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attention was a May 2007 Youtube video of her performing Rihanna’s smash hit “Umbrella” on guitar for 2 minutes and 16 seconds. Partly due to her talent and beauty, and partly due to hype and word of mouth, the video has garnered over 13 million views.

As All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine put it so well, “Digby possesses a warm, sweet voice but she’s more of a conversational singer than a showy diva, which was the secret to her ‘Umbrella’ cover, as she zeroed in on both the melody and the emotional thrust of the song.”
Due to the attention generated by the acoustic cover video, as well as other cover videos, such as Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” and Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder,” Digby was able to get the backing of her label to release her full-length debut album—titled Unfold—on April 8, 2008 in the United States.

And now, her sophomore set, Breathing Underwater, is scheduled to be released on July 21, 2009. Whereas she was reminiscent of Michelle Branch on Unfold, the new album sounds like the result of Michelle Branch mixed with production normally associated more closely with R&B/pop singers like Jordan Sparks.

The production is noticeably slicker, with beats and her lush, multi-layered vocals apparent throughout the album. And yet it’s controlled enough that Digby’s voice doesn’t become drowned by production, as it was at times on her debut.

The title track, “Feel” and “Machine” are album highlights, with the last one being my favorite. She clearly has a better chance of breaking into the charts this time around, as the production gives the songs more punch and swing, but a mainstream radio breakthrough single isn’t obvious.

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“We have realistic views of how the music industry is today,” McGrath told Billboard in May. “I know people aren’t sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for a Sugar Ray record.”

With Music For Cougars, Sugar Ray’s sixth full-length release (available July 21), the quintet does what it does best — craft radio-friendly reggae pop-rock for a good timin’ summer crowd. Here’s the thing about Music For Cougars — it’s not half-bad.

Sure, Music For Cougars (a fitting title, considering many of Sugar Ray’s 90s female fans are now mothers themselves) isn’t going to re-establish Sugar Ray as a force on pop radio. In fact, I didn’t even know their first single, “Boardwalk,” was on the radio until alerted to the fact in the band’s press notes. Truth is, it will be lucky to crack the Billboard Top 30 in its debut week. Even so, for those who are looking to take a trip back to the late 90s, if only for nostalgic purposes, Music for Cougars accomplishes its goal.

The aforementioned “Boardwalk” is catchy as hell, if light and sugary as cotton candy, while “She’s Got the (Woo-Hoo),” “Girls Were Made to Love,” and “Dance Like No One’s Watchin’” round out the album’s reggae-light feel.

If anything, Music for Cougars is refreshing in that it was made with no expectations and for one simple reason — Sugar Ray’s five members wanted to reunited and make a record. They did so with no expectations of money or career resurgence, but rather, because they thought it might be fun. If anything, it makes their August 21 date at Austin’s La Zona Rosa a welcome appearance for a band that gave us more than a few good times before the days of iPhones, social networking, and the Jonas Brothers.

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American Idol

According to the BWR press release:

“I wanted to work with Brooke from the moment I met her,” says Jackson. “When she sang, I instantly heard the legendary greats that inspired her: Carole King, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell.  She truly is an artist for all ages. And this album is a great collection of songs from a great new artist who was birthed on the stage of American Idol.  I’m so happy to be working with an amazingly talented artist at the beginning of her career.”

The album will be released through June Baby Records, a brand-new indie label formed by White, Jackson and Stubner.  “If there was one valuable lesson that I learned from my ‘Idol’ experience, it would be to remain true to myself, even if that means going down the road less traveled and taking a few risks,” says the singer-songwriter. “I’ve been hands-on with all aspects of this record, so I decided to form my own label and release it myself, too. Once the decision was made, it felt pretty liberating.”

White, who co-wrote the entire record, took the same approach with the album, crafting songs free of genre restrictions. “The goal was to create a very free-flowing, adventurous type of record,” she says. “I wanted it to have the feel of a classic, timeless album.”

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, White began singing at age 15. She turned heads during last season’s “Idol” by delivering breathtaking renditions of songs by the Beatles (“Let It Be”), Dolly Parton (“Jolene”) and Neil Diamond (“I Am I Said”). After she sang Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” Simon proclaimed White to be her favorite “Idol” vocalist. Following her appearance on the show, White appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and performed on “Live with Regis and Kelly” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” among others.

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Sure, Jordin Sparks’ sophomore album,

But throughout the album, there really does sound like a battle brewing.

On one side is the Jordin that her handlers seem to want her to be – a vaguely sweet Stepfordish Everygirl with a lovely voice who sings interchangeable songs about surface-y stuff like battlefields and love-like things. On the other side is the actual 19-year-old Jordin who has actual feelings and can express them quite well, both vocally and lyrically.

You know who wins? Oh right, you’ve heard the title track. For those rooting for that side, there’s also the blandly R&B “Watch You Go” from T-Pain and “S.O.S.,” which sounds like a Britney Spears leftover and even cops the chorus from Shannon’s “Let the Music Play.”

It isn’t horrible, but it seems like a waste – albeit a profitable one – after hearing the four songs Sparks co-wrote for the album. She gives a personal twist to “Emergency (911)” that makes the dance number work. But it’s the big ballads – “Was I the Only One,” “Faith” and “The Cure” – where her vulnerability and booming voice work best together, where she sounds like a true teenager with actual teenager problems and beliefs.

It’s that side of the onetime “American Idol” who will eventually win out and that’s when her career will really take off. On “Battlefield,” she’s apparently still readying her armor.

JORDIN SPARKS “Battlefield”

GRADE B-

BOTTOM LINE Still a teen, Jordin tries to act her age

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What happened to the stripper-worshiping hedonism of hair metal, or even the lonely, monkish pose those messy ’90s grunge rockers struck? Daughtry and his boys are marriage maniacs. That’s what gives this band its pioneering edge, despite the utter predictability of its music.

Focusing on the drama of long-term relationships, Daughtry does something more radical than many more sonically adventurous (and fashionable) rock bands dare.

This doesn’t make “Leave This Town” anything but a familiar listen. This is by-the-numbers arena rock, played with muscular competence by a relatively young band showing off its chops by executing successful formulas.

That unwed drummer might be the best thing about Daughtry the band — Barnes is itchy enough to push forward anthems that might otherwise plod. Guitarist Josh Steely also has his moments, throwing in spicy little riffs. And there’s Daughtry’s voice, of course, an instrument cleaner and stronger than that of anybody else singing mainstream rock right now. Sometimes the notes he hits here are so open, you’d swear someone had invented a new audio processor just to generate it: Vibrato-Tune. But the mix on “Leave This Town,” by hit doctor Chris Lord-Alge, is so compressed that it’s tough to notice what each player is doing.

Because of this, though many of its songs surely will be radio staples for the next two years. “Leave This Town” might not make an impression on those not already inclined to love it, but Daughtry is still a major architect in mainstream rock, and his music is part of an important shift in the genre.

This Christian father of two is not the first rocker to tackle the subject of monogamy, but he could be the most focused on its ups and downs and the most passionate about its value. It’s one thing to offer to lay your lover down on a bed of roses, the way Jon Bon Jovi did; it’s another to write about how an argument can make you stalk off clutching your car keys and then come slinking back, or to assess a breakup with the level-headed words, “Don’t be surprised when we hate this tomorrow, God knows we tried to find an easier way.”

That song, “No Surprise” was co-written by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger; but unlike that band, Daughtry never indulges in tongue-wagging lechery. When he does address new love, in “Supernatural,” it’s with a blushing hopefulness that would have suited a 1960s girl group (or the Jonas Brothers).

More often, Daughtry dwells on those downs — the misunderstandings, regrets, momentary straying and emotionally charged returns that make up a lifetime spent together. Most remarkable are the two songs he co-wrote with the talented pen-for-hire Brian Howes.

“Ghost of Me” vainly comforts a lover whose (possibly justified) doubts about the singer come out in her dreams. “What I Meant to Say” is anti-apology from a tongue-tied guy who can’t get the upper hand with his argumentative mate. Both focus on the kinds of real problems that actually wreck relationships, not on the fantasy realm of romance.

Daughtry might get more credit for his interesting perspective if he were a sharper writer on a line-by-line level. He’s prone to clichés, and to flowery phrases like “tonight the sunset means so much,” which work against his common-man persona. He could learn something from more grass-roots songwriters like Billy Bragg and John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, who’ve been burrowing into the details of domestic life for years, in more literary settings. He can also learn from country music, which he reaches toward here with the not too original Vince Gill duet “Tennessee Line.”

But what’s important about Daughtry’s relationship rock is that it is rock, macho and cathartic. In recent years, the audience for this music has matured and expanded to include middle-aged PTA parents and the “nice” kids who would never have gone for the gender-bending, whiskey-swilling lifestyle with which the music was long associated.

Chris Daughtry and his mates are making rock that’s not just safe for this more sober crowd, but powerfully attuned to it. Dismiss him at your peril.

– Ann Powers

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“This album is full of the joy of making music,” says Dido. “The process of making it has been a wonderful experience, something to totally cherish. I’ve put every emotion into these songs. And now I just really hope they move people.” It’s hard to imagine that they won’t.

This album fits Dido’s voice perfectly, but if you’re expecting some uplifting rhythms, this probably isn’t for you. If you want something with a slightly haunting sound and emotive lyrics, you won’t be disappointed.
Its not very upbeat but all the songs are very soulful and beautiful. If you are a Dido fan you should definitely buy this album her voice is truly amazing.

Dido – Safe Trip Home Track Listing

All songs written by Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong and Jon Brion except where indicated.

1. “Don’t Believe in Love” – 3:53
2. “Quiet Times” (Dido Armstrong) – 3:17
3. “Never Want To Say It’s Love” – 3:35
4. “Grafton Street” (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Brian Eno) – 5:57
5. “It Comes and It Goes” – 3:28
6. “Look No Further” – 3:14
7. “Us 2 Little Gods” (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Rick Nowels, Daisy Gough) – 4:49
8. “The Day Before The Day” (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong) – 4:13
9. “Let’s Do The Things We Normally Do” – 4:10
10. “Burnin’ Love” (featuring Citizen Cope) (Dido Armstrong, Citizen Cope) – 4:12
11. “Northern Skies” (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong) – 8:57

Bonus tracks

12. “For One Day” (Dido Armstrong) 5:43 (Bonus iTunes/CD Deluxe Version)
13. “Summer” (Dido Armstrong) 3:55 (Bonus iTunes/CD Deluxe Version)
14. “Northern Skies” (Rollo Version) (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong) 5:53 (Bonus iTunes/CD Deluxe Version)
15. “The Day Before The Day (5/4)” (Early Mix) (Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong) 4:14 (Bonus iTunes Version)

The lead single from Safe Trip Home, “Don’t Believe in Love“, was released as a download on 26 October and on CD format on 27 October in the UK, it was made available on iTunes stores internationally from September 29.

The album was originally due to be released on November 3 but was delayed for two weeks due to manufacturing delays. As compensation, Dido’s official website uploaded the album track “Grafton Street” (co-produced with Brian Eno) for online streaming on October 3.

This album is full of calming and great sounding music with amazing structure. Its worth the buy and you will like it if you liked the other albums.

Album Information

Released November 17, 2008, November 18, 2008 (US)
Recorded London and Los Angeles
Genre Pop
Length 49:46
Label Cheeky, RCA, Sony BMG
Producer Dido, Jon Brion, Rollo Armstrong, Rick Nowels

sources wikipedia.org and amazon.com

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Circus

Overall, this a great great album, a total return to form for Britney taking her current sound forward whilst reincorporating the good bits of the old Britney back in again.
Don’t make judgements on the person and listen to the music. This album will be one of her best.

Britney Spears – Circus Track Listing

1. “Womanizer” – 3:43
2. “Circus” – 3:12
3. “Out from Under” – 3:54
4. “Kill the Lights” – 3:59
5. “Shattered Glass” – 2:53
6. “If U Seek Amy” – 3:37
7. “Unusual You” – 4:23
8. “Blur” – 3:09
9. “Mmm Papi” – 3:22
10. “Mannequin” – 4:06
11. “Lace and Leather” – 2:48
12. “My Baby” – 3:20

The first single, “Womanizer“, became Spears’ first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 since her debut “…Baby One More Time”, almost 10 years prior.
The second single will be the title track “Circus“, it will be released in late November or early December.

According to Amazon.com and the promo packet released by Jive Records, a two-disc Deluxe Edition of Circus will be released on December 2, 2008.
The Deluxe Edition also includes a special collector’s two sided poster. It will feature the bonus tracks “Rock Me In” and “Phonography.”

Album Information

Released December 2, 2008
Recorded 2008
Genre Pop
Length 46:15 (Standard Edition), 57:12 (Deluxe Edition)
Label Jive, Zomba, Sony Music
Producer Bloodshy & Avant, Benny Blanco, The Clutch, Nate “Danja” Hills, Dr. Luke, Fernando Garibay, Greg Kurstin, Guy Sigsworth, Jim Beanz, Kelly Claude, Lady GaGa, Let’s Go To War, Max Martin, Nicole Morier, The Outsyders, The Underdogs

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Funhouse

The majority of the songs on the album deal with divorce (no surprise due to her recent break-up with ex-husband Carey Hart), and while they are unlikely to depress you, Funhouse is Miss P!nk’s most mature offering yet and a fantastic one at that. With the fantastic lead-single ‘So What’ lifting the album to high heights, expect P!nk to have another roaring success with this album, and God bless, because she and the album really deserve it.

Pink – Funhouse Track Listing

1 “So What” – 3:37
2 “Sober” – 4:14
3 “I Don’t Believe You” – 4:38
4 “One Foot Wrong” – 3:27
5 “Please Don’t Leave Me” – 3:54
6 “Bad Influence” – 3:38
7 “Funhouse” – 3:27
8 “Crystal Ball” – 3:28
9 “Mean” – 4:20
10 “It’s All Your Fault” – 3:54
11 “Ave Mary A” – 3:18
12 “Glitter In The Air” – 3:49
13 “This Is How It Goes Down” (non-U.S. track) featuring Travis McCoy – 3:21

The first single, ‘So What‘, was produced by Max Martin, (who produced previous Pink hits such as ‘Who Knew’ and ‘U + Ur Hand’), and was released on August 18, 2008 as a single in North America. The single has been the biggest solo success of Pink’s career to date, topping the charts in eleven countries so far, including her native United States, the UK and in Australia, whilst reaching the top 5 in many others.
The second single, ‘Sober’, will be released to the U.S. in late November.

Funhouse debuted at No. 2 on the United States Billboard 200 chart issued on November 18, 2008, with sales of 180,624, behind AC/DC’s Wal-Mart exclusive, Black Ice, which claimed the top spot with its second-week sales of 272,842.
The album became Pink’s first UK number one album in the UK, entering at number one on November 2, 2008.

Since her debut in 2000, P!nk (Alecia Moore) has been widely hailed as a fearlessly talented singer, songwriter and the Pennsylvania native’s genre-defying creative risk-taking has propelled her to global stardom. To date, the chanteuse has sold 22 million albums cumulatively worldwide.

Album Information

Released October 28, 2008
Recorded 2007—2008
Genre Rock, pop, R&B, hip hop, pop punk, electropop, dance-pop
Length 47:02
Label LaFace
Producer Al Clay, Billy Mann, Butch Walker, Danja, Greg Wells, Eg White, MachoPsycho, Max Martin, Jimmy Harry, Tony Kanal

sources wikipedia.org and amazon.co.uk

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