Christina Aguilera finally unveils 'Not Myself Tonight' - listen to the song premiere now!

It's 'Sexyback' - lite.  It's 'Dirrty' but a little cleaner.  It's the new Christina Aguilera track on which we've been waiting for about a year now.  There was a whole countdown thing on her website that ended up ticking down the minutes until we were given....a picture of Christina Aguilera with a tail.  Then there was another countdown to something else irrelevant and now FINALLY there is this.  Was it worth the wait?  We're inclined to say no - not out of pessimism or some sort of retaliation for the tedious countdown, but because it just isn't one of her best songs.  The verses are a little weird, the chorus isn't particularly catchy, and as we alluded to before, the backing track is a 'Sexyback' ripoff.  There's a cool bit where the producer did a jumpy thing with her voice though.  It occurs at the exact 2:00 mark and is a tiny bit brilliant. 



The album is out June 8. 

Cyndi Lauper and Tori Amos ask 'Why Don't You Love Me' in their new duet - listen now!

In this post-"homosexual Ricky Martin"-world we're really not sure which way is up anymore.  The news was SUCH A SHOCK, however, that on the plus side it blunted the surprise when we heard about this ....odd pairing: 

Cyndi Lauper and Tori Amos were bound to do a duet together at some point because they are such a natural fit, both personality-wise and musically.  For all you ESL students out there, that is sarcasm.  All kidding aside, though, their voices actually work really well and the song is a little bit rad.

Cyndi has been doing a lot of not-musical stuff lately, teaming up with Lady Gaga to warn women of the dangers of HIV/AIDS and such.  Tori Amos, meanwhile, has just been getting weirder since we lost interest after 'Spark' so we can't really say what she's been up to.  It's not important. 

What is important is that the song comes from the forthcoming FATBOY SLIM/DAVID BYRNE CONCEPT ALBUM ABOUT IMELDA MARCOS.  If that sentence didn't send shivers down your pop-spine then we have nothing left to say to you.  Because I think we all know it is going to be AMAZING.




Out April 6 on Nonesuch Records

Kelis shows us her big, bulging 'Acapella' in new video

We gave you a preview of the 'Acapella' video the other day, and many of you thought it could either go HORRIBLY WRONG or be the VIDEO THAT SAVES POP.  Luckily for everyone, the clip tends heavily toward the latter.  There's a sort of Avatar thing at the beginning then a sort of Mummy Returns thing then a bit of writhing in a dress like Kylie would do and then everything ends in a desert. 

And it is good.



The album, 'Flesh Tones' is out this summer (maybe June 22 but we're not really sure)

The best Lady Gaga/Beyonce spoof video ever in the history of everything

That is all.

Kelis teases us with her 'Acapella' vid - watch now!

We've already gone on and on about how Kelis's new single, and in fact her whole new sound, is AMAZING and will CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER so we'll spare you that whole bit again.  Instead we'll just say that the song 'Acapella' deserves a very good video, and if this teaser clip is anything to go by, that's what it got.  In it there is NEON and COMPUTER GENERATED THINGS and STUFF THAT FLASHES IN TIME WITH THE MUSIC and because of all of these things is ACCEPTABLE. 



The full video debuts in a couple days, and we can't wait.  We're still calling sound of the summer for this bad boy. 

Listen to 18 Seconds of Christina Aguilera's new single and tell us what you think

THIS JUST IN: THE LATEST FROM CHRISTINA AGUILERA'S MARKETING FAIL....

Chrissy A., pictured above after filming a low budget Bulgarian porn video, has been attempting to do the whole viral marketing buzz thing and to be honest it's flopped a bit on its ass.  We got a little excited when a countdown appeared on her website, but when it got to zero and all we got was a dodgy picture of X-tina in bondage gear with a photoshopped tail we were less than impressed.  Wisely, Miss Aguilera's people have decided that it might be a good idea to give us a taste of what we actually care (however little) about - her new music - and chucked this 18-second clip of the new single onto the interwebs.  It sounds a bit like a Gaga b-side but because it is EIGHTEEN F*CKING SECONDS LONG we will withhold judgment until we hear the rest. 














"Not Myself Tonight" premieres in full on March 30 and it had better be good. If it's not we won't be mad. We'll just be DISAPPOINTED.

Today we ask ourselves why music isn't as good as it used to be - watch the video showdown now

We were just thinking last night that music before was way better than music now, and for today's post decided to put that theory to the test.  The best way to do this is obvious: arbitrarily pick a shit song from today and a brilliant song from before and post them in some kind of EPIC THROWDOWN FOR THE AGES.   



 VERSUS



Case closed. 

Monica isn't as irrelevant as we thought - watch the new video from her surprisingly high-selling album now!

I don't think anyone expected this Monica resurgence to actually work out.  Even the marketing and the promotion had a distinct "this sounded better when we were high and watching a VHS of the VH1 pop up video of 'The Boy Is Mine' " feel to it.  But sometimes a MOR ballad and a flaccid press campaign can produce a winner, apparently, as Monica's new album 'Still Standing' is on track to sell 165,000 - 180,000 copies this week.  If anybody told you they were expecting that they are lying or are Monica's immediate family.

Amid that bit of surprisingly good news, the singer has debuted the video for above-mentioned MOR single, 'Everything To Me,' and it is about as shocking as the song.  Even so, well done, Monica.  Your new stuff may bore the hell out of us but it's still nice to see you back. 

That Christina Aguilera thing we told you about is this:

Yeah.  That's all.  

The new single will premiere next week or something but we stopped caring when she baited us for days all for a photograph with some words on it.  But if the song is amazing we'll totally love her again.  Because we're fickle.  And that's ok.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is 'Bittersweet' in new video - watch the video premiere now!

A few days ago we went on and on about how wonderful the new Sophie Ellis-Bextor track is and then gave you a link to the song with a static, but still rather lovely, photographic image of Sophie. Apparently with the idea that "if an unmoving photograph looks so wonderful with my song, I bet MOVING images would look even better," Miss Bextor has done a thing called a music video.

They used to be on TV. Ask your parents.

Anyway, it has dancing and feathers and compliments the song excellently. Best of all, there's no dodgy Gaga-Beyonce dialogue :-/



"Striking."

Dragonette make it look 'Easy' in new video - watch the masterpiece now!

What to do with Dragonette?  The brilliant band has tried and tried again to break through, but while their output keeps inexplicably getting better, the response always seems to be a resounding 'meh' from the pop masses.  We posted a live version of 'Easy' the other day, and mentioned that it's not likely to turn around the band's chart fortunes, but in true good-spirited fashion Dragonette have given their small but devoted legion of fans the gift of a video for the track.  Needless to say, it is quite good.


Dragonette:  EASY music video

Dragonette | MySpace Music Videos

Now for the next album they'll probably work with RedOne and 3OH!3 and become huge :(

In like a day and 2 hours Christina Aguilera is going to announce something...does anyone care?

Our guess is she's going to reveal details of her forthcoming single 'Glam,' and a sponsorship deal with Mystic Tan.  We'll let you know.

Trina is a 'Million Dollar Girl' in new video - watch now!

Trina (pictured above, seconds after being interrupted while doing a shit) isn't someone we think of when someone mentions the word 'pop,' and this new track probably won't do anything to change that.  It's sort of R&B/rap-lite, albeit with a nice hook.  The most notable thing about the song is its video, though probably not for any of the reasons intended.  The whole thing feels like a clip from another era - you remember, when rappers shouted things in front of a fish-eye lens and threw money at the screen.  The bigger the car, the bigger the man, and 'bling' became a word for some reason.  With that slice of classic history in mind, it's really no surprise this mess came from that era's biggest offender, the GOD-LIKE GENIUS that is Diddy or Doody or Dingus or whatever the hell his name is these days.  Now, however, in this hipster-chic recession-bound world, everyone is paring things down, and while the visual effects might admittedly get more expensive, the flaunting of wealth in front of the screen has become a bit passe.  Hell, Britney even stopped buying expensive wigs.   So this whole Trina 'I have a plane and you do not' business comes off as a bit crass and dated but we're probably just hungover and bitter so watch and decide for yourself.



No.  No, we were right.

Sophie Ellis Bextor is officially back and brilliant with 'Bittersweet' - listen to the premiere now!

A while back we brought you the Freemasons' mix of Sophie Ellis Bextor's brand new track 'Bittersweet.'  Needless to say, it was very good.  Now the original has finally come out, and even though we didn't think it possible, it is A BILLION TIMES BETTER.  It has a proper verse and a proper chorus and then it does both those things again and then there is a skippy bit where a producer has done something very neat. 

Hopefully its chart fortunes will be better than her last single, which although it hung around the top 40 for ages and ended up being quite a sizable hit, only ever managed to peak in the top 20.  If Sophie's good at anything it's flinging good songs into the top ten without the buzz and drama that her pop diva compatriots employ.  Let's hope this continues the trend.



Out May 2.  Buy it because it must be huge.

Kelis has unexpectedly become a HUGE GAY DIVA - watch the video now

So when we heard 'Acapella' a few months back we knew Kelis was going for a....different market... than she was in her previous work.  A rave-up anthem with soaring vocals and tight harmonies, it was worlds away from anything she had done before, but somehow fit her to a tee. 

Well if this video is anything to go by, she is well on her way to ruling the gay scene in a big way with her new album.  As weird as it might sound, we're predicting the sound of the summer to be the new Kelis album.  Remember, you heard it here first. 

Here's Kelis at Club 57 in NYC to promote her forthcoming album 'Flesh Tones.'  Don't let the dodgy video or crap sound put you off - look at the hat, the outfit, the dancing, and tell me she doesn't 'get it.'



"Flesh Tones" is out May 4

Robyn would like to tell you that 'Fembots' have feelings too - listen to the first track from her new album!

Robyn.  Is.  Amazing.  After the whole "giant comeback during which she topped the charts with literally phenomenal music" thing, her new album is being awaited with quite palpable anticipation.  For good reason too, it seems, if this track is anything to go by.  'Fembots,' posted on Robyn's official site yesterday, is an electro masterpiece with a heart, and combines Robyn's trademark hip wordsmithery with her superior tune writing skills to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts and clearly better than anything Avril Lavigne has ever released.  Avril has nothing to do with this discussion, but we just like to remind everyone that she is terrible.



'Fembots' will be on Robyn's new album later this year, which will actually be THREE albums according to an interview she just did with Pitchfork:
“They’re albums with enough songs to make them feel like real bodies of work. They are shorter than usual, but still closer to ten songs than five… Right now I’m finishing the first one, which is going to come out in June. I’m already working on the second album so I hope that’ll come out sometime after the summer."

Amazing.

Hot Chip and some shirtless men say 'I Feel Better' in their...bizarre new video - watch now!

Hot Chip are hardly the most mainstream of pop bands.  This is a fact that goes without saying.  ScopiSat was under the impression 'Ready For The Floor' was sung by a woman (think that lady from Everything But The Girl who sang 'Missing') only to find some weeks later that it was actually warbled by a bearded hipster with an affinity for stripy clothes.  So in the end we weren't really far off the mark, but that's neither here nor there. 

The point is, Hot Chip are a bit strange and their new video is sort of a brilliant incarnation of everything they stand for.  It also features some very fit men taking their tops off.  Do with that what you will.

For its part, the song is a pretty standard Hot Chip affair.  A thumping but hipster-friendly beat layered with a shaky vocal that leaves the listener thinking 'I'm sure he could actually sing if he would just TRY, for chrissake,' and, when taken as a whole, is actually quite good.  Not quite as good as some of their other tunes, but the band has been busy writing for Kylie so we'll give them a pass for phoning this one in. 




Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Hot Chip | MySpace Music Videos

Out as an album download now

Mika's new video is 'Kick Ass' - watch now!

Mika's comeback hasn't gone 100% to plan, as he has fallen victim to the sophomore slump in a big way.  This probably isn't a surprise to anyone, as a large part of his success the first time around was his novelty.  With his current album, Mika stuck to his formula but added in some nice touches, and met with a resounding 'meh' from the charts.  So what is a flailing popstar to do?  Chuck out a soundtrack jam produced by Gaga's musical sherpa RedOne, of course. 

It's a step in a different, chav-friendly direction, but we're not here to judge.  In any case, the song isn't terrible by any means, and serves as a kind of theme track to the new film 'Kick Ass.'  See what they did there?  With the names?  Clever, right?



"Kick Ass" features on the soundtrack of the new film of the same name

Sign of the Apocalpyse #9: This is the UK's Eurovision entry this year

It's that time of year again.  When the Page 3 models, "not gay" West End stars, and all the girls that have been chucked out of Sugababes come out of the woodwork to vie for the chance to represent the glorious United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest.  With all that raw, stunning talent (this process gave us Scooch, remember) we are sure to have a winner on our hands, as some guy named Josh walked away with the "honor."  He will be singing a thing by Mike Stock and Pete Waterman (2 of the 3 guys in Stock, Aitken, Waterman - the team that gave us masterpieces by Bananarama and Kylie, and frankly, gentlemen, we expected a bit better) and is certain to get....about 5 points total. 



The final is on May 29. 

Robyn's new album preview sounds very very promising - watch the video now!

Robyn, the same Scandi-songstress that gave us 'Show Me Love' back in 1996, went away for a while and then staged an epic comeback a couple years ago with 'Every Heartbeat' and the absolutely sublime 'Be Mine!', has been working on her brand spankin new album.  Expectations are high, since her last album was an instant classic, but from the sounds of the tracks on this video she has pretty much delivered. 




And just in case you've forgotten just how LITERALLY SPECTACULAR she can be, here's Robyn's 'Be Mine!' in all its glory:


Robyn - Be Mine 2006
Uploaded by chicethautaine. - Explore more music videos.

There's no release date yet for the new material, and no word of what the lead single will be, but expect an announcement soon.  We'll have all the details for you when it happens.

Dragonette (the band no one knows but everyone should) are 'Easy' - watch the live video now!

We love Dragonette.  We worship them, in fact.  We sometimes wonder, in our darkest moments, if we can really continue to live in a world that does not also love and worship such an OBVIOUSLY SPECTACULAR band.

They've been on the cusp of breaking out for about three albums now, but we hold out hope that one day, somehow, it will actually happen.

Until then, here is their new single, performed live on CBC Radio One's GO:



"Incredible."

Because the live session isn't the highest quality, here's the original taken from their current album, 'Fixin To Thrill.'

"INCREDIBLE."

The single is out this spring.

In case you hadn't heard, Lady Gaga has done a video for a song called 'Telephone'

Oh you had?  Well here it is:



Some notes:

1.  Beyonce makes a very good Bettie Page
2.  By going straight from stealing chubby early 80's Madonna's look to stealing svelte early 90's Madonna's classy Blonde Ambition look, Gaga has graciously sidestepped the whole mid-80's True Blue-era cropped platinum/unruly eyebrows/"capri pants give you chubby ankles" mess
3.  For some reason we MUST have a Virgin Mobile phone now
4.  Somewhere Quentin Tarantino is rubbing one out while watching a wall of plasma screen televisions all playing this video clip on a loop
5.  Beyonce is AMAZING
6.  Lady Gaga is AMAZING
7.  This video is AMAZING

Remember Monica? Us either, but she has a new album coming out and you can listen to the sampler now!

Once there was a girl who sang a song with another girl called 'The Boy Is Mine' and then did some other things and then disappeared.  The 'girl' was Monica, and the other girl was 'Brandy' (or Bran-Nu, as her forthcoming and rather amazing rap alter ego calls herself).  Well Monica has been hard at work on a new album to come out later this year, and has been kind enough to chuck up a sampler of some of the tracks.

It's nothing that will set the world afire, but it's better than a punch in the throat with an open fist. 



Monica's new album, 'Still Standing' is out March 23, and the lead single is out now.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back in a big way with 'Bittersweet' - listen to the premiere now!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is amazing.  Let's just get that out of the way now.  Even her crap indie stuff before she went all pop was above average, and since 'Murder On The Dancefloor' and 'Take Me Home' she's been on quite the roll.  Last we heard from her she was warbling on the Freemasons' 'Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer),' the under-rated top 20 hit that, while it didn't hit the top of the charts, managed to stick around the best seller list for an impressive duration.  It was a one-off track, but reminded us just how much we missed her.  Well now, Sophie's ready with an album of her own, and new baby in tow, is launching herself back into the spotlight.  Here is the Freemasons' mix of 'Bittersweet,' and I think we can all agree it is MILES AWAY FROM TERRIBLE. 



"Welcome back."

Further proof that Gabriella Cilmi will soon rule the world - watch 'Hearts Don't Lie' live now!

Gabriella's current EPIC POP SMASH 'Woman On A Mission' was released yesterday in the UK and is already selling bucketloads, but as bitchy pop fans we are already looking to the next thing on the horizon.  Luckily for all of us, it looks just as good as 'Mission.' 

At her single launch at London's G-A-Y, Gabriella and her very nice outfit performed a couple new tracks off the forthcoming album, and from the sound of it they're going to be rather good indeed.  Here's 'Hearts Don't Lie:'



Even a dodgy video can't hide the fact this song is MORE THAN ADEQUATE. 

The album hits on March 22 in the UK and Australia

Let's see how Gaga's 'Telephone' video is shaping up (new pictures)

"very well"

Debut at 1130PM on E! on Thursday.

The Gaga/Beyonce collaboration 'Telephone' video gets a release date - watch the advert now!

We know guys, it's not out yet. We're sad too. But never fear - an ad just aired that confirms the 'Telephone' premiere will indeed occur on Thursday on E! Entertainment TV. Rejoice. Apparently the video will debut online at some point before or close to the TV premiere. Rejoice doubly.

Listen to the NEW GOLDFRAPP ALBUM now!

We've still got two weeks to go before Goldfrapp's 'Head First' hits retail, but you, dear viewers, can preview the whole thing right here, right now.  And by 'whole thing' we really mean little snippets of each song oddly edited and chucked on a widget.  Still it's quite good and we recommend taking a quick listen.  

Out in only TWO WEEKS and we are VERY EXCITED

Kate Nash has done one of our favorite videos EVER for 'Do Wah Doo' - watch now!

Kate Nash, the singer-songwriter who found fame with smash hit 'Foundations' could easily have slipped into one hit wonder land.  If this video has anything to say about it she'll continue to be a force to be reckoned with.  

We would do a run-down but then some of you lazier types probably wouldn't even watch it. 

So we'll just say that the video is about flying in the 60's and is a bit like Mad Men if it were British and took place on a big pop-themed airplane. 



We never thought Kate Nash could top her non-album random-fest 'Caroline (Is A Victim)' - seriously, check it out it's amazing - but she has.  Out soon on Polydor in the UK and the US later this year. 

The FIRST EVER live tv performance of Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' - watch now

We're not gonna lie, we're a little underwhelmed with Gaga's choice of 'Telephone' as a single. 

We get it- it has Beyonce, and a slightly more urban vibe, but both 'Teeth' and 'Alejandro' are far better tracks in our opinion. 


 However, live performances like this give a new life to the track, and it might just win us over yet.  Here's the very first tv performance of the track, on last night's Jonathan Ross show:



"above average"

Leighton Meester is going to have a very big music career - listen to 'Your Love's A Drug' now

Let's see how the whole 'hey wouldn't it be funny if we turned Leighton Meester into a pop music icon' thing is going...

"very well."

Seriously.  Whoever is doing A&R for this girl deserves a medal and a trip to Disneyland Paris.  First we got 'Somebody To Love' with Robin Thicke, a 'Bette Davis Eyes'-style slice of amazingness, and now this little gem surfaces to prove it wasn't just a fluke.

'Your Love's A Drug' was sent out on a promo CD by Universal Republic to buzz up Meester's forthcoming album due this spring and I think we all can agree "mission accomplished."  Rumor has it some Lil Wayne collaborative mess will be the next actual single, but we'll let it slide because even brilliant budding pop stars have to pander to the masses. 

Goldfrapp has a 'Rocket' in new video - watch now!

Apparently purple neon is all the rage in music videos this season...first Estelle rocked out a violet hue, and now Goldfrapp have splattered some all over their new clip.  As for the plot of 'Rocket' there is a WOMAN and a MAN and a ROCKET that looks a bit like a wang. 

While 'Rocket' isn't their strongest song, or video for that matter, it's great to see Goldfrapp return to a more upbeat  sound.  Don't get us wrong - 'A&E' was brilliant, but the duo are at their best when the balls are to the wall. 



 
Rocket

GOLDFRAPP | MySpace Music Videos

The single is out March 8 but is available in some countries now on iTunes

Estelle's new video is so good it's 'Freak'-y - watch the premiere now!

The other day we wrote about the new jam by Estelle (pictured above seated in the 'home' section of an Urban Outfitters) and David Guetta, a banging club corker that is a million miles from 'American Boy.' 

Well now the video has arrived, and by our count it is squarely in the QUITE GOOD to MIND BLOWINGLY-BRILLIANT range. 



Let's tally it up shall we:

Purple theme:  +1
Kaleidoscope effect:  +1
Things that happen in SPACE:  +2
Rappy bit where a man stands there and points because he cannot risk appearing 'pop' even while performing in a pop video:  -1
Pop star in a dress that is giant on the bottom but normal on top:  +4
Top-notch CGI:  +1
Neon:  +2
A GIANT FINGER that points from the sky FOR NO REASON:  +1
Estelle dancing:  -2

TOTAL:  9 points, plus an additional 3 discretionary points with no justification whatsoever just  to underscore the completely arbitrary nature of the point system, for a sum of TWELVE. 

What that number means, readers, is ultimately up to you, but I think we can all agree that it is clearly a VERY GOOD SCORE.

Agnes's new video goes 'On and On' - watch now!

Scandinavi-babe Agnes had a big breakthrough hit with 'Release Me' a few months ago, and she's doing her lip-glossiest, Fergie drag queeniest best to pull off a repeat performance.  Unfortunately, her follow up single 'On and On' is a lot more Euro and a lot less fantastic than 'Release Me.'  To be fair, 'Release' was a lightning-in-a-bottle corker, but while that track took 'late 90's ecstasy-riddled dance mix'  and made it NOW and BRILLIANT, this just seems like it came straight from a 'stuff we danced to in the 90's when we were rolling and had glow sticks for some reason' playlist on the computer of some middle aged IT guy in Dayton.  We're putting in our bets that the rest of this record campaign goes down as an also-ran, and then on her next album she identifies exactly what made 'Release Me' so appealing to pop fans around the world, chucks out 8 massive singles from one LP and becomes the Euro Lady Gaga.  Or she does a sex tape with Basshunter, gets dropped from her label, and lives out her days behind the till at a Boots pharmacy.  :(  Either way, we're off to listen to 'Release Me' again. 

Gabriella Cilmi is a 'Woman On A Mission' at Let's Dance For Sport Relief - watch now

If ScopiSat had to bet on it, we'd wager Gabriella Cilmi is about to be huge. 

Her 'Woman On A Mission' is one of our songs of the spring (yes we know it's not spring yet but we are big fans of wishful thinking), and if she keeps turning in absolutely brilliant performances like this there will be no stopping her.  Well done, champagne all around, etc etc.