Carly Rae Jepsen - Kiss

Breakout star Carly Rae Jepsen unleashes her international debut “Kiss”. After minor success in her home country of Canada, the singer aims to take over the rest of the world. And with “Kiss”, she just might do so.

The album is pure pop and you can’t help but love it. If you’ve already labelled Carly as a “one hit wonder” based on the success of her first single “Call Me Maybe”, you will undoubtedly change your mind when you listen to the album. It is packed with single worthy tracks that will be sure to make it to the top of the charts.

Carly is sure to enlist some of her celebrity friends, with her Owl City collaboration “Good Time” making it onto the tracklist. Also included is the track “Beautiful” which features the one and only Mr Justin Bieber, the man responsible for making “Call Me Maybe” such a huge hit and who has signed Carly to his record label.

Standout tracks include “Curiosity”, “Hurt So Good” and “Tonight I’m Getting Over You”. “Curiosity”, as included on her previous ep release will be sure to receive a single release is a catchy pop tune with a danceable beat. The kind of song you listen to on a summer’s day, driving in the car with the top down. “Hurt So Good” has a great eighties vibe reminiscent of eighties female supergroups The Go-Go’s and The Bangles and “Tonight I’m Getting Over You” acts like a sad love song, until the chorus kicks in and you just feel the need to dance along.

The album is a definite standout and Carly Rae Jepsen has proven with this release she has the ability to become a pop powerhouse. Available now from Schoolboy / Interscope Records and Universal Music Australia. Deluxe Edition also available.

Cheryl Cole - A Million Lights

The UK superstar Cheryl Cole returns with her latest offering “A Million Lights”.

The album is a collection of pop-infused, hip hop and r&b tracks with a touch of dance. Lead single “Call My Name” is already a huge club anthem, and rightly so. It’s easy to dance to and it’s production by superstar DJ Calvin Harris is pure pop perfection.

Cheryl also calls on a few recognisable names to help her create one fantastic album. On the track “Craziest Things” she enlists the help of longtime collaborator will.i.am, with whom she has collaborated with on her previous albums. She also enlists the help of current it girl Lana Del Rey, who helped pen the track “Ghetto Baby”. The song could easily be mistaken for a Lana Del Rey track and it’s not had to imagine Miss Del Rey herself belting out the track.

Standout tracks include dancefloor anthem “Sexy Den A Mutha” and deep but danceable “Girl In The Mirror”. Opening track and current single “Under The Sun” is a fun track with a retro feel, reminiscent of fifties pop.

With an array of special guests, top production and danceable hits, Cheryl Cole proves with “A Million Lights” that she’s taking over the pop world. Available now from Polydor Records and Universal Music Australia.

Shake It Up - Live 2 Dance

Available now from Walt Disney Records is the second soundtrack to the hit Disney Channel Original Series “Shake It Up: Live 2 Dance”.

The soundtrack includes tracks from the shows main cast members Bella Thorne and Zendaya. Bella Thorne brings a pop dance track with “TTYLXOX” that uses common acronyms to create a fun and dance-along track. Zendaya’s track “Something To Dance For” is more mid-tempo but just as fun. Both tracks are mashed together in the fun mash-up “Something To Dance For/ TTYLXOX” that is used in the music video with the girls and featured on Disney Channel.

Also included on the album is the series’ fellow cast members Adam Irigoyen and Kenton Duty on the track “Show Ya How” and the album’s single release “Up Up and Away” performed by Blush. The track was initially released in conjunction with the Shake It Up special “Shake It Up Up and Away”.

Also included is “Whodunit” performed by fellow Disney Channel and Disney XD star Adam Hicks (Lemonade Mouth, Zeke and Luther) and Coco Jones, a new addition to Disney Channel. So Random and Let It Shine star Coco Jones is also featured on a solo outing with “Don’t Push Me”.

With a great collection of dance-worthy tracks and songs performed by some of your favourite Disney Channel stars “Shake It Up: Live 2 Dance” is a must have for any Shake It Up fan. Available now from Walt Disney Records and Universal Music Australia.

Madonna - MDNA

Madonna returns with her latest musical offering “MDNA”.

Plain and simple, this album is for any Madonna fan out there. Madonna sticks to what she knows best. Dance/ pop sounds with an edge. After taking a more urban sound with her previous release “Hard Candy”, Madonna returns to a more dance orientated sound that she introduced her fans to on the album “Confessions on a Dance Floor”.

The album opens with the second single “Girl Gone Wild”, a dance pop track with an edgy, dirty sound. The track leads into the album’s overall sound and showcases the general vibe of the album. Also included on the album is the album’s lead single “Give Me All Your Luvin’” featuring rap superstar Nicki Minaj and indie queen M.I.A. The track "Love Spent” has a country undertone to it and is reminiscent of Madonna’s previous single “Don’t Tell Me” as featured on her album “Music”.

The album doesn’t include some show stopping lyrics, as each song can come off a little bit simple and the choruses repetitive. But looking past this, each tracks music will make up for any of these factors.

Standout tracks include “I Don’t Give A”, “Love Spent” and “Masterpiece”.

Madonna’s MDNA is a collection of tracks made for it’s core audience. Madonna fans. Available now from Interscope Records and Universal Music Australia.

The Voice - The Final 24

The Voice may be over but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy all the amazing music from the show.

"The Voice - The Final 24" includes all the big hits as performed by the top contestants in the hit Australian version of the show from Team Delta, Team Seal, Team Keith and Team Joel.

Some of the tracks include Fatai V's cover of "Love The Way You Lie Part 2", Laykn's cover of "Big Jet Plane", which reached the top ten on the iTunes charts and winner Karise Eden's amazing rendition of "It's A Man's World".

Also included are all your favourite contestants from each team such as Danni Da Ros, Chris Sebastian and Prinnie Stevens.

With a great collection of covers, "The Voice - The Final 24" album is a must have for any The Voice fan. Available now from Universal Music Australia.

The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond

Along with the release of the film based on the hit novel series comes the soundtrack companion to the film “The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond”.

The album includes the likes of some big names in the industry by the likes of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and Miranda Lambert along with some not as well known artists. But all of these wonderful artists come together to create a soundtrack that is dark, edgy and compelling.

The collection helps tell the story of Katniss Everdeen and the themes of the film in music form. Each song focuses on one aspect of the film and it’s themes and captivates you with it’s haunting sounds and compelling lyrics.

The album includes the lead single “Safe and Sound” performed by Taylor Swift featuring the Civil Wars along with another Taylor Swift track “Eyes Open” and another Civil Wars track “Kingdom Come”. Also included is Maroon 5 featuring Rozzi Crane with the track “Come Away To The Water” and country music superstar Miranda Lambert featuring Pistol Annies with “Run Daddy Run”.

Standout tracks would be the album’s lead single “Safe and Sound”, Maroon 5’s “Come Away To The Water” and the Taylor Swift track “Eyes Open” but the other tracks are all more than worthy to be included on this album and I applaud each artist for their amazing efforts.

If you’re a fan of The Hunger Games books and film or just a fan of the artists featured you will more than enjoy “The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond”. Available now from Universal Republic Records and Universal Music Australia.

The Muppets - Original Soundtrack

The Muppets are back for a new adventure and to coincide with the release is the soundtrack to the film “The Muppets”.

The soundtrack is a collection of all the tracks from the film performed by some of your favourite Muppets including Kermit and Miss Piggy. Also included are the film's stars How I Met Your Mother’s Jason Segal and Enchanted’s Amy Adams. Standout original tracks are “Muppet or Man” performed by Jason Segal and the newest Muppet Walter and “Me Party” performed by the famous Miss Piggy and Amy Adams.

The original tracks were all either written or co-written by one half of the comedic duo Flight of The Conchords Bret McKenzie who was awarded with an Oscar for Best Original Song for the track “Muppet or Man”.

Also included on the album are some musical classics including the rock and roll anthem performed by Starship, “We Built This City” and Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down By The Schooyard” as well as Muppet covers of famous tracks including Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Cee-Lo’s “Forget You”.

Also interspersed throughout the album is small dialogue clips that helps introduce the next song in the tracklist.

The album is a fun mix of Muppets classics and covers that you can’t help but sing and laugh along with. One for the Muppets fans out there. Available now from Walt Disney Records and Universal Music Australia.