It's Tuesday! Time for another round of "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week"!

I'm in an EDM state of mind, which is why I've selected (mostly) pulse-raising anthems from both pop stars and established dance floor titans alike this week: Synth-tastic comeback tracks, pounding club cuts and soon-to-be summer smashes from pop stars with predilections for pink wigs -- it's all here!

1.) Nicki Minaj, "Pound The Alarm"

It's a glorious day for Barbs, Kens and Ken Barbs around the world: Today sees the release of Nicki Minaj's bananas o'clock sophomore record, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Of the many Euro-tinged blazin' club bangas on the rapper/ singer/ bad b**** enthusiast's new record, "Pound the Alarm" is almost certain to be an instant fan favorite. Let's put it this way, SAT style: If "Starships" is to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance," then "Pound the Alarm" is to "Poker Face."

"We're 'bout to get up and burn this floor/ You know we're getting hotter and hotter/ Sexy and hotter/ Let's shut it down," Minaj declares during the song's Ibiza-ready bridge. And then, with a single foghorn blast (straight out of Britney's "Stronger"), the track ricochets into its bouncy, off-the-walls beat blast -- much like her current single. Starships were meant to fly. Alarms, however, were meant to be pounded. Can you say summertime smash?

+ LISTEN TO NICKI MINAJ, "POUND THE ALARM"

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It's Tuesday! Time for another round of "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week"! This week's wrap-up includes offerings from an Estonian goth-pop princess, a Danity Kane solo star and the one and only: Madonna. If I had my way, every song on this Top 5 would be from her new album, MDNA (which came out yesterday -- check out our track-by-track review), but I'm retraining myself. After all, there's still plenty of solid tunes from amazing artists NOT named Madonna out this week, too!

1.) Madonna, "Love Spent (Acoustic)"

One of MDNA's major highlights, "Love Spent," sees the prolific superstar bemoaning a relationship strained by finances. "If we opened up a joint account, would it put an end to all your doubt?" she woefully ponders. (Mo' money, mo' problems indeed.)

In this gorgeous acoustic makeover, available as a bonus iTunes track for those who preordered the album, Madonna's crisp vocals are stretched across several slow-strumming guitars, dramatic strings... and more banjo! The mix also includes a new spine-tingling New Age chant by songwriter Priscilla Renea, who collaborated with producer William Orbit during the creation of MDNA. The result is a much sadder, more introspective take on the electronica-encrusted original that underscores how incredible the song actually is.

+ LISTEN TO MADONNA, "LOVE SPENT (ACOUSTIC VERSION)"

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Madonna, Queen of Everything, has just released her 12th studio album, MDNA. Almost four years have passed since her last effort, Hard Candy. And a lot has happened since then, including a highly publicized divorce from husband Guy Ritchie in late 2008 and the release of "W.E.," her self-directed film. But Madonna's current mantra du jour is probably best captured in the new album's most defining lyric:"I need to dance."

Madonna's in a rapturous state of mind in 2012, and the bulk of her latest effort -- a thundering, explosively defiant breakup album full of searing club cuts, blood-soaked revenge anthems and swoon-filled psychedelic '60s pop ditties -- seems to be tripping on acid... or, more accurately, ecstasy. After all, Madonna's cheeky album title, MDNA, is a nod to the euphoric club drug. Looks like Madonna's in a state of dance floor transcendence once again. 

Madonna teamed up with the likes of Martin Solveig, the Benassi Bros. and William Orbit (of Ray of Light fame), and the result of all of that forward-thinking production is one of her most youthful and high-energy records since True Blue -- and one of her better albums, period. MDNA serves as a reminder of what Madonna has always represented (and what many pop stars these days fail to truly grasp): fun.

We couldn't just let a new Madonna album hit the streets without giving you our track-by-track breakdown. Here's everything you need to know about MDNA.

1. "Girl Gone Wild" -- "Oh my God," Madonna declares during the album's opening moments, channeling the "God" opening of "Like A Prayer" with a spoken rendition of "Act of Contrition" (which made its first appearance on her 1989 album Like A Prayer -- full circle). From there, Madge quickly dives into a booming Benassi-produced club banger, playing like a lighter take on Benassi's mix of Madonna's own "Celebration" from back in 2009.

2. "Gang Bang" -- "Gang Bang" is not only the highlight of the record, but a highlight of Madonna's career. Revisiting the role of the scorned songstress from Erotica's "Thief of Hearts" whom she first played almost 20 years ago, Madonna delightfully wields a weapon while in hot pursuit of her ex-lover across a dark, throbbing beat. With a gritty dubstep breakdown (a nod to Britney's dub-pop masterpiece "Hold It Against Me"), gunshots and bullets dropping to the ground, "Gang Bang" plays as violent as the bloodthirsty, Quentin Tarantino-friendly lyrics imply. "Now, drive bitch!"

Read more of our track-by-track breakdown of Madonna's MDNA after the jump. The album is in stores today.

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It's Tuesday! Time for another round of "5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week"!

After the excitement of SXSW and the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards last week, we're settling back into the pop swing of things. This week sees two of music's most legendary divas coming back in tip-top shape, a former "Idol" contestant making a breakaway into the club scene (no, not Kelly), some frothy club-pop fun by a rising starlet and a gorgeous comeback by one of my favorite bands.

1.) Katharine McPhee, "Touch Me"

While Season 5 "American Idol" runner-up Katharine McPhee has been going theater in her role as a Broadway hopeful on NBC's "Smash," the singer's been prepping an utterly explosive dance-floor banger behind the scenes of her hit show. "Touch Me," penned by Ryan Tedder (Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson) and the always-reliable Bonnie McKee (she of Britney's "Hold It Against Me," Katy's "Teenage Dream" and everything else that is objectively free of all flaws), is a searing uptempo club-pop cut that finds McPhee crooning atop a dark electronic pulse.

"Touch me/ I wanna feel it on my body, put your hands on me," the songstress demands. Cue a countdown (3, 2, 1!) and a deliciously sexy bridge, and you've got yourself a certified smash (see what I did there?) -- and arguably her greatest track to date. If "Touch Me" is anything like what we'll be hearing from McPhee on her follow-up to her 2010 sophomore record Unbroken, we've got a new pop vixen (with a preapproved set of pipes) ready to rule the airwaves.

+ LISTEN TO KATHARINE MCPHEE, "TOUCH ME"

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It's Wednesday! Time for another round of 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!

To help celebrate the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Festival -- you can live-stream it Thursday, March 15, at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT live from the SXSW Music Festival, followed by the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Sunday, March 18, at 8/7c -- I've selected a few tunes from both performers and nominees alike to help get into the Woodies spirit. Some of these tracks are new, some not so new--but all of them are most definitely worth some wood.

1.) Swedish House Mafia, "Greyhound"

EDM super trio Swedish House Mafia are one of the artists nominated for a Performing Woodie, and deservedly so: The producer/DJ superstars (individually known as Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso) were the first-ever electronic acts to book Madison Square Garden, and according to Rolling Stone, sold out the entire arena in just 9 minutes. In fact, the event was so massive that the group even broadcast a live stream during the concert for everyone who couldn't attend. As if there was any further proof needed that club music truly does reign supreme these days, this would probably do the trick.

After the release of SHM's pulverizing single "Antidote" in late 2011 with Knife Party (and the totally NSFW Kill Bill-like accompanying video) comes another serving of testosterone-laden techno: "Greyhound," a frantic, frenzied arena-size anthem full of punishing techno beats (a perfect fit for a Mortal Kombat soundtrack, no doubt!), which was just released yesterday. It's another winning dance floor smash, perfect for sending a room full of 20,000 people into an all-out frenzy.

+ LISTEN TO SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA, "GREYHOUND"

2.) Kimbra, "Good Intent"

Woodies performer Kimbra is somebody you already know. Why? Well, you've no doubt heard her delicate delivery on Gotye's (now officially worldwide) smash hit, "Somebody That I Used To Know."

But apart from being a feature on a top-selling smash, Kimbra's also a talented singer-songwriter in her own right. Back in late August, the 21-year-old quirk-pop songstress unleashed her wonderfully diverse, colorful debut, Vows (in her homeland of New Zealand), a record filled with catchy cuts like "Settle Down" and "Cameo Lover." Her latest single, "Good Intent," finds the singer getting caught up in the jazzy swing of things, weaving a sordid tale of a supposedly good man's dirty dealings in the night: "You know you shouldn't be there but your money's all spent/You've got your reputation and your good intent," Kimbra taunts above the bass plucks. With traces of the seductive, playful acid jazz sound of Bitter:Sweet and enough quirky, disco-lite delivery of Roisin Murphy, Kimbra keeps it comfortably diverse and refreshingly unique on her debut -- which should be headed stateside shortly.

+ LISTEN TO KIMBRA, "GOOD INTENT"

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It's Wednesday! Time for another round of 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!

This week, we're giving some shine to some of my favorite rising pop stars on the brink of breaking out, a wavy synth-pop vixen, and a talented industry veteran getting sexy right now.

1.) Sky Ferreira, "Lost In My Bedroom (Demo)"

You know when you're home feeling all alone on a Friday night, just writhing around in your bed listening to pop tunes while spacing out and staring at the ceiling above? No? Just me and Lana Del Rey, then? Nope! Sky Ferreira gets it, too!

"Lost In My Bedroom" is one of the album tracks off of the gorgeous indie-alt-whatever you want to call it-pop songstress' much-anticipated debut LP, Wild At Heart, due out later in 2012. Packed full of gritty, hazy synthesizers and reverb-happy vocals echoing above, "Lost" sees Sky getting carried away in her own thoughts, playing like Goldfrapp and Body Talk-era Robyn got stuck rolling around in a kaleidoscope.

Does that make any sense? No, there's no way it could. But listening to this song, all the dots will connect as soon as Sky starts drifting deep into her own world. Now, go get lost -- in your bedroom.

+ LISTEN TO SKY FERREIRA, "LOST IN MY BEDROOM (DEMO)"

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It's Wednesday! Time for another round of 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!

Hey, ladiesssss! It's an all-female, all-dance fest on this week's wrap-up! Okay. Who am I kidding? Let's be real: So is 98.9% of my music inventory. But whatever, it's a free country!

1.) Madonna, "Girl Gone Wild"

After teaming up with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. for her chant-happy lead single "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (her 38th top 10 single, which continues to cement her record for most top 10 singles ever, but who's counting?), Madonna returns this month with a second dose of her upcoming studio album, MDNA: "Girl Gone Wild."

This time around, the Queen of Pop is trading in her pair of pom-pons for an 808 drum machine and a bottle of Tanqueray, pumping out a scorching synth-pop tune alongside Italian DJ/ producer Benny Benassi (Kelis, Chris Brown). Like a cross between her 2009 single "Celebration" and her future disco masterpiece Confessions On A Dance Floor, the track takes the long reigning dance floor diva right back under the strobe lights.

Between subtle nods to her own work ("It's so erotic!"), a quick wink-wink to fellow '80s icon Cyndi Lauper ("Girls, they just want to have some fun!"), and that oh-so-signature bad girl behavior ("Good girls don't misbehave/ But I'm a bad girl, anyway") her Madgesty is clearly keeping things as cheeky, lighthearted and free-spirited as her 1983 debut album.

While Madge's new tune is admittedly not all that different from the usual dance-pop affair filling up the radio waves right now (here's looking at you, David Guetta), it's certainly as infectious. In fact, it's driving me wild! This boy's gone wild! Also, I'm now topless.

+ LISTEN TO MADONNA, "GIRL GONE WILD"

2.) Marina + The Diamonds, "Homewrecker"

Ever since Marina + The Diamonds found herself a blonde bob, she's gone all... well, EVIL! Okay, that's not entirely true: The UK songstress is sort of playing a role right now as Miss Electra Heart, the morally corrupt anti-heroine in Mizz Diamond's ongoing saga (and the title of her upcoming sophomore record due out in April, Electra Heart.)

Following the release of her incredible Stargate-produced single "Radioactive" back in September, the chanteuse decided to give away an album track for free this weekend for all her devoted little diamonds: "Homewrecker," which finds Marina dealing out dozens of truths ("The good are never easy, the easy never good/ And love, it never happens like you think it really should") before diving into a storming, Dr. Luke-like chorus: "I'm a homewrecker, homewrecker!" she theatrically declares on repeat. It's a brilliant mixture of deliciously enunciated fore-warnings and sizzling synth-pop beats -- just don't play this one anywhere near your boyfriend.

+ LISTEN TO MARINA + THE DIAMONDS, "HOMEWRECKER"

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It's Tuesday! Time for another round of 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!

It's a real mishmosh of music this week: We've got a superb club cut, two anthems for the outraged and outcast, a lighthearted dance-pop ditty and a little bit of birthday self-indulgence to boot. It's like the pick 'n' mix at the movie theater! Except with less germs. Dig in!

1.) Santigold, "Disparate Youth"

After unleashing her wild, M.I.A.-esque banger "Big Mouth" back in January, the genre-hopping Philadelphia singer-songwriter returns with "Disparate Youth," an anthem for the disillusioned in a (post?) Occupy Wall Street world. Set atop a reggae-infused hip-hop beat and crunchy, disgruntled guitar licks (perhaps a little bit of inspiration from one of the album's collaborators, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner), the song bounces between world-weariness and defiant optimism: "We now know we want more/A life worth fighting for," Santigold declares on repeat.

Not only is it a killer cut, but it's an empowering message to boot. Preach, Santi. Preach.

+ LISTEN TO SANTIGOLD, "DISPARATE YOUTH"

2.) Sato Goldschlag, "Mr. Mister (feat. Wynter Gordon)"

It's a proven scientific fact: Wynter Gordon is incapable of producing music that can be categorized as anything less than amazing. And the diva's latest dance floor dalliance, "Mr. Mister," is certainly no exception to the rule. The song was released by Sato Goldschlag (such a pretty name -- rolls off the tongue, right?), a mystery production troupe who wishes to remain anonymous, although they claimed to have worked with acts such as Beyoncé and Rihanna in the past. Hmm...

"Close the door/Don't keep me waiting," Gordon croons (laying on a bit of Celine realness in the process with those pipes -- get it, girl!) before the Sato synths come surging in for a full-on fist pumping affair, resulting in one of the best House tracks of 2012 already.

So spill the beans already, Goldschlag: Who's behind the producer's table? The Freemasons? LMFAO? Blue Ivy? My money's on the latter.

+ LISTEN TO SATO GOLDSCHLAG FEATURING WYNTER GORDON, "MR. MISTER"

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It's Tuesday! Time for another round of 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!

OMG... It's Valentine's Day, everybody! I hope your day is full of love, laughter and sugary confections -- whether you're trading teddy bears, chocolates and kisses with that special someone or you're holed up in your bedroom all night with a bottle of Merlot watching a "Real Housewives" marathon full of bitterness and resentment because this is the first time you're spending Valentine's Day alone in over six years!

What? Oh, no. Why would I be talking about me? That would be a really awkward over-share. HA! HAHA! YAYYY, Valentine's Day!

1.) Cassie, "King of Hearts"

Apart from Madonna, there's no comeback quite as highly anticipated in my book this year as Cassie. Nearly six years since the release of her chilly R&B masterpiece ("Me & U") and several months of teasing previews and snippets, the half shave-headed New London-born beauty (CT pride, y'all!) has finally returned in the most glorious of ways with "King of Hearts," the lead single from her forthcoming album.

"You are the prince of charm, seduction is your art/You'll never play my love/You're just my king of hearts," Cassie croons amidst chilly echoes, blazing hot four-to-the-floor Ibiza beats and infectious hand-claps. Serving shades of Kelis' Flesh Tone and a hint of Janet's "Rock With U," "King of Hearts" is nothing short of a sexual sonic mini-revolution of 22nd century tranced-out seduction.

Between Cassie's sexy speak-sung delivery and those pulsating beats (not to mention that video, in which the Bad Boy songstress flaunts her luscious lady lumps), "King of Hearts" is the ultimate aphrodisiac for a Valentine's Day romp for the record books. It's honestly just... I need to take a walk. Cool off, cool off!

+ LISTEN TO CASSIE, "KING OF HEARTS"

2.) Nicki Minaj, "Starships"

Take David Guetta's "Where Them Girls At," multiply it with the rallying "Whoa-oh-oh!" chant of Britney's "Till The World Ends," a touch of P!nk's "Raise Your Glass" and divide it all by a bouncy RedOne-produced beat. Carry the five, add the ten... yep: It's Nicki Minaj's bananas o'clock club banger "Starships," the new single off of her increasingly eclectic new record, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

"Starships were meant to fly/Hands up, and touch the sky!" Minaj cries out above the blaring synthesizers before the song utterly explodes into an insane beat breakdown. Between refusing to pay rent, dancing all night and championing gay rights ("F--- who you want and f--- who you'd like!"), I'm terrified and completely mind-boggled, but my body just wants to move. Hands up and touch the sky!

+ LISTEN TO NICKI MINAJ, "STARSHIPS"

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It's Tuesday! Time for another round of 5 Must-Hear Pop Songs of the Week!

This week's round-up includes artists from all different lanes on the pop highway: From newcomers just beginning to build buzz, to international crossover acts on the brink of breakout, to the almighty Queen of Pop herself.

Got your pom-poms on hand? Ready? OKAY! L-E-T-S G-O!

1.) Madonna featuring M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj, "Give Me All Your Luvin'"

Ladies and gentlemen: The Queen of Quite Literally Everything has finally returned. After over a three-year hiatus since 2008's Hard Candy, the almighty icon Madonna has returned to the musical forefront with "Give Me All Your Luvin'," the lead single from her forthcoming twelfth studio album, MDNA.

Filled with stadium-sized cheerleader chants ("L-U-V, Madonna!") and a rollicking synthesized drum line, the Martin Solveig-produced banger finds M snagging fellow industry rule-breakers Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. to deliver one of her most mindlessly gleeful tunes yet: "Give me all your luvin', give me your love today!" Madonna glibly bounces atop the song's spacey beats, like a 21st-century update to Toni Basil's swoon-filled cheerleading classic, "Mickey."

While the Material Girl has promised some introspection on her upcoming record, between the tongue-in-cheek silliness of the video and the pom-poms aloft revelry of her Super Bowl performance, it seems Madge is only interested in having some fun right now.

So get into the groove, dance and sing, and bow down in reverence: It is the Queen, after all. + LISTEN TO MADONNA, "GIVE ME ALL YOUR LUVIN" FEATURING M.I.A. AND NICKI MINAJ

2.) Simon Curtis, "Flesh (Vincent Did It Remix)"

The Robot Boy is back for another bite. Last May, rising pop sensation Simon Curtis released the sinfully delicious "Flesh," recalling all the naughty innuendo and breathy come-ons of Brit Brit's ex-sexin' "Inside Out." Now, in celebration of his newly relaunched website filled with new exclusives surrounding his sophomore studio album RA, the pop prince has enlisted Vincent Did It (formerly of Frankmusik fame) to mix and mash his sizzlin' sex affair.

The result? A wicked, wildly exciting mix full of throbbing synthesizers and hectic '80s-swizzled electronica: "Get undressed/Taste the flesh," Curtis demands above a beat that's guaranteed to have you breaking a sweat--whether you're working out at the gym, or, um... you know, doing whatever it is you want to do to this song. + LISTEN TO SIMON CURTIS, "FLESH (VINCENT DID IT REMIX)"

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