day 3.312

music review: kelly clarkson, coldplay

two of my favorites- kelly clarkson and coldplay, dropped new albums this week. on the same day. so, basically, i'm having an eargasm right now and think you should, too. here are my top picks from their latests-

kelly clarkson, stronger

clarkson's finally finds a balance between the four different sides she has shown on her four previous releases. stronger mixes the r&b of thankful, the pop power of breakway, the rocker edge of my december and energy of all i ever wanted. the title track, "what doesn't kill you (stronger)," is the stand-out- it's got a catchy chorus, builds on the beat and you'll find yourself singing along before your first listen's even done.

"you can't win" is another solid single, the most reminiscent of breakaway. it's the rockier cousin of katy perry's "firework."

and clarkson dabbles in country pop with "einstein," a bitter bye-bye anthem, similar to beyonce's "irreplacable."

stronger may be my second favorite clarkson ep after breakway- let's be honest, nothing's ever topping that.

coldplay, mylo xyoloto

coldplay continues to experiment with its sound on mylo xyoloto. with few radio friendly tracks, this is definitely a record for the fans. it's sound falls somewhere between smash hit viva la vida and launching pad x & y. the best track is the band's collaboration with rihanna, "princess of china." the song's catchy on its own, but adding rihanna makes it that much more commercial.

the album's lead single is also a must-listen. you can't help but feel like you're in a 90s movie montage when you listen to it. and who doesn't want to be in a 90s movie montage?

and the track reminding me the most of colplay's early efforts has to be "charlie brown," a get-up-and-dance-by-yourself jam.

definitely check out both artists' latest- i don't think you'll be disappointed. and don't miss kelly when she performs as part of vh1's divas celebrate soul on december 19.