{blackbabes} Listen Up: Mika, Brandy, Placido Domingo

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Mika, The Origin of Love
Pop
* * * out of four

The British singer tones down the theatrics on his third album, a deliciously cheesy collection of diverse tunes. The rap duet and Pharrell Williams collaboration are clunkers, but Mika's pop smarts and Freddie Mercury impression keep the rest crackling. -- Edna Gundersen

Download:The Origin of Love, Underwater, Kids, Celebrate

Brandy, Two Eleven
R&B
* * *

The raspy-voiced diva collaborates with a broad spectrum of producers and songwriters to deliver her most impassioned album in years. Whether she's overjoyed with a new love or ready to be shut of an old one, her heart seems like an open book. -- Steve Jones

Download: Wildest Dreams, Scared of Beautiful, No Such Thing as Too Late

Placido Domingo, Songs
Popo pera
*

While Domingo's magnificent tenor has beautifully powered opera for 50 years, he sinks to mush and torture in awkward duets with Harry Connick Jr. (Time After Time) and Susan Boyle (From This Moment). And My Heart Will Go On? Run for the lifeboats. -- Gundersen