It's Tuesday! Time for another round of "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week"!
This week's roundup features sweet, sweet former Sugababes crooning, the return of a Pussycat Doll, and an outrageous new anthem from a certain Disney princess gone bad. Spring break forever!
1.) Phoenix, "Entertainment" (Blood Orange Remix)
Blood Orange, better known as Dev Hynes, clearly had a lot of fun in the studio with MKS, otherwise known as Mutya Keisha Siobhan from the original lineup of the Sugababes. After unveiling the new British girl group's cover of Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools" last week, the producer has unveiled his brilliant take on Phoenix's new single, "Entertainment." His remix finds the blissful, '80s-tinged original several hours later into the night, slowed down substantially, and given a decidedly more melancholy sheen. And, of course, the vocals of Mutya Keisha Siobhan take over the chorus and add new depth with their sweet, sugary harmonies. It's still not an original track from MKS, but as with their brilliant take on Kendrick Lamar, we'll gladly take it.
+ LISTEN TO PHOENIX, "ENTERTAINMENT (BLOOD ORANGE REMIX)"
Listen to more Must-Hear Pop Songs after the jump!
2.) Jessie Ware, "Imagine It Was Us"
Imagine, if you will, soulful songstress Jessie Ware's luscious voice layered onto a shimmering early '90s house beat. Never in your wildest dreams, right? Well, wake up, it's happened! Teaming up with her constant collaborator DJ/producer Julio Bashmore, the talented U.K. crooner's churned out a real disco-fied dance floor-friendly gem for the upcoming North American release of her brilliant debut, Devotion. Filled with breathy flirtations and a funky dance floor stomp, "Imagine It Was Us" reimagines Jessie as a Donna Summer for a new generation, and it feels like love.
+ LISTEN TO JESSIE WARE, "IMAGINE IT WAS US"
3.) Jessica Sutta featuring Kemal Golden, "Again"
It's been just under two years since former Pussycat Doll Jessica Sutta first broke out on top of the Billboard Club Chart with her (still amazing) No. 1, "Show Me." Since then, she's been steadily working on her debut record alongside some major dance and pop producers, including her latest new track "Again," produced by (and featuring) Kemal Golden. The new track recalls the twinkling, summery house sound of Kelly Rowland's "When Love Takes Over." But it's not such a sweet serenade: "And then you do it again/ 'Cause you needed to feed the sensation," Sutta cries out on the aching club cut edging toward a heavy beat breakdown, as she regretfully returns again and again to a less-than-sugary situation. It's an important lesson: Don't beat yourself up over a bad decision -- just dance.
+ LISTEN TO JESSICA SUTTA FEATURING KEMAL GOLDEN, "AGAIN"
4.) Vanessa Hudgens featuring YLA, "$$$ex"
If you've already seen "Spring Breakers," there's a good chance that, like us, you're still wandering the streets in a string bikini holding an alcohol-filled squirt gun, dazed and confused for eternity. Luckily, costar Vanessa Hudgens has gone ahead and teamed up with production troupe Rock Mafia to make sure that spring break feeling really does last forever with "$$$ex," her vaguely terrifying new single featuring rising girl group, YLA (Young LA.) The cacophonous track is sort of like tossing Peaches, Skrillex, and that demented children's clapping game "Down Down Baby" into a booze-filled blender and hoping for the best. It's loud, violent, and relentlessly unapologetic -- just like "Spring Breakers."
+ LISTEN TO VANESSA HUDGENS FEATURING YLA, "$$$EX"
5.) Skylar Grey, "Slowly Freaking Out"
"Invisible" songstress Skylar Grey is no stranger to heavyheartedness: She's the same incredibly gifted singer-songwriter behind the lonesome, heartbreaking choruses on Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home," Rihanna and Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" and Dr. Dre and Eminem's "I Need A Doctor." On "Slowly Freaking Out," the singer crawls her way across a slow-creeping, moody beat crafted by Alexander Grant and Jon Ingoldsby (Ke$ha) in a brand-new song from the soundtrack for the upcoming film "The Host." "I know that only one of us will survive/ If I can't save us, I've got to save myself," Grey warns on the devastating, dark ballad. It's the perfect mix of creepy and heartfelt -- the classic Grey touch.
+ LISTEN TO SKYLAR GREY, "SLOWLY FREAKING OUT"
Bradley Stern is a writer from New york. In his spare time, he enjoys organizing his Britney Spears CD collection in reverse chronological order and writing impassioned letters to Congress urging that Madonnalogy be taught in all public schools. But most of all, he spends his time tweeting musing daily about pop music on his blog, MuuMuse.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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