Toni Braxton - "Pulse" Preview

Well Toni's project has got to be the longest awaited of all the divas who are releasing albums this year and apparently it doesn't look like 2009 is going to be a realistic expectation anymore either as the album will apparently now drop in early 2010. Much to my disappointment as this massive selection of her tracks that have leaked from the "Pulse" era have been of excellent quality, dare I say, surpassing material heard up to now from Whitney, Leona, Alexandra and even Mariah's mindblowing recent album.

First are 3 clips that were leaked officially by Atlantic to help fans decide the first single from the project (never a good look IMO just shows the label as lazy and not on point with a project) all are of excellent quality. My joint favourite the Oak/Harvey Mason produced "Hands Tied" sounds like a classic ballad with modern production values from what I can hear, with some gorgeous understated vocals from Toni in her lower key and moving into a heavily backed (as usual from her) driving chorus ending in her own vocal contributions. Also worth mentioning at this point is the fully leaked track, The Underdogs/Steven Russell/James Fauntleroy's "Heart Never Had A Hero" for which we had a demo by JF for a while but I never suspected Toni would take it. This is also a similar track in that it showcases Toni's beautiful powerhouse vocals over a hybrid classic/electronic production, although both are awesome in their own right. Apparently Toni was lobbying for this track to make the cut, so hopefully it will despite the premature leak.

The second clip is my joint favourite "Looking At Me" and the third "Make My Heart", both Lucas Secon/Makeba Riddick joints. Both are catchy upbeat numbers on which Toni shows she still has a penchant for the upbeat banger despite her ballad-ready vocal style. "Looking At Me" definitely qualifies in quality for first single material with its catchy pre-hook and chorus and its dancehall style handclap beat and will stay in your head for days. "Make My Heart" is definitely a close second and another single contender with its sing-along short but sweet chorus of vocal stylings at the end of each line as opposed to a full lyric ("da da dum dum dum", "oh ho ho") over its Rich Harrison-style looped horns.

It seems Atlantic scrapped these 3 fan-choice potential single tracks however, as it has now been announced that the Frank-E produced "Yesterday" will now be served to radio along with its Troy Taylor-produced remix featuring Trey Songz, which I guess will cover the R&B market more aptly. The original track is a good catchy ballad with an empowering chorus and a dramatic sound similar to the Tedder-produced ballads that are so often hitting radiowaves right now so I hope it does well for Toni so we're closer to hearing the album finally. The remix, produced by 90s-famed Troy Taylor (formerly of The Characters, along with Charles Farrar) and now common Trey collaborator gives the track a whole new laid back feel as opposed to the anthemic driving production of the original. Its also nice to hear Toni collaborate with some modern artists as she doesn't often have features on her tracks.

Toni continues her tempo and genre domination in delivering the mellow midtempo guitar driven tracks "I Hate Love" [Claude Kelly/StarGate] and the long-awaited demo to the MIDI Mafia/Dapo/Clutch track "If I Were Sane/If I Was Sane". Previously having only heard the Claude demo to "I Hate Love" the track doesn't seem all that special but as a true diva always does, Toni's vocals make it engaging enough for a second listen, although still strictly an album track. Candice Nelson and Balewa Muhammad perform their similar number with a little more joosh than Claude and their witty metaphors and social commentary shine through as usual. (like "Halle did to Eddie in Boomerang") If we do get to hear Toni's version of the track I hope she leaves Candice's tiny vocal contributions in as she usually does with chorus vocals her voice isn't particularly suited for. I would have preferred this pairing to deliver Toni an excellent upbeat number (which is what both The Clutch and MIDI Mafia are best at) as opposed to a just OK ballad they think she might have preferred. People seem to forget Toni can perform the hell out of any tempo and style of track with those dope vocals if the track is right.

Finally come the classic-style R&B ballads Toni is known for in the form of the 3 tracks "Pulse", "Not A Chance" and "The Break Up". "Pulse" is my favourite of the three and possibly of all the Toni tracks from this era up to now. The extended metaphor of a surgical operation being compared to fighting to keep love alive is effective and I absolutely love the dramatic chorus which shows off Toni's strong vocals perfectly over a backing of strings and thumping drums, especially after the quiet, piano-backed verses, all courtesy of producer Chuck Harmony. "Not A Chance" recalls Toni's work on one of her best and most successful albums "Secrets" with its sombre lyrics and late night ambience production recalling tracks like "In The Late Of Night" and "Talking In His Sleep". "The Break Up" is a piano-led ballad, probably my least favourite of the three but by no means a bad track. Unusual and exciting for its lack of production, which starts with just haunting piano and is only joined at the end of the track by a gentle beat, strings and finger snaps.

Considering that every track that has leaked up to now (including the previously reviewed "Melt" and "Get Loose") is of such high quality, Toni has me really excited for what she will deliver when the final tracklist is decided and the album is finally out. Until Atlantic gets its act together and starts taking Toni's project seriously and as the priority it deserves to be, you can check out the recorded tracks from the project below and listen to the tracks as usual in the sidebar in the 'Spotlight' section and @The FORUM.

Possible/Confirmed (*) Tracks :

- Get Loose
-----[Toni Braxton, ..., Rodney 'DarkChild' Jerkins] [Claude Kelly?] [Jordan Omley?]
* Hands Tied
-----[..., Harvey Mason Jr & Oak]
* Heart Never Had A Hero
-----[James Fauntleroy, Steve Russell, ..., Harvey Mason Jr]
- I Hate Love
-----[Claude Kelly, StarGate]
- If I Was Sane/If I Were Sane
-----[Candice, Bale'wa, Patrick, Zeke, Dapo Torimiro, MIDI Mafia]
* Looking At Me
-----[Makeba Riddick, Lucas Secon]
* Make My Heart
-----[Makeba Riddick, Lucas Secon]
- Melt/Iceberg
-----[Claude Kelly, Soulshock & Karlin]
- My Ring's Too Heavy
-----[Jesse McCartney, ...]
- Not A Chance
-----[..., The Underdogs]
* Pulse
-----[..., Chuck Harmony]
- The Breakup
-----[...]
- The Wave
-----[Jesse McCartney, Makeba Riddick, Maddscientist]
- Touch Me There F/ Lil' Wayne
-----[Diane Warren, ...]
* Yesterday + [Troy Taylor Radio Remix] F/ Trey Songz 1st Single
-----[Frank-E, ...]

Alexandra Burke - "Overcome" Preview - "Goodnight, Good Morning" & "Nothing But The Girl" Demos [StarGate, Ne-Yo]

Although we now know the cheesy-but-good ballad "Perfect" never made the cut, Alexandra has decided to name her album after the other leaked track, the marching Ryan Tedder anthem "Overcome". Here we have two more tracks that are set to appear on her album, which is due out here in the UK next Monday, October 19th. All I can say after bumping these for a couple of weeks now, is WOW.

Thankfully, Alexandra's promise of doing an equal number of upbeat tracks as she does ballads that showcase her gorgeous vocals seems to be fulfilled as both tracks (as with Leona's passed up StarGate/Ne-Yo track "Can't Fight It") are dance/R&B club bangers with gritty, bass heavy beats which will bump your speakers. Although I doubt she will surpass vocal master Brandy's version of the track "Goodnight, Good Morning", with her beautiful vocals over such a fantastic track it will undoubtedly be a close second. I also don't know how they are going to get "Nothing But The Girl" interpreted from a female perspective, as either changing the lyrics up or making Alexandra a lesbian seem the only options but again, its a sikk track nevertheless and I can't wait to hear Alexandra's powerhouse vocals over this thumping electro beat.

If the 4 tracks heard up to now are anything to go by, Alexandra's debut is gonna be a stellar offering in my eyes because she's also got what look like a few upbeat RedOne tracks on there and a couple penned by dope veteran songwriter Andrea Martin. Check out the cover for the project above, the fantastic Bryan Barber-directed action video for single "Bad Boys" here as well as the tracklisting and some credits below:

Tracklisting

01 Bad Boys F/ Flo-Rida
---[Lauren Evans, Alex James, busbee, Larry Summerville Jr, Melvin Watson Jr,
----Matthew Irby]
---Produced by The Phantom Boyz
02 Goodnight Good Morning F/ Ne-Yo
---[Shaffer Smith, Mikkel SE, Tor Erik Hermansen]
---Produced by StarGate
03 The Silence
---[...] [Andrea Martin?]
---Produced by ...
04 All Night Long
---[...] [Kara DioGuardi, Kasia Livingston, Fernando Garibay?]
---Produced by Fernando Garibay [???]
05 Bury Me [Six Feet Under]
---[Andrea Martin, Tor Erik Hermansen, Kim Ofstad, Hitesh Ceon]
---Produced by StarGate & ELEMENT
06 Broken Heels
---[Savan Kotecha, Bilal Hajji, Nadir Khayat]
---Produced by RedOne
07 Dumb
---[Savan Kotecha, Bilal Hajji, Nadir Khayat, Martin Kierszenbaum]
---Produced by RedOne & Martin Kierszenbaum
08 Overcome
---[..., Ryan Tedder] [Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello?]
---Produced by Ryan Tedder
09 Gotta Go
---[...]
---Produced by ...
10 You Broke My Heart
---[Victoria 'Pixie' Lott, ...]
---Produced by ...
11 Nothing But The Girl
---[Shaffer Smith, Mikkel SE, Tor Erik Hermansen]
---Produced by StarGate
12 They Don't Know
---[...]
---Produced by ...
13 Hallelujah UK Bonus Track
---[Leonard Cohen]
---Produced by ...

Other Tracks

--Before The Rain
--[Ina Wroldsen, Steve Mackichan]
--Produced by Steve Mac

--Dangerous
--[Alexandra Burke, Andrea Martin, Kim Ofstad, Hitesh Ceon]
--Produced by ELEMENT

* Perfect
--[...] [Jeremy Reeves, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus?]
--Produced by The Stereotypes [???]

Leona Lewis - "Echo" Preview - "Happy", "I Got U", "Don't Let Me Down" & "Brave" + Non-Album Tracks

Here are 4 tracks set to appear on Leona's forthcoming sophomore album plus an even larger collection of tracks she has decided not to use for the project. The album tracks she has chosen, although few in number we have heard as yet, are disappointing and lack the quality of "Spirit"'s fantastic tracklist throughout. The first single "Happy", when revealed as a Ryan Tedder/Evan "Kidd" Bogart track before we heard it and bearing in mind Leona apparently lost their other superior track "Halo" to Beyoncé Knowles, is a little disappointing. The instrumentation is nothing special as opposed to "Halo"'s stunning operatic intro and gorgeous piano chords and thumping beat throughout but thankfully Leona's breathtaking vocal performance as always lifts the track above mediocre. After a few listens, I'm definitely a fan of the track but bearing in mind a track as strong as "Halo" could have been a choice for her and the anthem that was "Bleeding Love", I think she should have come harder with her first single.

"I Got You" is a little different for Leona, I like the fact it has more of the guitar-based rock sound she hinted at with the album's title and her previously mentioned direction of the album, although its not the strongest of songs and comes across as rather generic, I think it'll be a decent album track at least.

Thankfully, third track "Brave" is a shining light for the project in my eyes and hints at quality to come on the album as my favourite of the four tracks we've heard up to now. It begins with Leona's softspoken vocals over a quick strumming of a guitar and gentle strings, builds into a beat and eventually into the heavily sung chorus where girl shows off her famed vocal prowess.

The last track that has leaked before the album's release was the apparently planned first single, The Y's collaboration "Don't Let Me Down". Although I was hoping for something more like the Ciara tracks for Leona's collabo with the guys I guess that's too much a change in direction for a sophomore album but the track is definitely good enough. The haunting piano chords along with the echoing synth throughout are a beautiful canvas for Leona's toned down falsetto vocals as well as JT's brief background vocals being a nice addition. (although I would have preferred James Fauntleroy's) The beat isn't as pounding and heavy as Rob Knox's usual drumlines but hopefully this will be addressed in the album version of the track.

The problem with the tracks we've heard up to now is that they're way too samey for my liking. Even though "Spirit" was a pretty generic collection of Quiet Storm/Adult Contemporary R&B tracks it was a strong one and every track had its own merit. Even the tracks that were produced by the same producers like "Bleeding Love" and "Take A Bow" (both Tedder productions) were different enough and strong enough tracks to make the album a quality catalogue of songs and a great listen. I'm just hoping the tracks we've yet to hear and those from usually upbeat producers like Max Martin and Xenomania are exciting enough to allow this album to surpass her debut offering. Which brings me to some of the amazing tracks she decided to leave off the album much to her peril.

Besides the nicely titled but pretty boring "Stone Hearts" and "Strangers" which both follow the organic, midtempo rock sound Leona has detailed in interviews but is too similar in tempo and style to each other and tracks like "I Got You" and "Happy", the other tracks that were left off the album are actually far better than what we've heard of the final tracklist up to now.

The Ne-Yo demo "Can't Fight It", which was confirmed as an album track up until the official tracklisting dropped last week, much to my upset is absolute ecstasy and I'm still hoping it might make the cut as a bonus track at least. Unlike anything Leona has recorded before, the Stargate club banger is a sexy, gritty dance/R&B hybrid much in the same vein as Ne-Yo's own track "Closer" and the tracks he has demoed for her fellow X-Factor alumni Alexandra Burke's debut (due out next week) "Goodnight, Good Morning" and "Nothing But The Girl". I was so excited to hear Leona's powerhouse vocals over such a quality upbeat club track and she is crazy to have left this off the album.

The other leaked track that in my opinion dwarfs the album tracks we've heard up to now is the haunting "Perfect Stranger". With both a departure in sound again for Leona, along with a unique concept and some fantastic lyrics, the song details the singer wanting to forget about the lover she wants so much but who hurts her all the time and actually going for a clinical procedure to induce amnesia. Besides the strong conceptual aspect of the track, the instrumentation of it is also equally as enthralling with its off key piano and warped electro-style beat, I also love the call and response background vocals on the chorus ("oh") which are rarely heard on a Leona track as she tends to shy away from contemporary R&B staples such as this except on rare occasions like "Forgive Me" and "Nowhere Left To Go". Although I can see why she left off the Ne-Yo track as despite quality track, it might have been considered too big a departure in sound for Leona, I really can't understand why a track like this would not have been first on the tracklist as it is downbeat/midtempo like all the other leaked tracks and would fit alongside them perfectly. Perhaps it was too dark-sounding I don't know, but Leona made a massive mistake letting such a great track go to waste.

With the fact that Leona and her label have decided to take the safe route with her first single along with leaving off such exciting tracks as "Can't Fight It" and "Perfect Stranger" and much anticipated collaborations with Timbaland/J-Roc/Jim Beanz, Toby Gad, Dr. Luke/Claude Kelly, Bangladesh, L.O.S. & Syience, I'm no longer that amped for the project unfortunately. Regardless, hopefully the album, due out November 17th, will surpass or at least equal the standard her fantastic debut set and I still have my fingers crossed it will be a quality album as a whole. In the meantime, you can check out the gorgeous cover above, as well as some beautiful promo shots, the tracklist + some of the credits for the LP below:

Tracklisting

1. Happy --1st Single
---[Leona Lewis, Ryan 'Alias' Tedder, Evan 'Kidd' Bogart]
2. I Got You
---[..., Ryan 'Alias' Tedder?]
3. Can’t Breathe
---[...]
4. Brave
---[..., Ryan 'Alias' Tedder?]
5. Outta My Head
---[Savan Kotecha, Martin 'Max Martin' Sandberg, Johan 'Shellback' Schuster]
6. My Hands
---[Ina Wroldsen, Arnthor Birgisson]
7. Love Letter
---[...]
8. Broken
---[..., The Runawayz - Sam Watters & Louis Biancaniello, Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins?]
9. Naked
---[...]
10. Stop Crying Your Heart Out
---[..., Oasis?]
11. Don't Let Me Down
---[The Y's: James Fauntleroy, Justin Timberlake & Robin 'Rob Knox' Tadross, Mike Elizondo]
12. Alive
---[..., The Writing Camp, Wayne Wilkins?]
13. Lost Then Found F/ One Republic -> Varsity Fanclub
---[Ryan 'Alias' Tedder, Evan 'Kidd' Bogart]

* TBA
---[..., Brian Higgins]
---Produced by Xenomania

* TBA
---[..., Julian Bunetta]

* TBA
---[Alonzo 'Novel' Stevenson, ..., John Shanks]
---Produced by John Shanks


----Other Tracks :

- Can't Fight It
---[Ne-Yo, Mikkel SE, Tor Erik Hermansen]
---Produced by StarGate

- Heartbeat
---[Ina Wroldsen, Arnthor Birgisson]
---Produced by Arnthor

- I Will Always Love You F/ Justin Timberlake
---[Dolly Parton]
---Produced by The Y's [???]

- Perfect Stranger
---[..., Ryan Tedder]
---Produced by Ryan "Alias" Tedder

- Save Myself
---[Leona Lewis, Savan Kotecha, Ryan Tedder]
---Produced by Ryan 'Alias' Tedder

- Stone Hearts
---[...]

- Strangers
---[..., Ryan Tedder]
---Produced by Ryan "Alias" Tedder

- Thank You Thank You
---[Ina Wroldsen, Chris Braide]
---Produced by Chris Braide

- Unreachable
---[Leona Lewis, Lindy Robbins, Toby Gad]
---Produced by Toby Gad

- You Don't Care
---[..., Ryan Tedder]
---Produced by Ryan "Alias" Tedder

- Your Heart
---[Ina Wroldsen, Mich Hansen, Jonas Jeberg]
---Produced by Cutfather & Jonas Jeberg

Whitney Houston - I Didn't Know My Own Strength, I Look To You, Like I Never Left & Million Dollar Bill / R.Kelly - Salute / Johntá - Call You Tonight

Here's a selection of 6 of the 11 tracks set to appear on Whitney's forthcoming comeback album, which will be released via Arista Records on August 31st.

First is the cancelled first single "I Didn't Know My Own Strength", which was recently made available for free download on Whitney's official website. Penned exclusively for Whitney by common collaborator Diane Warren and produced by the infamous David Foster, its a pretty typical quiet storm ballad. I've never been a fan of these sort of cheesy Warren ballads unless they were particularly well executed like Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart" or Whitney's own "I Learned From The Best" and this one isn't particularly amazing but its not awful and I can see it was definitely necessary in Clive Davis' vision of returning Whitney to her former sound.

The R. Kelly-penned title track "I Look To You" has been one of my most anticipated tracks since we heard his own rendition on YouTube quite a while back and Whitney definitely doesn't disappoint with her version. Although its not amazing production wise, its Whitney's delivery that is the feature here. This is more the quality of quiet storm ballad I wanted to hear from a Whitney comeback and I hope Kelly delivers more of this sort of ballad for his own albums in future as this style of track (see "I Believe I Can Fly" "If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time") also made him big in his own heyday.

"Like I Never Left" leaked quite a while back and was the first taste of the new album we got to hear but I thought I would include it as it has still made the final tracklist despite failing to become the first single as it was originally intended to be. The track was penned by genius Claude Kelly, who also has 2 other tracks placed on the album and produced by Akon, who I hope has his annoying vocals removed on the album version of this track! The track is another quiet storm ballad with a modern R&B edge and has a double-entendre concept of Whitney returning to her lover and the music-buying public.

Official first single "Million Dollar Bill" is probably my favourite track from the album up to now, I just knew my girl Alicia Keys wouldn't disappoint with her writing and Swizz Beatz, who I often find myself in a love-hate relationship with, also delivers with the old school R&B-inspired production. I knew from that banging intro of heavy bass, thumping drums and Whitney's brash "Ohhs" I was gonna love this. As opposed to the non-descript quiet storm anthems I thought this album would be weighed down by, the track is a welcome classic celebratory R&B love song. I hope this does well for Whitney because its completely different to anything at radio right now and is a gorgeous throwback track.

R. Kelly's second track on the album "Salute" isn't as anthemic and driving as I expected with its muted, piano-led production but the lyrics are definitely following suit from "I Look To You" and "Didn't Know My Own Strength" in their defiant, self-glorifying subject matter. I think Whitney will definitely make this track a lot more listenable.

"Call You Tonight" contains StarGate's usual soft 808 and handclaps of their slow jams with a sample, this time a whirling distorted sound. Although Johntá usually isn't excellent at singing female demos (see J-Hud's "My Heart") he delivers this track well, I love the whole late night ambience of it and I can't wait to hear Whitney's stellar vocals deliver what I know will be an even better rendition. I'm also glad this isn't another upbeat anthem, and I'm hoping there's more subject matter like this on the rest of the album.

Hearing half of the album definitely has me amped to hear the rest when Whitney finally delivers the album at the end of the month as she and Clive Davis have chosen some quality material to record. I'm still hoping the Timbaland/Jim Beanz/Candice Nelson collabo "Undefeated" which was originally set to be the title track of the album will appear as a bonus track in some form. Beanz recently revealed via Twitter that he was mixing the track so hopefully my dream of hearing this long-awaited track will finally come true!

Daily Demos: Claude Kelly - "True" [RedOne] [Brandy]

Here's another demo my girl Brandy will have heard in order to interpret the beautiful tracks written for her last album "Human". I'm so glad we're getting all these demos, I love hearing different versions of tracks anyway but its particularly enjoyable with Brandy because she's such a vocal master, I love to hear her take on tracks and how she switched it up on the arrangements and backgrounds. Although Claude is an undoubtedly decent singer, Brandy absolutely killed this track with her delivery, but I adore Claude & RedOne for providing her with such a fantastic ballad which made for a nice new sound on the album, while still maintaining the flow it did so well. Such a damn underrated album, I just hope Bran gets her mainstream appreciation and shine with the next one...plus I'm still DYING to hear her version of "Home", if she or Timbo doesn't place it I'll cry!

Daily Demos: Kalenna Harper - "Painted Windows" [PCD] & "Pucker Up" [Ciara] [Rodney 'DarkChild' Jerkins]

Here's two demos for two of DarkChild's rare placements, as he doesn't seem to be as in demand these days as he was throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Both tracks definitely hint at some sort of return to form for Rodney after a few years of lackluster compositions, he still stands as one of my alltime favourite R&B producers despite this. His production is a funky mix of electronics and slight elements of natural instrumentation (e.g. the guitar samples on both tracks) and this is definitely helped by the excellent writing from new DC associates Kalenna Haper (who is also making her artist debut as part of Diddy's 3 piece band Dirty Money) and Osinachi Nwaneri, along with now modern DC veteran Cristyle adding her magic touch (and apparently a few vocals on this demo) to "Painted Windows".

The demo to "Painted Windows" also illustrates how important vocal production, background vocals and arrangements and the like are to the final product as Nicole and Melody absolutely killed it with their ad-libs - although as Nicole has proved herself such a fantastic and adaptable vocalist time and time again, I shouldn't really be surprised.

I still don't think "Pucker Up" was the strongest track Ciara could have used for her project but either way I'm glad she placed a Darkchild/Kalenna/Osinachi track as I want to see the new school of the DC team shine, despite my continued mourning over the seeming loss of Delisha Thomas and the Birchett sisters - A Plus from the team. I'm still hoping Fred gets back working with LaShawn and Rodney to recreate their old magic as I've always believed he was a massive influence on the quality of Darkchild tracks, regardless the Brandy tracks have proven DC still has it in him to give us fire.

Finally, I dunno if I'm going crazy but does Rodney say "new Brit" at the start of "Pucker Up"?? Perhaps the track was originally intended for Britney's "Circus", we know for a fact DarkChild recorded tracks for the project so who knows? I can definitely see why Britney, who seems to demand nothing but the highest quality on her albums, didn't place the track. Even though its not awful its just not good enough for a Brit album, although this or the fantastic Chris Brown/Danja track "Flamethrower" would have been much more welcomed than her shitty soppy vanity track "My Baby", which I've still never listened to in full!

Alexandra Burke - "Overcome" & "Perfect" [The Stereotypes]

Well I'm very late with the following tracks I'm gonna post but better that than never they say! Here's the first original studio recordings from X-Factor diva Alexandra, apparently produced by new-ish production duo The Stereotypes (best known for Danity Kane's awesome pop-R&B single "Damaged", which I may digress was disgustingly underrated on the charts...)

"Overcome" is the best of the two tracks, although slightly generic its just the type of quiet storm powerballad I wanted to hear from a voice like Alexandra's and would not have been out of place on Leona's debut, especially in comparison to the darker ballads like "Homeless". Although its a great track, I'm expecting a lot more quality from the ballads on the final album and hope this is just a taster of what we can expect from another American-based, big budget diva project from Epic/J Records.

"Perfect" isn't as strong a track and even down to its unfinished-sounding structure definitely seems to be an early demo. I like the more upbeat production on this one though, and its moving closer to what I hope Alexandra balances her album out with - upbeat R&B club joints. She has apparently said she wants to be more of a Beyonce-esque artist as opposed to a Whitney-esque one like Leona so I hope she proves this with more "Crazy In Love"-style tracks on her long-awaited debut. As she has apparently worked with producers established more on their midtempo-upbeat jams like Timbaland, Red One, Pharrell & Akon, I'm hoping we're guaranteed at least a couple of upbeats. Saying this, I'm still looking forward to what I'm guessing is gonna be an amazing ballad, the reunion of Soulshock & Karlin and Andrea Martin on Alexandra's project.

Alex's TBD-title album is set for a tentative release of November, yet seen as she's still recording and considering the strict single-album period such a big budget and well-promoted album demands I doubt it'll make this date. One things for sure, after Leona's debut and what is set to be a hot comeback for Whitney, I know veteran Clive Davis (I'm guessing he's gonna be overseeing the US release of this project too as she did for Simon Cowell with Leona's) won't disappoint us with the final tracklist for this one - its gonna be hot!

TwitterNews 10/07/09

- Alicia Keys has been back in the studio with common collaborator Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. She also gave us two track titles that have been recorded for her album: "Sweetest Surrender" & "Zebras & Aeroplanes".

- Hit-Boy's Mary J. Blige record leaked already titled "Stronger" and he informed us it was mixed by the infamous studio engineer Dave Pensado and that it may get a video treatment and therefore (I guess) a single release. He has also started recording tracks with (respectively) Jennifer Lopez, Mario Winans and Chris Brown, who apparently still wants to use the leaked track "Froze" for his forthcoming third album.

- Kwame "K-1 Mil" Holland and Claude Kelly express their desire to produce JoJo's whole album but say label politics get in the way, they even considered recording the whole thing together as demos and giving straight to her - that would be hot! Kwame is also working with Beenie Man ATM.

- Claude Kelly also went into the studio with K. Michelle, StarGate and Es?ionage, possibly all together, and recorded with 1. Tommy Henriksen, 2. Bryan Ellis and Fredro, 3. Estelle & Salaam Remi, 4. Danja, 5. Preach Bal4, 6. Chuck Wicks, 7. Dapo Torimiro & Mike Mobley 8. Kris Allen, 9. Chris Tompkins/Josh Kear and 10. Brian Kennedy respectively. He also had more sessions with Christina Aguilera and mixed a track for one of 'all time favorite r&B artists' - who could it be??

- Alonzo "Novel" Stevenson goes into the studio with Eric Hudson, back in with Leona Lewis, an Atlantic session for Toni Braxton's album "Pulse" and to a session with Harold Lilly and Jazze Pha. He will also made a cameo in Diamond D's video to "It'll Be Alright" and will release his first mixtape "Suspended Animation" soon.

- Leona has also been recording with Jason Derulo, Toby Gad and Wizz_Dumb, who is apparently a Timbaland associate. Some recorded track titles and actual tracks have also been leaked, including "My Hands", which features strings by the Urban Soul Orchestra and apparently all produced by Ryan "Alias" Tedder are "I Got You", "Strangers", "Perfect Stranger" and "Brave".

- The Writing Camp and Victoria Horn [former member] both have seperate sessions with producer Oak. Victoria also revealed to me she wrote the demos "Don't Think Twice" [Bloodshy & Avant/Christina Milian?] and "Red Eye" [Darkchild/Cassie?] with Evan "Kidd" Bogart and that they were performed not by her or Erika Nuri, but by a session singer. TWC have also been in the studio with producer Chuck Harmony, Soulshock & Karlin and Keefer Hodges-Harris/Lalajuleona Frampnetta respectively.

- Alexandra Burke is recording songs by Graffiti Artists member Andre Merritt and Red One respectively. She also met Boyz II Men member Wanya Morris and had her vocals touched up by Karlin on her Soulshock & Karlin/Andrea Martin track.

- Jim Beanz will also be going into the studio with Alexandra soon. He has also been writing a track with Donnell Shawn over a Danja beat, a track with Jason Derulo, one for Rihanna, tracks with Rob Knox, Sun, Diddy, and recently went into the studio with SoShy to record Timbaland tracks, co-written with Michelle Bell, with guitar by Eren Cattana. He says he wants to work with Tila Tequila, hopefully he's joking about that! He also showcased his artists, group Rebel to execs. A track produced by Timbaland was played at the show.

- Neo Da Matrix produces for Range's debut album, which better have "Time Machine" [Rob Knox/James Fauntleroy] on it when it finally comes out, track is dope! He also revealed a track he did with The Jam member Jordan Omley, called "A Beautiful Sunday". As for Range, he has been working on tracks for Mary J. Blige and also worked with Chuck Harmony for his own album.

- Kat Deluna works with Scott Storch/Andre Merritt, Claude Kelly and J. Que respectively.

- Upcoming artist Suai records a track written by Ne-Yo.

- Teyana Taylor has been recording with Chris Brown, T-Pain and possibly Soulja Boy. A rap freestyle performed by her and Chris called "I'm Illy" recently leaked.

- Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica reveals she and Danja are working on a track by Ahmad Belvin called "Trophy Girl", which features T-Pain.

- Old school Bad Boy producer and Hitman Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie produces a track called "My Heart" for Diddy's forthcoming album.

- Cristyle records at least 3 joints with Syience and The Sugababes for their forthcoming debut US release. She was in the studio having a discussion (and hopefully writing tracks) with LaShawn Daniels, Adonis Shropshire, Shea Taylor and Deputy [whom she confirmed a session with]. She also introduced us to her artist Paulina Citzman, whom she recorded a tribute song to the late Michael Jackson with. Finally, she was also in again with Dr. Luke.

- The Sugababes have also completed recording of this forthcoming 7th album, they will release the Red One-produced "Get Sexy" as their first single from it. Member Keshia also revealed that Rihanna has been listening to and commenting on tracks from the album.

- Mariah Carey goes into the studio with Timbaland for the very first time - its gonna be special I'm sure! She also reveals that as well as the Gucci Mane-featured remix to her first single "Obsessed", for which she just completed filming the hilarious Brett Ratner-directed video, there is also a remix to another Tricky/The-Dream track called "I Hate U". It will apparently incorporate a classic song and a rap verse - hot, just like old school Mariah remixes! :) As for Timbaland, he has also been in the studio with Diddy.

- A Plus [Anesha & Antea Birchett] were in the studio with D-Mile, as well as Adrienne Bailon and Delisha Thomas, among others. They also went into the studio with Mary J. Blige. D-Mile has also been producing for Diddy's album "Last Train To Paris" and with Johnta Austin, who introduced him to Bryan Michael Cox.

- Bryan Michael Cox has been continuing work on Monica's forthcoming album, their session for a ballad called "Infinity" was filmed for her BET show. He also confirmed that a track called "Cry" by Brandy does exist and was produced by him and written with Adonis Shropshire - ooh all those unreleased Brandy tracks there must be!

- Q-Tip has also been recording with Mary J. Blige, as well as Consequence and Nas. He also informed us he will be performing a free show in Central Park on July 18th, as well as a Michael Jackson tribute show on August 29th.

- Adrienne Bailon records Rico Love's demo "Driving Like A Bitch" for her debut solo album on Def Jam. She has also been recording with one of my favourite production teams The Runners and writer/artist Kevin "KC" Cossom together. Rico Love and Chuck Harmony were also recording songs together seperately.

- L.O.S. Da Mystro records a track with an "amazing string arrangement" for Jazmine Sullivan's sophomore album, as well one for Jordin Sparks. He also recorded tracks with Rico Love for Jamie Foxx.

- Ryan Leslie has also been recording for the Jazmine album. He also shot the video to his track with Fabolous/Keri Hilson titled "Everyday, Everything, Everywhere". Jazmine has also worked with Benny Blanco for her project.

- Wynter Gordon records more tracks with Mysto & Pizzi, as well as Victoria Horn, Rock City (possibly a Soulshock & Karlin track), Rico Love and Bei Meijor.

- Cassie chooses tracks to appear on her sophomore album "Electro Love", she will also release the Red One/Akon collaboration "Let's Get Crazy" as her third single from the album.

- Soulshock asks fans to decide what rapper may appear on their upbeat Backstreet Boys track. He was also in the studio with Jessica Jarrell [artist], Cathy Dennis [writer], Sean Hurley [instrumentalist], Rock City [writers/performers] and Wayne Hector [writer] respectively. Apparently LA Reid liked the Jessica Jarrell track. Soulshock was also mixing a Toni Braxton record, so hopefully "Melt" isn't their only track for her.

- The Runners produce a track for R&B singer-songwriter Tank, they tell me it will be old school but not as old school as Keyshia Cole's "Please Don't Stop" was, so I'm guessing maybe a 90s sound? Tank also asked that it be upbeat - makes a change for him so I'm happy! They also worked on the new Wyclef Jean street single "We Made It", had sessions with T-Pain, Akon, Nipsey Hustle, Avery Storm, Chris Brown, RichGirl (a slow jam similar to Chris Brown's "Damage" and an upbeat) and Diddy respectively and are doing remixes for Kristinia DeBarge and to Keri Hilson's smash "Knock You Down", which will apparently feature Danja's artist Kevin "KC" Cossom, who co-wrote the original track.

- Speaking of Keri Hilson, she performed the SWV classic "Weak" with member Coko on stage a month back, she has also said she is recording a few features, possibly the leaked joints with R. Kelly, Fabolous and The Clipse, as well as another, yet-to-leak track with Three 6 Mafia/Gucci Mane. She revealed that she and fellow Clutch member J. Que once 'chopped & screwed' the Clutch track "Ghost" by Kevin Michael and she still has it on her iPod - would love to hear this! She and Dawn Richard have also been hanging out.

- Dawn Richard has been recording tracks with C. "Tricky" Stewart alone and fellow Dirty Money member Kalenna Harper with Cristyle, perhaps for a debut solo album? She also wrote a track with James Fauntleroy, called "Pineapple Express", as well as hanging out with and planning a collabo with Brandy. I would love this as Dawn has such similar vocals/arrangements to Bran, they could create magic!

- James Poyser performs with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon and has studio time with Erykah Badu.

- Rashad Smith has recorded with Erykah Badu this year, as well as Kid Cudi, Diddy and Ghostface Killah. He has also yet to release his remix to Cassie's "Must Be Love", he told me to ask Diddy when it was being released! (which likely means never with Diddy's reliability!)

- TC records tracks with T-Pain and his artists Sophia Fresh. He is working on Brandy's new album and also revealed to me that he still wants her to record "Complete" and "Quicksand", although the former was originally for Beyonce Knowles. He also said his management wants him to become an artist!

- Sophia Fresh were also recording tracks by at least two Clutch members Candice Nelson and J. Que and producer Antonio Dixon. They previously worked with The Clutch when they were named Girlfriends on the track "I'm Sprung".

- Chase N. Cashe tells Melanie Fiona he has tracks ready for her, although she has just released her debut album "The Bridge", maybe she'll use them for her sophomore? She has recorded the StarGate/LaShawn Daniels demo "Magic" but it will not appear on the album. :( She also said that she has sold over a 1000 tickets for a show in Germany, not bad for a new artist with little-no promotion over here in Europe at least - go girl!

- James Fauntleroy lets us know that his mixtape for which he asked people to contribute instrumentals for him to write over is still in progress with a tentative title of "The Robot & The Time Machine". He has also contributed tracks to the forthcoming albums by Cassie, Diddy & Rihanna ("Te Amo" - StarGate) as well as having sessions with Justin Timberlake [who beatboxed in the studio] and Andrew Dorff. Most interesting for us stans is that his demo "Can't Live Without You" was been recorded by 4 artists: 1. Glenn Lewis, 2. Mario, 3. Jesse McCartney and 4. Charlie Wilson [who finally placed the track on his album "Uncle Charlie"]

- Esmee Denters records her debut single "Outta Here" in simlish, with translated "1,2,3,4" by Polow! She also revealed she has the same vocal coach as the awesome Marie Digby.

LeToya - "Don't Need You" [MaddScientist] & "She Ain't Got..." [Final] [Cory Bold, The Graffiti Artists] + Album Cover/Video

First of all check out the FIERCE cover LeToya debuted today for her forthcoming album "Lady Love", girl is looking the absolute hotness, I LOVE that structure on the back of her dress. (although I know people are gonna compare it to the Beyonce promos, LeToya looks way better!)

Now onto business, here's one of the only tracks to leak in full recorded for the project, which is now due out August 25th, after many pushbacks. The first is the MaddScientist-produced "Don't Need You", which is as usual from this dude quality material and a great combo of pop and R&B sensibilities as he's illustrated in the past with tracks like Elliot Yamin's "Fight For Love", Leona's "Mrs. Glass" & Christina Milian's "Us Against The World". He manages to create these catchy-ass songs which still pack a punch production-wise with plenty of little bleeps and sexy drum patterns for the criticial heads that might be listening.

As for the final of "She Ain't Got..." I was really impressed with how Cory Bold switched it up a little, I absolutely love that intro of the electric guitar take on the main beat and LeToya delivers with her background vocals as usual, I love those "Noooo"s on the bridge. Hopefully this banging track will give her the success she deserves, where the equally fantastic "Not Anymore" and its beautiful video failed. Speaking of videos, that of the new single premiered today and its hot as hell! Again directed by Bryan Barber ("Not Anymore", Outkast) its a totally different affair and really matches the edginess and anger of the tracks' subject matter and thudding beat with its great dance routine and LeToya's bad girl swag. I'm hoping this isn't the final version though as it lacks that HQ sheen that professional videos usually have and this makes it look cheap when its clearly not and is a great video. I'm sure film heads will be able to help me out with putting a name to it but I know something's definitely missing!

Ginuwine - "A Man's Thoughts" - Warner Bros/Notifi/Asylum

Well I never thought it would happen but here it is, G's new album and a comeback of sorts. I hope "Get Involved" does well on the charts seen as its Timbaland it will mean deserved chart success for both Ginuwine and The Clutch.

Tracklisting

1 Intro 1:10
---Elgin Lumpkin, M. Naylor
2 Show Off 3:21
---RL Huggar, Warren 'Oak' Felder, A. Wansel
---+ Demo
3 Trouble F/ Bun B. 4:01
---Elgin Lumpkin, Dante "Inferno" Jackson, Bun B., R. Vincent, T. White
---+ No Rap Version
4 Last Chance 1st Single 4:29
---Bryan Michael Cox, Adonis Shropshire, W. Wells
---+ Acoustic
5 Interlude 1:15
---Elgin Lumpkin, M. Naylor
6 One Time For Love 4:38
---Bryan Michael Cox, Johntá Austin, Adonis Shropshire, A.J. Dean
---+ Demo

7 Open The Door 3:45
---Warren "Oak" Felder, RL Huggar, A. Wansel
8 Get Involved F/ Timbaland & Missy Elliott 2nd Single 3:38
---Timbaland, J-Roc, Missy Elliott, The Clutch - Patrick & Zeke
9 Orchestra 3:31
---Elgin Lumpkin, Warren "Oak" Felder, RL Huggar, A. Wansel
10 Touch Me 4:13
---Melvin "St. Nick" Coleman, RL Huggar, J. Champion
11 Lying to Each Other 3:41
---Elvis "BlacElvis" Williams, Harold Lilly
12 Even When I'm Mad 3:33
---Melvin "St. Nick" Coleman, RL Huggar, J. Smith, A. Wright
13 Bridge To Love F/ Brandy 4:00
---Elvis "BlacElvis" Williams, Adonis Shropshire
14 Used To Be The One 4:29
---Elgin Lumpkin, Melvin Rogers, Ted Clinkscale, O. Jean-Joseph, M. Naylor, R. Rush
15 Show Me the Way 3:32
---Elgin Lumpkin, M. Naylor, O. Joseph-Jean, B. Green



Other Tracks:

- Alarm F/ T-Pain
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], The Underdogs

- Can Feel It
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Bryan Michael Cox [?]

- Can't Blame You
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Bryan Michael Cox, ...

- Closer F/ Maddi Madd
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], ...

- Good For Nothing
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], The Underdogs, ...

- Hate To Love Ya
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Timbaland, Jim Beanz, ...

- Hustler's Hustler
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Melvin "St. Nick" Coleman [?], ...

- I'll Love You Forever F/ Keyshia Cole
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Polow Da Don, ...

- I'll Miss
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], ...

- I Betcha
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Troy Taylor, ...

- I Want To Know F/ Lil' Wayne
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Polow Da Don, ...

- Lap Dance F/ Timbaland
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], Timbaland, ...

- Please You
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], The Underdogs

- She Wasn't Havin' It F/ Jose
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], ...

- She's Like F/ Jeff
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], ...

- Surrender -> Usher
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], ...

- Wanna Do
---Elgin Lumpkin [?], The Runners - Andrew Harr & Jermaine Jackson



A-Z Writers/Producers:

Adonis Shropshire
Bryan Michael Cox
Jim Beanz
Johntá Austin
Polow Da Don
RL Huggar
The Clutch
The Runners
The Underdogs
Timbaland
Troy Taylor
Warren "Oak" Felder

Amerie - "Tell Me You Love Me" / "Dear John"

Finally material from Amerie's long-awaited fourth album is starting to surface after the fantastic single "Why RU?". "Tell Me You Love Me" is a funky, horn-driven 60s-style production much in the vein of some of the tracks from her last album like "Hate2LoveU" and "Gotta Work" and her Rich Harrison-produced singles like "1 Thing". Although its not amazing, I like the concept of Amerie's tracks like this, she really goes into the past and takes the influences from there, however, I'm expecting better quality tracks than this to make the cut. I'm also disappointed if it is in fact produced by Teddy Riley, as I know he's capable of much more than biting Amerie's past producers and sounds.

"Dear John" thankfully hasn't been confirmed for the album, a boring Stargate-esque piano/808-driven ballad not like anything that Amerie normally does as her exciting catalogue of songs proves. I'm hoping this is just a rough conceptual track which has leaked early.

Although these tracks are hardly quality material, I know Amerie always delivers and the first official track from the project, that is the single "Why RU?" still has me excited about the it. Amerie also recently gave us an indepth preview of what the album will sound like:

Album concepts: “This album is very personal, whether I’m talking about my own past situations or situations the people close to me went through. I really wanted to make sure that everything I was writing wasn’t too far from myself”.

Creating beats: “Usually I’d get a raw instrumental, and from there I’d pick out parts and sounds, and then format them to create the arrangement of the song. Once I wrote and vocaled, I’d talk to the producer again about adding additional instrumentation I felt was necessary, like strings, additional keys, building the bridge, just basically formatting the record”.

Sounds & Direction: “For this album, I told people I needed music that was really heavy, something with knock. Nothing too pretty; I wanted something that sounded ‘70’s-ish, when rock had a lot of soul in it, and it was still so related to the blues. And of course it needed that hip-hop element”.

Tell Me U Love Me: “I didn’t really have to say much to Teddy. I told him I wanted something signature ‘me’. He knew exactly what to do. It was like magic. I wrote that record freestyling in the vocal booth after hearing it for the first time. Killer”.

Higher: “I told Warryn [Campbell] I wanted a live, hard, rock sound, something mean, something with swagger. I wanted the intrumentation to have a strong personality before I even opened my mouth. He started playing the bass guitar, and I was sitting there creating the lyrics and melody and it all came together really organically. That’s what I mean when I say that this album, in addition to being an extension of my first, is also an extension of ‘1 Thing’ because ‘1 Thing’ has its go-go roots but it’s also very soulful, ‘70’s rock. I went from that and took it all the way live”.

Why R U: “[The song] is about being in a relationship and hating that you’re so attached to this person. A lot of the songs on this album deal with wanting to be done with a relationship but you’re just not really ready to leave, so you hang around and wait for a person to change. I really wanted the lyrical content to be real conversation. I didn’t want anything to be sugar-coated”.

Different People: Amerie enlisted the Australian producer M-Phazes who tracked a mid-tempo backdrop for the songstress to explain how important it is to accept your partner for who they are.

Pretty Brown: (also produced by M-Phazes) Amerie hooks up with Trey Songz to sing about a relationship that is quickly approaching the breaking point.

More Than Love: As well as In Love & War’s head-nodding first single ‘Why R U’, Amerie also linked up with the Buchanans for this riotous track.

Heard ‘Em All: On the sexy, catchy ladies anthem, Amerie let her long locks down over Sean Garrett and Eric Hudson’s up-tempo club track while challenging a prospective lover to bring something different to the table.

Definitely an interesting read, which has me even more amped for the album "In Love & War", which has now been pushed back to September 8th, which will also hopefully give my girl more time to actually promote her fantastic single and its Ray Kay-directed video!

The Backstreet Boys - Various Tracks [Jim Jonsin/Rico Love, Brian Kennedy/Graffiti Artists, Soulshock & Karlin/Claude Kelly]

Here's almost an album's worth of tracks that The Backstreet Boys record company have failed to keep under wraps but I think all still deserve to be placed on the project. I didn't think I was gonna like anything the guys brought because I'm far from a massive fan but they've really impressed me with the quality of material they're bringing this time around.

"Calling Your Name" and "Helpless" bring some new light on Jim Jonsin's production style, as even though they still have elements of his dirty-south/crunk-R&B they're a lot more muted than usual and along with the well-arranged vocals (listen to that distorted background vocal on the chorus of "Helpless") I assume by common collaborator Rico Love, bring an almost haunted sound to the tracks. I like the added rap from Pitbull on "Helpless" for a bit of extra street cred as well.

The guys have also recorded the fantastic Brian Kennedy/Graffiti Artists demo "Hologram" for the album. BK's electronic pulsating beat and the technology-age themed lyrics also fit in with the unusual, almost haunting style of a lot of the tracks I've heard from the project up to now and I really like it. Although its not one of Andre Merritt or Chris Brown's best demos and I'd prefer to see tracks like "Welcome To The Jungle", "Nasty Girl" and "Flamethrower" getting placed its a decent track and I'm glad The Graffiti Artists are still getting placements as since "Disturbia" I've been hooked on them.

"Shattered" is more like the material one might expect from a BSB track as a piano-driven ballad but its still not bad quality at all and the background arrangements on the chorus, along with the epic modern strings bring more of an R&B vibe to the track while still maintaining that pop sensibility BSB are known for.

Next is onto an awesome trio collabo and probably my most anticipated tracks from the project, that is the two Soulshock & Karlin/Claude Kelly tracks that have been all over TwitterNews this past month. "What I Know Now" shows both Claude & S&K's diversity with Claude bringing his catchy pop side to the track as he did with the Kelly Clarkson tracks and S&K matching this with a poppy production but still with some of their R&B sensibilities like that stuttering heavy drum pattern that they're so good at delivering. "Bye Bye Love" is apparently a single contender and I can definitely see why, as its upbeat and even more catchy than "What I Know Now" with its Chris Brown "Forever"-esque euro-R&B influenced production and sing-along ready chorus. Although we only have the demo to "What I Know Now" we hardly need it for "Bye Bye Love" as Claude's vocal style is all over it!

These tracks, with their perfect balance of Pop & R&B really have me amped for the first time for a BSB project and considering the quality they're delivering this time around (as opposed to the awful style of "Inconsolable" from their last project) with every track I wish them every success for the album "This Is Us", with the first single apparently dropping in July and the album set to follow in September.

Teyana Taylor - "Complicated" [Hit-Boy, The Clutch - Candice Nelson & J. Que]

Well, they've been a longtime leaking but finally, seen as Pharrell is so resistant to releasing her project or even first single, I'm glad we're getting The Clutch joints Teyana recorded for her album. I doubt any of them will be used now for the project seen as they're so old and she's apparently re-recording it anyway so I can't see the harm. The track is just what I expected from hearing the other tracks The Clutch & Hit-Boy did for her but still awesome, with its laid-back 90s style New Jack-sounding production and beautifully arranged (as always from Gg) vocals along with its softspoken lyrics of teenage love. I wish we could have heard them all on one album, as even though artists like Tiffany Evans, Raven Symone and Karina Pasian have tried to fill the teenage R&B-pop market, they failed chart-wise even though their albums were great and we still don't have anyone successful to fill that void. Teyana's an interesting artist though, so hopefully she gets some sort of record out this year, even if it doesn't include these fantastic Clutch tracks.

Daily Demos: Unknown - "Figure It Out", The Writing Camp [?] - "Rock Bottom" [Track Masters?], The-Dream - "Greatest X." [C. "Tricky" Stewart] [Janet]

Although this track was tagged as Teairra Mari, I definitely know her voice and this isn't her. However, I decided to post anyway as its fantastic. The production by Votron (whoever that is) sounds like something Timbaland would do (see JF's Brandy demo "Home") with its muted strings and echoing heavy drum beat. The vocals are very Ciara-esque and this would have been perfect for her project, matching the mood of tracks like "Keep Dancin' On Me" and "Ciara To The Stage" totally.

The next demos' singer and credits are definitely up for contention too as I'm just following the original tags but they do seem a bit random to be wrong/fake. The track itself is decent, if a little formulaic with its soft piano-lounge style production and stripped down vocals but if it is TWC its definitely not their best work after a track record of banging tracks like "Right Here (Departed)" and "Don't Think Twice" and an even more established catalogue from the Track Masters including their most recent amazing tracks for Keyshia Cole's "A Different Me" album.

The-Dream demo is simply for collection purposes only for me as I hated the original track and think him and Tricky completely failed Janet with this track out of all the banging tracks they could have given her. [like anything from the Electrik Red album]

Soulja Boy/Sammie - "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" [Jim Jonsin]

I never thought I'd post a Soulja Boy track but this one has grown on me in the past few weeks so I just had to. Although I was definitely surprised that he's actually an OK rapper, sounding like a less-annoying version of T.I., the standout here is definitely the banging chorus from Sammie, who's been around for a while trying to get a proper mainstream project out. This, along with the beat from Jim Jonsin, which is pretty basic but does the trick makes the track completely addictive. Although according to the writing credits Soulja Boy is also responsible for the chorus, if Sammie can get tracks like this on his album or at least as his first single, he'll definitely have one fan.

Ciara - "Secret" / "Tick Tock"

Here's a track apparently recorded for Ciara's latest project "Fantasy Ride", which would probably have appeared on the "Groove City" disc had she stuck with the original concept. The track is definitely a strong contender for the final 1-disc tracklist as were a lot of the leaked tracks we've seen. The production and arrangements, like "Supernatural" sound like something straight from my favourite R&B era - The 90s. Ciara's soft, understated vocals definitely suit this sort of laid back, sexy beat to a tee.

"Tick Tock" also fits this bill although a little more upbeat. Although the arrangement isn't amazing and the vocals sound unmastered, I love the "Miscommunication"-esque synths throughout and the funky bass guitar and electric guitar solo bringing an 80s vibe to the track. With a little editing I think this could be a really strong track, again in the concept album context.

Just a shame that so many good tracks like this were wasted in the scrapping of her 3-disc concept album.

Who Sang It Better?: Esther Dean Vs. Keri Hilson Vs. Mary J. Blige - "Stronger" [Hit-Boy, Esther Dean, Chris Brown]

Here's another unused Keri/Esther Dean track that's been picked up by another artist, (the other being the fantastic "Patron Tequila") seems that my girl Esther is getting placements for days now, and I'm glad cos she deserves it. I think vocally of course Mary kills it and the track is definitely her sort of style, that driving, positive anthem she does so well. All the girls killed it though as equally talented writers if not vocalists. Esther (or Dean as she will be known) is also planning to release her own record sometime in the future, as Marcella Araica informed us a while back on Twitter while mixing a record for her, under Polow's Zone 4 label with her first single being produced by him, so I will definitely be looking out for that.

Brandy - "Back & Forth" [Bryan Michael Cox]

Here's another track said to be from the sessions when what is now the album "Human" was first in production and executively produced by B. Cox. Its a pretty average repetitive track but as always Brandy's gorgeous vocal force brings it above average. It definitely doesn't compare to other three gorgeous tracks "Escape", "Love Me The Most" and "Bring It Back" that we've heard from these studio sessions but I would have liked to hear it as part of the whole album package, I'm sure it would have sounded dope. At least we're still getting to hear this very wasted material...

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Download @The FORUM!

Mario - "Good One", "Dancin' On Me" & "15 Minutes"

And yet MORE Mario tracks leak from his forthcoming fourth album "And Then There Was Me" recording sessions!

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Jennifer Lopez - "One Love" [D'Mile, A Plus - Anesha & Antea Birchett]

After the controversial Wynter-written, D'Mile-produced track "What Love Is" leaked, soon after came another D'Mile-produced track said to be recorded for Jennifer's forthcoming Greatest Hits package, this one written by sisters and former Darkchild associates Anesha & Antea Birchett, also known as A Plus. This one isn't as strong as "What Is Love" but it is still a fantastic track. I love the background arrangements on the chorus and the relaxed vibe of the production.

Although I know Jenny never delivers anything but stellar material, I'm still shocked at the quality of the tracks she's bringing to the table simply for a Greatest Hits album. Although I have all of her albums (each one I have thoroughly loved) the standard she's giving us for the new tracks on the CD are definitely convincing me this will be one GH worth copping!

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Ginuwine - "Last Chance (Acoustic Version)", "Show Off", "Used To Be The One" & "Closer"

Well this has to be one of the worst protected projects since Mario's "And Then There Was Me", although to his credit the much anticipated tracks with The Runners, Keyshia Cole and Brandy have unfortunately yet to leak!

First up is a live version of the first single from his forthcoming album "A Man's Thoughts", the very strong B. Cox-produced, Adonis-written anthemic ballad "Last Chance". Ginuwine takes us back to the 90s with his strong overdramatic vocals and the live instrumentation of drums, acoustic and electric guitars as opposed to a backing track is much appreciated.

Next is the upbeat track "Show Off" to which you can read my review of in my last post, where I talked about RL's demo of the track. Ginuwine sounds awesome on it and as always, its nice to hear another vocal on the same track.

"Used To Be The One" is much in the same anthemic 90s ballad vein as "Last Chance" although the production or arrangement is not as on point. Its a decent track but definitely not the quality I'm expecting from this album with so many tracks being recorded and leaking.

Final track "Closer" is actually rapper Maddi Madd's (WTF!) track featuring Ginuwine on chorus and bridge duties. Although Madd's rapping is average at best and annoying at worst the track's actually not that bad. It starts off with a nice 90s style a capella and continues the 90s feel with its summery production of hand claps and twinkling synths and as always Ginuwine's vocals and ad libs are on point.

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Daily Demos: Erika Nuri - "Right Here (Departed)" [Darkchild, TWC] [Brandy] & RL - "Show Off" [Oak, Harvey Mason, Jr.] [Ginuwine]

OMG I love it when demos leak to big tracks like this, especially when its Erika or Victoria's gorgeous vocals on a Writing Camp track! From the demo we can clearly see that not only did Brandy throw down as always on her arrangements and BGVs on the final track but the whol structure of it was also changed up and very effectively I must say. Considering Brandy is the master of vocal arrangements/BGVs Erika didn't do bad herself on this one it has to be said...

Also here we have RL (formerly of 90s R&B group NEXT) demoing a track recorded for Ginuwine's forthcoming album "A Man's Thoughts". At first I was expecting this to be your usual substandard ballad with the piano and slow paced vocals despite the sexually forceful lyrics and was about to press next but then Oak's influence kicked in and I was amazed to get an awesome funky electronic beat and some strong well backed and arranged vocals kicking in. Overall, a pretty strong track and definitely one of the best of the many to leak from this project.

You can hear both these demos and final versions of these tracks over @The FORUM!

Bonus Tracks: Esmée Denters - "Eyes For You" [Novel, Tony Reyes] & Elliott Yamin - "When I'm Gone" [Jermaine Dupri]

Here's a couple of much anticipated bonus tracks from the recently released projects by fantastic vocalists Esmée Denters and Elliott Yamin. We had previously heard a few LQ clips of "Eyes For You" and its pretty satisfying in full, as its produced by the ever-talented Alonzo "Novel" Stevenson with his common collaborator Tony Reyes with its laid back guitar-driven indie R&B sound and Esmée already has a similar vocal to her, I'm not surprised it sounds like its been lifted straight from Stacie Orrico's fantastic last album "Beautiful Awakening". This definitely deserved to be at least a bonus, I really hope we get more in future though, even if they're placed with other artists, so many tracks were recorded for this project so it'd be such a shame for them to go to waste!

As for Elliott's track this is the last official/known bonus to leak from the "Fight For Love" era and was probably my most anticipated, even over his fantastic renditions of James Fauntleroy's mindblowing demos "Doorway" and "Forever In You". It definitely doesn't stand up to these tracks however, I wanted JD to come a bit harder, instead he sort of molded his sound a little too much to the Neo-Soul/Rock vibe of the rest of the album instead of staying true to the funky more synthesised-based tracks he does so well. He would have been better giving it a bit more of an urban edge if he was gonna go a guitar-based beat like he did really well on Deborah Cox's "Too Good To Be True". It is a decent track however, I just had big expectations for such a dope collabo. I imagine that's Johntá on writing seen as he wrote the awesome title track but guess we'll just have to wait for official credits to know for sure.

Listen to both tracks in their respective Spotlight Sections in the sidebar >>

Download in the respective posts for both albums @The FORUM!

Amerie - "Why RU?" [The Buchanans]

Finally we get some material from Amerie's forthcoming debut on Def Jam "In Love & War"! The long awaited first single does not disappoint in the slightest and continues from the old school rap-inspired beats of her fantastic last album. The Buchanans (who produced one of my favourite tracks "Crazy Wonderful" on her last album) use a heavy drum beat which could easily have been lifted from a 90s New Jack Swing track and Amerie's arrangements and lyrics are on point as always. The track has got me extremely excited for her album, but I should know by now, having loved all three of her previous records that she's gonna bring the heat. I cannot wait to see the Ray Kay-directed vid, which she apparently finished up filming recently, its always guaranteed hotness when two talents like Amerie & Ray Kay get together!

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TwitterNews 15/05/09: Novel/Runners/Claude Kelly/Ciara/S&K/Hit-Boy/Cristyle/James Fauntleroy/Cassie/Dallas Austin/Brandy/R-Les/Chrisette/Keri

- Producer/Singer/Writer/Rapper extraordinaire Novel '@IamNovel' was in the studio with Corron Cole from The Movement listening to tracks and finished up his session with Leona Lewis and John Shanks, he also posted some funny pics for us:

- One of my favourite production teams The Runners '@therunners' discuss who their fans want them to work with/who they are working with. Results = possibly Shakira and definitely Diddy...

- Claude '@ClaudeKelly' Kelly travels to Nashville for sessions with Hillary Lindsey & Gordie Sampson, Barry Dean, Marcus Hummon and Shanna Crooks possibly all respectively...

- Ciara '@PrincessSuperC' twits about her many photo shoots and appearances (DAMN girl is getting her promotion in!) and also told us her decisions for her latest singles. They will apparently be "Work" for Pop Radio and "Like A Surgeon" for R&B, which I'm happy about, love both tracks and have wanted a video/release for "Work" since I heard it months ago. She also had a meeting with one of my favourite video directors Melina Matsoukas about the video(s), OMG even more exciting!

- Soulshock '@SoulshockLA' and Karlin got The Backstreet Boys tracks mixed by infamous engineer Serban Ghenea. He also shared some advice Jimmy Jam (of Jam & Lewis) once gave him about making a song sound as great as possible so it gets picked as a single/album track.

- Hit-Boy '@surfclubhit' went into a session with Ron Fair, (of whom he said "i walk in to the session with ron fair and he says "oh he really is a boy" been hearing bout hit-boy for a while lol") Mary J. Blige and possibly Candice Nelson for Mary's new album [I'm guessing], exciting stuff!

- Cristyle '@CRISTYLE_' Johnson goes into a session with producers Cool & Dre...

- James '@fauntleroy' Fauntleroy went into a session once again with his group The Y's, can't wait to see if they have any tracks on Esmée Denters's album, it sounds hot from the album sampler!

- Further adding to the gorgeous 90s R&B feel of "Must Be Love", Cassie '@cassieventura' was contacted by old school Bad Boy associate producer Rashad Smith telling her he's done a remix to the track, can't wait for that, its like being back in the 90s with Bad Boy on top again... [one can only dream!]

- Dallas '@dalllasaustin' Austin promised songs to Keisha Buchanan of The Sugababes. She also confirmed they are working with Jay Brown and was listening to a Stargate & Ne-Yo track written for them. She said of the track: "Its a mid-tempo track!!! The words are very relatable:-D They are giving us a very cool backing to write to so we cant wait to start on that"

- Brandy '@4everBrandy' poses it up in some candid shots once again, this time in Switzerland:





- Ryan '@ryan_leslie' Leslie as promised went into the studio with Kid Cudi where he added his touch to an already planned out Cudi & Plain Pat track...

- Chrisette '@epiphanygirl' Michele expressed interest in working with Mario [Barrett], saying "@mariosoultruth if we dont do something together im not singing any more." How dope would that collabo be? Get on it you two!

- Finally, Keri '@MissKeriBaby' Hilson was in the studio with Trina working on a track, I'm guessing on Trina's album returning the favour [no pun intended!] for "Get Your Money Up"...

Jazmine Sullivan - Live @ MTV UK

Jazmine Sullivan - After The Hurricane (MTV Session)

Check out this awesome performance of my girl Jazmine's Stargate-produced "After The Hurricane" for MTV UK, she also performed "In Love With Another Man" and did an interview. Although she's been getting a bit of promotion here in the UK, her album still hasn't been released here and she's been too quiet otherwise for a while, I wish her album would pick up like the interest in Chrisette's did, (Did I mention she's at NUMBER 1 in the US this week? Go girl!) she was so robbed of those damn Grammies!

Who Sang It Better?: Paula DeAnda Vs. Asia Cruise - "Back From Alone" [Syience, Frankie Storm]

Yes, its that time again folks, this case features Arista artist Paula DeAnda and up and coming Jive singer Asia Cruise take on a pretty Frankie Storm arrangement. Even though Asia's voice is very similar to Frankie's, as we can hear comparing their versions of the track "Tears" (which has now been given to LeToya) I actually prefer Paula's version, she has a stronger vocal and she seems to give more to the track. It seems Asia is having all of her great tracks taken from her. She better get that album out before she has none left and hope no one takes the dope Danja/Claude Kelly/Frankie J track "Runaway" off her hands!

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Random Track Of The Week: Natalie Brown - "More Today Than Yesterday"

Natalie Brown released her debut album "Let The Candle Burn" after a few years delay and to little success in 2000. One of the tracks on that album I happened to randomly hear recently and absolutely loved. I love me some 90s R&B and this has all the makings of a classic 90s track, sultry vocals, a string backed chorus and a chilled out beat. I bought this track off iTunes and am now wanting more so think I will be getting the album off Amazon pretty soon!

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Jordin Sparks - "Battlefield" [Ryan "Alias" Tedder, The Runawayz - Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello, Wayne Wilkins]

Here's Jordin Sparks' highly anticipated first single from her forthcoming sophomore album. Since I loved Jordin's debut then I heard her first single was gonna be produced by the ridiculously talented Ryan Tedder, I've been pining for this track and it definitely does not disappoint. Jordin takes the heavy drum and piano-led rock/R&B direction she did on previous tracks from her debut like "Now You Tell Me" with more of the vocal attitude to match it. As I always consider important on a good track the hook "I never meant to start a war..." and the breakdown "You better go and get your armour..." are absolute perfection. I love the deeper background vocals throughout as well, it gives the track even more of a rock/live edge.

Considering its produced and written by Tedder and The Runawayz, the same team (together and respectively) behind Leona's "Bleeding Love"/"Take A Bow", Beyonce's "Halo", Keri Hilson's "Energy" and Anastacia's "One Day In Your Life" I didn't expect anything less than perfection but this has definitely blown me away regardless! If this, along with Beyonce's "Halo" (which was apparently intended for Leona) is the quality of material Ryan's delivering then we won't have to worry about him following up the classic "Bleeding Love".

As always, listen in the sidebar and find more info about the album and download the track over @The FORUM.

Jennifer Lopez - "What Is Love" [D'Mile, Wynter Gordon]

Here's a new track, possibly recorded for Jennifer's upcoming Greatest Hits CD. Its a fantastic one with its stuttering synths and beautiful vocal arrangement, I love that "na na na na" vocal section, its really catchy, and it also gives me a latin chant vibe that Jenny's been missing for years. (her last latin tracks on one of her R&B albums were on "J. Lo") Jennifer always puts out the best quality material and using upcoming artist/writer Wynter shows she's once again on the pulse of the hottest talent. The fact she used The Clutch, Frankie Storm and Chasity Nwagbara on over half of her last album "Brave" shows she's not scared to use underground talent for the hottest tracks. Despite the slating it got, I doubt half the people listened to it and/or had any musical taste, because it was an excellent piece of work.

The song has been subject to some controversy after Wynter Gordon made comments on her MySpace & Twitter apparently dissing J. Lo's take on the song. However, she has now clarified her position and said she was actually angry at the record label for letting it leak and loves J. Lo as an artist. I can see where she's coming from because record companies often don't use leaked tracks on the releases they were intended for because they're considered 'old material'. It would be a real shame for this track not to make the cut though, I think it even has single potential. Plus, she'd be mad not to like it, as always, Jennifer did the song total justice.

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