It’s the answer to the question everyone’s been asking ever since Keisha Buchanan got the boot/left the group in September of 2009: Can the girl group made up of three girls that were never part of the original line-up really still call themselves the Sugababes? The answer: Sorry, no can do!

Founding member Mutya Buena has just won a lawsuit against the troupe for legal rights to the band’s original name. From the NME article:

The singer then announced she would be pursuing legal action to win the rights to the name Sugababes and announced yesterday that she had succeeded.

She wrote on her Facebook page of the news: “I won the official name of the Sugababes now!!! I deserve this! I’m over the moon!”. She is also listed as the owner of the name Sugababes on the official EU trademark website.

The decision not only means current members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen will potentially have to tour and record under a new name, but that Buena and original members Keisha Buchanan and Siobahn Donaghy will be able to reunite under the name Sugababes if they wish.

So, um…now what? The ‘Babes have a brand new single due out at the start of September (“Freedom”) and an album launch on the horizon. Coupled with dwindling support from the group’s original fan-base, is this the sound of goodbye?

Will Jade Ewen finally get to realize her dreams as a perfectly good solo artist in her own right? Will Amelle Berrabah start up a bad ass bitch duo with Alesha Dixon? Will Heidi Range launch a high street collection of tea cozies? Only one thing’s for sure: The Sugababes are officially no more.

…That is, unless the original group reforms. SHIVERS.

In all seriousness though, this is incredibly sad news: It’s officially the end of an era (for now). RIP Sugababes!

EDIT: Orrrrr not so fast!

NME has provided a quick update to their original story to clarify that Mutya has only won some rights to the Sugababes name, including “paper, cardboard and goods; namely stationery, paper gift wrap and paper gift wrapping ribbons.”

The Sugas live to fight another day! BUT YOU’LL NEVER WRAP A GIFT IN THIS TOWN AGAIN, AMELLE.

$UCCE$$!

Oh…when you call my name!

Tove Styrke is a Swedish pop star. After rising to fame with a third place finish on 2009′s Swedish Idol, the gorgeous 18-year-old chanteuse released her self-titled LP in 2010, featuring production by fellow Swedes Janne Kask, Peter Ågren and Patrik Berger (known best for penning last year’s heaven-sent slice of sad disco, Robyn‘s “Dancing On My Own.”)

Now, the singer has just unleashed a brand new beat: “Call My Name,” an incredibly infectious electro-pop ditty again produced by collaborators Kask & Ågren.

“I was a rebel even as a little girl, I’ve been a loner ever since I can remember,” the lil’ punk-ette preaches off the top of her sizzling new single. With its twinkling synth-pop, slightly rock-tinged production and Styrke’s indie-pop friendly vocals, “Call My Name” almost plays like Swede-pop take on Tegan & Sara‘s punchy collabo with dance titan Tiësto…which is a very good thing!

Styrke’s latest is a luscious end-of-summer synth-pop jam…I’m LOVING it! With any luck, “Call My Name” should be leading up to a follow-up record in the same musical vein.

Oh–and if you like the song, don’t forget to tweet with the hashtag “#CallMyName.” She’ll make a music video if you get it trending!

Thanks to Muuser Myles K. for the heads up on this track!

Tove Styrke’s debut LP was released in the US on July 22. (iTunes)

Yes, it’s true: The witchy Miss Florence Welch has returned!

After several months of touring ’round the world and many weeks spent recording with acclaimed British producer Paul Epworth (Adele, Kate Nash) at England’s famed Abbey Road Studios, the fiery-headed chanteuse is back with “What The Water Gave Me,” the whimsical lead single from her as-of-yet untitled sophomore effort, due out on November 7.

As she told Pitchfork in an interview posted today, their work on Lungs–especially “Cosmic Love” (my personal favorite)–inspired Welch to keep collaborating with Epworth: “The way that “Cosmic Love” turned out really made me want to do the whole next record with him. That song was written in like half an hour in a tiny bedroom studio and I always had this idea for a really big sound coming from all that clatter, and he managed to capture that on record in the best way.”

Just as with all great Florence productions, “What The Water Gave Me” weaves together echoed, otherworldly instrumentation and pleasant plucks of harp with Welch’s soulful sound; her voice quivering above crashing drums and noisy guitar licks as she throws her head back to deliver howl after almighty howl by the song’s massive finale. Add in an organ and the sobering chant of a choir and et voila: Florence is taking us to CHURCH!

As one of the most genuinely exciting new artists to have emerged in the past decade–as well as the driving force behind one of my top albums of 2009–it’s reassuring to see (and hear!) that Lady Welch is right on track with her follow-up: It’s spooky. It’s soulful. It’s flawless. Were you expecting anything less?

“What the Water Gave Me” was released on August 23. (iTunes)

2011: YEAR OF THE MUUSE (AND SPEARS).

STOP YOUR ENTIRE LIFE:
A FLAWLESS ICONIC BEAUTY APPEARS.

The photos from Cheryl Cole‘s 2012 calendar have just surfaced, and um…I AM SCREAMING ALOUD.

Seriously stop, Cheryl Cole: Stop with your stupid flawless face and your stupid flawless body and your stupid flawless posing skills. You’re disgustingly fierce, and you’re making me feel weird things inside that I haven’t felt since the last time I saw that trailer for Taylor Lautner‘s new movie Abduction which subsequently led into a sleepless 47-hour binge of Googling “Taylor Lautner shirtless” and then–WAIT. WHERE AM I. WHAT? WHO? Oh.

No, but seriously: She is truly one of the most gorgeous glamazons on the planet. I’m positively swooning!

Click here to see previews of the full set, courtesy of Cheryl Online.

Q: COULD YA FAVES?

A: NEVER.

“Lying on a fake beach, you’ll never get a tan / Baby I’m gonna leave you drowning, until you reach for my hand,” she croons.

And so begins the second chapter of Electra Heart, the American Dream-turned-Greek tragedy being slowly unwoven by bright red-lipped UK chanteuse Marina + The Diamonds.

After the release of “Fear & Loathing” on August 8 comes “Radioactive,” produced by DJ Chuckie and powerhouse Norwegian production team Stargate–Marina’s most daring lift-off from her usual output, and also one of her finest songs to date.

Boldly charging into mainstream production territory, Miss Diamandis lays her signature chops atop a pulsating, shimmering dance beat that could have just as easily been found layered into Rihanna‘s LOUD or an Alexis Jordan club cut.

Yet this both is and isn’t an immediate radio smash: While the beat is thoroughly Top 40, the songcraft is still very much a Marina production, featuring emotionally charged lyrics (“My heart is nuclear / Love is all that I fear / Ready to be let down, now I’m headed for a meltdown”) and the singer’s signature leaping vocal acrobatics and quivering vibrato. The result? An utterly stellar indie-goes-dance production–the kind of smart pop that helps to continue to redefine the genre.

The accompanying Casper Balslev-directed clip is equally breathtaking: Like a cross between Bonnie & Clyde and The Virgin Suicides, there’s something simultaneously thrilling and spooky in watching Heart’s rebellious adventures through the windy deserts, sleazy motel rooms and desolate supermarkets of heartland America.

Where will it all end for Electra? We’ll find out soon enough when the story’s third installment is uploaded within the next week or two.

“Radioactive” will be released on October 3. (iTunes UK)

As the scribes behind such colossal pop smashes as David Guetta and Kelly Rowland‘s “When Love Takes Over,” Ke$ha‘s “Fuck Him (He’s A DJ)” and Kylie Minogue‘s “Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love),” it’s safe to say that Liv and Mim Nervo–more commonly known as the Nervo Twins–know a thing or two about writing a hit.

The drop dead gorgeous Aussie-born duo have written for dozens of today’s most beloved pop and dance acts–from Armin van Buuren to Rachel Stevens to the Pussycat Dolls, rapidly becoming one of the music industry’s most consistent, unstoppable hit machines for the latter half of the past decade.

But penning smashes for some of today’s most beloved pop acts is only one of the components to Aussie duo’s recipes for success: The twins have just as quickly climbed their way to prominence within the dance community as a result of their frenetic, high energy live DJ sets, achieving the ultimate stamp of approval after being cast as one of the opening acts on Britney’s massively successful Femme Fatale Tour earlier this year.

Now, as their profile continues to grow between both the packed dance floors of the indie-dance community and the radio airwaves of the mainstream pop scene, the girls are now taking their first steps toward a debut in their own right with the release of their debut Astralwerks single on August 16: “We’re All No One,” featuring Dutch DJ Afrojack and indie-House titan, Steve Aoki.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with the ever-lovely Mim of the Nervo Twins just one day after the duo stepped down from their opening DJ duties on Britney’s wildly successful Femme Fatale Tour. Read on to see the full interview, including banter about being on tour with Britney, writing for the divine Miss Kylie (and nearly Cheryl Cole!), and all the latest on Nervo’s upcoming debut.

Read more!

With one month left to go, Professional Pop Savior Nicola Roberts has just unveiled the stunning cover art and tracklisting for her much anticipated, already amazing* debut album Cinderella’s Eyes, due out on September 26.

Tidy? No, no, no! But brilliant? Oh, it’s magic. She looks like The Divine Queen of Porcelain!

And now, the tracklisting:

1. Beat Of My Drum
2. Lucky Day
3. Yo-Yo
4. Cinderella’s Eyes
5. Porcelain Heart
6. i
7. Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime
8. Say It Out Loud
9. Gladiator
10. Fish Out Of Water
11. Take A Bite
12. sticks + stones

Good. I love it. And now, some rather exciting blurb from the rather exciting press release:

Nicola Roberts releases her debut album ‘Cinderella’s Eyes’ on September 26th through A&M Records.

The album has become one of the most anticipated pop releases of the year following the lead single, ‘Beat Of My Drum.’ Teaming up with a stellar list of producers and co-writing all the songs [apart from one cover] Nicola has spent the past 18 months working on the 12 track album. Collaborators include Dimitri Tikovoi, Diplo, Metronomy, Dragonette and Invisible Men. As fresh as anything you’ll hear this year the album is a riot of colossal pop melodies, underground sounds, singing, rapping and astonishing honesty.

There’s ‘Yo-Yo’, which marries classic pop lyrics (“don’t want to be the last to know, will it be a yes or a no?”) to a post-Dalston Ronettes vibe and a pulsing, demented electro breakdown. The brilliant ‘Porcelain Heart’ is quirky, bonkers pop, while ‘Sticks & Stones’ is a series of frank snapshots behind the scenes of life in a pop band (Spoiler alert: it’s not always laugh-a-minute). Most tellingly, the breezily confrontational ‘Take A Bite’ – “you push me to fight, everybody’s got a limit, so put ’em up” – feels like an object lesson in what it might sound like if, having been yelled at, heckled, told she’s ugly and crap for almost a decade, a 25-year-old was finally allowed to scream back.

“I had to feel like I would say and mean every single one of these lyrics,” Nicola recalls on writing songs for the album. “I would say, ‘I’d never say that in a million years, why would I put it down just because it rhymes?’ It’s as simple as this: I’ve been given an opportunity to make the album I want to make, so I’ve absolutely put every last bit of heart and soul into it.”

IN CONCLUSION: PERFECT.

*It has to be amazing. There’s just no way it’s not.