As soon as “Heart Heart Head” by Meg Myers started, I just knew that something is going to happen. Something about the track hints at an intensity that’s about to blow you away. The song broods with the dark instrumentation while Meg’s vocals string together very honest and vigorous lyrics that it grabs the listener’s full attention. It’s like Meg Myers has abducted you with this song and you willingly submit. The music manages to titillate and forebode of an explosion at the same time.

How do I fake it w/ another man?
How do I love him on the weekend?
How do I listen to another man?
How do I get off on the weekend?

The intensity grows almost tangible near the 2:50 mark and we are treated to a scream so primal, so instinctive and so natural that it fits into the emotional narrative of the whole song. This is where the suffocation seems to have reached its climax. “Heart Heart Head” is not a song. It is a headily powerful and intoxicating experience.

You can also download the track here.

Jimmy Eat World has come back with their latest offering “I Will Steal You Back.” The single will be included in the band’s upcoming album Damage scheduled for released on June 11. It will be the group’s first record since Invented came out in 2010.

I can’t help but feel that musically, “I Will Steal You Back” sounds like a more aggressive version of “Til I Hear It from You” by the Gin Blossoms. The guitars thunder with a raw passion as frontman Jim Adkins cries out his determination to not lose out on love.

You can preorder the album from Amazon. You can also preorder the vinyl, which includes an mp3 download card, by going to this link here.

Even minus the dreamy vocal track, The-Dream‘s new single “IV Play” sounds like it was made for the bedroom. And The-Dream, who is Terius Nash in real life, is nothing but direct as he lays it down for you with lines like:

I can give a fuck about the foreplay
I want it now
I’m talking straight sex
Stop fucking around

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a sexy bump and grind song that’s anti-foreplay. And ironically, this is a perfect song to play in the background for foreplay.

With “IV Play,” I’d compare him to R. Kelly in how he can sing something raunchy without sounding filthy. And he still manages to make it sound part-steamy part-dreamy without being saccharine (“You make me feel alive / Sweet as paradise”). Smooth, that’s what I’d call it, and that’s exactly how I like my r&b playlist to sound. And I wouldn’t really say I’m surprised how good this song turned out to be, seeing as The-Dream has co-written other big hits like Rihanna‘s “Umbrella,” Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” and Kanye West‘s “All of the Lights.”

“IV Play” is the title track to The-Dream’s upcoming album of the same name coming out on May 28. Expect collaborations with Jay-Z, Big Sean, Mary J. Blige, Fabolous, and Beyonce. While waiting for the album to drop, you can download a copy of the single “IV Play” via iTunes.

“Heart Attack” is the lead single from Demi Lovato‘s upcoming fourth studio album simply titled Demi. The track was produced by Mitch Allan and Jason Evigan, known as The Suspex.

Demi further veers away from the Disney princess stereotype with “Heart Attack.” Her previous hits “Skyscraper” and “Give Your Heart a Break” left me a feeling that she was still transitioning from being a celebrity princess to an adult musician, but “Heart Attack takes her into more grown-up territory. I’d even say I was surprised by Demi as a vocalist here with her vocal range and dynamics shown off, so kudos to the producers, The Suspex, for this great production. I take special notice of the bridge where the music production and Demi’s vocals just sound like a perfect marriage.

Feisty, edgy and energetic, “Heart Attack” is my favorite track from Demi to date. This electronic-pop single has officially made me forget that Demi is just a random Disney princess clone, so it gets 4 stars out of 5 from me.

Watch the official music video of “Heart Attack” below.

You can download your copy of Demi Lovato’s “Heart Attack” via iTunes.

Avril Lavigne is back at last. She and her fans, may have gotten older, but who’s to say that they’ve really grown old? Avril is one of those artists who doesn’t seem to have made a lot of changes to her sound. Still giving us the same infectious youthful pop-rock vibe, Avril seems to be back on her way to a radio hit with her latest single “Here’s to Never Growing Up.” The song is expected to come from her currently untitled fifth studio album.

“Here’s to Never Growing Up” was written by Avril Lavigne, David Hodges, Chad Kroeger, Jacob Kasher and producer of the song Martin Johnson. There’s a certain kind of nostalgia you can feel from the song and a staunch determination to feel forever young. It may come off as bratty to some, but I think it would only feel that way if you were, you know, too “grown up” to be “singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs with the boom box blaring as we’re falling in love.”

“Here’s to Never Growing Up” sounds very much in line with Avril’s past hits. The new track reminds me of “What the Hell” and “Complicated.” And easy enough to spot are the oh-woh-oh’s that just takes me back to Rihanna‘s “Cheers (Drink to That),” a song that actually sampled Avril’s pop-rock ballad “I’m With You.”

“Here’s to Never Growing Up” is essentially a song that celebrates the teenage attitude of fucking around and living in the moment. It’s a drink for the fullness of youth that sounds both wistful and wonderful. It’s a song for the modern Peter Pan’s. One Direction may have us jumping around goofily with “Live While We’re Young,” but I rather prefer Avril’s more earnest and staunch grip on teenage fuckery with “Here’s to Never Growing Up.” I give Avril’s latest anthem 4 out of 5 stars.

You can download your copy of “Here’s to Never Growing Up” by Avril Lavigne via iTunes.

Dance music still seems to be the main trend in 2013, and I approve. British dance musician Duke Dumont is joined by singer-songwriter A*M*E in what must be one of this year’s hottest club hits, “Need U (100%).”

I am loving the synths as I move my body to the beat of the chorus. “I wanna be the one you call every day and night / Are you gonna be the one who’s always gonna treat me right?” Definitely feels like a deep house club classic I’d want to hear still even after a few more years. The song is currently sitting on top of the Official UK Singles Chart, which is a first for Duke Dumont.

So what happens when a guy has an old-school cassette player trapped in his stomach? (How did it end up in there?) Watch the music video to “Need U (100%)” by Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E below.

You can get your copy of “Need U (100%)” by Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E .

(Photo from Duke Dumont’s Facebook page.)

“I Choose U.” Nope, not a Pokemon reference. I just wanted to get that done and over with before I continue writing. “I Choose U” is a song from American music duo Timeflies, a song that I haven’t heard yet on our local radio stations.

Timeflies consists of the group’s producer Rob “Rez” Resnick and vocalist Cal Shapiro. Named by Billboard as one of the thirteen acts to watch out for in 2013, the duo has accomplished quite a lot with their fusion of pop, hiphop and EDM.

In February, they announced that they have started their own record label Forty8Fifty and partnered with Island Def Jam. A full length album from Timeflies will be released this year under Forty8Fifty, and I think it’s safe to assume that “I Choose U” will be on it.

It may not be officially summer yet in the US, but since it’s already summer here in the Philippines, I’m adding “I Choose U” to my summer party playlist. You can get your copy of “I Choose U” via iTunes. (Note: link won’t work for those in the Philippines since I haven’t seen local digital retailers yet for this new track. Well, there’s always Youtube.)

Watch the music video below.

Additional bits and pieces I found online:

Rez is a huge Green Lantern fan (yes, there’s a pic in that link somewhere).

Cal loved Hollowpalooza, the music festival held at the Camps Kenwood and Evergreen. Listen to Cal back in 2003 singing “Blackbird” by The Beatles here.

Today, I stumbled onto this new music video “What I Like” from one Charlotte Aitchison who is better known in the industry as the English singer/songwriter Charli XCX.

I’ve been thinking about I’m missing the “fun” factor in most music nowadays. I mean, it has somehow become the norm to be too introspective or too thoughtful or too emotional or too brooding… heavy stuff, you know, that somehow it has reached my personal saturation point and I want to hear music that sounds a tad bit lighter. And just like that, Charli XCX gives me “What I Like.”

You call me up and say someone’s undressing in my house again
Your t-shirt’s on the floor, you were undressing in my house again
You know just what I like, I like, I like.

Sounds like fun, eh? What I like about “What I Like” is that it is neither too heart-swellingly sappy nor too thoughtful nor too light in its approach to sing about the comforts of being in a committed relationship. Plus, the Ryan Andrews-directed music video looks a lot like a glammed up slumber party and reminds me of homemade music videos made back in the 90s, which to me is the music period when songs were still about fun among other things. Watch below.

“What I Like” is a track off Charli XCX’s upcoming album True Romance set for release in the UK and in the US mid-April. You can be pre-order the album from iTunes.

So you must have heard that Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhan Donaghy, aka the original (and arguably the best) members of the girl group Sugababes, have come back together in July 2012 as a group. But since they can’t use the name Sugababes anymore, then the group now goes by the arguably-not-so-creative name of Mutya Keisha Siobhan, or let’s just call them MKS for short.

No definite news yet on when they will come out with a new album, but new music featuring the girls have been found online (if you knew where to look). Recently, the group’s producer Dev Hynes uploaded “Lay Down in Swimming Pools” that had the girls doing a reinterpretation of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools (Drank).” Dev Hynes has said that it will not be part of the group’s forthcoming album, but do listen to it all the same.

And much more recently, Dev also posted another track with the Mutya Keisha Siobhan doing the vocals. This time it’s a remix of “Entertainment” by Phoenix. Listen to “Entertainment – Blood Orange remix” featuring Mutya Keisha Siobhan.

You can also download that track here.

Pop rock artist Avril Lavigne is set to release her latest single “Here’s to Never Growing Up” in a matter of days. The new song will debut on Ryan Seacrest KIIS FM on April 8 and will be available on iTunes on April 9.

This comes after Avril sent out an announcement looking for her fans to star in the lyric video for “Here’s to Never Growing Up. Listen to a snippet of what to expect from the new song below.

Here’s to Never Growing Up is taken from Avril Lavigne’s fifth as-of-yet-untitled studio album. The album also is kind of a reunion for Avril and her original mentor LA Reid since this is Avril’s first album under Epic Records.

[ UPDATE: Listen to Avril Lavigne's "Here's to Never Growing Up" in full here. ]

“When I Was Your Man” is Bruno Mars‘ second official single from his latest album Unorthodox Jukebox.

The song is basically an expression of romantic regret and heartbreak. Nothing is essentially groundbreaking in “When I Was Your Man,” but the sincerity of the lament would just touch any heart not made of stone. A song about heartbreak usually hones in on the pain and the devastation, but in this song, Bruno Mars focuses more on the regret and he does so in an almost mournful manner.

While I highly doubt that “When I Was Your Man” will become the torch song of 2013, it cannot be denied that Bruno Mars vocals here is absolutely superb. I actually am one of those music fans who want Bruno Mars to not release a slow sad ballad, but his vocals in “When I Was Your Man” is just too sweet and too earnest in his regret to let pass without comment. There are moments in the song that are reminiscent of music icons Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.

“When I Was Your Man” would be perfect in a live set, with the soul-pop piano ballad creating a lighters-in-the-air atmosphere right from the start. I can easily imagine people making Youtube covers, and even maybe contestants in singing competitions like American Idol, X-Factor and The Voice using this song because it’s a song that can create a moment when done properly.

My rating for “When I Was Your Man:” 3 stars out of 5, but good Lord those vocals deserve a standing ovation.

You can download your copy of “When I Was Your Man from iTunes.

You can also get the album Unorthodox Jukebox from iTunes.

Pink has released the music video to “Just Give Me a Reason.” The ballad was originally intended to be a solo but Pink thought that it would work better if it were more like a conversation, so she did it as a duet with .fun‘s frontman Nate Ruess who also co-wrote the song with her. The song is the third official single from Pink’s sixth studio album The Truth About Love. It comes after “Blow Me One Last Kiss” and “Try.”

“Just Give Me a Reason” is produced by Jeff Bhasker, who is currently nominated in the 2013 Grammy Awards as Producer of the Year, Non-classical. Bhasker also produced the Song of the Year and Record of the Year nominee “We Are Young” by .fun featuring Janelle Monae. He is also listed as the primary producer of .fun’s album “Some Nights,” which is nominated for Album of the Year.

“Just Give Me a Reason” starts off with just a piano playing to be joined by drums and bass later on. This serves to let the listeners focus less on the dramatics and more on the cadence of the conversation in the song. The melody is simple and effective as it delivers sentimentality without becoming entirely too maudlin.

Pink‘s husband Carey Hart (whom Idolator has identified as an Adam Levine lookalike) appears in the music video along with a cute teddy bear with glowing eyes.

With the appearance of Carey Hart in the music video and knowing that Pink and he have gotten married, have separated, have gone through marriage counseling, and have gotten back together make me wonder if “Just Give Me a Reason” is somehow built on the personal struggles in their relationship. Even if at first impression “Just Give Me a Reason” seems to be a sad song, it ends in a somewhat hopeful note: “we’re not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again.”

My rating for the song: 4 out of 5 stars.

Watch the official music video for “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink featuring Nate Ruess below.

You can grab your copy of the song from MyMysicStore or from iTunes.

You can also buy your copy of the album The Truth About Love from MyMusicStore or from iTunes.

The official music video for Jensen Gomez‘s single “Umpisa” has been released. The track comes from his debut album of the same name and is also the theme song of the Cinemalaya Film Festival 2012 finalist “MNL 143.”

Jensen revealed that “Umpisa” is the first Filipino song he has written. There is a naturally sentimental flow to the lyrics I would not expect from a first-time composer in Filipino. Anyway…

The first thing that actually struck me when I first heard “Umpisa” was how it’s a blend of acoustic alt-rock and soul. Pretty much the same reaction I had when I first listened to “Hanggang Ngayon,” the song that more or less launched Kyla‘s into music stardom.

There is a tenderness, a hesitation that I feel from the music. It’s like really wanting to hug someone but deciding to just lay your hand on their shoulder. The sentimentality that stems from “Umpisa” is one that seeks validation or maybe confirmation. You know when you say something to yourself over and over in hopes that saying it will make it real?

Mangangarap na lamang ba
Na mahagkan ka
O may pag-asa pa na bumalik
Tayo sa umpisa?

That’s how the song ends, repeating the hook almost like a mantra, as if it were not really addressed directly to someone. It’s as if the question is just begging to be breathed out and released into the air. Well, it was. And now we have this sad song “Umpisa” from Jensen Gomez.

If you liked “Umpisa,” you can buy your copy of the song from MyMusicStore.

My rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

A duet version of “Umpisa” (with Tippy Dos Santos) is also included as a bonus track in the album.

You can buy the album here.

The music video also features Toni Hipolito and Bryann Foronda. Btw, Bryann is also part of the boyband 5AZ1 who will be taking part in TV5′s Kanta Pilipinas this February 2013.

Lawson is a London-based band consisting of Andy Brown (acoustic guitar and lead vocals), Ryan Fletcher (bass guitar and backing vocals), Joel Peat (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Adam Pitts (drums).

“Learn To Love Again” is the fourth single from Lawson‘s debut album Chapman Square. What? This is already their fourth single and it’s only now that I’ve come across them?

I initially just had “Learn to Love Again” playing in the background while I was reading a book. But after the first verse, I just had to put the book down and really listen to the song. It’s the usual drum and guitar sound one would expect from a band, but with somewhat of a dance element. “Learn to Love Again” is the kind of music that people want to get lost in. My guess is that I got hooked to this song because there’s a certain enchantingly dark and sexy flavor to the music. That vibe fits well with Andy’s vocals, especially when he soars to that high note, while a chorus of angels and demons sings in the background moving the song forward into a passionate and exhilarating climax. Whew! I need to breathe after that.

My rating for Lawson‘s “Learn to Love Again:” 4 out of 5 stars with my right hand tapping on the table while I’m typing this because, yes, I am listening to it still.

You can get your copy of “Learn to Love Again” by Lawson from MyMusicStore or from iTunes.

“Boomerang” is the first single from Nicole Scherzinger‘s second solo UK album that is yet untitled. The album is scheduled for release in March 2013. Her previous album Killer Love was able to reach platinum status in the UK.

Yes, I said UK album, since until now Scherzy hasn’t been able to release an album in the US. Her original debut album Her Name is Nicole was shelved, while her real debut album Killer Love unfortunately failed to secure a US release.

“Boomerang” is an uptempo pop track with a somewhat anthemic chorus. will.i.am produced the track and also served as the executive producer of the whole album. The layers of woh-o-oh’s lend some brightness to a song that talks about not letting haters bring you down and about being able to come back from this.

Oh you can turn me down, you can throw me now
The harder out, the harder I come back around

How’s that for resilience and determination? That being said, I do feel like Nicole Scherzinger‘s beautiful mezzo-soprano vocals were not showcased best in “Boomerang.” Fine, maybe she is aiming for fun, but I can’t help but miss hearing her powerhouse vocals.

The music video, directed by Nathalie Canguilhem, looks like a real treat. The video was shot late last year while Nicole Scherzinger was still judging on The X Factor. We are shown a futuristic and leatheriffic. I loved the slow motion shots of Nicole jumping and with her hair down. I love it when dancers do this. I just have to take a moment and admire those beautiful lines.

My rating for “Boomerang:” 3 stars out of 5. It’s a fun song, but somewhat too middle of the road for me.

“Two Black Cadillacs” is the third single from Carrie Underwood‘s fourth studio album Blown Away. And I love it when she gets murderous like this.

Remember Carrie’s vindictive and vandalizing character in her 2006 hit song “Before He Cheats?” Well, “Two Black Cadillacs” seems to take it firther, taking that seething anger and turning to cold calculated murder.

“Two Black Cadillacs” is a story told in a series of flashbacks. We start knowing that there are two black cadillacs attending the burial of one man.

One is for his wife
The other for the woman who loved him at night
Two black Cadillacs meeting for the first time

We are teased by the first chorus that the man is not the only one who has a secret. The song eventually reveals that the wife and the unknowing mistress planned the death of the man they love.

They decided then
He’d never get away with doing this to them
Two black cadillacs waiting for the right time

Now, we understand why the chorus says that “the women in the two black veils didn’t bother to cry.” Instead, this is what happened at the burial site:

It was the first and the last time they saw each other face to face
They shared a crimson smile and just walked away
And left the secret at the grave

This is just macabre. Imagine, Carrie Underwood singing about murder. And singing really well at that. “Two Black Cadillacs” is one of my personal favorites from Carrie’s album Blown Away.

My rating for “Two Black Cadillacs:” 8 stars out of 10.

“If I Lose Myself” is the second single to come out of OneRepublic‘s third album titled Native to be released March 26.

I want to like the song because I know that OneRepublic Ryan Tedder is a great producer and OneRepublic is one of those bands that actually have an interesting sound. But “If I Lose Myself” sounds a lot like background music. Good background music maybe, but music that remains in the background still. It doesn’t sound like a song you focus on or listen to with full consciousness. Yes, the song is set to a wonderful pacing, like walking then jogging and eventually running. Okay, maybe just jumping. Like when you’re in a party and you hear a good song and you start jumping around to it only to lose interest eventually because you don’t feel committed to it. “If I Lose Myself” feels just like that. It doesn’t have enough of an identity or character for a single to make it memorable.

It’s a song that wants to be liked a whole lot, but its lack of personality makes it hard to love.

My rating for “If I Lose Myself:” 2 out of 5 stars. And only because it made me jump when I first listened to it.

You can download the single from iTunes.

Last year, I remember asking around in the record label circles for a new singer that has the potential to be the new artist of the year. Someone who’s not boring. Someone who’s not the typical balladeer. An artist who preferably writes their own song but is not in a band. And I remember Miss Ethel Cachapero telling me that she knows of one, but she didn’t reveal the name yet back then.

And so I scoured the net for a fresh-sounding Filipino solo artist. And I came across a certain Luigi Enzo D’Avola on Soundcloud. Just a week after listening to his Soundcloud tracks and getting impressed, Mecca Music released a new music video of a song performed by Champ Lui Pio, Somedaydream, and (sweet serendipity!) Luigi D’Avola. Luigi turns out to be the unnamed artist Ethel was telling me about.

So there, Luigi D’Avola, 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Cebu, is the latest artist to join Mecca Music. Luigi is also brothers with Josh Alipe of the band Sirens and Gabby Alipe of the band Urbandub. And his first single “Take a Chance” is now out.

“Take a Chance” was previously uploaded onto Luigi’s Soundcloud account on December 18, 2011. According to notes on CDBaby, “Take A Chance” is special to Luigi because not only it is from experience, but also because he thinks everyone can relate to it. The song is about finding the way from pain back to love. It’s about falling in love so hard thinking nothing could go wrong. And when things do go wrong, the pain can give in to fear of loving again.

She’s so afraid
So afraid
She’d keep her head down low
So love wouldn’t come her way

The song is pretty straightforward in its hopefulness. The song recognizes the pain and chooses to move forward because…

When somebody tears your heart
No, it’s not the end
Someone will come along
Better than the rest

The midtempo pop/mellow-rock track is sure to endear Luigi D’Avola to hopeless romantics out there. Backed by an easy-listening melody, the lyrics easily paints the situation of the girl the song is being sung to. With enough exposure and promotion, I think “Take a Chance” could be well on its way to top ten territory.

My rating for “Take a Chance“: 4 out of 5 stars.

You can buy the single “Take a Chance” from MyMusicStore or from iTunes.

EDIT:
The official music video for “Take a Chance” has been released on February 3. Watch it below.

Destiny’s Child is back with a new album Love Songs. Slated for release on January 29, Love Songs is a collection of the most sensual and romantic recordings from the one of the most successful R&B groups. Generally known for their dance floor pop and R&B anthems, Destiny’s Child demonstrates their equally compelling command of contemporary torch songs and ballads throughout Love Songs.

Comprised mainly of romantic gems recorded between 1997 and 2004, Love Songs features “Nuclear,” the first new Destiny’s Child recording since 2004. Produced by Pharrell Williams (who co-wrote the track with DC’s Michelle Williams, James Fauntleroy and Lonny Bereal) and features vocal production by Beyonce and Lonny Bereal.

In addition to “Nuclear,” Love Songs balances romantic and sensual selections from the group’s 1998 self-titled album (“Killing Time,” “Second Nature“); 1999′s The Writing’s On The Wall (“Now That She’s Gone,” “If You Leave” featuring Next, “Temptation“); 2001′s Survivor (“Brown Eyes,” “Emotion“) and 2004′s Destiny Fulfilled (“Cater 2 U,” “If,” “T-Shirt,” “Love“). Added treats for fans include the Timbaland remix of “Say My Name” (originally released on 2002′s This Is The Remix) and Kelly Rowland‘s “Heaven” (a key track from her 2002 solo album Simply Deep).

From the late 90′s to the mid-00′s, the American female vocal group Destiny’s Child provided an essential, provocative and dynamic pop culture soundtrack for the changing of the centuries while introducing the world to three fiercely independent women: Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

One of the most commercially successful and aesthetically influential pop music groups to emerge over the past two decades, Destiny’s Child connected an old school show business performance ethic with new school 21st century technology and fashion to transform the way the world listened to R&B, dance and pop music.

The group’s signature sounds–emotionally focused vocal leads resolving into soulful gospel-inflected harmonies, unforgettable melodies wed to tight irresistible grooves–wrapped themselves around hook-filled songs of personal empowerment which spoke directly to a deep and loyal fan base. Iconic and revolutionary, Destiny’s Child broke down the barriers between pop genres, creating an inimitable look and sound while projecting positive musical, spiritual and personal values.

Between 1997 and 2005, Destiny’s Child reigned as the world’s top-selling female vocal group achieving combined sales of more than 60 million records. The official canon from that breathtaking creative period–which includes a group “hiatus” from 2002-2004–is comprised of four full-length studio albums (1998′s Destiny’s Child, 1999′s The Writing’s On The Wall, 2001′s Survivor, 2005′s Destiny Fulfilled), a Christmas album (2001′s 8 Days of Christmas), a remix record (2002′s This Is the Remix) and a compendium of #1 hits (2005′s #1′s).

Destiny’s Child – Love Songs
Track List

1. Cater 2 U (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled)
2. Killing Time (1998 – Destiny’s Child)
3. Second Nature (1998 – Destiny’s Child)
4. Heaven (2002 – Simply Deep)
5. Now That She’s Gone (1999 – The Writing’s On The Wall)
6. Brown Eyes (2001 – Survivor)
7. If (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled)
8. Emotion (2001 – Survivor)
9. If You Leave (featuring Next) (1999 – The Writing’s On The Wall)
10. T­-Shirt (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled)
11. Temptation (1999 – The Writing’s On The Wall)
12. Say My Name (Timbaland remix) (2002 – This Is The Remix)
13. Love (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled)
14. Nuclear (2013 – Destiny’s Child – Love Songs)

Get the album from Amazon or from iTunes.

After almost eight years since their last single, Destiny’s Child has unveiled their latest single called “Nuclear.” The new track is produced by Pharell Williams and will appear in the group’s latest album offering Love Songs scheduled for release on January 29.

I’m sure fans of Destiny’s Child will appreciate the song, but I just don’t know if it’s something that will blast up the radio charts. This is a bit low-impact and (I hate to say) boring when compared to the tracks that the trio has made popular like “Independent Women Part I” and “Bootylicious.” It’s just not as catchy as, say, “Survivor” or “Say My Name.” It’s easier to latch onto the hook if you’re an R&B fan, but most pop listeners will probably forget the song in six month’s time.

While a bit of a snoozer for a comeback track, Destiny’s Child doesn’t fail to deliver angelic vocals and sultry harmonies over a lush production and synths that remind me of the early 90s and of Justin Timberlake.

My rating for “Nuclear:” 2.5 stars out of 5.

According to NME, Beyonce will be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show on February 3 in New Orleans. She will be joined there by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and they are expected to perform their new single “Nuclear.”

You can buy the single “Nuclear” via MyMusicStore here.