Today's Pick

Known for her more fantasy-driven visuals, the Estonian pop singer Kerli takes a different turn with a contemporary look for her latest up-tempo yet heartfelt song, “The Lucky Ones.” The inspirational dance jam will serve as the lead single from her upcoming sophomore studio album, "Utopia," dropping in 2013. The 25-year-old fashion forward songstress has said that her new album would celebrate life's light and dark sides.
Kerli's best known for combining pop, dance, elements of goth, and electronic music, and her latest track is no different, adding yet another irresistible song to her "Bubblegoth" genre. "The Lucky Ones" is an electropop song, and its synthesizer influenced production contains electronic dance and trance beats, and the song proved a fitting bridge for a truly visionary presence on the trendsetting side of pop. The song's lyrics were inspired by a friend of Kerli's miraculously finding the cure and overcoming his cancer and encourage people to be thankful for what they have in life.
"The message of the song is for us to never ever forget that we are the lucky ones. That fact that we get to sit here right now and be healthy. It's definitely the most meaning song I've ever written," Kerli said in a live chat back in September. "The Lucky Ones" takes a page out of Kerli's underground anthem "Zero Gravity" book, charging forward with pumping electro dance synths and trance-like beats. But while the high-octane vibe may be out of this world, Kerli's heartfelt lyrics and powerfully belts bring the song down to Earth.
It's a celebration of life, love and living in the moment. Accordingly, Kerli is acid, grunge, early 90's inspired in the moment more than ever in her new promo, which was directed by Ethan Chancer. The clip portrays the colorful singer in black and white with slow-motion close-ups of her face as she dancing and walking down the streets of Los Angeles, running her hand against a wall while singing the song, mixed with clips of speeding traffic that emphasize the hyper energy of the song. Apparently, Kerli wanted to give her fans something more gritty and real this time that hopefully inspires them the way they have inspired her.

Kerli made a successful transition from creepy art-popper to rave diva last year when her electro-pop hit "Army of Love" topped the Billboard Club charts. Now she's back with a new video inspired by manga to support her official follow-up single, "Zero Gravity," which is out now on iTunes, offers a first taste of what we can expect from the 25-year-old's long-awaited second album due later this year.
Co-written and produced by Scandipop duo Svante Halldin and Jakob Hazell, "Zero Gravity" is about as typical as club music gets in 2012. It's packaged with nostalgic '90s piano riffs, huge Ibiza-style synths, and even a Bubblegoth dubstep breakdown. Kerli serves up intergalactic metaphors galore over the song's euphoric production, using the limitless reaches of space to sing about a new romance. The lyrics of "Zero Gravity" are actually written in the honor of Air spirits - sylphs.
"I know it sounds like a love song and that's intentional but it's actually about merging with the spirit, becoming all love," she said. The Estonian songstress hasn't really tried to do anything new with the genre. But on the other hand, Kerli's generic new tunes are so irresistibly catchy and danceable that chastising her for the genre hop isn't just pointless, but also completely unfair. Kerli may not be as original as she once was, but "Zero Gravity" is proof that sometimes a move to the mainstream ain't always such a bad thing.
With her unique brand of bubblegoth pop magic, the soaring single comes complete with an eye-popping video, beaming us up to a colorful wonderland in the sky. "I'm as light as I can be / You got me feeling weightless," the Estonian chanteuse sings in a variety of vibrant costumes, and you're likely to feel a bit giddy yourself. In clip, Kerli is portrayed as a cocoon hanging upside down on a tree branch before blossoming into a beautiful angel. "The Zero Gravity video is about transformation," she explains. "I tried to mix all this super angelic stuff with some more cyber/techno stuff."

In a unique partnership, Estonian singer/provocateur Kerli and AOL have teamed up to debut her infectious electro-pop track "Army Of Love," throughout the month of December. Kerli has just completed her transformation from creepy art-pop chick to sexy pop princess with the release of her new video and is ready to show her "moon children" clip, self-described style of "bubble goth," which shows the making of her latest masterpiece. The video is 'just like her others' quite the fantasy trip, but also has some more realistic scenes.
"Army of Love" is the first taste from Kerli's upcoming, Spring 2011 as-yet untitled sophomore album. The dancey tune is rooted in an infectious electronic beat, and is packed full with all the electropop goodness and positive lyrical themes that have become a potent force on the Billboard charts as of late. Kerli's ethereal vocals act as icing on the proverbial cake. "'Army of Love' is the kind of army that uses integrity love and unity as weapons, and as we picked some super grimy locations to represent the restriction, I really wanted the characters to be completely magical and represent faith," Kerli says of the video concept. "You know, like little beacons of light in the darkness." Kerli throws a White Party to rival Diddy's annual bash, and decked out in all white, the talented singer and her moon children minion kick off a righteous outdoor assembly that doubles as the hottest rave to hit Middle Earth.
The video was filmed in Kerli's hometown of Estonia by Baltic director Kaimar Kukk during early November. According to the singer, "This video sets the undertone of my entire new album. The theme for the video is 'army of love,' so I definitely wanted to play up the army concept," she explains. "But I didn't want it to be a regular army, because 'Army of Love' stands for the invasion of creativity and beauty, so I decided to take everything army and make the colors into white and pastel colors." Her new video has given fans an inside glimpse of the singer's creative process, her costumes and her native region. Kerli stated, "This song and video really set the tone for my new album. I am very happy that I can launch it with such a strong partnership with AOL and reach so many people. I hope that the message - creating an Army of Love that will bring Integrity, Love and Unity into the world - will inspire young people in all areas of their lives."
Hailing from Elva, a tiny, then-Soviet occupied town of 5,000 people in the forest, in Estonia, Kerli always dreamed she would leave and experience the world and she has! Her musical journey took her to the Baltics where she won an American Idol-style talent competition at 14, which ultimately led to her signing at Island Records. She has definitely taken a different musical route this time around, incorporating an infectious electronic beat! What hasn't changed, is Kerli's beautiful lyricism. Her songs always have meaning behind them, because she gives herself whole heartedly to her creative process. Kerli is a unique artist, with a talent like no other.