Singles Serving

The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga. So "Judas" tanks, which is ridiculous, because it's a great song. Whatever. This is good too. It's not as in-your-face as "Born This Way" or "Judas," but it's a smart pop song with a bubbly keyboard melody. The song's most interesting feature is its saxophone middle-eight, evidently the best effort yet to bring back the '80s most overused instrument for pop music bridges. Love it or hate it, it's got style. Count me in the former.

Love Love - Take That. It's no "The Flood," but "Love Love" is a worthy upbeat entry in the Take That canon. Thundering synth bass beats give this a real pulse of a beat. And who's doing the lead? It's not readily apparent to my ears (apparently its Gary and Mark, just like on "Kidz"). It's not on Progress--look for it on the soundtrack to X-Men: First Class and the upcoming Take That EP, Progressed.

Finish Line - Yasmin. When I wrote my UK Singles Chart summary this week, I noted this was more conventional than her last single. While that's true, I didn't mean to sound dismissive about it, for it's a really great track, with an interesting rhythm section that sets its apart from other similar synthesizer-based R&B-ish pop. It's pretty dreamy actually. She may actually be one to watch.

Give Me Everything - Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer. Ne-Yo features prominently on Pitbull's new single, which just might be the most fun I've had yet with a Pitbull single. It's a clubby track with a good beat, but avoids sounding too harsh, softened by keyboards and Ne-Yo.

California King Bed - Rihanna. It sounds an awful lot like Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry," which means it will probably be a big hit, timed as Rihanna's fourth single (just like "Big Girls" was from Fergie's The Dutchess).

Calgary - Bon Iver. This is the first single from the indie folk bands upcoming second album, Bon Iver. This is much more rock-oriented than we've heard from them before with synthesizers and a sharper beat underlying the typically sleepy vocals. Nice song. Looking forward to the album.

Busy - Olly Murs. Olly picks up an acoustic guitar (or maybe someone near Olly), giving up as a breezy California-style pop ditty in the vein of Jason Mraz or Jack Johnson. Not bad really. Better than "Thinking of Me," which I wasn't really crazy about.

Still Got Tonight - Matthew Morrison. Speaking of male pop singers on a California kick, here's the new single from Matthew Morrison. It's quite a lot better than "Summer Rain" actually, with a more assertive melody. Reminds me of Beautiful World-era Take That (before they hooked up with Stuart Price).

I Can - Blue. I really don't get Eurovision. What's the point of it? If it was the best of the best, it would be interesting. If it was new, fresh faces, it would be interested. But a reunited boyband that was never one of the more interesting ones to begin with? The song is merely okay, it's nothing special.