Yesterday was a big day for all of the ladies of Destiny’s Child.

Despite a flop (and totally misleading) single and mixed album reviews (Ed. Note: GLOWING REVIEW FROM MUUMUSE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH -B), Beyoncé’s latest record 4 premiered at the top of the Billboard album charts. Snippets of all the tracks on Kelly Rowland’s upcoming album Here I Am hit the interwebs. LeToya Luckett stayed at home petting her cats while Googling reasons to sue Mathew Knowles. And Michelle Williams released “Love Gun,” a buzz single in anticipation of her fourth solo record, slated to hit stores this fall.

If the Druski-produced “Love Gun” is truly an indication of the direction Michelle is going in, then her upcoming album is going to be nothing short of fiyah burnin’ on the dancefloor.

While Michelle flirted with dance/pop on her previous record, 2008’s Unexpected, “Love Gun” completely removes her from that raspy Fantasia-like R&B sound she often experimented with. Instead, she fully embraces her electro-pop side to kick off what’s expected to be a completely dance-oriented album.

Sidenote: Had former band member Kelly Rowland looked at how her previous solo attempts had been received (“When Love Takes Over,” “Commander”), she would have wisely gone the dance/pop route as well. Instead, those new, bland leaked clips left the six fans she had left drained with no motivation to even pretend to give her album a second listen. (See what I did there?)

As far as buzz singles go, nothing will ever be superior to Lindsay Lohan’s “Bossy.” (RIP Spirit In The Dark.) That being said, Michelle Williams truly serves up a refreshing dish of beats and sultry vocals that could have easily fit on Robyn’s Body Talk album.

In these David Guetta-over-Timbaland times we live in, “Love Gun” is far more mainstream and radio-ready than Michelle’s previous solo efforts. I wouldn’t be surprised if–for the first time since she did Beyonce’s back-ups–Michelle had a real Top 40 hit on her hands. Let’s just hope the rest of the album lives up to the bar she’s now raised for herself.

So to sum up: Beyonce = Rich but meh. Kelly Rowland = Just go home and try again. Michelle = YOU DO YOU, BABY. ALL ‘DEM OTHA BITCHES GETTIN’ SERVED.

Michelle Williams – “Love Gun”

About two weeks ago, I found myself in the not unusual position of being elbows deep in the dusty vinyl bargain bins at a record shop. More specifically Generation Records, a somewhat sizable CD and vinyl shop located in downtown SoHo.

Almost immediately unimpressed by the generous collection of overpriced rock albums on the main floor, my good friend Sam and I soon found ourselves wandering downstairs, where they kept the other genres. ‘The unmentionables,’ they were referred to, no doubt, as there–hidden in the “2 for $1″ bins–was none other than an urban pop goldmine.

Amongst my finds, from Fantasia‘s “Hood Boy” to Kelly Rowland‘s “Can’t Nobody,” was a weathered vinyl named Bold As Love by a girl group called Bardeux. The cover seemed promising, as did the producer’s name featured on the back: Jon St. James, responsible for Stacey Q‘s “Two of Hearts.”

And so I took it home, having no idea who or what a Bardeux was, and immediately put the needle on it.

Thanks to an incredibly informative article on the wonderful blog, The Isle of Deserted Popstars, I found out that the group was about as unknown then as it is now; a brief, flopped girl group experiment that resulted in just two albums within two years and only one “hit” single–but more on that song in a bit.

As a whole, the record is a fun, throwaway foray into the early beginnings of modern dance-pop; entirely reminiscent to Stacey Q’s sound, thanks to the stuttering vocals and cheesy ’80′s techno-pop Casio keyboard production.

Songs like “Sex Machine” and “Hold Me Hold Me” ride on top of smooth, dreamy whisps of Italo disco, while others like “Magic Carpet Ride” verge into an early Madonna territory, sadly relying upon a sugary sweet sound about five years past its prime.

There is, however, one song that has stuck completely with me: “When We Kiss,” the group’s only major success, having reached the dizzying peak of #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. (To their credit, their previous singles all made a rumbling on the Billboard Dance Charts as well.)

“When We Kiss” hit me completely off guard when I first heard it: It’s sensual, understated, and just the right chilly touch of moody ’80′s electronica. With it’s tripping beat and half-rapped verses, there’s also something distinctly “urban” about the song–or at the very least an attempt to sound so. You know, like a Cheryl Cole album track.

There was just something about this song’s chorus–the minimal lyrics (“But when we kiss…”), the solemn strut of the beat, and that somewhat haunting, somewhat cheesy saxophone solo that absolutely slayed me. It’s a track very much ahead of its time, and one that I’ve had on heavy repeat ever since I first heard it coming out of my record player.

“When We Kiss” simply begs to be re-recorded today, especially by an icy electro princess of some kind.

Annie? Cassie? Nicola Roberts?! I’m looking directly at you all. Seriously.

Seems that the dreaded American Idol title carries continues into the new year, as Entertainment Weekly reports that season five winner, Taylor Hicks, has been dropped from J Records due to lacking sales. Reports also started weeks ago that Ruben Studdard had been dropped from the company from sales losses as well. What with Fantasia being all absent during her Broadway premiere and Jordan Sparks’ album premiering at the worst debut ranking ever for an Idol winner…has winning Idol become the kiss of death? Creo que si.

And you, what do you think?