New Music: Mariah Carey – “You’re Mine (Eternal)”

Mariah Carey is back again, this time with the third (fourth if you count “Triumphant (Get ‘Em)”) single from her 14th studio album, The Art of Letting Go, “You’re Mine (Eternal).”  The Darkchild-produced slow jam is equal parts HIT and MISS.  HIT: The song is classic Mariah with a couple modern twists (a hard-hitting beat, vocoder effects on the background vocals, etc.).  It’s also really catchy.  MISS: It kind of feels like Mariah’s trying to recreate “We Belong Together,” and honestly, “You’re Mine (Eternal)” doesn’t hold a candle to the heart-wrenching emotion and altogether hypnotizing nature of the aforementioned Billboard Song of the Decade for the 2000s.  When it’s all said and done, I think I prefer “#Beautiful.”

New Music: Brit Smith – “Provocative (hiDhi) (feat. will.i.am)”

Do you love Beyonce’s new album but find yourself wondering, “Hey, where are all the fun, uptempo dance tracks?”  Do you pine for Nelly Furtado circa 2006?  Are you ready to watch a music video featuring Betty White and an obscene amount of product placement for Miracle Whip?  Look no further — Timbaland’s new protege Brit Smith is here with her (sort of) debut single, “Provocative (hiDhi).”

New Music: Lea Michele – “Cannonball”

Lea Michele’s debut single, “Cannonball,” is here!  And it’s pretty good!  Written by Sia Furler and produced by Stargate & Benny Blanco, “Cannonball” is an infectious little ditty with a driving beat, bright piano line, and simple melody that will have you humming along in no time!  Name recognition and the waning power of Glee have managed to launch the song into the U.S. iTunes top 10 – will pop radio embrace Lea Michele’s new venture?

Check out “Cannonball” below!

Music News: Preview Lea Michele’s new single “Cannonball”

Lea Michele released a preview of her debut single, “Cannonball,” today, and all I gotta say is – don’t these pop girls know they can record a Sia song without trying to emulate her trademark marbles-in-mouth delivery and phrasing to a T?  It’s an epidemic!  See: Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” Celine Dion’s “Loved Me Back to Life,” Katy Perry’s “Double Rainbow,” Rita Ora’s “Radioactive,” etc.  But I digress.

Otherwise, “Cannonball” sounds promising!  It doesn’t scream “hit” to me and I probably would’ve preferred something uptempo, but Lea’s vocals are great and the hook seems sufficiently catchy/empowering.  Lea also unveiled the artwork for her new album (seen above) – it’s called, “LOUDER.”  She looks a bit damp, but I’m still looking forward to it!  Caps lock title and all!

“Cannonball” will be available on iTunes tomorrow, December 10th, the same day “LOUDER” goes up for pre-order.  Check out a preview of the song via Soundcloud below!

New Music: Colbie Caillat – “Hold On”

Colbie Caillat is famous for a slew of pleasant adult contemporary hits that you find yourself humming along to while waiting in line at Target (“Bubbly,” “I Do,” “Lucky,” etc.), but her brand new single, “Hold On,” finds the beach pop songstress trying her hand at something quite different – and it pays off big time.

New Music: Mariah Carey – “The Art of Letting Go”

“Go to ‘Mimi’ on your contacts – press delete.”

Oh, Mariah.  Oh, woof.  Mariah Carey went ahead and dropped the title track from her long-awaited 14th studio album, “The Art of Letting Go,” this afternoon, and it’s a limp, meandering break-up song filled to the brim with silly vocab words like, “dominion” and “reverberating,” and awkward, unimaginative phrases like, “Letting go ain’t easy, it’s just exceedingly hurtful.”  Even Mariah’s characteristically strong vocals can’t save this dated, empty ballad.  How did we manage to go from “#Beautiful” to this?

New Music: Chelsea Lankes – “Ghost”

You know that ache you feel in your chest when you want something so badly but you know you can’t have it?  You’ve wanted it for so long, your heart and your body are convinced you need it to go on, even though in your head, you kinda know better?  That’s the struggle Nashville based singer Chelsea Lankes has tapped into on her phenomenal new single, “Ghost.”

New Music: Britney Spears – “Perfume”

Britney Spears premiered the second single from her upcoming 8th studio album “Britney Jean” on Facebook this evening, and it’s a total home run.  Co-written with Sia Furler and produced by album executive producer will.i.am, “Perfume” is a lush ballad full of piano, stirring synths, sweeping strings, and Britney’s shockingly raw vocals (well, for her standards).  Seriously though, Britney Spears sounds like a human being again and there’s no trace of that strange British accent she occasionally puts on.  It’s incredibly refreshing.

New Music: Lady Gaga – “Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly)”

Lady Gaga continues her complicated relationship with fame on the official second single from “ARTPOP,” “Do What U Want” – an unlikely duet with the music industry’s resident creepy uncle R. Kelly.  On the surface, “Do What U Want” sounds like just another ode to partying and GETTING IT ON, but it’s more than that.  Dig a little deeper, and you’ll hear a completely different kind of ode: an ode to the HATERS!  Specifically, the media.  “Write what you want, say what you want ’bout me, if you’re wonderin’ know that I’m not sorry…you can’t have my heart and you won’t use my mind, but do what you want with my body!” Gaga wails over a grungy electro beat courtesy of producer DJ White Shadow.  It’s kind of like the musical equivalent of a rowdy teenage girl on Maury double-flicking off the camera while she shouts, “YOU DON’T KNOW ME, YOU DON’T KNOW MY LIFE!”  But I digress.

New Music: Tove Lo – “Out of Mind”

Swedish singer Tove Lo’s voice is fascinating – fragile one minute, roaring with confusion and youthful angst the next, it’s captivating and instantly recognizable.  I’ve been keeping an eye on Tove since the release of the brilliant “Habits” back in March, and since then she’s gone on to feature on a couple of cool dance tracks (Lucas Nord’s “Run On Love” and Seven Lions’ “Strangers”), but nothing quite compares to her thrilling and arresting new single, “Out of Mind.”