Loreen, Daft Punk, Selena Gomez + More: 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs Of The Week
It's Tuesday! Time for another round of "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week"!
This week's roundup features the return of a Eurovision Queen, a Disney princess hitting the dance floor, robot disco, and a certain late '90s songstress that we're crushing on more than a decade later.
1.) Loreen, We Got The Power
Queen Loreen returns! After snatching the crown (and several wigs) at 2012's Eurovision competition with her dark, moody trance masterpiece "Euphoria," the powerhouse Swedish belter returned to Eurovision this year to premiere her new single, "We Got The Power." Co-penned by Ester Dean (the naughty-minded scribe behind some of Rihanna's rudest cuts), the track trades out the pulsating synthesizers for a gritty guitar line and a marching drumbeat. But don't worry -- she's kept the soaring chorus: "We got the power to make you love," Loreen powerfully shouts (along with a chorus of voices). The woman's got a penchant for recording only the most epic-sounding of tracks -- and this one's certainly no exception.
Listen to more Must-Hear Pop Songs after the jump.
2.) Selena Gomez, "Come And Get It (Fred Falke Remix)"
Selena Gomez's seductive summer anthem, "Come & Get It," sashayed its way into Billboard's Top 10 last week, and now it's about to climb aboard the club charts. The pint-size pop princess just unleashed a boatload of remixes from DJs across the globe. Most of the mixes are thundering, anthemic explosions of pumping synthesizers, but the Fred Falke -- as is his usual M.O. -- offers up a more seductive experience. The French DJ/producer's almighty 8-minute mix of the track smooths Selena's Bollywood-infused slice of seduction into a luscious, infinitely dreamier production full of hypnotizing electronica and sensual pulsations. Justin Bieber's probably really into it.
3.) Daft Punk, "Instant Crush"
No comeback has been more talked/blogged/buzzed/tweeted about than Daft Punk's grand re-emergence in 2013. And at last, after endless teases and tantalizing interviews, Random Access Memories has finally arrived. "Instant Crush" isn't even the best track on RAM, but it's certainly one of the more instant selections. With a vocal contribution by Julian Casablancas (who is sent through the vocoder ringer, courtesy of the robots), the strutting midtempo glides across hazy synthesizers and a gentle drum pulse (plus a solid electric guitar solo midway through), recalling the Scandi-pop bliss of Rôyksopp and, of course, The Strokes.
4.) Paige & Palermo, "Believe"
Speaking of crushes: Remember Jennifer Paige's 1998 smash "Crush" ("It's just...a little crush!")? Uh, of course you do. It's been a minute (or 10) since we last heard from Jennifer, but the '90s songstress is making a major comeback in 2013 -- this time with a duo. The songstress has teamed up with singer-songwriter Coury Palermo (who was most recently featured on Morgan Page's "The Only One"), resulting in a collection of tracks for an upcoming EP, Stay. "Believe," a soaring, slightly country-tinged ambient journey, is the newest track from the set: "Something tells me I'm not alone," the two croon, resembling a more electronica-tinged Lady Antebellum, or even shades of Fleetwood Mac.
5.) Lana Del Rey, "Queen of Disaster"
The fabulous Lana Del Rey is far too busy dazzling at Cannes Film Festival and racing up the charts with her haunting Gatsby theme, "Young and Beautiful," to notice that yet another demo from the Born To Die sessions managed to worm its way onto the internet. "Queen of Disaster," which was co-penned with Chris Braide (who also wrote Lana's "Million Dollar Man"), sees the songstress getting into a summery, swoon-y Motown state of mind, as she girlishly twirls across twinkling bells and bright beats, and even some tambourine action. Lana might be best known for her brooding, slow-burning ballads, but "Queen of Disaster" is a much more upbeat affair, allowing us to hear how Lana likes to get down on a Friday night.
Bradley Stern is a writer from New York. In his spare time, he enjoys organizing his Britney Spears CD collection in reverse chronological order and writing impassioned letters to Congress urging that Madonnalogy be taught in all public schools. But most of all, he spends his time tweeting and musing daily about pop music on his blog, MuuMuse.
Photo credit: Getty Images/Paige & Palermo's Facebook
