"Only Girl (In The World)" by Rihanna

Quit blinking!

Rihanna took a brief detour from radio-ready pop last year with the darker, more adventurous "Rated R". With her new single "Only Girl (In The World)", she has pointedly returned from that detour. While I might have been interested in hearing another more experimental album from her, switching back to mainstream pop is definitely the better choice, at least from a commercial perspective. If "Only Girl" is any indication of the quality of her upcoming album, I can safely say it was a good choice artistically as well.

The most commendable aspect of this song is the sneaky modulation that occurs when the chorus begins, allowing Rihanna to shift her vocals up into a higher register, giving the chorus the extra punch it needs.

During said chorus, Rihanna asks the object of the song to "love [her] like [she's] the only girl in the world". Most of the song revolves around this idea, but, in a surprising turn, she also asks to be loved like a "hot ride" and held "like a pillow". Allow me to summarize:

Hi, my name is Rihanna. Please view me as a combination of the following:

Seriously, though, "Only Girl (In The World)" is a great high-energy club hit with a surprising amount of musical intelligence. Why can't all pop music be this good?

"Mine" by Taylor Swift

Or is it "Mime"?

"Mine" is a bold step for Taylor Swift, with lyrics detailing the heartbreaking tragedy of a third world orphan who loses her legs in a land mine accident, then dies of –

It's a happy song about love. It sounds a lot like previous hits "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me". Swift is continuing to do what works for her as a songwriter and artist, and as long as she can pull it off it's fine by me.

It is worth mentioning that Swift has sole writing credit for this song, which may explain why it doesn't feel quite as slick or streamlined as the previously mentioned "You Belong With Me". I think this is a positive step, however, as Swift will develop more as a songwriter by being allowed to experiment on her own. Additionally, the moments in this song that aren't as perfectly polished make it feel more genuine, which is always a good thing.

I'm curious to see what direction Swift goes with her next single; will it be exactly the same or just mostly the same? We will have to wait and see.

"Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars

Actually, maybe you should get that skin problem looked at

After making two massive guest appearances on B.o.B.'s "Nothin' On You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire", Bruno Mars is making his own bid for stardom with his first major single "Just The Way You Are". No, it's not a Billy Joel cover, but the message is similar, if a little less nuanced.

Much has been said about the quality of Bruno Mars' voice, and, on this track, he lives up to all of it. The arrangement backing up his vocals is equally grand, with anthemic drums and piano layered to great effect. The only downside to all of this positive sound is that, when the lyrics are taken into account, the song feels a tad cheesy - overdone around the edges.

Much like this cheese soufflé

Luckily, "Just The Way You Are" has a few musical tricks up its sleeve that keep it from falling into the "forgettable, sappy love song" category. First of all, the song is built around a I-vi-IV-I progression, which makes no use of the V chord; this gives the song a rolling, circular feel. Secondly, a sizable portion of the song contains no backbeat, boldly defying pop radio listener's expectations. These attributes of the arrangement are what keep the song from being too obvious, an important feature of a good song in my book.

In the end, "Just The Way You Are" is a respectable effort, but given Mars' experience in the music industry I expected a little more. That said, I look forward to seeing more of Mars in the future.

But that's another topic entirely

"DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" by Usher

'Cause DJ can't get us fallin' in love by ourselves, Pitbull got to be there too

What does Usher's single "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" have to offer, besides poor grammar, a guest appearance by Pitbull, and an extremely lackluster single cover? Nothing special, I'm afraid. While Usher's singing is as vibrant and powerful as ever, it's not enough to save the song from an unimaginative instrumental arrangement and a rap bridge that is a prime example of why rap bridges are a terrible idea.

There are, however, a few interesting moments in the lyrics. During the first verse, Usher claims the dance floor makes him feel like a "zombie gone back to life". Usually, the phrase is "come back to life", but as we have already seen, Usher is unconcerned with conforming his lyrics to established norms of the English language. While I do not applaud his word choice, Usher gets points in my book for the zombie reference.

In the second verse, Usher says he's "gonna set the roof on fire", which is at first understood to refer to the "hotness" of the dance moves that he proposes to do. However, he clarifies in the next line that he's "gonna burn this mother [father] down", making it difficult to accept the sentiment as metaphor and not a literal threat of arson.

Assuming that Usher is hosting this party at his own residence, it turns out that Edgar Allan Poe actually predicted this exact event, 171 years prior:

Not featuring Pitbull this time

"Double Vision" by 3OH!3

After hours, nay, DAYS of deliberation, they finally chose this cover

From 2009 breakout hit "Don't Trust Me" to recent success "My First Kiss", 3OH!3 has consistently delivered music that blurs the line between the incredibly catchy and the intolerably annoying. Their latest single, "Double Vision", leans towards the former, but still delivers enough of the latter to qualify as classic 3OH!3.

That said, this song is a notch above the dance pop duo's standard fare. Its greatest innovation is its pre-chorus, which features clever lyrics and a lower-than-usual vocal melody. This gives the song dynamic range, a quality noticeably absent from many of their other tracks. Also, the octave guitar in the verses gives the song a hint of 70's funk, a welcome addition to the 3OH!3 formula.

That said, there are a few moments in the song that feel a bit stale. 3OH!3 refuses to fix what is not broken: the rhythm of the "hey" yells in the chorus is exactly identical to that of the kissing sound effects from the first chorus of their previous single "My First Kiss". Additionally, 3OH!3 name check themselves in the bridge, singing "we only clap because we need more 3OH!3".

These guys just can't get enough of each other, apparently

All things considered, though, this song is one of 3OH!3's best singles to date. It's a shame it hasn't enjoyed the success of "Don't Trust Me" or "Starstrukk".

I would like to close with this message to 3OH!3:

Please free the souls imprisoned in this album cover