CDS Picks: Imagine Dragons, Mary J Blige and More

Welcome to yet another installment in CDS Music Chart's wildly popular CDS Picks feature. This time, I'm focusing on new recordings by Mary J Blige, Imagine Dragons, Kelly Rowland, Cheryl Cole, Ella Eyre, Sophia Del Carmen, Oceana and Danity Kane. Have more picks for this week? Just tweet me them and I'll give them a spin? Maybe they'll be make next week's rundown.

Note: This week, CDS Picks undertakes a new and improved format.

Mary J Blige - "Suitcase"

Sure, it may be from one of the cheesiest upcoming sequels in history, but Mary J Blige is finally back with a non-Christmas related track and that's good enough for me.

Blige's new track, entitled "Suitcase", is a heavy hitter complete with thumping grooves and driven rhythms. It's lyrics are a bit on the fuzzier side, but the overall quality of the track is above par. It's one of her most energetic tracks, though it's also one of her simplest tracks. On the track, we find Blige at a middle ground between staying in pain and going on. It's superb and hook is one of the most  soulfully painful hooks I've heard recently. It's not likely to be a smash, but it's for sure going to be a nice treat for Blige's long time fans.

Oceana - "Everybody"

Though I just learned about Oceana (a German pop singer), she's already taken my ears captive with her latest release, "Everybody". Produced similarly to Shakira's "La La La" (in the fact that a Brazilian beach beat backs a flurry of receptive la la las), the track is also a promotional release specifically used to promote the 2014 World Cup.

So what does this mean for the summer songs competition? It means the season is just starting to heat up. Oceana's arrival on the lower end of the Hot 50 this week comes just 1 week prior to the start of the Summer Songs competition, a great set up for a summer oriented track. Watch out Kiesza! You got a fellow red haired singer to compete with this summer!

Imagine Dragons - "Battle Cry"
Following the release of their massive single "Demons", Imagine Dragons took a few months off to prep for their upcoming sophomore album. At some point during their journey, they recorded "Battle Cry", the lead single from the official soundtrack of Transformers 4.

This new single continues the twisted, thumping beats of their past, but in a more cinematic way than ever before - perfect for a movie about fighting robots. Torpedoes of screeching vocals encompass the track, giving it even more of climatic and cinematic feel. It's not my favorite track from Imagine Dragons ("Radioactive" is my favorite by a long shot), but it does have a fighting chance at being a success, as it matches the theme of the movie extremely accurately. About on par with my expectations, so good job guys!

Sophia Del Carmen - "Lipstick (feat. Pitbull)"

Though this track has been out for a while, it wasn't buzz worthy until now. The RedOne produced track is the classic latin pop/dance debut for Sophia Del Carmen (other than a pair of failed singles in collaboration with Pitbull back in 2010 and 2012). The promotion of the new track was relaunched alongside the release of a new version featuring Pitbull.

 Similarly, Nayer launched her career by featuring exclusively on Pitbull tracks. It took her a while to get lucky however. It wasn't until June 2011 that she somewhat took off (when Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" reached the Billboard Hot 100's top 10). After that, she released 1 single with RedOne and Pitbull ("Suave") which faired well and even became a top 10 hit on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. Since then, she's done next to nothing. Let's hope Sophia doesn't take that route.

Danity Kane "Lemonade (feat. Tyga)"

After a 5 year hiatus and several line up rotations, Danity Kane is back with 60% of its original members. The reincarnation of the band sees 3 of its 5 members return to the music competition.

Their new single, "Lemonade", features Tyga and mixes both pop and hip-hop into one odd composition that seems both ridiculously childish and somewhat mature. Laced with throwback beats, this R&B/Soul-esque pop track is in fact a winner. I was quite surprised at how much this track actually brings to the table. It ain't a game changer, but "Lemonade" marks the start of what looks to be a major improvement chapter in the career of Danity Kane. Nice!

Pixie Lott - "Lay Me Down"

Pixie Lott has had a tough year, with "Nasty" failing to become a success. Fortunately, she has a chance to turn that all around with the release of "Lay Me Down", her long delayed third album's second official single.

The track has a dance tinged pop beat with sultry vocals and just might be what she needs to get back on top of the game. Hopefully, "Lay Me Down" will be a success.

Cheryl Cole - "Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)"

After the Calvin Harris produced "Call My Name" dominated Dance charts worldwide in 2012, Cheryl Cole stopped releasing singles (though she briefly reunited with her original girl group Girls Aloud that November). It wasn't until a few weeks ago that details surrounding Cole's new album began to sprout up everywhere. The latest reports claim the album (the singer's 4th solo release) will be called Crystal Clear. The album's first single will be "Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)". The single will be premiered within the next 4 hours. It will preceded the speculated November 2014 release of the album.

Kelly Rowland - "The Game"

Kelly Rowland is on a roll. Her latest release, "The Game", is the 2nd release by the singer this week. She recently featured on the already leaked "Say Yes". That track featured verses from Beyoncé as well, and is Michelle Williams' 3rd official single from her upcoming new album.

"The Game" is taken from the Pepsi sponsored visual album Beat of the Beautiful Game, an 11 track composition released to mark the start of the 2014 World Cup set to be held in Brazil starting on June 11th and running through July 10th. The new album will be released one day before the competition starts (June 10th).

Ella Eyre - "If I Go"

Okay, first of all this is literally one of the most promising new tracks of the past month. Ella Eyre whips out her Adele-esque voice in this startling new release.

"If I Go" blends an adult contemporary radio sound with chilly, raw vocals for a perfect medley of both indie pop, and alternative music. The track's accompanying video is a masterpiece as well, with Ella Eyre and other actors in the video literally walking on walls. It's pretty entertaining. This is likely to become a hit. Watch the unusual video below via VEVO on YouTube.

Come back for more posts!