Though she’s usually found sharpening knives and pouring hot candle wax on her latest victims, it seems Mizz Natalia Kills might just be toying with the notion of becoming a disco diva. Well–a dark disco diva anyway.

Her latest song to hit the web–”Lights Out,” crafted by “Kill My Boyfriend” producer/DJ Junior Caldera and featuring Kills and her Cherrytree Records labelmates Far East Movement–is an explosive club anthem, and probably her most straightforward dance offering to date.

Floating above a four-to-the-floor smooth House beats and an electronic guitar strum (almost reminiscent of a Junkie XL or Kaskade production), the cold-hearted vixen lets her otherwise heavenly crooning fly loose: “I can read your dirty mind/That good guy shit won’t fly with me,” Kills warns.

“I see you and you’re pulling the wool over my eyes,” she continues. But before she’s even got a chance to finish, the boys of Far East Movement are already here to crash the party: “Lights out!” we hear as the song slams hard into an ferocious beat breakdown.

Filled with surging beats and half-cutesy, half-sinister lyrics (“Boy, I got a Ph.D/I got a Masters in Boy-ology”), Natalia’s got a serious hit on her hands with “Lights Out.” If she lets this one loose on the clubs, we could be looking at a dance floor massacre.

I absolutely love this track, Mizz Kills!

For those who still haven’t heard of her, Erika Jayne is one of the newest Kweens of the Dance Floor. (And as you can tell from the photo above, she’s also a Very Serious Artist.)

But really: Jayne’s already racked up 5 #1 Hot Dance Club/Play singles over the past three years for tracks like “Rollercoaster,” “Stars” and “Pretty Mess,” which has an accompanying video so fierce that people often upload it as a fake Britney teaser.

Now, she’s well on her way to a sixth #1 with her latest release: “Party People (Ignite The World).”

“Party people, every boy and girl/Let’s get ready to ignite the world!” Jayne chants during the chorus of her new single, which is already #12 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart. Is it lyrically one of the most generic dance floor anthems in the world? Why, yes! There is ample talk of partying. And people. And the world.

But still, it’s fun! “Party People” is a trashy club banga, fitting in snugly between a David Guetta jam and the winding sirens of Afrojack‘s “Take Over Control (feat. Eva Simons).”

Frankly, it was the amazingly cheese video that won me over: Abundant hair flips. Glittery Louboutins. HOUNDSTOOTH BOOTY SHORTS? I mean…duh! Also, I kind of love the fact that Erika Jayne has this amazing chameleon-like ability to morph from Paris Hilton to Heidi Montag to Kim Kardashian, all depending on the camera angle.

Who’s that chick? I don’t know exactly, but she’s got me wanting more!

“Party People (Ignite The World)” was released on November 15. (iTunes) (Spotify)

Lana Del Rey has just released her first big-budget music video ever with “Born To Die,” the latest single from her highly anticipated upcoming Interscope debut, due out in January.

Truly, it’s a gorgeous production from start to finish–from the sweeping cathedral interior shots, to the real-life tigers (aww, so pretty!), to that scintillating make-out sesh in the hot rod with her tall, tatted beau, to one majorly dramatic finale. (Make sure you stick it out ’til the very end!)

Without spoiling too much, the video acts as a perfect companion piece to the song: Slow-burning, beautiful, and ultimately…quite tragic.

Oh, and I’m not the only one who approves: Lana seems pretty pleased with the production as well! From Twitter:

Generally, I’m a man of few words, but i will say that this video is the most beautiful thing i’ve ever done.

I agree! So stay mad, Lana Del Haters–this one’s a thoroughly flaw-free production.

Born To Die will be released on January 31. (iTunes)

Good news!

It’s been rumored for a while, but now it’s official: Madonna, Queen of Pop (And Also Everything), has inked a deal with Interscope Records to distribute her upcoming twelfth studio album.

From Billboard.biz:

Madonna has signed with Interscope, a source close to the situation confirmed to Billboard.biz Wednesday morning (December 14).

According to a report in the New York Post, the singer will continue the 10-year multi-rights deal with Live Nation — said to be worth more as much as $100 million — that she signed in 2007, but has inked a three-album pact with Interscope at a base of $1 million per album. Billboard.biz’s source could not confirm the terms of the deal at press time but said the report sounded right.

Three albums? Well, that sounds mighty fine to me!

Now, I’ve seen a lot of childish banter online about Madonna signing with the same label as professional Madonna impersonator Lady Gaga, but we all know that–as the Great Legendtina of Former Floppiness Who Sits On A Throne of Unsold Bionic Albums once preached–”There is room for all of us on everyone’s iPods.”

I mean…we’re all grown, empowered women. Amirite, ladies?

Kelly Clarkson, you lovable goon.

Just this morning, the powerhouse vocalist premiered the video for her upcoming single “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger),” the title track off of her off-the-charts amazing fifth studio album, Stronger. And it’s amazing!

Suited in some unexpected futuristic garb (looking HOT, Miss C!), it seems as though Ms. Clarkson’s accidentally wandered onto the set of Brit Brit‘s intergalactic masterpiece “Hold It Against Me” to get a closer look on the monitors at some of her biggest fans around the world working it out to her latest single.

Though I was initially nervous about the whole ‘flash mob’ element to the video, the inclusion of fan clips is pretty seamless–plus, it’s a sweet little show of appreciation by Miss Kelly!

The video mainly alternates between the fan-submitted clips and a few signature K. Clarkson video elements, including a ‘rocking out with the band’ scene and a ‘singing into an old-timey microphone’ scene. But wait until the last minute, because the greatest thing ever happens: She dances!

Yes–that’s Kelly Clarkson DANCING! And you know what? She looks amazing! Actually, she looks totally adorkable. I love how much fun she’s having, and she looks totally sexy and confident to boot. She’s such a genuinely incredible role model. And those karate skills? Simply unparalleled!

All in all, the perfect combination of strong and silly. WIN, WIN, WIN!

“What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” was released to US radio and will be released February 5 in the UK. (iTunes)

Yesterday morning, I posted my Top 25 Albums of 2011. (Did you read it yet?)

From what I’ve gathered in the comments section, some of you were very pleased with the final ranking, some of you were positively blind with anger (“BIASED!!!”), and most of you were quite simply happy to be here.

But however you feel about my list, I want you to enjoy the albums that I loved this year. That’s why I’m going ahead and giving away all Top 10 of my favorite records this year–in physical form!

MuuMuse is proud to be giving away
all Top 10 Albums of 2011.

To enter to win, send me an email with the subject line “TOP 10 2011″ with your Top 10 albums of 2011 and why you picked ‘em. One winner will be selected and notified on January 1, 2012. (International entries are OK!)

Remember: Your list can look just like mine or entirely different–I really don’t care! Just pick the albums you genuinely loved, ’cause that’s all that really matters.

Good luck, godspeed, and keep on dancing till the world ends!

A few nights ago, UK DJ/producer Michael Woods took to the turntables of BBC Radio 1′s Essential Mix for a full 2-hour show full of throbbing remixes and original tracks. (Listen to the original broadcast now!)

Among the bunch was a brand new original track: “I Wish,” featuring vocals by the one and only Little Boots.

“I wish I never let you hold my hand/I wish I never tried to understand/I wish I was never part of your plan/I wish,” the “Stuck On Repeat” pop songstress painfully coos during the chorus, at last letting go before the track finally explodes into a wave of surging electro-pulsations. It’s an absolutely massive tune so far, mashing Boots’ sweetly-sung vocals against Woods’ hypnotic pulsations, resulting in a sad, timeless trance track with huge potential.

Still no word on whether the track is a Woods original, a song from Boots’ upcoming sophomore record, or a special one-off between the two artists, but whatever it is…I’m liking the way she bumps.

Between this and her new single “Shake,” Boots seems poised for a stellar crash landing back onto Earth in 2012.

“Shake” was released on November 14. (iTunes)

There’s no way around it: 2011 was an astoundingly good year in pop music.

Not since the 2007 reign of Kylie‘s X, Britney‘s Blackout, Rihanna‘s Good Girl Gone Bad and Girl’s Aloud‘s Tangled Up has there been such a strong showing in pop: We found love in the most hopeless of places, hung onto a moment and danced to the beat of our drums ’til the world ended (well, until next year anyway.)

As per usual, I’ve hemmed and hawed over a final ranking for my favorite records released over the past year. Although I wasn’t initially going to rank them numerically (YAY–everybody wins!), I ultimately realized that was just a cop-out.

Nonetheless, every album featured on this list deserves to be on included on everyone’s iPods and Spotify/iTunes libraries (or, dare I say it, in your CD players), because they’re all beautiful in their way.

Now, I present my Top 25 Albums of 2011. And if you’re not satisfied with the ranking? Please…don’t hold it against me.

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