“I was born bad, but then I met you / You made me not so wild, but my dark side’s true,” Lana Del Rey sings in the first few seconds of the swaggering Spaghetti Western strum of “Kinda Outta Luck.”

And just like that, the 24-year-old New York-bred chanteuse–born Lizzy Grant–has already become of my most anticipated acts of 2011.

A self-described “gangster Nancy Sinatra,” the striking songstress certainly looks the part, evoking some of the silver screen’s most glamorous Femme Fatales, including the va-va-voom bombshell quality of Brigitte Bardot and the bold features of Angelina Jolie.

When she sings she only broods further, echoing the dramatic conviction and theatrical vibrato of a healthy helping of ’60′s chanteuses, including Marianne Faithfull, Nico and Dusty Springfield (and yes, Nancy Sinatra too).

“Think Nina Simone singing a Cat Power song over Lil Wayne‘s track,” she recently told Flush The Fashion in describing her sound.

But even if you remain dubious about her own self-analysis, a quick survey of the talent she’s working with in the studio certainly adds some credibility to her case, including Liam Howe (Cocknbullkid), Chris Braide (Will Young, Diana Vickers) and Emile Haynie (Tinie Tempah).

“Video Games” is Del Ray’s most most recent release, which just scored major exposure for the singer after being played during Fearne Cotton‘s June 30 show on BBC1.

The haunting devotional gently rises and falls with a kind of world-weary exhaustion and restlessness not unlike fellow brooding bombshell chanteuse Sky Ferreira, making what’s but a simple love-swept ballad on the surface sound more like the accompaniment to a funeral procession. “They say that the world was built for two / Only worth living if somebody is loving you / Baby now you do,” she sings mournfully, enveloped by violin strings and gorgeous harp plucks.

But apart from the twangy, badly behaved “Kinda Outta Luck” and the crushing balladry of “Video Games,” there’s material like “DIET MTN DEW,”, her most modern sounding attempt: “Do you think we’ll be in love forever? Do you think we’ll be in love?” she coolly croons above a swaggering, slow-skipping hip hop rhythm.

Just as with the first time I heard Florence + The Machine back in 2009, I’m utterly entranced by Ms. Lana Del Rey: She’s dark, she’s mysterious, and her music sounds like something Quentin Tarantino‘s already queuing up to include in the soundtrack in his next bloody vengeance epic.

“I heard that you like the bad girls / Honey, is that true?” she ponders during the chorus of “Video Games.”

You see that? She knows me too well already.

For more on Lana Del Rey, check her out on MySpace and YouTube.

While The Saturdays have been busy trekking across the UK for The Headlines Tour at the moment, they’ve also been performing a brand new song from their upcoming album: “Turn Myself In.”

The power ballad, which was written and produced by Chris Braide and James Fauntleroy, sounds like a slightly more mature turn for the girls.

Much in the same vein as “Forever Is Over,” “Turn Myself In” is an emotional outpouring set atop a strong, stomping beat. “Turn myself in tonight, this is me coming clean with my hands up,” the girls cry out during the chorus.

Although we’ve only got camera/cell phone recordings to work with so far, “Turn Myself In” sounds like an instant smash. Hell, the chorus is already stuck in my head!

I seriously cannot wait to hear the studio version of this one!

In the meantime, check out the MuuMuse interview last year with producer Chris Braide right here.

Headlines was released in November. (iTunes UK)

Over the past week, Diana Vickers has been counting down the days ’til Christmas by offering up a variety of special goodies and knick-knacks, including interviews, video blogs, contests–and now, free downloads.

Today, Team Vickers released a previously unheard take on “N.U.M.B.,” the gorgeous album track from Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree that was produced by Chris Braide (who I interviewed earlier this year–we even dished a bit about the track!)

While not as emotionally raw as the album version, this new version smooths on a whole new layer of production, including a warm guitar strum and a lush, pulsating beat–not unlike the orchestration that gave Katy Perry‘s transcendent “Teenage Dream” that gorgeous, fading-embers-of-summer kind of sound.

I’m absolutely in love with this version, and to be quite honest, I actually prefer it to the original. It feels even more mature (I’m picking up a little bit of a Alanis Morrissette, Flavors of Entanglement vibe!) In fact, the added upbeat production proves that “N.U.M.B.” could actually make for a really incredible single.

Perhaps Vickers and crew can dip back into The Tainted Cherry Tree for a final release? I’d like that very much!

Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree was released on April 23. (iTunes UK)

I don’t want to tempt fate, but if that’s not a number one, I’ll eat my sofa.

As the man responsible for such songs as Diana Vickers‘ “The Boy Who Murdered Love,” The Saturdays‘ “Chasing Lights,” and Will Young‘s “Anything is Possible,” as well as some of the upcoming material from Pixie Lott and JLS, pop songwriter and producer Chris Braide has seen his fair share of glory in the UK Top 40 recently.

Two weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of speaking with the busy producer from his studio in London (which is about to be packed away and carted stateside!)

I’m quite proud of this interview–we touched upon all sorts of artists and ended up having a really in-depth discussion about the very nature of pop itself.

Read on to hear all the gossip from behind Braide’s soundboard–loads of pop nerd chatter ahead!

Click “Read More…” to view the entire interview.

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