Whitney Houston’s new single “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” has made it to the internet and, of course, I had to immediately listen to it.  I tried to free myself of any expectations that I might have for her since, after all this time, Whitney is a different woman that she was when she was releasing hit after hit.

image: Bauer-Griffin

The track was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster (who recently worked on Charice’s “Note to God”) so I knew what kind of song to expect.  The first thing I noticed was that Whitney’s voice sounded stronger than it has in a while and I think that, in itself, is a positive sign.  Next, the fact that this was not going to be a “power ballad” became quite clear and you know what?  I think it’s appropriate!

I know some people are going to be critical of the fact that she didn’t blow us away with those dynamic pipes that made her so famous but it’s been years since she sang like that and she’s been through a lot (she left her abusive husband, Bobby Brown, and got off drugs).

If you’ve ever played an instrument, you will know that if you don’t practice for a few years you might be a little rusty.  If you were an incredible pianist, for example, you might even find that with age, your fingers don’t quite move the way they used to.  I don’t think singing is much different – her voice is her instrument.

I really appreciate the fact that the lyrics focus on the emotion that I’m sure Whitney is feeling right now.  I’m sure that she had to dig deep and find strength that she didn’t even know she had to get through the tough times.  I’m happy for her and I hope that this is the beginning of a miraculous comeback.

The picture above was taken on July 2, 2009 and it shows a much healthier looking Whitney at LAX with her 16-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.  Welcome back, Whitney!!

Anyway, enough of my rambling – listen to the song and decide for yourselves:

Lady Gaga has reportedly referred to her own music as "soulless electronic pop" and I couldn’t agree with her more.  I understand that her songs are sometimes catchy but I am also bewildered by her popularity. 

She went on to say the following:  "[Andy] Warhol said art should be meaningful in the most shallow way.  He was able to make commercial art that was taken seriously as fine art… [and] that’s what I’m doing too.  When you listen to a song like ‘LoveGame’, is it communicating my soul to you? No… I make soulless electronic pop. But when you’re on ecstasy in a nightclub grinding up against someone and my music comes on, you’ll feel soul."

Ahhh, so that’s the secret!  I need to be taking some sort of recreational drug to fully appreciate a Lady Gaga song!  It makes so much sense.

Okay, before I get carried away with my sarcasm and pointed comments, I want to say that I think it’s perfectly fine to like Lady Gaga.  I have a soft spot for French group Daft Punk even though their music contains virtually no lyrics.  It’s great to dance to and sometimes that’s all that matters.  I just don’t want to go along with the theory that Lady Gaga is producing some earth-shattering contribution to the music industry. 

What’s more is that I think she is attention-seeking and I don’t find that appealing in any way.  At least she knows when to draw the line.  She said: "Everybody wants me to show my vagina to the world.  And the truth is, I don’t have to."

I’m glad she said that but I’m guessing she didn’t take a close look at the images of her from the 2009 MuchMusic Awards in Toronto (Google them!).  I definitely spotted a little something…

image: Zuma Press

I will admit that “Burnin’ Up” is one of the few Jonas Brothers songs that I actually like.  The Veronicas (view their tour dates and “Take Me on the Floor” video) recently covered the hit and I think that it was interesting to hear a toned-down version with female voices. 

I think that this song works even better as an unplugged track than the studio version.  The girls gradually built it up by first starting with just a guitar accompanying their beautifully harmonized voices. 

Eventually, shakers and another guitar were added and the ladies really upped their vocal intensity in those last few bars.

I really respect when artists sing a song that was originally recorded by someone of the opposite gender since I think it does require some creativity.  It can be a real disaster but sometimes it works (like Mariah Carey’s reworked version of Phil Collin’s Against All Odds). 

Watch the video and tell me what you think!

image: Total Assault Press

Keri Hilson is having a great year so far.  She recently won for “Best New Artist” at the 2009 BET Awards and her single “Knock You Down” (featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo) is currently sitting in the #1 spot of Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay list.  The track is from her debut album, In a Perfect World… which was released on March 24, 2009.

I’m not completely in love with this song but it gets better every time I listen to it.  I like the lyrics and I think that Ne-Yo and Kanye work well together and with Keri’s voice but sometimes it feels like there’s too much going on and it detracts from the message and vocals.  It feels like there are 100 layers being used at the same time during the chorus but I guess it works for a great summer single.  I really do prefer the simpler parts of the song, though, when the music pulses out the chords and melody (when the verses begin) but, then again, it’s nice when the song gradually builds up.  See what I mean?  I just can’t decide how I feel about this one!

Listen to it and tell me what you think!

Check out the lyrics to Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down” – you’ll notice that, coincidentally, the words contain a reference to the recently deceased King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Heh, not again
Ohh, this ain’t supposed to happen to me

Keep rockin’, and keep knockin’
Whether you Louis Vuitton it up or Reebokin’
You see the hate, that they’re servin’ on a platter
So what we gon’ have, dessert or disaster?

I never thought I’d be in love like this
When I look at you my mind goes on a trip
Then you came in, and knocked me on my face
Feels like in I’m a race
But I already won first place

Read More - Keri Hilson “Knock You Down” Lyrics

Iceland’s musical princess, Bjork, is one of those artists that you will either love or hate and I happen to adore her.  Post, which was released in 1995, is probably one of my favorite albums of all time and her performance in Dancer in the Dark was nothing short of amazing (as was the soundtrack) – she even won the “Best Actress” award at the 200 Cannes Film Festival.

Yesterday she released the Voltaic CD/DVD set which is a compilation of live recordings from her Volta tour at the Olympic Studios, in Paris and in Reykjavik. 

Disc 1 features 11 audio tracks including “Army of Me,” “Hunter” and “Vertebrae by Vertebrae” among others.  Disc 2 consists of 21 video performances. 

If you’re looking for new material from Bjork, you might be in for a long wait.  During an interview with Pitchfork in October 2008, the singer said that it would probably take her three or four years to come out with her next album. 

I’m glad she’s taking her time with it.  I know that Debut (1993), Post (1995) and Homogenic (1997) were released in quick succession but it took her four years after that to release Vespertine (2001), three more years to put out Medulla (2004) and then another three years for Volta (2007).  She also had her daughter Isadora in 2002 so I’m sure she took a little longer because she was spending time with her new baby (she also has a son named Sindri who is 23 years old). 

Either way, I wouldn’t want her to rush since she’s such a unique artist.  She’ll know when the time is right to put another album out there.

image: Amazon

I was really surprised when I saw these new pictures from Mariah Carey’s video shoot for her new single “Obsessed.”  She makes a number of costume changes and even dresses up as a man for two characters and I have to admit that I’m curious to see what the finished product looks like.

I remember that “Heartbreaker” had two Mariahs in it (I loved the fight scene between the two in the bathroom!) so this isn’t the first time she’s taken on multiple roles in a video.  At least she’s getting creative.  So much of what I see on MTV today is so bland and predictable.  I hate how little effort some artists are making today.  Anyway, check out these photos!

images: INF and Newscom

Keri Hilson won in the “Best New Artist” category at last night’s BET Awards.  It’s been a great year for Hilson.  After years of working behind the scenes and writing music for artists like Britney Spears, Ciara and Usher, she finally broke out and started her own solo career.

image: Zuma Press

Her first album, In a Perfect World… debuted on March 24, 2009 and, so far, she has released four singles –”Energy,” “Return the Favor” (feat. Timbaland), “Turnin’ Me On” (feat. Lil Wayne) and “Knock You Down” (feat. Ne-Yo) which has been her most successful song, reaching #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

M.I.A. won for “Best Female Hip Hop Artist” and Jazmine Sullivan took home the “Centric Award.”

Beyoncé won twice at last night’s BET Awards in the following categories - “Best Female R&B Artist” and “Video of the Year” for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)." 

I think she deserved to win both of those awards since “Single Ladies” became a phenomenon.  It’s so basic but I think the bare-bones, no frills video of just choreographed dance moves appealed to fans and soon, people all over the world were posting YouTube videos of themselves doing the dancing.  It was incredible!

To pay her respects to Michael Jackson, who died last week, Beyoncé sang “Ave Maria” and Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel.”  It was a touching tribute and she definitely sounded filled with emotion.

In what I’m sure was a very difficult moment, Janet Jackson took to the stage at last night’s BET Awards to make a brief statement about the death of her superstar brother, Michael Jackson.  The singer said that they “miss Michael so much.” 

She left the stage and Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx performed Michael Jackson’s classic hit “I’ll Be There.”  You could see tears streaming down the faces of some of the people in the audience.  I’m sure it was a very emotional experience for everyone at the Shrine Auditorium. 

Lily Allen performed on Day 1 at Britain’s Glastonbury Festival and paid tribute to the Michael Jackson by wearing a single while glove.  The King of Pop died last week after going into cardiac arrest at his Holmby Hills home. The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear but that hasn’t stopped the outpouring of love from his peers and fans.

image: Zuma Press

I haven’t been able to find a video of this performance yet but I did uncover this interview from the event.  She talked a bit about what it’s like to be performing at Glastonbury (her grandmother actually passed away during the festival last year) and revealed that she’s actually staying in a tent-like structure while she’s there.  She also explained that the glove is a “little Michael Jackson tribute.”  Despite the fact that the blonde wig was a bit distracting, I thought it was a fun interview.