Bark + Bite

Nelly Furtado shoots and scores with "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)"

Nelly Furtado's comeback single, "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)" is a club banger. But unlike every other dancefloor-focused pop song, it avoids hopping on the ubiquitous dance-pop trend. Instead, Nelly retreats to her folksy hip-hop roots, which she first shared with the world on her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!.

The song is produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins but sounds largely like something Timbaland would've produced. No word on if Timbo will be making any contributions to Nelly's upcoming album, The Spirit Indestructible, after he played a leading role on her last English-language album Loose.

But back to "Big Hoops." The purpose of the song's lyrics are hard to cut through, making the whole thing seem quite nebulous. Are we really hanging the theme of this whole song on big hoop earrings? The bigger the better wordplay makes for a fun hook though.

Maybe we just need a visual to better sort this whole thing out, but don't let that deter you from one of the hottest non-dance-pop tracks to emerge from a mainstream pop artist in a while. Give us more, Nelly!

Listen to Nelly's new single below

Nicki Minaj flies away with club-friendly "Starships" single

After serving up the vexing and pot-stirring "Roman Holiday" at the Grammy awards, Nicki offers something that's a bit more pleasing to the mainstream palate with her RedOne-produced single, "Starships."

This song is pure ear candy; aural cotton candy meant for easy consumption and disposal. The song follows all the trends that pop music is wearing out right now: Big, earth-shattering dance breaks, lines about drinking and dancing all cares away and synths larger loud enough to shatter Gorilla Glass.

Expect to hear this one on the radio and in the clubs a lot. It's pretty much the sequel to Minaj's David Guetta collaboration "Where Dem Girls At," with a dirty dance break thrown in the mix to muck it up a little.

Listen to Nicki's latest single below

Katy Perry gets the last laugh in "Part of Me" single

People who are tardy for the party might assume that her latest single "Part of Me," which she premiered at the Grammys, is totally about her divorce from Russell Brand. Not quite, as the song has actually been around for some time before it was repurposed for the Teenage Dream re-release.

But the lyrics certainly sync up perfectly with her split from Brand: Now look at me, I'm sparkling / A firework, a dancing flame / You won't ever put me out again / I'm glowing, oh whoa oh / So you can keep the diamond ring / It don't mean nothing anyway / In fact you can keep everything."

Listen to Katy Perry's latest single below

K'NAAN and Nelly Furtado open their arms and hearts to misfits

In case the Internetz and wealthy pop stars haven't told you yet: It gets better. This viral campaign which was started in response to the tragic rash of gay suicides last year, has shifted pop music toward soaring self-esteem anthems. Katy Perry mastered it with "Firework" and here comes Somali-Canadian rapper K'NAAN trying his hand at it with help from his fellow Canuck, Nelly Furtado.

Look, if you're sick of these schmaltzy inspirational pop anthems, this might rub you the wrong way. There's a corniness factor at work, and K'NAAN's hip pop verses float somewhere between Lupe Fiasco and will.i.am territory. They're not quite bad and not quite good either.

The aim of K'NAAN's song is focused on painting the story of two misfits of society: Adam and Mary. Mary struggles with the pressures of outer beauty placed on her by society, while Adam suffers from abandonment issues from his absent father and ultimately ends up a slave to his drug abuse. It's a cliched afterschool special we've all seen a thousand times before.

Nelly saves the song with her rich, golden hook: "I don't wanna be left in this war tonight / Am I alone in this fight? / Is anybody out there." It's much more "Like A Bird" than "Promiscuous" and Nelly sounds glad to be back in that airy zone.

Listen to K'NAAN and Nelly's collaboration below

Jennifer Hudson and Ne-Yo have a battle of the sexes on "Think Like a Man"

It's always a battle between what he said and she said when it comes to relationship drama. And who does drama better than Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson?

Joining forces with Ne-Yo and Rick Ross for the lead single for the movie Think Like a Man soundtrack, Jennifer Hudson bellows with all of her gospel might over a stormy R&B track.

"You said every king needs his queen back, that's why you needed me baby/ Right in between lust and love, you go and mess things up," Hudson belts.

But Ne-Yo claps back for the fellas, smartly replying that they would've been "better friends" than lovers. Rick Ross was thrown in the mix because what song ISN'T Rick Ross thrown on these days? Frankly, it's just a matter of time before Purina hires him to re-do the meow, meow jingle too.

Listen to Jennifer Hudson and Ne-Yo's duet below

D.A. Wallach of Chester French steps out with the Supa Dups

Chester French frontman D.A. Wallach is trying on a new outfit. A new band, more specifically, called the D.A. and the Supa Dups.

Have no fears, CF fans. D.A. maintains that he is working on new Chester French music in parallel with his new side projects. His latest brainchild, D.A. and the Supa Dups, takes a very Caribbean approach to music with lush reggae tones and breezy island melodies. He has paired with Jamaican producer Supa Dups, which is how their collaborative stage name came about.

On the first offering, "Who Do You Know," the sounds of paradise collide with doo wop for a tale of love at first sight.

Who Do You Know by dasupadups

The other single, "Too Cool," brings on board controversial skin-bleaching dancehall musician Vybez Cartel for a funky, dancefloor filler about a good girl who's really bad.

Too Cool Featuring Vybz Kartel by dasupadups

What do you think? Is D.A. onto something with his Supa Dups spinoff or is he better off with Chester French?

Kelly Clarkson makes her return with new single "Mr. Know It All"

At first glance, Kelly Clarkson's new single, "Mr. Know It All," seems to be a sequel to one of her first hits, "Miss Independent." In reality, the song represents a very different point in Clarkson's career, and unfortunatly it's a bit of a step back for the original American Idol winner.

The singer who brought us super catchy loud hits such as "Since U Been Gone" and "I Do Not Hook Up" as well as softer, slower classics like "Breakaway," has always been a master at knowing when to pump up the noise and when to tone it down and let her voice shine. Yet on this track, the balance is off. Softer instrumentals are paired with a Pink-esqe tone to Clarkson's vocals, and the mix just doesn't quite click.

When listeners get to the chorus and the gruffness in her singing is dropped (for the most part), the song gets a whole lot better. As Clarkson sings, "You think that you know me/That's why I'm leaving you lonely," it's difficult not to groove along.

But that's another problem with this song: It doesn't exactly lend itself to blasting in the car and screaming the lyrics at the top of your lungs (whether or not the windows are rolled up on down, that depends on you). It's frustratingly close to being a mega-hit; if the instrumentals and the vocals matched more consistently, there'd be no stopping Clarkson yet again. Instead, we're left with a track that won't be remembered as one of Kelly Clarkson's Greatest Hits but that is close enough that it won't disappoint most fans.

What do you think - do you love it? Hate it? Couldn't care less? Listen below and sound off!

Katy Perry gets a helping hand from Missy Elliott for "Last Friday Night" remix

For her last smash single, Katy Perry called on Kanye West for an assist on "E.T.," this time, Katy's goes for more of a throwback, calling on femcee veteran Missy Elliott. The results? Not too bad, really. But it hardly seems primed to make the single race up the charts like Katy's pairing with Ye.

What Katy seemed to be striving for on this remix seems like it would've been better accomplished by Nicki Minaj. She's the femcee du jour and she's already done the same for Katy's fellow pop princess Britney Spears on "Till the World Ends." Throwing Missy Elliott on here does more of a favor to Missy than it does Katy really, as it sheds a light of relevance on Missy's career.

But that being said, the breakdown section that replaces the album version's sax solo is downright funky. And Missy's wild energy remains intact. So it's a sign that Missy still knows how to get a party started, at least. And that's worth celebrating on any day of the week.

Listen to the remix of Katy's TGIF anthem featuring Missy below