Robbie Williams To Join Take That If Album Flops

There is no debate that Robbie Williams is an artist in his own right, despite his career never really recovering from 2006 flop Rudebox, Robbie has maintained 14 years as a solo artist. There is no argument that he is the most successful of the group that he emerged from; Take That.

After leaving the band at the height of their career, after Williams allegedly wanted a change in musical direction, the band split and Robbie Williams seemed to live on reigning with a successful music career as a solo artist and also a womaniser according to many tabloid stories at the time. However fast forward ten years as Take That are about to emerge without it's now 'most successful' member and Robbie Williams is set to release a new record believed to be packed with enormous talent, but as the lead single aired on radio station, one in particular radio station aired the song too early than arranged by the record label, there was a mixed reception towards the song and of course the album followed in the same suit and the project was branded a 'flop'.

So after the band have proven that they can make it as a four piece as well as a nostalgic five piece Robbie played both the most reluctant and then the rehab cards and then in Melanie C style admitted defeat and rejoined the band that helped make his name. Take That have sold around 10 million records with Beautiful World (2006) and The Circus (2008) both without Williams and the success of the five piece made (with Williams) Progress (2010) resulted in a hat trick.

Now the group have temporarily disbanded, Barlow is doing his X Factor thing and no ones really cares about the other two and Williams is attempting another comeback which is an apparent decision maker whether or not he returns to the group. Robbie Williams' intentions make sense for his flailing solo career but for a band that has already had it's day, the morale needs keeping up in order to keep the fans, old or new, coming back for more and he doesn't seem to be much of a team player so for a band that has proven themselves to be just as good without the so-called-successful one as they are with him, then do Take That really need Robbie Williams?

Leona Lewis - Glassheart

Cosmetic surgery aside, Leona Lewis returns with the follow to-no-so resonating last effort... Echo(2009) with Glassheart.
Since the release of the unpredictable Collide in 2011 the world (mainly Leona Lewis fans and Simon Cowell) have waited with baited breath to see what the fast becoming dreary X Factor winner would come up with to save her career. The result may well pay off, Glassheart is a decent Pop record that still manages to remain a Leona Lewis record. Glassheart is a fine mixture of uptempo magic and haunting ballads that should put Lewis in good stead in updating her sound.
The album is a jump on the old band wagon as throughout, the album is a tug of war between Alexis Jordin and Emeli Sandé which proves as no surprise since the same team behind Alexis Jordin and Emeli Sandé herself are among the albums credits alongside Leona's constant collaborator Ryan Tedder.
The album opens up with Trouble, which is the perfect bridge from what Leona is known for and where she is about to take her fans when it opens up as a typical slow song but then smashes into the chorus with it's descriptive plea for someone to back off or they will get hurt over it's heavy Hip Hop drum beat. The song is light to start with and the drum beat only emphasises the dark side to the song.
The slow songs on the album still manage to match up to that that Leona is famous for such as Fireflies which features a child choir, well it was only a matter of time, Fingerprint and Lovebird which the latter speaks of life after growing apart from another and 'flying away', which features a retrospective Leona showcasing her emotional verses just like in signature tune Bleeding Love. Glassheart sees the mid tempo tracks sticking to the same old safe formula such as on Un Love Me and Stop The Clocks being reminiscent of throw back tune Better In Time.
Another 'ballad' that may please fans is the other Emeli Sandé song Colourblind, which could easily have been a Sandé song just like Trouble but in working with Sandé, Leona seems to have found an excellent writing partner to create another shade to Leona Lewis' palette alongside Ryan Tedder.
I to You is an intriguing sound, it starts of with another heavy drumbeat that is very similar to Jay Z/Alicia Keys' Empire State Of Mind, with haunting vocals questioning what someone's part is in their lovers life touching on all the aspects of love such as compromise and hurt.
The more uptempo songs on the album are the standout tracks on Glassheart, without standing out too much that they make the signature sound obsolete, but the standing out is mostly down to the change of direction in sound. All the songs on the album flow perfectly with the next just enough that it never seemed unpredictable from Leona Lewis in the first place.
Come Alive and title track Glassheart erases the Leona Lewis the world fell in love with. With the repetition of strong vocals, some with effect, over a Dubstep backdrop, it is clear why it is important for Lewis to make a shift in her sound as she has managed to pull it off effortlessly. However she does run the risk of becoming another pop star cardboard cut out just like Alexis Jordin. The tracklist helps with the notion that Leona Lewis has possibly sold out and jumped on the band wagon as the Dance songs are so cleverly placed among the typical Leona Lewis tracks that by the time the next dance track comes around, it is refreshing and just rejuvenates itself and therefore the same with the sound we are used to from her as the album progresses.
Glassheart is a decent effort for a first attempt in change of direction, without it being too far a cry form older work.

Mariah Carey - Triumphant (Get 'Em) Feat. Rick Ross and Meek Mill

After the disappointment that was Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, R&B Queen Mariah Carey attempts comeback number two.
After giving birth to twins almost 17 months ago Mariah returns with new single Triumphant (Get 'Em) Ft. Rick Ross and Meek Mill.
When the title was first anounced via the 42 year old star's Twitter a couple of weeks ago, fans went crazy for a preview. A collaboration like this does somewhat suggest a hint of her monster hit It's Like That which featured JD and Fatman Scoop in 2005, which also suggested that finally Mariah must have finally got her groove back. The artwork for the new song is very inviting and very reminiscent of 2005's The Emancipation Of Mimi which would have been in keeping with the original comback album she put out in 2005 had the song been up to scratch. Maybe someone, maybe herself thought that if she puts out such a heavy collaboration that she can gain the hype and in clude the 'Mariah only' usually titled 'Part II' as a so-called bonus track on her new album, it has worked for Alicia Keys, Empire State Of Mind and Rihanna, Love The Way You Lie to name a few. But this is Mariah Carey and this rubbish jsut will not suffice for a first single from a new album especially after a three year gap.
Now, Mariah Carey has always managed to make decent Pop/Hip-Hop collaborations, she pioneered it in the 90's with 1995's Fantasy ft. Wu Tang Clan's ODB respectively it has part helped carve a decent career for the girl from Long Island alonside that unbeatable Vocal range.
However, Triumphant (Get 'Em) did not prove worthy of the hype it was generating when it premiered on August 2nd 2012. The song would have possibly done Rick Ross and Meek Mill a favour so early in their careers as a guest vocalist but  if released around 2005 and probably would have been a hit right off the back off her album released in the same year. The song features not so much of Mariah as fans would have hoped and when she comes in, her vocals are so distorted by layering and effects, she aint no spring chicken anymore, that it is hard to fathom what she is singing. The attempts she makes at the big girl's parts i.e. the voice she is known for, are very much pushed to the back and kept behind the over produced chorus. Even her recent work has featured dominant vocal ability...by comparison.
The song is very much dull for a Mariah Carey song considering what Mariah Carey is known for and so for a comeback song, it is very much disappointing.
The song could have been marketed as a Buzz song or one of those sneek peek songs that is always disguised as a 'leeked track' but as a lead single from a highly anticipated album? Not so much.
Everyone was waiting for a Mariah Carey song even if she hired guest rappers, something with a Mariah only verse, chorus, verse, chorus structure with a rappers verse correctly in place would have been a good way to 'set it off'. She needs to not think about past efforts and stop keep trying to recreate them and start a new slate with her same approach as that is how she came up with The Emancipation of Mimi it was fresh and yet authentic of her Style of sound.
Every artist has to keep up with the trends to some extent but seriously this is just a waste of everyone's time including her own.

R.I.P. Whitney Houston 1963- 2012

After nearly 30 years showcasing her uncomparable talent and the past 20 years battling drink and drugs allegedly as a result, the ' Voice of a our Generation' Whitney Houston died at 48.
Houston was first introduced to her public by Clive Davis in 1983 when she wowed the world with her rendition of Home from The Wiz on The Merv Griffin Show. Since her introduction, Whitney Houston has sold over 170 million albums and has won 6 Grammys, has performed with some of the worlds biggest talent such as George Michael, Enrique Igleasias and Mariah Carey and also covered what is now one of the most famous songs ever due to her unbeatable vocal ability, on the Dolly Parton track I Will Always Love you which was also the theme for Houston's acting debut in The Bodyguard.
Houston spent the 80's wowing the world with songs such as I Want To Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), So Emotional and One Moment In Time and spent the majority of the 90's starring in movies such as The Bodyguard, Waiting To Exhale and The Preacher's Wife all of which Houston was also committed to the movie soundtracks. The late 90's saw Houston take a break from acting and return solely to music with the record My Love Is Your Love and with this main return came collaborations with the biggest names in the business(at the time) such as Producers Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Lady Gaga, Spice Girls, TLC), Wyclef Jean (Lauryn Hill, Mary J Blige), Babyface (Shai, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston) and Missy Elliott (Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey) as well as other stars who had made a name for themselves in the spotlight as well as behind the scenes Kelly Price, Faith Evans, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey. 1998's My Love Is Your Love received seven Grammy nominations, one of which Houston won for Best Female Vocal Performance and the album went on to sell 10 Million copies to date, which will possibly triple now. Houston was untouchable, she had a successful movie career, a succesful music career and a strong family unit with her then husband, singer Bobby Brown and Daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown so at this high point in her career Houston and Arista records released Whitney The Greatest Hits, which to date has sold 10 Million copies worldwide and saw Whitney Houston collaborating with George Michael on If I Told You That and Enrique Igelsias for Can I Have This Kiss Forever.
Since the release of the Greatest Hits collection, the cracks were starting to show in Houston's life, it seemed she could not go anywhere without photo's being released documenting her deteriorating state,  some of the speculation was anorexia and then it was believed to be down to drugs. It was a performance on a 30 year tribute to the late Michael Jackson that sparked attention as Whitney appeared to perform Jackson's hit If You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' where a frail Whitney Houston emerged and appeared to be out of breath throughout and it was reported that her state may be a result of her $730,000 drug habit, something that Whitney has never commented on when confronted.
In 2002 Whitney Houston had been working on a new album with Arista named Just Whitney, the album was made without the guidance of mogul Clive Davis as a declaration of independance and also a response to all the tabloid stories which is delivered in the lead single Watchulookinat, with the text message craze destroying grammar everywhere, this was a clear cry out for a wider audience as well as trying to remain inkeeping with a then modern R&B vibe that was acheived on 1998's My Love Is Your Love but the public had become more focused on the 'private life' of Houston and how that life was being depicted in the press as oppose to the story that Houston had tried to tell with this latest effort which contained some big ballads that saw Whitney tested at her attempts that made her famous, the songs were forgettable and the album did not prove a success which only worked against her, it was looking more and more as though Houston had, had her day.
Whitney Houston spent the next decade attending to her private life, still popping up in gossip columns all over the world as a drug addict, it was looking highly unlikely that Houston would ever return to music. A Christmas album, One Wish, was released in 2003 but seem to sink without trace, which given the track record of this extraordinary talent, should have been a major success and possibly will be now, but could have been had the concept been realised during the 90's when Houston had built up enough of a decent reputation.
In 2007 it was reported that Houston had filed for divorce against Bobby Brown and that she wished to return to music and in an attempt to clear the debris that the past decade had been left of her career, Arista released another Greatest Hits but wrapped in a bow of ' The Best Of...' in 2008.
In 2009 after the world had possibly written her off, Whitney Houston returned to music with a collection of brand new recordings as titled 'I Look To You', the world was waiting with baited breath.
Million Dollar Bill, written by Alicia Keys, was the lead single and Houston's vocals appeared to be in good shape. The Album included production from Akon, R. Kelly, Nate "Danja" Hills and Harvey Mason Jr and even saw some writing collaborations from Whitney herself, which has been rare.
I Look To You saw Whitney acheive the best first week sales of her career and was starting to look as thought Whitney Houston had got 'back on track'. A world tour was also on the cards the Nothing But Love Tour, which reportedly took $36million worldwide, however Houston did not receieve great reviews. Houston sang live throughout but her voice was not what it used to be, Whitney was very hoarse throughout her performance and even had to stop before the big and possibly best part of I Will Always Love You just to prove the pause did her no favours anyway as she was very hoarse and failed to hit the note. Apparently some fans were leaving before the show had finished.
After a bed reception both critics and her public Houston went a little quiet, possibly to work on her latest acting effort since 1997, a remake of the 1976 movie Sparkle which is still yet to be released. Houston made a few public appearances on award shows being serenaded by the likes of Kim Burrell performing I Look To You and Jennifer Hudson with I Will Always Love You. In 2011, after allegedly booking into rehab due to her returning to drug use, Houston looking healthy, also made an appearance at Prince Azim of Brunei's birthday party at his stately home in Leicestershire alongside Mariah Carey, Usher and Joan Collins. Rumours arose that Houston was planning to work on her eighth studio album and was looking to work with Wil.I.Am of The Black Eyed Peas. In February 2012 Houston was snapped leaving Kelly Price's pre Grammys party. They had been singing and the singer was intoxicated and had apparently started a fight with a young woman who was apparently flirting with her partner Ray J. Houston was caught leaving the party looking very dishevelled, her hair was wet and stuck to her face and apparently there were signs of blood down her leg, which could have possibly been red wine, the singer was however leaving to return to her hotel.
The next day, February 11th at 3.55pm, Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hills hotel room. The singer had apparently taken prescription drug Xanax which apparently calmed her nerves before performing and was due to perform at Clive Davis' pre Grammy party that night, it has been reported that she was found in the bath and due to the drug being a sedative, Houston may have drowned.

Madonna- Give Me All Your...Money?

What was once fast becoming an industry nearly owned by a certain Lady Gaga, Madonna returns to clean up the mess and to possibly protect her 'crown' and not just for the industry but for her own reputation. It has been three years since her last record, Hard Candy which did not quite succeed in out doing it's predessor Confessions On A Dancefloor in 2005. Hard Candy was an embarrassing jump on the band wagon at the time as the record saw Madonna attempting R&B/HipHop with the help of man-of-that-moment Timbaland, which brought us the unmemorable 4 Minutes, I literally had to google the track.
Now Madonna puts that record behind her and a divorce, adoption and a movie later (Madonna thinks she is a Director now) Madonna fans have been informed to sit tight and wait for Madonna's new record, 'cleverly' titled MDNA, the first single being Give Me All Your Lovin'. a collaboration with new man or woman-of-the-moment Nicki Minaj and MIA.
The song starts with a cheerleading chant

    "L.U.V MADONNA!"

I fail to fathom why Madonna felt the need repeat something that was never really her sound in the first place for e.g. Toni Basil's Mickey in 1982, nor when it was violently resusetatted by Avril Lavigne in her awful Mickey rip off, if such a thing, Girlfriend and more recently Mariah Carey's not so Christmas, Christmas song Oh Santa. Credit where it's due though, Madonna is not over doing it
 however it is still just as annoying. The years have been kind to the so-called 'Queen of pop' but while listening to Give Me All Your Lovin' it could have easily been a Debbie Harry tune, at least then it would have been ironic as oppose to desperate as Blondie's image is so far removed from the sound. But as a Madonna track? Give Me All Your Lovin' is a clear attempt to clear up the damage that Hard Candy had done. Had Madonna released this song instead of 4 Minutes in 2008, then maybe it would have fit with the time when Electro music returned to dominate and as an artist who started out in the original Electro decade, the 80's, then Madonna had the advantage to have owned the airwaves during the time of the genre's revival of crossing over to Pop. But now with the pollution of the over produced repetitive sound that is always David Guetta and more than likely Kelly Rowland, then Give Me All Your Lovin' whilst still very annoyingly catchy still sounds dated.
The new album MDNA, however may well just be in a league of it's own and suddenly cause Lady Gaga to sound obsolete. Madonna has always managed to strike gold with pretty much everything but playing at the superbowl and directing a movie, at face value, will not certify a place in her public's hearts for lead single Give Me All Your Lovin' and it's just the hard graft alone that feels accomplished...but only to her.