The Living Legend, The Sensual Seductress, The Enchanting Mistress Miss Britney Spears opened up to V Magazine for their 2012 Music Issue to discuss 2011′s Femme Fatale Tour, including her pre-show rituals (she prays!), backstage goodies (hummus and pita bread!) and her thoughts on the tour as a whole.

Plus, check out the brand new photo above of Spears and a part of her Femme Fatale Tour team…looking GORGEOUS! I think? Maybe? It’s kind of insanely Photoshopped in the strangest way. Err…Cutoutney?

An excerpt from V Magazine (courtesy of BreatheHeavy):

What is the most fun part of touring?
Britney: Meeting different kinds of fans from all over the world. They are so different in every country. I just did a few shows in Russia and all of the fans had big heart signs in the audience and had hearts painted on their hands. It was really cool. Also having the people I am closest to with me all of the time and staying in the same hotels every night. We have been together for many years now so we have become one big happy family.

Is there someone not pictured who is integral to making your show happen?
Britney: Yes a ton of people: my entire crew who builds my show, runs my show and moves my show from city to city. They work SO hard and I am so thankful for them. My band Shock and Awe made up of my longtime musical directors. Simon Ellis and Marc, my wardrobe girls who help me dress every night and keep my costumes together, my dad who keeps me on track, and of course my boyfriend, Jason, and my boys who keep me smiling every single day.

Do you have any lucky charms?
Britney: I believe I make my own luck.

As we already knew from “Criminal,” she’s speaking the truth: She’s his lucky charm, after all! (Oh, and she chooses her own destiny too, thank you.)

For the full interview, check out BreatheHeavy.

By the way, Happy One Year Anniversary today to “Hold It Against Me”–otherwise known as MuuMuse’s Single of 2011!

Go on and revisit the original review from January 10, 2011 (can you believe it’s been a year?!). Here’s to Britney, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Billboard and Myah Marie for making the song possible!

Does any other pop star’s album art talk the talk quite like Rihanna‘s?

Two years ago, the black and gray sheen and jagged metal “R” logo perfectly exemplified the grim, post-apocalyptic noir of Rihanna’s 2009 masterpice Rated R, as the singer menacingly peered out from behind her hand while suited in futuristic space gear, looking like Grace Jones beamed in from the year 3000.

Just a year later in 2010, Rihanna smoldered on the cover of LOUD with her fire engine red coif; her eyes closed and lips pouted with pristine 1970′s disco queen poise (where’s Andy Warhol when you need him?). Accordingly, the collection was largely colored by its StarGate-produced dance floor throbbers (“Only Girl (In The World),” “S&M”) and and airy Island-infused mid-tempo jams (“What’s My Name?” “Man Down”).

With Talk That Talk, her sixth studio album released on November 21, Rihanna has once again rih-invented, this time veering closer toward the Rated R menace, albeit not completely: She’s stripped away the metallic sheen of Rated R and given it a decidedly more street vibe.

Buttoned up in a sleeveless camouflage blouse, she appears sweaty and disheveled, her hair mussed as she grips her forehead. With a hungry glare and a dagger-sharp tongue firmly planted in the corner of her lips, she utterly oozes sex. But this isn’t a candle-lit dinner at the Four Seasons followed by a rose pedal-strewn romp in bed. This is a rough, rowdy back-alley FUCK on break during your mid-day work shift.

And that, in a nutshell, is the essence of Talk That Talk.

Read more…

It’s here! It’s here!

Click above to listen to Illuminati Bajan Navy Princess RiRi‘s second Talk That Talk single “You Da One,” produced by Dr. Luke and penned by Ester Dean. The song will hit iTunes on Sunday night. Read my review at MTV Buzzworthy!

Talk That Talk will be released on November 21. (iTunes)

NO, BUT ACTUALLY HOLD THE PHONE AND DROP YOUR BABY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

FIRST OF ALL: Rihanna JUST announced on Twitter this evening that she’ll be Ri-leasing the Dr. Luke-produced “You Da One” on Friday, which will then hit on iTunes on Sunday night. Um, fuck YES! Flawless single cover is flawless.

Now then–let’s get down to bidness.

Beginning this week, Team RiRi has begun the listening sessions for Ri’s upcoming sixth studio album, Talk That Talk.

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN FURTHER, FLOPTINA…

Don’t call it an alter-ego.

Meet Electra Heart: She is a story, not a person, as invented by one of the brightest new talents to come from the UK: Marina + The Diamonds.

After the release of her critically acclaimed debut last year, The Family Jewels, Marina’s been hard at work cooking up the follow-up to her debut with some of pop’s heaviest hitters (despite an initial hesitance), including Dr. Luke and Stargate.

For fans accustomed to the singer’s quirky mixture of bright, hook-heavy pop melodies and dramatic vocalizing, the Top 40 production roster for Marina’s as-of-yet untitled sophomore attempt seems somewhat surprising. As the singer explained in an interview with PopJustice:

If this was a year ago I don’t mind saying now that I would have been, like, “no way am I doing this”. I was not even up for working with anyone. This is why these two songs fit really well together actually, because ‘Fear & Loathing’ is about genuinely not feeling bitter or crazy or jealous any more (nervous laugh) and actually feeling a lot better off for it.

To kick off her new beginning, the singer has given birth to Electra Heart, a character Marina will employ to narrate a grander vision: A tale of the American dream (with a side of Greek tragedy to boot.)

It’s a concept she’s been continuously fascinated by (as previously encountered on her Family Jewels single “Hollywood.) Yet as she explained to PopJustice, the story this time around has more to do with exploring the underbelly of American society than the glitz and glamour that underscored her 2010 single:

Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that’s the corruption of yourself. My worst fear – that’s anyone’s worst fear – is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you’re very ambitious.

And so it began on Monday, as Marina uploaded Part One of her tale: “Fear & Loathing.” Directed by Caspar Balslev, the video finds the beautiful crooner sitting in front of a vanity, deep in thought and thoughtfully staring into the mirror. At a point, she lifts a pair of scissors and–pensively–begins to hack away at her own curls, inch by inch until settling for a cropped bob and strolling out onto the balcony.

The song itself is a gorgeous, slightly more sophisticated departure for the 25-year-old singer, complimented by echoing piano chords and airy, soaring ambient sound. “There’s no crime in being kind / Not everyone is out to screw you over / Maybe they just want to get to know you,” she ponderously croons. It’s a more mature, developed sound for the singer–an incredibly promising start to a new chapter in Marina’s career.

The next piece of Electra Heart: The Start will be uploaded to Marina’s YouTube next Monday at 4 PM.

And–if you couldn’t tell by now by the copious quotage–you really ought to read the entire interview with Marina over at PopJustice now for added insight.

Bonnie McKee just tweeted that she’s in New York shopping for record deals. Here’s why you should care:

At the age of 16, the self-described wild child’s big voice and startlingly self-assured songwriting chops ignited a fierce bidding war between Interscope and Warner Brothers. After eventually signing with Warner, Bonnie’s debut LP, Trouble, was released in 2004. It was a radio-friendly collection of provocative yet polished pop-rock, but — mismanaged and mismarketed to an oversaturated public — the album failed to make a commercial splash.

It wasn’t until Bonnie was dropped by Warner that her songwriting career really kicked into gear, after her friendship with Katy Perry (who Bonnie met in a Los Angeles thrift store) led Bonnie to begin collaborating with hitmaker Dr. Luke.

With Luke and a handful of other famous friends, Bonnie co-wrote “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” and upcoming single “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” for Katy’s sophomore effort — as well as “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz and “Hold It Against Me,” “Inside Out,” and “How I Roll” for Britney’s Femme Fatale. (Reportedly, she’s also penned tracks for Kelly Clarkson’s upcoming fifth album.)

Between the confessional intimacy of her early work (especially “Somebody” and “Sensitive Subject Matter” from Trouble) and the infectious giddiness of her recent tracks with Luke, Max Martin, and Bloodshy & Avant, it’s obvious that Bonnie’s a force to be reckoned with as a writer. But she’s also a powerful vocalist entitled to far more than the limited exposure she’s received so far as a recording artist.

The most gifted songwriters can stumble on their way to the spotlight — Ester Dean’s anticlimactic solo career comes to mind — but Bonnie’s one artist whose comeback will be fully earned. As far as I’m concerned, anyone responsible for writing the hook on “Teenage Dream” deserves my full attention.

Fact: In Sweden, it is illegal to make bad music.

Okay, so this may not be empirically true, but it is a reality that the Swedes are known for exporting pop of the very highest quality. In my ongoing series, Amazing Things I’m Listening to From Sweden, I discuss the best Scandipop that’s been quietly slaying your faves.

Andreas Wijk – Like My Style

Andreas Wijk is a Swedish fashion blogger and model who looks like, well, a Swedish fashion blogger and model. (Photographic evidence here, here, and here. Please try not to kill yourself.) In typically life-isn’t-fair fashion, though, Andreas is additionally endowed with some impressive vocal gifts: A smooth, likable voice that would fit perfectly among, say, the boys of The Wanted. His debut single, “Like My Style” — and indeed we do, Andreas — is a surprisingly self-assured little pop bauble that sounds like Erik Hassle as produced by Dr. Luke. While there may not be a lot of crossover potential here, the combination of style and “Style” (see what I did there?) should be more than enough to attract the attention of teh gayz — who are, as we all know, the only listening audience that really count.

Beldina – Here We Go

The dopest bassline I’ve heard this year comes courtesy of Beldina Malaika, a Kenyan-Swedish neo-soul songbird whose new single, “Here We Go,” has been generating buzz all over the place. Instrumentally, it’s a nice throwback to 2007-era Justice, even if it does tread the well-traveled lyrical territory of prepping for a G.N.O. It doesn’t have the punk theatricality of Adiam Dymott or the twee levity of Asha Ali, but Beldina’s sound is slick, polished, and modern. I’d call it a welcome addition to the canon of Sweden-by-way-of-Africa vocalists.

Lykke Li – Sadness is a Blessing

Lykke Li’s sophomore effort, Wounded Rhymes, is a stunning hour of dark-as-pitch pop, but I’m particularly drawn to what’s slated to be the second UK single: “Sadness is a Blessing.” The track is both sad and majestic, without any of the preciousness that colored Youth Novels, and this confidence points to the artist’s developing sonic maturity. After all the brash swagger of “Get Some,” it’s refreshing to see Lykke return to a place of vulnerability.

Erik Hassle – Stay Away

I consider Erik Hassle the unsung hero of the Swedish pop scene. Sure, his music veers further toward the MOR pop-rock vein of The Fray or Snow Patrol than the icy electropop promulgated by Robyn and September, but I expected that this would result in a warmer international reception than the one he’s received; if a song as infectious as “Hurtful” can’t get radio play, then there is truly no justice in the world of music programming. “Stay Away” is the second single from his latest EP, Mariefred Sessions, following the MuuMuse Approved “Are You Leaving,” and it’s similarly melancholy, but with more strumming guitars than chilly synths. The fact that Mariefred Sessions went to #1 on the iTunes Sweden album chart the day it was released is a small consolation for this criminally underrated act.

Sara Lumholdt – Enemy

No shade to Eric Saade, but this was my favorite track to emerge from this year’s Melodifestivalen. It doesn’t hurt that Sara Lumholdt was once one-fourth of the epic bubblegum pop group A*Teens — alongside her better-known blonde counterpart, Marie Serneholt — and also performed circa 2007 under the pseudonym Sara Love, releasing a truly epic trash-pop single called “Glamour Bitch.” (Seriously.) History aside, “Enemy” swagga-jacks the hell out of Jordin Sparks‘ “Battlefield,” from the chord progression to the love-is-violence extended metaphor, and that is not a bad thing. So what if it’s derivative? It’s catchy, melodramatic, and highly listenable.

STOP YOUR LIFE.

After nearly a decade of anticipation, Avril Lavigne has finally recorded a song that is as good as “Complicated.”

There’s always been a curious dichotomy in Avril’s sound. Since the beginning, half of her music has been a product of the hyperactive Dr. Luke punk-lite school of pop — “Sk8er Boi,” “Girlfriend,” “What the Hell” — songs that are bratty and infectious and inevitably grow grating after a few spins. But, to me, the more interesting component of Avril’s image is the more sullen, emotive side — the disillusioned girl who’s had it with posers (“Complicated”) and players (“Don’t Tell Me”) and, most intriguingly, loneliness (“I’m With You”). This bifurcation isn’t a bad thing, but it does mean that you never know quite what you’re going to get with a new Avril LP.

Goodbye Lullaby sets a tone of unapologetic angst with the title — glad to see there’s no growing up for our neighbor to the north — then alternates wildly between bratty Avril and pouty Avril, but it’s a relief to discover that both camps are equally hook-driven. The best track on the album, though, is easily “Wish You Were Here,” the best midtempo in Avril’s canon since she debuted with “Complicated” in 2002.

Its hook — “Damn, damn, damn, what I’d do to have you near, near, near, I wish you were here” — is an irresistible earworm, the chord progression evokes Paramore‘s understated pop gem “The Only Exception,” and muscular production from masters Max Martin and Shellback enlivens the track with crunchy guitars and a hypnotic drumbeat. “Wish You Were Here” is a throwback to the early-naughties pop-rock sound promulgated by production team The Matrix, when gems like Avril’s own “Complicated,” Ashlee Simpson‘s “Pieces of Me,” and Hilary Duff‘s “So Yesterday” ruled the airwaves, but with a modern edge, and it works marvelously.

Reportedly, Avril will be releasing “Smile” as her next single, but “Wish You Were Here” simply needs to be released properly — it’s just too good to go ignored.

Goodbye Lullaby was released on March 4. (iTunes)