Genre: Neo-soul, R&B
Sounds Like: Lauryn Hill, Janelle Monae, Erykah Badu

Emeli Sandé is a 23-year-old Scotland-born singer and songwriter.

Equipped with a solid, soulful voice recalling both legends and contemporaries alike–from Lauryn Hill to Janelle Monae to Solange Knowles (who she’s already opened for on tour), Sandé is one of the promising new neo-soul talents on the scene…and it almost never happened.

After submitting one of her own songs to a Trever Nelson‘s BBC Urban Music competition years ago, the singer was offered several recording contracts as a finalist. Worried about inking a contract and allowing label control, Sandé ultimately chose schooling over songcraft–opting to attend Glasgow University instead to pursue a degree in neuroscience.

However, during a medical residency in Madrid, Sandé met producer Naughty Boy (Chipmunk, Ms. Dynamite), and the two instantly set forth in forging a musical partnership: Together they crafted “Diamond Rings,” a song that would result in Chipmunk’s first Top 10 single in the summer of ’09. And by March of 2010, Sandé was officially signed to Virgin Records.

Since then, Sandé has penned dozens of other tracks for other major UK pop acts including Cheryl Cole (“Boys”), Alesha Dixon (“Radio”) and Tinie Tempah (“Let Go”).

Having now put her medical aspirations on hold, Sandé has decided to return to once again pursue her musical path. And while she doesn’t yet have an official single out (look for a debut track to drop mid-summer), she does have a few official demos floating around, including “Easier In Bed.”

“Easier In Bed” is a gorgeous, hypnotic mixture of sweetly-sung vocals, hypnotic strings, and waves of ambient noise all set to a solid, tripping drum sample. “At night time we pretend / It’s easier in bed,” Sande croons on repeat during the falsetto-fied chorus.

While she’s still a long way away from a debut, the earliest rumblings suggest that Sandé’s going to be a major one to watch for in 2011.

For a free download of “Easier In Bed,” head to Sande’s official Facebook page, and check out her official website.

On Wednesday night, Natalia Kills, Maluca and Robyn took to the stage at Terminal 5 in New York City.

This is what transpired.

Photo taken by Andrew St. Clair for Brooklyn Vegan.

First up to perform was my bloody valentine, Miss Natalia Kills.

The brooding seductress took to the stage around 7:40 P.M. to work her way through the same set as the one I caught the week before Halloween at the PopJustice/High Rise showcase in Brooklyn–a killer whirlwind of five tracks from her upcoming album: “Zombie,” “Wonderland,” “Free,” “Love Is A Suicide,” and lead single, “Mirrors.”

The macabre act translated well on a larger stage, as Kills’ sinfully luscious dancers finally had room to strut and spin in full force around the singer. And slowly but surely, the props just kept coming: Masks, axes, leather and cuffs–just a few of my favorite things!

Oh Natalia, you absolutely slay me each and every time.

Photo taken by Andrew St. Clair for Brooklyn Vegan.

About twenty minutes later, Maluca took to the stage with two dancers flanked in “Parental Advisory” over-sized sweatshirts and dark shades shouting in what sounded like devil tongue. Seeing as I’d never seen or heard her before, my reaction was simple: WHO DA FUCK IS DIS BITCH?!

Then she started performing.

Like a cross between Arular-era M.I.A., Flesh Tone-era Kelis, and a whole lot of random musical influences in between (Janelle Monae and Santigold come to mind), Maluca was giving me everything I needed as she raced through a breakneck, WTF-worthy set of hi-octane Diplo-fied beats and dutty lyrics.

“My hair weighs like five pounds…that’s heavier than your left nut. I’m doing this shit for YOU,” she growled to the crowd at one point, working up and down the stage and whipping around some sort of furry hair rope. I had no idea what the fuck was going on (which you can blame on three hours of sleep and delusions of grandeur), but I was l-o-v-i-n-g (and living) every second of it–even the inexplicable cover of Jay-Z/Alicia Keys‘ “Empire State of Mind.” (WATCH)

Then that amazing mess was over, and the crowd started getting randy. Or rather, they turned into a pile of douche-fucks.

Before I even had a chance to practice my epic-bridge-breakdown-fist pump “Dancing On My Own” choreography, about 10 glitter-drenched Ke$ha try-hards and their assorted gays attempted to squeeze their way into my area and/or personal safe zone. Luckily, I know how to push back (and/or snatch an extension), and while my entire outfit was soiled with their tainted slut glitter, I remained firmly on top. (Don’t I always?) Pause. Moving on.

Twenty minutes later, the lights went low and an eerie sound began emanating from the speakers as strobe lights flashed and smoke poured from the stage. What was it? Why, the sound of an intergalactic space-hop princess coming in for a crash landing, of course!

Photo taken by Andrew St. Clair for Brooklyn Vegan.

And so Robyn took to the stage, looking fresh to death as always with her hair side-swooped to perfection, wearing tight white pants and a broad-shouldered blazer. Very scientifically advanced hot mama!

For those who attended the year’s best concert three months ago–The All Hearts Tour (REVIEW)–you’ll be happy to know that Robyn’s second run around the country borrows heavily from herAll Hearts set. She even ate the banana during “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do” again! YASSSS.

Over the course of an hour and a half, the Swedish superstar cycled through her biggest hits and fan favorites, including “Dancing On My Own,” “Hang With Me,” “With Every Heartbeat,” her collaboration with Röyksopp, “Girl And The Robot,” “Dream On,” and “Be Mine.”

The set also benefited from a glossy Body Talk Pt. 2 face-lift, including an oddly romantic, lo-fi re-rub of “U Should Know Better” (the line “Even the Vatican knows better than to fuck with me” has never sounded quite so charming), “Love Kills” (GAYMAZING) and the latest single off of Pt. 3, “Indestructible.”

After about an hour of some serious body rockin’ and hip tossin’, Robyn bowed out (well, for the first time of the night anyway) with one of her greatest tracks to experience live: “With Every Heartbeat.” (WATCH)

Photo taken by Andrew St. Clair for Brooklyn Vegan.

But as any seasoned concert-goer ought to know, it ain’t over until the lights come up. They didn’t, and within just a few seconds, she was taking to the stage for the second–and then later–a third time.

“You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen,” Robyn started to sing slowly to the crowd’s loud approval. It was a cover of ABBA‘s shining disco classic, “Dancing Queen.” But before anyone could slip into their bell-bottoms, Robyn quickly transitioned into a nearly acapella rendition of her 1997 smash, “Show Me Love.” (WATCH)

The classic was most definitely a hit: Directly in front of me, a girl began to seize madly with an indescribable excitement, reaching out to Robyn and then back to her boyfriend and then back to Robyn in disbelief. “You’re the one that I ever needed,” the singer crooned as the crowd sang loudly–nearly drowning her out in the process.

After the extended singalong, it was clear that this was–at last–the actual last song. “Goodnight New York, I love you!” she shouted for the millionth time to an audience, as dozens of fans greeted her with their hands raised and cupped in the shape of a heart. All Hearts, part deux!

Photo taken by Andrew St. Clair for Brooklyn Vegan.

Robyn’s is a show that simply cannot be missed; an entertainer wholly worth the price of admission. Her performances are truly, consistently legendary, which is why she remains the most underrated artist in the industry.

Seeing as I’ve now seen and reviewed her three times in the past three months, there’s really not much more I can do or say to further express what an unstoppable force of energy and enthusiasm Robyn is on stage. The woman is a star, ’nuff said.

With one album still to come from the Body Talk series, something tells me this isn’t the last time I’ll be catching her.

Until then, my love!

Setlist (Courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan).

Fembot
Cry When You Get Older
Cobrastyle (Teddybears cover)
Dancing On My Own
We Dance to the Beat
Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do
Love Kills
The Girl and the Robot
Indestructible
Dream On
With Every Heartbeat
=======
U Should Know Better
Konichiwa Bitches
Hang With Me
Be Mine
=========
Dancehall Queen
Dancing Queen (ABBA cover)
Show Me Love

Meet Andrea Lewis.

Perhaps you’ve seen her around: The actress-turned-singer is best known for her role as Hazel Aden in five seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation, as well as a role in Nickelodeon’s first ever musical, Spectacular!

Now, feel free to add “One to Watch” to her repertoire.

On October 10 (10/10/10), Lewis will be unleashing a free album on her blog (Those Girls Are Wild–which I am assured is not porn).

“Voodoo” is the first single from the upcoming effort.

Despite what you might assume from an actress-turned-singer, “Voodoo” is not the by-the-numbers electro-pop track you may be expecting: Like her Degrassi roots, Lewis’ single goes there.

“Let’s get it!” Lewis yelps in the track’s first few opening seconds. Accompanied by funk-ified hand claps, organs, and spacey synthesizers, Lewis’ voice is fiery and earnest–like a cross between Alesha Dixon and Janelle Monae–allowing her to riff and leap through the song’s catchy melodies with ease.

The track, which was co-penned by Lewis and her partner, Ty Lorraine, was produced by Ty Steez.

If the rest of the album is as top notch a production as “Voodoo,” someone’s going to have a record deal very soon. After all, a music career spun from the roots of Degrassi seemed to work nicely for Drake, didn’t it?

DL: Andrea Lewis – Voodoo

Andrea Lewis’ upcoming album, 54321, will be released on October 10 on her website.

I almost missed this one during the chaos that was my mini-vacation over the weekend. I’m glad I didn’t.

Click above to watch the official video for Janelle Monae‘s “Cold War,” one of my favorite tracks off of the singer’s incredible debut record, The ArchAndroid.

The video requires very little explanation, though I do want to include this quote found in the press release:

“‘The ‘Cold War’ music video was filmed in the black box auditorium at The Palace of the Dogs sanitarium. This is the complete first take. This performance is unaltered and unencumbered, as those of us in attendance on that day experienced it.”‬ –Wendy Morgan (Director) and The Wondaland Arts Society

Gorgeous.

Click here to preview and purchase The ArchAndroid.

RING THE ALARM.

My very first magazine review was just published!

Check out the latest issue of Attitude Magazine on stands now to see my review of Janelle Monáe‘s debut album, Metropolis.

Yes, the issue with Kylie Minogue on the cover. Dying!

Many thanks to Kat B. for the scan.

Last Thursday, Janelle Monae held a special album launch party at the Delano Hotel in Miami on May 13 to celebrate the release of her incredible debut LP, The ArchAndroid.

Since I’m of the Northeastern persuasion, I wasn’t able to attend. However, one of my good friends and loyal Muusers, Jonny (of LoveJonny.com), was able to attend the show in my stead. Aww!

Click above to see the full recap from the night’s events, and click here to preview and purchase the album from iTunes.

Thank you so much, Jonny! Xoxo.

STOP WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING.

Janelle Monae‘s full-length debut, The ArchAndroid, has officially been released today.

You can stream the entire album at her MySpace right now.

Or, if you’d prefer to support extraordinary talent financially, click here to preview and purchase the album from iTunes.

Behold: One of the greater–if not the best–album covers of 2010 thus far.

And now, a nerdy-yet-awesome description of the crown featured in the artwork above:

The ArchAndroid Crown: Designed by Zoman Ignatius, the half-elf, half-human mystic, reportedly 500 years ago. According to legend, the crown has several magic properties, as well as innovative technologies that can be employed only by The ArchAndroid. Zoman was a consummate inventor, artist and sculptor, a cross between Tesla and Da Vinci, and as such, he designed the crown to be a work of beauty that would embody the very spirit of Metropolis. According to legend, the crown features prominent Metropolis buildings and towers that will light up radiantly when the one and only true ArchAndroid wears the crown. According to the Daily Horos, this opulent headdress was stolen from the vaults in the Black House, reportedly by 1954, in October of 2715. Several members of 1954 were hunted down and executed for this crime. But the crown was never found. Many claim it has been secreted away to the Wonderground. There is also word that in the year 2010, several 1954 operatives have crafted a replica of this historic headdress to be worn by Janelle Monáe in anticipation for her album The ArchAndroid…no word on whether or not this replica has magic properties… The Living Cyktionary, 9th Edition, 2719

You can see the crown in action in the ArchAndroid trailer here.

But really…it’s kind of perfect.

And now, the brand new video for Janelle Monae‘s new single, “Tightrope,” featuring Big Boi.

Not only does the clip contain ample amounts of toe-tipping and hallway grooving, but it also pays tribute to one of Hollywood’s first independent, avant garde filmmakers, Maya Deren.

See the mirror men? They’re from her 1943 short film, “Meshes of the Afternoon,” which was the first video I ever saw in my Independent Cinema class. Look Mommy–my college education paid off!

If you asked me a year ago if a pop artist would ever reference Maya Deren in her work, I would have burst out laughing. Lady Gaga, eat your obscure cultural reference loving heart out.

Calling all cyborgs and robots: Are you anticipating the arrival of the ArchAndroid?

Janelle Monae is preparing to beam down onto the stage of the Highline Ballroom in New York City on April 8 to perform a showcase prior to the release of her upcoming debut LP, The ArchAndroid, on May 18.

Thursday, April 8
JANELLE MONAE
Doors at 7:00pm, Show at 9:00pm
$15

MuuMuse is proud to be giving away ONE PAIR of tickets to this event. To enter, send an e-mail to muumuse@gmail.com with the subject line “JANELLE” or send a tweet my way with the following phrase: “Take me to the ArchAndroid, @muumuse!”

A winner will be randomly selected and notified on Friday, April 2.

Good luck, and may the force be with you!