I'm coming out... as an Avril stan!

I've always liked Avril. She might come across as a miserable bitch with a chip on her shoulder the size of Lady Gaga's penis but her music is hot. I never got around to reviewing "Goodbye Lullaby" on the blog but it would easily place in my top 10 albums of 2011. Thus far. Admittedly, it's not quite in the same league as her brilliant 2004 opus "Under My Skin" - which is one of my favourite albums of all time - but in comparison to the soulless shit being served up by Britney and Rihanna, it's a fucking masterpiece. At first I thought it was a little light on singles but with each new spin, I become more and more convinced that songs like "Push", "Wish You Were Here" and "I Love You" could be hits. A lot is riding on the second single. If "Smile" takes off, Avril has a (small) chance of snatching her pop/rock crown back from Pink. If not, it's only a matter of time before we see her co-anchoring The Voice next to Xtina. Actually that would be kind of amazing! But back to "Smile". The perky Max Martin/Shellback produced brat anthem is a total winner. Catchy, radio friendly and infused with enough attitude to keep the kids happy - this should do well with a decent video and a bit of promotion. Now Avril just needs to drag her bony arse back to Sydney for a tour. Nobody mopes around stage looking bored shitless better than her!

Third time lucky for Auburn?

Auburn is one of my favourite fledgling pop divas. Her debut "La La La" was a fun slice of JR Rotem produced urban dance - complete with a catchy ATC sample - but it was her second single that really won me over. "All About Him" showed the 22-year-old beauty in a completely different light. I loved the cute retro-pop sound and softer vocal but, unfortunately, it never quite caught on and failed to chart in the US. Fingers crossed she has more luck with single number three. "Perfect Two" is already something of a phenomenon on YouTube, clocking up over 30 million views, and is steadily climbing the iTunes top 200. So far, so good! And it's easy to see the appeal. Auburn's latest jam is so sweet it will rot your teeth. An acoustic love song bursting with quotable lyrics like "you can be the vodka and I can be the chaser", this will be the soundtrack to weddings and anniversaries for years to come. All it needs is a cute video, a bit of promotion and Auburn could have the commercial breakthrough she thoroughly deserves. Put your cynicism aside for four minutes and fall in love with "Perfect Two". Now when is this smash being released in Australia?

Aloe Blacc - Loving You Is Killing Me

Aloe Blacc might seem slightly out of place on Pop Trash Addicts but I'm obsessed with his new single "Loving You Is Killing Me". And thought what the fuck. The American rapper-turned-soul-singer scored a massive hit around Europe last year with "I Need A Dollar" and is currently sitting pretty in the UK top 20 with the track. It's a great song but I prefer the follow up. "Loving You Is Killing Me" picks up where Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You" left off. It's a catchy, retro anthem about the dark underbelly of love. I love the 70s soul sound and Aloe delivers lyrics like "loving you should make me feel like I'm your king, you don't make me feel like anything" with heart and authenticity. My only problem with the whole project is the version of the song used in the film clip. The Numarek Mix on the physical single is completely different and vastly superior to this. The heavy funk that makes the original so distinctive has been replaced by an upbeat dance version with disco undertones. I don't approve. It's annoying because the video itself is fabulous. I had no idea he could dance like that! Anyway, this is the only version on YouTube - so check out "Loving You Is Killing Me" and jump on board the Aloe Blacc bandwagon before it gets too crowded.

Katy Perry - Live In Sydney (4 May 2011)

When did Katy Perry become so fucking amazing? I liked "One Of The Boys" but apart from the fabulous singles it wasn't particularly memorable. And then out of nowhere, she delivers one of the best pop albums in recent memory - complete with brilliant videos and an iconic image transformation. In the process she made chart history by scoring four consecutive #1 hits in America (with a possible fifth on the way) and lifted herself above Britney and Xtina on the pop hierarchy. I was interested to see how the new and improved Katy Perry would come off live and it was a very pleasant surprise. Gone is the faux angst that tinged her first Australian tour. The diva now only has one thing on her mind and that's FUN. Bright colours, cute gimmicks and upbeat pop anthems reigned supreme at last night's California Dreams show. It was a bit clumsy and often came off as a big budget Rock Eisteddfod entry but it ranks a close second behind Ke$ha as my favourite concert of 2011.

Pop's new princess began the show with a black and white video montage, which finds Katy cast as an unwilling and incompetent apprentice butcher who is bullied by her boss and dreams of working with baked goods. I'm not making this up! She then gets a magical cupcake from a super hot guy at her local bakery, goes to bed and falls into an Alice In Wonderland-esque alternate reality. She then sets out on a journey to find her missing cat. The storyline isn't that dissimilar to the narrative that ran through Gaga's Monster's Ball but the tone is completely different. While Mother Monster strives to be dark and different, Katy's world looks like Hello Kitty threw up all over it. The emphasis is on cute and kitsch but it works - largely due to the superstar's doll-like beauty and charm. She kicked off the show proper with "Teenage Dream" and the undeniable anthem sounded a lot better live than I expected. After seeing some of her recent TV performances, I was a bit worried about her voice but she was in fine form last night. Next was "Hummingbird Heartbeat" followed by one of my faves from her debut "Waking Up In Vegas".

The next segment was probably the controversial but arguably the most entertaining. Katy is duped into eating a "magical brownie" - ie. the bitch is stoned off her tits - and starts hallucinating. She then breaks into "Ur So Gay" before attaching some feathers to her butt to sing "Peacock". I still lapprove of that ridiculous trash and would love for it to be single 7 or 8 from "Teenage Dream". I'm not being facetious. She could easily release that many tracks from the album. And I'm sure they would all be hits. The 26-year-old moved on to "I Kissed A Girl" after that and channelled her inner 1950s bombshell in a gorgeous gown. She is so pretty up close. It's breathtaking. I'm not really sure about the jazz-tastic performance of her breakthrough hit though but I loved hearing "Circle The Drain" live. That is probably my least favourite song from "Teenage Dream" but it's a link to the old Katy and she rocked it. Next was "ET" - complete with a straight jacket dance routine she stole from Kylie circa 1997 - but I am obsessed with the song and loved every second of it.

It was finally time to move away from the hits and sing a couple of "Teenage Dream" album tracks. I always considered "Who Am I Living For?" a bit of a stinker but I have a whole new appreciation for it now. The same goes for "Pearl" - which was partly-performed sitting on two acrobats, hovering over the stage. It was exquisite. Just as pretty was "Not Like The Movies". This needs to be a future single if they are too stupid to go with the hit-in-waiting "The One That Got Away". The depth of good material on "Teenage Dream" is unbelievable but a ballad would be a nice change of pace. Speaking of change-ups, Katy's already famous karaoke segment was a blast. She pretended to take requests (but sang the same old songs as every other stop on the tour) and then promised to kiss an audience member if they knew all four. For the record Ms Perry belted out Rihanna's "Only Girl In The World", Jay Z's "Big Pimpin'", Rebecca Black's "Friday" - AMAZING! - and Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair". After that she was carried into the audience to pash a crying and shaking teenage girl. Katy is so down with the gays!

The adorable diva then dedicated "Thinking Of You" to Australia and said she didn't think she would be playing a venue like the Entertainment Centre so soon. I'm not surprised. I remember seeing her at the Enmore theatre in 2009 and all she had on stage with her was a band and microphone. How times have changed! "Hot N Cold" was another flashback to the old Katy and it brought everyone to their feet. I think I saw her magical dress changing routine on Australia's Got Talent years ago but it was still a lot of fun. Next up was single number five "Last Friday Night (TGIF)", which has been on high rotation on my iPod since the album was released in 2010. With a decent video and I remix, I can see this becoming another chart topper.

The night's most unexpected moment was a cover of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". It was so much fun. I loved her take on Nippy's classic and she earned extra points for dragging a bunch of hyperventilating teenagers on stage to dance with her. Katy closed the show with an impeccable performance of "Firework", a song that will go down as one of the greatest of the early 21st century. She's had trouble hitting the high notes in several TV performances but this was brilliant. As was the conclusion to the story, which finds Katy falling in love with the baker boy and returning to stage in a cupcake dress to sing "California Gurls" as an encore. Sloppy? A little. Cheesy? Very. Contrived? Somewhat. Enjoyable? Always.

Miranda Cosgrove & the best EP of 2011

Miranda Cosgrove first appeared on my pop radar last year when I stumbled across "Kissin U" in a German record store. The hot pink cover looked completely ridiculous, which was reason enough for me to buy it. I finally got around to playing the single about three months later and was surprised by how much I loved it. By then I knew she was a squeaky clean Nickelodeon child star (think Miley pre-Salvia) but her Taylor Swift-lite sound was a breath of fresh air. The rest of her debut album was disappointing but I was still interested enough to import her latest EP. And it was worth every cent. "High Maintenance" is a pop triumph. I'm shocked by the lack of attention it's received from radio and the blogosphere. There isn't a bad song on this. Sure, it's a rather blatant attempt to give Miranda an edgier sound but I don't give a fuck about her complete absence of credibility. Particularly when the tunes are this hot!

"High Maintenance" kicks off with "Dancing Crazy", which was penned by Max Martin, Shellback and Avril Lavigne. It was originally intended for the Canadian diva's "Goodbye Lullaby" album but it was given the flick - probably because it sounds like a carbon copy of "What The Hell". Happily, Avril's trash is Miranda's treasure. I adore this hot mess. The chorus is amazing if you overlook the 17-year-old's pronunciation of "dancing" (gurl, you're not Madonna - drop the fake English accent!) and her attempt to channel Avril gives me the giggles. The real EP's real highlight comes next.

"High Maintenance" is the handiwork of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and Billy Steinberg (who is currently experiencing a career revival thanks to Nicole Scherzinger's "Don't Hold Your Breath"). They have crafted an "Opposites Attract" for 2011 - only without MC Skat Kat's killer rhymes and Paula Abdul's helium vocals. I love everything about this. The lyrics are completely ridiculous ("I crashed your new Ferrari, baby fix that dent! Does that make me high maintenance?") and I don't exactly buy Miranda as a crazy party girl but this is achingly cute and undeniably catchy. Pop trash fans will cream their jeans over this one.

Some amazing names worked on this gem. Lucas Secon (Kylie's "Get Outta My Way") contributes "Face Of Love", the EP's mid-tempo moment. It's probably my least favourite of the five songs but it suits Miranda's voice perfectly and makes a nice change of pace. I'm way more excited about track four. "Kiss You Up" was one of my favourite songs from Shontelle's flop album and I'm so happy someone has decided to cover it. The production is pretty much the same and while Miranda's voice isn't as powerful as the rich man's Rihanna, she makes the song her own.

The EP closes with another up-tempo dance anthem - this time courtesy of Greg Kurstin and hit songwriter Bonnie McKee, who contributed the amazing "TGIF" to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" album. "Sayonara" is a "Circus" era Britney knock off but like Emily Osment before her, Miranda easily outdoes the original. This has a hot beat and a cute chorus. "High Maintenance" is so good, I kind of wish Miranda had tacked on another 5 songs and released an album. It would have been an absolute killer sophomore set. As it is, I have a new favourite teen Queen and a handful of stunning trash anthems to blast until album two is ready. Highly recommended!

8/10