Lily Allen - F*ck You (Ralphi Rosario Remix)

"Lily Allen has been called all these things, and much, much more - sometimes with justification, often without. She's posh, she's common, she's sexy, she's demure, she's reticent, she's outspoken, she's sensitive, she's shameless, she's loved-up, she's distraught, often all in the same evening. Then she goes to bed, gets up and has breakfast. Then she posts her breakfast on the Internet. Then other people analyse her breakfast. And wonder why she posted it on the Internet. Contrary, contradictory, occasionally catty, always compelling, Allen, at 23, is Britain's most consistently engaged and engaging pop star, as well as one of our most successful. She first commandeered the public stage in July 2006, a fully formed phenomenon with a song that would help define that summer, the hugely infectious "Smile", her first CD single and her first UK number one. "Smile" served as an excellent primer for the Allen oeuvre, a breezy, lilting, ska-inflected slice of perfect pop distinguished by sugar-sweet vocals and unflinchingly autobiographical lyrics. It was a song of female empowerment sung by a smart-mouthed, wide-eyed, pretty post-teen in a pink prom dress and box-fresh Nike trainers, fluoro make-up and huge hoop earrings. "LDN" was, if anything, even more insidious and distinctive: a faux-naive, text-spelt, profane paean to the city of her birth in all its grimy glory. By the time of the release of "Alright, Still", her debut album, Allen's stardom was solidified and her public persona cemented: cheeky, waspish, searingly honest, sparky, spiky and satirical. Some of the stories about her were even true.

Lily Allen was born in May 1985 in Hammersmith, west London, the daughter of film producer Alison Owen and actor Keith Allen. It was an unconventional childhood, but not one without its compensations, and it made Allen wise beyond her years and tremendously motivated to carve her own place in the world. Raised alongside her sister and brother in Bloomsbury, Shepherd's Bush, Primrose Hill and Islington, she attended 13 different schools in total before abandoning her formal education at 15 and embarking on a teenage odyssey of innocence and experience: clubbing in Ibiza, studying to be a florist, always hoping to break into the entertainment industry. She knocked on record company doors from the age of 16, and her first deal came in 2002, with Warners, who pushed her in an uncomfortably folky direction. It was two years later, working with producers Future Cut, when Allen began to find her feet as a songwriter. In 2005 she signed to Regal, an imprint of Parlophone, and, frustrated by the slow pace of the music industry, began to post demos on her MySpace page. Meanwhile, a series of live appearances at the Notting Hill nightclub Yo-Yo in the spring of 2006 whetted press and public appetites.

"I find it hard to write songs about nothing," says Allen. "I try to write things that are both relevant to my life - which is totally weird and surreal - and also universal. I think the record probably is a bit darker but not because I have a darker outlook on life. I actually feel happier right now than I did when I released "Alright, Still". When I was writing the first record I felt like I was really struggling. I wanted to be doing something and I felt no one was interested. Now I feel like people are very interested." " Article source: www.lilyallenmusic.com.

Pussycat Dolls - I Hate This Part (Digital Dog Remix)

"“Inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll,” says Robin Antin, the creator of the singing-and-dancing ensemble that has risen from underground cool to major label hot. “It’s about female empowerment, about being confident with who you are. It’s about singing and dancing in front of a mirror by yourself and having fun.”

With their A&M Records debut album, PCD, (led by the #1 smash “Don’t Cha,” a duet with Busta Rhymes and produced by Cee-Lo), the Pussycat Dolls go beyond being extraordinarily beautiful. With tremendous voices, and after working with today’s top songwriters and producers (including Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas, Timbaland, Rich Harrison, Sean Garrett, and Ron Fair), the Pussycat Dolls are ready to stamp their mark on music and on attitudes.

“To me, a Pussycat Doll is fearless but also vulnerable,” says lead singer Nicole Scherzinger. “We’re strong but we like to play too. The line in ‘Don’t Cha’–’don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me’–is meant to be empowering. The Pussycat Dolls are not about just being hot but also about saying something with real feeling.” From Scherzinger, who earlier scored a Top 10 album and single while in girl group Eden’s Crush, to Jessica Sutta, the one-time captain of the Miami Heat dance troupe; from Carmit Bachar, the “La Vida Loca” girl on Ricky Martin’s world tour, to Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt, two of the most talented young dancers in Hollywood, and Melody Thornton, a stunning singer chosen from an open audition, these Pussycat Dolls represent the next step for the group whose Sunset Strip performances became the hippest ticket in Hollywood.

The Pussycat Dolls were born in a tiny dance studio in the L.A. garage of actress Christina Applegate, with whom Antin was rooming in the early ’90s. Antin had appeared in commercials for Coke and 7-Up, and did choreography for music videos for the likes of Smash Mouth, The Offspring, and No Doubt. “But I wanted to do something creative and different,” she says.So Antin invited over a few girlfriends who were also tour/music video dancers and they began to play around with her own choreography, a style endowed with the spirit of famed choreographer Bob Fosse (“Sweet Charity,” “Cabaret”) but also music from Led Zeppelin to punk rock, Siouxsie & the Banshees to Bjork, and fashion as well. Meanwhile Applegate suggested they perform at the Sunset Strip’s renowned Viper Room. Owner Johnny Depp saw them rehearse and reportedly said, “This is why I opened a club.” The Pussycat Dolls, which have seen many members in its evolving lineup since debuting in 1995, became the Thursday night opening act for the next six years.

A turning point came in 2000 when No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani came to a show and said she’d love to do a guest spot, not just to dance but to sing. So did Christina Aguilera. In 2002 it was time to take the show to a bigger venue and so the Pussycat Dolls moved to the Roxy. For two shows a week, for seven weeks, the place was sold out. Other guest performers included Brittany Murphy, Charlize Theron, Nikka Costa, Paris Hilton, and Pamela Anderson. All of them appeared without pay, just for the fun of it, including emcee Applegate.That same year, Antin joined forces with Jimmy Iovine, Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M, who also envisioned taking them to a higher level. Their song “We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going” was heard in 2004’s Shark Tale, their cover of the standard “Sway” (helmed by Ron Fair, A&M President and producer for Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas, among others) was heard in 2004’s Shall We Dance? The Pussycat Dolls were also seen in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Pink’s “Trouble” video as well as 2005’s Be Cool. Scherzinger was featured with Will Smith on “If U Can’t Dance (Slide)” on his 2005 Lost And Found album.Today, there is a Pussycat Dolls line of makeup from Stila and the Pussycat Dolls Lounge opened in April 2005 inside Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, featuring a different roster of performers. The future may hold a line of clothing, lingerie, perfume, videogames, TV, and movie projects, and other lounges." Article source: www.pussycat-dolls.net.