'Flying On My Own': Celine Dion's Heart Goes Onto the Dance Floor
Celine Dion, coming to an EDM festival near you. Of all the directions Céline Marie Claudette Dion could have opted to go musically in 2019, dance-pop probably wouldn't have been the most obvious choice. "Flying On My Own" is the first taste of the iconic Canadian chanteuse's upcoming album Courage…
'I Trance': Swedish Dance-Pop Diva Agnes Returns to the Discotheque
Agnes Carlsson, singularly known as the Agnes, is back. The "Release Me" Swedish dance-pop legend and Idol 2005 winner last left us with her incredible collection Veritas, originally released in 2012 in Sweden (one of the best pop albums released that year), which was later released in other…
'Madame X': Madonna Gets Lost in the World, But Isn't Lost
If we took a holiday, took some time to celebrate – just one day out of life, even - it would be so nice. Right? Well then, let’s do it. Yes, I’m dead serious. You still got your passport? Good. I’ve got a friend of a friend who lives in Portugal we can stay with. Actually, she might be in Brazil…
'In My Bed': Sabrina Carpenter Remains Today's Most Reliable Post-Disney Pop Princess
There are few objective truths in this world: death, taxes, and the pop supremacy of post-Disney princesses. Of all the new girls on the scene, Sabrina Carpenter remains one of my favorites - and it all comes down, obviously, to the music. Consistently, she's supplied nothing but quality since…
'She Is Coming': The Reintroduction of Miley Cyrus Begins (Review)
What's a girl like Miley Cyrus to do in 2019? She's already conquered tween-pop, followed by the requisite Disney princess-gone-bad rebellion era. She dove in head - err, sorry - tongue-first to #SomethingMoreUrban territory, twerking her way around hip-hop beats and cultural appropriation…
'Some Body': ionnalee Trips the Light Fantastic
ionnalee, otherwise known as Jonna Lee of iamamiwhoami, otherwise known as the experimental Swedish audiovisual project that everyone briefly thought was Christina Aguilera's Bionic campaign at first nearly one decade ago, is bringing the beats. "Some Body" is the second single off of her…
'Don't Go Changing': Aly & AJ Keep Making Excellent Pop Music Against the Odds
It's a bit of a miracle that Aly & AJ are still doing what they're doing. Once a Disney-powered Hollywood Records mainstream teen-pop project - "Potential Breakup Song" forever, obviously - the girls eventually disbanded and rebranded as 78violet, then un-branded, and returned as themselves, only…
'ME!': The Bree-Hee-Heezy, G-Rated Return of Taylor Swift (With Brendon Urie)
Taylor Swift's back. You probably already knew that because, in true Taylor Swift fashion, she made sure you knew it with a seemingly endless scavenger hunt of sparkly, pastel-hued clues across her Instagram - and even sprinkled hints in her own speeches and editorial features over the past few…
Madonna & Maluma Turn Back Time With a Trip to 'Medellín'
Pack your bags, bitch: we’re taking a trip to Colombia with Madgeluma. Madonna - sorry, Madame X - and Maluma, (one of) my Colombian husband(s), are knocking at our door, tickets (and champagne) in hand, ready to head to the airport for a lush, sultry escape to “Medellín.” And, oh, how much I…
'Still On My Mind': Dido Makes a Warm, Welcome Return (Album Review)
Six years after the release of her last studio album, 2013's Girl Who Got Away, Dido - Ms. Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong, if you're nasty - didn't really need to come back. She's sold over 40 million albums worldwide, and is responsible for co-inventing the concept of a "stan"…
'Face My Fears': Hikaru Utada & Skrillex Lead Us Into the Future (Bass)
It's been 84 years (actually, though - way longer than the #10YearChallenge, at least), but Hikaru Utada - the artist formerly known as Utada Hikaru, and briefly just Utada - is finally fulfilling her fate. Or, well...her contractual obligation to provide a theme song for the third installment of…
'Honey': The Sad, Sweet Resilience of Robyn (Album Review)
"It’s not about getting to the end, but enjoying where you are in the moment." Call your girlfriend, and tell her the old Robyn can't come to the phone right now. Or...ever again. Nearly a decade after her last studio album, the culmination of three mini-albums packed full of floor-filling…