SIA RELEASES POP VERSION OF SONG FROM "ANNIE"

Sia may not be showing her face lately, but bitch's voice is all over the place!! Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jay-Z are ruining producing Annie for the next generation with an updated and unnecessary remake coming out December 19th starring the Oscar nominated Quvenzhané Wallis and Oscar winner (I still can't with that) Jamie Foxx. (It's not negative if I cross out words, right?) Willow Smith was originally going to star a few years ago, but since her voice makes Rihanna sound like a soprano, things didn't work out. Anyway, I don't know if it's just this one song, but one of the musicals highlights, You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile, is getting a pop music version for release, and I have to say it's quite charming. Sia is kind of fantastic, so I guess this shouldn't come as a big surprise. Listen below and watch the not-so-charming video. It's fine, but do we really have to watch Hollywood ruin Annie? C'mon! Not Again-i!! See what I did there?

REVIEW: LITTLE BOOTS

With a slew of new female singers coming out in the past year or so, Little Boots has been lumped in with many of the best: Florence + the Machine, La Roux, Dragonette, et al. Little Boots is similar in some ways. There is a definite 80s feel to her debut album, Hands, released last year in the UK and yesterday here in the US. The vocals are a lot like Annie, the music a cross between Depeche Mode, Human League and Yaz, but there is a heart behind the music that keeps it from being a mere copy. Smart, fun, catchy pop songs are abundant throughout the album. One of the best songs gives not only a nob but a duet with the past, as Human League's Phillip Oakley sings with Little Boots (real name Victoria Christina Hasketh) on the excellent song Symmetry. Other songs are darker in tone like New in Town, Ghost and the amazy track Click. Remedy is straight up dance-pop and Tune Into My Heart is the modern day equivalent to Two of Hearts by Stacey Q. One of my fave tracks in Stuck on Repeat, an ode to Kylie Minogue and Donna Summer that pulses with excitement. Overall I think this album stands out pretty well among the group of new ladies around. Take a listen and see what you think. I'll give it a B+

FIRST ANNUAL AMAZY MUSIC AWARDS: ALBUMS

I have compiled my TOP 10 Amazy albums for 2009. It was hard to narrow down, but I came up with the ones that really got me going in '09. Some you'll know well, some you will want to know well, some you'll be ignorant and never get to know. Here's a tip from me to you: I know everything about music and you should follow whatever I say. Got it? Good. Here's the list........

10. Celebration - Madonna. No music countdown is complete without Madonna and it's undeniable that the hits compiled on her career-spanning greatest hits collection, Celebration, are a music history lesson of the last 27 years. Hitting the charts in 1982 with Everybody, Madonna has been THE most influential and legendary pop star of our and any generation. As shown by this collection and her two new (three on the special edition) songs Celebration, Revolver and It's So Cool, Madonna can still make magic and keep us dancing for years to come. All hail the Queen of Pop.....well....Queen of Everything. Worship her!

9. Glee Vol. 1 - Glee Cast. C'mon!!! This is just pure fun and joy. I mean, all the songs are great and the talent in this show is undeniable. Lea Michele and Amber Riley have voices that most pop tarts would kill for and they tear up covers of Take a Bow, Hate On Me and Taking Chances and Bust Your Windows. The cast takes on Don't Stop Believin', Can't Fight This Feelin' and Keep Holding On with gusto and chops to spare. Every track is outrageously good and you feel so happy after listening to it. Vol. 2 is also great, but I still go back to the first Vol. all the time. Listen to both and them buy them and thank me publicly for it.

8. This Is The One - Utada. Japanese pop icon, New York born Utada is an unusual case. She is one of the biggest selling artists in the world, but not know at all in the States. She released her first English language album in 2004, Exodus, to little attention but much praise. Her follow up is more pop friendly, less eclectic, but still has an edge and dark slant that US pop stars rarely risk. Every song is different and Utada's voice is strong and wonderfully different. Standout tracks are Apple & Cinnamon, Taking My Money Back and Come Back to Me. Also a bonus on the disc is Sanctuary, the theme from the video game Kingdom Hearts II played at the beginning in the movie. This is a truly beautiful piece of music that is beyond pop music. Give this album a chance. You'll fall in love.

7. Doll Domination - The Pussycat Dolls. Okay. Sorry. I know people are going to think I'm crazy, but for pure pop fun, this album was great. There are some really great songs on here, including some on the special edition by each member of the group taking lead vocals. Songs like Bottle Pop and Don't Wanna Fall in Love (ft. lead vocals by Kimberly Wyatt) and When I Grow Up are dance floor burners while I Hate This Part and I'm Done showcase some really emotive vocals by Nicole Scherzinger. Totally blown off and underrated, this one deserves another listen. Seriously!! Stop mocking me!

6. Don't Stop - Annie. Norwegian pop superstar Annie finally released her much-delayed follow up to 2004's Anniemal in 2009 titled Don't Stop. It did not disappoint at all! Full of eccentric beats and sassy lyrics, Annie proved that she was no one hit wonder in the albums department. The title track, Loco, My Love is Better and I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me all get you up and dancing while the atmospheric sounds of When the Night and Marie Cherie put you in a trance. Nothing at all like what you will hear on US radio, Annie takes risks that pay off every time. She should be a huge star here by now. Wake up, people!!!

5. We Started Nothing - The Ting Tings. The Ting Tings were already a hit overseas, but 2009 showed them coming to light in the US. Their record, We Started Nothing, was a blast of fresh, British air with funky drums and sing-song lyrics that caught hold of your brain and wouldn't let go. From Shut Up and Let Me Go, Great DJ to That's Not My Name and We Walk, the whole album is catchy and one that you can actually listen to from beginning to end. Recently signed to Jay-Z's label, I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from The Ting Tings this year, and if it's as good as this album, you'll be reading about it here next year too.

4. Rated R - Rihanna. Not just a copy of her monster hit Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna took inspiration from the volatile year she had in the press and in her private life and created a dark, searing record. Full of hard beats (Hard), violent lyrics (G4L), crunching guitars (Rockstar 101), the album also has some of the prettiest melodies (Fire Bomb) and saddest ballads (The Last Song) you'll ever hear. Is it a "feel good" album? No. But what you will get is first rate songwriting and performances from Rihanna that will stand the test of time.

3. It's Not Me, It's You - Lily Allen. Lilly dropped the mostly retro feel of her debut and added some electronic influences to her distinctive vocals and came up with yet another excellent collection of music for '09. Opening with the soops good Everyone's At It, the album rolls along at a pace that keeps you moving and laughing at the witty lyrics, occasionally finding yourself moved by songs like Who'd Have Know and Chinese. Lily often gets lost in the drama of her life, but the music stands for itself here. This album is outstanding and Lily deserves accolades for a smart, insightful work.

2. No Line On the Horizon - U2. U2 really topped themselves this year. No Line on the Horizon took everything that was U2 -- the soaring guitars, the beautiful melodies, Bono's amazing voice -- and amped it up with experimentation involving Eastern influences and eclectic arrangements. Some of their best work, including Fez/Being Born and Stand Up Comedy, were not released as singles, but the album as a whole is a piece of pure art. If you have not discovered this gem yet, get on it!

1. The Fame/Fame Monster - Lady Gaga. This is the album that would now quit this year. From January to December, Gaga has put out hit after hit -- Just Dance, LoveGame, Poker Face and more -- and the album does not have a bad track on it! The addition of The Fame Monster, with Bad Romance and So Happy I Could Die among it's highlights, only added to the fabulousness that was The Fame, so I lumped them together so as to be fair to all other artists this year. Gaga is brills!!!

So there it is. My Top 10 albums on the Amazy Music Awards list this year. Stay tuned later in the week for my top singles list. Hope you had a wonderful Xmas and are gearing up for a happy NYE. In the words of the late Brittany Murphy from Clueless, I'm outy.

ANNIE'S DON'T STOP NOW AVAILABLE ON ITUNES!!

I mentioned it a few weeks back, but Annie's excellent album, Don't Stop, is now available on iTunes here! I have been looking forward to this release forever. Anniemal, her first record, was so amazing that I was really looking forward to something great from Annie........ and I got it! Don't Stop takes the best of the first album and builds on it. This album is full of fun, melodic, beautiful, eccentric songs. The uptempo tracks like Don't Stop, Hey Annie, The Breakfast Song and Loco are addictive. The slower songs such as Marie Cherie, Take You Home and When the Night are nice slices of electro-pop that retain as softness and intimacy that lure you right in. Annie has topped her first album and really deserves some recognition for it. Pass it on!!

NEW MUSIC AVAILABLE ON GOMUSIC: ANNIE!!!!

GoMusicNow.com (formerly the site I recommended gomusic.ru) has lots of new music not yet available over here in the US. Lady GaGa's new song Bad Romance is available for 15 cents! Also there is a new girl group that is making some headway overseas called The Saturdays who have a new album out called Wordshaker that is poppy good fun. The tracks Forever is Now and Wordshaker are standouts. Finally, one of my faves, Annie, a Norwegian singer who had an amazing album out in 2004 called Anniemal (also worth buying. The whole album is 97 cents.) Her new album is called Don't Stop and it's really different from the first one. It is more mainstream, but Annie's voice is a little stronger and the music has some more guitar elements to it. Since no video is available for her new single, My Love Is Better, I am going to give you one of my faves off the first cd, Chewing Gum. Enjoy!!!!