Blake Lewis has a new single out.

It’s called “Sad Song,” and it’s due for proper release on July 21.

The song is indeed a sad song (“This is a sad song”), even if the background music seems to suggest otherwise.

It reminds me a bit of another sad song called “(This Is A) Song For The Lonely,” mixed with a touch of that new mall-punk-electro sound a la 3OH!3.

Generally, I quite like it.

But just where does he get off referencing a “battlefield” so near to Jordin Sparks‘ album release tomorrow?! I mean, he’s clearly trying to steal her thunder.

“Sad Song” will be streaming for 24 hours, so listen now while you still can.

Lewis will be releasing his sophomore album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, on October 6. Click below to hear more from Blake Lewis.

As “Battlefield” continues to fight its way (PUN!!!!) up the UK Single Charts to #11 this week and #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 (but since when have the American singles charts mattered in the past decade, honestly?), Jordin Sparks made her massive arena tour debut to the delight of God-fearing tweens last night in Dallas at the Jonas Brothers World Tour.

As you can see, she really nails this song live. (NOT THAT SHE’S NAILING THINGS OTHERWISE–YOU KNOW, BECAUSE SHE’S CELIBATE AND ALL. AYOOOO!) Also, it’s a bit frustrating to watch such a radio-ready track that isn’t an entire suck fest sink deeper into mediocrity. I mean, if “Battlefield” didn’t eat up the radio, what hope have we for “Obsessed”?

There’s also a lot of e-bickering going on about Sparks’ dress during the sequence, but frankly I couldn’t be bothered/didn’t pay it any mind once Joe Jonas took to the stage. Mmm…

WOW. Well done, Jordin Sparks and Ryan Tedder (or, as Paula Abdul‘s Twitter would have you believe, “Jordan Sparks and Ryan Tetter”). You did the damn song.

“Battlefield” (which is, again, “Halo” plus “Impossible” plus…“My God Is An Awesome God”) is going to be huge all over the radio this summer, and I’m taking the opportunity to love it now while I still can.

Superb vocals, and an incredibly worthy performance from a singer I would otherwise classify as simply “okay.” Props to Tedder for wisely choosing to arrange the song so that the chorus is quickly followed by the epic bridge: “BETTAGOANGETCHURAAAMMAAA,” which will perhaps take the title of greatest bridge of ’09.

Oh yeah, and girlfriend looked fierce to death in that dress. Gorgeous! Suddenly that purity ring’s becoming more and more of a burden.

Minutes later, out came stomping lil’ Miss Katy Perry to perform her new shit single, “Waking Up In Vegas.” It’s a tuneless, gassy track that basically serves to let the bug-eyed brat strap on a psuedo-Elvis costume (Britneydiditbetter) and fail at being Viva glam for a minute or two.

But before she began croaking out her go-nowhere number, a wall of white feather plumes opened to reveal the “pop star” turned away from the camera; the words “Adam Lambert” stiched in bright red on her white outstretched cape.

Now, it didn’t help that Adam eagerly shouted “I want to see Katy!” with a wildly mischevious grin on his face pre-performance, but I don’t fault him for what happened. Simply put, Katy Perry is trash; not only is she a mediocre warbler that owes her fame in its entirety to her super BFFL Perez Hilton, but she’s classless too! Sure, I’m pulling for Adam too, but how would everyone be reacting if it’d been Danny Gokey’s name bedazzled across her ass cheeks? Not as pleased, I’m sure.

If she wanted to vet for Lambert, she should have waited post-performance to give her insight into the matter. Then again, it’s not as though the home audience would hear it–they’d still be taking their bathroom break.

Jordin Sparks has a new single out.

It is called “Battlefield.”

No, it’s not a Pat Benatar cover.

Yes, it was written by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic “fame.”

It sounds like Kelly Clarkson‘s “Impossible,” which was produced by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic “fame.”

It also sounds like Beyoncé‘s “Halo,” which was produced by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic “fame.”

Congratulations to Ryan Tedder for formally usurping Timbaland as the most predictable, undeniably-catchy-but-come-on-they-all-sound-the-same producer ever.

DL: Jordin Sparks – Battlefield

Click below to purchase Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield” NOW!

GUESS YOU BETTA GO AN GETCHUH AWWMAH.

Here we go again: The 25th Video Music Awards, the annual celebration of self-indulgence that only continues to lower our expectations with each coming year.

This year, we were treated to host Russell Brand, a lesser known English trash-talking personality. Kicking off with what was surely the most political monologue of the award show’s history, Brand pleaded for the audience to vote for Obama while scolding America for electing “that retarted cowboy fellow.” Thanks for the input, Englishman…Very influential. For anyone who didn’t see it, the humorless, shout-happy series of awkward statements unfolded like a Sarah Silverman performance missing the funny.

That however, was not Brand’s finest hour, which was actually the two remaining hours spent harping on the promise rings worn by the Jonas Brothers. When I say two, I mean it—each time the man was given an opportunity to speak, he took a jab, the insults growing worse each time. It was no surprise then that the audience erupted in loud cheers when Jordin Sparks decided to break from her speech and defend her own ring, declaring: “I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It’s not bad to wear promise rings…Not everybody wants to be a slut.” Overgeneralization? Surely. Deserved? Absolutely.

As for the performances, most were generally sub-par: Rihanna’s opening “Thriller”-esque rip-off made her forgettable as always, T-Pain and Lil’ Wayne were far less than inspiring, and Kanye West’s final smoke-and-lights moment left me rather unfulfilled. Some even bombed, namely Katy “Ur So Gay” Perry and her hideously bland rendition of “Like a Virgin.” I have just one question to ask you, Ms. Perry: Is that a banana on your shoulder, or are you just completely untalented?

The rocker chicks generally fared better: Pink pulled out a rather fierce rendition of her snotty kiss-off track, “So What?” with the help of pyrotechnics and breakaway glass, while Paramore kept true to form while performing their endlessly catchy single, “Misery Business.”

I’ll even award some modest golf claps to Christina Aguilera for fitting that pin-up friendly bosom into a form-fitting, futuristic PVC outfit (which, by the way, was rather “Toxic” of you, Miss Aguilera) while performing an electro-tinged rendition of her “classic” “Genie In A Bottle” along with her new single, “Keeps Getting Better.”

The actual awards went by (as they often do) greatly unnoticed, though one of the most genuine moments came when German pop-rockers Tokio Hotel scored a miraculous win over their competition, including Miley Cyrus. As the group trotted up to the stage and sputtered out their acceptance speech in broken English, few could help but coo at their adorable bout of breathless gratitude.

However, as we all know, this night was truly about my queen; my dearly damaged damsel, Miss Britney Spears. Didn’t she look stunning? Even some uninterested viewers around me forked over some halfhearted kudos once she appeared. While she didn’t perform, she never had to: Britney Spears makes the VMA’s. She smiled and looked pretty, walking away with her first, second, and third Moon Man of her career, all while awarding the haters a well deserved “Fuck You” for counting her out in the first place. Some are angered by Brit’s triple victory, and I certainly agree…I mean, shouldn’t the award go to a more established, credible artist such as Katy Perry or Miley Cyrus?

Exactly. Get over it. The VMA’s have been as dead as their hosting network for years.

After all, this year’s show will be remembered for nothing, except for the moment when Britney finally brought her sexy back.

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Photo credits:
#1: Photo by Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com
#2: MTV/Getty Images
#3: UntouchableBritney.net