Catching Up & Crossing My Fingers With Agnes (Interview)
The last time I had a chance to speak to Agnes Thee Carlsson, known simply as Agnes, was back in 2010 at Soho House in Manhattan, at the stateside release party for her already international hit, "Release Me." I was still so young and dumb then. Now I'm just less young. A decade later, we've…
Slayyyter Wants to Be the Next Main Pop Girl
She stans Heidi Montag and Courtney Stodden. She posts flirty Photo Booth pics from her bedroom. She grew up on Britney Spears and Lady Gaga, and swears she could sub in for any dancer on Beyoncé 's I Am... World Tour. Her name is Slayyyter, and she's ready to dominate the planet. Or, least, get…
Making Taemin 'Move': An Interview With Songwriter Curtis Richa
Yes, there's a dude doing the Super Bowl next year who claims he's responsible, but in fact, Taemin is the one who's actually bringing sexy back. The 24-year-old member of SHINee, the five-member South Korean boy band still going strong since their 2008 debut, broke out for the second time on his…
Nadine Coyle Is Back to Work Again, But She Just Wants to Have Fun (Interview)
At long last, Nadine Coyle is ready to bare her soul. Err, just kidding: she doesn't want to talk. She just wants to dance. As one-fifth of Girls Aloud, the biggest selling girl group of the 21st century, the Irish powerhouse vocalist knows a thing or two about putting in work. She's been doing…
You Know What? Madeline Juno Is the Singer Who Could Put Germany Back on the Pop Map
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcVC7NNSlZc "We have this stereotype about us. We're not the coolest country..." We've got Little Mix from the UK. Tove Lo from Sweden. PSY from South Korea. For all the complaining that we pop nerds do about the insular sound of Top 40 radio in America, there are…
Inside The Recording Studio: An Interview With Jesse Shatkin
You might not be familiar with Jesse Shatkin just yet, but by the end of the year, you will be: The up-and-coming pop producer has been steadily crafting songs for some of the most anticipated records of 2014. Before he was writing euphoric pop anthems for international pop icon Kylie Minogue or…
"He Reads": A Brief Body Party with Ciara
Earlier today, I got on the hotline and spoke with the Thrower of Body Parties, Giver of Fantasy Rides and all-around Crunk-R&B Queen herself, Ciara. You know, as one does. Why? Well, I wanted to talk about her upcoming record Ciara, obviously—but mostly because I had to get to the bottom of this…
She Keeps Giving Us Love: An Interview with Jenn D
UK darling Jenn D first caught my eye (and ears) with her gutsy debut single "Lose It" back in November, a powerful punch of aggressive beats and taunting lyricism—and some hot Speak & Spell action to boot. Then, earlier this year, the Liverpool-born songstress got our hearts racing again with the…
10 Years in the Wrong Lane: An Interview with t.A.T.u.
5 years before Katy Perry was batting her fake eyelashes and singing coquettishly about the oh-so-taboo indulgence of a same-sex kiss, two underage Russian pop stars stormed the stage of the MTV Movie Awards with a fleet of girls dressed in schoolgirl uniforms, throwing their fists up in the air…
Queen of Hearts: Interview with...Cassie!
It's been nearly six years since Bad Boy Records songstress Cassie first burst into the music scene with the platinum-selling "Me & U," a spine-tingling slice of icy electro-R&B minimalism that rocketed to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006. While she's released several songs over the past few…
Interview with...Katie Herzig!
Last week, singer/songwriter Katie Herzig released her fifth studio album, The Waking Sleep. On this record, the Grammy Award-nominated chanteuse abandoned her signature melancholy acoustic-driven sound in favor of matured and complex dark electronica layered with contemporary folk pop. The…
Bright Lights and Little Dreams: Interview with Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding is an unlikely pop star. Her public image is subdued, even self-effacing; her voice is a gorgeous, fragile wisp that would sound more at home at a coffee shop than layered over a bouncing synth track; her lyrics are imbued with an aching vulnerability that most singer-songwriters…