Will.i.am unveils new album ‘#willpower’: here’s our thoughts.
Hey, MP! So I hear will.i.am has a new album out. Any good?
Yes indeed he does. That all-seeing, all-promoting rap-pop star and curious-coiffed The Voice judge has taken a break from being Chezza’s BFF and released his long-awaited album of hits-in-the-waiting, #willpower.
Is the hashtag really necessary?
Do we think so? Not really but this is the guy who Tweeted in the middle of doing a part of the London Olympic Torch relay last year, so… not surprised, let’s put it that way.
Apart from the singles we already have, what’s good on the album?
Hmm… well upcoming single ‘Fall Down’ with returning Disney alumn Miley Cyrus is easily one of the best songs on the album – it’s fun, it’s dance-y without becoming boring and it’s a great turn for Miley who’s making a bit of a musical comeback. Other good tunes include solo effort ‘Hello’ and Scherzy-baby collab ‘Far Away From Home’ which are both catchy and destined for the summer airwaves.
Any stinkers on the album?
Sadly, not all of it is good – there’s a lot of sameness on the record and despite his efforts to go R&B (Getting Dumb, Geekin’) and more hip-hop (Ghetto Ghetto), a lot of is the same stuff we’ve heard a hundred times over. Not even the guest collabs can save some of the songs – ‘thatPower’ with a certain Mr Bieber is catchy for about fifteen seconds and dull the rest of the song. We’re also a bit miffed he didn’t get Chezza a guest spot for the album but then maybe we’re just suffering Girls Aloud-related withdrawals.
So it’s not worth buying the whole album?
Probably not, no. The bonus tracks aren’t too bad but really, this is an album basically for the singles, much like Calvin Harris’ ’18 Months’ album. The previous singles like ‘This Is Love’ and ‘Scream & Shout’ are both still fun but chances are you bought them a while back. In short, pick at the album but don’t go expecting anything more than fun, disposable dance-pop that’ll be the soundtrack to parties for the next few months.
Thanks, MP!
You’re welcome reader and enjoy the album – will.i.am streamed the whole thing on YouTube for everyone to listen to ahead of its album release, so go and listen for yourselves before buying!
Nicole Scherzinger overcomes hostile audience in London. POP BITS.
POP BITS.There are tough gigs, and there are tough gigs but we have to admire plucky popstar Nicole Scherzinger. The former Pussycat Doll and current X Factor judge took to the stage at London’s G-A-Y on Saturday not knowing what to expect. The gay crowd have previously been very hostile towards Nicole but on Saturday they were finally able to open their hearts (and ears) to her.
The honourary Brit looked stunning in a cut-out catsuit and glitter covered eyes as she sang and danced her way through a 25 minute set with an all-female troupe of backing dancers behind her- which is of course, completely different from her days in Pussycat Dolls. The Scherzinnegger slayed the crowd with racy performances of ‘Don’t Cha’, ‘Right There’, ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’, ‘Hush Hush’ and ‘Boomerang’. She even opted for some dutch courage between songs and her ‘Poison’ of choice (see what we did there?) was fancy tequila Cafe Patron. Radio 1 has refused to playlist ‘Boomerang’ despite it being brilliant, so let’s hope Nicole’s new-found fan base can help make this a hit. POP BITS OUT.
VIDEO OFF: Nicole Scherzinger Vs Olly Murs – NOW CLOSED
Olly Murs and Nicole Scherzinger have a lot in common. They are both part of the UK’s biggest singing competition ‘The X-Factor, make great pop music’… AND they both have a singles out this Sunday (Ok, maybe they don’t have that much in common). We like both songs and are not content to wait until Sunday to find out the nations verdict, so we opted for the only thing that really matters… A Maximumpop video off!
Who?
Nicole Scherzinger
Olly Murs
Song?
‘Boomerang’
‘Army of Two’
Current X-Factor Role?
X-Factor UK Winning Judge
Xtra Factor Host
Previous X-Factor Role?
X-Factor US judge
X-Factor 2009 Runner Up
Dramatic Orchestral Opening?
No
Yes
Appearance of the pop video staple Beats audio headphones?
Yes (and they’re pink!)
Number of outfit changes
Seven
None
Number in clone army?
Far too many to count. They even start merging into one near the end, like a Human Scherzinger Centipede!
We counted 10 at one point, which leads us to believe that Olly wasn’t very good at math in school, as an army of 10 is significantly more than 2
Is there a heavy security presence in the video?
Yes. Judging by the number of CCTV cameras, Scherzy has recently committed a felony
For a car park, surprisingly little. We will be parking our car elsewhere.
Use of ladder rating?
There are no ladders.
Seven. There is quite a lot of moody posing on ladders but it’s nowhere near Britney Spears ‘Stronger’ ladder usage status.
Snoop Dogg inspired hair dos?
One
None
Dancing?
Quite a bit actually.
Just slow motion walking and the occasional point or fist shake (kind of like an old man)
Should I buy this?
Yes
Yes
Embarrassing Vevo Still Rating (which you can see above)
10 – Nicole looks like she drank a slushee a little too quickly.
4 – Not that embarrassing. A bit like someone taking a photo when you least expect it.
The fight is over. It really was neck-and-neck with Olly winning with just 50.75% of the vote. Well done to Olly and the army of two.
SPOILER! Who’s got what category on The X Factor 2012?
Comments
On last year’s X Factor, Tulisa took the notoriously difficult Groups category to victory for the first time; mentoring Little Mix from outsiders to national treasures. Kelly Rowland took the astoundingly good Girls category and somehow fluffed it, Gary Barlow did a good job with the Boys and Louis Walsh’s Over 25s… Well, the less said about them, the better (not that we didn’t love them).
And now, with Kelly Rowland out and Nicole Scherzinger in, the judges have been given their categories for the 2012 run… via a phone call with Mr Simon Cowell himself.
So, who has what? There are spoilers ahead…
X Factor shake up, Ed Sheeran naked, Harry Styles in the spotlight and Conor Maynard is the next big thing – gossip!
Drama on the US version of the X Factor continues to make our show look like an episode of Antiques Roadshow – it’s been confirmed that judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones will not be returning for the next series. We can’t wait for months of rumours that Cheryl Cole is replacing them all.
Time to get used to this name: Conor Maynard. If you’re not one of his “Mayniacs” already, prepare for a takeover similar to Bieber fever soon – Conor was announced as the winner of MTV’s Brand New for 2012 competition after receiving 50% of the public votes. Listen to a preview of his debut single ‘Can’t Say No’ here and make your own mind up.
One Direction are currently supporting Big Time Rush over in the US and rumour has it that the big scary men in charge are desperate to make sure birthday boy Harry Styles is seen as the lead singer and frontman of the band due to him being “funny, confident” and his “great voice”. In other probably related 1D news, Niall was found sobbing in his bedroom last night, burning a picture of Harry.
Ed Sheeran has confirmed that he will pose NAKED for a charity calendar released by Elton John and has started a new fitness regime to make sure he’s looking his best for the “raunchy shoot”. We definitely did not expect to start this month clawing our eyes out of our heads. Anyone else think this is the worst idea ever?
