Greatest Finds of 2008...

...for me anyway.

>>>THE SATURDAYS
What can't I say about them? Sure, you can claim they are a Girls Aloud rip off, but if they truely were, I doubt GA would take them along on tour with them. In my humble opinion, their debut album "Chasing Lights" is much stronger than GA's recent "Out of Control"...but it took me a while to get into "Tangled Up", and its now my fave GA album. "Work" is a great dance song, and I believe will be the next single. "Up!" is still one of my fave songs ever, and "If This Is Love" is great flashy pop glitter. I also love "Why Me, Why Now" and "Set Me Off". All of the songs on the record have a high point, I just wish they had included "Not Good Enough" on the set....I love that song! If you haven't given them a chance, I suggest you get over yourself.

>>>LADY GAGA
I'm so proud to say that America finally has some quality electro-pop. Ms. Gaga is trendy, chic and effortlessly cool. Her music is danceable, quirky and so much fun to listen to. "Just Dance", the first single, is tremendously catchy and gets under your skin fast. "Poker Face", especially it's remixes (I <3 Dave Aude!) are a lot of fun, and is the most likely 3rd single. "Beautiful Dirty Rich" shows how she can mix r&b, pop and electro all together and have it come out well. My fave song is "Starstruck", which I believe is either a b-side or a bonus song. So sad because it totally could have been a single, especially since it features Space Cowboy and Flo Rida, and is produced by Red One (Robyn). If you haven't heard her stuff, get on the disco stick.

>>>MONROSE
They are being heralded as a German version of the Pussycat Dolls, which would be so wrong to state. These girls, despite being put together on the German "PopStars" TV Show, prove themselves on their most recent album, with songs written by Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic). They were introduced to me by a friend on Last.FM, and I'm so glad she did! "Don't Touch the Fader" is sick with electro goodness. "Strike the Match" has a sweet beat. "Stolen" is a great midtempo jam. "Why Not Us", their most recent single, is immensely danceable and singable. They are a great pop band, and should be acknowledged as a trio version of GA rather than PCD.

>>>THE VERONICAS
Yes, I've heard of them before 2008. I had their debut album and loved "4Ever". Their second album, "Hook Me Up", goes in a drastically different musical direction that I was wary of at first, but every single song is PHENOMENAL. My favorite changes with the hour, so I highly suggest you take some time and listen to the whole thing several times over. It's necessary for your health.

OVERLOOKED and IT'S SAD:

>>>PCD "I Hate This Part"
By far the best song on the Pussycat Dolls 2nd album "Doll Domination", this song should have been the lead off single if these girls (read: Nicole) want any kind of credibility. "When I Grow Up" was catchy, granted, but this song just oozes emotion and the drumbeat is addicting. I'm glad they wised up and ditched the other 2nd single "Whatchu Think About That" for this one.

>>>Alesha Dixon "The Boy Does Nothing"
I LOVE this song. Yes, the song is doing pretty darn well in Alesha's home country of the UK, but the song could easily translate into the American pop market. Her old group Mis-Teeq are relative unknowns to us Americans (except for me!) despite the moderate success of "Scandelous", but heres to hoping that her album does well enough for Ms. Dixon to try it in America one more time.

>>>Anything by Blake Lewis
His latest offering is a cover of "I Ran (So Far Away)" with Darude. The song is fire, along with his entire "Audio Daydream" album, which was largely ignored by America, despite his "Idol" success. It's a shame. Here's to hoping for his 2nd record to break through.

>>>Brandy "Right Here (Departed)"
I'm ALWAYS listening to this song. I'm a long-term Brandy fan, but I haven't heard anything from her that I've liked since "The Boy Is Mine". This song is produced by Darkchild, and proves Brandy is back. The song is a great R&B number, and should have had more of an impact. Radio -- wake up!