JoJo - Jumping Trains (2012)

After spending 2008 and 2009 writing and recording songs for her 'All I Want Is Everything' album in Boston and Atlanta, JoJo suddenly announced in February 2011 that she'd changed the title of the record from 'All I Want Is Everything' to 'Jumping Trains'. A proposed single, 'The Other Chick', was withdrawn as she wanted to move forward and record new material, and so instead she released a re-interpretation of rapper Drake's song 'Marvin's Room', renamed 'Marvin's Room (Can't Do Better)', in June. She then scrapped just about everything that she'd recorded up to that point and started afresh on her third album. By 2012 she'd recorded about 20 new tracks, and she planned to release 'Demonstrate' as the lead single, but the commercial release of the single was cancelled, followed shortly by the album itself, due to the fact that so many tracks had leaked online. She then concentrated her efforts into recording tracks for a mixtape that she could release herself, and 'Agápē' appeared in November 2012, signing the death warrant for 'Jumping Trains'. The new material that she'd recorded for it went the same way as the 'All I Want Is Everything' tracks, consigned to the vaults, but hoarded by her fans when they stumbled on leaked songs. So here is the second incarnation of JoJo's third album, this time the 'Jumping Trains' version from 2012. 

Track listing

01 Cold Blooded
02 Who's Gonna Fight For Me
03 Last Heart Standing
04 I Don't Wanna Cry (feat. Josh Milan)
05 Elsewhere
06 Disaster
07 The Other Chick
08 Paper Airplanes
09 Beautiful Distraction
10 Besos
11 Jumping Trains
12 Safe With Me
13 Lie 2 Me
14 Play This Twice
15 Guardian Angel
16 Sexy To Me
17 Hollywood

JoJo - All I Want Is Everything (2009)

Joanna Noëlle Levesque was born on 20 December 1990, in Brattleboro, Vermont, but raised in Keene, New Hampshire, and Foxborough, Massachusetts. She started singing when she was two years old by imitating everything from nursery rhymes to R&B, jazz, and soul tunes. In 1999, she auditioned on the television show 'Destination Stardom', singing Aretha Franklin's 1967 hit 'Respect', and 'Chain Of Fools', and in 2001 she recorded a demo disc titled 'Joanna Levesque' which featured covers of soul and R&B songs. In mid-2003, she competed on the television show 'America's Most Talented Kid' (losing to Diana DeGarmo), but record producer Vincent Herbert contacted her and asked her to audition for Blackground Records, who signed her at age 12 to its imprint Da Family Entertainment, and she began working with producers for her first album. Adopting her childhood nickname JoJo, she released her debut single 'Leave (Get Out)' in 2004, and then embarked on her first tour, the Cingular Buddy Bash with pop rock singer Fefe Dobson, hip hop duo Young Gunz, rap rock band Zebrahead, and teen pop stars Ryan Cabrera and Busted. It stopped at nine malls, starting at Atlanta's Northlake Mall and ending at South Shore Plaza near her hometown of Foxborough. When the single reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, she became, at age thirteen, the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single in the United States. 

Her first album, the platinum-selling 'JoJo', was released in 2004, peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reaching the top forty of the UK Albums Chart. In December she was nominated for Female New Artist of the Year and Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards, becoming the youngest artist ever to be nominated at the awards. In 2005 she was offered a role on the Disney Channel television series 'Hannah Montana', but she turned down the role in favour of developing her music career, although she did accept the role of Hailey in the 2006 film 'Aquamarine', starring opposite Emma Roberts and Sara Paxton. Her second major film, 'RV', a comedy starring Robin Williams, was released in April 2006, and grossed $69.7 million. JoJo's second album, 'The High Road', was released on 17 October 2006 to mainly positive reviews, and it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. Three singles were released from the album, with 'Too Little Too Late' having the biggest success, breaking the record for the biggest jump into the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, moving from number 66 to number three in one week. In late 2007 she stated that she would be writing songs for her third album, to be released when she turned 18, as she wanted her fans to see the growth in her music. Writing and recording continued in Boston and Atlanta throughout 2008 and early 2009, and in June she stated on her YouTube account that she was waiting for her record label to sign a distribution deal to release her album, which was to be titled 'All I Want Is Everything'. 

In August 2009 she filed a lawsuit against her record label for putting her in musical limbo, under which she sought $500,000 in damages, and to be released from her contract. In October she reached a deal with Blackground Records and her third album was to be distributed by Interscope Records, but before that, in September 2010, she released her first mixtape 'Can't Take That Away From Me', which spawned the single 'In the Dark'. In February 2011 she announced that she had changed the title of her third studio album from 'All I Want Is Everything' to 'Jumping Trains', but a proposed single, 'The Other Chick', was withdrawn as she had a desire to move forward with a promotional push for a different song. Following the recording of new material, she released a re-interpretation of rapper Drake's song 'Marvin's Room' in June 2011, renamed 'Marvin's Room (Can't Do Better)', which garnered appreciation from Drake himself. On 29 August 2011 'Disaster' was released to U.S. radio, and although she was praised for not 'jumping on the synthpop bandwagon', it only made the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, and failed to impact any chart internationally. Wanting to go in a new direction with her third studio album, she released 'Demonstrate' to radio on 17 July 2012 as the new lead single from 'Jumping Trains', but its commercial release was eventually scrapped, despite a music video having been filmed. 

After Blackground Records lost their distribution deal through Interscope Records in late 2012, resulting once again in the delay of the release of an album, JoJo began recording new material specifically for a new mixtape to be released by the end of the year, as she didn't want to keep the fans waiting for new music any longer. In November she announced the release of the 'Agápē' mixtape, which was made available for free download to celebrate her 22nd birthday, and that seemed to seal the fate of 'Jumping Trains', which was cancelled due to the number of tracks which had leaked online. In July 2013 she filed a lawsuit against her labels Blackground Records and Da Family for "irreparable damages to her professional career", claiming that her 2004 contract with the labels should have expired in 2011, as she was a minor when it was signed, and under New York State law, minors cannot sign contracts that last more than seven years. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and in January 2014 it was announced that she'd been released from Blackground Records, and had signed a new recording contract with Atlantic Records, under which she immediately released the three track EP '#LoveJo'. She finally released her third album 'Mad Love' in 2016, but it was an extremely long and convoluted gestation, with around three dozen songs being junked along the way. To fill this major gap in her discography, here is a reconstruction of the first incarnation of that proposed third album 'All I Want Is Everything'. 

Track listing

01 Back Words 
02 Impossible To Love
03 25 To Life 
04 Keep Forgetting (To Forget About You)
05 Numbers 
06 Something In The Water 
07 Doorway To My Dreams (Fly Away) 
08 How You Did It 
09 My Heart Never Had A Hero 
10 I Hate Love 
11 Wrong Man For The Job 
12 Touch Down (Flippers Up) 
13 Underneath 
14 Fearless
15 Forever In My Life 
16 You Take Me (Around The World) 
17 All I Want Is Everything 

Victoria Justice - Love Zombie (2013)

Victoria Dawn Justice was born on 19 February 1993, and at the age of 10 she made her acting debut with a guest appearance on the comedy drama series 'Gilmore Girls', and after this her family moved to Los Angeles, when Justice began to pursue a career in acting. The following year, she guest-starred on the second episode of the Disney Channel series 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody', in which she played a young pageant contestant named Rebecca, and later she was cast as Stella, a young girl who begins seeing visions of Mary Magdalene, in Aaron Ruell's 2005 short film 'Mary'. In 2005 she was accepted into the musical theatre program at the Millikan Performing Arts Academy in Los Angeles, and started appearing in advertisements for companies such as Ralph Lauren, Gap, and Guess, as well as landing a main role in the Nickelodeon series 'Zoey 101' as Lola Martinez, a new student who is an aspiring actress. 'Zoey 101' ended its run on 2 May 2008, and the following year she announced plans to guest star on an episode of Nickelodeon's series 'The Naked Brothers Band', portraying herself. Also in 2009, she starred in the Nickelodeon musical 'Spectacular!', in which she performed three songs, and it became one of Nickelodeon's most popular movies, attracting an audience 3.7 million viewers on its premiere night. In 2010 she confirmed that she would be starring in her own musical show on Nickelodeon called 'Victorious', recording several songs for the series throughout its run, which lasted until February 2013. In a 2010 interview with the Associated Press, she stated that she was recording an album, but planned to take her time with the process, and in October 2012 it was given a release date of 2013. Her debut single 'Gold' was released on 18 June 2013, but in August 2014 Billboard revealed that Justice had left Columbia Records, although she was still recording new music to be released in 2015. In December 2020 she announced that her first single in over seven years would be titled 'Treat Myself', and it was her first as an independent artist. This was followed by 'Stay', released in February 2021, and 'Too F*ckin' Nice' in May. While Justice continues to progress with her acting career, her music appears to be on hiatus, and her 2013 album is now highly unlikely to ever see the light of day, so here it is for us to judge if it should have been released at the time. 

Track listing

01 Love Zombie
02 Solo
03 We Make The Weekend
04 A.D.D. Love
05 Girl Up
06 Caught Up In You
07 Favourite Song
08 Perfect
09 Our Little Secret
10 Priceless

Smoke 2 Seven - Fighting Fire (2003)

At the age of 16 Vicky Fallon O'Neill was signed by president and owner of Curb Records, Mike Curb as part of a three-part girl-band called Holy Smoke, along with Beverley Clarke and Jo Perry, who were both 20 years old. They signed a 7-album deal with Curb, and the group enlisted ex London Records MD Laurie Cokell as their manager, and after changing their name to Smoke 2 Seven when they found out another band already had the name Holy Smoke, they toured with Daniel Bedingfield, and released two UK singles. 'Been There Done That' was released in March 2002, and reached number 26 in the UK singles chart, followed exactly a year later by 'Envy', which only managed number 79. The girls recorded enough music for their debut album, and two versions were pressed up on promo CDr's, under the names of 'Crazy Tale' and 'Fighting Fire', but after Fallon left in 2002, the band drifted apart and the album was never released. After being released from her contract with Curb Records, O'Neill returned to London and began working as a session singer and songwriter under the name Vicky Fallon, working for Disney, Pixar, Alesha Dixon, Alsou and various other pop acts. Clarke and Perry faded from the music scene, but while together they were a tight little band, and as proof of that here is their unreleased 'Fighting Fire' album from 2003. 

Track listing

01 Envy
02 I Will, I Won't
03 The Lizzies
04 Been There Done That
05 Time To Be The B.I.T.C.H.
06 Body Like Butter
07 Crazy Tale
08 Out Of Sight (Stuck In A Predicament)
09 I Hate You
10 Kinda Unstuck
11 No Excuses (Too Late For Sorry)
12 Payback

RichGirl - Fall In Love With RichGirl (2009)

RichGirl was an American R&B four-piece vocal girl group, consisting of Audra Simmons, Christina "Brave" Williams, Lyndriette Smith (now known as Kristal, and later a member of June's Diary) and Amber Streeter (now known as Sevyn Streeter, and formerly of TG4). They were formed with the help of record producer Rich Harrison, and signed to his label Richcraft Entertainment, through Jive Records, drawing inspiration from the musical talents of Destiny's Child, Spice Girls, SWV, En Vogue, TLC, and Beyoncé. They began work on their self-titled debut album in 2009, due for release early 2010, and Streeter described the album as "motivational, empowering, fun, and honest". The girls wrote several songs for the record and did their own vocal arrangements, although they would liked to have written more, but for the label pushing them to get it done. Alongside working on their album, they performed at the annual Teen Takeover event in May 2009, alongside Keri Hilson and Yung L.A., and were an opening act for Beyoncé on the North American leg of her I Am ... Tour in June 2009. Their first official release was the promotional single, '24's', featuring Bun B, on 5 February 2009, which only managed to peak at number eighty-three on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 2009. Their official debut single, 'He Ain't wit Me Now (Tho)', was released on 2 June 2009, and peaked thirteen lower than '24's', although the follow-up, 'Swagger Right', fared slightly better at number 72. 

On 9 September 2009, RichGirl released a free EP through their official website, which included their lead single 'He Ain't Wit Me Now (Tho)' and promotional single '24's', along with snippets of tracks from their then upcoming album, including 'Back 2 Tha Club', 'Millionaire', and the demo of the second single 'Swagger Right', tentatively titled 'Get Ya Swagga Right'. Possibly because of the poor performance of their singles, release of their debut album was delayed again and again, until in 2011 RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records, resulting in the girls (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) being told that future material would be released on the RCA Records brand. With no sign of their album being released, the band posted a mixtape on their website, with 'Fall In Love With RichGirl' being made available for free download. Following poor commercial success from their official singles, speculation arose as the members of the group began to release music individually, and in October 2011 it was confirmed that RichGirl member Lyndriette Smith had been enrolled in Robin Antin's revised edition of the Pussycat Dolls, although this was later retracted. She did release a solo EP entitled 'Proclamation' in December 2011, and in March 2012 Streeter released a song titled 'Red Handed' under the name Se7en, and that pretty much sounded the death knell for the band. Although their debut album never appeared, most of the songs which were intended to be on it did surface on their mixtape, so that's a pretty good substitute for the album which was shelved, and it's a fitting summary of their short career. 

Track listing

01 No Hands  
02.Smile & Wave (feat. Chris Brown) 
03 RichGirl Rock 
04.Circles 
05 Lay It Down 
06 Grenade 
07 You Are My Rock
08 All Of The Lights  
09 Decisions  
10 DJ Got Us Falling In Love  
11 Ready For Love  
12 Got Away 
13 Hello (So Damn Right) / Can't Shake
14 Can't Shake 
15 Lucky You Are 

Angel Haze - Roses Will Rise Again (2015)

Raykeea Raeen-Roes Wilson, known professionally as Angel Haze, was born on 10 July 1991 in Detroit, Michigan, and the family moved around frequently, mainly due to their mother running away from the church. Haze began writing as a form of therapy and expressed an interest in creative writing, poetry and journalism, and their first poem was published at the age of 13 after winning a school competition. By 18 they were freestyle rapping and uploading videos to Youtube, and then distributing music on the internet through sites such as Tumblr, where a fan base began to form. From 2009 to 2012 they put out a number of mixtapes for free download on the internet, including 'New Moon', 'Altered Ego', 'King', and 'Voice', and in July 2012 they released the free mixtape 'Reservation' to critical acclaim, while in August 2013 'Echelon (It's My Way)' was released as the lead single from the debut album 'Dirty Gold'. The entire album was leaked in December 2013, prior to a scheduled March 2014 release, and so the release date was advanced, and it appeared through Island Records and Republic Records on 30 December 2013 to positive reviews, although it only sold just over 500 copies in the first week. On 14 September 2015 a mixtape titled 'Back To The Woods' appeared online, and it was announced that the project was just "something to share before a sophomore", and indeed the title of their second album had already been announced as 'Roses Will Rise Again'. In March 2017. Haze then released the 'Resurrection' single, which was taken from the second album, but nothing much has appeared since then, apart from a lone single in 2021, so it seems like the 'Roses...' album has been shelved. We know about half of the proposed track listing, so by adding in some other unreleased recordings from the same period, here is an approximation of Angel Haze's sophomore effort from 2015. 

Track listing

01 Head Chef 
02 Weight 

03 War Inside (feat. Troy Nōka) 
04 Brooklyn
05 Resurrection
06 Power
07 Candlxs
08 Practice
09 Trust Issues
10 New Slaves
11 Gxmes
12 Unthinkable

Bebe Rexha - Kill Me Back To Life (2015)

Bleta  "Bebe" Rexha was born on 30 August 1989, in Brooklyn, New York City into an ethnic Albanian family from North Macedonia. She took lessons and learned to play trumpet, and subsequently taught herself to play guitar and piano, and she attended Tottenville High School on Staten Island, where she sang in the choir and took part in a variety of musicals. As a teenager she submitted a song to be performed at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' annual "Grammy Career Day" event, and earned the "Best Teen Songwriter" award, beating around 700 other entrants. As a result, she signed a contract with talent scout Samantha Cox, who encouraged her to enrol in song-writing classes in Manhattan. In 2010 she met Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz and worked with him for a time in the band Black Cards, and when she left the group in 2013, she signed as a solo artist with Warner Bros. Records. Some of her songs had been recorded by artists like Selena Gomez and Nikki Williams, but her most prominent song-writing credit was for Eminem's and Rihanna's 'The Monster', which was released as the fourth single from Eminem's album 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2' in 2013. In March 2014 she released her debut single, 'I Can't Stop Drinking About You', which peaked at number 22 on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in December she released two more singles, 'I'm Gonna Show You Crazy' and 'Gone'. 

On 12 May 2015 she released her debut EP, 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up', and she also co-wrote and was featured on David Guetta's single 'Hey Mama', alongside Nicki Minaj and Afrojack. After meeting Minaj's manager, Gee Roberson, she asked if Minaj would contribute to a new song, and in March 2016 they released the single 'No Broken Hearts'. In October Rexha released 'I Got You' as a taster for her upcoming album, which was also to include 'No Broken Hearts', but the direction changed from a full studio album to a multi EP project, and 'No Broken Hearts' was scrapped, making 'I Got You' the first and only single from 'All Your Fault: Pt. 1', which was released on 17 February 2017. The EP peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200, and she began her first solo headlining tour, promoting the EP across North America and Europe. This wasn't the first time that Rexha had ditched recordings from a proposed release, as while the 2015 EP 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up' did feature five tracks, that was only about a quarter of what was recorded for it, and so here are the other fourteen songs which were rejected at the time. Rexha does have a witty turn of phrase in her song titles, and so this album is called 'Kill Me Back To Life'. 

Track listing

01 Cry Wolf
02 Kill Me Back To Life
03 Bad Bitches Don't Cry
04 Die Tonight (Kiss Me)
05 Mistake Like You
06 Worst Way
07 24/7
08 Rome Is Burning (feat. Sam James)
09 Starlight
10 Over This Love
11 You're A Bitch
12 The Lucky Ones
13 Dead Man Walking
14 Battle Cry (feat. Havana Brown)

Vanessa Amorosi - Change (2002)

Vanessa Joy Amorosi was born on 8 August 1981 in Melbourne, Australia, and by the age of four she and her younger sisters, Mellissa and Natasha, were taking tap, jazz and classical ballet classes run by her uncle. At the age of 12 she started to perform in shopping centres and local council concerts under the supervision of her family, and in 1997 she signed a management contract with MarJac Productions and recorded a promo CD titled 'Get Here', which secured her a deal with Transistor Music Australia. In 1999 she released her debut single 'Have A Look', which became a Top 20 hit and went gold in Australia, and she followed that with 'Absolutely Everybody', an anthemic dance song, which reached the Top 10. When it was released internationally it also reached the Top 10 in many European countries, including the UK and Germany, where it received a gold certification. Two more singles followed, with 'Shine' and the double A-sided single 'The Power'/'Every Time I Close My Eyes' becoming major Australian hits, and a remixed version of 'Shine' was used by the airline Ansett Australia in a commercial. In 2000 she released her official debut album 'The Power', which went to number one on the Australian album charts, and she received six ARIA nominations at that year's awards. Her largest audience came in September 2000, with performances at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and at the Paralympic Games, and later that year she also made a special appearance at the Goodwill Games Opening and Closing ceremonies in Brisbane. 

In October 2001 she released an Australian only compilation album, with 'Turn To Me' featuring some new songs, and tracks from 'The Power', which were previously unreleased in Australia. In 2002 she recorded her second studio album, 'The Change', but it was only ever released in Germany, and contains the previous released singles 'One Thing Leads 2 Another', which debuted at No. 67 on the German Singles Chart, and the Australian exclusive single-release 'Spin (Everybody's Doin' It)', which became a top 50 hit on the ARIA Charts, and peaked at number 64 on the German Top 100. In February 2003 she travelled to Germany to perform her third single 'True To Yourself' on the hugely successful long-running show 'Wetten, dass..?', which screens throughout Europe. 'Change' was set to be released in Australia later in 2003, but for reasons unknown it remains unreleased there, and it never seems to have been considered for a UK or US release. In January 2006 she revealed that she had signed with manager Ralph Carr, having completed seven years with MarJac Productions, and in November she signed to Universal Music Australia, who released her second studio album 'Somewhere In The Real World' in May 2008. Despite her long absence from the music scene, after singing 'Kiss Your Mama!' on Australian Idol she returned to the charts, with the single release peaking at number 15. 'Change', however, was now long forgotten, and it's a shame that it received such a limited release, as it's a great album, and to show you just how good, here it is for you to enjoy.  

Track listing

01 One Thing Leads 2 Another  
02 Turning Up The Heat  
03 Spin (Everybody's Doin' It)
04 Dream  
05 Change  
06 Lifted Up  
07 Back In Love  
08 Who's Lovin' You  
09 True To Yourself  
10 Follow Me  
11 Bitter Twist 
12 Sometimes Happiness

Denim - Denim (2005)

'Denim' was the stage name used by Rhashida Stafford from 2003 to 2010, while she was signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In late late 2003 she started working on her debut album, and a taster single was released in the form of 'Friends (You Ain't Right)', but before it was completed it was shelved by the record label, with some of the songs later appearing on mixtapes and promo CD's over the next couple of years, while others have remained unreleased. At the same time as laying down tracks for her album, she also collaborated with her labelmates Memphis Bleek, Young Gunz and Kanye West, appearing on their songs, but her biggest exposure came with her contribution to the soundtrack of the 2011 film 'Footloose', where she was the featured singer on her co-composition 'Dance The Night Away'. Since then not much has been heard from her, but most of the songs from that abandoned debut album have since surfaced, and so here is an approximation of what Denim's first full length record could have sounded like. 

Track listing

01 Friends (You Ain't Right) 

02 Keep It Movin' (feat. Nicole Wray)

03 Microphone

04 Brooklyn's Finest (interlude)

05 Your Lady

06 I Should Have Listened 

07 Many Men 

08 Who I Am 

09 Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh (Freestyle) 

10 Love Games (feat. Freeway)

11 Hell's Angel

12 Thru Da Wire (Freestyle) 

13 Time To Shine 

14 Giving U All (I Am) 

Tami Chynn - Prima Donna (2008)

Tammar Chin Mitchell was born on 14 June 1983 in Kingston, Jamaica, and is known professionally as Tami Chynn. After attending Campion College in St. Andrew, Jamaica, she moved to Leamington Spa in the UK when she was 14, where she spent three years studying the performing arts, and in 2001 she moved back to Jamaica, where she worked on her music career and recorded her first single 'Rock U'. In early 2005 she travelled to Los Angeles to perform for Universal Motown Records, and in May they signed her to a four-album deal. In March 2006 she was nominated for Best New Entertainer Award at the International Reggae and World Music Awards, although she lost the award to reggae artist Matisyahu, and later that year she released her first US single 'Hyperventilating', and while it became a hit on the internet, it wasn't a mainstream success. During that summer she released her first album, 'Out Of Many...One', which also failed to chart in the US, but managed to peak at No. 41 on the Japanese Oricon charts. In 2008 she was noticed by Akon, who signed her up to his label Konvict Muzik, and work began on her second album 'Prima Donna', with recording beginning in January in Akon's Atlanta studios. 'Frozen' was released as the lead single in August 2008, and in September she starred in a Pepsi commercial alongside Verne Troyer, T-Pain and Shaggy, doing a cover of Carl Douglas' classic disco song 'Kung Fu Fighting'. However, during 2008 she cut all ties with Universal, and so 'Prima Donna' was cancelled, and remains unreleased. In 2010 she collaborated with Slovakia-born fashion designer Lubica Kucerova to create the Anuna and Anuna Goddess collections, and the duo were nominated at The Jamaica Observer Style Awards, winning the Designer of the Year Award, and she is currently at work on a third album, which will become her second release, but while we wait for that to appear, here is her 'Prima Donna' album from 2008. 

Track listing

01 Hypnotico (Silly Heartbreakers)
02 Frozen (feat. Akon)
03 We Don't Mess
04 To Da Floor
05 Killer Love Song
06 You Are (Check This Out)
07 This Must Be Love
08 Stay Close
09 Watch Me Wine (feat. Voice Mail)
10 Eyes On Me (feat. Akon)
11 Why Should I
12 Ayayay
13 Who Am I Fooling
14 To Be Continued...

Mocha - One Day At A Time (2007)

Aleesha Richards was a female hip-hop rapper who performed under the name Mocha in the late 90's/early 2000's. She featured on Nicole Wray's top ten Billboard hit 'Make It Hot' in 1998, and following that she guested on other singers and rapper's singles, including Missy Elliott’s 'Hit Em Wit Da Hee', DJ Clue's 'I Like Control', and Sporty Thievez's 'Even Cheaper'. In 2001 she recorded an album titled 'Hot Chocolate', later renamed 'Bella Mafia', and which was to feature Missy Elliott as a chief producer for the project. Following the renaming of her album came the first two buzz singles, one being the cartoonish ambulance-driven audio piece 'Runnin' Shit', assembled by Timbaland, and the other was 'Mardi Gras', which was an up-tempo Spanish-flavoured tune, again produced by Timbaland, and featuring guest appearances by Missy Elliott and Lil' Mo. By this point, no single had charted and 'Bella Mafia' was still underway for release in late 2000, until the signing of her former Goldmind Inc. labelmate Torrey "T.C." Carter, which resulted in not only the postponement of Mocha's album, but virtually every other signee to the label, after they put their full weight behind their new star. When T.C.'s single flopped, Mocha then prepped another single to get the anticipation flowing again for her debut, and 'I Know Whutcha U Like' was released to DJ's and radio, but like her previous efforts, it didn't impact any Billboard chart, after which she asked to be released from her contract, The end result of all this was that not only was 'Bella Mafia' shelved, but it was never actually finished, and consequently it's hard to reconstruct as so few tracks exist. In 2005, she released her two books "Cash Money" and "Concrete Jungle", both under the author alias AJ Rivers, and in 2007 she recorded a second album of new material entitled 'One Day At A Time', which was released as a limited edition through her website, with no cover art. Shortly after its release, she retired from music, and is now the owner of Mo's Sweet Minis, a bakery located in Richmond, Virginia, but for anyone who wants to hear that second album, featuring Virginia-based acts Mumeet Daddy & DJ Lonnie B, alongside sampled vocals by Kanye West, here it is, complete with new cover art to complete it.

Track listing

01 Guys 
02 Life's A B. (feat. DJ Lonnie B.)
03 Makin' Moves 
04 Million Words
05 Haterz 
06 Heart Of Mind
07 What A Life
08 I Remember (feat. DJ Lonnie B.) 
09 Pimptress
10 On My Grind
11 What's Up (feat. Mumeet Daddy)
12 Sugar (feat. Mumeet Daddy)
13 Mail Call
14 Tanita
15 Ghetto Senorita (feat. Kanye West)

Bridgit Mendler - Skeleton (2015)

Bridgit Claire Mendler was born on 18 December 1992 in Washington, D.C., moving with her family to Mill Valley, California, at the age of eight. It was there where she first expressed an interest in acting, and when she was eight years old she began taking part in local roles in both dramatic and musical theatre, becoming the youngest performer in the San Francisco Fringe Festival. In 2004 she got her first voice acting role in the animated Indian film 'The Legend Of Buddha', in which she portrayed young Buddha, and the next year she got her first acting role as a guest star on the soap opera 'General Hospital'. In 2007 she made her film debut in the film adaption of the Alice series, titled 'Alice Upside Down', starring alongside Disney Channel actress Alyson Stoner and Lucas Grabeel. In 2009 she became a recurring character in the Disney Channel series 'Wizards Of Waverly Place', appearing in a total of eleven episodes, spanning from 2009 to 2012, when the series ended. In 2011 she starred as Olivia White, the lead role in the Disney Channel Original Movie 'Lemonade Mouth', for which she performed numerous songs for the film's soundtrack, which was released on 12 April 2011 by Walt Disney Records. Two singles were released from the soundtrack, with 'Somebody' peaking at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and 'Determinate' managing to reach number 51. On 31 March 2011 it was confirmed that Mendler had signed with Hollywood Records, and had begun working on her debut album, while at the same time starring in the Disney Channel Original Movie 'Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!', featuring the song 'I'm Gonna Run To You', which was released as a promotional single on 12 November 2011. In Summer 2012, she confirmed that the title of her official debut single was her own co-write 'Ready Or Not', which peaked at number 49 in the United States, but which reached the top twenty of a number of European countries. 

Mendler's debut album, 'Hello My Name Is...', was released on 22 October by Hollywood Records and all the songs were written by Mendler with collaborators, as well as her being involved in its production. The album charted in several countries including Poland, Australia, United Kingdom, France and Spain, and her vocals have been compared to Lily Allen, Cher Lloyd, and Jessie J. A second single was extracted from the album, with 'Hurricane' hitting the number 1 spot on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. On 25 November 2014, Mendler was announced as a member of the main cast of the NBC comedy series 'Undateable' in season two, and she stayed with the show until its cancellation after the third series. Having left Hollywood Records in 2015 and signed to Black Box Records, she began working on new music the following year, and her 'Atlantis' single was released in August 2016, followed by the EP 'Nemesis' in November. In October she was was cast as Ashley Willerman on the fifth season of the CMT television series 'Nashville', and then the next year she landed the lead role in the Fox comedy television pilot 'Thin Ice', although the network ultimately passed on the pilot in May. Her acting work during this period didn't leave much time to work on her music, and so after one last single 'Diving' in August 2017, her second album was shelved, and her music career was put on hold. So for any fans who would like to hear more from her, here is her unusually titled shelved second album from 2016, with artwork that she says she wanted to represent some of the more soul-bearing songs on the album. 

Track listing

01 How To Do
02 I Fought The Love
03 Deeper Shade Of Us
04 Catalyst
05 Dedication
06 Coins In The Air
07 Timeless
08 Flowers
09 Cold
10 Snap My Fingers
11 Library
12 While You Were Sleeping

Christina Aguilera - Just Be Free (1995)

After news that The All-New Mickey Mouse Club would be filming its final season, Christina Aguilera sought out a record deal, and she spent time in Philadelphia recording demo tracks with various producers, hoping to have an album released by the time she had finished high school. She began recording with New Jersey-based producers Robert Allecca and Michael Brown, after the pair gave her the opportunity to use a recording studio, and presented her with demo music. According to biographer Pier Dominguez, they told her that the demo recordings they would produce would be their property, but also that they would never commercially release the material. The tapes were conceived as a way of introducing Aguilera to the music industry, described as a "foot in the door" attempt to build interest in her musical abilities. During the recording sessions, she experimented with different languages, recording songs such as the title track 'Just Be Free' in Spanish, and musically the album generally consists of dance tracks and ballads, the latter of which were created in an effort to showcase Aguilera's vocal talents. Nearly all of the songs on the album were co-written by Aguilera with Bob Allecca and Michael Brown, and they showed that even at the age of fourteen she was first and foremost a talented musician and artist. 

However, the venture actually backfired after the recordings were not very well received among critics, and it was to be another two years before she started to attract the attention of the music industry. Six years after the completion of the album and Aguilera had achieved mainstream success, Brown and Allecca released the record, and after discovering this, Aguilera took steps to sue the pair in an effort to stop the release. She filed a suit against the label Warlock Records, and the affiliates Platinum Recordings and JFB Music for "improper use of her name and license on the upcoming album 'Just Be Free'". In response, Warlock Records filed their own lawsuit in an attempt to ensure the release of the record, and during the proceedings, Aguilera agreed to let Warlock Records release 'Just Be Free' after reaching a settlement with the company and its affiliates. She allowed the release under the condition that the label would have to include a letter written by Aguilera in each album released. The letter stated: 

"'Just Be Free' was recorded when I was 14 and 15 years old. At that young age, I made the recordings as a possible stepping stone to a career in music, which is my ultimate passion. They were made just so that I could get my foot in the door of the music business. I did not intend that the recordings would be widely released, especially after I signed with a major record label. I have not updated or finished the versions recorded in my childhood, and they are being released "as is," although I tried to prevent the release for several years. The recordings do not in any way reflect my current musical taste and where I am as an artist. The growth and vocal development I experienced as I matured into young adulthood is not reflected in the recordings. The album of new recordings that I intend to release this fall will be the album that truly reflects my artistry, my vision, and my passion. The 'Just Be Free' recordings will hopefully be a footnote in a musical career that I dream will last for many years to come." She realised that they were going to put out the album one way or another, and this way she got to make a statement on it, and so she was happy about that. She also chose the photograph that was used on the album's cover, which depicts her at the age the album was recorded. When it was eventually released it received generally negative reviews from critics, with most of them understanding why she tried to stop it appearing, as they thought that it contained dated club tracks, overwhelmed by poor effects and mundane beats. However, it is a historic artefact in her career and so for any fans who can no longer find a copy and want to hear it, here it is for you to try. 

Track listing

01 Just Be Free
02 By Your Side
03 Move It (dance mix)
04 Our Day Will Come
05 Believe Me
06 Make Me Happy
07 Dream A Dream
08 Move It
09 The Way You Talk to Me
10 Running Out Of Time
11 Believe Me (dance remix)
12 Just Be Free (Spanish version)

Leona Lewis - Pulse (2012)

During 2011 and 2012 sessions continued for Leona Lewis's third studio album, 'Glassheart', and by August 2012 she was able to announce that the lead single from it would be 'Trouble', which was released on 7 October 2012. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven, and the album followed in October, debuting at number three in the UK and at number four in Ireland. However, the second single, 'Lovebird', failed to reach the UK top 200 in the absence of radio support, her first release not to chart since the start of her career. In February 2013, Lewis left her management, Modest! Management, and she also announced that she would begin work on her fourth studio album, which would be released later in the year. In July 2013 she revealed that her new studio album would be a "Motown-influenced" Christmas collection, with both classic covers and original material, and 'Christmas, With Love' was released on 2 December 2013, with the lead single, 'One More Sleep', coming out the previous month. Despite having enough unused material to compile an album from 2010, there was an equivalent amount left off 'Glassheart' from the 2011/2012 sessions, and it was enough to put together a companion album to that as well, so for this final post from Leona Lewis we have a collection of outtakes from 2012, along with a guest appearance on a single by Miko Fukuhara, gathered together under the title of 'Pulse'.

Track listing

01 Mr. Magic Touch 

02 A Thousand Lights 

03 Burn

04 Pulse 

05 Piece Of Your Heart  

06 Stay 

07 Burning Down

08 It's All For You

09 Love Killer

10 I Miss You Missing Me  

11 Sugar (bonus track from the Deluxe edition of 'Glassheart)

12 Colorblind (bonus track from the Deluxe edition of 'Glassheart)

13 Playground

14 Save Me (feat. Miko Fukuhara) 

Sunday Girl - Four Floors (2012)

Jade Williams was born on 21 May 1988 in Sidcup, Greater London, and is professionally known as Whinnie Williams. She grew up in Broxbourne, working at a local pet shop every Sunday during her teenage years, and as she had not revealed her name to the other members of staff, she became known as Sunday Girl, which would later become her music alias. Having overcome stage fright through hypnosis, she joined many cover bands, including a ska band, a jazz band, and a trio who did covers of '40s blues standards with a ukulele and double bass. However, she soon became bored of singing covers and so took a gap year during her studies to travel and, more importantly, focus on her song-writing. While singing at a night club, she was discovered by a manager, and he helped direct her to work with other songwriters, which led to her eventual signing with Polydor Records and Universal's Geffen Records in late 2009. Her debut single as Sunday Girl was 'Four Floors' in March 2010, followed by 'Self Control' in July, and then she was offered a support slot on Ellie Goulding's tour during November. Her third single, 'Stop Hey', was officially released through iTunes by Polydor in February 2011, and in June she was featured on Martin Solveig's album 'Smash', performing 'Let's Not Play Games', which she co-wrote. 

Her cover of 'Love U More', originally by Sunscreem, was promotionally released in October 2011, but its commercial release was delayed indefinitely, although that seemed insignificant when her big break came, with her cover of Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind?' being used for Thomson's 2011 holiday TV campaign, and the single's success helped her to be signed by Universal's Island Records in early 2012. In turn, this led to other TV ads, in particular for supermarket chain Aldi, with her cover of 'My Favourite Things' in 2015. In March 2012 she co-wrote the song 'Turn Up The Radio' for Madonna's twelfth studio album 'MDNA', and her song 'High & Low' was featured on the official motion picture soundtrack of 'StreetDance 2'. In February 2013 she announced the end of the Sunday Girl project, and released her first singles under the name Whinnie Williams, with both 'You Don't Love Me' and 'Break Hearts In Your Sleep' appearing in 2013. In 2018 she founded interiors brand Poodle & Blonde, and has been the host for BBC 3 show 'Flat Out Fabulous' since 2020, but with the end of the Sunday Girl project, the proposed Polydor album was shelved, so I've taken all her known recordings up to 2013 and added a few choice covers from Blur, Keisha, MGMT and Everything Everything, to add to the one from Pixies, and we end up with the album that could have appeared in 2012 if Sunday Girl had carried on. 

Track listing

01 Stop Hey
02 Self Control
03 Four Floors
04 Human Love
05 Where Is My Mind
06 TiK ToK
07 Love U More
08 Tender
09 Time To Pretend
10 High & Low
11 Photoshop Handsome

Selena Gomez - Seven Heavens (2017)

Selena Marie Gomez was born on 22 July 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas, to a 16 year old mother, and the family had financial troubles throughout Gomez's childhood, with her mother struggling to provide for the pair. She first gained an interest in pursuing a career in entertainment watching her mother prepare for stage productions, and in 2002, she began her acting career on the children's television series 'Barney & Friends, portraying the character Gianna. She appeared in thirteen episodes of the show between 2002 and 2004, after which she was dismissed as she was "too old" for the series. In 2007 she was given a recurring role on the Disney Channel series 'Hannah Montana', as pop star Mikayla, and she later auditioned for a role in the network's series 'Wizards Of Waverly Place', ultimately winning the lead role of Alex Russo. 'Wizards Of Waverly Place' saw Gomez playing a teenage girl in a family of wizards who own a restaurant in New York City, and it quickly became a success for the Disney Channel, and marked Gomez's breakthrough into the mainstream. Following her appearance in the teen musical comedy film 'Another Cinderella Story', she contributed three songs to the soundtrack, including the single 'Tell Me Something I Don't Know', which became her first entry on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also recorded the song 'Fly To Your Heart' for the soundtrack of the animated 2008 film 'Tinker Bell', and that same year, at age 16, she signed with Hollywood Records, and formed her own production company, July Moon Production. Her film and TV career continued throughout 2009, and hoping to cross over into the music industry, she formed the pop rock band Selena Gomez & the Scene through her record deal with Hollywood Records. 

The group's debut studio album, 'Kiss & Tell', influenced by pop rock and electronic rock, was released in September 2009, and it debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the U.S. with first-week sales of 66,000 copies. It received mixed reviews, with some critics praising its fun nature and others criticizing Gomez's vocal performance, and although the lead single was not commercially successful, the second single, 'Naturally', became a breakthrough hit, reaching number twenty-nine in the U.S. and number seven in the United Kingdom. In 2010, Selena Gomez & the Scene released their second studio album 'A Year Without Rain', which debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number four, and once again it received mixed to positive reviews, with some critics reacting negatively to Gomez's Auto-Tuned vocals. The band's third and final studio album, 'When the Sun Goes Down', was released the following year to the usual mixed reviews, and the album's lead single, 'Who Says', was the band's highest charting effort, peaking at number twenty-one in the U.S. Gomez confirmed in January 2012 that she would be taking a break from music, placing Selena Gomez & the Scene on hiatus, and for the next twelve months she concentrated on her axcting, but despite earlier claims that she would be taking a break from music, she released 'Come & Get It' as the lead single from her debut solo album in 2013. 

It became her first top-ten entry on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching number six, and the 'Stars Dance' album was released in July, debuting at number one in the U.S. The mixed reviews continued, with critics this time commenting on her inability to create her own musical identity and panning her vocal abilities. In April 2014, Gomez fired her mother and stepfather as her managers, as she wanted to find fresh handlers as part of a strategy to "move on into more adult-oriented fare in film and music", and with her contract with Hollywood Records coming to an end, she surprise-released her new single 'The Heart Wants What It Wants' in November 2014. To complete her contract with her label, they released her first greatest hits album, 'For You', after which she officially parted ways with Hollywood Records and later signed with Interscope Records in December 2014. While working on her second studio album, she collaborated with German DJ Zedd on 'I Want You To Know', released in February 2015, and she followed this in June with 'Good For You', featuring rapper ASAP Rocky, as the lead single from her second studio album. Gomez released her second studio album, 'Revival', in October 2015, and its dance-pop and electropop vibes were finally reviewed positively by critics, who praised its production and lyrical content. 

Gomez embarked on her worldwide Revival Tour in May 2016, which focussed solely on her as an artist, and featured less choreography and fewer effects than her previous tour. She Gomez began working on her third studio album while touring, and added a new song titled 'Feel Me' to the setlist of her Revival Tour, with the song later being released in February 2020, due to high demand from fans. After touring in North America, Asia and Oceania, she cancelled the European and South America legs in August 2016 due to anxiety, panic attacks and depression caused by her lupus, and following the cancelation of her tour, she rechecked into rehab to focus on her mental health, and was noticeably absent from social media. After being absent from the public eye for four months, she triumphantly returned to the spotlight by appearing at the American Music Awards where she was nominated for Favourite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Artist of the Year, the first of which she won. In February 2017, Gomez and the Norwegian DJ Kygo released a single together titled 'It Ain't Me', which reached the top ten of most major music charts worldwide, including the U.S. and the U.K. 

In May she released the single 'Bad Liar' to universal acclaim from music critics, with some deeming it her best song to date, and she followed this with 'Fetish' featuring rapper Gucci Mane two months later. In October 2017, Gomez and EDM producer Marshmello released the single 'Wolves', which was another commercial success, and in May 2018, the single 'Back To You' was included on the soundtrack of the TV series '13 Reasons Why: Season 2', but the third album remained elusive, and was nowhere to be seen. In October 2019, Gomez released 'Lose You To Love Me' as the lead single from her third studio album, and the next day, she surprise-released the album's second single, 'Look At Her Now', with the album 'Rare' following in January 2020, becoming her third consecutive number-one album in the US. In 2017 she was photographed wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the legend Seven Heavens, and this was taken to be the title of her third album, which was expected to come out in 2017, but as it appeared to have been put on the back-burner until she re-appeared in 2020, then I've collected all the songs that she recorded for it and have constructed her actual third album from 2017, now titled 'Seven Heavens'. 

Track listing

01 Fetish (feat. Gucci Mane)
02 Bad Liar
03 Strong (feat. Justin Bieber)
04 P.O.S.E. (Praise On Someone Else)
05 Kinda Crazy
06 Stained
07 It Ain't Me (feat. Kygo)
08 Feel Me
09 Back To You
10 Bad Guy
11 Higher Or Heaven (feat. Halsey)
12 Love's Not Over (feat. Cody Simpson)
13 Wolves (feat. Marshmello)

Leona Lewis - Perfection (2010)

The success of her 2009 album 'Echo' had raised Leona Lewis's profile enough for her to be asked to provide vocals on a cover of 'Everybody Hurts', released in January 2010 to help raise money for victims of that year's earthquake in Haiti. Her first tour, titled 'The Labyrinth' supporting 'Spirit' and 'Echo', started in May 2010, and was scheduled to cover North America from July to August supporting Christina Aguilera's Bionic Tour, but Aguilera cancelled, leaving Lewis's plans in limbo. However, a DVD of the UK leg of the tour, along with a ten-track CD, was released with the title 'The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2' on 29 November 2010. She began work on her third album, 'Glassheart', shortly after she completed 'The Labyrinth' tour, and although originally announced to be released on 28 November 2011 in the UK, it was delayed for a year before it eventually appeared. During 2010 Lewis worked with numerous writers and producers including Ammo, Jonas Quant, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Fraser T Smith, Al Shux, Steve Robson, Dallas Austin, Rico Love, and Ne-Yo, and a lot of material was recorded for 'Glassheart', but most of it was eventually scrapped, and more sessions took place in 2011 and 2012. In September 2011 she released the dance-pop single 'Collide', written by Autumn Rowe and produced by Sandy Vee, and it debuted on the official UK top 40 singles chart at number 4. She followed this in December 2011 with 'Hurt: The EP', containing four covers, and she closed the year by performing on the American version of X Factor, and as the featured performer for the closing of the 2011 Doha Film Festival, where she sang ten songs. A number of the tracks recorded in 2010 have now surfaced, and so although she didn't release a studio album that year, she certainly had enough material to do so, and so this is what it could have sounded like, with the addition of the 'Collide' single. 

Track listing 

01 Save Myself 
02 How Everything You Are
03 Breaking Into Pieces
04 Crying Is Beautiful
05 The Fabric Of Our Lives
06 I Know Who I Am (from the film 'For Coloured Girls' 2010)
07 I Didn't Want To Hurt You

08 Collide
09 Mountains
10 Can't Fight It   
11 Hero

12 Everybody Hurts
13 Perfection

14 Haunted  

Christina Aguilera - Too Beautiful For Words (2006)

Christina Aguilera's recording career began in 1997, when she moved to Japan from the US, and recorded a duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi, with whom she performed in concert shows around the country. Their song, 'All I Wanna Do', was released as a single but failed to have any commercial success, and so in June 1997 she went on to Romania to represent the United States in a singers contest during the Golden Stag Festival, although she failed to win over the audience. On her return to the US she recorded numerous demo tapes, sending them to record labels such as Walt Disney Records, and they chose her to record 'Reflection', the theme song from the animated 1998 film 'Mulan'. Following the attention she received for this, she caught the ear of Ron Fair, the A&R executive from RCA Records, who consequently signed her to the label. In late 1998 she began to record her debut studio album, into which the label reportedly invested over $1 million worth of writers, producers and vocal lessons. It was around this time that her first solo recording was released, with 'I Come Undone' appearing on the 'The Scene Compilation – So. Cal Edition 3' various artists album. In May 1999, Aguilera released 'Genie In A Bottle', the lead single from her long-awaited debut album, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1999. The song became an international success, increasing Aguilera's popularity worldwide, and from this point on her career was assured. Her self-titled debut album, 'Christina Aguilera', was released on 24 August 1999 to critical praise, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, and it was promoted by the release of a non-album promo singe, 'Dreamy Eyes'. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she tended not to add non-album songs to the b-sides of her singles, and so most of her rare recordings are songs recorded exclusively for film soundtracks, or are collaborations with other artists, and so I've collected the best of them here, including a couple of b-sides, a track from a joint EP with Justin Timberlake, an exclusive recording for a Mercedes Benz promotional campaign, and some guest appearances with Ricky Martin, Herbie Hancock, and P. Diddy. 

Track listing

01 All I Wanna Do (single featuring Keizo Nakanishi 1997)
02 I Come Undone (from 'The Scene Compilation – So. Cal Edition 3' 1998)
03 Dreamy Eyes (promo single to promote 'Christine Aguilera' 1999)
04 We're A Miracle (from the film 'Pokemon: The First Movie' 1999)
05 Don't Make Me Love You ('Til I'm Ready) (from the film 'The Next Big Thing' 1999)
06 Too Beautiful For Words (b-side of the German edition of 'What A Girl Wants' 1999)
07 Nobody Wants To Be Lonely (feat. Ricky Martin) (from 'Sound Loaded' by Ricky Martin 2000)
08 Lady Marmalade (with Lil' Kim, Mýa and P!nk) (from the film 'Moulin Rouge' 2001)
09 I Will Be (b-side of 'Dirrty' 2002)
10 That's What Love Can Do (from the 'Justin & Christina' EP 2003
11 Car Wash (feat. Missy Elliott) (from the film 'Shark Tale' 2004)
12 Hello (exclusive recording for the Mercedes Benz Promotional Campaign 2004)
13 A Song For You (feat. Herbie Hancock) (from 'Possibilities' by Herbie Hancock 2005)
14 Tell Me (feat. P. Diddy) (from 'Press Play' by P. Diddy 2006)

Damozel - You Don't Know Me Like That (2000)

Damozel was an R&B girl group from the early 2000's that was put together by hip-hop\R&B artist Kelli "K-Ball" Ball, and included Brandy Merchelle, Tasha Goodner, Lisa Ball and Tamisha "Tish" Lotterberry. In 2000 they released their debut single, 'You Don’t Know Me Like That', which featured rapper Rah Digga, and which failed to make any impact on the charts, but their follow-up single, 'Everyday's A Party' did much better, and peaked at #34 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart. It was also later featured on the soundtrack to the 2001 film, 'Two Can Play That Game', and this seemed enough for their record label MCA Records to offer them an album deal, which they recorded throughout 2000, but the offer was later withdrawn and the album was shelved. After this it seemed as if Damozel faded into obscurity, although they did start performing together again around the 2010's, and released music on their ReverbNation page, but nothing much has been heard from them since about 2014. As usual with these scrapped R&B albums, there is nothing at all wrong with it, and so fans with long memories who fondly remember those two singles can now hear what would have been Damozel's debut album from 2000.

Track listing

01 Intro
02 Could I
03 You Don't Know Me Like That
04 Best Friend
05 Sunshine
06 This Is How We Roll (feat. Memphis Bleek)
07 No More
08 Disrespectful 
09 Trials & Tribulations 
10 She Don't Love You 
11 Give It to Me Straight 
12 Outro 

Leona Lewis - Unreachable (2009)

After Leona Lewis won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, her winning song was released as a single on 17 December 2006, and 'A Moment Like This' broke a world record after being digitally downloaded more than 50,000 times in less than 30 minutes, becoming the UK Christmas number-one single for that year. In February 2007 she signed a £5 million five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, with Simon Cowell and Davis working together in a "first-of-its-kind" partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, 'Spirit'. When the record was released in November 2007 it entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the UK's fourth-fastest selling album of all time. Lewis's second single, 'Bleeding Love', produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, giving her a second number one single, remaining at the top of the charts for eight weeks. In August 2008, Lewis performed 'Whole Lotta Love' with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Work on her second album, 'Echo', took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks, and it was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. It was released in November 2009, and reached reached number one in the UK Albums Chart, as well as the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland. She also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film 'Avatar', with 'I See You' being nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. The Sessions for 'Echo' produced more recordings than could be included on the album, and in recent years a number of unused tracks have leaked, and there are enough from 2009 alone to make a companion album to 'Echo' from the same time-frame, so here are the best of the 2009 outtakes, including a studio version of 'Whole Lotta Love', the theme from 'Avatar', and one left-over from 'Spirit', so as not to waste 'Stay Tonight'.   

Track listing

01 Scene Of The Crime
02 Drive
03 Stay Tonight
04 Fly Here Now
05 You Don't Care
06 Whole Lotta Love
07 Strangers
08 Let Somebody Love You
09 Nowhere Left To Go (feat. Cassidy)
10 I See You
11 Unreachable
12 Intervention 
13 Perfect Stranger
14 Danger Made Me