Now, I am sure that this comes as no surprise to many of you, who know that I have been a Britney fan since day one. However, as much as I love Britney, you must know that she is not the main reason that her album made my year end list. I will say it honestly; it has a lot to do with the producers, baby (I’m thanking you, specifically, Danja, Pharrell, Bloodshy, and Avant!). If there is one thing that did go right with Britney when she was making this record, was the ability to pick some amazing and up and coming producers to bring the noise, and bring it hard. The result, is an album that is comprised of single after single; and if she were in a place in her life where she could take advantage of it, this truly would have been her comeback. Sadly, though, I don’t think Britney is willing to use this massive gift that she has been given; a true second chance.
All of the train wrecks in her life aside, and if you look solely at the “brand” that is Britney Spears, there is no denying that this record is pure gold. As I said, it is all about the producers; the production values are so high, that somebody had to have gotten paid the big bucks to bring the goods. If you compare this album with every other album in her career, you can see that this is clearly a step above what she has done before. With the exception of her 2001 self-titled third release (my favorite record of hers), this is the best album of Britney’s career. Not only is it the best of her career, but I feel like it may have come too late; if this would have been her previous album, I don’t think the situation she finds herself in today would even exist. People would still love her, and appreciate her for the body and the looks, and the ability to perform like a true entertainer. Yet, a fall from grace is taking front seat, and overshadowing what is considered by many standards, a fantastic record.
I for one hope that Britney can see what she has here, and realize how great this album is. Perhaps she can pull it together long enough to really pimp some of the better songs on the album, and not “blow her load” with the only somewhat successful Gimme More; which really can’t touch some of the other great songs on this record. I also hope that the record company can shake some sense into her, and make her realize that they can resurrect this brand that took so long to build; and all they need is her help to do it.
Britney, you have the goods, and you have the record to back you up, the rest is up to you. You quietly released arguably the best record of your career, and you still let your personal life overshadow your potential to reclaim your throne as the pop princess. Don’t throw it away; those of us that bought the record see the greatness in it, and appreciate you bringing us what we like about you so much; polished production, and pleasurable pop. I just hope that you realize it, before Blackout slips off the charts, and this golden opportunity is gone.
Favorite songs from Blackout:
Heaven on Earth
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_1026_heaven.mp3]
Piece of Me
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/bs-pieceofme.mp3]
Break the Ice (which I think should have been her first single)
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/bs-breaktheice.mp3]
Why Should I Be Sad, Radar, Get Naked (I Got a Plan), and Gimme More.
Rating: 
(custom cover for Blackout from uhlikethat.com, because it is infinitely better than the real one.)
It is no secret that the “land down under” is full of some great surprises; for proof, just look at yesterday’s featured CD by the fabulous Kylie Minogue. Well, this next “diva” from down under found her start a little differently than Kylie; Ricki-Lee was one of the quite amazing contestants on Australian Idol. While people will continue to blast those shows for their fairly pegged vapid fluff, there is one thing that can’t be denied; these shows really do find people that can sing. Sure, there will always be the duds, but occasionally, there is a shining star in there, and occasionally, they are given the chance to shine… which is the case with Ricki-Lee. 
Ricki-Lee bursts from the marketing tool of the Young Divas, a group of fellow Idol outcasts brought together to showcase singing ability in covering old classics. However, after listening to Brand New Day, you can see why Ricki-Lee cut that cord, and moved back out on her own; she has a voice that deserves to do more than cover old songs from the 70s and 80s. Also, as my buddy Stu put it, Ricki-Lee left Young Divas because she knew she could do it on her own, and do it better; and you know what, she does.
I will start by saying that I have never considered myself a “Kylie fan”. Sure, I enjoyed some of the songs from Fever (the album with the massive hit Can’t Get You Out of My Head); but other than that, I just haven’t really paid much attention to the “cult of Kylie”. Many friends have deemed me a “bad gay”, and said that I should have a corner of my gay card torn off for not owning all of Kyle’s albums, but I have never seen the allure… that is, until now.
that really demands attention. There has been a lot of buzz around the internets praising this record, and I have to say, that I agree; it is really good. There are many different songs on here that really get you moving (like my favorite In Your Arms), and others that sound as if Janet Jackson was planning on recording them herself. 
As one of two ex-Sugababes that released an album this year, Siobhan is definitely my favorite. Her voice is ethereal and powerful. I downloaded this album long before it was released on the suggestion from one of those fabulous pop sites, and I must admit, that I was instantly taken aback by how interesting many of the songs sounded.
From the first amazing single, Don’t Give It Up, the record takes you on a futuristic journey through what I expect pop will morph into some day. Overarching synthesizers, violins, and backing vocals transform Siobhan’s music into a journey for the auditory senses; and I for one love the ride each and every time I put this disc on.
I will be the first to admit that I initially wrote Hilary Duff off, especially after one of her biggest hits to date happened to be a kind of annoying song called “So Yesterday”. However, when I heard the lead off single for her new album 
called With Love, I was instantly intrigued; could there be more to this girl than I once thought? Well, after hearing the song over and over, I really started to like it, and I pledged myself to give Hilary another chance. What I came to realize when I got Dignity, was that there really was more to Duff than I had previously thought.
For whatever (stupid) reason, the Shins’ latest album initially wasn’t even in the running for my favorite records of the year; but then I listened to it again, and was like, “WTF? It totally should be!”. This is one of those albums that really sneaks up on you, because when you first listen to it, you DO realize how good it is, but you don’t really grasp how good it is until much, much later. That’s exactly what happened to me… it just took time; and thankfully, that time has come.
that I actually followed through with my curiosity. See, I am one of those people that goes through moods; sometimes I am just not in a place to be accepting of certain types of music, and the Shins are so different from what I was listening to at the time, that I wasn’t in a place to truly understand and embrace them. Not only are the vocals very inviting and comforting, but the layers of guitars, and beats really draw you into the rich landscape of the lyrical craft that the Shins musically portray. There aren’t many artists that I would even compare to them, because for me, they really have their own thing going; and that is not something you can say about very many artists these days. Sure they remind me of groups like Death Cab For Cutie and the Decemberists, but they do what even those groups do so well themselves; they carve out their own little corner in the music landscape, and make something truly interesting and good, and dare I say it, sort of unique to them.
Like many other Americans, I have always found myself somehow sucked into the spectacle that is American Idol, and every year, I say that I won’t do it again; either because of the results, or the sheer absurdity of the competition itself. However, the year that 
was on the show, I was reeled in, not only by her beauty, but her amazing singing ability. The girl definitely has a voice, and until they handed it to Taylor, I really thought she might go all of the way, and win the competition; because she really was the best singer on the show.