Pop Blitz

Owl City - Fireflies
I don�t know what annoys me more about this song: the lame,
Poetry 101 lyrics or the needy, whiny vocals. All I know is that this song drives me crazy. I understand why people like it, but I cringe every time it�s on the radio. D-

Allison Iraheta - Friday I�ll Be Over U
Borrowing a page from Kelly Clarkson, Iraheta manages to conjure a more believable youthful energy in this post-Idol debut. In short, it�s way more fun than Clarkson. The funky guitar line certainly doesn�t hurt. A-

Jay Sean - Down
Utterly confused at how this climbed to number one in Billboard. There�s nothing overly offensive about it. It�s just not memorable at all. It�s not fast enough to dance to, though it seems to want to be a dance track. Pretty middling. C-

Britney Spears - 3
Probably my favorite Brit single since Toxic, this sounded like a hit from the first listen. Sure, her voice is processed to the point of being unrecognizable, but you can�t deny the hooks, of which there are plenty. A-

Justin Bieber - One Less Lonely Girl
The latest tween sensation�s second single is not as addictive as his first, but does improve as it moves along and certainly checks all the right boxes for this type of music. B

OneRepublic - All The Right Moves
I don�t think these guys will ever have a hit the size of Apologize again, and though this song shoots for �soaring,� it doesn�t really get off the ground. Tedder�s written better songs for others recently. C-

Alexandra Burke - Bad Boys
I�m not sure this track has gotten the credit it deserves in some circles. I, for one, was not expecting something of this quality for Burke�s debut. It�s got a quality, classic pop/r&b melody and, forgetting those Flo-Rida parts, is pretty damn flawless. A