It’s been just over a year now since 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke released her last single (“The Silence”) and now–the silence has been broken! (Oh my God, I hate myself. Sorry. Keep reading.)

As previously announced back in early December, “Elephant”–Burke’s amazingly titled new single produced by the legendary Erick Morillo–will be released on February 26.

Last night however, BBC Radio 1′s Pete Tong premiered a brand new remix of the track on his show, produced by Romero & Nunez. And from what I’m hearing so far, it sounds absolutely (pardon the pun)… HUGE.

Although it’s only a tease of the track, “Elephant” certainly sounds like a BANGER. “There’s an elephant standing in the room/Although we’re all alone, it’s not just me and you,” Burke croons. (Whether or not her voice is as heavily Auto-Tuned in the original version of the song remains to be seen/heard.) “And it’s crushing me, there’s no room to breathe,” Burke powerfully belts out as the tension steadily builds to an explosive beat breakdown.

Oof! Sounds like an incredibly awkward situation for Alexandra. She really ought to be taking some advice from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills glamazon, Camille Grammar: We don’t say that, but NOW we said it.

According to Hackford PR, Alexandra will premiere the song next Thursday at the Tickled Pink concert, where The Saturdays and Little Mix are also scheduled to perform.

Can’t wait to hear the full track!

Elephant (Sympho Nympho Fanmade Edit) by thingofthenight

“Elephant” will be released on February 26. (iTunes)

So here’s a post I’ve meant to do for over a month.

Jessica Mauboy is the runner-up from the fourth season of Australian Idol.

For those who haven’t encountered her name yet in their musical journey, a very brief history: Jessica Mauboy has a very listenable and melodic voice, comparable to that of Jordin Sparks, Alexandra Burke or Charice. Following her exit from Idol, the singer released her electro-tinged R&B debut in 2008, Been Waiting. The record spawned about a half dozen radio smashes, including the two very good singles that first caught my attention two years ago: “Been Waiting” and “Burn.”

On November 5 of this year, Mauboy released Get ‘Em Girls, the follow-up to her debut. ‘Urban’-flared and even more radio-friendly than her first album, Get ‘Em Girls nearly bursts at the seams with a dizzying array of American and Australian producers and co-writers, including Bangladesh, Harvey Mason Jr., Audius, Brian Kennedy and even the legendary Billy Steinberg (who penned Madonna‘s “Like A Virgin”)–not to mention the artist guest list, featuring Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and Iyaz. Not too shabby!

Though a somewhat eclectic bunch, the talent medley totally worked for Mauboy, resulting in a what proved to be one of the better albums of the year. (See–it even made the MuuMuse Top 40 list!)

Two songs from the album have already been released as singles (“Saturday Night (feat. Ludacris)” and “Get ‘Em Girls (feat. Snoop Dogg)”), although both songs were coupled with shoe-string budget clips that make Girls Aloud‘s “Something Kinda Ooooh” video look groundbreaking.)

Singles aside, I wanted to share one of my favorite album tracks: “Maze,” which was produced by Fredro (who’s also responsible for album tracks “Can Anybody Tell Me?” and “Forget Your Name”) and co-penned by one of my current songwriter crushes, Claude Kelly.

Fredro, the song’s producer, is a Swedish-born writer who first began making waves in the early ’00′s producing for about a zillion of MuuMuse’s most approved acts including Shontelle‘s “Ghetto Lullabye” (!), The Sugababes‘ “Switch” (!!), and Holly Valance‘s “Hush Now” (!!!), as well as another former Australian Idol contestant–Season 1 winner, Guy Sebastian.

Claude Kelly is the same man responsible for co-penning Britney‘s “Circus” and “Shattered Glass” (I know, I KNOW…deep breaths!), Miley Cyrus‘ “Party In The U.S.A.” with Jessie J, and a handful of the better offerings from Christina Aguilera this year, including “Woohoo,” “Desnudate,” and arguably Burlesque‘s best number, “Express.” As one of his latest productions now soars up the Billboard charts (Bruno Mars‘ devastatingly good “Grenade”), I’m fully anticipating the talented songwriter to dominate in 2011.

So that is that, and now we have “Maze”: A fantastically slick, electronica-infused R&B scorcher.

The song is particularly fantastic because it somewhat recalls JoJo‘s legendary “Too Little, Too Late” in that the chorus is very anthem-like and triumphant/inspirational sounding, when in fact the actual message of the song is rife with inner turmoil and a certain degree of sadness.

Speaking to its ‘explosive’ quality, “Maze” basically contains approximately two and a half choruses. First, there’s the pre-chorus (“Yeah, ’cause…one minute you want my tou-ee-uch, yeah / Next minute you don’t want none”).

Upon first listen, it seems like this could be the song’s decent chorus–but it isn’t. IT JUST FEEDS INTO A BETTER ONE: “OOOOOH! Should I stay or should I GOOOO?”

But then, something EVEN MORE AMAZING happens toward the end of the actual chorus: “Your heart is like a MA-EE-AY-ZE!” J. Melly bellows and repeats, rendering the listener physically incapable of doing anything except throwing their head back and hollering right along with the Aussie R&B songstress.

In conclusion: “Maze” is a-MAZE-ing. Do you see what I just did there?! LOLOLOLOL.

Get ‘Em Girls was released on November 5. (Australian iTunes) (Been Waiting is available on US iTunes).

Alright, so I don’t usually do X Factor results show posts (except for the occasional guest act’s performance), but this one required some Muusing.

Tonight, MuuMuse favorites Cher Lloyd and Mary Byrnes were cast into the forsaken Bottom Two (DAMN YOU, ONE DIRECTION). Thus, the lipsynch for your life sing for survival commenced.

Mary selected James Brown‘s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” She truly came out fighting and belted that ish as Mary Byrnes is wont to do–that last note was pretty impeccable–leading to an explosion of cheers from the audience. A killer, killer performance. (WATCH)

Cher selected Britney‘s “Everytime.” Upon hearing this, my face began to swell, my lips turned blue and my lungs immediately collapsed, forcing me to run and jab an EpiPen into my neck. Not to worry, friends–my usual response to all things Brit Brit. (WATCH)

The swagga princess’ rendition started out very simple and sad in the first verse and chorus, but then came that bridge. Oh, how the emotion poured! She riffed and riffed and riffed some more, and the notes just kept soaring and getting better and better until her voice finally cracked and forfeited to tears. By the end, I was a complete and utter mess, and so was The Almighty Lloyd. SO. MANY. TEARS.

In the final deliberation, Louis selected Mary to save, Dannii and Cheryl went for Cher. It was up to Simon to make the final decision, and so it was done: Mary was out, Cher moved into the final round with One Direction, Matt Cardle and Rebecca Ferguson. I’m going to miss you, Mary.

The X Factor grand finale comes this weekend. Who takes the title? Beats me.

Oh yeah, and Alexandra Burke performed “The Silence” earlier in the show. (WATCH)

The singer was outfitted in a long, flowing white gown like an angel, literally taking flight into the air during the performance’s climactic end along with a bunch of upside-down-turned-right-side-up violin playing angels (nope, not making this up), at last spreading her hands Jesus style. X Factor performances: Always a subtle affair.

All kidding aside, her voice was completely and utterly B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Flawless, incredible powerhouse performance. Kudos to you, Burke!

Today was T4′s Stars of 2010, a major pop showcase in West London’s Earls Court featuring loads of performances from the major chart-performing artists of the year. Let’s run through some of the MuuMuse favorites that hit the stage!

Ellie Goulding truly cut loose for her performance of “Starry Eyed.” (Fitting song for the night’s theme, no?) (WATCH)

Donning a ringmaster’s jacket, the twinkling starlet had an absolute blast working up and down the stage like a madwoman and kicking around the space balls floating through the audience–she even whips her hair back and forth for a perfect Britney hair flip at the 1:44 mark! I loved it.

Alexandra Burke worked it out to her RedOne-produced hit of questionable quality, “Start Without You.” (WATCH)

Of course she did some live singing and some choreography, but the real fun doesn’t start until the very end–at the 2:40 mark–when the boys ditch their tops and give us something really worth watching. Mmm…start me up!

Pixie Lott classed it up with a performance of the latest single off of her debut album re-release Turn It Up Louder, “Broken Arrow.” (WATCH)

Pretty straightforward–a nice, solid delivery of her gorgeous new ballad.

Look! It’s The Saturdays, performing their latest Top 10 single, “Higher”! (WATCH)

While their styling is still a tremendous issue (and why are we performing on a car again?), the vocals and choreography were completely on-point. Una nailed that major note again as she did on Lorraine, and Vanessa even had a brilliant, semi-overenthusiastic note at the song’s very end! A job well done for the girls carrying us through until a better girl group comes along.

Finally, The Wanted performed their mega-smash debut single, “All Time Low.” (WATCH)

Starting out with a rather exciting burst into flames, the boys did their thing to the screams and tears of a million girls and gays. Highlights include the awkward one’s awkward white boy jig at the 0:56 mark (Jay), the torches aloft moment at 2:10, and the hot one’s general existence on stage (Max, bald one). Work it, sexy boys!

And those are the performances you should know about. Have a good rest of your weekend!

In December of 2008, 19-year-old singer Diana Vickers was prematurely eliminated from the fifth season of the UK’s X Factor.

Within months after her departure however, the young singer was already creating a healthy amount of buzz around her debut–enough to nearly overshadow that of her former competitor’s efforts, Alexandra Burke and JLS.

The buzz was due to an ever-expanding rumor list of drool-worthy collaborators and musical legends, including Guy Sigsworth, Starsmith, Chris Braide, and Cathy Dennis. As the news trickled down, the promise of these recording sessions grew greater, as fans waited to hear what the quirky singer was quietly cooking up in the studio.

Then came the release of the singer’s debut single, “Once,” an instantly catchy, thrilling rush of explosive choruses and big bass beats. The single proved that Vickers’ odd, hushed delivery and near-broken vocals lent themselves perfectly to pop, causing the song to rocket to the #1 spot on the UK Singles Chart in late April of 2010. Her debut album soon followed on May 3, which also hit the #1 spot on the UK Album Chart the following week.

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree is incredibly solid electro-pop package, colored by an unconventionally raspy voice and a youthful spirit. Neither dance music nor torch song balladry, Vickers’ album is a refreshing blend of bright electronic hooks and classic crooning, refusing to be characterized in either direction.

With glittering, multi-layered electronica-inspired songs like “You’ll Never Get To Heaven,” “My Hip,” and “Remake Me & You,” Vickers follows in line with such artists as Ellie Goulding and Imogen Heap) in forging the somewhat newly founded genre of indie electro pop. The songs, which feature extensive production and wild, whizzing noises, mesh together to create a whimsical soundscape complimented by cheerful crooning and dizzying melodies.

“The Boy Who Murdered Love,” set to be the next single released from the album, is among one of the most immediate standouts on the record. In the song, Vickers recounts a love gone sour with the most biting of lyricism and pained delivery: “You’re the boy who murdered love,” she begins, “cold hands and a heart of stone. You’re a Midas in reverse, you’re the king of pain and hurt.” Everything about the song burns with broken-hearted anguish, resulting in one of the most delicious of the electro-pop confections on the record.

“My Hip,” which features Vickers herself taking a turn on the trumpet, is another highlight. Taking a break from the lush, ethereal electronic sounds for a brief foray through frantic, skipping beats and trumpet flares, the singer charms her way through a gleeful crush. It’s both adorable and addictive.

Vickers’ only cover on the album is also a delightful surprise for music fans, The Sugarcubes‘ song, “Hit.” Vickers’ version blends in effortlessly with the rest of the record, replacing the groovier original beats with bright, poppy synthesizers and swirling electronic beats. As it (unsurprisingly) turns out, the singer’s voice takes well to Björk‘s throaty yelps, making it sound more like an original selection than a mere karaoke attempt.

The ballads, however, are a bit more temperamental than the uptempo offerings. “Four Leaf Clover,” for instance, is an overly soggy misstep that, aside from the song’s lonesome verses, never fully redeems itself from a rather cliched chorus. The same applies to “Me & You.”

It is only with “N.U.M.B.” and “Notice,” two incredibly sophisticated slices of adult pop, that Vickers truly raises the bar for the rest of the album and firmly establishes herself as more than just a pretty voice. The proof comes three and a half minutes into “N.U.M.B.”, as Vickers tackles the final repetition of the chorus expert delivery, emitting a soaring, heartbreaking final note that comes crashing down. Chills.

Vickers’ debut is far more exciting and listenable than most of what’s come out of the X Factor/Simon Cowell hit machine as of late. Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree is a highly listenable, engaging album of lush electronica that proves why Vickers is much, much more than simply a finalist on some reality show.

Christ on a Christmas cracker–the 2010 BRIT Award nominations are in!

I can’t believe it’s time already for the ceremony to begin once again. It seems like only yesterday I was sitting in my bed watching in disbelief as Gaga robo-danced her way on stage with pieces of shattered china plates glued to her lady bits. Ahh, memories.

As per usual (see 2009), I’ve gone ahead and bolded my favorites for the crown and added a few insightful comments and/or snooty one-liners to the end of each category.

And awayyy we go! (Thanks to The Guardian for the full list of nominees.)

Click to read…

Shontelle‘s back (click here if you didn’t know where she was to be begin with), and she’s ready to get your tongues wagging again.

“Licky (Under the Covers)” is a modern sounding uptempo affair with an electro-stomp sensibility in the musical vein of Britney‘s “Womanizer” and Alexandra Burke‘s “Bad Boys.” The song’s structure is interesting however, given that the second verse is really more like three excellent bridges strung together only to be followed by the actual, superb bridge.

All of these factors combined help to overshadow the fact that the chorus of this song is indeed “L-I, licky C-K, licky Y.” EDIT: It’s actually just sampled from this Princess Superstar track.

The video, on the other hand, is a hyper-speed montage of high fashion in high definition. Occasionally, the ‘I’m going out for a night on the town’ plot shares more than a few passing similarities to Jamelia‘s video for “Beware of the Dog,” as demonstrated in this hastily put together presentation I’ve just done in Paint:

I’m just saying.

Nevertheless, the song and video are pretty fun affairs, so go ahead and lap it up, bitches.

Remember that whole debacle with Kelly Clarkson‘s “Already Gone” and Beyonce‘s “Halo” sounding the same, courtesy of producer Ryan Tedder?

Behold–it’s the B-side to Alexandra Burke‘s “Broken Heels,” “Fear of Flying.”

Sound familiar, Utada fans? That’s because the song, which was also produced by Stargate, uses the same sample as “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – FYI.”

Same sample, same producer. Granted, one’s just a B-side, and the other remains an album track only, but still…what gives?

PS: Just to clarify, Utada’s track is miles better. Just saying.