By Kashif Stone, Staff Writer

Published in print Mar. 17, 2015

Rihanna ft. Kanye West & Paul McCartney – “FourFiveSeconds”

Known for chart-topping pop singles such as ”Umbrella” and “Diamonds”, Rihanna has taken a different route with the release of “FourFiveSeconds”, the supposed lead single on her highly anticipated upcoming eighth studio album. The song features simple instrumentation that incorporates country and folk genre elements with the Beatles’s Paul McCartney playing guitar melodies that highlight Rihanna’s emotional vocals. Rapper Kanye West is also featured singing on the track with vocals that seem to be raw and natural.

“Now I’m four-five seconds from wilding, and we got three more days till Friday,” Rihanna sings on the acoustic chorus possibly denoting a confrontation the star felt need to address. This mellow song about drinking and remaining content represents a change in the musical direction of Rihanna’s career, keeping fans wondering if she has converted to a new style of music; similar to Taylor Swift’s transition from country to pop with last year’s release of her latest album “1989”. The song currently sits at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”

“Uptown Funk” is a modern-day funk pop song produced by English musician Mark Ronson and features vocals by Bruno Mars; it is the lead single of Ronson’s fourth studio album entitled “Uptown Special”. Heavily influenced by the musical styles of the 1970’s, “Funk” reintroduces the world to funk and proves that the genre of music is still alive today. The up-tempo dance song features blasting background trumpets and groovy guitar rhythms that will get you on your feet and put you in a dance craze. Similar to *classic funk artists’ songs, such as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” or works by the late James Brown, Bruno Mars highlights the song with his vocal performance from the beginning to end. Compared to previous funk oriented songs released by Mars, such as his 2013 single “Treasure”, Uptown Funk embodies the 1970’s funk genre more in-depth and has remained number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for several weeks.

Taylor Swift – “Style”

Style is a pop rock song released as the third single from Taylor Swift’s crossover pop album entitled 1989. The song rebirths the musical styles of the late 1980s similar to works from Madonna albums and Lady Gaga’s 2011 “Born This Way”. Considered by many to be one of the best songs on Swift’s latest album, the song features edgy retro-electric guitar rhythms underlined by synthesizer melodies and simplistic drum beats. Swift defines the romantic feeling the song portrays in the chorus with lyrics such as, “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye and I got that red lip, classic thing that you like” – Dean of course being an American actor known for wooing women with his glossy eyes. “Style” completely signifies Swifts transition from country artist to pop phenomenon and show that show that she isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The song currently sits at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.