Fresh Songs: Cobra Starship, Esmée Denters, Fallbrooke, Mandy Moore, David Guetta & Kelly Rowland

Quick reviews of some fresh songs for this week...

Cobra Starship (feat. Leighton Meester) - Good Girls Go Bad: The poster boys (and girl) of hipster pop/rock in the Fueled By Ramen family are back to the scene. In preparation for the end-of-summer (August) drop of their new album Hot Mess, they are serving up a slice of sweet electro-pop pie with the help of Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester that is far from being a disaster. Who knew Blair Waldorf could sing and play the role of pop star well? Cobra's fearless leader Gabe Sapporta sounds reliably good as well. The song was apparently produced by Kara DioGuardi

Esmée Denters - Outta Here: It's quite inspiring to see someone's dream finally develop and become realized. It did for one young and beautiful Dutch singer who was one of those video recording singers on YouTube that suddenly became one of the most popular users on the site. It was Esmée's soulful renditions of modern pop songs impressed many, including a certain Justin Timberlake who 'discovered' and signed her to a development deal as his label's new star-protegé. Her album and first single of the same name, "Outta Here" dropped in her native The Netherlands and the soon will soon impact on Top 40/R&B radio in the US.

Fallbrooke - Losin' It: This South Florida-based band is the epitome of freshness as they recently dropped their latest eponymously-titled debut album on iTunes and Amazon. The first single for the song "Losin' It" is a catchy song about the very current issue of falling in love with someone over the Internet. The band's lead vocalist Eric McNeely brings an energy matched with the band's power pop sound. I have not listened to the rest of their material yet, but if this song is any indication, I will name myself a fan.

Mandy Moore - I Can Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week: I remember Mandy Moore as being a part of the original quartet of pop princesses who emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, she later denounced her earlier work and reinvented herself as an organic singer-songwriter. In the vein of her new direction is her latest, a retro-sounding and clapworthy track off her freshest LP, Amanda Leigh. In the accompanying music video, Mandy shows Ultimate Fighting champ Chuck Liddell who's got the bigger....

David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over: I am consistently amazed at the works of French DJ David Guetta as he expertly crafts pop songs backed by House/electro/Euro dance sounds. He is already a well-known name in Europe and the rest of the world, however he aims to break into the US with a new disc out in August and this surefire summer hit, in which he enlists former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland in a song of epic proportions. Her voice, arguably her strongest, soars through the ridiculous production. I wouldn't be surprised if she releases a full album of dance-pop. Amazing.

Fresh Video - Leona Lewis - "I Will Be"

Leona Lewis - I Will Be

I've been anxiously waiting for the music video premiere for British singer Leona Lewis's newest US single, "I Will Be" which finally premiered on the her official YouTube channel today. The video is predominantly set outdoors in New York City for the second time (first was in Times Square for "Bleeding Love"), more specifically on the Brooklyn borough side (the bridge is the backdrop for the last moments in the video.

Directed by Melina Matsoukas (Ne-Yo's "Closer", Katy Perry's "Thinking Of You" as examples of her work), the video has Leona finds herself and her love interest, Gossip Girl's obligatory male pretty face Chace Crawford, in a car with a luxury bag full of money. It is presumed that the two are participating in some kind of criminal activity as alluded in the already vague speaking intro (My guess is trespassing). How is Leona inexplicably carrying around that much dough in the first place can be anyone's best guess, though.

In much of the video, Leona leaves Chace to roam around Brooklyn's shady parking lots and creepy underground garages while she sings of admiration and devotion for her lover. The song, btw, was originally written by Avril Lavigne, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin. After loitering for a bit, Leona finally gets to running above ground while in pursuit and just as she reaches the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge, she is arrested by a police officer.

The concept is rather simplistic in its execution. Undeniably, Leona looks great here and the cinematography is spot-on in nearly every frame.

Check it out:

What do you think? Will "I Will Be" be Leona's next stateside hit?

Will Joanna Pacitti be the next American Idol?

America may not be familiar with Joanna Pacitti, but I am. This past Tuesday, the 23-year-old Philadelphia native auditioned in Louisville, Kentucky for a spot in this year's American Idol competition. What sets this particular person apart from the others is the very interesting is the fact that she was once signed and released a major record label album.

First, some back history...she was known professionally as simply Joanna and was the subject of press attention since childhood. She was infamously released from her contract in the midst of starring on Broadway's Annie in the early 1990s, performed her song "Ultraviolet" on the sitcom "What I Like About You" in the early 2000s, and was followed by MTV for a True Life documentary on artists attempting to break into the recording industry, which happened to capture Joanna recording sessions under her development deal. She was finally signed by Ron Fair to Geffen Records, and subsequently released her debut This Crazy Life in 2006.

Now the matter at hand is her participation in this season's Idol. Although the show was originally intended to find the next undiscovered (and amateur) superstar, Idol has evolved into finding the next superstar America has yet to embrace. Take last year's roster of Idol finalists, including Carly Smithson (née Hennessey): most of whom have released albums prior to competing. Its producers have embraced the fact that some of these artists have had a taste of a professional career, but have amended the rules to give these singers a second chance due to their unfortunate circumstances. In Joanna's case, her promising album flopped and her recording company failed in giving her her due in my eyes.

In 2006, I purchased Joanna's album and was instantly hooked by its tracks. I believed it had the potential to be a chart topper because it was full of radio-friendly pop-rock hits like the lead single "Let It Slide", Your Obsession", and the Dashboard Confessional cover of "Screaming Infidelities". I encourage you to purchase and listen to her great recording voice. If you watched her Idol audition, she is arguably a pop belter in the same league as Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson. And on top of being a stunner, it is her voice that is her most beautiful instrument, and if she is able to showcase it and gain exposure from advancing in Idol, I believe she can win over America and get that much deserved second chance.

She already has my vote.

Fresh Judgment: Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You"

My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson

The original American Idol is back on the music scene with a brand new album (her fourth dropping in March) titled All I Ever Wanted and arguably amusingly-titled comeback single. Kelly Clarkson goes back to her pop/pop-rock roots last heard from her Breakaway days to revive her mainstream music career since releasing the critically praised but commercially flopping My December.

The song opens with a drumbeat hook reminiscent of "Since U Been Gone" but quickly builds up to a dancey electro-pop chorus. Sure, the lyrics seem to find Clarkson falling back in love rather than love-scorened, but there are subtle hints in her delivery that indicate some unresolved aggression. As if she is begrudgingly giving in (or giving up?) to a second chance relationship with this guy. Perhaps this was a result of my initial confusion upon hearing the song for the first time. I secretly hoped she would go pop again, but also take her organic and angsty My December outlook with her. But since she takes a backseat on the songwriting this time, the result is a shiney, made-for-radio pop song. The first indication is the sing-a-long chorus and catchy hook. The second are the song's co-writers, Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who helped credit Clarkson with major chart success with "SUBG".

No doubt, this song is almost guaranteed to have chart success, thanks to the presumed record label support it (and the album) will receive, unlike the last time around when Clarkson butted heads with her label and label-head Clive Davis over the direction and content of My December. Maybe it is a stretch or over-analyzation, but a second-take on the lyrics may also indicate Clarkson eating humble pie (read: compromising) and acquiescing her creative control to those who have developed her career.

Think about it when you listen to the lines in the second verse:

Maybe I was stupid for telling you goodbye / Maybe I was wrong for trying to pick a fight.../ Either way, I found out I'm nothing without you.

If indeed Clarkson has found peace with the direction of her music this time around and truly has found all she ever wanted (pun intended), I hope she hasn't lost complete creative control and the rest of her new album will showcase all her strengths: originality and vulnerability, which unfortunately is lacking here, as well as the pop-rock sound she has successfully mastered.