:: arjanwrites music blog ::

Interview: Arjan Chats with Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean

After more than 15 years in the music business, the Backstreet Boys recently released their seventh studio album. Titled "This Is Us," the disc features an impressive list of A-list producers who helped the quartet usher in a new phase of their career with heartfelt ballads and catchy uptempo tracks. Their sound is still decidedly their own with their signature harmonies and distinct solo vocal contributions.

It may not be getting the attention that pop newcomers are receiving, but "This Is Us" is a solid pop record that easily ranks among the best pop discs of the year. And fans everywhere agree. The group is currently on an extended world tour selling out venues from Tokyo to London. Some things never chance.

Recently, I had a chance to meet up with AJ McLean (pictured right) to talk about the group's new album. We talked about working with hitmakers like RedOne and Jim Jonsin and much more. AJ also talks about the importance of the gay community early on when the group just started out. He shares a candid story about performing at Tampa's Gay Pride many years ago. Read on for all the scoop. (Click here to listen to Backstreet Boys' "This Is Us.")

Arjan: Congratulations with the release of the new Backstreet Boys record. Your seventh!
AJ: That's right! Thank you very much. We're very proud of this record. Honestly, this is our favorite record. We feel every song is a hit, so we're really proud of it.

After 15 years in the business as a group is chart success still as important as before, or are you more interested in the artistic process?
It's a little bit of both for me. The creative aspect is very important to us and we want to be trendsetters. But we also find it important to make music for the masses and perform. We definitely want to make more records as long as the fans want us to keep doing it.

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Heading to the GRAMMY Nominations!

This is so very very, very exciting!

Tomorrow, I will assist The Recording Academy to cover, blog and tweet the nominations ceremony for the 52nd GRAMMY Awards at Nokia Live in downtown Los Angeles. 

I'm getting packed to head to Los Angeles in the next few hours. My official GRAMMY coverage will kick off on Wednesday with live coverage of the nominations ceremony on Twitter and Facebook around 8PM EST. Note that CBS will be broadcasting the nomination ceremony live at 9PM EST. Performers include Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell, Sugarland, Nick Jonas and many others.

You may remember my exclusive, first-of-its-kind coverage of the GRAMMY Awards earlier this year and the nomination event on Wednesday is a prelude to the 52nd GRAMMY Awards ceremony on January 31, 2010 that I will cover again in a bigger capacity. In January, I will cover all the musical goodness from many different angles - from behind the scenes, from the Staples Center and from all the major GRAMMY events taking place during GRAMMY Week. It's an incredible honor to be invited back and cover this prestigious event again.

If you want to get minute by minute updates from from the ceremony on Wednesday, make sure to follow me on Twitter and become a fan of the ArjanWrites Facebook Page. Hope to see you there!

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Exclusive First-Listen: Dangerous Muse "I Want It All"

Here it is. Finally!

Drop everything you're doing and listen to Dangerous Muse's long-awaited new singe, "I Want It All" right now. I'm not kidding! The track was produced by Bloodshy & Avant who previously wrote hits for people like Britney Spears, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Jennifer Lopez. Indeed. Not too shabby for an American electro upstart and a very nice way to get noticed in the international world of pop.

"I Want It All" is the ultimate tastemaker for the New York's duo debut album that has been years in the making and will be hitting the mighty iTunes sooner than you think.

"I Want It All" is a blistering electro-pop tune with a gritty, rocky edge. Featuring Mike Furey's sensual vocal performance and Tom Napack's crafty synth work, the song strikes the perfect balance between sweet pop and crunchy electro. The more you hear it, the better it gets.

This has been a song that has been more than worth the wait. "I Want It All" is a class apart. Congratulations, guys! I'm so very proud! What do you think of the new Dangerous Muse single?

Video: Arjan Chats with MiniViva

Not since Mel & Kim has there been such a fun and bubbly girl pop duo as MiniViva. Meet Frankee and Britt, the two members of MiniViva who were put together by 19 Entertainment's Simon Fuller. He is the powerful manager behind people like Adam Lambert, Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson and many other successful acts.

Produced by Xenomania, MiniViva's debut single "Left My Heart In Tokyo" was instantly noticed in the U.K. when it was released this summer. The ladies will release their new single "I Wish" on December 14, in anticipation of their full-length debut.

Due to some technical difficulties, we had to cut the video interview short. But as you can see the girls and I were able to cover all of the basics and a little more - including their love for gays, how to wave glow sticks and the importance of wearing your heart on your sleeves.

Meet New Pop Singer Adam Tyler

Meet Adam Tyler, an emerging new electro-pop singer from Los Angeles who is preparing the release of his debut album "Lullabies For Rattlesnakes." The record was produced by up and coming Swedish pop producer Elias Kapari who recently worked with Luigi Masi and Ashley Tishdale.

Inspired by the music of TLC, Madonna and Mariah Carey, the Columbia, MO native set his sights on pursuing a career in music and moved to Boston to attend the famed Berklee School of Music after high school to finetune his songwriting craft. After graduating, Tyler settled in Los Angeles to start working on his recording career. He joined boyband upstart MaddHouse for a while, but decided that solo was the way to go for him.

The singer likes to describe his music as "put your hands up in the air" electro pop and that is a good way to put it. His music demonstrates Tyler's knack for good pop with his slick vocal delivery and instantly catchy melodies that are infused with just the right dose of sex appeal. He's a total package.

Listen to a clip of his new track "Friction" in the player below and listen to more of his music on his website and YouTube.

Listen to MPHO "See Me Now" feat. Wale

Listen to a brand-new version of MPHO's excellent "See You Now" that features a cameo from rapper Wale. A previous version of "See Me Now" was released by Parlophone a few months ago, but the label put out this new version last week to warm up the masses for the singer's upcoming debut LP. Also, listen to the Toddla T remix of "See You Now."

You may remember that massively hot track "Box 'N Locks" that first got me to take note of this hot new talent, follow by her stunning rendition of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."

MPHO is by far one of the freshest new voices to hit the scene this year. The London based singer  was born in South Africa and raised in a racially mixed family of musicians and political activists in the UK. Suffice to say that her life story is as colourful as her music. A press release describes that the "overriding theme of both [her life and music] has been MPHO's determination to find her own space, to define herself on her own terms." Her debut LP, titled "Pop Art," will be released early 2010 (I hope).

Free MP3 Download: She Is Danger "Hurt You"

She Is Danger are the very talented Lena Cullen and Maya Jane Coles who produced a super remix of Ellie Goulding's "Under The Sheets" a few weeks ago. But the London producer/vocalist duo have a lot more on their sleeves than remixing other people's music. They also write, engineer, produce and perform their own music, which is best described as a dangerous and trippy blend of electronica and dubstep. It sounds very underground, but it has a compelling crunch to it that has me curious to hear more from them. Definitely the venting kind of tune. Think Ladytron meets Massive Attack meets Portishead.

She Is Danger "Hurt You"