(Credit: Andy Ryan)

Did you see The Hills last night? Holy ship. Is there a better show? I know this is neither the time nor the place, but I'm pretty sure Spencer Pratt is the most interesting person who has ever been alive. No offense, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but homeboy went to therapy and became a different person. A sensitive person who is also a rapper. WHAT THE HELL?

Not only that, but as a barely-recovering Laguna Beach junkie, I am SO psyched for the return of Kristin Cavallari. Did you see her go straight for Justin Bobby?? What I wouldn't give to go to bed tonight and wake up in next year so all of my unanswered Hills questions would be answered already!

But enough about my "problem." Aside from Spencer's emergence from his cocoon of cruelty as a gentle butterfly, last night's big story was Lauren Conrad's departure. What was originally her spin-off, officially entered a new life of its own as she rode away from K-Cav and the Speidi extravaganza alone.

To mark the beginning of a whole new era, Hills producers brought in a whole new voice. They very wisely landed on young buck Tamar Kaprelian, whose fresh and honest single "New Day" has enough emotion in every note to knock the grass off The Hills. Look out, "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield! It's a new day.

In the great tradition of reality TV, I'm gonna let Tamar Kaprelian introduce herself. Here are a couple highlights from her hand-written bio:

I am 22. Songwriting is the most sacred thing in my life. Classic Disney films influenced me as a kid, but my true love of music came about when I discovered Billy Joel and Paul McCartney. In love I fell.

My music chronicles my life, my relationships, my basket-case-ness, and my utter determination and drive to create an album that is real and true to me both personally and artistically.

I hope you enjoy my little musical offerings and songs.

Peace & love.

What a sweetheart, eh? Plays a mean piano, too. Keep an eye out for Tamar Kaprelian and catch her first single "New Day" in The Hills' Season 5 finale, starting tonight!

+ TONS More Brilliant Hills Coverage On Remote Control Blog

+ Our girl Lauren Conrad seems to be throwing in the towel on a lot of things lately. First, she's phoning in her final season of The Hills, and now it seems that her clothing line is on permanent hiatus. Maybe she'll finally start getting the rest she needs and get rid of that perma-rasp she's got going on. (Socialite Life)

+ Speaking of The Hills, the trailer for new movie Sorority Row starring "World's Hottest Woman With One Lip" Audrina Patridge just came out and it looks pretty creepy and surprisingly cool (mostly because Carrie Fisher is in it). (The Evil Beet)

+ If it's true that Katy Perry is dating Josh Groban, then there's still hope for every single weird-looking guy who can sing.  (MTV UK)

+ We just snorted in our fried rice after seeing this picture of Joe Jonas trying to give himself crow's feet. You think his apology will need to be Miley-sized, or can we just let people live? (ICYDK)

+ Natasha Bedingfield got married over the weekend to some businessman, cuing the inevitable shift from "you-go-girl" power pop songs to sappy, LeAnn Rimes mush. Word of warning, Tashers. Stay away from Lifetime movies and Western Sizzler.  (Seriously? OMG! WTF?)

+ Whatever tannin Valentino is dipping his jowls in, we need to get our hands on it pronto. That's Italian for "free," for all you uneducated people out there. (Popbytes)

+ This side-by-side vid of some dumb Fox News anchor being made fun of in Britney Spears' If You Seek Amy video is bringing us the lolz today. Something about this lady is just not right! (Pop Crunch)

You probably know Natasha Bedingfield as the bubbly Brit behind "Unwritten." But as we've already told you, she's not always about chick empowerment and "liv[ing] your life with arms open." Turns out, when Natasha's not out encouraging Hills gals to feel the rain on their skin (or whatever), she's busy questioning the very meaning of life -- and trying to make sense of a world where most of us can only dream of happy endings.

Check out "Soulmate," the gritty new single off Natasha's (deceptively cheery-sounding) album, Pocket Full Of Sunshine, and hear the universal call of loneliness. Oh, and know this: if you can't identify with the sadsy, angst-ridden lyrics ("somebody tell me why I'm on my own / when there's a soulmate for everyone"), chances are we already hate you.

You're hot, you're cold, you're engaged? You're not engaged, you're fighting err dey, totally on the outs, completely over. Katy Perry and Travis, you were super cute together, but like Nelly Furtado lamented, all good things must come to an end. Especially when they're bad.

And really, nothing says "sorry you things ended poorly -- and loudly -- for you" like a schizophrenic handbag... like KidRobot's Love/ Hate tote ($148, available 1/25 at KidRobot.com). It's got "Love" on one side, for your "up" days, "Hate," obviously, for those pesky "You're-the-worst-boyfriend-in-the-world-you-never-listen-to-me-you-probably-never-loved-me-you-have-five-minutes-to-get-the-hell-out-oh-s-----I-think-the-cops-are-here-who-f---ing-called-the-cops-f----you-f----this-I-want-out-I-want-you-out-I-mean-it!" rough patches.  Awww!

And so, appropriately, Natasha Bedingfield's "Single" and old-school Destiny's Child, "Independent Women Part 1," a video that's older than I am. Almost.

Estonian breakthrough artist Kerli tells her coming-of-age story in a bizarro Alice in Wonderland-reminiscent funhouse of horrors, where "creepy" prevails. We can handle sexy-sinister, but we almost had to draw the line at the singing doll. But both the artist and her video, "Walking on Air," are fresh out the gate, so we'll give this dark horse a shot.

The 21-year-old singer-songwriter -- who reminds us of a cross between Cascada and Miley Cyrus' distant European cousin -- won second-place in the 2004 Euroalaul competition (you know… that Euroalaul competition), repped Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest, cites only Björk as her musical influence, and impressed L.A. Reid enough to nail an on-the-spot record deal. Perhaps she reminded him of Pink.

Arjan Writes astutely describes her as "Björk meet Evanescence meets atmospheric electro pop." We think: Avril, but sadder! Or... Natasha Bedingfield in reverse! Though with her pierced-and-tatted appearance, plus traces of Garbage, we can't get away from the image of an updated version of the girl on that iconic Godsmack album cover.

(Was that you, Jennie Garth?)

Watch Kerli's new "Walking on Air" video, and check out more videos after the jump...

Read more...

It is our official opinion that there simply isn't enough Euro-trance in our lives today. What better way to chronicle the rise and fall of a relationship than a club anthem that both clocks in at like 150bpm and lends itself perfectly to a ringtone, belted by a blonde bombshell who looks vaguely like she could be related to Natasha Bedingfield and/or Heidi Montag?

That song is "What Hurts the Most" by Cascada, which is actually not the name of aforementioned blonde (that's Natalie Horler) but the name of a British club-music threesome, because that name is too intense for just one person.

Extra credit points awarded to the smeared-mascara raccoon eyes at approximately -02:54. And if you're a country fan, you probably already know that the song sounds sorta twangy not just because Brooke Hogan totally wishes that she wrote it but because it was originally a country single; Rascal Flatts covered it in 2006 and nabbed not one but TWO Grammys for it.

Much as we <3 The Hills, there's more to Natasha Bedingfield than just "that 'feel-the-rain-on-your-lips' song" ("Unwritten," for the record). Basically, Natasha Bedingfield's like if Alanis Morissette were less of bummer and more blue-eyed-soul AND grew up in London AND hadn't done that uncomfortable video where she got naked and yodeled about India. Except more R&B (three arguments: she and her brother Daniel were in an R&B group back in the day; her collaboration with Sean Kingston on "Love Like This"; her new track, "Angel" sounds like Rihanna), more upbeat and not overly cheesy, despite the very bright title of her new album, Pocketful of Sunshine.

Anyway you can listen to every track off her new album before you rush out and buy it next week.

+ Listen to Pocketful of Sunshine on "The Leak," and then die of cuteness over the dancing stereos in her "These Words" video.

It must be fantastic to be Lauren Conrad. You get famous for basically just existing in Laguna Beach (Kristin Cavallari who?), you leave there to work for Teen Vogue in L.A., and then you become even famouser (which is totally not a real word but seems to be the best one to use). And, as last night's season finale of The Hills revealed, Lauren's now jetting off to Paris in an apparent attempt at world domination. Ambitious little minx isn't she?

While we are on the subject of last night's show, did your mascara get all runny at the end when everyone went their separate little Hills ways (except for Audrina, who continued to work on "just being mellow") to the tune of Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocket Full of Sunshine"? Read more...