Jay-Z and Kanye West are the George Clooney and Brad Pitt of the hip-hop world. They have balance of swagger, talent, and cockiness that we either hate or love. They also tend to have a way of showing the world that they are better than us without shoving it in our face…well, at least Hova has humility.

So when the two teamed up to create the EPIC rap album, “Watch the Throne” the world spewed with excitement…and the album spewed a bunch of stuff that we gobbled up: “Ni***s in Paris” convulsed its way to the NYC subway and had people wearing out the phrase “that shit cray”. It also taught us that “H.A.M.” is not just something that can be honeybaked. Above all, it was the inventive “Otis” that caught my ear. Perhaps I loved the song because of the music video. For one, the duo dismantles a Maybach just to show us how rich they are. Secondly, Aziz Ansari makes a little cameo:

I wonder if Kanye and Hova actually own thrones.

Read more of my “Best of 2011″ list here.

It is no question that I have an obsession with Kelly Clarkson — and now that her new album is out and I FINALLY purchased it in CD form (yes, I am one of the 20 people in the world that still purchases CDs) I cannot stop listening to it.

All of Kelly’s songs do have a similar sound, but they still have a different vibe. It’s like getting a variety pack of bittersweet pop rocks. I, of course, keep a mellow high with her first single, “Mr. Know it All” but other faves include the title track, ’80s-esque mid-tempo “You Love Me”, and “I Forgive You” — a flipside to her broken relationship tracks.

But one of the best is “Einstein” — mainly because of the lyrics: “Dumb plus dumb equals you.”

Nonetheless, enjoy the video for “Mr. Know it All” — which you will probably hear in heavy rotation for the rest of the year:

This past weekend, I went to the engagement party for my friends Steven and Joann. At one point in the party, they opened the floor to karaoke. That was the moment when I knew it was my time to break out some good ol’ fashioned, radioactive-colored, frizzy haired and confetti’d Whitney Houston from the ’80s.

I chose to sing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and I, of course, KNOCKED THE SOCKS OFF OF THE PARTY.

This has spilled over into my workouts for the week — complete with body conscious tube dress and eye shadow:

…and this just goes in line with Afro Blue‘s jammin’ performance on last week’s The Sing Off:

…and I know your DYING to see my performance of this song from the party. Don’t worry — since I am a whore for attention, I will be posting video as soon as I get a hold of someone who filmed it.

Recently, during a night of karaoke, I started to sing a rousing rendition of Kelly Clarkson‘s “I Do Not Hook Up”. I thought I would get a standing ovation, but NO ONE in the room knew what I was singing. They just recognized the sugary aggressive pop-rock stylings of K.C.

Apparently, they weren’t diehard K.C. like me. That’s their fault.

Nonetheless, this weekend whilst on my morning run, I realized that Miss Independent had a owned a vast amount of real estate on iPod shuffle and “I Do Not Hook Up” makes me run like the wind.

Every time I hear the song, I imagine myself performing the song LIVE on stage with the same amount of wind machine rockstar-ness:

Has it really been 10 years (to the day) since my dear Aaliyah passed?

I remember jamming out to her songs like “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” and “Back and Forth” but it wasn’t until 1998 when I made “Are You That Somebody” my summer jam that I was a full-fledged fan. There was something about that Timbaland’s production and the random baby-cooing that made me raise the roof.

I also jammed out to “Try Again” which was on the Romeo Must Die soundtrack (which she also starred in). Then she played Akasha, one of the HOTTEST looking-vampires in Queen of the Damned.

She would so annihilate all of the Cullens…and the Volturi.

Shortly after she passed, the single and video for “I Miss You” was released and despite Toni Braxton’s “seduce the camera” antics, the slow jam is the perfect way to pay homage to such a lovely lady:

In their new Spike Jonze-directed video for “Otis”, Jay-Z and Kanye West further prove that they are way cooler than you by deconstructing an expensive car and getting a bunch of girls in booty shorts to go joyriding in an abandoned warehouse district. All the while, they light fireworks and pose with swagger in front of an American flag.

It’s a boatload of fun:

The more I listen to this song, the more I want to “pop bottles” and “get supermodels in a cab.”

I have been a huge supporter of the return of the saxophone into pop music. We are in desperate need of a saxophone renaissance. A “sax-aissance” if you will — and I think my prayers are being answered.

First off, to add to the Gaga oversaturation in the zeitgeist, I have to commend her for including the smooth sax stylings of the late Clarence Clemons in “The Edge of Glory.” Then there’s Katy Perry‘s vid for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” — a delectable modern interpretation of retro fluorescent-hued T&A teen party movies. The video featured the Prince of Sax, Kenny G — he is truly a Phoenix rising out of the ashes of under-appreciated musical instruments.

Before them, there were many, many, many sax-heavy songs that evoked emotion that no other song has evoked before. There’s something about that sultry sound from the saxophone that just melts my ear drums. It’s like listening to a unicorn sing you a lullaby.

Besides the obvious (i.e. “Songbird”), here are a couple of sax-heavy songs that just make me sway or do a sexy body roll:

“Rump Shaker” by Wreckx-N-Effect: This booty poppin’ song of the ’90s is the magical touchstone of New Jack Swing. As soon as you hear that intro sax, you can’t help but get out of your seat and grind on someone or something. Bonus points for the use of a saxophone-playing bikini clad girl on a beach in the video:

“Foolish Beat” by Debbie Gibson: Back when she was known as Debbie, she knew that the saxophone was the key instrument to ignite lovelorn emotion in her songs. In the melodic “Foolish Beat,” the buttery sax melts with heartache — making this the perfect break-up song for anyone in junior high.

“You Got it All” by The Jets: Picture this: It’s 1987. You are at a homecoming dance. You are by the punch bowl. Your crush is standing across the room. The saxophone riff from this song comes on. Your eyes meet. You walk towards each other. You embrace. You dance. And then he takes you in the back of his Cabriolet for 5 minutes of ecstasy.

“She’s Like the Wind” by Patrick Swayze: By far, the best ballad from Dirty Dancing. P.S. — R.I.P. Patrick.

“I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me” by Expose: I listen to this song on my iPod while walking around the city and act like I am in a music video where I am coping with the love that I lost. I reminisce about the good times I had with my aforementioned lost love. I flashback (in sepia tones) to the beach and the boardwalk but end up walking the lonely neon-lit streets with nothing but the comforting sounds of a cool sax solo.

“Hands to Heaven” by Breathe: The sax solo is brief, but the message is nothing but powerful.

“How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston: The saxophone is often used in mid-tempo or slow grooves — but leave it to Whitney to use it in an up-tempo dance jam. The sax doesn’t make a cameo till late in the song, but the wait is worth it!

“Smooth Operator” by Sade: The title of this song is the saxophone personified.

Don’t act like you didn’t (and still do) jam out to this song — especially during that fast-talking breakdown and the video that included red highlights, exposed navels and had the vibe of a Sprite/Target commercial.

Also, I think I have a hankering for a lot of Christina Aguilera in my life because of The Voice — and this song is one of her trailblazing melismatic pop music masterpieces.

What happened ever happened to Missy Elliott? If someone knows can you please tell her to bring her crazy, freaky-ass music videos back?

I have a couple of Missy songs on my iPod that fuel my invigorating morning runs (and when I say that, I am referring to the actual act of running not diarrhea), but Lose Control featuring Ciara and Fatman Scoop is at the front the queue:

For real Missy, can you please come back with your fun songs and psycho-surreal videos? Even though your lyrics sound like drunken babbling (Planet Rocka show stopa/Flo froppa head knocka/Beat stalla tail droppa/Do ma thang muthafukas — ummmm…OK), I just absolutely adore you.

I remember when [amazon_link id="B0000013H7" target="_blank" ]Usher[/amazon_link] released tracks that I actually liked listening to. Songs like “You Make Me Wanna,” “My Way,” and “Nice & Slow” are some of the best tracks in his catalog of Pop/R&B romps. But it is his seminal classic dance tune, “Pop Ya Collar” that is embedded in my iPod shuffle as one of my favorites — and it gets me pumped to do some decline push-ups.

The song not only serves as a fashion instructional on how to be cool (hence “poppin’ ya collar”), but it also fuels self esteem by encouraging people to not let haters “sweat you” (My friend Judi thought he was singing, “Pop ya collar, don’t wear a sweatshirt” — which also makes sense).

And for the record, I was not aware that he made a music video of this until now. Upon viewing it, it makes absolutely no sense.