Today's Pick

It's an Idol worlds collide! Australia's very first ever Idol winner Guy Sebastian has teamed up with American Idol cutie winner Jordin Sparks for their slushy duet "Art of Love" music video, which is all a bit shouty but power ballad, and two astounding voices are brought together into the song.
Sebastian, the multi-platinum selling singer songwriter is the former Australian Idol winner from the premiere season in 2003, and his winning song "Angels Brought Me Here," which Carrie Underwood sang in the Season 4 Finale. He since has released five albums and recently wrote his hit song "Art of love" and then traveled to New York City to record the smashing hit with Sparks. The song was officially released as the second single from Sebastian's latest fifth highly anticipated album, "Like It Like That," which was released in Australia on October 23 by Sony Music, the first since his critically acclaimed 2007 "The Memphis" album which featured covers of classic 1960s and 1970s Memphis Soul hits, and went on to achieve triple-platinum certification by the ARIA, and it featuring Sparks.
Sebastian and Sparks filmed the music video in Los Angeles. Sparks looks gorgeous in her glammed-up attire. The song's nice too, especially the second chorus, which features Sparks's harmonies prominently. "I'm still overwealmed that she did the song, and now is doing the video," the Australian Idol said of his American Idol counterpart. "She's super humble and very sweet and killed the track. She sings it amazingly well. They were due to perform "Art Of Love" on the Australian Idol grand final last Sunday, but Sparks was unable to travel to Australia due to a sudden illness. Meanwhile, Sebastan will head out on the "Like It Like That" Tour in February 2010.

She's back and turning up the heat! For a while now, fans have been waiting for the sultry diva Toni Braxton to drop a new single "Yesterday" from her upcoming sixth studio album, "Pulse," which will be dropped sometime in February 2010. After much leaked material, Braxton is giving ESSENCE.com readers a first listen, and premiered a music video for the remix version of her new single featuring Trey Songz on BET's popular The Wendy Williams Show on Friday, to help the track become a hit among the R&B fans.
"Yesterday" is the first official single from the album and is produced by DJ Frank-E and released September 29 first time under Atlantic Records after four years in hiatus, following 2005's "Libra". The original song was signature Braxton. Big vocals, slow beats and sexy undertones. But, in a bid to pump up the hype post-Vegas gig and pre-comeback, the record label attempted to gloss it over with a mid-tempo beat.
Filming the music video for the single started on October 8 in Los Angeles with director Bille Woodruff. Braxton taking full advantage of her newly single status had cameos from several hot basketball players, include Shannon Brown and Ron Artest from the LA Lakers, playing her romantic opposite. In video, the sultry singer and former 'Dancing with the Stars' diva is sizzling hot and playing a piano with a small wig and finds the strength to move on after finding her boyfriend Brooke Hogan cozying up to another woman, all the while exchanging vocals with a nearby Songz. The six-time Grammy winner is definitely showing how to be sultry and classy at the same time. She flexed her versatility donning different wigs in each scenario and looked exceptionally beautiful in every take. Her voice is still a powerful sensation which makes us feel like she wasn't gone for "Seven Whole Days." Adding Songz was an interesting cougar-licious mix! Their harmony is definitely apparent and compliments each other.
Braxton has enjoyed a successful musical career and with one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in contemporary music, She returned to the international marketplace. Both "Yesterday" and "Pulse" have huge significance in the career of this popular singer as she is making a comeback in the music world after a long break of five years. She has tried to put in her best effort to make her new work successful and is also expected to earn her fame. The R&B star present the award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist at American Music Awards last Sunday, and is set to perform "Yesterday" at the BET/Centric presents Soul Train Awards tomorrow night at 9:00pm on BET.

The hip-hop record producer and rapper Timbaland is back in stride, and has premiered exclusively a music video on Timbaland's official website in support of his single "Morning After Dark," features an additional rap verse from Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado and his newly-signed French rapper SoShy. "Morning After Dark" is the lead single from his upcoming third studio album, "Shock Value 2," a consciously-styled sequel with an equally intriguing castlist (Katy Perry, Daughtry, Miley Cyrus) which is due for December 8 U.S. release.
Once upon a time, Timbaland was quite the trendsetter with his cutting edge beats and crazy samples. Those days seem to be behind him if his latest video "Morning After Dark" is anything to go by and he's jumped on the vampire-bandwagon. The Twilight-inspired cheesy video/short film was an over 7 minutes in length longer than the song itself and directed by Paul "Coy" Allen, the video features a story plot based on a sexy girl who's spending her last week in Italy reluctantly heads off to a party who has several mysterious encounters with vampires similar to the film 'Twilight' were seen following her but whenever they try to hurt her, Timbaland and SoShy come in their way and trying to guard the girl from mysterious men and protect her. The powerhouse producer recently spilled the beans on crafting a sequel to the song saying "It fits everything going on with the vampire theme, and everything with 'Twilight.' I also have part two to the single too, so it's like a whole little story line to it."
Last Sunday night, the 2009 American Music Awards brought a lot of excitement for music lovers and the event was graced by the popular music sensations of the country, and they made the night full of colors and memorable with their performance. Timbaland made the best use of the night by appearing with both SoShy and Furtado to perform the song from an upcoming album is expected to raise the popularity of the album before its launch. It was one of my personal favorite performances of the night. Timbaland flirtatiously harmonizes over a galactic-sounding, double-speed piano and thumping beats. It has not only given wide exposure to his track but also to the new artist Soshy as she was introduced to thousands of people by this track and it would prove a better start for her career. The trio also hit up 'The Tonight Show' on Monday to belt out the tune for Conan O'Brien. Although, "belt" might not exactly be the proper term. It sounded like Timbaland was sing-rapping over a guide track, but you could still hear his live voice despite all the advanced technology.

The feisty Tennessee pop punkers, Paramore returns with a new fall themed video for their latest single "Brick By Boring Brick" this week on the band's website. The track was released in the UK on Monday, as the second single taken from their third chart-topping studio installment "Brand New Eyes." The lead singer Hayley Williams explains to MTV that "The track is about not accepting reality and understanding that you don't have to make everything frilly or pretty-sounding for it to be interesting. Life doesn't have to be some grand production, and some of the boring parts of being alive are actually the greatest. The song is about breaking down those walls and finding out that the centre of it is what really matters."
Paramore take fans to the fantasy world in the "Brick by Boring Brick" music video directed by Meiert Avis and filmed in Los Angeles on October 8. It featuring shades of creepery that run the full childhood-nightmare gauntlet, and tells the story of a little girl who lives in a fantasy world because her own life seems intolerable with stunning visuals and one creepy, dark Alice in Wonderland-like storyline. It's band's first video to have "a whole story behind it" with acting and is special-effects heavy and features absolutely no footage of the band performing the song (a first for them). Instead, we get to see Paramore playing actual roles. Through out the video, frontwoman Williams all dolled up and looking adorable, who dons a frilly white dress and is singing her heart out into the grass sits on a swing, seems to be the narrator of the story while Josh Farro (guitarist) is a gravedigger, Jeremy Davis (bass) is a knight, Zac Farro (drums) is a robber and Taylor York (guitar) is a gnome.
The song received the positive reviews. Digital Spy states "infectious, deliciously dark, and packed with more energy than a Jedward dance routine." BBC said "hair-raisingly BRILLIANT" and listening to the lyrics is like entering a world where sandcastle's aren't built, but buried, a world where the baddie is not the wolf, but reality." What makes Paramore so great is their energy, whether it's live onstage or in their frenetic, performance-based videos ("Ignorance" and "Misery Business" in particular), and that energy is largely absent here. Perhaps we can chalk this up to growing pains, a slight misstep on the road to maturity. Growing up is hard to do, after all. Recently, Paramore have been nominated as one of the contenders for Favorite Rock Band at 2010 People's Choice Awards. They are facing off DAUGHTRY, Green Day, Kings of Leon and Muse.

The alternative pop band Lifehouse's Official music video in companion to their new single "Halfway Gone" has just made its way out on VH-1 Monday. The Frank Borin directed video captures the four members of the band enjoying some relaxing time with friends and fans 'magically' appear for a day in the park during a sunny day.
The single "Halfway Gone" was released to radio and digital retailers on October 27 in the US. It is the first cut to be taken from their upcoming fifth studio album "Smoke and Mirrors," slated for release on February 2, 2010 (aka Groundhog Day). Its deluxe edition will be made available for purchase as a double-disc set. "American Idol" alum Chris Daughtry and the "Let It Rock" hitmaker Kevin Rudolf are two of the fellow musicians who are set to help this band finishing the record.
Lifehouse have a catalogue to equal the radio-friendly rock of those acts. The group includes Jason Wade (lead vocals, guitar), Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. (drums, percussion), Bryce Soderberg (bass guitar) and Ben Carey (guitar). They have sold upwards of fifteen million singles and albums worldwide to date. Wade has a voice that was always destined to front a band and on "Halfway Gone" it is used to great affect on a rousing chorus. Sure, this isn't boundary pushing in any way, but it's unshakably fun rock-pop that would brighten most people's day. I have always had a fond appreciation for Lifehouse and this song rekindles my love for them!

Keri Hilson is undeniably one of the hottest Pop/R&B artists of the music scene. She now goes global, premiered a music video for her latest electro-pop song "I like," which is contribution to the soundtrack for the new German blockbuster Til Schweiger-starring "Zweiohrkuken". The footage from the film is sometimes intercepted with captures of Hilson's performance. New single exclusively for Europe which will be released officially on November 20.
The R&B singer started her career writing hits for stars such as Britney Spears, Ciara and Usher, but after the successful release of her album "In a Perfect World...," Hilson's now keeping some of her best songs for herself. Her newest track, "I Like," is a sexy, catchy synthy, dreamy new jam that could very well become a chart topper. Produced by David Jost and Robin Gruber, it has a dark, electronic beat that matches perfectly with Hilson's sultry voice. The track starts off light, and slowly picks up into the chorus, which Hilson handles perfectly. She doesn’t overuse the hook. "I Like" throughout the track, she just simply sprinkles them in at the perfect times. Clearly Hilson is not only a very talented singer, but an extremely adept songwriter as well. "I Like" is the latest single off of the German re-release of Hilson's debut album.
Hilson won two trophies at 2009 Soul Train Awards earlier this month, leading the winners list along with Beyonce Knowles. She took home Best New Artist and her duet with Kanye West and Ne-Yo on song "Knock You Down" was named Best Collaboration. Hilson is going to perform at the inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay International Music Festival on December 18. She will sing alongside several local acts such as Jozi and Bricks at the three-day event to be held at the World Cup Soccer Stadium.

The rock band, Thirty Seconds To Mars ('30STM') finally unveil an official epic short film/video in support of the lead single "Kings And Queens," known as "The Ride," off their forthcoming third studio album "This Is War" which they have been going through in getting the album done for two years, and will be released December 8.
The bond '30STM' formed in 1998 by actor Jared Leto as vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter, with his brother, Shannon began as a small family project. Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist and keyboard player. After working with a number of guitarists, the three auditioned Tomo Milicevic to round out the band's roster. According to an interview from Virgin Records, "[The band's name] actually comes from a thesis title that the band found online that was written by a former Harvard professor. What it means to us is, we thought it best described our music, in short."
'30STM' have already gone to great lengths to make sure that their "Kings and Queens" video is a thoroughly epic production. They've filmed in and around some of Los Angeles' most iconic landmarks, recruited a large cast of extras and all manner of surrealist street performers to make cameos. So naturally, they want to roll the thing out in an equally epic manner. The video had two main themes: One featuring a fire-breathing clown and an army of gas mask-wearing cyclists, and the band among them, riding in downtown Los Angeles. The other part of the video simply features the band playing on a cliff edge of some sort that overlooks the city. These two themes alternate between each other during the course of the video.
The frontman Jared has been quoted saying that the video was "basically make a love letter to Los Angeles and to celebrate that side of the world." He discussed the making of the video in an interview with MTV: "We're doing all-night shoots. That was my big, dumb idea, to shoot at night, but I think this city is a beautiful place at night, and we have these empty streets, and it's kind of a haunting, forgotten landscape," the vocalist continued. "It's been an incredible adventure, but it's also been really difficult, because there are so many people, and we're shutting down streets of Los Angeles."
This single "Kings And Queens" shows a definite evolution of their musical style, but I definitely would not classify it as "pop". Instead, I hear traces of Angels & Airwaves and U2 in "Kings and Queens," mixed with classic 30 Seconds. So, overall, an epic single! check it out courtesy of Rock Sound below!