Photos courtesy of ONTD.

This woman does not disappoint. Ever.

Check out Music Fascination for all the shots from Cheryl’s upcoming cover story feature in February 2010′s Q Magazine. And pssst, just a heads up: She mentions Lily.

Photo courtesy of Leaders of the New Cool.

Just in time for the season, Monica Rush is gifting us all with a FREE DOWNLOAD of her ridiculously catchy single, “100 doLLA biLL.”

In case you missed it (who are you?), check out the equally repeat-friendly video right here.

DL: Monica Rush – 100 doLLA biLL

I CAN’T STOP PLAYING IT AND IT IS RAPIDLY BECOMING A PROBLEM.

Remember that whole debacle with Kelly Clarkson‘s “Already Gone” and Beyonce‘s “Halo” sounding the same, courtesy of producer Ryan Tedder?

Behold–it’s the B-side to Alexandra Burke‘s “Broken Heels,” “Fear of Flying.”

Sound familiar, Utada fans? That’s because the song, which was also produced by Stargate, uses the same sample as “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – FYI.”

Same sample, same producer. Granted, one’s just a B-side, and the other remains an album track only, but still…what gives?

PS: Just to clarify, Utada’s track is miles better. Just saying.

So sad.

As the news of Brittany Murphy‘s death earlier this morning continues to work its way through the various social networking sites and media outlets, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the work that Murphy had done over the past few years as a recording artist.

It was always a well known fact that Brittany Murphy was working on a debut album. According to reports as far back as 2004, Murphy was booking producers and session singers for studio work on her upcoming release.

In 2006, Murphy went on to collaborate with the highly talented Paul Oakenfold for a song called “Faster Kill Pussycat” off his album, A Lively Mind. “Faster kill, faster still pussycat, I can’t stand to see you cry,” Murphy taunts with a delicious rasp atop a combination of hard, thumping synthesizers and gritty, grinding bursts of electronica.

As a debut release, the track floored me–it was dark, bold, and fearless; a tantalizing taste of what could come of Murphy’s debut. To this day, the song remains one of my favorite songs of the ’00′s. Click here to watch the video for “Faster Kill Pussycat” and celebrate this stunning release once more.

Later that year, Murphy lent her vocals to two tracks on the Happy Feet soundtrack, covers of Queen‘s “Somebody to Love” and Earth, Wind & Fire‘s “Boogie Wonderland.” The songs, as with “Faster Kill Pussycat,” defied all expectations, proving herself a singer with a far better ability to croon than many of the pop starlets on the scene at the time.

In May of 2008, Murphy left a blog note on her MySpace confirming that she had been in the studio with Max Martin, Timbaland, and Paul Oakenfold, assuring fans that the process of her debut was moving slowly because she “needed to make sure that becoming a “pop star” was what i wanted.”

As of 2009, the album still hadn’t come to fruition. Quite sadly, it’s doubtful that we’ll ever hear anything from those lost sessions now.

Brittany Murphy will truly be missed–not only as a wonderful actress, but as the recording artist who could have been.

Rest in peace, Brittany.

So, I didn’t get to see Rihanna yesterday.

After looking over the weather report in the morning and seeing nothing but snowflake icons and references to “6 to 10 inches,” I thought it wise not to trek into New York City and get snowed in for the night. As I told my would-be concert buddies, “I’m sorry, but these are Britney/Madge conditions only.”

Instead, I stayed at home, got my Christmas/birthday present–a new laptop (MacBook Pro!), found the Lady Gaga deluxe fan package at my doorstep, and sold a concert ticket online. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty decent alternative.

Since I didn’t get to see Rihanna in person, I thought the next best thing would be seeing her on my super sleek, super sexy MacBook screen. Click above to check out the three videos of Riri’s interview and performance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. I love when she laughs…still reminding me a Grace Jones-in-training as of late.

Let the haters hate…her style and sound are at the best they’ve ever been. Sales records and chart numbers are trivial–Rated R is a perfect campaign!

Well, this sounds nothing like 3 Words.

“Boys” was written by Adele, which provokes a kind of “Oh, really? Adele?!” response until you think about it a little, forget why it was all that surprising in the first place, and then swiftly move on with your life.

The song, to me, is a three-play grower. By this, I mean I remained unconvinced on the first play, intrigued by the second, and all but addicted upon the third.

The hypnotizing swirl of the synth-pads, lonely echoing guitar plucks, and the semi-melancholy, lovesick lyrics (“Boys, this is not our choice / We can’t help that opposites attract / But where’s the fun in that, for a hopeful romantic kind of girl?”) all lend themselves to a perfect addition to the already not-so-mainstream package that is the “3 Words” single.

I like it very much, though it does make me a bit sad to think that “Boy Like You” trumped this “Boy” for a spot in the final tracklisting of 3 Words.

It’s my fault for not discovering her sooner…but I’m so glad that I finally have.

This is El Perro Del Mar, otherwise known as Sarah Assbring, a Swedish artist making pop happen since 2006.

I could say that the music she makes, a combination of drippy, ambient pop, distorted strings and a simple, Lykke Li-like delivery, is nothing short of lush.

But it’s my friend David, who, after introducing me to her music, described it best: “Fleetwood Mac on pills in the 90′s…It’s what Siobhan Donaghy wishes she could record. It’s what she tried to do on Ghosts and failed at, mostly.”

“Change of Heart,” the song being featured above, is one of the finest numbers off of her latest EP, Love is Not Pop, which was made available in the US on October 20 of this year.

As for that piece of art you’re currently mesmerized by above? As the clip’s description box tells us, the duo is an act from Budapest that were called in by the label after first being seen in Lido, Paris. They were asked to be filmed for the official video to accompany “Change of Heart” and, according to the director, Flip Nilsson: “When we finally could see the amazing footage together with the music it felt like we got struck by the lightning of love.”

While the original song is brilliant, I’ll also need to direct your attention to the equally special Robyn remix of the track located right here at Pitchfork. The mix adds a bit of the Swedish chanteuse’s own vocals (always a plus!), and the lightest glaze of ’90′s house synths.

“Change of Heart” the kind of song you want to carry with you through life. It’s timeless, it’s beautiful…I could listen to this song time and time again, and so I do.

Purchase “Change of Heart” on iTunes | MySpace | Official Website

Photo by Matt Beard, courtesy of Kimberly-Caldwell.com.

And now, it’s here: The first single from my personal Idol Kimberly Caldwell‘s upcoming debut album, Without Regret, entitled “Mess of You.”

CLICK HERE TO STREAM THE TRACK.

Contents: Throaty, smoker’s voice; guitar sounds; two verses, a chorus, and a bridge.

Chorus noise: “Oh, oh, I’ll make a mess of you / Oh, oh, the hell I’ll put you through / I’ll make a mess of you / You can trust me, trust me.”

The general point being: I’m not perfect, but I’m perfect for you.

Sounds like: P!nk; Kelly Clarkson.

Generally speaking: It’s a solid, guitar-driven belter, and I still could not be prouder.

“Mess of You” will be released to iTunes very soon.