iTunes Top 5

Week of: Monday November 15th-Sunday 21st

1. Forget You

Artist: Glee Cast feat. Gwyneth Paltrow
Album: Glee Season Two Soundtrack

Filled with "Glee"'s characteristic cheery pop flair, this song immediately captures your attention and holds it throughout. Paltrow actually takes the main role in the track, and surprises with a strong vocal influence. The diverse TV show cast can add another musical success to their new album.

2. Singing in the Rain/Umbrella
Artist: Glee Cast feat. Gwyneth Paltrow

Album: Glee Season Two Soundtrack

Once again, Paltrow takes center stage and adds a special kind of spice to the cast that has captured America's hearts both on television and through their covers of past hits. This track is what's called a mashup--where two songs are mixed together to create a new track. "Umbrella" is the main track, Rihanna's characteristic spunk with a fresh high school like twist, and the few lines of "Singing in the Rain" strangely sound like they actually belong. Two generations of music, Glee's second season, and another great cover: accomplished.

3. We R Who We R

Artist: Ke$ha

Album: We R Who We R

Ke$ha's pop rap style shines thouroughly throughout this track, but whether or not that's a good thing is your decision. The verses are a bit stale, though the chorus almost makes up for it. The lyrics aren't very original, many of the same exact themes present in her past songs, but it's a cute escape from reality if you need one.

4. Firework

Artist: Katy Perry

Album: Teenage Dream

See earlier review of Katy Perry

5. The Time (Dirty Bit)

Artist: Black Eyed Peas

Album: The Beginning

"The Time" can be classified as a remix gone crazy, but in a good way. There's tons of autotuning, but it's a great dance song, and combines a mix of rap, hip-hop, and pop. However, much of the track contains many of the same effects as past singles, and the beginning greatly resembled the beginning of a Ke$ha track.

POWER Trip--New Single

Single: Power
Artist: Kanye West
From Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Released: 2010

Though a very short track (only clocking in at about 2 minutes) Kanye's work still carries the intensity of any other full length song. Recorded in Hawaii, this teaser track is worth taking a few minutes to listen to. With almost tribal vocalizations, a solid beat, and clever rhymes, West once again turns heads. The song starts out clean with only the vocalizations and then layers different sounds on top of it, though managing to avoid being overcrowded. West is definitely "livin' in the 21st century and doin' something mean to it". If "Power" would be any indication of the quality of West's next album, he could be seeing stars all the way through.

Katy Perry's Teenage Dream

Album: Teenage Dream
Artist: Katy Perry
Tracks: 12
Released: 2010

The album's title track packs a punch with a chorus that's almost impossible to get out of your head. Though it may start out a bit stale, Perry saves the track with her signature enthusiastic pop energy. "Last Friday Night" is a fast paced, cliched, twisted teenage humor track that could either encourage you to hit the boulevards along with it, or leave you in the dust with its hyper beats. "California Gurls" hit the top of the music charts with an undeniably catchy, well, everything, the perfect summer song. "Firework"'s theme centers on believing in yourself and letting your talent shine; once again Perry succeeded in letting her colors burst. "Circle the Drain" is the most bizzarre of Perry's releases, though its message rings through. "The One That Got Away" describes a lovesick girl that loses her first crush and regrets it for the rest of her life. The track isn't overly emotional, but the lyrics speak out loud and clear. "E.T." is purely a pop indulgent track with clever rhymes and a great beat. "Who Am I Living For?" paints the picture of someone that's lost, searching for their meaning, mixed with an almost hip-hop background, which oddly fits perfectly. "Pearl" is about a girl who's lost independence due to a bad relationship, and while the theme is strong, the instrumentals aren't nearly as striking. "Hummingbird Heartbeat" is a cute young love tune that rings out with an almost country like lightness. "Not Like the Movies" is a soft and sweet track that doesn't leave an incredibly lasting impression the first time you hear it, but is a good ending track nonetheless.
Though it can be classified as "another pop album", "Teenage Dream" experiments with morals and themes much deeper than expected. Perry's vocal ranges are tested nicely and different aspects of her voice are allowed to come to light. So if you ever have a little time, join Katy Perry in imagining your own teenage dream.