Today, the video for Cheryl Cole‘s upcoming single, “Parachute” premiered on her official site.

If her first two videos didn’t already solidify Cole as a full-fledged pop star in her own right, “Parachute” surely will. This is truly a piece of art, recalling the best moments of the past decade of Kylie Minogue‘s videography and the fierce poise and style of fellow girl grouper Victoria Beckham.

Gorgeous, moody lighting, sharp choreography…I’m in love. Absolutely stunning.

Bravo, Chezza!

And now, something to look forward to:

Here’s Janet Jackson looking ferocious on the cover of Wonderland Magazine, which is due to hit shelves on February 5. The full feature will be made available on the website starting on February 2.

Click here to watch a video teaser of the inside photo spread…too excited to handle. New music can’t come soon enough!

Britney has a seat at the Grammy’s this year!

Check out the video above to watch as Access Hollywood gives a sneak peek at the celebrities due to attend the show. There’s Rihanna, Gaga and, just a few seats away, Britney Spears!

I can’t wait to see her on the red carpet. Oh, and the face she’ll make when she sees whatever ill-fitting costume Gaga’s struggling to pull off in her seat.

Sia is going on tour again!

Quickly after the April 2010 release of her fifth studio album We Are Born, The We Meaning You Tour will begin in Denmark and move around Europe for a total of eleven dates which are as follows:

Sia European Tour Dates 2010

12th May – Denmark – Copenhagen – Falkoner Theatre*
15th May – France – Lille – L’Aeroef
16th May – Belgium – Brussels – Ancienne Begique
17th May – Netherlands – Utrecht – MCV
18th May – France – Paris – Olympia
20th May – Germany – Berlin – Astra*
21st May – Germany – Hamburg – Grose Frieheit 36
23rd May – Germany – Munich – Muffathalle
24th May – Germany – Stuttgart – Theaterhaus
25th May – Germany – Cologne – Gloria
27th May – UK – London – Roundhouse*

*Denotes VIP Ticket Packages available
Look out for special VIP ticket packages in Copenhagen, Berlin and London. Which will include a limited edition Live CD of the show, signed by Sia, access to an exclusive after-show party and VIP goodie bag featuring a variety of Sia related limited edition items.

EDIT: And this just in, the North American tour dates which will come right before the European leg!

04/10: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
04/12: Seattle, WA @ Market
04/13: Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
04/14: San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
04/17: Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/19: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
04/20: Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee
04/22: Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
04/24: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
04/25: Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
04/26: Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews
04/28: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
04/30: Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
05/01: Boston, MA @ House of Blues
05/02: Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
05/04: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
05/05: Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head
05/06: New York, NY @ Terminal 5

Pre-sale tickets go on sale on her website on February 3 (watch Sia’s tweets for the pre-sale password!), and February 5 for the general ticket sale.

As a pop nerd (and Britney Spears‘ number one fan), I don’t believe in the term ‘guilty pleasure.’ If a song is good, it’s good. I’m not the same, I have no shame…I’m on fire, etc. etc. (Get it? It’s a reference.)

I say this because, of all the artists and ‘artists’ I write about, Jeffree Star is probably the closest thing to being my guilty pleasure.

When I first found his album lying in my mailbox over the summer, I was briefly overcome with a wave of nostalgia. Memories flooded in from the glory days of MySpace: It was a better time–a time when the self-portrait in the bathroom mirror was just being perfected by teens worldwide, when DIY-pop stars like Lily Allen were born, and a time where Tila Tequila was not yet introduced to Twitter.

But it was also the time of Jeffree Star, the outrageous ex-makeup artist of Kelly Osbourne and Paris Hilton/drag queen who, for better or worse, kept me tickled with his bitchy cold gone sugary sweet ‘ice cream and razorblades’ persona. A queen with a king-size ego, Star was a memorable e-fixture during my awkward adolescence.

As I came to learn later last year after a few initial spins, Star’s debut album Beauty Killer is genuinely good fun: From the namedropping lunacy of “Bitch, Please!” (“Make my bottle pop like a Pussycat Doll / Smoked up Michael Phelps and won a gold medal”), to the fairly unsettling lollipop-licking instructional “Lollipop Luxury” featuring Nicki Minaj (!!!), to the dare-I-say-it actual goodness of the title track’s luscious, breathy chorus.

Now, it seems as though Star is truly rolling out the album’s promotion, having just released the video for “Get Away With Murder.”

The professional-ish look and feel of the video impressed me from the get-go, especially given that–from the looks of it–the video was shot on location at some scuzzy motel. There’s some cheerleader-inspired drag choreography, some glam shots and super-split legs, and even a glittery chainsaw! Like the starring ladyboy himself, the video is brash and sloppy in moments (though if you gather a gaggle of heaving boys atop each other, that sort of thing tends to happen), but not without its own kitschy, campy appeal.

Alright, look…let’s get it straight: Yes, this is just another addition to the continually downgrading, endlessly narcissistic trend in pop music and culture that revels in material lust, mindless trash and empty emotions, which will inevitably lead us all spiraling down to the gates of Hell. But you know what? It’s kind of fun to seat-dance to in the car.

So go on Jeffree, and wave your freak flag high–I salute you.

Beauty Killer is now on iTunes.

Click here to watch Sade‘s incredible mini-documentary tracking the creation of Soldier of Love, their first album in a decade. It’s a longer video, but it offers a rare glimpse into a recording studio filled with talented musicians working to make real musical magic.

Some of the greatest highlights here are Sade Adu’s many quotable offerings, including her own self-analysis:

I didn’t ever want to be a singer. I ended up being a singer. I mean, I’ve developed skills I suppose, over the years. I’m more capable than I used to be. I’m more able to express what I want to. I’m less limited, but I’ve never had the aspirations that a lot of singers have and that’s probably why I’m quite, in some ways, uncomfortable with the fame.

There’s something completely rejuvenating and heartwarming about watching this talented bunch at work, a sentiment that later echoes in Adu’s reflections:

I do feel a responsibility, when we’re making music, to create something with love in it, so I think people can then feel it, and that’s what you’re giving them. I’m never flippant about music. What we do is always like a mission, a task which I don’t undertake lightly.

Sade’s Soldier of Love will be released on February 8 worldwide, and February 9 in the US.

The studio version of The Knife‘s upcoming opera Tomorrow, In A Year, featuring Mount Sims and Planningtorock, is now available for streaming.

The opera, which is based on Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species and related publications on the subject of evolution, will be performed from January 29 to February 1 in Stockholm and later on June 5 in Münster.

Click on the player below to listen to the whole album. And no, I don’t think this relates to iamamiwhoami whatsoever.

Tomorrow, In A Year will be released on March 1.

As you may remember, Talking Heads‘ David Byrne and Fatboy Slim have teamed up with almost every brilliant female vocalist ever to concoct a musical concept piece based on Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines.

The song embedded above (“Here Lies Love”) is the prologue to the Imelda tale, as sung by Florence Welch. Byrne posted an excerpt from the album’s accompanying book which better explains the song’s meaning:

This song acts as a prologue and is sung from Imelda’s point of view in a style reminiscent of mid-to-late-’70s club music. She’s whooping it up at a disco, and at the same time she’s looking back on her life, her achievements, her sacrifices and her childhood. She’s also thinking ahead, imagining her legacy, what it might be.

“Here Lies Love” is nothing like Welch has recorded thus far; a kind of swelling, closing credits theme song mashed in between modern disco beats and timeless, romantic strings.

It’s nothing short of lovely (and no, the name of the song provides no bias in my analysis).

The album will be released on February 23. For more, check out the official release information on Byrne’s website. I’ve officially pre-ordered!