For Your Entertainment – Adam Lambert (Sony Music) Rs. 299/-

It’s surely fun and also sad watching American Idol as contestants struggle in the hope that the judges and the audience will give them a pathway to instant celebrity, a recording contract and a future in music.

Rated R – Rihanna (Universal Music)

The saucy Barbados native who once gave us mega hits like Disturbia, Pon De Replay and Umbrella, seems to have lost her shine ever since the domestic violence case with lover Bobby Brown last year. But she’s back with a follow-up to ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ (May 2007).

Progress – Take That (Universal Music)

Thought you’d never expect a Take That reunion? Well, here are the famous five…. Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, who have put down their ego and come back for ……well hopefully sometime and a tour. By the look of it (from their album inlay), they are posing in their birthday suits imitating the evolution from ape to man and then naming the album ‘Progress’. It also means their progression from boy band into gentlemen.

Rebirth – Jennifer Lopez (Sony BMG)

An introspective look at her life and her past two albums and what we get is a rejuvenated J. Lo trying new styles. She collaborates with several songwriters and producers like Rodney Jerkins, Rich Harrison, Fat Joe and her latest in line husband, Marc Anthony. But all this still does not matter for the album is slow in its bid to make a sure-fire success. The influence of pop, hip – hop, soul, funk and dance makes this album a varied one, which only real fans may grab.

Yeh Wadiyaan – Jeanne ( Musicurry)

Jeanne (Michael), who captivated audiences with her album ‘Yeh Wadiyan’ way back in 2002, has been making some great music all these years away from all the hype that musicians usually create. The celebrated vocal coach and wife of composer Salim (of Salim–Sulaiman duo) Jeanne, has released songs like Round and Round, Hello and Goodbye, Fake Love, Magic, Imperfections, and Christmas Time, and recently Lucky Tonight.

Talk That Talk – Rihanna – (Universal Music)

Rihanna’s talk is direct and her music too is the same. It’s no wonder that her studio album (her sixth), is lyrically satisfying and musically equally catchy and danceable pop album, with a few ballads thrown in. The album is rooted in her usual style of R & B, dance – pop, with elements of hip hop, 80s electro, a bit of trance, house and variations of dub step, the last genre which she used widely in her fourth album ‘Rated R’.

State of Survival – Flipsyde (Universal Music)

Where is DJ D-Sharp and who is the lady in the band? These are two questions that fans of Flipsyde, the band who gave us the huge hits Someday and Spun are trying to find out. Is it a carbon copy of the super successful Black Eyed Peas? Or just trying to be like the BEPs? All know that BEPs were almost a flop before Fergie, so will the addition of Chantelle Paige to the lineup of Steve Knight, Dave Lopez, Jinho "the Piper" Ferreira, make anything new?

Fearless - Taylor Swift – (Universal Music)

American teenager, blonde haired and blue eyed Taylor Swift cannot be missed on the country - pop – rock circuit. She has been around for sometime and has carved a niche for herself after her self titled debut album skyrocketed her to superstardom.

Our Version of Events – Emeli Sande (Virgin Records)

Newcomer to the music world is 24 year old Scot singer of South African decent and a former medical student Adele Emeli Sande, better known by her stage name Emeli Sande. Sande’s album comes after working with artists like Professor ‘Read all about it’ Green, and later co-writing material for TV talent shows featuring Leona Lewis to Susan Boyle, prompting Simon Cowell to label her as his “favorite songwriter of the moment”.

Battleground – The Wanted (Universal Music)

The Wanted for those who don’t know, are a British pop boy band based in London and comprises of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes. Tom Parker, who was also part of the band, passed away due to cancer in 2022.