A new love for Usher and Coldplay...

I will be the first to admit that Usher and Coldplay are not two music artists that I've been a huge fan of over the years. Okay, I know more Usher songs than Coldplay songs, but still, neither have really taken residence on my iPod or Spotify playlists. Until now.

I still wouldn't say that I'm a fan of their music, but I guess you could say I 'appreciate' their music more; I think Usher has a profound effect on females, for obvious reasons, and I think the reason I'm not really a huge Coldplay fan is because they're a band - I very, very rarely enjoy music by bands, especially alternative bands like Coldplay. But this week, both of their recent musical offerings are perhaps two of my favourite songs.

Usher's new track, "Scream", is such a club track. I can imagine it coming on in a crowded club and just dancing like crazy to it, as you do. But I do have extreme love for this song at the minute. I saw him performing online at the Capital FM Summertime Ball last weekend and he was, surprisingly, really good. His energy was great and his vocals and live performance weren't too shabby, either. I remember some of Usher's earlier tracks, such as Caught Up, Burn and, one of my favourites, Yeah! So he definitely has achieved longevity. And, it would appear that, he hasn't lost his effect on the ladies, as is demonstrated by him taking his shirt off at the Summertime Ball to reveal his famous six pack. The screams say it all. But yeah, I love "Scream".

Coldplay are one band that I seriously never, EVER thought that I would find myself embracing and actually enjoying one of their songs. To me, personally, I feel that the majority of their songs all sound and seem the same. I guess I would say they're a tad repetitive, but that's just my opinion and I know that there are probably a million or more people out there who would oppose my opinion. But I have to say I really like "Princess of China" featuring none other than Miss Robyn Rihanna Fenty AKA Barbadian Goddess, Rihanna.

I have to say that Rihanna collaborating with Coldplay is such a weird collaboration; they're from completely different genres of music, but it works so well on "Princess of China". Maybe I'm completely warped and only like the song because of Rihanna featuring but, whatever the reason is behind my liking, I don't care. I love the sound of the track, it sounds quite oriental which is a nice nod to the title of the track. I also love the music video. Rihanna looks HOT! Which is no surpise, really. And the chemistry between her and Chris Martin is extremely convincing. So yeah, perhaps I'm converting into a Coldplay fan. Only time will tell, but I sincerely doubt it.

Check out the "Princess of China" video below. Super creative and brilliantly filmed and constructed.