“Just Be True To Who You Are”- Jessie JThere will be Britney, Beyonce, and yes, endless Gaga (not that anyone’s complaining mind you). But there are always those songs that you hear between the “Hold It Against Me” or the “Born This Way” that, instead of having you head to the bar, have you staying on the dancefloor! Give these tracks a listen; chances are you already know them and will now, after reading about them, will want to hear them again and again!
Jessie J is true a renaissance woman. I mean, with a track called “Do It Like A Dude” how could she be anything less?
Her debut album “Who You Are” (Lava/Universal Republic) allows her to take her place next to Pink & Katy Perry as one of the real “rocker” girls with a voice to match the pagenatry that sometimes overwhelms female artists.
“Who You Are” is an anthem to being true to yourself and letting you know that “it’s ok to not be ok”. While the normal “pulsing beats and throbbing bass” are not behind this track on any official remixes yet, keep an eye out. With a voice that powerful and lyrics that honest, official remixes for this track are bound to come.
The remainder of the album is standout as well, with no track that would really be considered a “mis-step”. Jessie gets help from B.O.B. (known for his work with Bruno Mars) on the funky “Price Tag” which gives a very old-school U.K. funky vibe, while “Do It Like A Dude” is a Joan Jett-esque track with an electronic vibe. There is slightly too much autotune on the track for my liking, especially for someone with talent like this, but this has helped morph the track into a dance floor filler!
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” has just wrapped up its third season (congratulations Raja!) and you know what that means; another crop of queens who want to lay some tracks down and call it a dance single. While the standard “drag queen track” can be slightly shall we say “unpolished”, a contestant from Ru’s second season, Jessica Wild, has turned out a great track with “You Like It Wild”. With help from Boston DJ Ranny, Jessica turns out a fierce track, filled with throbbing Latin-infused drums and a pulsing bass, a definite club-banger. Ranny seems to have the golden touch with the Latin queens of “Drag Race”, as his track with Season 1 runner-up Nina Flowers, “Loca” was a smash last year! Jessica’s track gets some help in the remix department from Gustavo Scorpio, but the standout remix is of course the “Ranny & Bryan Reyes” mix, which consistently gives banging base on top of lyrics like-what else- “You Like It Wild”-perfect for a steamy summer Saturday night! Escándalo indeed! (Keep an eye out for an upcoming Ranny & Jessica Wild interview in an upcoming “Cookie Jar”)!
Kimberly Caldwell is a name that you may remember from “American Idol” Season 2, and has hit the dance floors with “Desperate Girls & Stupid Boys”.(Vanguard Records). While we all can relate to at least 50% of the title, Kim certainly shows why she made it so far on “Idol”. Somewhat of a junior “Pink”, she has wisely caught wind of the fact that the gays are the ones who will make you a dance sensation. She has chosen remixers like Jason Nevins (who keeps the hard bass on the track, while throwing his signature beats behind it). The standout of the remix package is from the up & coming DJ’s From Mars, who give the track a great buildup through the first verse and chorus, then dropping into a slamming dance beat, completely throwing the track on it’s ear. Make sure you check out the accompanying video that they did for this track, as it turns the club setting featured in the video into a place we all could party at on a Saturday night!“Just Be True To Who You Are”- Jessie JThere will be Britney, Beyonce, and yes, endless Gaga (not that anyone’s complaining mind you). But there are always those songs that you hear between the “Hold It Against Me” or the “Born This Way” that, instead of having you head to the bar, have you staying on the dancefloor! Give these tracks a listen; chances are you already know them and will now, after reading about them, will want to hear them again and again!
Jessie J is true a renaissance woman. I mean, with a track called “Do It Like A Dude” how could she be anything less?
