Dear current Sugababes line-up…

THIS is how you do electro and still sound cool, fresh and exciting.

This sounds like Fembots by Robyn and therefore is amazing. This solo career has the potential to be 4,000 times better than Nicola Roberts’

I’m Afraid I May Have To Hold It Against You

I’d hate to make a judgement based on a demo that I have been assured will change quite a bit when the actual song is released, but fucking hell this terrible.

Things this is:

• A bit too much like a Ke$ha song
• Boring

Things this is not:

• Grime-y
• Dark
• ‘British’
• Slave 4 U 2011
• Toxic 2011
• Bad Romance (*GASP*)

Please, people of the Britney camp, make this work. For the love of God, MAKE THIS WORK.

Clare Maguire: The Last Dance

I know it probably doesn’t make sense at all, but this song makes me think of listening to Cher’s greatest hits in the car with my parents (and they claimed they had no idea I was gay…) despite the fact that there’s no real similarities between the two. But that’s just how it is.

Because this is a very early memory, listening to this song evokes a very deep, slightly unbearable sense of nostalgia and sadness. Not to sound like some 40-year old going through a mid-life crisis, wanting to recapture my youth or anything. But I think some of you might get what I’m trying to say. It’s a very beautiful song.

Unfortunately, an album full of Clare’s vocals isn’t really what I’m after and the rest of her material (from what I’ve heard so far) is very, very dull. I guess just because one song accidentally connects with a certain part of you, doesn’t mean the artist is going to be consistently enjoyable.

And now I can practically hear you all screaming “NO SHIT SHERLOCK”…

Here is the song:

Alicia Keys: Speechless (Featuring Eve)

Here is a random release from Alicia Keys. It is a beautiful song about her new son, made even better by some ace production from husband Swizz Beatz and a surprisingly enjoyable rap from Eve.

I would be very happy if all singles in 2011 were accompanied by a behind the scenes video like this one. Thanks.

If you’re interested, I’m going to list some other amazing songs about babies after the jump.

Avril Lavigne: What The Hell

Goodness, look at that picture. She looks a bit depressed, doesn’t she?

It must be hard being a 26-year-old woman who has to act like she’s about 14. But this isn’t some Channel 4 documentary about someone going undercover as a teenager in a local high school to find out why the kids are so messed up, it’s the life of pop star Avril Lavigne.

“I’m On The Right Track, Baby I Was Made This Way (Due To Genetics And Several Environmental Influences)”

Here is the first picture from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way campaign, which I guess you could say has now kicked off.

There was a rumour (fuelled heavily by myself amongst others) that the picture would the album artwork and that the album would be released on her birthday in March. Well both of those turned out to be wrong.

The first single will be released on the 13th of February. You may remember the 13th of February as the day before Valentine’s Day, or even my father’s birthday. But this year it will also be the night of the 53rd Grammy Awards AND the night that Lady Gaga’s 60 Minute interview will air. I will assume that she will debut the song that night, but if we can actually manage to get to that point without a leak it will be a bloody miracle.

The album is then out on the 23rd of May. You may remember the 23rd of May as the day that Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, or even “World Turtle Day” but this year it will also be the day that Born This Way will hit shop shelves etc. Excited yet?

The tweet accompanying the photo may suggest that Born This Way could be the first single too, but you can never really tell with stuff like this. Born This Way does sound like it could be a good song, but I can’t hide my fears about the album moving away from dance and turning into a 20 track I-Don’t-Wanna-Miss-A-Thing-by-Aerosmith rock disaster…

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Thank God they’ve done the right thing and put both dates as far away as Britney’s as they possibly could. Though the prospect of a Proper Pop War seemed appealing, I don’t think I could personally take the stress.

DJ Earworm – United State Of Pop 2010 (Don’t Stop The Pop)

I’m not sure this really works at all. Which is a shame because so many songs sounded extremely similar this year, so it should have made for a perfect mash-up. I guess nothing will ever beat 2009′s.

Anyway, make of it what you will. Good? Bad? Give a shit?