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Looking for your new favorite song? Your favorite pop star's got you covered, kid. The last couple weeks have seen a clutch of killer new singles dropping (apparently like it's hot, according to Alexandra Stan) from a dizzying range of pop-friendly artistes. Dive in and find your favorite with our latest edition of single-phile, which breaks down the latest and greatest singles with quickie reviews and hit-potential predictions. To hear everything featured here at once, try my Single-Phile: Fall 2011 playlist.


Artist: Alexandra Stan
Song: "Lollipop"
Album: From her just-released debut, Saxobeats
In 25 Words or Less: Saxobeats-loving sweetheart serves up a candy-coated confection of tooth-rotting innuendos, bisexual braggadocio, sugary synth-scapes and oddly dated pop references (drop it like it's hot?!).
Likelihood You'll Still Be Listening to It in Six Months: Under normal circumstances, we'd wager next to nothing on a candy = sex cliché-laden cut from a relatively unknown Romanian pop star. But a wildly popular gentleman by the name of "Mr. Saxobeat" begs to differ.

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Can you believe it's already fall? Seems like just yesterday we were dusting off the old mojito mint muddler, taking the itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini out of mothballs and talking about summer jams. (Though that could also be because the last edition of single-phile was literally about summer jams.) And now it's time to pack up the white pants, send the kiddies off to school and start getting primed for fall's big albums.

Luckily, we've got a slew of hot — or, more appropriately, cool — new singles to get us in the autumnal state of mind. If spring and early summer singles are all about the jam, about finding that one song with the season-long staying power to keep the road trips moving and the beach parties grooving, then the tracks of late summer and early fall are focused on introductions and new beginnings. Just about every big single that came out in the last few weeks has been designed to serve as a calling card for a big or up-and-coming artist's hotly anticipated new album. So in this edition of single-phile, we've rounded 'em up and broken 'em down for you, deciphering not only the single itself but what it's trying to tell us about the album to follow. Listen in: single-phile, September 2011: Hot Singles from Fall's Coolest New Upcoming Albums

Ah, summer. The season of beaches, bikinis and banging summer singles. A few weeks back, we gifted you with our massive mega-mix of past and present summer jams. But on this edition of single-phile, we take a look at the latest and greatest songs of this summer, and the seasonal trends that followed.

Sure, summer's got some perennial themes: hot girls, sweaty dancefloors, boozing and cruising. But each year also has its own particular pet topics. Sometimes the boys are pimpin', sometimes the girls are kissing girls, and sometimes it's all puppy love and new romance. This summer, the love songs are angsty and sensitive, with everyone from Travie McCoy to Lil Wayne waxing plaintive, poetic and, at times, even a little pathetic. Click through to find out more about this season's biggest trends, and listen to summer's hottest new singles! Also, while you're reading, check out our accompanying playlist: single-phile: The Sounds of Summer 2011

As a rule, our regular single-phile column is devoted to — OK, obsessed with — dissecting the latest and greatest in pop singles. And while our definition of pop is as varied as, well, the genre itself is, we do typically focus on English-language pop. But so many great Latin singles have dropped in the past few weeks that we had to remedy that language bias and give them some love.

Anyway, the line between Latin pop and English-language pop, once two fairly distinct worlds, is pretty fine these days. Established Latin pop stars have long been crossing over into the Top 40, and mainstream artists have started crossing over in the other direction, releasing Spanish-language versions of their hits or sometimes entire albums targeted at the Latin pop audience. Today's pop charts aren't so monolingual themselves: artists like Pitbull and Shakira have made careers out of forcing English speakers to sit up and listen to snippets of Spanish or entire Spanish tracks. And of course, aesthetically speaking, Latin rhythms, dances and styles form one of pop music's three intertwined DNA strands (the other two being African and European music).

Beyonce! Gaga! Rihanna! Estelle! The boldface names of pop have been busy bees in the last couple weeks, dropping singles you're sure to be listening to for months to come. But don't let the big stars blind you to the up-and-comers, who are eagerly awaiting your attention — and absolutely killing it in the process. In short, single-phile is not wanting for exciting subject matter this time around. (Did we mention there's a new Beyonce single?!) So listen up as we break down your new favorite songs (and assess the likelihood that they'll succeed).

Listen to the entire playlist: single-phile: April's Hot Pop


Artist: Beyonce
Song: "Run the World (Girls)"
Album: From her upcoming fourth album!!!!
In 25 Words or Less: In which B assembles a cadre of distinctive, blazing hot beats (courtesy of Diplo and a sample from his own Major Lazer), growls out demand for recognition for all the cool stuff girls do, proves herself once again the fiercest of them all, makes us drool in anticipation, cannot be contained in 25 words or less.
Likelihood You'll Still Be Listening in Six Months: Look, "Single Ladies" is still playing on the radio, right? Exactly.

Is it just us or are the charts seriously blowing up lately? If someone's not setting off a "Firework" or some "Dynamite," they're making the place "Blow" or go "Boom." Even if they're not blowing stuff up, pop stars seem to be wallowing in a kind of dance-pop dystopia: drowning their sorrows in drink or relentless, brain-obliterating beats, singing about dancing away the pain or even "Till the World Ends," as Britney suggests in her new single. What the hellow is going on?

Maybe it's just a trend, but here's our theory: a lot of stuff is going down right now. The world is a confusing, often frightening place to live in, where change is possible but only through seemingly insurmountable struggle and (sometimes) violence, where massive earthquakes lead to tsunamis lead to explosions in nuclear reactors, where democracy everywhere (even on our fair shores) is being threatened and challenged and met with mayhem and meanness. Whew, sorry. We went to our bad place for a minute, but we're back. The point is, the people have spoken and what the people want are pop songs that reflect their current mood, which is, apparently, driven by the desire to blow some crap up.

In case you hadn't heard, a little Lady we like to call Gaga dropped the Huge! New! First! Single! off her upcoming Huge! Sophomore! Album! Yes, the buzz around this one has been deafening — and rightly so. Gaga has proven herself a trendsetter. In a very short amount of time, she dance-popified the charts. Now, as she puts her money where her mouth is by paying homage to her legions of gay fans, she is also clearly hoisting her own freak flag (think of "Born This Way" as the Little Monsters Creed, in other words). And once again, her fellow pop stars are right there with her. The pop world right now is full of songs and artists clearly invested in acts of rebellion, freakishness and monsterdom. So on this edition of single-phile, we take a walk on the wild side of the charts, analyzing the countercultural tendencies of your favorite mainstream pop stars.

Artist: Lady Gaga
Song: "Born This Way"
Album: From her upcoming and wildly anticipated second album
In 25 Words or Less: Monster Queen boils it down in modern-day "We Are Family": it's (dance-pop) DNA, dummy. Human decency=good (minus message-marring "Orient"). Think Scissor Sisters rather than Madonna.
Freak, Monster or Rebel? She's all three and then some, baby.
Countercultural Quotient: Think the Castro in the '70s, an avant-garde cross-dressing performance-art club in Berlin and maybe one of those strange-to-Westerners-but-wildly-popular-in-Japan-sex-trends (like those body pillow girlfriends, maybe?) all rolled up into one neighborhood block still mainstream enough to be on Sesame Street (or at least next door to it).

So here we are, a few short weeks into 2011, and the new year, baby that it is, is already strutting its stuff and looking rather fabulous. Musically speaking, we're starting the year off with some very hot new singles off some very hotly anticipated upcoming albums by some very big, very bold-faced and, uh, well, very hot names. So we've devoted this edition of single-phile to providing you, dear pop fan, with a little guide to the year (so far) in hot! new! singles!, including our 25-words-or-less summaries and predictions for whether or not the song will last through 2011's middle age.


Artist: Britney Spears
Song: "Hold It Against Me"
Album: From her upcoming and wildly anticipated seventh album (title TBA), due in March
In 25 Words or Less: Britney goes after dance-pop turf she helped create, rides big throbbing club beats like cowgirl, sounds more comfortable in own innuendo than has in years.
Likelihood You'll Still Be Listening to It Six Months from Now: 85%. It's not Britney's best work, but she sounds confident, sexy and ready to take on our apparent addiction to clubby dance-pop.

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The last month and a half or so has experienced some serious star wattage, with big bold-faced names dropping albums right and left. And alongside the Kanyes and Nickis and Black Eyed Peas of the pop universe, we've also been blessed with a bevy of records from the critically acclaimed and the up-and-coming. In short, it's been a good time to be a pop fan. In this edition of single-phile, we home in on the Big! Shiny! New! Albums of the last couple months, and take our guesses at what the biggest single will be (or at least should be, if quality always entailed quantity, that is). Listen up!


Artist: Natasha Bedingfield
The Big Album: Strip Me
The (Potentially) Big Single: "Strip Me"
The Strength Behind Its Size: This full-bodied cut from Bedingfield's vibrant third album positively swells with pop exuberance, as her muscular vocals soar over densely layered production lines and big, fat beats. Think '80s excess instead of '80s synth-minimalism.

 

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Artist: Jazmine Sullivan
The Big Album: Love Me Back
The (Potentially) Big Single: "Luv Back"
The Strength Behind Its Size: We love Jazmine's raspy, melisma-accented, high-octane drama, but it's nice to hear her sweet side (albeit one that's still vengeful-lite and intense as hell) on this hip, hopscotching girl-group-esque cut.



 

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single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

If there’s one thing Black Eyed Peas do brilliantly, it’s make what often seem to be (let’s face it) incredibly ridiculous songs — and then make those apparently nonsensical ruminations on humps and other ephemera incredibly fun and culturally prominent. In fact, they’re so good at it that Rolling Stone’s review of B.E.P.’s album, The E.N.D., for instance, focuses almost entirely on this talent and even situates it in the context of a pop history of great dumb songs. But so-called dumb songs serve some important functions: they allow you an opportunity to stop thinking, of course, but at the same time, they let you shift into a more sensory, visceral mode of listening where you just, you know, experience the music, man (that was supposed to be like a tripped-out hippie voice. I don’t know why). And, of course, they’re usually great for dancing.

But what if there’s more to a dumb song than meets the ear? In this week’s single-phile, we take another listen to some of most inane singles by Black Eyed Peas (aka the Kings of Dumb Songs), focusing especially on their latest offerings, and suggest an alternate, “smart” reading. You may or may not buy it (hell, I’m not even sure I buy some of these), but therein lies another pleasure of the dumb song: the opportunity to pull it apart and search for deeper meaning in its innards — and the opportunity to debate whether said surgery is even worth performing.

"I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth." That's what it has sounded like in our heads the past few weeks, thanks to Willow Smith's unbelievably infectious debut single, which has been making the blogosphere rounds like some kind of freaking kiddie dance-pop epidemic. So in the interest of placating our new goddess by, you know, converting the rest of the world, we've dedicated this edition of single-phile to new and just under-the-radar artists like Ms. Smith — the smash hits of tomorrow by the best pop artists you aren't listening to. Yet.

The release of FaR*eAst Movement's Free Wired is notable for many reasons: The electro-hop crew's mainstream success after years of slogging away in the underground and local circuits. The coining of the word "slizzered." The popularization of ambiguous aviation metaphors. Perhaps most significant, however, is the fact that their major-label debut, containing the hit song "Like a G6," has made F.M. the first all-Asian American group to climb so high on the pop charts.

Asian artists have not historically fared well in American pop music -- or, perhaps more accurately, they have appeared not to fare at all. Try to name an Asian American pop star. If you're struggling, it's not because you haven't been paying attention -- but it's also not because Asian Americans haven't been involved in American pop music since such a thing came into existence. From the Asian big bands that traveled the jazz circuit in the early to mid-1900s to the world-renowned Filipino DJs in the 1990s turntablist movement, from old-school (but still kicking) R&B singer Sugar Pie DeSanto to behind-the-scenes movers and shakers like The Neptunes' Chad Hugo, from Jasmine Trias to Justin Bieber's all-Filipino backing band, Asian Americans have been active participants in pop music history. But that history, like race in America in general, has often been reduced to an almost exclusively black vs. white representation. In the last 10 years or so, Latino artists have begun to get some long overdue attention and chart success. But with a few notable exceptions (remember, for instance, Jin?), Asians have yet to receive the same.

Which is what makes Far*East Movement's success -- and this moment in general -- so exciting. Not only are the members of F.M. trailblazers, they are also not alone on the charts or the pop culture landscape right now. In this edition of single-phile, we review the rather impressive contributions Asian Americans have made to the hit-making universe lately.

The underappreciated backup singer or the struggling songwriter, just waiting in the wings for that Big! Break! that will finally allow her or him to realize their dreams of stardom is, of course, something of a cliché. More specifically, it's the kind of cliché Americans spoon up like a bowl of vanilla ice cream eaten in front of an episode of American Idol.

But as they say, clichés have their origins in truth. And the truth is that some of music's greatest talents spend years laboring behind the scenes (often in the service of lesser stars), taking supporting roles to get their foot in the door and all the while wishing and hoping for their turn in the spotlight. Others haven't necessarily dreamed of their name up in lights so much as possessed a talent that simply shone too brightly to go unnoticed, resulting in a manager or a label exec or even a fellow artist snapping them up out of obscurity and shepherding their burgeoning superstar career. Count them among the fortunate few — but count us listeners even luckier: more often than not, all those years spent behind the scenes result in a finely tuned sense of musical style, an attention to craftsmanship and an intimate knowledge of the ingredients that make for the most delicious pop treats. The charts happen to be cram-packed with artists just like that: former underdogs and wallflowers, pop geniuses who spent a good deal of their careers helping make megahits for other performers, but who have now begun to garner the attention they deserve. This edition of single-phile is, therefore, dedicated to the bright young things who've gone from behind the scenes to superstardom.

Sara Bareilles' second album is a finely blended mix of warm, foamy coffee-shop pop. Not exactly as multifaceted as its title implies, Kaleidoscope Heart nevertheless covers all the coffee-shop pop grounds (sorry): jaunty, quirky adult-alt ("Gonna Get Over You"); Mere-and-Dere-friendly, Grey's Anatomy-ready gut-wrenchers ("Hold My Heart"); piano-driven angst anthems ("The Light"). The perfect accompaniment to your venti soy latte. But will anyone care?

Two or three years ago, when Bareilles' rather beloved debut Little Voice dropped, the pop cultural landscape was a different place. Angst was in, its medium of choice was a husky-voiced guy or gal with a guitar (or, even better, a piano) — and its platform of choice was hour-long dramas populated by overly introspective (read: self-involved) yuppies. Since then, everyone decided that Izzie's kind of annoying, camp-fests like Glee have been adopted as the new fave and, most of all, the charts have been Gaga-ified. Since then, Yael Naim, Lenka and Feist have come and gone missing; Marie Digby went dance-pop; and Norah Jones, the queen of contemporary adult-alt, went country. Which brings us to the question of the day: whither the coffee-shop poppers? All right, doing a "where are they now" kind of piece on artists who were huge two or so years ago is a bit silly, but this is pop music! Things change fast! So this edition of single-phile takes a look at the state of guitar-strumming, beach-bonfire-ready, melodrama-couched-in-mellow-gold adult-alt.

Habitually the playground of pretty young things and hot up-and-comers, the charts are also occasionally home to pop's founding fathers and fogies — you know, artists who've been around the block, put out a few albums, made it past the age of 30. So how do these incredibly old people manage to keep their careers vibrant and viable? Do a wildly inappropriate duet with one of the hot young things, of course! OK, we're exaggerating a little bit, but some of the moment's biggest hits happen to be the result of multigenerational partnerships: Eminem and Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry, Ludacris and Justin Bieber (OK, that one's not really an exaggeration). We break down the makeup of pop's May-December (or at least March-November) pairings.

The Fountain of Youth (aka Down with the Kids, aka 21 and Holding!)

The (overly) simplest justification for intergenerational duetting is, of course, aging. Call it the Ferrari-and-toupee formula of pop songwriting, the Forever 21 business model. Whatever you call it, just keep in mind that it may backfire and wind up making you come off more old-man-rocking than cool-big-brother.
Quintessential Couples: Luda and Justin Bieber ("Baby"), Madonna and Justin Timberlake ("4 Minutes")

Editor's Note: Listen to a selection of the songs mentioned here on a playlist at the end of this post, or click through to listen to all of the artists listed here on Rhapsody. If you're not a member, click here and listen to all of your favorite music as much as you want — whenever and wherever you want!

The release of new albums seems to have slowed almost to a halt as we reach the sleepy midway point of summer. But artists are keeping plenty busy over the summer break by churning out single after single that's as hot as a day at the beach. This week's new releases and chart-toppers were dominated almost entirely by up-and-comers and dark horses — in other words, almost all artists who are/could be/seem to be poised on the brink of superstardom, hoping that this single will be the one that breaks them on through to the other side. This edition of single-phile covers six such artists (plus one who's not so much a dark horse as a shiny unicorn leader of the pack), weighing both the in-a-just-world potential and the actual likelihood of this song to be their big break.

We are just over two weeks into the summer, and the charts are getting hot, hot, hot — they're jam-packed with new singles. The last couple weeks in particular have seen an influx of new material from hip-hop and R&B artists, some of whom are very interested in capturing the season's sunny, carefree mood and some of whom ... aren't (we're looking at you, Eminem!). This edition of single-phile breaks down the latest from the likes of Kelly Rowland, Kelis and Flo Rida, complete with a Corresponding Summer Activity for each tune!.

This past weekend, cities across the United States celebrated gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender/transsexual culture and history with Pride fests and parades. (Check out Rhapsody's own Pride party right here. More than just an excuse to strap yourself into a Speedo and blast Lady Gaga (though that part is also very important), Pride also commemorates the Stonewall riots that instigated the gay and lesbian rights movement after decades of LGBT people being subjected to, at best, the closet and more often, much, much worse. The parades and fests are also the culmination of LGBT Pride month. So it seems only fitting that this edition of single-phile direct its attention to pop fare by out-and-proud LGBT artists. So, um, are there any?

Listen to all your favorite artists whenever and however you want with your Rhapsody subscription. If you don't have one, click here to sign up for a free trial and see what we're all about.

The sun is shining, the beaches are opening up and the coolers and bikinis are getting dusted off. Yep, it's definitely summer jam season -- that time of year when the song(s) of the summer get determined. But how? What gives a single that magical power to stay not only relevant but omnipresent throughout the entire summer, the ability to travel from party to party faster than a speeding bullet, to leap out of every car window in a single bound? On this edition of single-phile, we flesh out the anatomy of a summer jam -- the qualities and characteristics, the aesthetics and appendages that give a tune legs, carrying it through every BBQ, road trip and day at the beach until September. Along the way, we cover the most likely contenders for the summer jams of 2010.

The music of these and countless other Latin and crossover artists is yours to enjoy whenever and however you want with your Rhapsody subscription. Click here to sign up for a free trial and see what we’re all about.

single-phile: The hottest singles, dissected and discussed.

Last July in this space, we discussed the much-ballyhooed, never-realized end of the concept of crossover, at least when it comes to Latin pop. At that time, artists with both Latin pop cache and mainstream sway like Shakira and Pitbull were throwing bits and pieces of Spanglish up on the charts and making it stick, while big-name mainstream artists like Nelly Furtado and Beyonce were busy courting the powerful Latin audience with Spanish-language singles and whole albums. Nine months later, we're back to check in again on the state of the crossover.

At first glance, it doesn't look so pretty right now. No Latin pop artists or Spanish tracks are in the top 100, Furtado's album didn't quite take off and not even Pitbull is hitting it big at this very moment. However, if you take a closer look at Billboard's Bubbling Under chart (which tracks the singles that are this close to hitting the Hot 100), things look a bit more bonita: Bachata boy band Aventura's "Dile Al Amor" and reggaeton act Chino Y Nacho's "Mi Nina Bonita" are in the No. 12 and 13 spots. And then there's Cypress Hill's strange but so smooth "Armada Latina" (featuring Pitbull, Marc Anthony and ... a Crosby, Stills & Nash sample?!) from their latest, Rise Up.

And then there's Daddy Yankee, whose aptly titled new album, Mundial, drops this week. The virtual harbinger of reggaeton, Dad! Dy! got the rest of the world hooked on that swaying, strutting beat with his massive 2004 hit "Gasolina." He hasn't hit quite such solid gold (at least in mainstream terms) since, but the artist born Ramond Ayala is still the Caribbean hip-hop/dancehall hybrid's most recognizable face/voice. What's more, he cleared sonic space, not only for other artists like Wisin & Yandel, but also for the presence of reggaeton in mainstream pop's Latin genres. His latest is, in many ways, a showcase of the kinds of musical dialogues that can come out of these kinds of crossovers (and back again): "La Despedida," for instance, mixes up reggaeton, hip-hop and salsa, fusing it all together with Auto-Tuned vocals. The single "Descontrol," on the other hand, takes a harder, darker approach and classic reggaeton beat, a la "Gasolina," but features a hook's worth of R&B vocals that would easily drop into any mainstream hip-hop cut. And while we guess Daddy would probably bristle at the comparison, "Vida En La Noche" could pretty easily be mistaken for a Black Eyed Peas tune with beats by Timbaland.

single-phile: the latest singles, dissected and discussed

Pop music has always been a youthful pursuit. Pop stars start young, sing young and are associated with young audiences — or at least with the youthful vibrancy of first love, dancing, burgeoning sexual energy and so much teen angst. From time to time, the teen spirit gets literal and actual adolescents (or even pre-adolescents, aka "tweens") take over the charts. And occasionally, the rare teen star comes along who manages to appeal to both the kids and their parents (or at least, their big brothers or cool aunts). On this edition of single-phile, we rate the current crop of kiddie popsters who are storming the charts to see who's kid-tested — and who's grown-up-approved.

Don't forget, all the music mentioned here is yours to rock out to whenever and however you want with your Rhapsody subscription. If you don't have one, click here to sign up for a free trial and see what we’re all about.

Artist: Miranda Cosgrove
Current Hit: "Kissin' U"
Cosgrove epitomizes the ideal of the tween pop trend in many ways. She's got a Nickelodeon show your kid (sister) is, like, totally watching, she's adorable, and she's sweet but with a spine and very little of the adult drama that has plagued Miley Cyrus and her ilk (so far, anyway). AND she signs melt-in-your-mouth confections about chaste first-kiss choices.
Kiddie Pop Currency: 10 (out of 10)
Adult Appeal: 4. There's a slight Kelly Clarkson vibe that could earn Cosgrove guilty pleasure status with some childless adults. But ultimately, she's a wholesome, parent-approved option, which makes her a bit too kid-friendly for most of the able-to-drink-legally set.

Artist: Justin Bieber
Current Hits: "Baby," "Never Let You Go," "Eenie Meenie"
Bieber, on the other hand, epitomizes the other side of the teenie-bopper spectrum. He's definitely got a baby-faced, puppy dog appeal — but there's a very grown-up edge to his dance pop that's earned the interest of fellow former pup-like pop stars such as Justin Timberlake and Usher (and Sean Kingston, who collaborates with Bieber on new single "Eenie Meenie," a boy-done-wrong ode to a player girl).
Kiddie Pop Currency: 8. Come on, look at him! That is one crush-worthy mug.
Adult Appeal: 8. Come on, look at him! That is one crush-worthy mug — and one that comes J.T.-approved and without the Mickey Mouse machinations!

Artist: New Boyz
Current Hit: "Tie Me Down"
Now, this is the kind of pop song that keeps kids and their parents up at night. The kids because they're listening to the slick groove, hot beats and infectious attitudes the Boyz behind sleeper hit "You're a Jerk" (and the underground teen dance phenomenon called jerking) laid down on their smoother second single. And their parents because these fresh young teenagers are espousing some rather grown-up (and somewhat misogynistic) ideas about girls, commitment and, well, getting tied down.
Kiddie Pop Currency: 7. The kids do like what might not be best for them.
Adult Appeal: 10. This is music for grown-ups, made by teenagers. The very definition of good pop.

Artist: Selena Gomez
Current Hit: "Naturally"
One of the many girls who would be Miley, Selena has what it takes to be the Next Big Teen Star: a kid star pedigree (you may have heard of a little purple dinosaur named Barney? Yeah, they're friends), a hit Disney show (Wizards of Waverly Place), a cute look, BFFs in high places (like one Ms. Demi Lovato) and the double-threat talent Disney so ardently cultivates. And now, she's got herself a hit song (No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 — a very respectable position for any Disney star who isn't named Miley) with a sleek dance-pop chic about it.
Kiddie Pop Currency: 10. The kiddos love this girl.
Adult Appeal: 6 — and rising. If she continues on this path, Gomez could have Britney-esque potential.

These are just the latest entries in a prolific trend — and they are not alone. Ms. Miley is still currently holding court on the charts with her "When I Look at You" (and on the radio with the still-ubiquitous "Party in the U.S.A.") while former teen queens-turned-all-growed-up-pop-stars Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne are busy proving there's life after 19. The kids are all right — and the grown-ups are all right with that, too.

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to check out a sampling of the music discussed in this post. And, of course, if you're a member, you can listen to Gorillaz, Janelle Monae or any other artist mentioned here as much as you want, anywhere you like. Not a member? Sign up for a free trial and see what we’re all about.

single-phile: the latest singles, dissected and discussed

Pop music is arguably driven by two apparently disparate but often interrelated practices. The dominant one is tradition or familiarity. We want a pop song to move us and make us want to move, but in a way that feels comfortable and recognizable. Look at the charts. The artists and the message might change, but the groove is familiar, the beats like home. Then we have tradition's seeming opposite: innovation. Under the rubric of innovation, we have pop's avant-garde artists: weirdos and iconoclasts push and pull at the boundaries of their idiom and make it do strange and sometimes wonderful new things. It's the rare pop star who manages to balance both those impulses and enjoy mainstream, terrestrial success in spite (or even rarer, because) of her or his more alien(ating) tendencies. In this edition of single-phile, we take a listen to some of these odd ducks, many of whom have been busy little bees lately (and many of whom hail from hip-hop and R&B, two genres whose artists are often more willing to take risks than their pop compatriots).

Beyonce, Fantasia and every other band mentioned in this article are yours to rock out to whenever and however you want with your Rhapsody subscription. Click here to sign up for a free trial and see what we’re all about.

A clutch of hot new singles by some of R&B's hottest artists (we're talking one-name-only caliber, people) would light a fire under any dull, drab midwinter week. But this particular group seems to kind of span the gamut of the last decade or so of soul-pop. Think of them almost like a map of what R&B divadom can mean in this contemporary era, from classic torch-song covers to fallen Idols to '90s comeback kids. OK, enough with the vague references. Let's break it down.

Beyonce: Fever
Sure, it's been recorded a million times in a million different ways, but come on, there's always room for one more rendition of "Fever." And there's pretty much definitely room for anything the reigning queen of pop and R&B wants to do, ever. Case in point: this recording, which is also the soundtrack for B's new fragrance, Heat (which, knowing Beyonce, will also probably be wildly successful). It doesn't show off her killer pipes as much as her usual, more melismatic material, but we definitely won't turn our nose up at the diva purring over something low and slow.


Usher: "There Goes My Baby"
The former boy wonder and club banger kingpin seems to have grown up in a major way in the last couple of years as he's dealt with his mama drama and divorce. His forthcoming sixth album sounds like it's going to be all about one of the emotions R&B deals with best: heartbreak. He's already signed the "Papers," and now on this third single, he manages to sound both sweetly seductive and wistfully reminiscent. As he croons "There goes my baby," we'd swear there are tears in that falsetto. We don't wish Usher any pain, of course, but this newfound maturity suits him.

Fantasia: "Even Angels"
Speaking of heartbreak, Fantasia's new single is steeped in it, albeit more of the getting-my-life-back-on-track, no-more-drama variety. My goodness, we do love a good diva comeback story, and the former American Idol is certainly poised for one. In the last couple years, she's gone from putting out a fabulous sophomore album that didn't live up to its potential to facing fans' ire for cancelling The Color Purple dates due to vocal problems to winding up broke due to taking care of her family (and, uh, her shopping problem). And she does wear her heart on her sleeve on this new single -- but somehow, despite the emotional lyrics, the track just falls a little flat. It's as if in the process of pouring her guts out, she accidentally dumped out some of the sass we love her for, too. Fantasia, if you really want no more drama, you've gotta go full out Mary J.

Monica: "Everything to Me"
And speaking of comebacks, this queen of '90s R&B could sure use one. The girl who once informed Brandy that "The Boy Is Mine" just kind of got swept out of the limelight by the bigger, brighter, chicer stars of 2000s R&B and pop. This new track from her upcoming (and aptly titled) sixth album Still Standing shows off the attributes that made Monica successful in her heyday: deliciously dramatic lyrics; a bold and classically gospel-tinged performance style; and those big, powerhouse vocals. But it also feels just a wee bit dated, like something from her heyday.

K. Michelle: "Fallin"
And finally, speaking of that bright, chic, sleek new brand of R&B stardom, meet K. Michelle. OK, so she's not quite a single name, but we'd wager this up-and-coming artist is going to do major things -- and she hasn't even released her debut yet. So far, she's made a fan of R. Kelly, announced that she's a "Self Made" chick and duetted with Missy (on the fabulous "Fakin' It"). And now she even makes surviving a broken heart sound powerful and oh-so-good. Love the juxtaposition of her strong voice, gut-wrenching lyrics about feeling like she's broken, and the rolling, tumbling drumbeats.

single-phile: the latest singles, dissected and discussed

You might not think an hour-long musical comedy series featuring flimsy (and, really, one-dimensional) plots about a misfit high school glee club would be so ... addictive. But all it took was one listen to Glee's dramatically over-the-top, heavily harmonized, show-choir-iffic cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," and we were hooked. And we're not alone: the show itself is doing fairly well (though it's not quite a smash hit yet), but what's even more fascinating is that the songs featured in each episode, which Fox has been releasing as singles, are actually becoming hits in and of themselves. Almost every one has made it into the Top 100, and "Don't Stop Believin'," "Somebody to Love," "Halo/Walking on Sunshine" and "It's My Life/Confessions, Pt II" have cracked the Top 40. These are pop songs masquerading as show tunes. They are show choir covers, people. It's kinda ... weird, no? We decided to devote this week's single-phile to figuring out what it is about the Glee singles that makes us so, well, gleeful. Here are our top 10 reasons why we think everyone is Gleeking out, complete with quintessential representatives from the show and other examples.

single-phile: the latest singles, dissected and discussed

Mariah Carey is famous for (at least) two things: Her exquisite vocal high notes -- and her rather disastrous personal low notes. (Now, if that statement doesn't perfectly sum up the often sad complexities of pop stardom, we don't know what does!) Anyway, as we were gearing up for la diva ultima's 12th album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (which does feature a goodly number of those skyscrapers), we started wondering how (or if) these two markers of Mariah-dom correlated with each other. And so for this week's single-phile, we conducted this highly scientific study, comparing the most heavens-scraping single from each of her albums with what was going on in Mariah's personal or professional life at the time to see if her high notes suggest reaching for the top or hitting bottom.

The air is starting to turn crisp and cool, every store has backpacks and notebooks (and, uh, laptops. Oh, these kids!) on display and suddenly cardigan sweaters and plaid skirts are looking much more fashionable than your breezy summer dresses. Yep, it's that time of year again -- time for the VMAs! In honor of that time-honored coming-of-age ritual, this week's single-phile takes a look at this year's class of Best Pop Video nominees, analyzing their class rank and role, future plans, the upper-classmen who inspired them and the under-classmen most likely to take up their mantle after graduation. To listen to the all the nominees, check out Sam Chennault's 2009 VMAs playlist.

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

A savvy businessman, an industry player with an ear for up-and-coming talent, and, of course, one of the most quick-witted, silver-tongued emcees in the game, Jay-Z is many things -- and most of them are synonymous with hip-hop credibility (no matter how many times he "retires"). But Beyonce's (alleged) hubby is also one of the music industry's best and brightest pop stars, a label that has not so often been synonymous with hip-hop credibility. Which brings us to another of Hova's claims to fame: perhaps more than any other contemporary emcee (with the exception of Kanye, who helped orchestrate many of Jay's hits), he has managed to strike an impressive balance between chart-topping pop viability and hip-hop respectability, to prove over and over again that the twain shall meet (and that they weren't really all that disparate to begin with). This is a man who knows his way around a hook -- and isn't afraid to use it to reel you into his flow. On this week's single-phile, we take a listen to some of Jay-Z's biggest pop songs, including several high-profile guest shots and his latest, "Run This Town," off his upcoming The Blueprint 3.

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

What a week, pop fans! Not one, but two fierce, fabulous, formative pop divas have dropped new singles this week. So, naturally, we thought it best to pit them against each other. In this corner, we have Madonna, whose "Celebration" anticipates her upcoming Greatest Hits collection. And in this corner is none other than Ms. Whitney Houston, coming out of a decade or two of struggle and scandal with a new attitude and a brand new comeback single called "I Look to You." Although they aren't typically all that closely associated with each other, these two dueling divas have experienced some rather fascinating career parallels: They are close in age (Whitney's 45 and Madge is 50) and career contemporaries (both got their start in the early '80s) with an impressive number of hits under their respective belts (Whitney's had 11 No. 1 hits and Madonna's had 12). More than quantity, however, it's the quality of their singles -- and the analogous career trajectories they trace -- that makes this battle royale so compelling. And logical. Totally, totally logical. Off we go!

From left: Pitbull, Shakira and Nelly Furtado

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed.

Industry insiders and music critics have been predicting for years that Spanish-language pop is poised for a massive crossover -- the kind of infiltration that would not only challenge the domination of English on the American charts, but also break down the division between mainstream (read: black and white) pop and Latin pop. And yet for many years, what happened instead was that the industry was paying attention to -- and working to grow -- a powerful but separate Latin pop market. That market has its own constellation of stars, many of whom (like Shakira or Ricky Martin) have crossed over into the mainstream -- but only by also switching languages. Until recently, the presence of Spanish on the pop charts basically consisted of "Livin' La Vida Loca."

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

A bunch of new singles came out this week, each of them totally compelling but for totally different and unrelated reasons. So rather than trying to lump them together under some kind of jacked-up, ill-fitting umbrella, we'll give each one its time in the sun. (Ugh, sorry!) This week on single-phile: Lupe Fiasco, Anjulie, Fefe Dobson and Ms. Mariah Carey.

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

When Michael Jackson passed away last week, I think many of us felt like he'd been taken too soon, his life cut short just as he seemed to be poised on the verge of some kind of comeback (although the stress of that may have been a contributing factor in his untimely demise). A lot of that feeling probably had to do with his age: he was only 50, but even that relatively young age seems shocking since Michael often seemed to exist in a state of (largely self-perpetuated) boyhood for us, a Peter Pan figure we prefer to remember as a chubby-cheeked child star or a charismatic teen/young adult. But an important part of Jackson's legacy is his rather prolific professional life -- a career that extended over at least three decades and was often a touchstone for what was (or would soon be) going on in popular culture and music. In honor of the late, great King of Pop, this week's single-phile takes a look at some of his greatest hits, their relationship to the pop cultural climate at the time and their influence on the pop music that was to come.

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

It's shaping up to be a fabulously rainbow-hued kind of week, friends. Not only does it feature Pride celebrations in many cities around the country and the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that Pride commemorates, but Gossip, perhaps the music industry's most vociferously out and proud band right now, also digitally released their discoriffic fourth album (and major-label debut) on Tuesday. Therefore, focusing this week's single-phile on hot pop singles by LGBT artists seemed appropriate. The problem is, they are hard -- if not impossible -- to find.

This week we got the rights to a song that is destined to go viral -- OK, already has gone viral if you're a hip kid on the West Coast who takes to YouTube to learn the coolest new dance (which, as demonstrated by that statement, we obviously are not). So, the song: New Boyz's "You're a Jerk," a repetitive, minimalist, dangerously addictive affair that is destined to crawl under your skin like the best kind of rash and accompanies a squirmy, jumpy dance style called (what else?) "jerking." In short, it's got "summer jam" written all over it.

Now, New Boyz might not ever make much of an impact beyond SoCal (though Diddy's son's fandom might suggest otherwise). But it's got me thinking about what other songs we're bound to hear booming out of every car window this summer. A few candidates have already set up camp at the top of the charts, and more are destined to assert their own claim over our eardrums before Labor Day rolls around. On this week's single-phile, we take a look at and listen to the likeliest contenders for summer jam dominance.

La Roux

single-phile: The latest singles, dissected and discussed

The American pop charts are notoriously difficult to crack, even for artists with major celebrity cachet in other parts of the world. Just ask Kylie Minogue, who's never been able to match the success she's had in the U.K. and Australia stateside (in fact, if you can believe it, she's mounting her first ever U.S. tour this September). A lot of factors contribute to this impenetrability, not the least of which is a rather narrow definition of what kinds of sounds constitute a hit -- and what kind of artist is capable of making them. In this week's single-phile, we take a look at some of pop's outsiders: singles by artists who are making waves elsewhere, and who might even stand a chance on our turf.

single-phile The latest singles, dissected and discussed -- before you hear them so many times your ears bleed

Have you heard "Poker Face" so many times you want to stab your ears with an ice pick? Never fear: a new Lady Gaga single is climbing the charts this week. I know a lot of people (OK, a lot of music critics) have expressed some disbelief that Gaga has achieved as much of The Fame (sorry) as she has. Myself included -- when "Just Dance" was released last year, I predicted Gaga wouldn't get very far because it was too dancey and clubby for the mainstream, like it just skipped over the whole pop single thing and went straight for the wasted-"dancing"-at-4-a.m. remix. Looks like I totally called that one, right? But her latest, "LoveGame," hints at something I've been suspecting for a little while now: disco (and its descendant, house-infused dance music) is back, baby, in both style and the spin it gets.

SoundTreks: A regular feature on the music the other 97 percent of the globe is listening to.

"World music" has always been something of an ironic (not to mention ironically limited) descriptor: The "world" in world music doesn't include significant parts of Europe and North America, the music of the whole "world" is given a disproportionate amount of global media and promotional attention, etc., etc. One of the less central (and less often discussed) ironies of the industry, however, is that Asian music, in general, and especially Asian pop music (with the occasional J-pop exception) just doesn't circulate through the world music conduits all that readily. To some degree, the rest of the world's lack of access to Asian pop has to do with differences in local music industries. But it also might be related to a general dismissal of commercial Asian pop as just a bunch of sappy ballads and canned beats.

And okay, yes, there are actually a lot of sappy ballads -- although we shouldn't be too quick to write that material off either. But that's another SoundTrek. Today we're talking about the peppier stuff in the Asian pop oeuvre, particularly in the region's videos. And, oh boy, are there plenty of downright campy, deliciously candy-coated nuggets there -- the stuff that makes pop everywhere good and addictive. Moreover, there's a kind of joie de vivre (and sometimes a wacky plotline) that's often missing from Western pop.