Katy Perry - One of the Boys CD

One of the Boys buy CD music Adele's 2009 debut album, 19, was a Grammy-winning smash hit that revealed the British singer/songwriter's knack for bittersweet soul and folk-infused love songs that brought to mind an infectious mix of Dusty Springfield and Terry Callier. The album earned her a ton of fans, and interest was high for the inevitable follow-up. In many ways, her sophomore album, the similarly age-appropriate-titled 21, is a continuation of the sounds and themes Adele was working with on 19. She is still the bluesy pop diva with a singer/songwriter's soul and seemingly bottomless capacity for heartbreak. The best thing the album does is to showcase Adele's titanic vocal ability, which -- more than a few times on 21 -- is simply spine-tingling. Last time around we got the gauzy, Callier-esque folk-soul ballad "Daydreamer" to slowly draw us into the album; here, Adele immediately injects us with the propulsive gospel fever-blues anthem "Rolling in the Deep." While the track certainly owes a heavy debt to the punk-blues of Beth Ditto and the Gossip, it is also ridiculously sexy and one of the best singles of any decade. Elsewhere, we get tracks like the blues-inflected Ryan Tedder co-write "Rumour Has It" and the old-school-style soul cut "He Won't Go," which are terrifically catchy, booty-shaking numbers and exactly the kind of songs you want and expect from Adele. Similarly enthralling is the centerpiece of the album, the mega-ballad showstopper "Take It All." Co-written by her "Chasing Pavements" partner Francis White, the song begins with Adele proclaiming "Didn't I give it all?" Delivered starkly at first with Adele set against simple piano accompaniment and later backed by a gospel choir, it's an instant-classic sort of song in the tradition of "The Rose," "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going," and "All by Myself" that could stand over the years as a career landmark for the singer and a cathartic moment for fans who identify with their idol's Pyrrhic lovelorn persona. Ultimately, Adele does give us her all on 21, and for now that is enough. ~ Matt Collar Editor: Dana Nielsen. Photographer: Lauren Dukoff. Personnel: Adele (vocals). Recording information: AirStudios, London, England; Angel Studios, London, England; Eastcote Studios, London, England; Harmony Studios, West Hollywood, CA; metropolis Studios, London, England; Myaudiotonic Studios, London, England; Patriot Studios, Denver, CO; Serenity Sound, Hollywood, CA; Shangri La Studios, Malibu, CA; Sphere Studios, London, England; Wendyhouse Productions, London, England.

One of the Boys CD music The times were crying out for a pop star like Lady GaGa -- a self-styled, self-made shooting star, one who mocked the tabloid digital age while still wanting to wallow in it -- and one who's smart enough to pull it all off, too. That self-awareness and satire were absent in the pop of the new millennium, where even the best of the lot operated only on one level, which may be why Lady GaGa turned into such a sensation in 2009: everybody was thirsty for music like this, music for and about their lives, both real and virtual. To a certain extent, the reaction to The Fame may have been a little too enthusiastic, with GaGa turning inescapable sometime in the summer of 2009, when she appeared on countless magazine covers while both Weezer and DAUGHTRY covered "Pokerface," the rush to attention suggesting that she was the second coming of Madonna, a comparison GaGa cheerfully courts and one that's accurate if perhaps overextended. Like the marvelous Madge, Lady GaGa ushers the underground into the mainstream -- chiefly, a dose of diluted Peaches delivered via a burbling cauldron of electro-disco -- by taming it just enough so it's given the form of pop yet remains titillating. Sure, GaGa sings of disco sticks, bluffin' with her muffin, and rough sex, but her provocation doesn't derive solely from her words: this is music that sounds thickly sexy with its stainless steel synths and dark disco rhythms. Where GaGa excels, and why she crossed over, is how she doesn't leave all this as a collection of hooks and rhythms, she shapes them into full-blown pop songs, taking the time to let the album breathe with chillout ballads and percolating new wave, like the title track that echoes Gwen Stefani in dance diva mode. But where Gwen simply celebrates celeb consumer culture, GaGa bites, her litany of runway models, pornographic girls, and body plastic delivered with an undercurrent of disdain, even as she loves all the glitz. This dichotomy propels much of The Fame, particularly on the clever "Paparazzi," where she casts herself as the photographic parasite chasing after her crush, but none of this meta text would work if the songs didn't click, functioning simultaneously as glorious pop trash and a wicked parody of it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Personnel: Lady Gaga (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Colby O'Donis (vocals); Flo Rida, Space Cowboy (rap vocals); Red One (various instruments, programming); Tom Kafafian (guitar); Calvin Gaines (bass guitar, programming); Victor Bailey (bass guitar); Joe Tomino (drums).

One of the Boys songs Pink's insistently hooky, attitude-filled pop-rock has kept the singer a fixture on the radio and on singles charts since the early 2000s. The artist's fifth effort, FUNHOUSE, doesn't tamper with the formula: Pink's powerhouse vocals and in-your-face approach, backed by stadium-sized production, are in full effect on all 12 tracks. Even though the album deals primarily with aftermath of her divorce and includes serious moments of self-confrontation like "Sober," fans needn't worry that Pink has lost any of her chutzpah. If anything, there's an increased sense of confidence and newfound liberation on tracks like the chest-thumping "So What" and the mischievous, bouncing "Bad Influence." In softer moments, like the ballad "I Don't Believe You" and the soulful "One Wrong Foot," Pink channels her personal experience into expressions that carry no less strength or muscle. But FUNHOUSE is a pop album first and foremost, and its catchy choruses, rollicking beats, and memorable vocal performances won't disappoint. Recording information: 3:20 Studios, Los Feliz, CA; Decibel studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; House Of Blues Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Malibuddha Studios, Malibu, CA; Maratone Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Modern Dirt Laboratories, London, England; Sha Recording, Malibu, CA; The Chateau Marmont, West Hollywood, CA; The Document Room, Malibu, CA; The Magic Shop, New York, NY; Westside Pacific Music, Inc., Pacific Palisades, CA. Photographers: Andrew McPherson ; Deborah Anderson. Arrangers: Stevie Blacke; Eg White; Uli Janson; Henrik Janson. Personnel: P!nk (vocals, background vocals); Eg White (guitar, guitars, strings, Hammond b-3 organ, drums, percussion); Jimmy Harry (guitar, guitars, keyboards); Peter Parente (guitar, guitars); Billy Mann (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Shellback (guitar, acoustic guitar, omnichord, keyboards, bass guitar, drums, percussion, drum programming); Pete Wallace (guitar, piano, harmonium, bass guitar, programming); Max Martin (guitar, keyboards, bass guitar); Butch Walker (guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming, background vocals); Robin Mortensen Lynch (guitar, programming); Chris Galland (guitar); Stevie Blacke, Stockholm Session Strings, Uli Janson, Henrik Janson (strings); Guy Baker (trumpet); Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. (piano, keyboards); Roger Manning (keyboards); Niklas Olovson (bass guitar, programming); Tony Kanal (bass guitar); Josh Kane, Joey Waronker, John Yarling, Darren Dodd (drums); Daniel Chase (programming); DJ Willrock (turntables); Kinnda Hamid (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Al Clay; Mark "Spike" Stent; Serban Ghenea; Tom Lord-Alge; Billy Mann.

One of the Boys album for sale Taylor Swift abandons any pretense that she's a teen on her second album, FEARLESS--which isn't to say that she suddenly tarts herself up, running away from her youth in a manner that's all too familiar to many teen stars. Swift's maturation is deliberate and careful, styled after the crossover country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill before they turned into divas. Despite the success of her self-titled 2006 debut, there's nothing at all diva-like about Swift on FEARLESS: she's soft-spoken and considerate, a big sister instead of a big star. Nowhere is this truer than on "Fifteen," a kind warning for a teen to watch her heart sung from the perspective of a woman who's perhaps twice that age--a sly trick for the 18-year-old Swift. There may be a hint of youthfulness to her singing but that's the only hint of girlishness here; her writing--and she had a hand in penning all 13 tracks here, with six of them bearing her solitary credit--is sharply, subtly crafted and the music is softly assured, never pushing its hooks too hard. Like many country-pop albums of the 2000s, the pop heavily outweighs the country--there aren't fiddles here, there are violins--yet the production never feels garish, a crass attempt at a crossover success. It's small-scale and sweetly tuneful, always seeming humble even when the power ballads build to a big close. Swift's gentle touch is as enduring as her songcraft, and this musical maturity may not quite jibe with her age but it does help make FEARLESS one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2008. Arranger: Jonathan Yudkin. Personnel: Taylor Swift (vocals, guitar); Nathan Chapman (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, keyboards); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Grant Mickelson, Kenny Greenberg (electric guitar); Ilya Toshinsky (banjo); Claire Indie (cello); Tony Harrell (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards); Tim Lauer (keyboards); Eric Darken (vibraphone); Tim Marks, Amos Heller (bass guitar). Audio Mixer: Justin Niebank.

One of the Boys CD music Preceded by her second number one single on Billboard magazine's Hot 100, "California Gurls," Katy Perry's Teenage Dream is filled with dance-pop that made One of the Boys her breakthrough album, but this time there's a decidedly summer spin. Hitmakers like Greg Smith, Dr. Luke, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, and even Weezer's Rivers Cuomo lend a hand for what Perry predicts "will be one of those records that is everybody's favorite guilty pleasure." Recording information: Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Playback Recording Studio, Santa Barbara, CA; Roc The Mic Studios, New York, NY; Rocket Carousel Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Silent Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA; Studio At The Palms, Las Vegas, NV; The Boom Boom Room, Burbank, CA; Triangle Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA. Photographer: Will Cotton.

One of the Boys buy CD music Track Listing of songs: Bleeding Love; Better in Time; I Will Be; I'm You; Forgive Me; Misses Glass; Angel; First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, The; Yesterday; Whatever It Takes; Take a Bow; Footprints in the Sand; Here I Am;