The New Shit: Rihanna - Rated R

The highly anticipated Rihanna album 'Rated R' came out several weeks ago. But I want to do a list of my thoughts on each track. Sort of like the Lady GaGa review. Just out of the gate, I am a fan of Rihanna so keep that in mind. It may be a little bias but the reviews that have been published mostly seem positive.

1. Mad House

-Shame it's not a full song
-Reminds me of the intro to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" track not the album
-Interesting for an intro
Score: 7.1/10.2

2. Wait Your Turn

-Swagger song on the album
-Sweet lyrics; "I'm such a f---ing LADY" ;)
-She brought back her island accent from her "Music of the Sun" days
Score: 8.7/10.2

3. Hard (feat. Young Jeezy)
- Highlight; "THEY CAN SAY WHATEVER
I’MA DO WHATEVER
NO PAIN IS FOREVER"
-Young Jeezy is pretty decent and fits the track
-Upcoming single (2nd)
Score: 8.6/10.2

4. Stupid in Love
-Thought it was awesome upon first listen
-Now I think its sub-par
-LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING
NEVER HAVE I EVER
BEEN A SIZE 10 IN MY WHOLE LIFE
"HUH?!"
-New fan's may like the track, but it doesn't fit the album
Score: 4.6/10.2

5. Rockstar 101 (feat. Slash)
-One word: SWAGGER
Score: 8.9/10.2

6. Russian Roulette
-LOVE the gunshots
-A good ballad for the album while still fitting the context (unlike: Stupid in Love)
-Sweeettt Chorus
Score: 9.1/10.2

7. Fire Bomb
- FUCKING AMAZING
-"I JUST WANNA SET YOU ON FIRE SO I WON'T
HAVE TO BURN ALONE
THEN YOU'LL
THEN YOU'LL KNOW WHERE I'M COMING FROM
FIRE BOMB" One of the highlights of the album!!!!
-BEST TRACK ON THE ALBUM
Score: 24.35/10.2

8. Rude Boy
- Not the girl next door anymore
-"COME HERE RUDE BOY
BOY CAN YOU GET IT UP
COME HERE RUDE BOY
BOY IS YOU BIG ENOUGH
TAKE IT TAKE IT
BABY BABY
TAKE IT TAKE IT
LOVE ME LOVE ME":O
Score: 9.6/10.2

9. Photographs
-Boring...
- Will.I.Am is annoying when his breakdown comes
-The lyrics are decent
Score: 7.6/10.2

10. G4L
-My second favorite track!
-Sweet production by Chase & Status
-Nice chorus
Chorus: 10.1/10.2

11. Te Amo
-Really curious track (in a good way)
-Cheesiest track on the album
-"TE AMO SHE SAYS TO ME
I HEAR THE PAIN IN HER VOICE
THEN WE DANCED UNDERNEATH THE CANDELABRA
SHE TAKES THE LEAD" A real 360 from the Good Girl Gone Bad days
Score: 9.51/10.2

12. Cold Case Love
-Very Poignant
-The most personal track on the album
-Emotionally charged for sure
Score: 10.099/10.2

13. The Last Song
-"WHAT IF YOU WASTED LOVE AND ALL OF OUR TIME DISAPPEARED?
AND THIS SAD SONG ENDS UP BEIN THE LAST SONG YOU'LL EVER HEAR?"
Really touching lyric
-Nice melody
-That's all
Score: 6.9/10.2

Final Score: 95%

Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster is more than a 're-release'

Although Lady GaGa won't admit it, her new album the Fame Monster is not a NEW CD. It is a release with a ton of extra shit (good shit at that). She undeniably dominated the pop charts worldwide. So here is what I think of each track:

1. Bad Romance: Kinda skeptical when I first heard the track. But I love it now ("RA RA AH AH ROMA RO MA MA GAGA OH LA LA"). I must listen to the track everyday now. It's a grower! [6.5/8]

2. Alejandro: The album version of this track isn't as good as the demo version that was leaked a few months ago. The demo version had a big synth beat and a lot of POP GOODNESS. The album version is good too, but they should have stuck with the demo. [6/8]

3. Monster: Hyper-suxualized, catchy chorus, and an amazing beat. It's everything that Lady GaGa is. This track is everything and a little more. If their ever was a monstrous breakdown it was in this song ("I wanna Just Dance/But he took me home instead/Uh oh! There was a monster in my bed/We french kissed on a subway train/He tore my clothes right off"). BTW, the live version is like a slice of heaven. [7.99/8]

4. Speechless: Ok, I understand that this track is personal to her, but it sucks. It's not that it's not an O.K. song but it doesn't fit into the album. It's a random ballad. But a lot of people LOVE this song. So my opinion is subjective to say the least. [4.5/8]

5. Dance In the Dark: This track is MAH JAM! The lyrics, the beat, the refrences, OMG everything is amazing about it. The chorus is MAYJAH ("Baby loves to dance in the dark/cause when hes looking/she falls apart/Baby loves to dance in the dark"). To understand how AMAZING this song is, you must listen. [100/8]

6. Telephone (feat. Beyonce): A prettyy sweet track. Surprisingly, Beyonce on the track actually makes it better. She's aggressive and a 'free bitch' as Lady GaGa would say. A decent track. [7/8]

7. So Happy I Could Die: This has to be my second favorite track. I love the beat and the overall amazingness. Once again the chorus shines on this track ("Happy in the club with a bottle of red wine/Stars in her eyes cause we're having a good time"). I think many of you will say that it's pretty generic but I luvs it. [8/8]

8. Teeth: A romp of a track. It's probably the strangest track she's ever done. It's actually kind of random. But it's still pretty awesome. That's all. :). [6.78/8]

All in all, this 'Cd' has no real shit songs. Their all pretty decent. If you haven't already I highly reccomend coping this shizz. If you don't have "the Fame" buy the deluxe, you owe it to yourself.

Mariah Carey - H.A.T.E.U (Video)

Here it is. It's pretty BLAH! But what else would you expect from a song like this. Mariah hasn't created a decent video since "Touch My Body". Too bad...

Susan Boyle? Rihanna? Lady GaGa? OH MY!

The previous week in music was considered the BIG MUSIC WEEK OF 2009. It's a big title to hold up to. To an extent it was a good week. Both Lady GaGa and Rihanna had awesome albums. Susan Boyle went number 1 (awwww....) and well Adam Lambert...was Adam Lambert.

The one thing I did not expect was Susan Boyle selling so massively! The top selling female album so far this year! To tell you the truth, I didn't even know the album was out.

Rihanna really didn't have a great week. Mind you her album didn't sell horribly (181,000, her highest first week) and the album was pretty decent. Many fans will point to the fact that Good Girl Gone Bad sold even less the first week. Here's the thing, Good Girl Gone Bad was a hit album. Every single was going to be a hit. Anyone who listened to it would know what I'm talking about. This new album (as good as it is) does not have the hits.

On a positive note, Lady GaGa had an awesome first week, her concert kicked off (in Montreal [I was there]) and it was a great dramatic extravaganza of flamboyancy. So in all it was pretty awesome. Her album the Fame Monster opened to strong commercial and critical success considering it was a re-release.

I'm not going to talk about Adam Lambert cause I don't want to give him anymore press...Frankly he doesn't deserve it. Thanks for checking in!

Welcome to PopInTheDark!

Hello guys! Here at PopInTheDark I'm going to be reviewing some pop music. Although I was really into the indie scene, I found that I really love the mood pop puts me in. Some artists that I like are Lady GaGa, Rihanna, Dragonette, Kate Nash, Beyonce, (etc.). I'll be doing some features, so check in daily!