We’ve already seen two brilliant singles off of Kaskade‘s delicious 2011 double-disc Fire & Ice thus far: “Eyes” with Mindy Gledhill and “Turn It Down” with Rebecca & Fiona.

Now, the beloved DJ is unleashing his collaboration with brooding singer-songwriter Skylar Grey as Single #3: “Room For Happiness,” a mournful, yet ultimately uplifting trance number. “Don’t be fooled by your emptiness, there’s so much more room for happiness,” Grey cries out during the chorus.

To launch the track, the two have just unleashed clips for both the Fire and Ice mixes of “Room For Happiness,” which burn with two different energies: The uptempo Fire Mix video includes some high-rising flames (shocking!), while the solemn Ice Mix contains–you guessed it–a rather snowy situation.

In either case, Grey looks absolutely gorgeous as the girl interrupted, while Kaskade’s looking, err…a little creepy handling those dials and surveillance cameras. Can’t you, like…come in and give her a hug or something, dude?

Skylar’s burning up, burning up for your love! But she’s frozen when your heart’s not open.

“Room For Happiness” was released on February 7. (iTunes)

You’ve already heard the devastating hooks all over radio–on Lupe Fiasco‘s “Words I Never Said,” Diddy – Dirty Money‘s “Coming Home,” Eminem and Rihanna‘s “Love The Way You Lie.” But now, singer-songwriter Skylar Grey is bringing her original creations back to life.

The brooding singer-songwriter, who released her debut single “Invisible” back in June last year, has just unleashed The Buried Sessions of Skylar Grey on January 17, a 3-track EP complete with the original versions/demos behind the hooks that became worldwide smashes.

While each track is incredible in its own right, my personal favorite is “Words,” a song that Grey originally penned in memory of her grandfather. As she told Rap-Up back in December: “I wrote this song about my grandfather who passed away before I had a chance to say goodbye,” she said. “Tell somebody you love them today.”

While we wait for her debut album Invinsible, due out later this year, The Buried Sessions is the perfect reminder of Grey’s incredible talent as a songwriter.

And if you thought her hooks were haunting, just wait until you hear the full versions: They’ll never, ever leave your head.

Skylar Grey – The Buried Sessions of Skylar Grey by Interscope Records

The Buried Sessions of Skylar Grey was released on January 17. (iTunes)

Monster by Meg Myers

Genre: Alternative rock
Sounds like: Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrissette, Marina + The Diamonds

Meet Meg Myers, a rising musician based out of Los Angeles.

While details about the singer are still somewhat minimal, we’ve got one excellent tune to work with: “Monster.”

The song was co-scribed and produced by Doctor Rosen Dosen, the up-and-coming producer responsible for a couple of MuuMuse’s favorite remixes over the past years for acts like Britney and Lady Gaga, as well as his exciting collaborative project with a slew of rising female pop stars, including Kay and Jessie And The Toy Boys, called GIRLS.

Yet Myers’ sound is a complete departure for Rosen: There’s no pop beats to be found here–only jagged riffs and raw, vulnerable lyrics: “My love, too much/Your love, not enough,” Myers sadly croons above a slow-strumming guitar before launching into the song’s haunting chorus: “Oh, what it takes out of me to lay by your side!”

As Rosen explained to me, the song’s stripped production is a nod to ’90′s alt-rock–from Nirvana to Portishead. “What have I done? I’m a fucking monster!” Myers bitterly yelps at one point, her voice quivering with all the anguish of a classic Morrissette angst track.

Although Myers’ 6-track debut EP isn’t due for release until later in January, you can already hear two more cuts from the EP on her official website, including the piano-tinged, hook heavy “Adelaide” and “Poison,” which surges with a slightly more modern electro-rock flare (and was also featured on Rosen Rosen’s Girls Vol. 1.)

What I like most about Myers, as with fellow alt-rock chanteuses Skylar Grey and, to a somewhat more pop-oriented extent Marina And The Diamonds, Lana Del Rey and Sky Ferreira (when she’s in a more punk mood), is that she provides a breath of fresh air in a rapidly smothering climate of club-pop. Don’t get me wrong–I live for the stuff, but there’s more than enough room for some snarling, kick-ass rock chicks to come clawing their way to the top of the charts and adding some much-needed variety to radio.

Coupled with comeback LPs from industry veterans like Garbage and No Doubt a little later in 2012–along with the rumored, much-delayed return of Fiona Apple (dear God, let it be!)–this might just be the year that (good) rock finally makes a comeback.

“Monster” is available as a free download at Myers’ official website.

One of the nagging flaws hidden behind today’s flood of self-empowerment pop (“Born This Way”/”We R Who We R”/”Firework”/”Who Says?”) is that, despite all of their genuinely earnest pleas for positivity and self-love, sometimes it’s difficult to latch onto the solution without ever actually addressing the pain.

Enter Skylar Grey, the stellar songwriter behind the devastating melodies of such smashes as Eminem‘s “Love The Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna)” and Dr. Dre‘s “I Need A Doctor (feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey)”.

After premiering her jagged, ’90′s angst rock-esque buzz single “Dance Without You” two weeks ago, the singer returns with “Invisible”–the lead single from her forthcoming studio album, Invinsible–which made its world premiere this morning on On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

“Even when I’m walking on a wire, even when I set myself on fire / Why do I always feel invisible?” Grey sadly croons above the slow-stuttering Alex Da Kid-produced beat and a sad, distant guitar strum, listing off an endless array of unhealthy tendencies and endless anxieties in the process.

While “Invisible” will probably one of the saddest songs to (potentially) impact radio in a while, the song demonstrates the beauty of embracing the hurt rather than swallowing her sorrows into yet another anthem: It’s a raw, visceral pain that doesn’t feel patronizing in the least–a far cry from being asked if I’ve ever felt like a plastic bag floating in the wind.

Skylar gets it. ‘Nough said.

Skylar Grey “Invisible” by igapromotion

For fans of Garbage, Hole, Fiona Apple, Alanis Morrissette and all other torchbearers of mid-’90′s rock, take note: Your redemption has arrived.

Skylar Grey is the much buzzed-about singer-songwriter responsible for some of the most devastating hooks in pop of the past year (Diddy Dirty Money‘s “Coming Home,” Eminem & Rihanna‘s “Love The Way You Lie”).

(For more on her somewhat fragmented history as a solo artist and songwriter, check out MuuMuse contributor Sam Lansky’s in-depth article on Skylar Grey’s roots.)

Now, Grey comes out from behind the shadows once again to blaze her own–err, well, shadowy trails: “Dance Without You” is the first taste of solo Skylar reborn; a deliciously disjointed, grinding moment of industrial noise and bluesy rock-tinged despair released for free on the singer’s website earlier today.

“So serious all the time / I feel the strain, I feel confined,” Grey slowly moans above the song’s plodding beat and searing guitar licks, produced by longtime collaborator and UK-born hip-hop producer, Alex Da Kid.

While “Dance Without You” is hardly the stuff of Top 40 dreams (at least, not from anytime this decade), it’s still a welcome contrast to today’s over-saturation of hype-speed electro pop ditties from the likes of Dr. Luke and RedOne.

It’ll be interesting to see if the tides will turn to allow more rock-minded singer-songwriters like Grey a chance to rule the charts once again alongside our favorite pop acts. After all, a little angst is never a bad thing.

DL: Skylar Grey – Dance Without You

Skylar Grey’s debut album is due out later this year.