(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.)
*Cassidy, C.A.S.H. The once gold-certified rapper returns with a new studio album. Stream the C.A.S.H. in full here.
*Crushed Stars, Convalescing In Braille PegasusNews reviewed Braille, saying, "Todd Gautreau, who's based in Frisco, is the mastermind behind this quiet yet powerful band that has created ripples all over the country. His newest work, Convalescing in Braille (heavy, right?), steps up to the plate with its head held high, ready to prove itself."
*Lee DeWyze, Live It Up Lee Dewyze, winner of the ninth season of American Idol, releases his new album today. Listen to "Sweet Serendipity," the first single from Live It Up, via DeWyze's Myspace page. Entertainment Weekly's reviewer was unimpressed, giving the album a "C" and noting, "Only one song here, 'Me and My Jealousy,' truly showcases the coolly disaffected potential rock star who won what's widely regarded as the weakest-ever season of American Idol." Interesting note: according to Live It Up's Wikipedia page, Dewyze and Kelly Clarkson are the only two Idol winners to have writing credit for their first singles.
*Norah Jones, ...Featuring Norah Jones Soultracks.com reviewed ...Featuring, saying "While Jones has been considered a light jazz artist (a la Diana Krall) by many, she has spent her career unfaithful to that label, moving from jazz to folk to alternative rock and especially to country -- and unusual hybrids of those styles. And ...Featuring has them all, sometimes sequenced in relatively cohesive bunches, but on the whole with wild swings that make it difficult to comprehend this is one artist and one album." This point is illustrated on the album cover, where the eclectic list of contributing artists is scrawled above Jones' head - Foo Fighters, Willie Nelson, Outkast, Herbie Hancock, Q-Tip, Ryan Adams, Belle & Sebastian, to name a few.
*Kid Rock, Born Free Listen to the single "Born Free" at Kidrock.com.
*Nelly, 5.0 Nelly's had a busy year - hosting a radio show, playing a secret show at Blueberry Hill following the dedication of his star on the Walk of Fame, performing at the Mobo awards (see video below) and being caught in the middle of the Branson controversy. Add "releasing a new album" to that list. The new record, titled 5.0, features a lot of big names - Plies, DJ Khaled, Kelly Rowland, Yo Gotti, Chris Brown, T.I., T-Pain, Akon, to name a few. Stream the album at Nelly.net.
*Nelly performing "Just A Dream" from 5.0 at the 2010 Mobo Awards.
