The "I'm Sick As Hell" Music Roundup: Britney, Avril, Ke$ha, Willow, Lil Kim & Rihanna

I've been sick as a dog since I returned from a trip back to Pennsylvania this past weekend, so sorry for things been quiet around here this week so far. Nevertheless, this morning I dragged myself to the computer to bang out a few thoughts on what's been going down on Planet Pop over the past three days. Read' 'em below.

21st Century Flop



I like the part where Cicely Tyson screams at the beginning of Willow Smith's "21st Century Girl" video—you know, like the Roc Nation bean counters are doing when comparing the budget of the clip to the fact that the song is only #165 on iTunes.

Baby Shut Your Mouth



I've been maintaining that "Inside Out" is the best one of the half dozen Britney Spears Femme Fatale song snippets to pop up in recent weeks, and this lengthier clip that leaked yesterday just goes to prove it.

Blow My Speakers Up



Avril Lavigne covering Ke$ha for Radio 1 Live Lounge is good stuff. Quote from Avril's Billboard interview about her new album, which is out now: "I found myself in a situation on my fourth record with a bunch of people at the label who I didn't know, and they're coming in on my project and saying, 'Here's what we think you need to do for your record,' and giving me their vision. And radio's so rhythmic/dance-driven right now, and that's not where I was going with this record. So I had to fight and say no, but… I ultimately made the record I wanted to."

Notorious K.I.M.

I love a good train wreck, so I ordered Lil Kim's Black Friday mixtape (via PayPal—class!) a few weeks back. And while she appears to have sliced off Nicki Minaj's head on the cover of the 20-track affair, it's her butchering of Rihanna's Loud track "Man Down" that assures me that this was a sound investment.