If you’re looking for Sasha Fierce, don’t bother: She’s gone.

Well, not entirely–she’s certainly still there twerking her hips above the militant beat of “Run The World (Girls)” and the frenzied horn-filled club bounce of “Countdown,” but for the most part, the divalicious alter ego of one of the world’s greatest entertainers has (temporarily?) stepped a stiletto to the side for the majority of her fourth studio album, 4–allowing the record to remain a decidedly Beyoncé experience.

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Today, Joe Jonas unleashed his debut solo single upon the world: “See No More.” So, how is it?

It’s good! It’s very, very good.

Produced by Brian Kennedy and co-penned by Chris Brown, “See No More” is a modern, aching Ryan Tedder-esque power-pop/R&B ballad: “All I keep seeing is your picture / But I don’t want to see no more,” Jonas cries above the slow stomping beat. The song is very much born of the typical boy band-gone-solo tradition a la Nick Lachey or Nick Carter, albeit with a far more modern electronica undercurrent.

While “See No More” certainly pulls no surprise punches as far as production, it’s still an incredibly solid pop song, growing catchier with each replay. I’d truly be shocked if we don’t see this one immediately climbing the radio playlists worldwide this summer.

Go Joe, go!

Stream courtesy of Ali’s Blog.

“See No More” will be released on June 13.

Genre: Dance-pop, electro
Sounds like: Ke$ha, Uffie, Jessie and the Toy Boys

Meet Kay, nee Kay Kristin Boutillier, the newest electropop princess on the block who already seems poised for world domination.

Kay first popped up on my radar just over a year ago, when her glitchy, ambient interpretation of Nancy Sinatra‘s classic “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” began circulating. Kay’s version featured an instrumental track sampling Lil Wayne‘s “Lollipop”–an unlikely pairing that reminded me of Sky Ferreira‘s similarly haunting “Happy Dre” mash-up.

A few well-chosen buzz tracks followed–including the swaggerific “M.A.J.O.R.”, produced by MuuMuse fave Doctor Rosen Rosen, a tongue-in-cheek cover of Justin Bieber‘s “Baby,” and a dance floor-ready collaboration with Tiesto titled “Work Hard, Play Hard”–but Kay really grabbed my attention with her official first single, “My Name is Kay.”

Penned with mega-hitmakers Ryan Tedder and Evan “Kidd” Bogart, “My Name is Kay” combines the contagious teen spirit of “Hollaback Girl” with the faux-gangster posturing that Ke$ha perfected with “Sleazy.”(Unsurprisingly, the track has already been championed by ArjanWrites and Perez Hilton.)

Better still than the studio version, though, might be Frankmusik‘s “Lost the Damn Gameboy” remix, which swaps the stop-and-go vibes of the original with a driving house beat.

Kay’s as-yet untitled debut album is due out via Interscope/Universal sometime this year.

Sounds like: Justin Timberlake, Timbaland
Genre: Urban pop, R&B, electro-pop

Ten-HUT!

Meet Talay Riley, a 20-year-old UK artist signed to Jive Records.

Back in the summer of 2010, Riley released his debut single, “Humanoid.” Like the bulk of 2010 (or really, the latter half of the decade), Riley’s debut is a sexy, electro-pop stomp affair. “Humanoid” is riddled with robot talk and future speak, complimented further by Auto-Tune robo-vocals and slinky, urban pop beats.

Now, the singer is about to unleash his second single: “Sergeant Smash,” a mid-tempo groove that plays like the 2011 upgrade to the Timbaland sound that dominated the mid ’00′s. “I’ll break you off a little somethin’, have you going crazy,” Riley announces above the song’s horn-heavy, militant beat. Add in a drum line and a few rallying cries, and you’ve got yourself a proper pop battle. HOOAH!

Check below to hear a mix of “Sergeant Smash,” featuring London-based rapper Wretch 32, now streaming in full!

Talay Riley is currently in the midst of recording his debut album, due out later in 2011. The album will feature production by the likes of Inflo1st (a member of Ryan Tedder‘s writing circle), Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and Harmony (a member of Darkchild’s writing circle).

Armed with a heavyweight production team and some truly killer beats, Talay Riley might just have the artillery to go hard this year. Forward…MARCH!

“Sergeant Smash” will be released on February 13. (Official Website)

On January 24, Adele will release 21 in the UK, the highly anticipated follow-up to her Grammy Award winning debut, 19.

There’s been an outpouring of overwhelmingly positive critical praise surrounding this record from various media outlets over the past few weeks, so I’m going to caution you now: Believe the hype. It really is that good.

21 was produced and co-written by a varied cast of talented musicians, including 19 producers Jim Abbiss and UK hit-maker Eg White, as well as Rick Rubin (co-president of Columbia Records) and Paul Epworth, the British producer responsible for–amongst many achievements–Florence + The Machine‘s flawless 2009 debut, Lungs.

But despite the wealth of talented producers sitting behind the soundboard in the studio, it’s impossible to deny the true talent at the helm of this project: Adele.

Like a modern day reincarnation of Dusty Springfield, the young UK songstress is a throwback to the legendary voices of yesteryear. Her voice’s soulful quality, technique, depth and sheer power is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

But beyond being an adept vocalist, it’s Adele’s ability to emote that carries her a cut above most of today’s singers: When she’s angry, she burns. When she hurts, she bleeds. And we, as the listeners, feel it with every song. To think she was only 21 years old at the time of writing and recording this album? Well, it’s almost frightening.

“Sure, she’s got it all / But baby, is that really what you want?” Adele taunts on the wicked, sauntering Ryan Tedder-produced “Rumour Has It”–one of the many bluesy, country-tinged offerings on the new record–a sound first introduced to her by the tour bus driver during her American tour last year, which resulted in a wealth of new influences including “Wanda Jackson, Garth Brooks, early Johnny Cash, early Dolly Parton, the Carter Family…especially June Carter.”

Yet while the album is occasionally colored with flashes of bright, playful melodies as displayed on “Rumour Has It,” the bulk of the record is mired in sorrow and rage, as evidenced in the gigantic lead single, “Rolling In The Deep.” “The scars of your love, they leave me breathless / I can’t help feeling we could have had it all,” Adele achingly belts out during the song’s pounding chorus.

If “Rolling In The Deep” is 21‘s raging storm, it’s the album’s closing moment that finds the dark clouds slowly rolling away.

“Someone Like You,” is–as pop producer RedOne recently described Lady Gaga‘s upcoming single, “Born This Way”–almost too precious to talk about. “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you / I wish nothing but the best for you too,” Adele sadly assures herself above a simple, devastating piano melody. The song burns with a raw ache that we can both hear and feel. They just don’t write them like this anymore! Simply put: This song is everything.

However, it’s “Set Fire to the Rain”–apart from the two aforementioned numbers–that may well be the album’s crowning achievement.

Produced and co-penned by Fraser T Smith (Taio Cruz‘s “Break Your Heart”; James Morrison‘s “Broken Strings”), “Set Fire To The Rain” is a complete and utter triumph for the young chanteuse; an aching power ballad that packs enough of a punch to cause jaws to drop to the floor.

“I set fire to the rain, watched it pour as I touched your face,” she cries out during the song’s dramatic, chill-inducing chorus as pianos and string crash and burn beneath the surface. The song plays like an instant classic and, with any luck, may become a pop standard for years to come when released as the album’s second single.

Additional highlights include the white flag-waving surrender of “Take It All,” (“So is it over? Is this really it? / You’re giving up so easily, I thought you loved me more than this”) and the twangy “Don’t You Remember,” a simple, heartbreaking moment of mourning that finds Adele desperately searching for some sign of life from her former flame: “When was the last time you thought of me? Or have you completely erased me from your memories?” Adele woefully croons atop the song’s slow strumming guitar.

There’s also the breathtakingly romantic bossa nova swing of “Lovesong,” Adele’s acoustic take on The Cure‘s oft-covered 1989 hit single. In the end though, it’s hard to spotlight particular standouts on a record complete with so many quality offerings.

21 is a gorgeous collection of honest lyricism and winning songcraft. It’s an incredibly personal experience, complete with a genuine depth and sincerity that trumps its predecessor and proves Adele to be even more of a force to be reckoned with than most had probably imagined.

The album will undoubtedly go on to become one of the major contenders for many “Best Of ’11″ lists compiled later this year, and is nearly guaranteed as much–if not more–critical praise and recognition as her 19 received when award season comes rolling around once again.

And let’s not forget, as it’s worth repeating: She’s still only 21 years old.

21 was released on January 24 in the UK. (iTunes) (iTunes UK)

It’s been a while.

Today, Billboard posted a video clip of Dr. Luke conducting a Q&A during the Billboard Film & TV Music Conference, in which he spoke about the project that everyone wants to know about: The seventh Britney studio album, tentatively due out in spring 2011. (WATCH)

The main points were as follows:

+ On whether the producer met with Britney to work on the album yet: “Not so much with this album.”

+ On what he plans to do for this album: “I have ideas. Mainly, what I want to do is…what I’ve done that works. What we’ve done that works. I also want to make sure it sounds a little different. In some ways, I want to get harder…maybe a little more deep into electronica. Grimier.”

+ On timing: “We’re early in the process.”

I’m ever-so-slightly concerned: So she’s (seemingly) uninvolved in the process and he’s going to go with what “works”? Not that he doesn’t consistently produce smashes–he does–but are they going to be Katy Perry knock-offs from the last record? Please say no.

Then again, it’s too early to be getting all butt-hurt about this. The creative direction of an album always changes once the artist actually hits the studio, and Britney is literally humanly incapable of producing anything that isn’t 100% hot fiya.

Plus, there was that Tedder quote about “Unusual You” being the launch-pad for writers coming in for sessions on this album. I’m not too worried.

Keeping the Godney faith strong since ’98.

A few weeks ago, I introduuced Matisse to MuuMuse, the up-and-coming dance floor vixen (and former member of sister act Brit & Alex) responsible for the summer smash, “Better Than Her.” (LISTEN)

The singer is currently busy cooking up the contents of her debut album due out in Spring 2011, which is expected to include tracks by such production titans as Tricky Stewart, Dallas Austin and Darkchild.

In between her sessions in the studio, Matisse took some time out to answer a rapid-fire set of questions for MuuMuse. Read on to see the full interview!

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A one minute preview of “The Flood,” the expected second single to be lifted from Cheryl Cole‘s Messy Little Raindrops, is now available on Cheryl’s official website/album unlock-er thingy.

Sure it’s a bit of a soggy Tedder-esque plodder, but I’m LOVING that chorus! I just wasn’t expecting those shouty vocals. Good on you, Chezza!

Psssttt… If you’re lucky, you may happen upon the full set of album previews traveling ’round the net. A video containing all of the samples surfaced briefly this morning, but has since been removed.

From what I heard, Messy Little Raindrops is the definition of a mixed bag, dipping into dubstep, R&B, throbbing trance, and soggy ballads at random.

“Yeah Yeah” with Travie McCoy is a pretty solid Confessions On A Dance Floor-lite raver, “Raindrops” is as shit as the album title suggests, “Better To Lie” is literally the same song as Keri Hilson‘s “Knock You Down,” and “Waiting” samples Vanessa Carlton‘s “A Thousand Miles.” Erm.

This might actually be a more interesting (note: not necessarily better) album than the merely aiiight 3 Words, but…full track listens are needed to confirm.