[NEWS] CHRISTINA AGUILERA IS OBSESSIVELY METICULOUS ABOUT SONG CHOICE AND STAGING

The third season of The Voice will bring about some already-documented changes, including the "Knockout Rounds" and the "Steal." Bandleader Paul Mirkovich tells Rolling Stone there will be other new elements, including a younger-skewing batch of singers.

"So far, what's cool about this season is we have a lot of very young people who are exceptional," he said. "This season we have a lot of 15 to 18, 19, 20-year-olds that are really strong, great singers . . . There are a couple of voices that are moving on that to me are transcendent voices that are phenomenal. They are jaw-dropping. People are going to listen to them sing and go, 'Oh, my God!'"

Given the youth and interests of so many of the contestants, this season's song selection is looking a lot like the recent pop singles charts. "With the younger females there's a lot of Katy Perry," said Mirkovich. "I would say she's the most popular. A couple of Pink songs, a couple of [Lady] Gaga songs, then we probably skewed the entire song selection to even more current songs than we had been doing."

Mirkovich has already completed the initial rounds of the new season. "That was a really intense few weeks," he said. "We recorded all the iTunes tracks for all the winners with the band."

Although he should have a feel for picking early favorites, he's learned that prognosticating The Voice is about as successful as picking next season's Super Bowl winner. "There's almost never a frontrunner. I think in the first season there was an obvious frontrunner, because Javier [Colon] was amazing and older, so he wasn't going to get rattled," he says. "But especially with some of these younger kids that are on the show this year, we just don't know how they're going to stand up to the pressure."

This season one of his early clubhouse leader (who he declines to name) has already been bounced. "One of the people who I thought was a favorite, who was maybe my favorite of all of the auditioners, in the knockout [round], he lost," Mirkovich said. "And it surprised me."

Whoever does come out victorious will have had the help of some strong coaching. As the bandleader, Mirkovich works closely with all four judges/coaches, and he said they are as involved as they are on TV, starting with Christina Aguilera.

"I get emails from all of them, and phone calls from Christina sometimes at two in the morning," he says. "Christina is obsessively meticulous about her song choices and all her contestants. She is very nuts-and-bolts with the contestants. She's a tactician as to how to get through the song, and very good with staging as well."

Though the other three have their own styles, they are equally part of the process. "Adam [Levine] comes at it from, like, a brother-in-arms kind of thing – 'I'm a working musician, you're a working musician, let's figure out together how to make this song work for you, and I want you to do the best way you can,'" Mirkovich says. "Cee Lo is always looking for an opportunity for the show, very much a showman. And Blake [Shelton] is very nurturing and wants to be their friend. He's very involved on a personal level, probably more than any of the other coaches."

This season the coaches will be doing double time, because they will be seen performing more as well. "I know for sure there will be more performances, not only with all four coaches, but all four coaches individually will be doing performances with their own band, and then later on in the live shows with their contestants as well," he said. "You'll definitely see all four of them together on stage. One of the things that draws people to our show is they get to see these four incredible artists perform together from time to time."

Source: RollingStone

[NEWS] NEW CHRISTINA AGUILERA BIOGRAPHY COURTESY OF NBC'S 'THE VOICE'

Christina Aguilera serves as coach on "The Voice," NBC's hit reality vocal competition series that searches for the nation's best voice.

Singer, songwriter, performer, producer, director and actress - is there anything Aguilera hasn't done? One of the most accomplished performers of the last decade, she has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, achieved four No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and has won five Grammy Awards, as well as having three top five albums in the United States. She has collaborated with other legendary artists, including Herbie Hancock, Andrea Bocelli, Tony Bennett, Sir Elton John and The Rolling Stones. Aguilera was also the only artist under 30 to make Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

This season, Christina will premiere her much-anticipated single, "Your Body," on "The Voice." In 2011, Aguilera teamed up with fellow "Voice" coach Adam Levine and Maroon 5 to record "Moves Like Jagger." The catchy dance tune went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 charts. In November 2010, she starred in her first feature film "Burlesque," opposite Cher and Stanley Tucci. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for her original song, "Bound to You," which she co-wrote and performed. Earlier that same year, Aguilera launched her album, "Bionic," which featured collaborations from artists such as Sia, Le Tigre and Ladytron as well as producers Tricky Stewart and Hill/Switch.

The New York native's trajectory - from performing in local talent shows in Pennsylvania, where she grew up, to getting her big break on "Star Search" in 1992 to landing a part on the Disney Channel's "The New Mickey Mouse Club" - is well known. It was her song, "Reflection," for Disney's "Mulan," that led to a record deal with RCA and the release of her self-titled debut album in the summer of 1999. The album quickly hit No. 1 on the strength of its first dance/pop single, "Genie in a Bottle" (which dominated the charts for five weeks and broke records worldwide) and other chart toppers including "What a Girl Wants" and "Come on Over." It was a feat she would repeat the following year with "Mi Reflejo," the smash Spanish-language version of her debut, followed by her hit holiday release, "My Kind of Christmas."

In 2001, Aguilera joined forces with Pink, Mya and Lil' Kim on the smash "Lady Marmalade" single and video. That eye-popping slice of eye and ear candy kept her front and center in the international spotlight even as she began to lay the groundwork for her second album, "Stripped." Released in October 2002, it sealed her status as an international superstar while transforming her image from bubble-gum pop princess to steamy sex kitten. Along with the super-heated funk of the album's provocative debut single, "Dirrty," came such standout tracks as "Beautiful," "Can't Hold Us Down" and "Voice Within."

After sweeping the top of the charts with her third album, "Back to Basics," which debuted at No. 1 in August 2006 and sold over 3.7 million worldwide, the unstoppable Aguilera announced a global tour. With the fashion legend Roberto Cavalli as the exclusive costume designer, choreographer and director Jamie King (Madonna, Janet Jackson and Prince) onboard, and a unique stage design that allowed fans unprecedented access to the pop star, the shows were a feast for all senses and earned her rave reviews.

Earning her first of four Grammys in 2000 for Best New Artist, her subsequent trophies came in 2001 for "Lady Marmalade" (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals), in 2003 for "Beautiful" (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) and in 2007 for "Ain't No Other Man" (Best Female Pop Vocal Performance), winning a Grammy for each of her albums. Among other honors, she is also the recipient of a 2001 Latin Grammy Award for "Mi Reflejo" (Best Female Pop Vocal Album), a 2000 Billboard Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and two 2004 Rolling Stone Music Awards (Best Female Performer, Readers' Pick; and Best Tour, Readers' Pick, for "Justified and Stripped").

Voted Sexiest Teen Idol in a VH1 poll, Aguilera's beauty and charisma have also led Teen People to list her among its "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" and Maxim to crown her Best International Female Singer (2000), one of the Sexiest Women of the Year (2003) and No. 1 on their "Hot 100" List (2003). Aguilera has also been honored with two NRJ Awards (Best International Female, Best International Album) as well as a 2007 MTV Europe Award (Best Female Artist).

In 2007, Aguilera introduced an entirely new production - an eponymous perfume named Christina Aguilera, which she launched through P&G Prestige. The fragrance continues to be an international bestseller and has paved the way for four additional scents -"By Night," "Royal Desire," "Secret Potion" and the soon-to-be-released "Red Sin."

In January 2008, Aguilera gave birth to her first child, son Max Liron Bratman. Not one to slow down following the birth, in February the new mom served as the muse behind London jeweler Stephen Webster's new sterling silver collection. Aguilera inspired and was the face of the unconventional collection, posing as a Hitchcock heroine in the ad campaign. The new campaign, shot by famed W magazine photographer Craig McDean, was revealed in Spring 2009. The inspiration for the campaign stems from Webster's glam-rock style and Aguilera's sexy new contemporary look.

Today, while devoting the lion's share of her time to recording and touring, the 31-year-old is active in a range of philanthropy. In 2009, Aguilera joined forces with Yum! Brands in their World Hunger Relief effort, acting as global spokesperson. In less than one year, she has created widespread awareness and deeper engagement to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies and helped to raise a record breaking 22.5 million in donations. In 2010, she was named an Ambassador to the United Nations for her hard work and outreach. It is an honor only given to a select few.

In addition, Aguilera and her son, Max, appeared in a PSA for "Rock the Vote" encouraging young people to take a stand and vote for what they believe in. The ad, which featured Aguilera singing "America the Beautiful" to Max (who is wrapped in an American flag), was featured in magazines, television spots and billboards in Times Square. A major contributor to the fight against AIDS, Aguilera has participated in the "What's Going On?" cover project for AIDS Project Los Angeles' Artists Against AIDS. In 2004, she became the new face for MAC cosmetic company and spokesperson for the MAC AIDS Fund. Aguilera also became involved in awareness campaigns with Youth AIDS and ALDO. She also sponsors and is actively involved in the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh for battered women and children.

Source: NBCTheVoice

[NEWS] CHRISTINA AGUILERA OPENS UP ABOUT HER CREATIVE PROCESS AND ARTISTIC CONTROL

The third season of The Voice brings on a new set of mentors to assist the coaches, none more attention-grabbing than Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who's working with Christina Aguilera. While that may seem like an odd pairing, Aguilera tells Rolling Stone they've had a blast. "It’s nice to get together and both vent and laugh," she says. "We laughed our asses off, oh my God, we made each other laugh."

For Aguilera, who said at a recent press junket for The Voice that she is working on a new album, it was inspiring to be around Armstrong, who is as involved in the process of making Green Day's albums as Aguilera is with her music.

"I think that sometimes pop music does get stereotyped as 'We don’t have as much control or say-so over the creative works behind the producing and what not,'" she says. "I specifically am an artist that's very involved in my own producing, creative and all of the efforts that go into putting together my album as an artist."

Aguilera didn't reveal much about the new album, only she is excited about it and the lead single is called "Your Body," but she did talk about her process. "I'm one that likes to collaborate, I love feeding off the creative energy and it only makes me better," she says. She feels the show is pushing her in the direction she wants to go. "I'm on a continual path both personally and professionally," she says. "All around it's my goal to better myself as a person and an artist and the show is one of those contributing factors and the guys are great friends at this point. It's fun collaborating with them at this point."

Fellow coach Adam Levine has also teamed with a great mentor in superstar Mary J. Blige. Though she's there to help the aspiring singers, Levine has the privilege of hearing words of wisdom from one of the great voices in music, something he's basking in.

"Not only does Mary J. inspire me to be better at what I do and just better at life, she is an inspiring figure and always has been to me," he says. Like Aguilera though, he takes as much inspiration at this point from his fellow coaches as from the mentors. "Everybody on the show inspires me to be better at what I do," he says. "You see a great performance, you're like, '****, I better step it up a notch.' Which is great, people surprise you and what everyone on this show has been capable of doing has been really remarkable."

Source: RollingStone

[NEWS] 'THE VOICE' COACHES EXCITED FOR CHANGES

Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera – all four coaches of The Voice – joined producer Mark Burnett, host Carson Daly and the show's social media maven Christina Milian for a press conference last night at Burnett's Malibu home. Looking out at the panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, Levine quipped, "So this is what reality TV buys you."

That, or maybe just knowing what makes for good TV. And Burnett and his team have demonstrated a knack for spotting opportunities. Last season there was shock among fans when singer Jesse Campbell, one of the favorites to win the title, was eliminated by coach Christina Aguilera. Even her fellow coaches expressed their disbelief.

This season, which starts September 10th, they'd be able to do something about it, thanks to a new element called "the Steal," which allows judges to pick up a contestant who's been ousted by another coach. Journalists got a sneak peak at a recently taped battle round between two of Green's competitors, who each delivered a smoking rendition of Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love." As soon as Green carried out the unenviable task of choosing just one, the other coaches hammered on their buttons and made their pitches to bring the loser onto one of their teams, just like they do in the battle rounds. Judges can only pick two additional team members, which will lead to a new cycle of the show called "Knockout Rounds," where the teams will pare down before beginning the live episodes.

The new opportunity for poaching has added a lot to the show, the coaches told Rolling Stone. "It’s nice to throw those elements in to kind of spice things up," Levine said. "Those things definitely help keep it fresh for us."

It also adds more pressure, Shelton said. "There’s nothing that’s more nervewracking than knowing, 'Okay, both these singers did really good and I gotta pick one and I know damn good and well one of these other three are gonna steal the person I don’t pick,'" he said. "There’s a chance that person may go on and win this and that’s gonna make me look really stupid. That definitely goes on in your mind. As an artist and somebody on television I have enough of an ego that I don’t want to look that stupid. I want to look brilliant."

Ultimately, though, he recognizes it's great for the show and viewers. "It’s going to be so exciting for people watching at home," Shelton said. "Here’s the truth, as much as we want to sit up here and talk about how different this show is, and it is, what people love the most is those damn buttons. People love to see us hit those buttons and somebody’s life is changed at that moment. This is another way of changing somebody‘s life later on in the show, where they think all hope is lost, they’re going home, the next thing you know the button gets pushed and they’re right back in the game again. That’s pretty exciting."

The new components add another element to what Levine, Aguilera and Shelton call "the best season yet." Only Green holds out on that, saying, "A few memorable things have happened thus far, but season three isn’t completed yet, so I don’t know if this is the favorite season yet."

For the four coaches, though, the biggest strength of this season is their bond. In the first clip shown at the junket, the four are seen performing the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up," and they resembled a band, much more than they did in the combined performances of the first two seasons.

What helped meld them into a tight, family-like unit is the way all four work with contestants, Aguilera said. "Over time we see how each of us react as coaches, giving such heartfelt advice and attention to these up-and-coming young fresh talents and it’s so nice to see," she said. "It’s refreshing because we came into it not wanting to knock anybody down and I think we all respect that. We might take shots at each other, but never the talent. So there’s just a magic, there’s a bond there that’s unbreakable at this point."

Shelton concurred, recognizing the quartet is now joined together by the success of the series. "We’re always going to be connected to each other through this show," he says.

He admitted there have been some rough moments, like any family. "We’ve been through a lot of shit with each other, no doubt," he said. "We’ve had fights, ups and downs and weird moments and fuck-offs and all that stuff. But all friends go through that I think and you either go through it and you never speak to each other again or you go through it and your relationship is even stronger. We didn’t have to come back together, but we did, and our relationships are stronger."

Levine agreed that the coaches have left the rockiest moments behind them. "We are getting along better than we ever have and I guess our energies have all congealed and we’re very, very close at this point," he said.

The show will run this year in both the fall and spring seasons, which could result in one or more of the coaches having to take a sabbatical to go on tour. Although Burnett said the coaches have their "chairs for live," the assembled journalists were keen to speculate on who the replacement coaches might be. Green shut down the speculation while nicely summing up the bond among the current four.

"For me, there’s nobody comes to mind that can replace my Blake, my Adam and my Christina," he said.

Source: Rolling Stone

[NEWS] ROLLING STONE'S 'VOICE' AWARDS

Most Undeniable Presence: Christina's Cleavage

There was one thing that Christina Aguilera made resoundingly clear during this season of The Voice. Well, two things, actually: her boobs. While contestants on the show sometimes outfitted themselves in racy garments, no necklines plunged the way that Xtina's consistently did. By the last episode, if you weren't intimately familiar with her experiments in upper, inner, and side cleavage, than you must have been watching a different show altogether.

Worst Luck With Women: Jesse Campbell
Jesse Campbell just can't win when it comes to the ladies. First his wife left him because he was too focused on his music career, rather than making a more traditionally stable living doing literally anything else. Then, after advancing pretty damn far in a competition that could lead to some seriously lucrative ends for his musical career, he got booted off of the show by Xtina prematurely in the biggest surprise elimination of the season. This guy can't catch a break.

Best Burn: Christina Aguilera Calls Adam Levine 'A Justin Timberlake Wannabe'

Xtina really leaned into her role as antagonist on this season of The Voice, and it was kind of the best. Whether you agreed with her or not (and I frequently did not), her smack-talking always made for good TV. On the second episode, she cemented a feud with Adam that continued throughout the season, by calling him a wannabe JT. Adam must have rejoiced, however, at the best unintentional burn of the season, when fully grown adult, Jonathus, tells Xtina he's had a crush on her since the fifth grade. Ouch!

Read More Here

Source: Rolling Stone

Editors Note:

Adam Levine honest? Bitch please. He's such a douche. Hands down Christina is the most honest coach on 'The Voice'. She has the biggest balls on the show without having balls.

[NEWS] ROLLINGSTONE RECAPS 'THE VOICE' EPISODE 12: LIVE SHOW WAR & AGREES WITH XTINA

Something is in the air on The Voice. The initial live episodes last week saw coaches Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton locked in amiable competition, like old Southern gentlemen having a polite disagreement. This week, however, it's Team Adam against Team Cee Lo, and these two bros seem headed for a 12-pace musket duel. The fighting words aren't just between those two, either. Xtina is more antagonistic than ever, and all the judges dole out more harsh truths to the contestants than ever before.

Let's look at Team Adam first. Leading the pack is Katrina Parker, who forces an Adele comparison when she sings, even wearing her hair like the superstar for this performance. It's a soaring, anthemic version of Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight," which reconfigures the DNA of the original song and feeds it Incredible Hulk serum. In response, Xtina lodges the night's first nonsense complaint: "I wanted you to rock out a bit more, and your dress restricted that." I don't understand women nearly well enough to decode what that means, but it doesn't sound good. Cee Lo says Katrina performed it in too theatrical a way that lacked the tortured vocal gravitas of alien-person Billy Corgan. Adam defends Katrina, though, insisting she made it bigger than a rock song.

Xtina's former Mouseketeer buddy Tony Lucca turned four chairs with his heartfelt blind audition performance, and with his obvious talent and can't-miss back story, he seemed poised to go far. Could that have only been a couple of months ago? Tonight, it seems impossibly far away. Adam looks put off during rehearsals when Tony sings Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." Then we see why: his actual performance is rather unremarkable, aside from the giant floating pupils in the background that make for way too literal (and creepy!) an interpretation. "I just find you very one-dimensional," Xtina tells Tony afterward, dismissing anything else he's done up to this point. "That was honest!" Adam says, before telling the dejected singer how proud he made him.

[NEWS] BLAKE SHELTON: 'CHRISTINA AGUILERA WAS MY FREE PASS BEFORE I WED'

Country star Blake Shelton left his fellow 'The Voice' coach Christina Aguilera stunned when he confessed to a major crush on her - because she was convinced the country star didn't like her.

The odd couple was getting to know each other on the set of the hit TV talent show when Aguilera asked Shelton's wife Miranda Lambert for pointers, and she revealed that she had once gifted her man a signed Aguilera tour book - and he was thrilled.

Aguilera started to see Shelton in a different light - especially when he told her she was his "free pass" before he wed Lambert, suggesting that the new Mrs. Shelton had agreed she'd be OK if her man cheated on her with Aguilera.

Shelton tells Rolling Stone, "I'll never forget the look on her face."

Source: Movin 107.7 FM
Credits: Sarah

[SCANS] FULL ROLLINGSTONE INTERVIEW (ON NEWSSTANDS FEBRUARY 3RD)

[VIDEO] E! NEWS: ROLLING WITH 'THE VOICE'

[SMART-PHONE FRIENDLY]

[VIDEO] ROLLING STONE COVER: 'THE VOICE' BEHIND THE SCENES

[SMART-PHONE FRIENDLY]Credits: Sarah

[PHOTO] 'THE VOICE' COACHES ON THE COVER OF 'ROLLING STONE' FEBRUARY 16TH ISSUE

[NEWS] CHRISTINA DISHES ON HER NEW ALBUM & HER LOVE FOR 'THE VOICE' TO ROLLINGSTONE

Look for Christina on the cover of Rolling Stone coming very soon! Along with the other "The Voice" coaches Christina is of course front and center! She looks great in all black, leather jacket, leggings, and some sparkling louboutins.

"After a long career of her own, Aguilera particularly loved The Voice’s inclusion of older contestants who may have already gone through a record contract or two.

“It’s nice to give people second chances,” she says. “It’s a great opportunity to give people new life and jump-start not only them but your heart and your spirit for this business again.”

Coincidentally, she’s been working on a new album of her own.

“I only make records when I’m really passionate and have something to say, and I have a lot to say, with the time that was taken off since my last record – a couple of years. I have a lot of ****, a lot of crazy ****.”

Source: ChristinaVIP

[NEWS] CHRISTINA AGUILERA MAKES THE TOP 10 WHITE SINGERS WE ONCE THOUGHT WERE BLACK

Christina Aguilera

LOVE her. Maybe songs like “Genie in a Bottle” didn’t have you thinking her melanin count was up, but for years, I’ve heard older people who’ve heard her sing say they thought she was a black woman. To many, she has the compelling voice of a modern day soul singer who just happens to not “look” like one. Stepping out from the teeny-bopper pack with their rail thin voices, Aguilera’s pipes have acquired her a lot of love and recognition. She was ranked number 58 on the 100 Best Singer’s of All Time list by Rolling Stone, making her the youngest singer on the list.

The full top 10:
1. Bobby Caldwell
2. Lisa Stansfield
3. Robin Thicke
4. Joss Stone
5. Christina Aguilera
6. Michael McDonald
7. Yukimi Nagano
8. Jack Sheldon
9. Nikka Costa
10. Teena Marie

Source: MadameNoire

[NEWS] 'MOVES LIKE JAGGER' MAKES ROLLING STONE'S TOP TEN IN 'THE BEST SONGS OF SUMMER'

It may not officially be fall until September 23rd, but by our count, summer is over. It was a time of crappy blockbuster sequels, massive U2 stadium concerts, Michele Bachmann's rise (and fall) as a serious presidential candidate, and earthquakes and hurricanes that seemed to foretell a coming apocalypse. Somehow we survived it all and now can look back with instant nostalgia.

10. Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera, 'Moves Like Jagger'
NBC's The Voice seemed like another American Idol knock-off doomed to the same reality show dustbin where Chains of Love and Love Cruise now reside. Surprisingly enough, the show found a huge audience –and managed to reinvigorate the careers of judges Adam Levine and Christine Aguilera. They teamed up on this dance song that became a much-needed radio hit for both artists. It also joins the list of recent pop songs to reference Mick Jagger – including Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" and Kanye West's "Swagga Like Us."

9. Adele, 'Rolling In The Deep'
The biggest album of the year was supposed to be Lady Gaga's Born This Way. Then Adele came out of nowhere with her second album 21 and crushed everything in its path. The LP was propelled by the single "Rolling In The Deep," which has been inescapable all year. It's been on Gossip Girl, Glee and pretty much every other show on television. "I love seeing Lady Gaga's boobs and bum,"Adele told Rolling Stone in April. "I love seeing Katy Perry's boobs and bum. Love it. But that's not what my music is about. I don't make music for eyes. I make music for ears."

8. Good Charlotte, '1979'
No, Good Charlotte didn't release a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "1979" this summer. This is an original song that looks back nostalgically on a simpler time. "The Clash was on the radio," Joel Madden sings. "And Mom and Dad were still in love in 1979. It was a good good year." He also references "Heart of Glass," "Rock & Roll High School" and "Dream Police." Madden was born in March of 1979, so the dude must have a pretty good memory.

7. Lady Gaga, 'Edge of Glory'
Lady Gaga wrote this song about her grandfather dying, but after recruiting Clarence Clemons to play sax on the song it's become an unlikely tribute to the the Big Man. He played the track with her on the finale of American Idol and shot a video for it shortly before he died. "She's the real deal," Clemons told Rolling Stone in February. "All the craziness and stuff, there's a purpose to all of it. She has no boundaries . . . It's a day I'll never forget. I always wait for Bruce to call and say 'come do this' and it's real exciting for me. I never saw this happening, though."

6. Red Hot Chili Peppers, 'The Adventures of Raindance Maggie'
The Red Hot Chili Peppers had a lot to prove when they released the first single from I'm With You. It was the public's first look at new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who has the incredibly difficult task of replacing the mighty John Frusciante. The debut single "The Adventures of Raindance Maggie" charted all over the world, and hit Number One on the American Rock Songs chart – proving the band does have life after Frusciante. For the video, they took a page out of the Beatles and U2 playbook by playing on a rooftop. Unlike those previous two rooftop shoots, nobody tried to shut them down.

5. Panic! at the Disco, 'Ready to Go (Get Out of My Mind)'
Panic! at the Disco have had a rough past few years. Their 2008 LP Pretty. Odd was a drastic change from their emo roots, and they even dropped the exclamation mark from their name. Fans were pissed, and they just got angrier when half the band left the group in the summer of 2009. On their newest album they brought back the exclamation mark and their old sound. What remains of their fanbase is very pleased.

4. Coldplay, 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall'
Coldplay are one of the last rock bands that can reliably release a big hit single in advance of every new album. Hell, even U2 can't pull that off anymore. Coldplay say that their upcoming Mylo Xyloto is inspired by 1980s American graffiti, and the video for "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" certainly plays into that theme. It remains to be seen whether Coldplay can keep up this momentum with their next few singles from the LP.

3. Foo Fighters, 'Walk'
During Nirvana's heyday few people predicted that the drummer would pull a Phil Collins and become a superstar outside of the band, but that's exactly what he's done. The Foo Fighters just seem to get more and more popular. As big as they are here in America, they're even bigger in Europe. It's truly remarkable. Their new album Wasting Light was cut in Dave Grohl's garage with Nevermind producer Butch Vig. The single "Walk" was inspired by Dave Grohl's attempts to teach his daughter to walk.

2. Foster the People, 'Pumped Up Kicks'
"Pumped Up Kicks" sounds like a sugary pop song, but when you stop and listen to the lyrics it's clear the song is about a psychotic kid who pulls a gun on the popular kids at this school. It's sort of a "Jeremy" for a new generation. Recorded by the Los Angeles indie pop band Foster the People, "Pumped Up Kicks" is one of the surprise hits of 2011, rising to Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100.

1. Britney Spears, 'I Wanna Go'
This wasn't even close. Britney won by a landslide, which shouldn't come as any surprise. The woman works with the most successful pop songwriters in the industry. This track was co-written by Swedish songwriting legend Max Martin – the man behind everything from "Since U Been Gone" to "I Want It That Way" to Britney's first hit "...Baby One More Time." He's a 40-year-old Swedish guy, but he knows exactly what American teenage girls want to blast in their cars. The video for "I Wanna Go" starts with Britney giving a press conference, which is hysterical because she's one of the least media-accessible singers in the world. It's easier to get a sit-down with Bob Dylan than it is with Britney.

Source: RollingStone

[SPECULATION] CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE COVER FOR XTINA'S NEXT ROLLING STONE!

I can't wait to see the new conceptual vision for Christina's next Rolling Stone cover!