KATY FREAKING PERRY (Thanks JUSTIN!)

I have to tell you about an artist my friend (and fellow blogger at justinrwright. blogspot.com) Justin turned me on to. Her name is Katy Perry. You might have heard of her on Perez Hilton or any other music blog that seeks out artists like Perry that are just having their first blips on the music radar.

In a word, she's fearless. Her musical style is not so unique, playing a line between Lily Allen and a hint of Supernature-era Goldfrapp, but her voice is a lean slice of husky voicesteak. Doubtless she's one of the best female vocalists I've seen pop up all year.

Her singles are brilliant. "Ur So Gay," about a boyfriend who wears "H&M scarves" and "chooses Myspace over me" but "[doesn't] even like boys," is a great kiss-off and was a well-orchestrated choice for first release. Her second single, "I Kissed A Girl" is the superior song, though, in my opinion. While I can see why she wouldn't have "Girl" be her first entry into the music world (she'd be pigeonholed as another Peaches with lesbian tendencies--not a safe place in pop music), it's a fantastic follow-up to "Gay." Electronic riffs and a perfectly layered vocal track make club play very likely. That is, if the guys in the clubs don't mind the threatening "I kissed a girl/and I liked it" chorus.

...and she's FREAKING HOT!