Graded Song:T-ARA N4 "Countryside Life"

T-ARA hasn't had a lot of success since the whole bullying incident went down . Their promotions really suffered, tearing neitzens apart and "Sexy Love" was essentially a flop. Now after doing some exile time in Japan, T-ARA is back, well four of them are. T-ARA N4 is comprised of members Jiyeon, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Areum and I guess this is a way of testing the Korean market before the rest of the group makes a comeback. The girls have premiered their debut single "Countryside Life", produced by Double SideKick (NS Yoon G's "If You Love Me, SISTAR's "Loving U"). Are the girls and LOEN Entertainment going in the right direction with this one? Overall, I was satisfied with the song.The intro is pretty weak, but as it goes along, it gets stronger and more enjoyable. Enjung really gives the song the kick with her pre-chorus and I'm wondering about the random rapper and why he wasn't credited. However, the other members get overshadowed by Double SideKick's awesome production, which sounds like a blend of Edward Maya's "Stereo Love" and G-Dragon's "Crayon". The kicker in this song is the "why you hatin'" part, which should have pro-T-ARA neitzens singing along and antis gritting their teeth in frustration.
Final Grade:B-
(There are two videos for this song: a dance version (the dance looks like taebo) and a drama version, which was directed by the same guy who did "Gangnam Style")

Graded Song: 4Minute "What's Your Name?"

4Minute has made a comeback. The group had a major hit with their song "Volume Up" and HyunA's own solo effort "Ice Cream" did decently as well as did the group's debut subunit 2Yoon's single "24/7". The new tune, "What's Your Name" was produced by Brave Brothers. Are you ready?
Oh no! Another underwhelming K-Pop comeback! This is just a poor man's "Ice Cream" to be honest. The thing that saves the song from being a complete disappointment is Gayoon's pre-chorus and the chorus itself. All the other members, (including HyunA's squeaky vocals) don't stand out in the song,. Was anyone else by the barking dog part in the beginning of the song? Again, not a bad song, but when you have songs like the genre-bending "I Got a Boy" and "Sweet Dream", you need to do more than have a song with a twerk-ready beat and Rihanna-esque chorus.
Final Grade:C+

Graded Song:SHINee "Why So Serious?"

SHINee's back...again for the second time this year. Back in February, they dropped part one of their "Misconceptions" album and promoted it with the Maroon 5-inspired "Dream Girl" and slayed the charts. Now they are back with the second half "Why So Serious?-The Misconceptions of Me" and the respective title track. They decided to continue on without member Jonghyn, who was in a car accident and was recently discharged from the hospital. Underwhelming. Underwhelming. Underwhelming. At least with "Dream Girl", I was able to get into it (and obsess over it) with a few plays. This sounds like it should have been on "Misconceptions" part one as filler rather than the lead from their second half of the album. The beginning melody is misleading. It sounds as if they are setting us up for a awesome rock inspired. Then Taemin begins to sing (oversing if you will). and it falls flat. The sound of the single is very 80s, but not the good sounding 80s like with Sweetune's productions, but generic one-hit wonder 80s. The fact that Jonghyn's vocals are nowhere to be found also gives the song less charisma. The song isn't bad, but I honestly expected more after "Dream Girl".
Final Grade:C

Disclosure "You and Me" Music Video

UK garage duo Disclosure have released the music video for their soon-to-be smash hit, "You and Me" featuring Eliza Doolittle. The video was given a parental advisory warning, probably because of the one scene where the girlfriend starts beating on the guy with the dildo. Ha ha. Check it!

Rudimental "Free" (Feat. Emeli Sande)

One of the UK's most anticipated debut albums: Rudimental's "Home" will be available to the public in a few days. The producers have already racked up three successful hits, including their two #1s "Feel The Love" and "Waiting All Night". UK singer Emeli Sande took to Twitter earlier to exclusively release a song that will be included on the album. "Free" reminds me of a more spiritual heartfelt version of Sande's own hit "Next To Me", which is awesome since "Next To Me" is extremely gospel-influenced. Do you think this should be a single?

Beyonce "Grown Woman" (Live)

After trolling the world by teasing "Grown Woman" in her Pepsi commercial, Mrs.Carter (aka Beyonce) premiered the full track at her Mrs.Carter world tour stop in Paris. The quality of the video isn't the best, but the Timbaland-produced song sounds like a smash, now all we need is a studio version. Check the performance below! 

David Guetta "Play Hard" Music Video

David Guetta doesn't know when to properly end an era and move to the next. The DJ has released over nine singles (which varied in success)from his latest studio effort "Nothing But The Beat" and its subsequent 2.0 release. The latest was a copy and paste effort of Alice Deejay's dance hit "Better off Alone" re-titled "Play Hard" featuring Akon and Ne-Yo. Guetta then redid the song a bit for the single release and gave it some pretty bizarre visuals. The video was filmed in Mexico and involves a rodeo/dance contest with an appearance from dancers the Les Twins. Hopefully this will be the last and he takes a much needed break.