June New Album Releases

It's a real dance pop month in June, as we see the release of the third album from the Scissor Sisters, which I'm most excited about, plus Christina Aguilera's fourth album and Robyn's fifth. Here's a rundown of the biggest new releases.

Scissor Sisters - Night Work (June 28). It's been four long years since Scissor Sisters released their second album, Ta-Dah. Since then they've kept a pretty low profile, with the most notable thing happening to them being the change of their drummer, as Paddy Boom left the band to be replaced by Randy "Real" Schrager. First single "Fire with Fire" is already starting to get airplay. The album is produced by Stuart Price, the famous British dance music producer who helmed Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor and the recent Killers album, Day and Age.

Christina Aguilera - Bionic (June 7/8). Pop megastar Christina Aguilera likes long spans between her albums. Her last major release, a 2008 greatest hits album, produced a minor hit, "Keeps Gettin' Better," but she hasn't put out an album in 4 years. Bionic is the follow-up to her 2006 double-disc concept album that saw Aguilera mine classic soul and '40s pop. For Bionic, she turns to the modern, teaming up with Polow da Don and Tricky Stewart, in addition to longtime collaborator Linda Perry. First single "Not Myself Tonight" has a flashy GaGa-esque video, but is already show signs of cooling on the chart, which is a bit premature.

Robyn - Bodytalk Pt. 1 (June 14/15). Having dramatically revived her international pop career with Robyn, an album promoted and released in different countries over the course of 2005 through 2008, the Swedish dance pop singer follows that up with Bodytalk Pt. 1, a collection of just nine tracks, that Robyn has said is the first of three such sets due to be released over the course of the year. First single is "Dancing on My Own." Robyn scored big internationally in 1997/98 with hits like "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love," but had few hits outside of Scandinavia after that until "With Every Heartbeat" hit #1 in Britain late in the summer of 2007.

Oasis - Time Flies...1994 - 2009 (June 14/15). Oasis, who called it quits last year, is set to release a 2-disc comprehensive greatest hits collection spanning the band's career from its first single, "Supersonic," to its last, "Falling Down." From what I've seen it has everything, including their eight UK #1s, "Whatever," their first top 5 hit that has been unavailable from a digital store, and, on the US version, "Champagne Supernova," which despite being their second-biggest American hit, was not released as a single in Britain.

Glee Cast - Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals (June 8). This will mark the third month in a row with a Glee release. This is the EP that accompanies the first season finale, including a new version of "Don't Stop Believin," "To Sir, With Love" and "Over the Rainbow." Glee's been picked up for two more seasons. So expect lots of releases to continue coming next fall.



Eminem - Recovery (June 22). American Rapper Eminem had promised to follow-up Relapse with a sequel, but instead takes a new direction with Recovery, featuring recent #1 hit "Not Afraid."

Miley Cyrus - Can't Be Tamed (June 22). The Disney pop star returns with her third studio album, preceded by its title-track single.

3Oh!3 - Streets of Gold (June 29). Third album from the American pop/rock band features single "My First Kiss" with Ke$ha.

The Chemical Brothers - Further (June 7). The British electronic duo releases its seventh album.

Sia - We Are Born (June 7). Sia's fouth album follows her 2008 breakthrough, Some People Have Real Problems.

Drake - Thank Me Later (June 15). Canadian rapper releases his full-length debut album featuring hit singles "Over" and "Find Your Love."

Ladies Ladies Ladies

Many of our beloved big female pop stars have new projects coming the second half of the year. Here's the current skinny on we can look forward to:

Christina Aguilera's planning a new album for September called Light & Darkness. After the throwback styles of 2006's Back to Basics, word is that her new album will be thoroughly modern and electronic, with collaborators like Goldfrapp, Ladytron, and Sia in tow (plus good ol' Linda Perry of course). "Keeps Gettin' Better," the single from her recent greatest hits set, certainly pointed in this direction. No word on the first single, but it's rumored to have a July release.

Mariah Carey's last album came out just over a year ago, but she's already got its follow-up ready. Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel is due in September, with first single "Obsessed" due to hit radio on Tuesday. Behind-the-scenes work comes from the usual mix of producers, including The Dream, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, and Timbaland, as well the return of longtime collaborator Walter Anasieff, the man behind many of Carey's early hits, including "Love Takes Time," "Hero," and "One Sweet Day." Also rumored is a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is."

Whitney Houston hasn't released a popular album since 1998 (2002's Just Whitney was a flop). Having dealt with drugs, divorce, and reality TV since then, the singer has been reportedly working to rebuilding her career the last few years. And while rumors have surfaced periodically about her return, this time it looks like it will happen. The album is currently slated for release in September. Although no word on its title, the first single is said to be "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster--a powerhouse team for a pop ballad comeback.

Leona Lewis, who became the first star from a British reality show music contest to break into the US, is due to release her second album in November. Ryan Tedder will be returning to the mix, along with Timbaland, Ne-Yo, Xenomania, and Jay-Z. Lewis is reportedly interested in having Coldplay's Chris Martin contribute as well.

Madonna, wrapping up her 27-year relationship with Warner Brothers Records, will release a career-capping greatest hits collection this fall. No word on the format yet, but I'm hoping for something like we got from Celine Dion last year--multiple releases, depending on your interest, such as a one-disc version for casual fans, and a three-disc version with remixes and b-sides for the devoted. Paul Oakenfold worked with Madonna to record some new material for the release, which he told Attitude magazine are called "Broken," "I'm Sorry," and "Celebrate." We'll see if they make the cut.

Shania Twain is rumored to be releasing her new album this fall, her first since Up! in 2002. I can't find any details about it though, so among these potential new releases, this would seem to be the most tentative.

Christina Aguilera - Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits

Christina Aguilera's greatest hits collection, Keeps Gettin' Better, arrived in stores this week. While I'm not a die-hard Aguilera fan, I've generally liked what she's done. Despite having put out only three albums (Britney, by comparison will soon release her sixth), she's amassed enough hit singles to make this collection well timed.

What I find irritating about this release though is the extent to which her American fans are being given the shaft. In the US, this is only available at Target, and the US release does not include three key tracks the UK version does: her #1 hit Moulin Rouge collaboration, "Lady Marmalade," her Ricky Martin duet "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely," and her Stripped ballad "The Voice Within." The "Lady Marmalade" ommission is shocking, and the "Nobody Wants to be Lonely" ommission is disappointing, considering that it didn't appear on an Aguilera album nor the original release of Ricky Martin's Sound Loaded. Their inclusion may have made this an attractive package to a fan who already has her albums, but without them, you're just paying $14 for the four new tracks.

And speaking of those four new tracks, I'm not convinced the apparent new direction they point to is a good one. "Keeps Gettin' Better" is decent, but could have been better. The Goldfrapp-ish electropop sound is welcome but undercooked. The mix throughout the song is too even, never allowing the song to really "pop" as it should. "Dynamite" has a better mix, but lacks a good hook. The other two songs are electro remakes of her two biggest hits. "Genie 2.0" features a dark synth melody, but why not give us a new song with it? "You Are What You Are" is a space-age remake of "Beautiful." It's rather flat-sounding compared to the original, and she just sounds bored. Sure, Aguilera's been criticised for excessive melisma in the past, but becoming a robot is not a good solution to that problem. If this is the direction her upcoming fourth album will take, then count me out.