Photo Credit: Daniel Sannwald

I got really wasted, talked to loads of nonsense people, stumbled around, danced like an idiot and went home—a normal night out, really.

Last Thursday, I had the chance to speak with Little Boots, one of the most talked about electro-pop chanteuses on the dance floor in the past year. Having already released her debut album Hands in the UK, the singer is now poised to make a splash overseas with the release of her album in the US on March 2.

Though she admitted she was a bit hung-over after enjoying herself at the previous night’s NME Awards, Little Boots was happy to chat with MuuMuse about her album’s upcoming release in the US, her music and influences, and the accompanying tour.

I hope I managed to answer all the Muuser questions that were submitted! And as for whether or not I asked her if she’d been licking trees lately? You bet I did.

Read on to check out some of the highlights of our conversation below!

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Photo credit: Matt Beard.

For seven years after her all-too-soon exit from American Idol’s second season in 2003, the promise of new music from Kimberly Caldwell cemented itself in the form of a permanent “Coming Soon!” on her official website. Though she would occasionally release snippets and full songs for fans on her MySpace, a definitive announcement was never made.

Over the past few years, Kimberly was quite busy in the studio, testing out sounds and covering songs with some of the industry’s most noteworthy musicians. “I’d been in the studio for years with Dianne Warren, the legendary songwriter—she’s unbelievable. She had kind of been mentoring me, you know, showing me the ropes and stuff in Hollywood.”

Still, nothing materialized as far as an album was concerned. According to Kim, it all came down to her comfort with the process of finding a recording label. “There were a lot of different producers and labels that I had started the initial process of working with,” Caldwell said of the period of time she spent recording after Idol, “and it just never felt right. It never sat right with me. I always kind of felt like I had to compromise who I was, and who I felt that I was as an artist.”

At the same time, Caldwell wasn’t even sure that she herself was prepared for a debut. “Even though I’ve been performing since I was 5 years old, I just didn’t have the right words to really believe in an album to put out at that time.”

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THE NAZTI QUEEN IS BACK.

As you all well know, I am a MASSIVE fan of Khia “My Neck, My Back” Chambers and her delightfully potty-mouthed lyricism. I’ve eagerly awaited the return of the Queen of the South for some time now–and finally, she’s arrived to take her spot on the throne once again!

“Been A Bad Girl” is Khia’s official comeback, a slow stuttering trash fest complete with crude, breathy promises and nazzzty come-ons. “Pin me down, lock me up / I been a bad girl, and now it’s time to punish me,” she half-sings in the chorus, surely one of the gangstress’ more conservative offerings in recent memory.

According to The Prophet Blog, the track was apparently inspired by Janet Jackson, which is funny given their longstanding feud.*

*A feud that exists only within Khia’s head.

The thing about this new song is that it’s kind of genuinely hot in the un-ironic sense, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if J. Jackson actually did go and record a number like this. Wait, what am I saying?!

“Been A Bad Girl” precedes the release of the Thug Misses’ new double album (!), Khia Shamone/Motor Mouf, due out in the spring.

The Family Jewels is the debut album by Marina and the Diamonds (real name Marina Diamandis–see what she did there?).

Having just been named the #2 “One to Watch” on the BBC’s prestigious Sound of 2010 list, Marina is about to endure a great deal of scrutiny and criticism under the magnifying glass of the English press with the album’s release on February 22. But is she worth the dreaded hype?

Marina’s full, throaty delivery style has the ability to quickly divide her supporters from her detractors, meshing Regina Spektor‘s quirk and Fiona Apple‘s angst with a heavily theatrical flair. Never one to shy from over-enunciation, Marina tackles the bulk of her debut with a bold, brassy delivery and a dizzying array of instrumentation and sound.

The formula works wonderfully for the most part, as with the gorgeous, slow building “Obsessions” and the electro-bubbly contemplation of “Are You Satisfied?”Occasionally though, the album suffers from becoming all too much (and shrill), as evidenced by “Hermit the Frog,” a jumpy, quirky piano and strings-led number that sounds as though Marina is recalling the tale of her deflowering whilst spinning around a carousel filled with Broadway singers and marching band members.

The highlights of Jewels that shine brightest reside in its beginning and end, including “Oh No!”, “Shampain” and “Rootless,” a rewarding, slower moment of choral coos and ample amounts of harpsichord: “Running with my roots pulled up / Caught me cold so they could cut / What there was left of love / I’m rootless, I’m rootless.” Though just as ‘epic’-sounding as the rest of the album, it’s a much needed comedown from the occasionally overwhelming production.

If there’s a major criticism to be made about this album, it’s not the music, but rather the messages behind them. Lyrically, The Family Jewels offers a strange, if not inconsistent array of tales. “I know exactly what I want and who I want to be / I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine / I’m now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy,” Marina announces in the delightfully explosive “Oh No!,” only seven songs after the seemingly contradictory “I Am Not A Robot.”

As with many of the songs that simultaneously fete and belittle the impossible dreams of fame and beauty such as “Girls” and “Hollywood,” Marina’s bouts of maniacal lyricism and celebrations of excess (“I’m obsessed with the mess that’s America”) too often position the singer as an unreliable narrator. We’re never entirely sure just who or what she’s singing about and, by the end, left wondering whether anything being sung is even sincere in the first place.

Then again, if the occasional contradiction in pop music were important, Lady “I hate money!” Gaga would be nowhere, money honey.

Marina’s debut is full of infectious melodies, bright sounds and fresh, delicious hooks. Even if the album as a whole may be a bit too much to tolerate in one spin, it’s not hard to see that there are more than just a few gems hidden in this box of Jewels.

Thank God for Grace Jones News. I swear, it’s the only place I can keep updated on her latest moves!

Vogue Italia recently did an utterly fantastic interview/photo piece with the one and only Miss Jones following her performance at the Grand ‘Cavalchina’ Ball in Venice last week. She’s a little out of it (and, I think, speaking in an Italian accent for no apparent reason), which only adds to the brilliance.

Along with the video, there are about a half-dozen or so gorgeous photographs on the website tracing her fabulous looks through several years, including the one above shot in 1986.

Oh, Miss Jones…words fail to express my love for you!

Remember that warm, tingly feeling after hearing David Guetta and Kelly Rowland‘s “When Love Takes Over” for the first time last March?

Well, it’s back again.

After what seems like forever (I believe it’s literally been eons since the announcement of this new single), the wait is over: Click above to catch the first listen of Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s “Bittersweet,” remixed by The Freemasons.

It’s major, icy disco, it’s BIIITAHHHHSWEEET…and it’s everything you could ever ask for from the Bexmonster.

Plus, as VIP Muuser David R. pointed out, it sounds like the string section of this song makes it 100% even more brilliant. Can you hear it? What’s it sound like to you? Now try listening to Depeche Mode‘s “Strangelove.”

Yep…even more delish!

Much like her performance on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Riri delivered another hip heavy, grind ready rendition of her soon-to-be smash, “Rude Boy” for AOL Sessions. Along with her current single, she also performed “Hard,” “Russian Roulette,” “Take A Bow,” and an incredible stripped-down rock rendition of “Disturbia”–all of which you can view right here.

The outfits! The punchy live renditions! The fierceness! Oh god, there’s so much good. Can I pre-order tickets to the world tour yet?

It’s the new video for Ke$ha‘s latest single, “Blah Blah Blah,” featuring 3OH!3.

Basically it’s boringly bitchy, and the only good parts are when she’s ricocheted twenty feet into the air randomly. I like that.

My feelings can be best expressed in a tweet from Courtney Love last night:

last tweet on @Keshasuxx i just think shes contrived and a faux hot mess, she reminds me more of a mean cheerleader i may be so wrong tho