Category — Danja

According to MTV’s Buzzworthy Blog, Britney is preparing a June release for the debut single off her upcoming record. No word on a producer yet, but all eyes are glued on the ‘D’ boys as probable candidates: David Guetta, Danja and Darkchild. It’s a guaranteed smash on the radio regardless.

And yes, my very own sources doubly confirm the June release to be true.

REJOICE, BITCHES: GODNEY COMETH.

Photo courtesy of Suck.com.

Year-end wrap up lists are nice and all, but it’s the “Most Anticipated” lists that are way more fun for me to read. The rumors! The possibilities! The inability to foresee a terrible album in the making! Who can resist the sweet, succulent taste of possibility?

Of course, there are dozens of albums being released, and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface as far as what to expect. Nonetheless, I wanted to run down a few of my own personally anticipated releases for the new year.

So, without further ado, let’s roll out some of the biggest releases hitting shelves sometime in the next year. This will be the year of some ‘Sweet 7′s, it appears!

Sade, Soldier of Love (Sixth studio album)

What it is: The band’s first release in about a decade.
Expected shelf date: February 8, 2010.
Produced by: Mike Pela, Sade.
What we know: The album’s title track is a stunning achievement. Could the album possibly be anything less?
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Smooth, icy vocals and warm jazz sounds.

Ellie Goulding, TBA (Debut Album)

What it is: An exciting, possibly incredible (though potentially dead-in-the-water) debut by 2009′s leading indie electro-pop up-and-comer.
Expected shelf date: According to Play.com, March 3, 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Starry Eyed,” “Under the Sheets,” “Wish I Stayed”
Production by: Starsmith, Frankmusik
What we know: It’s been in the works for a while. She’s quirky, her music is interesting and fresh, and we haven’t heard a dud from her yet. Let’s just hope this is released before the hype catches up with her first.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: “Starry Eyed” and “Under the Sheets” repeated a dozen times over.

Kylie Minogue, TBA (Eleventh studio album)

What it is: Divine intervention. (That should totally be the album title!)
Expected shelf date: Unknown, probably 3Q or 4Q 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Better Than Today”
Production by: Nerina Pallot
What we know: Hardly anything, aside from the fact that Kylie was looking to Barbarella for inspiration while recording in New York a few weeks ago.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: The slick, coquettish electronica of Body Language (“Slow”) mixed the with sophisticated, edgy dancefloor flow of X (“Speakerphone”). And a little less emphasis on the camp factor, s’il vous plait.

Girls Aloud, TBA (Sixth studio album)

What it is: A much-needed comeback album from the greatest girl group since the Spice Girls.
Production by: I mean…it has to be Xenomania, right?
Expected shelf date: Way, way later in 2010.
What we know: Nothing, aside from the fact that their official website confirmed an album slated for 2010.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A shying away from the drum-and-bass sound and a prolonged stay in the territory of “Untouchable” and “Memory of You.”

Jennifer Lopez, Love? (Seventh Studio Album)

What it is: Jennifer ‘Lola J-Lo Jenny Rudebooty’ Lopez takes it to the streets once again to prove she still has ‘flava.’
Expected shelf date: April 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “Louboutins,” “Fresh Out The Oven,” Everybody’s Girl,” “What Is Love,” Starting Over,” “Beautiful,” “This Cannot Be Love,” “One Love,” “Keeper”
Production by: Mike Caren, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, D’Mile, Danja, Darkchild, The Neptunes
What we know: Rap-Up’s write-up of the album preview includes terms like “electro-pop beat,” “slick uptempo production” and “guitar driven ballad.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A return to the dancefloor a la “Waiting for Tonight” with some guilty pleasure stompers like “Louboutins.” Minimal ballads, please.

Sugababes, Sweet 7 (Seventh Studio Album)

What it is: The grand unveiling of a new Sugababes era. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jade, Amelle, and Heidi.
Expected shelf date: February 28, 2010
Confirmed tracks: “Get Sexy,” “About A Girl,” “Thank You For The Heartbreak,” “Miss Everything,” “Wear My Kiss”
Production by: RedOne, Sean Kingston, Ne-Yo, The Smeezingtons, Fernando Garibay
What we know: How half of the album sounds. The Sweet 7 album sampler featuring Keisha leaked onto the net a few months ago. However, there’s been talk of recording new tracks.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: What we’ve been hearing. Slick, modern production and a fierce new confidence never before honed by the original three line-ups: It’s time to let Sweet 7 go Vanity 6.

Röyksopp, Senior (Fourth studio album)

What it is: The ambient, down-tempo companion piece to one of 2009′s greatest albums, Junior.
Expected shelf date: Early 2010.
Confirmed tracks: “The Alcoholic,” “The Fear,” “Coming Home”
Production by: Royksopp
What we know: From TLOBF: “Senior is more withdrawn and introspective and create an atmosphere and an ambience, to sit down and if you don’t need constant loud information all the time that’s what Senior is all about.”
MuuMuse hopes to hear: A more sophisticated, contemplative extension of Melody AM.

Uffie, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (Debut album)

What it is: The incredibly overdue debut of an underground trash-pop queen in the making.
Confirmed tracks: “Pop the Glock,” “Hot Chick,” “MC’s Can Kiss”
Expected shelf date: February 14, 2010, according to The Guardian.
Production by: Mr. Oizo, Mirwais, Pharrell
What we know: “MC’s Can Kiss,” the upcoming single off of the album, is an old-school-hip-hop-meets-modern-beats orgy.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Sick beatz from some extremely talented producers…and a whole lot of trash talkin’.

Britney Spears, TBA (7th Studio Album)

What it is: Don’t even get me started…don’t even get me started.
Production by: Track submissions are pouring in from the likes of Darkchild, Max Martin, Sean Garrett, Danja, Fernando Garibay, David Guetta, and many more.
Expected shelf date: Though Digital Spy reports that Jive is looking for a May 2010 release, I can’t help but assume that we’ll see this around the same time we’ve always seen Britney releases for the past three albums–the very end of the year.
What we know: Nothing really.
MuuMuse hopes to hear: Icy R&B-infused electronica. Anything by Bloodshy & Avant. Anything in the direction of “And Then We Kiss.” Less Circus, more Blackout, but with soul. By the way, can we finally call this one Original Doll, Team Spears?

Honestly, It doesn’t even matter what it sounds like in the end. Why? Because it’s Britney, bitch. That’s why.

Yes, I know she’s still doing stuff musically. I don’t care about that right now.

Does anyone else remember “Open Toes,” the ridiculously, out-of-place BRILLIANT track off of Katharine McPhee‘s 2007 debut album?

The song, which was produced by Danja (who would later go on to craft literally every great pop song thereafter, including much of Britney‘s Blackout), was not only a stuttering, get-all-your-girls-and-gays-together-in-a-circle dancey moment, but arguably one of the greatest odes to a shoe in recent pop history.

And that dance breakdown at 2:30? Oh my GAWDDDD. If this album flopped for no other reason, it was not releasing this song as THE debut single.

STILL CUTE IN MAH OPEN TOES!

Oh yes, I remember it. I remember it well.

Artist: Lolene
Where you from, lady? Bristol, UK.
What the mini-biography says: “Coining the term, ‘awkward pop,’ Lolene describes her sound as ‘Joan Collins in Dynasty, Studio 54, white jump-suits, and disco balls.’”
What it actually means: She makes modern electro-pop music.
Claim to Fame: Songwriter; wrote for Andreas Carlsson, Danja, and the song “Diamonds” for Christian Milian and Kanye West.

Choice single: “Sexy People.”
Choice lyric: “Sexy bitches, we rule the world!”
What it sounds like: Paris Hilton singing on top of a Britney Spears track infused with Lady Gaga‘s hermie-penis testosterone.

It’s tentative and all, but is this–dare I say it–England’s proper response to the Gaga?

You decide: Stream “Sexy People” in high quality RIGHT NOW.

Let me know what you think!

Purchase “Sexy People” on iTunes | MySpace

According to a usually reliable source on the PopJustice forums, Britney‘s management have posted a track submission request on an industry website for a seventh studio album slated for Spring 2010 (?!).

As we know, Brit’s already been spending time in the studio with Max Martin (“…Baby One More Time”; “If U Seek Amy”), and Fernando Garibay (“Quicksand”) has confirmed that he’s readying an “eerie dancefloor” track for her. The same PopJustice source has also claimed she’ll be heading in with Danja and Jim Beanz in September. Could this all be for a studio album rather than the greatest hits package as previously assumed? It isn’t so unlikely that they’ve got a half dozen previously cut tracks to slap onto that collection….

In other news, a “Best Of” collection has mysteriously cropped up on Play.com.

Hmm…could we actually hear another album within a year? Regardless, I’m already touching myself.

Everyone loves an underdog. Everyone loves a superstar. But almost no one’s got love for an underdog superstar.

That’s about how I’d describe Ciara, the 23-year-old R&B sensation responsible for eight top ten singles and roughly ten million albums sold in just five years. Still, despite an impressive chart record and a lasting presence in the industry, the songstress continues to face the crippling blow of the shadow–that dreaded, overbearing presence brought upon by enough comparisons to her contemporaries to recall the bubble-gum blonde diva duels of the ’90′s (Willa Ford, you will be missed). And while her latest outing, Fantasy Ride, will likely provide no help in separating CiCi from RiRi (and I dare say, from Beysus), it’s worthy enough to merit attention in its own right.

On paper alone, the album already reads like a smash: From Missy Elliot to Darkchild, Dr. Luke to Danja, Ludacris to T-Pain, The Clutch and Chris Brown (gasp, boo, hiss, etc.), the girl’s simply got it written in the stars (well, by the stars, for that matter). But as you might have expected from such an expansive guest list, the music gets a bit messy sometimes. In fact, the only thing keeping this Ride from complete lift-off is the noisy overproduction on almost every track.

Still, much of the album’s got the grit to inspire more than just a little sweat: The Missy Misdemeanor-fueled “Work” and the super swagged “Pucker Up” are the purest definitions of club bangers, while “G Is For Girl (A-Z)” promises to be C’s best attempt at ‘tude yet: “N is for nothing, boy I do this in my sleep / O is for original, cause I’mma O.G.” She’s not nearly “gangsta” enough for me to buy the act, but with that crunchy clang-a-lang beat, I don’t really care if she’s as hood as Asher Roth.

As we’ve gathered from the excellence that was “The Promise” off her last album, C knows how to command a ballad. Well. With an Aaliyah-like disjointedness, she tip-toes along “Like A Surgeon,” floats all over the lush mid-tempo chill of “Keep Dancin’ On Me,” and swoons atop the fluttery “Lover’s Thing”–all while making sure to obey the restrictions of her vocal capacity.

The momentum doesn’t entirely hold: Though the general public may disagree, the insipidity of current smash “Love, Sex, & Magic” fails to inspire any joy on my end, while the sleepy “Never Ever” (which samples 1972 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes hit “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”) quickly stalls after the chorus fades for the first time.

Fantasy Ride isn’t quite the stuff of fantasies, nor is smooth sailing throughout. But with a hot string of floor burners and some truly killer baby makin’ grinders, it’s probably one of the better trips I’ve taken this year.

PS: Make sure you’re getting the deluxe editions when you order–”Echo” and “I’m On” are highlights, and leaving them off of the original tracklisting was a criminal decision!

Ciara’s Fantasy Ride was released on Jive Records on May 5. Click below to preview and purchase NOW!

Look everyone, it’s Cassie, the R&B one-or-two time dark dancefloor sensation responsible for the major hit “Me & U” and mini-hit “Long Way 2 Go” two years ago!

Yep, she’s back. And this time, she’s in the hands of Danja and The Clutch with “Official Girl.” It’s a little mid-tempo ditty that never really builds anywhere, although its disjointed flow is ultimately quite addictive. Points have been awarded for the rhyming of “ultimatum” with “verbatum.” Go ahead and grab it, and let’s remember once more why we fell in love with this Connecticut-bred Abercrombie bag model.

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DL: Cassie – Official Girl