Housekeeping

It's time for a little blog housekeeping. Basically, this post is a dumping ground for thoughts and little tidbits of information that I've been meaning to share for the past couple of weeks. I guess I should get the (really) boring stuff out of the way first. I finally pulled my finger out and made a Pop Trash Addicts Myspace. Add me as a friend if you can be bothered. I also need to overhaul my links. If you write or simply want to recommend a quality pop blog, send me an e-mail. You can find the address in my profile. Warning: I reserve the right to place a voodoo curse on anyone who directs me to a Girls Aloud fansite! Moving on to more exciting things, my Asian tour edition of "X" (pictured above) finally arrived. It's beautiful and actually worth owning - unlike the Australian version. I love the "making of" videos and it's nice to have Kylie's BRITS performance of "Wow" on DVD... even if the poor old thing looks like a bored housewife on Valium.

Speaking of fabulous Australian divas, how fantastic is it to see Jessica Mauboy at #1 on the singles chart? Written and produced by the Danish team behind Kylie's "Like A Drug" and "All I See", "Burn" really is a sparkling slice of urban dance-pop. I wasn't crazy about the song to begin with but it just gets better with each listen. Jess is now one of only three Indigenous performers (that I can think of) to reach the summit of the charts - along with Casey Donovan and Jimmy Little. If Sony manages to pick a decent follow-up single, I don't see why she can't do it all over again. Don't be put off by the hideous cover, "Been Waiting" is a really great pop album. Another quality local release that I've been playing all summer is Sneaky Sound System's "2". Unfortunately, this fabulous opus is suffering from serious BSC or bad single choices. After flopping miserably with "When We Were Young", the group have settled on "16" for single number 3. Great move. Another depressing piece of filler that you couldn't pay radio to play. It's frustrating because "2" contains so many hot jams with great hit potential. "I Want Everything" and "Lost In The Future" are two very obvious choices.

I'm on a roll, so I might as well continue with the local acts. Pop Trash readers will be very familiar with Melinda Jackson. I wrote about her regularly in 2007 ("Fall In Love" is still one of my favourite songs) but she sadly dropped off the pop radar last year. Happily, Mel has returned with a hot new sound and even a new name! She is starting over as Mindi and I wish her all the best. Mindi's edgy new tracks are streaming on her Myspace. They are definitely worth checking out. Another diva to feature regularly on Pop Trash Addicts is Zoe Badwi. I was completely obsessed with Sirens and raved about her first solo single way back in October. "Release Me" ended up being a #1 club hit for 7 weeks and three months later, it's still hovering in the top 5. A video has finally been released - sort of. Zoe's live performance at Sensation (a big NYE party) will serve as the clip unless "Release Me" crosses over to the pop charts. Check it out below. I really hope the song takes off. Zoe is amazing and "Release Me" deserves to be huge.

Now for the international divas. I'm not sold on Kelly Clarkson's new song. Pink did it first and Katy Perry did it better. There's no denying Max Martin's ability to knock out a catchy pop/rock tune but the man is turning into a boring production line of mediocrity. Pink and Katy get away with it because they have enough attitude to make his songs their own. I can't imagine anyone but Pink singing "So What" and who else but Katy Perry would blurt out "you PMS like a bitch, I should know". Kelly, on the other hand, gets completely lost in the mix. She's harmless enough but the woman is a personality free zone. For an example of Max Martin trying something different, I recommend Pink's new single "Please Don't Leave Me". It's one of the best songs on "Funhouse" and I love hearing it every 5 minutes (literally) on Australian radio.

While on the topic of American pop, I have to mention Christina Milian's amazing new single. "Us Against The World" sounds like the bastard child of Alicia Keys' "No One" and Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love". In my mind, that's a very good thing. The sing was released digitally way back in October without making much of a splash but it finally seems to be taking off thanks to the recently filmed video clip. It's pretty classy - Christina basically rolls around some sand dunes wearing a series of increasingly skimpy outfits. I'm looking forward to her new album, "So Amazin'" was a real guilty pleasure. I guess I should also mention Beyoncé's new singles. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous. "Halo" is my favourite song from "Sasha Fierce" and I'm thrilled, if a little surprised, that it's going to be the next Australian single. Unfortunately, Beyoncé is going with "Diva" in America, which more than likely means we'll get it next. Words can't adequately describe how much I hate that song. A diva is NOT "a female version of a hustler". May drag queens smite you down, bitch! Annoyingly, the "Diva" video is totally fierce. I love the 80s shoulder pads and wicked dance moves. The "Halo" film clip, on the other hand, is the most insipid piece of shit Beyoncé has ever put her name to. At least the song is brilliant.

Just a few more things to get off my chest. Firstly, Spain is fucked. Soraya came second in the initial Eurovision vote - to this revolting rubbish. Even the shirtless men can't make that shit bearable. On the bright side, Soraya got enough votes to progress through to the next round, which will be a televised gala. I'm convinced Spain will fall under Soraya's beautiful spell when she belts out "La Noche Es Para Mi" in front of a live audience. If not, I'm moving to Portugal. That is when I find my Spanish husband. If nothing else, Eurovision has breathed new life into Soraya's amazing album - it's climbed from #99 to #57 over the past 3 weeks. That's true Dannii-esque $ucce$$! Soraya isn't the only fabulous Euro-diva desperately trying to revive their career at the moment. Germany's Sarah Connor has recorded a duet with Enrique Iglesias for the German version of his Greatest Hits. Amusingly, it's a re-make of "Takin' Back My Love" - the current American single that Enrique recorded with Ciara. Poor Sarah might get Ciara's sloppy seconds but at least it's a good song. Last but not least, spare a thought for poor La Toya. I can't believe Toy Toy was evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house. The United Kingdom clearly has no fucking taste!