It was right after she first began posting demos on her MySpace–songs like 2007′s spacey “Surveillance” (which remains as next level today as it did the day she unleashed it upon the world), that I first took notice of Wynter Gordon, the 23-year-old underdog with a superstar’s worth of potential waiting to be unleashed each time she lays a pen to paper.

Just a few years after graduating from LaGuardia’s High School for the Performing Arts (alma mater of such notable acts as Kelis and Nicki Minaj), the young songstress had already notched herself a major writing credit with “Gonna Breakthrough,” a song from Mary J. Blige‘s Grammy Award-winning seventh studio album, The Breakthrough.

Ever since then, the co-writes and features (and unfortunately, the myriad leaks) only kept flowing for Wynter securing a spot on Danity Kane‘s 2008 sophomore record, Welcome To The Dollhouse (“2 Of You”), penning the impossibly catchy chorus of Flo-Rida‘s chart-topping 2009 radio smash “Sugar” and David Guetta‘s “Toyfriend,” joining The Freemasons on their essential 2010 summer jam “Believer” and, most recently, scribing three tracks off of Jennifer Lopez‘s stellar 2011 comeback record LOVE? including title track, “(What Is) Love?”

But despite all of her success as a writer, the song that truly launched Wynter as an artist in her own right was 2010′s “Dirty Talk,” a filthy-mouthed foray into kinky taunts and raunchy references to S&M above a dark disco beat that debuted nearly a year before Rihanna ever started crooning about her enthusiasm for chains and whips.

The song not only notched the singer’s first-ever #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play stateside, but kept her straddling Australia’s ARIA Chart at #1 for three weeks in January (and the duration of Australia’s summer season).

Now, nearly four years since she first started making ripples across the blogosphere and beyond, the Queens-born singer/songwriter has finally released her long-awaited, much delayed debut: The fabulously titled With The Music I Die.

Read more…

Ali Love is a name that’s been floating around the blogosphere for some time now. Originally slated to release his debut album in 2007, Love was briefly sidelined by label shifts and complications. After signing with Back Yard Recordings last year, Love is now back on track.

Following the release of singles “Diminishing Returns” and “Love Harder,” as well as upcoming single “Smoke & Mirrors” on July 26, the singer will be releasing his debut album, Love Harder, later this year. To tide us over until then, I’ve just been given a track off of the new record to share with my Muusers, entitled “Love In Darkness.”

The song is a slow building scorcher that brings to mind the pacing of Sam Sparro‘s genius “Black & Gold” and the vocal style of Empire of the Sun.

Think gay disco, dark electronica, and moody beats. Sound up your alley? Check, check, check!

So go ahead….start spreading the love.

DL: Ali Love – Love in Darkness

For more on Ali Love, check out his MySpace here.

People steal your music and post it online after working for days to record and write a song. It sucks.

As anyone who’s been reading MuuMuse knows by now, Wynter Gordon is one of the most anticipated artists on the brink of breaking out onto the music scene.

As a songwriter, she’s already worked to pen tracks for artists like Jennifer Lopez (“What is Love?”), Mary J. Blige (“Gonna Breakthrough”), and Danity Kane (“Two of You”). As an artist, she’s been featured on David Guetta‘s sensational “Toyfriend” and Flo Rida‘s summer smash of 2009, “Sugar.”

Currently however, the singer is preparing the release of her own debut album, which will (hopefully) see the light of day later this year. Her debut single from the collection, “Dirty Talk,” is a filthy, speaker-throbbing affair that’s already won the hearts of plenty of muusers here at MuuMuse.

Last week, I got the opportunity to chat with the rising star a few days ago. Check out what she had to say below!

Read the interview.

Take Roxy Music‘s Siren album cover,
add it to The Fifth Element,
and then add it to Land Of The Lost,
with a tiny dash of Pucci’s color palette,
and voila: “Standing On The Shore.”

Jokes aside, this is one of the most visually appetizing music videos I’ve encountered this year. Stunning imagery and abundant strangeness…now that’s pop innovation for you!

Click below to hear more from Empire Of The Sun.

It appears as though US iTunes’ “Song Of The Week” is none other than Empire Of The Sun‘s “Walking On A Dream.”

Still, if you haven’t already nabbed it for yourself, please do so now. Let’s help the boys these break into the North American market!

Thanks to MuuMuse reader Erica for alerting me!

Durr…Nearly forgot. Just because I wrote it for my final Queerty round, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist as a proper review in its own right!

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Australia is good for only two things: Kangaroos and Dannii Minogue. However, it seems the country can now add another element to the list: Glam-rock dance-pop.

After trailblazing efforts made by fellow Sydney artists The Presets and Sneaky Sound System in 2008, Empire of the Sun is now charting their way into a reg’lar Australian Invasion.

Luke Steele (The Sleepy Jackson) and Nick Littlemore (Pnau) comprise Empire of the Sun, a glam-dance-rock outfit on the brink of something brilliant. And judging by the eccentric garb the duo dons, the word “outfit” isn’t to be taken lightly–The band’s bringing the Bowie like no one’s business.

Single choices are obvious here, including “Walking On A Dream,” a soothing, synth-fused stroll between Arcade Fire and Cyndi Lauper‘s “Time After Time.”

“We Are The People” is another standout; a summery, ’90′s-esque rush of energy recalling Jennifer Paige‘s “Crush.” (Remember her?!)

Most of the album flourishes within a seductive landscape of vintage electro-swagger and guitar strums. It’s only on the final moment, “Without You,” that the band teeters too far into nostalgia, playing like the background song from every prom scene in every 1980′s teen comedy–ever.

Still, not everything’s so serious: “Delta Bay” lifts the robot from Daft Punk‘s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and adds a few hand claps, while the plop-happy “Swordfish Hotkiss Night” and its hook-heavy contents promises to slosh ’round your mind long after the album fades.

So board up the windows and hide the vegemite–The Aussies are coming.

Click above to check out the “Walking On A Dream” EP NOW!