Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

The music of Barbados-born singer Rihanna--a breezy blend of hip-hop, commercial pop, and Caribbean flavors--made her a bona fide superstar before the age of 20. Given her immediate success, one had to wonder if Rihanna would be a flash in the pan, but her third album, 2007's GOOD GIRL GONE BAD, is a winner. Interestingly, Rihanna avoids the Caribbean tinge that made her breakthrough single "Pon the Replay" a massive hit, sticking instead to more straightforward dance-pop designed for the club and the singles charts. More interesting still, she pulls it off with assurance and skill.
It doesn't hurt that heavyweight producers such as Timbaland (who contributes several tracks to GOOD GIRL) are on board, or that Rihanna is backed by the Def Jam empire. In fact, Def Jam president Jay-Z appears on the album's lead single, "Umbrella," an irresistible, stomping dance anthem that does exactly what a single should. Another highlight is "Shut Up and Drive," which works a powerful groove based around a sample of New Order's "Blue Monday." There are notably fewer ballads here than on Rihanna's sophomore effort, which is a welcome change, and makes the album more focused, energized, and danceable front to back.

Tracklistings :
1. Umbrella (feat Jay-Z)
2. Push Up On Me
3. Don't Stop The Music
4. Breakin'Dishes
5. Shup Up And Drive
7. Hate That I Love You (feat Ne-Yo)
8. Say It
9. Sell Me Candy
10. Lemme Get That
11. Rehab
12. Question Existing
13. Good Girl Gone Bad

Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revivals

Following the chart-topping pop punk of their first three albums, GOOD MORNING REVIVAL is to Good Charlotte what WARNING was to their obvious stylistic forebears, Green Day: an attempt to expand the stylistic confines of their music without losing sight of what their fans want to hear. GOOD MORNING REVIVAL isn't trying to capture critical favor, nor is it a self-important concept album or stylistic experiment. Instead, twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden incorporate new and different musical influences into their now familiar sound, and the brothers' lyrics feature a newfound maturity and personal viewpoint that was not always so obvious on their earlier albums. Indeed, the power ballad "Where Would We Be," a paean to Joel's break-up with his pop princess ex, Hilary Duff, is the most autobiographical song so far in the band's oeuvre. Elsewhere, the moody, pessimistic "The River" and the defiantly optimistic closer "March On" neatly define the album's emotional poles.

Tracklistings:
1. Good Morning Revival (Intro)
2. Misery
3. River - The (with M.Shadows/Synyster Gates)
4. Dance Floor Anthem
5. Keep Your Hands Off My Girl
6. Victims Of Love
7. Where Would We Be
8. Break Her Heart
9. All Black
10. Beautiful Place
11. Something Else
12. Broken Hearts Parade
13. March On

Three Days Grace - One X

The members of Three Days Grace began bashing punk chords when they were in their teens, carving a derivative yet energetic sound that fueled their live performances. Three Days Grace was formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada, in 1997 by Adam Gontier (vocals, guitar), Brad Walst (bass), and Neil Sanderson (drums). The group was originally called Groundswell, a five-piece that lasted from 1992 until transforming to a trio five years later. Gontier and Walst were raised in Norwood, and many of their songs were inspired by living in a place with a population of around 1,500. The bandmembers were still in high school when they had their first gig, and they performed anywhere that would accept them -- including opening for a movie.

Three Days Grace eventually relocated to Toronto and were introduced to producer Gavin Brown by their old manager. The band gave Brown a private set, and he selected what he felt were the most promising tracks. The group then produced a demo for EMI Music Publishing Canada. With Brown at the helm, Three Days Grace recorded "(I Hate) Everything About You." The tune got them a publishing deal with EMI, and they soon were signed to Jive after being courted by the company's president. Brown and Three Days Grace were sent to a studio in Boston, MA, to start the group's debut album. The band completed its self-titled full-length in Woodstock, NY, at an isolated location free from big-city distractions. Heavily influenced by Kyuss and Sunny Day Real Estate, the dark, angst-ridden tales of small-town love and hate on Three Days Grace brought the group a Next Big Thing tag.

Three Days Grace was released on July 22, 2003, by which time "(I Hate) Everything About You" was already hit on alternative radio stations in Canada. The band toured extensively behind the record for the next two years as both a support act and headliners, but after a while, life on the road left the band, especially Gontier, feeling isolated and alone. Consequently, this theme of disconnection -- coupled with the realization that one was in fact not alone -- would serve as the basis for their follow-up album.

The 2006 sophomore effort from alt-metal outfit Three Days Grace holds steady on the muscular guitars, accessible melodies, and dark themes of the band's debut. Fans of the first album will find more of the group's sound--which owes a debt to both Alice in Chains and nu-metal bands like Godsmack--to like here, but a sharper version of it. There is plenty of anguish and ennui in the band's lyrics ("Pain;" "Time of Dying"), but for all of ONE-X's expressions of isolation and pain, the album is eminently listenable, especially when Three Days Grace works a deep, riff-heavy groove ("Animal I Have Become") or unleashes a ferocious stomp ("Riot").

Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way

Nothing changes folks like babies and war, and since the release of their last album, 2002's Home, the Dixie Chicks have been forever altered by both. If that album showcased the trio as precocious young adults, Taking the Long Way finds them sobered and matured, and in a grown-up state of mind. Produced by the celebrated Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who saw the Chicks as "a great rock act making a country album, not a country act making a rock album," their new record impresses both as beautiful sonic tapestry (peppered with myriad Beatlesque hallmarks) and forthright yet vulnerable portrait of three women shaken by the personal and political events of the past few years. As they make clear in the defiant "Not Ready to Make Nice," they still smart over the backlash from their 2003 Bushwhacking. But as they assert on the equally autobiographical "The Long Way Around," they could never "kiss all the asses that they told me to" and just follow others aimlessly--and silently--through life. This means that the Chicks are simultaneously prideful and scornful of celebrity ("Everybody Knows"), and that as new mothers they increasingly treasure the refuge they find in life with their families, out of the spotlight ("Easy Silence," "Lullaby," "Baby Hold On"). The push and pull of both passions drive this record, which also touches on the personal issues of infertility (with which sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison both dealt) and Alzheimer's (from which Natalie Maines's grandmother suffers). The trio crafted all 14 cuts with the help of such writers as Sheryl Crow, Gary Louris, Mike Campbell, and Keb' Mo', laying out their lives as honestly and intimately as they might in their diaries. For that reason, on first listen, Taking the Long Way seems too somber--in need of a bit of levity and more than a couple of uptempo songs (like the sexy, '60s-flavored "I Like It") to resonate for the long haul. It also seems to lack the writing quality that Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, and Bruce Robison brought to Home. But on repeated plays, those concerns dissipate. By the last cut, the R&B/gospel offering "I Hope," the Chicks have chronicled their journey with as much spirituality as spunk, their pain deeply ingrained in their protests.

Tracklistings :

• The Long Way Around
  
• Easy Silence
  
• Not Ready To Make Nice
• Everybody knows
• Bitter End
• Lullaby
• Lubbock or Leave It
• Silent House
• Favourite Year
• Voice Inside My Head
• I Like It
  
• Baby Hold On
• So Hard
• I Hope

Panic At The Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

The name sums it up - Panic! At The Disco are frenzied, insane, paranoid and a little screwed up, but they're not going to let that stop them from dancing and having a good time. Dancefloor filling emo? Can it really be true?

There's something of an acoustic Bloc Party to the beginning of The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage, but before you know it, they start sounding more like Fall Out Boy on speed.

This album takes things that emo kids should abhor and makes them sound like a match made in heaven - like that vocal effect used on Cher's Believe, and a garage beat that Craig David probably used in those early days of Re-rewinds and Bo Selectas.

Unlike The Bravery, this bunch don't waste time trying to be cool because they understand that making music with feeling is the real path to recognition. And if this album doesn't make them an international success story, I'll eat my eyeliner.

It's brash, in your face and despite its unarguably emo vocals, the lyrical content of the songs doesn't seem very depressed at all. In fact, with lines like 'Let's get those teen hearts beating. Faster faster!' it looks like Panic! At The Disco even have a few sack loads of self esteem.

One thing that seems clear is that these are not the kind of guys you want to fall out with. My Chemical Romance may have given three cheers for sweet revenge, but with the twisted plotting and simultaneous merriment being had in There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet, you can tell these songs were made to be sung along to with a slightly psychotic smile plastered across your face.

The album's highlights have to be the initially plinky-plonky and then seconds later screamtastic Camisado, the rather self-explanatory Time To Dance (get ready to shout 'Shotgun' and 'Wedding' - don't ask why) and the absolutely phenomenal I Write Sins Not Tragedies - the messed-up emo equivalent of Busted's Crashed The Wedding.

The rest of the world has been chuckling at emo for far too long, but this album is sure to silence a lot of those laughs. It's ambitious, exciting and energetic, and like a cat being given a bath, you can put Panic! At The Disco in the emo tub and it's probably the right thing to do, but you're still going to find yourself splashed to the point where you'll have to wring out your shirt of unanticipated droplets of danceable pop.

Tracklistings :

• Introduction
• The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage
• London Beckoned About Money Written By Machines
  
• Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks
• Camisado
• Time To Dance
• Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
  
• Intermission
• But It's Better If You Do
• I Write Sins No Tragedies
• I Constantly Thank God For Esteban
• There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet
• Build God, Then We'll Talk

Kelly Clarkson - My December

"My December" is the third studio album by American pop/rock singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson. The album will be released on June 22, 2007 in Germany and Italy, June 23, 2007 in Australia, June 25, 2007 in UK and Poland and on June 26, 2007 in the United States and Canada. Clarkson confirmed the name of the album in her journal on her fanclub website on February 27, 2007. Clarkson has stated in interviews that she has written or co-written on every track on the album.

“My December” is all about Clarkson’s voice — and not only the succulent, slightly dark timbre of her alto, or her ability to nail those shirt-ripping high notes that say “freedom” in rock ‘n’ roll speak. The lyrics, many inspired by a bout of despair Clarkson suffered at the height of her newfound fame, are genuinely heart-baring.

"Never Again" is the first single off My December. Its release was announced on her website on April 4, 2007. The track hit the airwaves on April 13,2007, being officially debuted by Clarkson herself on Los Angeles based 102.7 KKIS-FM's radio show "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest." The video was shot in Los Angeles between April 10 and 13. The video premiered on TRL on May 1, and has since hit number one on the countdown four times.
In her official fan club, Clarkson stated that "Sober" would be the next single and hit airwaves June 6.
Clarkson has stated that "One Minute" will most likely be a single from the album, in an interview on May 12 on VH1 V-Spot. She has also mentioned that "Can I Have a Kiss" might be a single due to its great reception. She stated on radio station 104.1 KRBE that she would like to release "Judas" as a single, but does not know what the public reaction would be as the song is 'very personal'.

Tracklistings :

• Never Again
  
• One Minute
• Hole
• Sober
• Don't Waste Your Time
• Judas
• Haunted
  
• Be Still
• Maybe
• How I Feel
• Yeah
• Can I Have A Kiss
• Irvine

"...This song i dedicated specially for someone who is very special in my life and i want him to know that every moment and every second i'm gonna miss him...tq"

The Best Damn Thing By Avril Lavigne

Things have certainly changed for Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne since 2004's sophomore effort Under My Skin. Where that album portrayed a petulant, pre-marriage Avril on angst overload - she moaned about boys, boys and, well, boys - latest disc The Best Damn Thing doesn't so much as moan about boys, rather it showcases Lavigne in a far feistier mood, kicking their asses and taking names respectively.

It's a direction best offset by lead single Girlfriend, a swaggering, bitchy empowerment anthem that sees bad Avril tangle with her distinctly more geeky counterpart ('cause she's 'like, so whatever') for the affections of her current squeeze. It's confident, though at times complacently arrogant lyrics typify the standpoint Lavigne's taken as regards The Best Damn Thing. It's an assured, though not entirely fulfilling, set of songs designed to get fans off their asses and back into the mosh-pit - and to that degree, it works an absolute treat.

There's no playing the lowly underdog here, as the likes of I Can Do Better and Everything Back But You act as proverbial middle fingers to wasteful lovers, with Lavigne breaking into hysterical giggles at the climax of the former. When You're Gone and Innocence meanwhile show that Avril certainly hasn't lost her ear for a cracking power ballad, with the combination of subtle strings and gorgeous piano working especially well throughout Innocence's loved-up tale of (you'd assume) Lavigne's not-so-recent marriage to Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley.

Long time fans will doubtless notice the writing credits for Lavigne's former lead guitarist Evan Taubenfeld on the likes of Innocence, Hot and One Of Those Girls - arguably the albums' three standout tracks - and considering Taubenfeld's successful co-work with Lavigne on debut album Let Go back in 2001, it really comes as little surprise to see his name attached to the albums best moments. If anything, it serves to show just how inexperienced Avril remains as a sole lyricist, with the bratty naivety of title-track The Best Damn Thing paling in comparison to Taubenfeld's assistance on Hot et al.

That said though, it's the same youthful innocence that makes The Best Damn Thing such a fun, engaging record. The excellent Runaway crashes along on a wave of crunchy guitars and Travis Barker-donated drums, whilst the catchy-as-hell Contagious sees Avril professing her qualities to a prospective partner, and whilst there are times when the songs show a worrying lack of substance, it's largely due to The Best Damn Thing being a no-frills romp of a record, not designed to be deep or particularly meaningful.

Lavigne's legion of fans will doubtless treat The Best Damn Thing like an early Christmas present, and so they should. For all its lyrical misgivings (largely when Avril tries to go it alone), TBTD is an exuberantly fun album, one that packs more than a fair punch and puts a delightfully perky twist on the direction of former releases Let Go and Under My Skin.

Though it's hard to see The Best Damn Thing furthering Lavigne's aims of ultimately becoming a serious singer-songwriter, for now it's simply a case - as her currently dyed hair suggests - of blondes having just that bit more fun.

These are the songs provided in this album :

• Girlfriend
• Keep Holding On
• When You're Gone
• I Can Do Better
• Runaway
• Everything Back But You
• One Of Those Girls
• Contagious
• I Don't Have To Try
• Innocence
• The Best Damn Thing
• Hot

The new Hillary Duff - Dignity

Dignity is the third studio album by Hillary Duff, released in Italy onMarch 23, in theUnited Kingdom, Spain and Portugal on March 26, 2007, in Japan on March 28,2007, in Australia on March 31, 2007, and in the United States by Hollywood Records on April 3, 2007. The first single was "With Love", and the second is "Stranger".

In September 2005 Duff said she would "love" Joel and Benji Madden, who produced songs on her compilation album Most Wanted, to produce one of her albums. In January 2006 Duff said she wanted to take time on the album and "really work on [it]", possibly by herself or with just one other producer and songwriter. "[I want to] do it just a little bit different from how I've done it in the past and see what we come up with", she said.

Duff co-wrote all tracks but "Outside of You", which was co-written by singer Pink, and Kara DioGuardi is a co-writer on every song except "Outside of You" and "Gypsy Woman" (co-written by Haylie Duff). Duff said working with DioGuardi "allowed me to talk about things on my mind. It was one big therapy session."According to Duff, she wanted to work with DioGuardi because she liked DioGuardi's work on melodies, which she says "[are] not my strongest suit." Duff wrote most of the lyrics with occasional help from DioGuardi: "She'd say, 'This doesn't really fit', and if I was adamant, we'd make it work." She said the process of her writing lyrics, which she had only done "here and there" on her previous albums, was "important this time".

Duff also worked with producer-songwriter Rhett Lawrence in Toronto, Canada. Other producers and mixers on the album include Greg Wells, Ryan Tedder, Richard "Humpty" Vission, Tim and Bob, and Manny Marroquin, and will.i.am of hip-hop/R&B group The Black Eyed Peas. Chico Bennett, Vada Nobles and Fred Wreck have also contributed.

An early version of the song "Happy" was featured in the 2006 film Material Girls, in which Duff starred. It was originally set to the beat of "Play with Fire", but the lyrics were later changed, and it became a new song.

These are a few songs that are included in this album :

Hilary Duff – Stranger

Hilary Duff – Dignity

Hilary Duff – Danger

Hilary Duff – Happy

Hilary Duff – I Wish

Hilary Duff – Play With Fire

Gwen Stephanie - The Sweet Escape

It's pretty fair to say that you know what you're going to get from Gwen Stefani. After the success of Love Angel Music Baby, it was always going to be a pretty safe bet that for her second album Stefani would return to the same template.

And so it proves with the release of The Sweet Escape. With The Neptunes on board, a Gwen Stefani record is never a dull listen, but as with her solo debut, there are moments that come periously close to crossing that line from 'quirky and interesting' to 'ridiculously irritating'. Nowhere is this more amply demonstrated than on opening track Wind It Up.

Sounding like a reprise of Hollaback Girl but even more annoying, Wind It Up tries to rehabilitate yodelling, possibly for the first time since one hit wonders Edelweiss. Built on a sample from The Lonely Goatherd, The Neptunes lay far too much percussion down while Stefani half-sings, half-raps and then bursts into yodelling. Maybe she's going for that How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria audience, but it's just horrible, and possibly the worst start to an album this year.

Luckily, things quickly improve. The title track links up with Akon and is a lovely, summery bouncy pop song with a very infectious chorus. It starts off very similar to Gnarls Barkley's Smiley Faces, and has a similar addictive quality to it. It's also notable for being one of the tracks where all the effects are given a rest and the song is allowed to stand on its own merits.

It's a lesson that should be learned throughout the rest of the album. When Stefani plays it straight, such as on the lovelorn ballad 4 In The Morning, she sounds great. Yet when the self-consciously wacky and kitsch side to her personality surfaces, as on the inane Now That You Got It, the temptation is to dive for the 'off' switch.

This split personality ultimately flaws the album. One minute there's Breakin' Up, an atmospheric dancefloor filler produced by Pharrell Williams, yet the next minute Stefani's hollering "this is the most craziest shit ever" on Don't Get It Twisted and coming across like a low-rent Fergie (quite an achievement in itself). Williams also produces one of the other stand-out tracks, the glorious Yummy - even though there is rather a strong resemblance to Kelis' Milkshake here.

Keane's Tim-Rice Oxley also pops up with the rather nice Early Winter, but it does sound like Stefani covering a Keane song. Yet at least the lyrics here are palatable - this has always been one of Stefani's weakest areas and she doesn't get any better on this album. Orange County Girl is just cringeable, a ode from Stefani about she's an ordinary girl living in an extraordinary world, and featuring the line "gonna get myself another Grammy". Not with this song you're not Gwen.

Luckily the album does bow out on a high point with the synth-heavy Wonderful Life (featuring guest spots from both Martin Gore and Richard Hawley) and Linda Perry's songwriting skills help to steer Stefani away from the self-referential babbling so prevalent on other tracks here.

The Sweet Escape isn't a terrible record (although at times it does get infuriating). The trouble is that in the two years since Love Angel Music Baby she doesn't seem to have moved on or evolved at all - she's stood still by the sounds of it, and this comes across not so much as a sequel but rather a remake. Although it's nice to see she's dropped the rather creepy obsessions with Japanese girls.

These are some of the tracks provided in the album :
Gwen Stefani – Wind It Up

Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion

Rarely has a new pop artist so directly challenged their audience as Mika does on his debut single Grace Kelly. Exclaiming that he could be anything while asking pop fans why they don't like him simply for who he is, Mika sets up listeners for an entire album digging into questions of identity, love, and life written in capital letters tumbling forth in a cornucopia of playful pop.

Whether it's the confused, seemingly bisexual, protagonist of "Billy Brown," the large women celebrated in "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)," or the "identity mad" protagonist of "Grace Kelly," Mika celebrates a huge world of diverse identities. As if to put an exclamation point on this element of his music, Mika has refused to discuss his own sexual identity in interviews. In the bright, colorful, friendly world the characters in his lyrics long for, specific identification would be much less important.

This are the songs in the album :

• Love today
• Lollipop
• Ring ring
• Any Other World
• My Interpretion
• Billy Brown
• Stuck In The Middle
• Big Girl (You're Beautiful)
  
• Erase
• Happy Ending
• Over My Shoulder
  

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long

Capturing their first of two Grammys as Best New Artist of 2005, and going on to sell more than ten million albums worldwide, Maroon 5 won plaudits with the hybrid rock/R&B sound they introduced on their debut album Songs About Jane. On May 22nd, after four years and live shows alongside the likes of The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder, the quintet is set to release their much-anticipated second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (A&M/Octone Records). Listeners can expect this sophomore outing to be "sexier," "stronger" and even "lyrically darker" than Jane, according to vocalist/guitarist Adam Levine, who affirms that "it's rooted in what we've always been, which is different."

The album, recorded in their home town of Los Angeles, was guided by producers Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Eminem), Mark "Spike" Stent (Gwen Stefani, Bjork, Keane, Marilyn Manson), Mark Endert (Madonna, Fiona Apple) and Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Nickel Creek). It also reflects the contributions of new drummer Matt Flynn, whose harder beats complement the evolved sound of Levine, guitarist James Valentine, bassist Mickey Madden and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael. "We're all really happy with the finished product," says Levine, crediting the label for welcoming new sounds and textures. "With Jane you could pick out our influences pretty easily, but now it sounds more like Maroon 5," says Levine. "We're becoming our own band, and I think this album will help change perceptions of who we really are."

From first single, "Makes Me Wonder," it is clear that Maroon 5 has once again captured all of the elements that create a universally popular pop rock song. The song segues from a bass heavy intro to an infectiously catchy melody that soon belies the sentiment, "Give me something to believe in because I don't believe in you anymore." Beneath the surface, it also incorporates what Adam Levine calls "an increasing dissatisfaction with the direction of the world" and its leaders, imparting a new layer of meaning to an otherwise upbeat breakup song. "If I Never See Your Face" offers brash honesty in the wake of a fling, its spare guitar over a steady beat tipping its hat to Quincy Jones. A burst of electronica opens "Wake Up Call," whose hip-hop sensibility guides a dark story exploring the depths of betrayal and rage.

It Won't Be Soon Before Long mines its share of hopefulness as well. In the hyperkinetic rock meets hip-hop of "A Little of Your Time" (which Levine calls "the most unique track on this album, with some of the best lyrics we've ever written"), a relationship must overcome the challenge of distrust and miscommunication to persevere, and the bass-pulsing "Won't Go Home Without You" asks plaintively for "one more chance to make it right."

High school mates in West L.A., Levine, Carmichael and Madden, first achieved recognition under the moniker Kara's Flowers. Although the world seemed to open oyster-like for them - recording their first album with legendary producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls) - their debut, The Fourth World, proved a commercial disappointment. Kara's Flowers was given a release from the label, and its members mulled their collective future. College became the intermediate answer, and while Madden stayed in Los Angeles to study at UCLA, Levine and Carmichael headed east to State University of New York.

The SUNY dorms yielded an epiphany. "The halls were blasting gospel music and people were listening to stuff we'd never actually listened to, like Biggie Smalls, Missy Elliot and Jay-Z," recalls Levine. "The Aaliyah record had come out around then, and we were just blown away." Until then, his songwriting influences had been The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and other artists he'd grown up with. But now his musical landscape had experienced a tectonic shift. Levine began to actively listen to Stevie Wonder and embraced a new singing style. Carmichael started playing keyboards. And the future suddenly looked bright again, in a very different light.

When the duo hooked back up with Madden in L.A., they were reinvigorated by adding an R&B, groove-based tint to their explosive rock & roll. With the new musical frame of mind came a new name, Maroon 5, and a fifth member, guitarist James Valentine. "James came along right as we were deciding on the name," says Levine. "We clearly weren't Kara's Flowers anymore, with the addition of James and an entirely new approach to music."

Fortified with a new attitude, a new sound and a new name, Maroon 5 quickly attracted attention from labels. Octone Records, then a new indie label based in New York, signed the group, and in 2001 Maroon 5 entered the studio with producer Matt Wallace (The Replacements, Faith No More). Melding their rock roots with their newfound love of R&B, the result was Songs About Jane. Released in June 2002, it featured pop rhythms and classic soul melodies co-habiting with searing guitars and a powerful rock undercurrent. On top of it all, Levine's expressive voice belted out tale after tale of an ex-girlfriend.

The album yielded a four chart-topping singles. One of them, "This Love," earned Maroon 5 a Best New Artist Moon Man at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; went #1 at Top 40, VH1 and MTV simultaneously; and became the first song certified as a platinum download. The other, "She Will Be Loved," scored a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. The other two singles from Jane, "Harder to Breathe" and "Sunday Morning," reached the Billboard Top 20 and Top 40 respectively. The band also snagged a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, which it went on to win. Between singles, Maroon 5 held serve for ten weeks in 2004, dominating the Modern Adult Contemporary, Hot AC and Adult Top 40 charts. To date Jane, has been certified quadruple platinum in the U.S. and has reached gold or platinum status in over 35 countries.

Maroon 5 toured alongside scores of artists, from The Rolling Stones to Stevie Wonder (at the close of Live 8 in Philadelphia). They performed on virtually every TV show that features musical guests, including "Saturday Night Live," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Today Show" and many others.

Following up with Acoustic (2004), a collection of unplugged songs, and Live - Friday, the 13th (2005), Maroon 5 earned a second Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the 2006 live recording of their international hit single "This Love."

Also known for their commitment to the environment, Maroon 5 was honored at the 2006 Environmental Media Awards and recently pledged their time and energy toward Global Cool, a newly launched initiative to fight global warming by motivating a billion people worldwide to reduce their personal energy use.

This is one of the song provided in the album:

The New Linkin Park

Linkin Park, everyone’s favourite Grammy award-winning nu-metal outfit is reanimating after an achingly long hiatus with their third studio album, Minutes to Midnight. The catch? They ain’t nu-metal anymore.

A major contributing factor to Linkin Park’s success has always been their open-ended, accessible lyrics. Whether you’re a heartbroken teenager, a disillusioned employee or simply somebody who needs to let off some steam, you’re bound to find a soothingly empathic quality to both Chester Bennington’s achingly guttural shrieks and the perfectly enunciated flows of Mike Shinoda.

And as Linkin Park has proven, empathy sells. Two Grammy awards, two critically acclaimed studio albums, a collection of remix albums and countless sold-out tours later, the band that can do no wrong believes it’s time for a change with their third studio album, Minutes to Midnight.

Produced by Mike Shinoda and Grammy-award winning producer Rick Rubin, Minutes to Midnight represents an evolved Linkin Park that isn’t afraid to test the boundaries of their own creativity, and to dabble with things they wouldn’t have even considered touching a few years back.

“Rick has brought more of a stripped down, classic-rock and hip-hop kind of feel. We’re using vintage guitars and drums carved out of wood and skin for more of a tribal sound. It’s definitely not nu-metal,” explains Bennington.

“People have always tried to lump us in with the whole rap/rock stereotype, but we don’t intentionally want to be part of that scene. We’ve always had our own personality, and I think it really shows on this record,” adds Shinoda.

Linkin Park – Leave Out All The Rest
Linkin Park – What I've Done
Linkin Park – Wake
Linkin Park – Shadow Of The Day
Linkin Park – Valentine's Day

It seems like a minor miracle that Evanescence released their second album at all, given the behind the scenes toil and trouble that surrounded the aftermath of their 2003 debut Fallen turning into an unexpected blockbuster.


Actually, so much drama followed Evanescence that it's hardly the same band anymore. Certainly, pivotal songwriter/guitarist Ben Moody is no longer with the band, leaving not long after Fallen had become an international success, and sometime after that, they lost their bassist leaving behind Amy Lee as the indisputable leader of the band. She always was the face, voice and spirit of the band anyway dominating so that it often seemed that she was named Evanescence and not fronting a band called that but by the time the group finally released their longawaited second album The Open Door in October 2006, there was no question that it was her band, no questions asked, and she has learned well from the success of Fallen. Pushed to the background are the Toriisms that constituted a good chunk of the debut they're saved for the brooding affirmation of a closer, "Good Enough" and the churning "Lithium" which most certainly is not a cover of Nirvana's classic (that song never mentioned its title, this repeats it incessantly) and in their place are epic gothic rock (not quite the same thing as gothrock, mind you) that made Lee rock's leading witchy woman of the new millennium. And she doesn't hesitate to dig into the turmoil surrounding the band, since this truly is all about her she may artfully avoid the ugliness surrounding the lawsuit against her manager who she's alleged of sexual harassment, but she takes a few swipes against Moody, while hitting her semifamous ex Shawn Morgan of Seether directly with "Call Me When You're Sober" as blunt a dismissal as they come. To hear her tell it, she not only doesn't need anybody, she's better on her own.

Yet artists aren't always the best judge of their own work, and Lee could use somebody to help sculpt her sound into songs, the way she did when Moody was around. Not that she's flailing about necessarily "Call Me When You're Sober" not only has structure, it has hooks and momentum but far too often The Open Door is a muddle of affections, always lead by Lee's soaring voice, often supported by heavy processed guitars, usually dressed in atmospheric synths, sometimes gussied up with ludicrous vocal choirs, with the occasional toy piano thrown into the mix. Sonically, it captures the Evanescence mythos better and more consistently than the first after all, Lee now has no apologies of being the thinking man's numetal chick, not after she's a star but without the songs, it doesn't resonate. These are the all the tracks provided in The Open Door album :

• Sweet Sacrifice
• Call Me When You're Sober
• Weight of The World
• Lithium
• Cloud Nine
• Snow White Queen
• Lacrymosa
• Like You
• Lose Control
• Only One
• Your Star
• All That I'm Living For
• Good Enough
  

Fergie - The Dutchess

Fergie is not a new name in the music arena but this lady who work with the Black Eyed Peas has stepped out into the limelight by herself in the solo album "The Dutchess".

This album was produced by fellow Pea and producer extraordinaire Will.I.Am that includes the hot list singles 'London Bridge', 'Fergalicious', 'Glamorous' plus 2 UK Bonus Tracks 'Get Your Hands Up', and 'Wake Up'.

The Dutchess kicks off with "Fergalicious," a self-congratulatory rap extravaganza borrowing a wicked groove from JJ Fad's seminal hit "Supersonic." Just as you finish chanting D to the E to the L-I-C-I-O-U-S with guest will.i.am, "Clumsy" rolls in mixing up the "Girl can't help it" chant from Little Richard's classic with a Casio keyboard line and Fergie's recitation of clumsiness in falling in love. Much of the album goes this way. Clever use of familiar samples and riffs from classics of pop music history, mash-ups across time periods and styles, all presided over by Fergie and her tough, independent, sometimes vulnerable, and often quite funny persona. Fergie is truly one of the few pop performers today who can pull off an ode to "Mary Jane Shoes" backed by Rita Marley and the I-Threes over the groove from Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry."

Here Fergie proves herself a skilled entertainer that can make you dance, laugh, nearly cry, and just have a really good time. This is one solo project well worth the effort.Well done to her..

PSM

such a bad thing i've need to face off...
what to do?
how to start it?
how to apply all the things that relate?
argggghhh...this project really like hell..
is there anybody that have any idea regarding this psm i really appreciate if u are willing to share some ideas with me..na'aaahh..
i really appreciate all of ur support.. =)

This song i dedicated to someone who is very special to me n thanks to him for always be by my side...love you with all my heart~~dd

There’s nothing I can say to you..
Nothing I could ever do to make you see..
What you mean to me..
All the pain the tears they cry..
Still you never said goodbye and now I know how far you’d go..
I know I let you down but its not like that now..
This time I’ll never let you go..

I will be all that you want and get my self together..
Cause you keep me from falling apart..
All my life I’ll be with you forever..
To get you through the day and make every thing ok..

I thought that I had every thing I didn’t know what life could bring..
But now I see honestly..
You the one thing I got right..
The only one I let inside..
Now I can breath cause your hear with me..
And if I let you down I’ll turn it all around..
Cause I would never let you go..