, I want it
Hey Hey

I know it’s hard to achieve
But can’t a girl believe?

CHORUS:
Is there somebody (Is there somebody?)
who still believes in love? (Who still believes?)
I know you’re out there (I know you’re out there)
There’s got to be somebody
I search around the world
But I can’t seem to find
Somebody to love

Is there somebody who still believes in love? (who still believes)
I know you’re out there (who still believes)
There’s got to be somebody
I search around the world
But I can’t seem to find
Somebody to love

(You say hello, I say goodbye) x2
Somebody to love

I really like this song … it’s really sexy. Considering how much I like Good Girls Go Bad, I might end up liking Leighton’s whole album. HMMM. After the jump, listen to the song in full …

FYI, you can blame On Air with Ryan Seacrest for the Music On Demand audio tag. I like this track … what do y’all think?

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First Listen: Neil Patrick Harris (As Music Meister), ‘Drives Us Bats’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:09:17 +0000

Neil Patrick Harris, who proved he is quite a singer as both Dr. Horrible and as Tony Awards host, is guest starring as an animated villain called the Music Meister who takes on Batman in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold (which airs on Cartoon Network) in an upcoming episode. Here are a few screencaps from a music video for the song Drives Us Bats which features NPH on vocals:

No, it’s not a clip from Dr. Horrible 2. Nor is it a sneak peek at How I Met Your Mother’s music-filled 100th episode. Rather, it’s an exclusive first look at Neil Patrick Harris’ show-stopping turn as the evil Music Meister in the Oct. 23 episode of Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Warning: The following clip could drive you batty (but in a good way)!

OMG … I love this!! While the song isn’t terribly good, I love that NPH is voicing a Batman villain who sings! In fact, this entire episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold will be a musical ep! After the jump, check out the song Drives Us Bats — and as a bonus, watch the entire episode titled Mayhem of The Music Meister …

So cute!! I didn’t get a chance to watch the entire ep but I watched some of it and it looks really cute :) Batman is my fave hero ever and now that Neil Patrick Harris, as Music Meister, has joined Batman’s infamous Rogues Gallery of Supervillains … well, my love has increased tenfold!

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First Listen: Michael Jackson, ‘This Is It’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:15:41 +0000

Last month we learned that Sony Music would be releasing a new single and new album from the late Michael Jackson to coincide with the release of the new documentary/concert film Michael Jackson’s This Is It which was pieced together from hours of rehearsal footage from MJ’s This Is It Tour preparations. The title song, This Is It, was released online late last night for all to hear:

Apparently, this track will be released in two versions on the new soundtrack album for the This Is It film … a slow ballad, This Is It has a bit of a mournful feel to it. After the jump, listen to the new track from Michael Jackson in full …

To be honest, I was hoping the new track would be more upbeat … more festive. I suppose since the tour was titled This Is It way before MJ’s untimely death, the plan all along was to release this track as the first single from the soundtrack album. Considering the circumstances surrounding the song’s release, tho, I suppose it is apropos for a slow ballad to be released. What do y’all think … do you like? I’m not a fan of pop ballads so I’m curious to hear if there are any new upbeat songs to come from the new album (due out on October 27).

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First Listen: Britney Spears, ‘3’

It's Trent, Bitch! — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:21:47 +0000

It’s out!! Britney Spears’s new single, 3, which will be included on her new album Britney Spears: The Singles Collection (due out in November) has made it’s debut on US radio for all to hear. It turns out that Brit Brit decided to release a song that champions the wonders of the ménage à trois … or threesome. The lyrics of the song are not subtle at all, behold:

3
(M.Martin/Shellback/T.Amber)

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin’ down with 3P
Everybody loves ***
Countin’

Babe, pick a night
To come out and play
If it’s alright
What do you say?

Merrier the more
Triple fun that way
Twister on the floor
What do you say?

Are – you in
Livin’ in sin is the new thing (yeah)
Are – you in
I am countin’!

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin’ down with 3P
Everybody loves ***
Countin’

Three is a charm
Two is not the same
I don’t see the harm
So are you game?

Lets’ make a team
Make ‘em say my name
Lovin’ the extreme
Now are you game?

Are – you in
Livin’ in sin is the new thing
Are – you in
I am countin’!

1, 2, 3
Not only you and me
Got one eighty degrees
And I’m caught in between
Countin’
1, 2, 3
Peter, Paul & Mary
Gettin’ down with 3P
Everybody loves ***

What we do is innocent
Just for fun and nothin’ meant
If you don’t like the company
Let’s just do it you and me
You and me…
Or three….
Or four….
- On the floor!

HMMM … but what does it sound like? It is upbeat as I hoped, has a bit of a electro feel to it … sounds like it came from the recording sessions for her last album Circus rather than her previous recording sessions. After all, pretty much all of the unreleased demos from Blackout were leaked to the Internets and this song was not among them. After the jump, listen to 3 in full and judge the song for yourselves …

I mean, I guess it’s a pretty swell song about threesomes … if you’re into that thing. The subject matter seems a bit much, IMHO, but it’s a catchy tune … I’m sure Britney fans (which does include younger children) will be singing along to this track in no time. If the You Tube embed gets removed, you can stream 3 online HERE or HERE. So …. what do y’all think?

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