Diva Off: Beyonce vs Rihanna

Since the dawn of time we have pitted diva's against each other to discover who we love more. And you don't get bigger diva's right now than Beyonce and Rihanna. To some it may seem like a one sided competition, Beyonce all the way, but Rihanna is pretty massive here in Australia and singles sales would point the competition to Rihanna.

I've been asking people this question all week, and it's been an even spread, and some of the discussions have been getting hectic. Love it. So let's plead the case for both.

BEYONCE:

Right from the beginning of Destiny's Child, Beyonce was the breakout star. Amazing vocals that match perfectly with her pop and R&B hits. She is not just a pop star, she is an icon, a style leader, and her influence is so massive, Kanye West crashed Taylor Swift's acceptance speech to declare that Beyonce had the best video of all time with "Single Ladies" (above).

Beyonce has sold over 118 million records throughout the world, if including Destiny's Child, add another 60 million. She's won 17 Grammy awards and must be worth like a gazillion dollars (not an official amount). Plus there's the amazing songs, so many great songs including "Crazy in Love", "Halo" and "Drunk in Love". She is a true star!

So here are my favourite three Beyonce songs, these songs prove why she is a true force of nature:

1 - Telephone (featuring Lady Gaga)

What an amazing collaboration! This song has everything, two amazing divas, a great hook, catchy chorus and cultural phenomenom film clip. Sure it's meant to be a Gaga single, but Beyonce owns her parts. Her voice sounds flawless here. Could listen to this one on repeat over and over.

2 - Irreplaceable

This could have easily been my favourite, even though it's 9 years old I still love it just as much. Co-written by Beyonce and Ne-Yo, this mid tempo ballad is a little pop, a little R&B and all awesome. So easy to get "To the left, to the left, everything you own in a box to the left" stuck in your head. A pretty perfect pop single that rightfully went number one world wide.

3 - 1 + 1

This wasn't an official single, but was released as a promo, video included. This power ballad is a complete showcase for some flawless Beyonce vocals. She sounds so desperate and impassioned on this track, you can't help but gush as she emotes. And those lyrics, wow, "We ain't got nothing but love, and darling you got enough for the both of us". I truly adore this beautiful song.

RIHANNA:

Rihanna has been releasing albums since 2005 and already has released 7 albums featuring some massive songs, in fact, here in Australia she has had 8 number ones (more than Beyonce). She's sold 54 million albums and 190 million singles worldwide. Her clips are pieces of art and she's an amazing fashion icon.

Let's talk hits, and there have been many. And these songs show the beauty of Rihanna, crossing from pop, hip hop and reggae and filling the gaps in between. "Umbrella" was massive, and for reason, there's her duets with Eminem, "Love the Way You Lie" and "The Monster" which were incredible, and then a beautiful ballad like "Stay" showcases her vocals. I was just dancing along to "Only Girl She is a singles artist and does it with style and flare.

Here are my favourite three Rihanna songs:

1 - Unfaithful

This, like "Irreplaceable" was co-written by Ne-Yo and this haunting power ballad is a perfect showcase for Rihanna's unique vocals. Lyrically it's about someone who regrets cheating. It's a great sing along ballad and a song I remember playing on repeat when it was first released. Beautiful stuff I still adore.

2 - S&M

Rihanna can make a wonderful dirty song, and this bit of pop brilliance proves it. This great track celebrating the love of S&M proves why Rihanna has often called herself, "The Black Madonna". The beat is deep and makes you want to dance, and you can't help but sing along with she belts, "Now come on". And extra points for re-recording this as a duet with the fantastic Britney.

3 - Diamonds

Speaking of catchy lyrics, most of us would have had, "Shine bright like a diamond" stuck in our heads. This is a Sia penned track, and proves again why she is songwriting gold. This mid tempo ballad is a grower, working your way into your self conscious and sticking there for days, weeks, on end. I am a big fan of this song.

MY VERDICT:

Okay, I love Beyonce, and love her Destiny's Child stuff, but for me the answer is Rihanna. For me it's about her versatility and as a massive pop music fan, Rihanna is more of a pop artist. Cue the screaming from Beyonce fans!

YOUR VERDICT:

Time to vote in the comments section below. Tell me who you prefer, Beyonce or Rihanna. Let's see who wins!!!

Single of the Week: Heartbeat Song - Kelly Clarkson

First things first, welcome back Kelly Clarkson. I have to be honest, I am a massive Kelly Clarkson fan! When she toured Australia during her "Breakaway" tour I spent the entire day blaring the album - my neighbour's boyfriend screamed loudly he couldn't hear it again. I pressed repeat. And that gig, wow, she was incredible. Bouncing to "Since U Been Gone" with the full crowd at the Sydney Entertainment Centre was amazing.

But now, after a brief flirtation with country music, Clarkson is back where she belongs, making catchy pop rock. And what a great return to form. Yes, it sounds similar to some of her past work, but that isn't a bad thing - she's asserting to us why her music is so great. With a great guitar riff and dance beat, the vocals are the real highlight of this track. This super fun track is a great summer anthem that will stuck in your head, I've been walking around for days singing, "This is my heartbeat song..."

With a new album around the corner, I am pretty stoked to hear what she has to offer next. I for one am so glad to have her back. The song hasn't set the charts alight yet, let's hope it starts to get more airplay and gets the attention it deserves.

So what's your favourite Kelly Clarkson song? This one is tough for me, I really do love her stuff. Okay, I'll just have throw some nominations out there, but it may just be listing all her songs! There's "Cry", "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)", "Sober", "Breakaway", "Never Again", "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Low" but I think my favourite is "Since U Been Gone". This is a perfect as pop rock gets. Play loud people, annoy those neighbours!!

Should Be More Successful: Samantha Jade

Happy Australia Day! While many Aussies today will sit around and celebrate indy music on the Triple J Hot 100 (Go Taylor), I want to celebrate some wonderful pop. Time to focus on an Aussie I love but is not getting the attention she certainly deserves. Samantha Jade has an interesting pedigree. She started her career in the United States where she was signed by JIVE records, the label responsible for Britney, Backstreet Boys and N SYNC. Her solo releases, even though she had the title track to the hit film, "Step Up", didn't manage to chart. She wrote some songs for some mid level pop stars and then came home to outback Western Australia. Then she went on X-Factor and won.

First thing first, Samantha Jade is a wonderful singer, she looks like a pop star, why isn't she more successful? Sure, her debut track, "What You Did To Me" went to number one, but since then things haven't been as good. Her tracks have been less successful, second single "Soldier" went to 9, singles three and four went top 20 and the latest single, the sweet, "Sweet Talk" only hit 38. Things are not looking good unless she has a major overhaul.

So what is going wrong? It's not the vocals, they always sound great. The songs? Maybe. They are good pop songs, consistent. Songs I have played many times, enjoyed and had stuck in my head. But maybe they're not excellent. Maybe what Jade needs is some great writers and producers to take her to that next level. Other former talent show talents have stayed relevant by updating their sounds, think Sebastian and Mauboy who are genuinely making interesting music. I'm a Samantha Jade fan, and I truly believe she could, should and deserves a bigger and better career. And some radio support would be lovely!

Let's talk about her first five singles:

What You've Done To Me

This is a pretty amazing song, and one of the best winner singles released from any talent competition - no dodgy inspirational ballads here. It was just a kickarse pop song with a catchy hook and some great vocals from Jade. This is the kind of song Dami Im wishes she could have had. I hear this song and I still want to start dancing. A very good start and a well deserved number one.

Firestarter

This was Jade's second Top Ten track. It's a good track, the beat is a little harder and again the hook is great. This was a solid second song, though it may have been just a little too similar to "What You've Done To Me". Though I do love hearing Jade purr "Firestarter". Great pop.

Soldier

While a good song, this would probably be Jade's weakest song. I think the problem here is that Jade's producers have tried to use a similar formula from her first two songs. All that aside, this track is a great showcase for Jade's great vocal range. This is catchy pop, reminiscent of some great 90's tunes.

Up!

Now while it be a little like her other tracks, this is one Jade's strongest, probably my favourite after "What You've Done To Me". This is a very catchy song, I actually found myself singing this for days, not realising what I was singing. This only reached 18 on the Oz charts, and deserved to be so much higher - especially when you consider that an awful song like "Cheerleader" sits atop the Oz charts right now, and that "Albatroz" song is top 5. This seems like a crime against pop!

Sweet Talk

Now this is something a little different from Jade. This is more a mid tempo pop track with a sweet sound. This song is more of a grower, but once it gets there, it'll stick in your head too. What a shame this song only hit 38 on the Oz charts, this deserved some more airplay and certainly deserved to be a bigger hit.

Samantha Jade will soon release her first post X-Factor original album and I for one am excited, let's hope she excite the rest of the country!

Tell me below, what's your favourite Samantha Jade track?

Single of the Week: Lighthouse - GRL / Silvertop Ash

In September 2014, Simone Battle of GRL took her own life. She was a wonderfully talented singer and her suicide left four devastated band mates. Taking a few months off to deal with the loss, the girls have reunited to record this beautiful track, a tribute to Battle. It's a simple acoustic guitar driven pop track that again highlights the vocals of the girls. It's a shame that when you listen to the track and listen to their past work, their vocal mix really misses Battle.

Lyrically this is a touching track, 'When the night gets cold and the lights go out. The sun is down, you're high in the clouds. When you feel lost, then I'll reach out to guide you home with my Lighthouse'. Beautiful sentiment and a fitting tribute to Simone Battle.

GRL haven't exactly set the charts alight, Australia and New Zealand being the only place they've had a top ten hit. Let's hope the girls are able to refocus and attain the success they greatly deserve.

This seemed a fitting song of the week. For anyone who reads my blog and don't know what I do outside of loving pop music, I am an independent theatre writer and producer. This week my critically acclaimed play, "Silvertop Ash" opens at Gasworks in Melbourne. This is a play about gay teen suicide in rural Australia. I simply just wanted to add my writer's note from the program to the post:

I wrote this play in 2007 when gay teen suicide in rural Australia was being featured in the news. It was estimated that 1 in 3 teen suicides was sexuality based, the number was higher in the country. This shocked me at the time, so I wrote the play. We come to 2015 and the problem still exists, but the coverage has ceased. There is no media coverage of teen suicide and because it seems more acceptable to be gay today, people forget the struggle that still exists for many people coming out. Suicide still happens, and we need to start the conversation again. Rural teens need to know suicide is not the answer, and that as Dan Savage says, “it gets better”. Thank for supporting this show.

If you're in Melbourne, I'd love you to come see the show.

Tickets: www.gasworks.org.au

Single of the Week: Elastic Heart - Sia

Everything old is new again. My first single of the week of the year for 2015 featured in my Top 20 songs of 2013. That's right, Sia, the winner of my best single of 2014 ("Chandelier" is so bloody amazing), has re-recorded and re-released "Elastic Heart", a song I have continued to love for a few years. This version featured on her last album, "1000 Forms of Fear", whereas the original, which also featured The Weeknd on vocals, was from the second "Hunger Games" film.

We'll talk about the clip in a minute, but let's forget the controversy for a moment and talk about the song. Put simply, it's a piece of pop gold. Part power ballad, part slowed down dance track, it's another showcase for Sia's uniquely brilliant voice. And lyrically she's firing again, initially I loved, "Oh why can I not conquer love?", and still love it. It's about overcoming heartbreak and being resilient, a message we all need from time to time. While The Weeknd's vocals were great, they are not missed here, and it probably adds to the track not having him here - it makes the solo statement about loss of love more insightful. Sia continues to be Australia's most intriguing pop star.

Now let's talk about the awesome film clip. Plain and simple, this is not pedophilia. It's preposterous to say that it is. this is simply art! And I actually can't believe that people are even still arguing what the clip is about. Sia has come forward, which says a lot considering how much she hates the spotlight, and said "All I can say is Maddie and Shia are two of the only actors I felt could play these two warring 'Sia' self states." Well that answers it! Maddie from Dance Moms and Shia LeBeouf are incredible together. The choreography is spot on and the clip is rivetting. This is not just a film clip - this is a short film!

This is a worthy winner of my first single of the week for 2015!

So what do you think of the clip? Tell me in the comments section below!

Book Review: True Love - Jennifer Lopez

Here's something a little different for the first blog of the year, a book review. But this is a pop music blog, so why not do a review for a pop music book?

Jennifer Lopez, JLO, or just plain ole Jenny from the Block. She has been a star for a long time, starting as a dancer (she was a Fly Girl on "In Living Color" - a show my brother and I used to watch religiously), she became a famous actor (I think "The Cell" is my favourite film of hers), then she became the ultimate pop diva (I love too much to mention just one song) and then a judge of "American Idol". She is a true cultural phenomenon, and I was very keen to have a read of her book.

Now I'll admit I did go in with some scepticism. The book did have a lot of photos, and from the start she mentioned this book was about her world tour. I thought it was going to be pretty lightweight. But in fact the book was beautifully written and the structure was fantastic. What starts as a celebration of her first world tour also delves into the worst year of her life - the breakup with the father of her twins, Marc Anthony.

Lopez is an inspirational woman, she details her own battle with low self-esteem and how she learnt to overcome it. She had always worried about the opinions of others, men, managers, critics and fans. This book is a celebration of learning to accept who you are.

It's also a great insight into a nice diva, she's no Mariah throwing diva tantrums. You get to know her more, find out about the breakdown of her last marriage and why she left Idol the first time. Plus it's great to hear an indepth explanation of what her songs mean to her. Plus there's some nice humour, including the visual of French paparazzi running from her limping mother who was firing a water pistol at them.

So this book isn't for everyone. It's not an intense conversation about her deepest darkest secrets or a tell all, but it didn't need to be. This is a celebration of a specific time in a superstar's life written for fans. And I for one, am definitely one. In fact, I'm probably more a fan after finishing this book. So if you like her, I'd certainly suggest reading it.

Let's finish with a JLO clip, the song that Lopez thinks sums up her and her trouble, "Dance Again".