VIDEO PREMIERE: justin timberlake - filthy

justin timberlake - filthy
call it a more toned down funk jam, but the return of justin timberlake is no doubt a risky release for those hoping for something more hyped (especially since the song reunites timbaland with JT post 'sexyback'). throw in a robot dancing video by mark romanek and you've got something that falls a bit short in my book. with more tracks coming out in the following weeks this is just a teaser of what to expect.

AUDIO PREMIERE: sam smith - pray

sam smith - pray
giving his fans the closing song of his upcoming album 'the thrill of it all', the lyrics to 'pray' seem to channel the current state of mind culminating with the rousing lyrics of 'everyone prays in the end'. it's a admirable sentiment helped by the producing skills of timbaland (who knew he could do a gospel ballad like this?)

ON THE RADAR: tink - ratchet commandments

tink - ratchet commandments
signed by timbaland, the chicago rapper/singer tink is coming out heavy on the hype and with a talking point jam that lists all the things you shouldn't be dating in the pool out there. apparently aaliyah showed up in a dream to tell timbaland to sign this girl, so really, tink has her to thank. looking forward to hearing what else is up her sleeve!

SOUNDTRACK STREAM: empire - original soundtrack from season 1

empire - original soundtrack from season 1
already a surprise sensation on tv, the lee daniels / danny strong series about the empire record label and it's behind the scenes drama between the family and their artists, is hoping that their success will transfer on the ACTUAL music front. with music supervision by timbaland and jim beanz, it's insane the amount of catchy songs that are on each episode (whether they're crossover hits is another thing), but press play to relive some of your fave memories from one of my current favorite shows!

COOL MIX: little mix - boy

little mix - boy
someone has been listening to ALOT of classic aaliyah! nothing wrong with that since the timbaland beats don't kick in about a minute in, preceded by a solid acapella intro! the little mix gals are definitely making themselves an interesting act on the pop field. definitely my fave girl band out at the moment (there i've said it!)

POP MIX: justin timberlake - tko

justin timberlake - tko
old skool timberland beats and sounds run rampant on this track which sadly still feels like b-sides from another album. heck, the video has already garnered 4 million hits, so what do i know?

THE SOUND OF BAD: justin timberlake - tko

justin timberlake - tko
um... where is the song? and does it need to be 7 minutes of a mediocre groove? what happened to the dream team? questions galore but i'm too bored by this track to care.

BEYONCE PEPSI COMMERCIAL: beyonce - grown woman (snippet)

beyonce - grown woman (snippet)
as a teaser to her fans, bey offered up a minute of her upcoming single 'grown woman' that's produced by timbaland. the full song will be available on monday, so for now you get this ad!

WONGIE DANCE SONG OF THE WEEK: timbaland feat david guetta and pitbull - pass at me

timbaland feat david guetta and pitbull - pass at me
[obviously i am so not immune to booty party songs (the afro beats make this one extra special)! a welcome return to top form for the timbaland]

AUDIO LEAK: timbaland feat shakira and lil wayne - give it up to me

timbaland feat shakira and lil wayne - give it up to me

madonna feat justin timberlake and timbaland - 4 minutes (video premiere)

madonna feat justin timberlake and timbaland - 4 minutes (junkie xl tidus vocal re-edit) [link 2]
[this video will probably be pulled by the time you see this, but i figured i'd share it anyway since it got leaked a day before it's world premiere on madge's official video channel tick tock. i'd love to hear your thoughts on the video. what is that flesh eating prism anyway? (remember to check out the official launch at 4:44 on april 4th EST)]

wongie top songs of 2007: #13 timbaland feat keri hilson and d.o.e. - the way i are

timbaland feat keri hilson and d.o.e. - the way i are [link 2]
[at first this just sounded like a reject from the futuresex/lovesounds sessions, but then after repeated (most not voluntary) listens, i quickly realised just how simple, genius and timeless the whole song plays. easily one of the best club tunes of the year.]

timbaland feat one republic - apologize (video premiere)

timbaland feat one republic - apologize [link 2]
[though this song got heavy play during the summer show so you think you can dance, it wasn't until timbaland decided to do some light remixing (ie: a few 'hey's) and an official release through his shock value album, that this lovely song is finally getting into popular culture. here's an fyi, i just discovered that lead singer ryan tedder wrote and produced the awesome leona lewis single "bleeding love" (more on her in the coming days)! now you can call me a fan!]

remix baby: cousin cole offers up 3 new remixes for timbaland, soulja boy and cassidy!

it's been awhile since i've had the time to go through my wongie's music world inbox, so imagine my total joy when i found THREE kick ass remix gems from my brooklyn boy cousin cole today! if you haven't heard these yet, grab these asap!

timbaland - the way i are (cousin cole's unwound mix) [link 2]
[mashing in a bit of marva whitney's "unwind yourself", this totally sounds like a timbaland/dap kings collaboration (hm... weirder things have been known to happen) hot!]

soulja boy - crank dat (soulja boy) (cousin cole remix) [link 2]
[i have to admit that i just discovered the original version by soulja boy last week. i think my lack of interest (to this top 10 smash) has to do with the fact that there are way too many self emposed dance 'crazes' these days. thanks to good ol cousin cole, i'm dancing like a superman, no I MEAN YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU]

cassidy - my drink & my 2 step (cousin cole remix) [link 2]
[definitely better than the original version by rapper cassidy. i'm surprised he's still signed to a label.]

50 cent feat justin timberlake - ayo technology (video premiere)

50 cent feat justin timberlake - ayo technology [link 2]
[part of the new and improved kindler gentler 50 cent, this timbaland/timberlake produced track looks set to be more of a crossover than his previous release "i get money". hopefully it will also cause some extra positive buzz since the speculation of pushing back his album curtis twice this year is that the album isn't very good. yikes! personally, i'm kind of 'eh' about this track. but thanks to alis blog for the hook up to this hot joseph kahn directed video!]

new video saturday: reverend and the makers, emily haines, timbaland, example, mark ronson feat daniel merriweather, ali love, nelly furtado, madonna

reverend and the makers - heavyweight champion of the world
[one of my favorite songs at the moment, the video is a tad old, but you can just deal!]


emily haines - doctor blind
[metric's lead singer taps into her singer songwriter roots and comes out with a melancholic and damn creepy video to boot!!]


timbaland feat keri hilson, sebastian and d.o.e. - the way i are
[there's nothing like going to a crowded place and then watching the room go a bit funky when a good song comes on. last night this song was in full effect over at my local den and damn, did the room go mad for it! thanks to ali's blog for the video tip.]


example - i don't want to
[cool fun summer song by a new uk rapper that just got playlisted on bbc radio 1]


mark ronson feat daniel merriweather - stop me (dirty south remix) (HOTT!!!!)
[this song is old news here on wongie's music world, but check out the HOT new dirty south remix and international video that was commisioned to break the US]


ali love - secret sunday lover
[with newfound exposure as the vocals on the current chemical brothers single, will this retro disco track finally be the breakout song for ali? all signs point to yes!]


sondre lerche - phantom punch
[my, how a few years can change an artist. when sondre first came onto the scene he was a cute boy that made sweet gentle retro dittys. now a few years later, he's a cute boy that's living out his retro rock god instead. no worries, it's all good.]


nelly furtado - in god's hands
[the song is pleasant, nelly looks gorgeous, but is it just me or does this sound perfect for a show like dawson's creek (if the creek was still around)?]


madonna - hey you [link 2]
[how did madonna and pharrell make one of the most boring songs of the year? ugh! just remember to make pledges to change the way you live now]

new video wednesday: lcd soundsystem, bobby valentino, css

lcd soundsystem - all my friends (franz ferdinand cover)
[is it me, or does james murphy look more and more like peter gabriel? so weird!]


bobby valentino feat timbaland - anonymous
[the whole timbaland sound is starting to get tired, but dammit is this song catchy! argh!]


CSS - alcohol
[love the photos taken when these puppets are drunk! hilarious!]

gift of song: siobhan donaghy, beyonce, natasha bedingfield, timbaland feat m.i.a.

with a slew of new stuff spewing out on the interweb, i thought i'd be a tad nice and pass on some gems for you to savor (plus, i'm on jury duty, so i can't do anything during the day). enjoy!

siobhan donaghy - there's a place
[with the album ghosts recently leaked out, i have to say there are so many beautiful gems on siobhan's debut that it's turning my head in. i've chosen a gorgeous lullabye that happily proves that siobhan has left her sugababes roots far far behind. definitely a contender for the best album of the month!]

beyonce - still in love (kissing you)
[for those of us ballad freaks, you will easily recognize this cover version of the classic des'ree song that she penned for the decade old romeo & juliet soundtrack. taken from the packed b-day re-issue, b does a nice job of not over doing the vocals as she is prone to do alot these days. lovely.]



natasha bedingfield - soulmate
[natasha's debut album unwritten was a surprise not only in it's dearth of singles but with vocals that were even more impressive live. her upcoming album n.b. looks to continue the tradition (though from the 5 track sampler, i have yet to hear something as catchy as "unwritten")]


timbaland feat m.i.a. - come around
[featured on the uk version of his upcoming album shock value, this collaboration could have been explosive, but has turned out a bit boring if you ask me.]

sessions with wongie: timbaland

i was actually looking forward to checking out timbaland's new album shock value (he is the biggest producer in hip hop/r&b today). so when i got the invite to go to his listening session with tim himself personally introducing the album, who am i to say no?

held at the 'exclusive' bar PM, i was pretty skeptical about the venue since it's pretty much known as one of those bottle serviced joints for corporate types and wannabe models. luckily the crowd this evening was more FOT (friends of timbaland) which included loads of record label folk, a few fashionistas, some journalists (um... i guess i'm one of those) and justin timberlake (he being the pink elephant in the room - we knew he was there, but we were too cool to actually stare at how regular he looks in person).

after waiting about 2 hours for timbaland to show up, the crowd (and camera crew) started to circle around a hooded figure slowly walking his way over to the DJ booth above the club. once he got there, timbaland spent another few minutes saying 'mic check' then started his intro by thanking a few people and saying we were all going to experience a great party. the crowd was ready, the drinks were free flowing and i, the music nerd, couldn't wait for a loud boogie down.

to say i was disappointed is a bit of an understatement. the music barely blasted out of the speakers and after 30 seconds of the crowd realizing that the sound system was shite, everyone went back to chatting and acting as if timbaland hadn't started the listening session yet (i went to a killers listening party last year and the music was so encompassing that i not only ended up loving the album, but i left singing a few tunes too.)

you could see that shit was hitting the fan because one of the big wigs was walking around the room looking pretty pissed off. to make matters worse, timbaland didn't say anything after his intro. he just stood there looking miffed that the room wasn't reacting in ANY way. after 5 songs (and two hours of eating way too many finger foods), the lack of energy bummed me out and i left. while putting on my jacket, i looked up and saw tim staring at my departure. i felt bad, but honestly i was hoping for something cool and fun.

note to the record label, just because a venue is 'cool' doesn't mean it's good for a listening party. ironically enough, club cielo was next door and their sound system is ear popping amazing.

TRACK LISTINGS
1. Oh Timbaland
2. Give It To Me (Feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake)
3. Release (Feat. Justin Timberlake)
4. Way I Are (Feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.)
5. Bounce (Feat. Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake)
6. Come & Get Me (Feat. Tony Yayo & 50 Cent)
7. Kill Yourself (Feat. Sebastian & Attitude)
8. Boardmeeting (Feat. Magoo)
9. Fantasy (Feat. Money)
10.Scream (Feat. Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger)
11.Miscommunication (Feat. Keri Hilson & Sebastian)
12.Bombay (Feat. Amar & Jim Beanz)
13.Throw It On Me (Feat. The Hives)
14.Time (Feat. She Wants Revenge)
15.One & Only (Feat. Fallout Boy)
16.Apologize (Feat. One Republic)
17.2 Man Show (Feat. Elton John)

i'm baaacck! video catch up galore: beyonce / shakira, timbaland feat nelly furtado & justin timberlake, christina aguilera, ciara, katherine mcphee

after going on vacation and coming back to a laptop totally f**ked up, i'm entering the new year with limited access to everything. so hopefully you'll be ok (for now) with these latest videos by these hot mamas.


beyonce & shakira - beautiful liar


timbaland feat nelly furtado & justin timbalake - give it to me


christina aguilera - candyman


ciara - like a boy


katherine mcphee - over it