Yesterday evening, I had the great pleasure of attending UK grime-pop princess Katy B‘s debut US performance at Le Bain as part of the Giant Step/Steve Madden Music Series.

After meeting up with my friend Jake, my worst nightmare Jon (of Alis-Blog, he’s literally the worst) and Jon’s roomie Justin, we began to mingle (Read: drink.) The free Svedka flowed freely as we all began to teeter dangerously close to a hip-deep swimming pool conveniently placed in the center of the fancy loft, as if begging for any one unsuspecting party-goer loaded up on one too many Sea Breezes to take a nosedive into the water at any given time. For the record, I was confident it would be me.

Luckily, it was not me. No one fell. And at around 8:15, a tiny, fiery headed pop star came strolling right past me toward the left of the pool. As a professional journalist, I decided to savor the few seconds spent standing next to each other by staring open-mouthed and stammering something along the lines of a “ha–I–uh–I.” Nailed it.

Then, another girl flanked with a semi-entourage scooted by. What–I…HOW? Could it be? YES: It was Adrienne Bailon of Cheetah Girls and 3LW fame, wiggling her way through the crowd like the spicy mamacita she is. I JUST COULD NOT EVEN.

After a quick introduction by the ‘stage’ perilously close to the pool, the pint-sized pop star waved enthusiastically to the crowd and happily declared this to be her first visit to the USA before launching into her first of three songs of the night: “Katy on A Mission.”

The vocals were top-notch, even if the sound speakers were far too low and tinny. Katy was a good sport throughout, joking with the crowd about her songs (“they’re basically all about clubbing”) and whipping through two more of her UK singles: “Broken Record” and “Lights On,” her collaboration with Ms. Dynamite.

As stripped down and limited as the show/stage was, Katy’s soulful, melodic vocals still shined bright. After her third song, Miss B cleared the stage (again passing by me, producing yet another “Buh–I–hah–I!”), the party-goers began to make a beeline for the rooftop.

But not me…I knew better.

And so, I stood my ground against the raging waves of the quickly deserting crowd of trendy twentysomethings and well-mannered hipsters, keeping my eyes on the ultimate prize until she passed by: Miss Bailon. Mustering all the Cheetah Girl inner strength I could, I said: “Adrienne, can I please get a picture?”

SUCCESS: Miss Bailon was so sweet. “Of course!” she smiled, “Follow me, we’re going to the back.” And so, after squeezing through to the red carpet sponsor wall thing-y in the back of the loft, Jake and I stood patiently (because baby, I’mma do right) watching her taking glam shots with friends and fans.

Adrienne Bailon (3LW, Cheetah Girls), Bradley Stern (Professional blogger/Tweet mentioned on The Voice.)

Finally, Adrienne, Jake and I took like seventy billion photos together, gossiped about Raven-Symone* and practiced live acoustic versions of “Cheetah-Licious Christmas,”* all the while cackling loudly* and making the rest of the revelers green with envy.*

*May or may not have happened solely in my mind.

After harassing Adrienne (I call her Adri-Baby for short now because we’re really close*), we cleared out to the rooftop and soaked in the gorgeous skyline as darkness fell. Katy later made an appearance on the roof that night walking ’round and socializing with some friends, but she just seemed far too chill for me to giddily fan-boy out and bother her. BUT LET IT BE KNOWN NOW: Katy B: You did rull good, girl. America’s going to LOVE you!

Many thanks to Giant Step, Steve Madden and Fly-Life for inviting me to this fabulous event, and shout-out to The Standard/Le Bain for keeping it sassy classy.

This night would also not be made possible without Miss Adrienne Bailon, whose flawless vocals and fierce general being have continued to provide inspiration/motivation to live life on a daily basis.

Katy B’s debut album On A Mission will be released in September. “Katy On A Mission” was released on June 21 in the US. (iTunes)

While Nicki The Ninja Lewinsky Harajuku Barbie Minaj may be getting all the glory as Young Money‘s reigning first lady, there’s another woman in the crew slowly preparing to have her turn at bat: Meet Shanell.

+ Shanell is a singer/songwriter under Young Money, and quite a good and versatile one at that.

+ She is the sister of former Danity Kane member D. Woods, high school friend of Bangladesh, and former back-up dancer for Real Housewives of Atlanta‘s Kandi Burruss. There is so much amazing in that sentence that I don’t even know where to begin. (SOURCE)

+ Her upcoming single (which I assume to be her official debut) is called “Substitute Lover,” off of her debut mixtape, Shut Up & Listen. She recently shot a video for the song.

+ “Substitute Lover” is an INCREDIBLE ’80′s-tinged dance-rock jam filled with spacey synthesizers and electro-deliciousness. While the bridge is already fantastic (“I guess I was his part time, some time / Meantime, in between time”), the chorus is an A-MAZING moment of shout-y brilliance that basically makes you want to jump and flail dance ALL OVER THE GODDAMN PLACE. I actually cannot get enough of this cut. (LISTEN)

+ She has written songs for many a pop act cherished ’round these parts, including Danity Kane (“Key To My Heart”) and 3LW (“Throwback”). She is also responsible for the irresponsibly good “Aww Shit” off of Kelis‘ 2006 record, Kelis Was Here.

+ Shanell is currently preparing her second mixtape in the studio, entitled Nobody’s Bitch. She’s also working on a debut album and is in final negotiations for a Spring 2011 tour with “a marquee pop artist.” Hmm.

+ The singer also goes by the nickname of “SnL,” which I imagine will prove entirely confusing if/when she ever does perform on the stage of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Not sure how I feel about it.

+ Aside from singing songs, Shanell also enjoys attaching metal things betwixt her nose and her ear in her spare time. This hasn’t been confirmed in a press release or anything–I’m merely making an assessment based on photographs and videos alone.

+ Here is a full song from her for your streaming/downloading enjoyment, entitled “Other Side.” The song features Lil’ Wayne and Ne-Yo, and is produced by one of the top pop producers of 2010, David Guetta.

As you can hear, “Other Side” is a throbbing, melodic dance floor haunt. I approve.

In conclusion: Shanell is chock full of potential, and I’m very excited to hear something from her in the upcoming year. In the meantime, I’ll be loving up her first mixtape. (LISTEN)

For more on Shanell (SNL), check out her official website or send her a tweet or two.

I do a lot of strange things in the shower. I sing, I dance, I [insert lyrics to Britney Spears' "Touch of my Hand" here,] but I also think about things. Like, really deep things. Tonight’s shower subject was the deepest of the deep: ROBYN IS RELEASING HER INTERNATIONALLY 2005 RELEASED SELF-TITLED ALBUM IN THE UNITED STATES OF WE HAVE TERRIBLE MUSIC TASTE TOMORROW.

The girl who brought you 90′s anthems such as “Show Me Love” is back with an album that bleeds pop creativity. The adventure begins with “Curriculum Vitae” which is the most in-your-face introduction that has been released in recent times. Thunder and hell’s bells set the tone for the intro’s opening lines, “Listen, you cannot stop this, you cannot escape it, and you can’t turn it off / So I’d appreciate your kind consideration in this matter, sir or ma’am, would you please turn it the fuck up.” If you don’t follow these sets of instructions and turn it up, you’re out of your mind.

“Konichiwa Bitches,” the albums opening track, tells you everything you need to know about the album through the lyrics. She’s so hot that you call the fire station, she’ll take you on…and she’ll stuff you in the trunk. Sounds like my mind of girl..if I were straight. Robyn’s album continues on with its electro beats on “Cobrastyle” and takes a creative (and safe) twist by reversing the word “nazi” in “Handle Me.”

The album takes an extremely emotional turn with the song that got me hooked on this girl, which is possibly the album’s highlight track. The Kleerup produced “With Every Heartbeat” is packed with a 4/4 bass and kick, synths that could make you cry if they were more musically elaborated, and lyrics about a broken heart that leave you thinking about that love that got away. It hurts with every heartbeat to listen to this song–but don’t be nervous. Even though the album’s next track “Who’s That Girl,” covers female insecurity, it attacks trying to be strong and independent even when wanting to be that girl. It also brings back the upbeat electro-R&B beats that this record is built on.

“Crash and Burn” has a unique vocal sample that plays from start to end and has Robyn singing like she’s a female Prince during the verses, pop-queen during the bridge, and R&B princess during the chorus. This is about as eclectic as the album gets, which is not a problem at all.

If you’re still listening past “Robot Boy” and “Eclipse,” then you already fuckin’ know that this album is nothing short of fire and “Should Have Known” enforces that fact. This strict R&B track, which sounds like something Monica could sing is yet another album stand out that covers the subject of a woman being a fool for not seeing a future break up.

“Anything you Like,” an ambient-R&B track slows the album down to a 3LW-esque crawl and takes you to the ending comical track “Jack U Off,” but Robyn, I don’t need you to do that….I just got out of the shower.

Album Highlights:
-With Every Heartbeat
-Should Have Known
-Handle Me
-Crash and Burn

Other releases for April 29th, 2008:
“Hard Candy” by Madonna (What was she thinking? ew!!)
“Third” by Portishead (I’m sure you’ll see a great album review for this on Tuesday/Wednesday.)