Cheryl, Eva Simons, Dawn Richard + More: Top 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs Of The Week

It's Tuesday! Time for another round of "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week"!

It's yet another girl-power hour: This week's roundup includes a dance floor diva determined to break out of the box, a Danish indie-popper making breaking up easy to do, a Danity Kane alum standing up for herself, a former mtvU VJ making waves as a R&B songstress and a Girls Aloud goddess getting sexier den a mutha. (Her words, not mine.) Let's go!

1.) Cheryl, "Sexy Den A Mutha"

I know, I know: Ignore the title. If there's any song to hear from A Million Lights, the third studio album by Queen Cheryl (née Cole), let it be the dubiously titled "Sexy Den A Mutha," produced by Jim Beanz. With chilly beats that evoke Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me" and a bananas o'clock rallying cry a la Brit Brit's "Till The World Ends," "Sexy" is a massive club smash-to-be: "We came here to have fun, tell 'em we don't care/ Hold me like a shotgun, hit me everywhere," Cheryl croons before launching into the song's gigantic chorus: "You got me feelin' sexy den a mutha, mutha!" Despite the fact that the lyrics sound like they were penned by the "Cool Mom" from "Mean Girls," "Sexy" isn't just one of the biggest club bangas of the album--it's one of the best songs of Cheryl's solo career.

+ LISTEN TO CHERYL'S "SEXY DEN A MUTHA"

Listen to more Must-Hear Pop Songs of The Week after the jump!

2.) Eva Simons, "Renegade"

Eva Simons, the mohawk-ed dance floor chanteuse responsible for slaying our entire lives with her Afrojack collabo "Take Over Control" last year, is on a mission to take control again -- and this time, she's doing it solo. "Renegade," one of her latest solo tracks ("I Don't Like You" is another) sees the songstress grinding up against some wicked dubstep, grime, and crashing drum & bass beats for a dub-heavy declaration of independence. "Me, I'm a renegade/ And only I can run this life/ Can't price me, I'm priceless," Simons declares above the frantic beats, slowly growing more furious with each passing second. The message is loud and clear: She doesn't want to be boxed in, y'all! Prepare for a genre-twisting, determinedly out-of-the-box debut to come later this year.

+ LISTEN TO EVA SIMONS, "RENEGADE"

3.) Dawn Richard, "Automatic"

Everyone knows that if I had to sell my soul to the devil for one thing in music, it would be the reunion of Danity Kane. And since he hasn't been returning my calls lately, it might be time to resign that dream and give into the solo stylings of each member from the underrated quintet. And luckily enough, they're as talented solo as they were as a group.

Dawn Richard, formerly of Diddy-Dirty Money fame, unleashed a spectacularly adventurous solo EP earlier this year called Armor On. "Automatic," an alarm-heavy self-empowerment anthem, is but one of the fiery tracks included in the bunch. "Treat me like a droid, 'cause you think I'm automatic," Richard monotones across the R&B-infused club cut, complete with deep, bass-heavy beats and plenty of jaw-dropping crooning to keep any haters at bay. It's inspiration for your brain and motivation for your body -- go Dawn, go! (DK 4 Lyfe!)

+ LISTEN TO DAWN RICHARD, "AUTOMATIC"

4.) Fallulah, "He'll Break Up With You When Summer Comes"

Danish indie-pop songstress Fallulah has some great news regarding that boy you just met at the laundromat last week: He's going to break up with you! Wait, what? Yes! Floating above a lovely piano, flourishes of '60s desperado whistling, and plucks of surf guitar, Fallulah's unnervingly dreamy tune makes getting dumped sound, um...wonderful! "He'll break up with you when summer comes, say it's warmer by the sea/ If you wonder how I know these things, take a look inside of me," she croons hauntingly. It's sort of what a Lana Del Rey song might sound like if her bad boy actually left her heavenly side. Best of all? That sweetly sung, expletive-heavy bridge that comes in toward the end of the track. It's just like the saying goes: If you've got nothing nice to say, just sing it in a really lovely voice, and no one will even notice!

+ LISTEN TO FALLULAH, "HE'LL BREAK UP WITH YOU WHEN SUMMER COMES"

5.) Baiyu, "Journey of Souls"

Okay, so you might already recognize singer-songwriter Baiyu: She was a VJ on mtvU for 4 years. Yes, one of our own! Now, she's stepping out to pursue a career as a soulful R&B chanteuse. For her third self-release--entitled Hunter, the rising singer navigates through gorgeous, tripping R&B melodies and urban-pop beats crafted by NYC-based producer, KQuick. "Journey of Souls," the slow-tripping, slinky opener on the album, sets the pace of the introspective record. "Where have we been, and where are we going?/ Follow the path/ It's just the beginning," Baiyu slowly ponders on the contemplative, moody number. Between the impressive belting and spaced-out production, the track (and the album!) brings JoJo's 2011 mixtape Can't Take That Away From Me to mind -- a major compliment in my book.

+ LISTEN TO BAIYU, "Journey of Souls"

Bradley Stern is a writer from Connecticut. In his spare time, he enjoys organizing his Britney Spears CD collection in reverse chronological order and plotting the various ways in which he will bring down Katy Perry to become Rihanna's best friend. But most of all, he spends his time tweeting musing daily about pop music on his blog, MuuMuse.

Photo credit: Getty/Asger Mortensen/BaiyuOnline

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