Taio Cruz - World In Our Hands

"We've waited all of our life"

Time for some totally mainstream pop. Taio Cruz has well and truly broken through internationally, which makes it kind of strange that he's having such difficulty positioning this new album. Track for track, it's probably stronger than his last one, yet its release keeps getting pushed back in the States. It's only been released in some European countries. Perhaps it's down to the lead single. Hangover is excellent melodically and production-wise and I'm really loving it, but the lyrics are dire and pretty damn irresponsible to be putting out to the youth that are bound to listen to his music. World In Our Hands is far more uplifting. It's Cruz in his comfort zone, melding anthemic melodies with massive, wall-of-synths production. It's dynamite (haha) stuff. Yeah, it's not at all original, but he knows his way around a glossy hook. Now, when is that album coming to our shores?



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the import here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Top 50 Singles of 2010: 10-6

10. Darin - Lovekiller



The top ten kicks off with the biggest, cheesiest pop moment of 2010. There is no resisting the overblown goodness of this track. Darin hit it out of the park with this one. The video’s wonderfully over-the-top, too.

9. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers



The comeback single she’s been searching for for years. It was so magical that it overshadowed everything else on the album. Her biggest late-career highlight.

8. Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire



A soaring festival anthem that deserved more success than it found. Jake sounds his best on tracks like this. No band does melodic, radio pop better than Scissor Sisters.

7. Mcfly & Taio Cruz - Shine A Light



I never expected that, this late in their career, Mcfly could pull off a pop track like this. It hits you from the first listen and cements itself in your memory. The I Gotta Feeling of 2010.

6. Short Stack - Planets



On first listen, I didn’t think this was anything special. Then I came back to it… and back… and back. And I’m still listening to it constantly months later. Everything came together here.

Top 50 Singles of 2010: 35-31

35. Taio Cruz - Break Your Heart



His North American breakthrough and the first song that made me stand up and take notice of his way with hooks. Listen to the original Ludacris free version, though.

34. Goldfrapp - Rocket



The year’s best “up yours” kiss-off song, set to a synth beat with enough pep to power a spaceship. It was Summer come early.

33. Timoteij - Kom



Laughed it off originally, then backed it to win this year’s Melodifestivalen. There’s no resisting that ethno-synth stomp.

32. One Night Only - Say You Don’t Want It



A reinvention that worked wonders. It wasn’t able to be sustained through an entire album, but here it’s three and a half minutes of pop bliss.

31. Hurts - Wonderful Life



The song that represented the shift from the Daggers to the Hurts sound. Began life this year as a charming mystery of a song. Ended it as a solid hit.

Mcfly & Taio Cruz - Shine A Light

"She left me with a broken heart"

I have been obsessed with this track for weeks now. There have been a few UK pop groups this past decade that could've been terrible but ended up defining the era. I've always considered Mcfly to be the male example of this (Girls Aloud being the female). It's amazing that they're still producing singles of this quality so far into their career. Mcfly tracks have a history of debuting high on the charts and plummeting a week later, which hints at the limitations of their loyal fanbase. This song, a duet with the ever-reliable Taio Cruz, has the potential to cross over if given the chance. It's easily their best single in years and a real standout of the 2010 pop sound. The Taio/Mcfly partnership was not what anyone would have expected, and could have been horrible, but it works wonders. There's just enough of each artist's sound smashed into this song to create an insanely catchy, anthemic pop/rock hybrid. I'm officially excited for the album now.

Mcfly & Taio Cruz - Shine A Light by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Pop Blitz 7/2/10

Travie McCoy (ft. Bruno Mars) - Billionaire Irritating. From the "cute/funny" Jason Mraz-ish chorus to the ho-hum rapping, this is exactly the kind of novelty summer tune that gets me switching the radio. C-

Selena Gomez - Round & Round
A natural progression from her last single, they've finally discovered how to match her airy vocals to an equally light-weight pop song. Surprisingly, this is a good thing. A-

Enrique Iglesias (ft. Pitbull) - I Like It
I'm actually surprised at how much I like this, since I'm not a fan. It's very "male Lady Gaga," but the melody's strong and fits his voice well. I could've done without the Pitbull parts, though. Shame about the album, which borders on unlistenable. B+

Maroon 5 - Misery
What a limp comeback single. They've done so much better in the past, which makes this forgettable track a big surprise. I trust there's better on the album. I have a feeling they'll need a strong single next because this sounds like a bomb. C

Taio Cruz - Dynamite
Yes, it's pretty much a carbon copy of his other songs, but his sound remains a welcome addition to the radio. This isn't quite as good as his last one, but it's very addictive (especially, the ravey bridge). A-

3OH!3 (ft. Ke$ha) - First KissJeez, is there enough misplaced punctuation in this title? I think both of these artists are about as abominable as you can get and I wish they'd scurry back under the rocks they came from. That being said, this isn't as terrible as I expected it to be. It's still nothing that we'll remember in a couple of years. C

Neon Trees - Animal
One of the only rock hits on the radio right now, it benefits from sounding different. Good thing it's a deserving entry in the indie-rock summer hit playlist. That chorus is just great. A

Pop Blitz 3/4/10

Taio Cruz (ft. Ludacris) - Break Your Heart
What a pleasant surprise to see this sitting atop American itunes. This is the best r&b/dance/pop single of this style that we'll probably hear this year. The beat, the melody... everything. The prospect of this being a hit over here is exhilarating, even with Ludacris tacked on (and btw, he nearly ruins it). Get the original version. A

Daisy Dares You (ft. Chipmunk) - Number One Enemy
While I like the electro blips thrown together with the rockier sound of the track, I wish that this was a stronger single. It's certainly not bad, but nothing terribly original, either. Daisy's voice has the potential to grate and the Chipmunk part is just weird. B-

Kevin Rudolf (ft. a bunch of douches) - I Made It
Rudolf's debut was a pleasant surprise, but this feels like a step backward. The guest artists drag him down and the melody plods. I hope the next single's better. C-

Jay Sean, Sean Paul & Lil' Jon - Do You Remember
The "chorus" sounds like a child's hissy fit. If this was just Jay Sean, it might be alright. But why all of the angry screaming in the background? It sounds more like a parody than a serious track. C

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed
Much has been made of Goulding (what's with all these female singers from the UK with strange voices?) and this is a big single right now. It's alright. Nothing that I'm going crazy over, but it's a nice little catchy track. B

The Script - Breakeven
Though I'm not a huge fan of this group, I've been happily watching this song's slow and steady climb on the charts. The melody in the chorus is addictive. B+

Gramophonedzie - Why Don't You
The latest dance track to come out of Europe, it's built around a not particularly interesting big band/loungey sample that doesn't mix well at all with the dance beats. Very strange, and completely unnecessary. D+

Taio Cruz - Keep Going

"Keep going 'til we run out of road"

Taio Cruz is one of the UK's best kept secrets. He's quite successful over there, most recently with his fantastic single Break Your Heart, and is easily one of the country's best producers. Other than a couple of tracks (which try too hard to sound American), his newest album borders on perfection. Rather than settle for simple r&b, Cruz deftly brings electro, club and straight-up pop into the mix, creating a sound that feels like what the Black Eyed Peas wish they were doing. It's just massive... almost symphonic at times. Keep Going is one of the album's poppier tracks, and something I can imagine being performed by one of Sweden's top hit-makers like Ola Svensson or Darin. It's got its sights set on "soaring" and never lets go of that mission statement. It is, to use my favorite descriptive word, quite epic. I wouldn't be surprised if American companies try to launch him over here. Our r&b/dance scene could use the kick in the butt.

Taio Cruz - Keep Going

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.