[Free Music] Download Charlotte Church's Excellent "TWO" EP!

If I had known Charlotte Church's excellent TWO EP was being given away for free, I'd have told you guys sooner! Unfortunately, it's only today that I stumbled upon this wondrous news! If you are feeling extra generous, the site from which it's being distributed does give you the ability to offer a monetary tip- so dig deep if you can to support this independent venture- however, it's not a necessity in getting your mitts on it. (You can also buy it on Itunes, here.)

I have to admit I cheaped Charlotte out of my money when downloading- but that's only because I have none at the moment! I shall, however, (hopefully) make it up to the Welsh woman by greasing her palm when I buy tickets to see her perform in London, come September! Also, my brother has bought a copy of the EP already, so at least someone with half the same DNA as me has paid for it. That's something, right?

Charlotte's next EP is due in August, but if you liked this collection of songs I strongly suggest you buy its predecessor (entitled, ONE), here.

[New Music] Beyonce Inspires With "Rise Up" From "Epic" Soundtrack

It looks like Beyonce isn't done with helping us become better human beings just yet! Last weekend saw the Crazy In Love singer teach us about women's rights and gender equality at the Chime For Change concert while today, with the release of new song Rise Up, the singer offers up some sage advice on building and maintaining our fragile self-esteem.

Written by Co-written with Sia, and taken from the soundtrack of animated film Epic, the track has Baddie Bey and Sasha Fierce take a back seat, leaving regular, plain ol' God-fearing Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter in the front seat, driving the vocals. So be ready for a delivery that is totally sugar and spice and everything nice. It's not a song I'll be spinning again any time soon, but it's pretty, features some nice, if excessive, harmonies and I can see how it fits perfectly with the movie it's been recorded for.

Take a listen to Rise Up and let me know what y'all think below in the comments.

[Watch] Mariah Carey And Miguel Perform "#Beautiful" live @ Hot 97′s 2013 Summer Jam

Mariah, Mariah, Mariah.....good on you for promoting Beautiful, but yeah, this was not cute. I have no more words. You guys watch the Diva return the favour to Miguel for joining her at her GMA  mini-concert by crashing his Hot 97′s 2013 Summer Jam set. Then explain to me how I should be feeling in the comments. #Devastated, perhaps?

Update: Listened to it LOUDER- my poor neighbours- and Mariah wasn't as bad as I'd initially thought. Up until 2.42 she was actually pretty okay.

[Watch] Divas Unite For "Chime For Change" Concert @ Twickenham Stadium

Saturday saw the Chime For Change concert take place at the home of Rugby Union, Twickenham stadium. There was something fittingly symbolic about a venue usually so crammed full of alpha males that just breathing the surrounding air on match day could make you sprout chest hairs, being used to highlight the plight of women everywhere.

Some of you may know that I was lucky enough to attend the concert- and had an amazing time, thanks for asking. But this post isn't really going to offer a play by play of the concert, instead I thought I'd post MY top three best and worst things about the night. Doing that should hopefully stop me from rambling and let you get to the performances quicker. (Or you could just ignore all of this and just scroll straight down, you scoundrels!)

[Free Music] Take A Listen To (And Download) Independent Artist Vanessa Elisha's "Don't Go" EP

Received an email from an Australian up-and-coming Diva called Vanessa Elisha. Always one to try and shine a little light on new and independent talent, I thought it was only right that I make a post for her new EP, Don't Go.

With a dark Rnb sound that isn't dissimilar to that featured on Tinashe's excellent Reverie mixtape, Vanessa has compiled an EP of beautifully atmospheric tracks. With a voice that shares qualities with both Mya and JoJo, the vocals are kept breezy and light for most of this EP- which is actually respectful to the production. So don't expect your head to be blown off by big notes and crazy runs. But if you do want to hear Vanessa stretch her voice a little more, take a listen to the ad-libs on the closing track Blur. They hint at there still being more to come from this singer-songwriter.

I really love this era of music. No longer does an artist have to faff about with record labels to showcase their talent to a wider audience. Now a person, anywhere, can get on the net, upload their creations and the world is (potentially) their audience. The internet has effectively democratised music- and it's awesome!  Keep doing your thing, Ms. Elisha!

[Watch] Ariana Grande Vocally Impresses @ Ellen With Live Performance Of "The Way"

Ariana Grande put on a great showing of single, The Way, for the audience at the The Ellen Degeneres Show. We've already seen that the young lady can sing, via YouTube videos, but this was the first time (for me, at least) that I've seen her perform in a live studio environment. Needless to say, she smashed it.

With a timbre like Mariah's and a penchant for musically suspect vocal runs like Christina, Arina is still somewhat finding her own unique sound. Yes, she can sing. No question. But she needs to get a style of her own if she really wants to compete, or stand shoulder to shoulder with the Divas she so clearly idolises.

Still, with a voice as pristine as hers is- despite sounding a little nasal and fuller, in this live setting- it's sure to take her far no matter what she does with it. I just hope she's smart enough not to rely solely on the range and runs to impress when it comes time to record that ever important début album.

[Music Video] Ke$ha Turns Latina Gangsta In Video For "Crazy Kids"

Yes to Ke$ha! Yes to her new single, Crazy Kids! Yes to the new video and the Latina gangsta look! But NO to the totally unnecessary Will.I.Am rap. NO! NO! NO! NO! ARGHHH!

When I first heard Crazy Kids it wasn't love at first listen- thanks in large part to the whistling! Seriously, when is whistling- not of the Minnie Ripperton variety, but of the average Joe kind- anything other than annoying? (Just because I can't whistle doesn't mean I'm jealous of anyone who can, so put away that Psych -101 textbook!)

But I'm over it, and I love everything about the album version of the song (note: it doesn't feature Mr. Will.I.Am.Everywhere). It's just too bad that they did away with Ke$ha's second verse to fit in Will's rubbishy part because it does affect the natural flow of the song. The omittance of the swears, though understandable, also somewhat dulls the devil-may-care attitude of the lyrics. So moral of the story/paragraph/post/life: listen to the album version after you've checked out the video!

Take a listen to both version of Crazy Kids, below!