Bark + Bite

Rihanna and Coldplay to perform "Princess of China" at the 2012 Grammys

It's official: Rihanna's headed to the Grammys stage again. And once again, she won't be alone.

For the 2011 Grammys, RiRi dutty whined her bawdy all over Drake for their collaboration "What's My Name?" And this year, Rihanna will hit the stage with Coldplay to perform "Princess of China," their collaboration from Coldplay's latest album Mylo Xyloto.

Rihanna broke the news on Twitter herself:

#RihannaNavy My friends @ColdPlay and I will be sharing the stage for a performance at this years Annual Grammy Awards! #BONKERS

— Rihanna (@rihanna) January 19, 2012

Let's hope that this means that the tragically beautiful "Princess of China" duet will be the next official single from Coldplay's album.

Sizing up the 2012 Grammys Album of the Year category

The hottest and most prized category in the Grammys each year is without a doubt, the Album of the Year category.

Many were rightfully upset that Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, one of the year's most widely praised albums, was shut out of the category. But the remaining contenders in the category are all worthy in their own way. For the most part.

Let's size up the albums that made it into the Album of the Year category. We'll take a look at the quality of the album and rate the likelihood of it taking the trophy home.

Patrick Stump says his solo streak isn't new at all

Formerly of Fall Out Boy, Patrick Stump's voice might be familiar to a lot of casual listeners, but his face probably isn't. That's because the singer has dropped a significant amount of weight, opted for the bottle of peroxide or bleach — giving him the golden-haired blond locks he currently has — and ditched those newsboy caps that he always used to hide under.

While Stump played Robin to Pete Wentz's Batman in Fall Out Boy, Stump is now getting used to receiving all of the glory in his solo career, which is taking off with the release of his excellent debut album Soul Punk. The album is chockfull of mesmerizing '80s references and influences from R&B/soul, funk and pop legends Prince and Michael Jackson.

Surprisingly, despite being the voice for a pop/punk band, Stump says he's always been more into R&B than rock, in an interview with VEVO. He also asserts that he's been recording independently on his own for quite some time.

"There's like this whole evolution that no one ever got to see because I was doing all this stuff in my bedroom and then I was doing Fall Out Boy records and that's the stuff that people know. But it's not like I started making solo music for the first time two years ago," Stump said.

Watch Patrick Stump's interview with VEVO below

Cartel is out on their own - and liking it

With the number of major music labels getting smaller and smaller and the number of bands competing for the spotlight growing exponentially, many groups are taking the recording industry into their own hands and doing it all independently. One such band is Cartel. Frustrated with the constraints of working with a label, they put together their latest EP, entitled In Stereo, entirely on their own (for more on the new music, check out our review of the release here). We caught up with lead singer Will Pugh to talk about the process of setting out on their own, the results, and what’s next for Cartel.

Coldplay and Rihanna cry a beautiful, deep river of sorrow in "Princess of China"

When word hit the street that Rihanna would be collaborating with Chris Martin and the fellas on their upcoming album Mylo Xyloto, it was obvious that we were all in for something momentous. And now that the full version of "Princess of China" has leaked, it's safe to say that RiRi and Chris didn't disappoint.

Chris brings on the bombast and the storms as he blunders about his stepped on and broken heart. Rihanna swoops in with her angelic chords chirping about fights and lost games, while Chris accompanies her under the harmony. The two of them do quite a bit of harmonizing and it's really quite lovely. It turns this sad, sad, love song into something beautiful. They sound like two songbirds, bemoaning their pitiful state to the world.

Lyrically, some have taken issue with the line where Rihanna croons about being a princess and her lover being a king. Princesses usually marry princes, after all. And if he's a king, then she should be a queen. Not being an expert on all things royal, but there's probably some king in history who kept his bride a princess and not queen. Then again, that's neither here nor there. The point of the line in the song is that they could've been royalty together, now they're stuck being peasants all by themselves.

Listen to Coldplay and Rihanna's duet below

Cartel, The Ready Set release new EPs to beat the cold weather blues

There is a whole slew of new music slated to come out this October, which is actually an ideal time to release music. It's “just in time for the holidays” but not as competitive as the summer months.

Of course, more albums are set to be released than Bark + Bite possibly has time to review, however, new EPs from Cartel and The Ready Set are worth checking out, for pop/rocks fans.

One week after blink-182 released Neighborhoods (seriously, it rocks) fans of the pop-rock genre are getting even more new tunes to listen to. First up: Cartel.

Never Shout Never talks new group, new album, new everything

Once just a solo project of Christofer Drew’s, Never Shout Never is now a full (permanent) band. Released last week, their new album, Time Travel, was both written and produced by the foursome. Featuring big backing instrumentals, electronic elements, and “trippier” vocals than fans may be used to, the eight tracks feature a good deal of ups and downs.

A major high note is “Simplistic Trace-Like Getaway”, a song with a bit of a pop feel and a more immediately approachable sound. With the new release and an extensive fall tour to accompany it, the group has plenty to be excited about. To discuss it all, we caught up with band member Caleb Denison last week to discus all of the new additions to the band itself as well as the new music, music video, and tour.

fun. celebrates youth and drink on "We Are Young"

Oh, the carefree days of youth. The younger years are the prime of most people's lives. It's why 40-something Jay-Z was so pressed to proclaim himself "forever young." It's why Lil' Kim can't put down the botox injections. It's why Mariah Carey calls herself an eternal 12 year old.

And what is it that young people do best? Binge drinking. Yay!

fun. (yes the band's name is lowercased and spelled with a period) puts the fun in a wild night out in their single "We Are Young." The band, whose album is produced by Jeff Bhasker of Watch the Throne fame, has a power chorus that sounds more like a call to arms for all the 20-somethings of the world:

"We are young / So let's set the world on fire / We'll go higher, than the sun / Tonight."

Surprisingly, it actually kind of reads like a slowed down Ke$ha track. You decide whether that's a compliment to Ke$ha or a slight the fellas of fun. The song also features a brief guest appearance by Janelle Monae, who the band is opening for on her Campus Consciousness tour.

Somebody should let Lil' Mama know that she has been replaced as the voice of the young people cause this song is a hit. Long live fun.

Listen to the band's anthem for the youth below