American R&B has long had a Europhile streak, boosting beats from clubs in London, Stockholm and elsewhere. Now the U.S. charts are making room for actual Europeans: U.K. singer-producer Taio Cruz's single "Break Your Heart" crashed in at Number One. Cruz's formula is throbbing sentiment plus throbbing rhythms — plaintive melodies delivered over synth-strafed beats. It works when the hooks are big and boisterous enough (e.g., the sleazy Ke$ha collabo "Dirty Picture"). But Cruz's singing lacks personality, and Rokstarr is ultimately a collection of decent, but generic, Eurodisco tracks without a star — "rok" or otherwise — to hold a listener's interest.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.