This is the remix : Britney releases a surge of remixes

So, in Britland...after the release of her critically praised "Femme Fatale," Britney Spears is riding high on its success and doing things that um, SHE NEVER DOES. Such as teaming up with other female artists and doing features. In the day age of the collabo, Spears has rarely done features and this spring we've got two big releases.

First up the remix of "S&M" with Rihanna. When this came out, RiRi fans and Brit Brit fans well, their heads basically exploded.





Initially Brit Brit received a scathing attack for her "nasally" vocals in which haters basically decried "She sounds like Tommy Pickles!"

Okay she does a bit. But, her voice has always been paper thin with a touch of Southern drawl, does anyone else remember how "Hit me one more time.." sounded like?
Coupled with the fact that the producer of this remix seemed to autotune her vocals so much, it's kinda like what they didn't think she could handle singing her parts? Because Rihanna's vocals in comparison are overtly loud.

I've never been a fan of "S&M" because the jarring "na na na come on" felt too much like a battle cry that someone would use to wake you up. "SOLDIERS NA NA NA COME ON!" It was too much for me. The good thing about this remix is that, I do find Britney's little girl vocals to sort of not add to the craziness of the song. The production of this song is everywhere, I'm suprised they didn't add cowbell. It also needs to say that this song really does showcase that Rihanna has some vocal delivery even I'm not a fan of her music. The lyrics to "S&M" still remain largely too me waaay too simplistic for a subject matter like this, but hey that's pop music for you.

Thus bringing us to the other "WTF IS GOING ON?" moment, Britney teamed up with It-girls of the moment Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha. Like OMG. WTF.



Before I jump into this review, I want to state that both covers of these singles are absolutely terrible. Absolutely. What the hell????
You can autotune but you can't photoshop??


ANYWAYS...

I personally loved the original "Til the World Ends" I thought it sounded very now, very urgent and immediate. Britney's vocal sound good, like she actually didn't phone them in (hurr hurr). So, I had some lukewarm feelings once I heard about the remix specifically because I thought BOTH Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha would be too much in the production mix. You know like that old saying too many chefs in the kitchen? Too many pop darlings in the studio?> ***crickets**

I digress, the remix is VERY good. Nicki Minaj has dropped most of her annoying vocal pyrotechnics and did a straight flow. You have to wonder who she's dissing in her rap as the rap has nothing to do with a. dancing until the world ends. Basically it's an "OMG IM DOING A RAP FOR BRITNEY SPEARS DIE!!!!" ...sort of things.

Interestingly, Ke$ha's vocal involvement is pretty low. YAY. I mean, Oh. She's relegating to singing the hook which to me was a very smart move on the behalf of Dr.Luke (her producer by the way). So minimizing her to singing the hook worked out pretty well as you only get a smidgeon of Ke$ha's stop-rap vocal interaction and it sets it up for Britney to do basically the only singing in the song. The remix is a bit break down, heavier construction of the earlier version. This, was another wise move by Dr.Luke instead of hitting listeners with not only three different vocal acts, he basically slowed it down to give each a chance to live in the song as opposed to you know, a screaming match. You know how divas can get.

Both singles are good for dance clubs, but, Im going to give "Til the World Ends" the stamp of approval. Wise choices, cool handed Dr.Luke.

Britney's on the telephone

Uncovering demos is always like peeking at discarded Christmas gifts. Sort of.
Today Shennantics got wind of a Britney Spears demo for "Telephone." You know, the same "Telephone" that Lady Gaga and Beyonce did a while back with a music video, you may have seen it.

Anyway La Spears has done her own version, heavy on the autotune and it's leaked through the internet.



17 seconds into this demo, and I don't like it. Granted, I'm a Britney fan and I can stomach digitalized vocals, this is just a miss for me. Beyonce's vocals on the original made the song for me and suffice it to say La Spears does not have the chops to pull this off.

This will be the second time that La Spears has passed up on a hit. Allegedly, La Spears passed up on the mega hit of all time with "Umbrella."

Whoever is in charge of her music selection, you guys are seriously missing the mark again and again. Oops!

Robyn wants you to get techie with it.

So here at Shennantics, we love a good pop single. In fact, I love a good pop single that just blows up on the radio, hits the dancefloor like you have to dance no other options allowed.

Robyn has graciously given us what seems to be the latter. "Fembot" her latest single for her upcoming album (which is leaking through the interweb) is the audio equivalent of the best candy in the universe. It's poppy, full of innuendo and production that constantly makes you go "WTF?!" along with her trademark celebratory revelations about her own physique.

With tongue-in-cheek lyrics like "Once you go tech, you aint never going back," girls, boys, men, women, kids and fembots alike will be singing along to it's catchy tune.

It's a tease of single for what seems like is going to be one friggin' awesome new album.

Robyn's "Body Talk" will roll through in June.
Rating : A freaking Plus!

Lady Christina Goes Gaga (or not!)

It's been brought to my attention, that Lady Gaga has ushered in a new era of pop. From bizarre futuristic outfits, electronica based music and a throwback to the excess of the 80s, you would be hard pressed to find a female celebrity/singer who is not incorporating Gaga's brand of pop into their bag of tricks.

But when is copying, flat out copying?

Christina Aguilera has been accused of basically running with Gaga's aesthetic is getting ready to release her next album, "Bionic." However, Akon, who signed Gaga, thinks she is going ta for ta when it comes down to it. In the latest issue of VIBE he was quoted as saying:
“Aw man, that’s not even any competition. You are actually giving Christina too much credit. She always had her cool little look and way about how she went about things. But soon as Gaga came out everything switched up.

"Christina stepped out of her own shell to become something different. And the crazy thing is Christina is really talented. She has unlimited range when it comes to singing. Her voice is out of here. I just think she just needs to believe in herself more. I think sometimes she gets insecure because of all of the success Gaga has had not realizing that she was already successful before Gaga came out.”

Akon nailed it on the head, Christina Aguilera has a great voice. Lady Gaga also has a great voice, but when it comes down to vocal chops--Aguilera wins. In an effort to stay relevant, because all pop stars are getting into the sound of the future, it would only from a logical marketing angle, milk this trend.

Aguilera's new single:


"Not Myself Tonight," is pretty decent for a pop song. Yet, while it's decent, it doesn't have the club sleaze that Gaga fans look for nor, the trainwreck appeal of a Britney club banger. Aguilera works best when she is working to show off her vocals to their strongest. This single is a bit dated, as Aguilera talks about kissing girls and boys (oh the shocker!) but come on every pop star now-a-days is fessing up about having kissed a girl at some point, now it's boring. I love Christina Aguilera's music she is a talented woman, but she needn't resort to the tricks of the trade.

I guess we'll have to wait for "Bionic," to fully develop before we can call Xtina a biter of true proportions.