It can creep up inside you and consume you

Rihanna is ever-ascendant, and at it again, this time with the iconic stylings of David LaChapelle.

Check out Disturbia:

Rehab at the Grammy's

She may have gone to rehab, but you can't keep Amy Winehouse down. Amidst the big yawn they called tonight's Grammy Awards, my crack-habit darling gave notice that she may be no good, but she is far from out.

It was nothing short of electrifying, seeing her perform nervously and defiantly from London. Her caberet set defined the year in music. In a year of pop-star meltdowns, she stood her ground and let her voice speak for itself, remarkably.

Cheers to Mark Ronson too for getting his own props for her success.

Other highlights from the typically sluggish show:

Alicia Keys really needs to loosen up more often. I raved about her smash performance at the MTV Music awards, only to be bored to tears by her bland, carefully crafted videos. She killed it again tonight, with a little help from John Mayer.

Beyonce is quite the consummate entertainer, but even she seemed nervous next to Tina Turner, and for good reason. Retirement may have slowed Tina down, but her natural magnetism is apparently endless. It was great to see her back for another roll through the hits.

Daft Punk actually showed up to enable the continued desecration of one of their best songs.

I still love ya Rihanna, but were you really going for the Project Runway corn-husk dress look?

Otherwise, it was yet another bloated mess of a Grammy ceremony. I'm sure Herbie Hancock really jazzed up his Joni Mitchell interpretations, but, seriously, Album of the Year?

Call it a consolation ribbon, I guess, because along with all the other big awards, Amy Winehouse stole the show.

Honorable Mention Albums of 2007

Before your read this go back and check out the Everything is Pop list of the best albums of 2007. Although I would have snuck the new Underworld in somehow, I think Nelse nailed it.

Here are my honorable mention ribbons for other noteworthy music. Some of these were technically released in 2006, but they made me notice in 2007:

Best Album with a Harder Beat
Underworld "Oblivion with Bells"

This is one of the best albums of 2006. I said it here, and I will say it again: "The band has clearly mellowed a bit with age. This may not be hardcore dancefloor material anymore, but, then again, neither am I. It a solid evolution for Underworld that doesn't forget where it came from."

Best Techno-Pop Album
Teddybears "Soft Machine"

The first half of the year if I wanted something to make me smile, I turned on this album from the furry DJs from Scandinavia. Who else could have made such a perfect subversive song with punk icon Iggy Pop?

Best Chill Albums
Air "Pocket Symphony" and Charlotte Gainsbourg "5:55"

You are either into the chillout vibe of French DJ duo Air or it can go right over your head. Clearly I love it. So it is no surprise that in addition to Pocket Symphony I also loved Charlotte Gainsbourg's ethereal album since it is basically an Air collaboration. This is perfect music to envelope you quietly at the end of a long day.

Best Remixes to Rock a Stadium
Madonna "The Confessions Tour"

Stuart Price and Madonna are clearly a potent combination.This concert album makes me almost regret not justifying ridiculous ticket and travel costs to see this tour live. You might have heard it all before, but not quite with this much energy and attitude!

Best Band to Rock the Dancefloor
Young Love "Too Young to Fight it"

The dance tunes on this album rock, and surprisingly so do the ballads. Young Love found that perfect balance this year between getting your toes tapping and giving you time to breathe with great solid songs. "Discotech" still sounds fresh to me more than a year later. Bands bold enough to embrace the dancefloor with a more rocking beat are a refreshing change of pace.

Best Reason to Hope a Solo Artist Returns to Their Roots
Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

This is what we call a backhand award. For the most part I absolutely hated this album. But when Gwen stops trying to be so cutting-edge gimmick-chic you can see why she's a solo superstar. Dig past the grating Sound of Music train wreck and you'll find a few really tight songs in there. Is it any surprise they are the ones that have her No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal's fingerprints all over them? While No Doubt may be a side project for her now, it sounds like their long-awaited new album may finally drop in 2008. I, for one, can't wait!

Best Breakout Opportunity
Rihanna "Good Girl Gone Bad"

Between the breakout hit of the year and a poised grown-up image, Rihanna stepped out from Caribbean dancehall princess to emerging pop queen. With her ubiquitous umbrella, she tore through the charts. Even a cheesy follow-up video could not hide an album full of assured pop surprises.

Best Album That Never Really Caught Fire
Hillary Duff "Dignity"

Who would have thought Hillary Duff had such a strong electronica album in her? The songs were catchy, the beats were strong and the hooks stay in your head. What more can you ask for? Other than some club play and a minor hit, it sort of disappeared with a whimper. This album deserves much, much better.

Best Band to Watch Grow
Fall Out Boy "Infinity on High"

I never really got Fall Out Boy the first time around. "Dance, Dance" showed great promise, but the rest of their debut album was overhyped and disjointed. Fast forward to "Infinity on High." Patrick Stump finally stepped up and took surprising control of the microphone providing a much needed balance to the Pete Wentz show. While that may dismay some early fans who cry sellout, the end result may be a band that gets stronger and stronger by the day. Only time will tell how far they will go, but in the meantime just enjoy one of the strongest pop rock albums this year.

Best Example of Overrated Artistic Liberty
Kelly Clarkson "My December

I really wanted to like this album, and I thought "Never Again" was a decent song. Looking back now, I casually noticed that despite having the CD in my car for a while, it never actually made it onto my iPod. In the end, I respect her stab at bitterness, but still think she was much more interesting belting out her "Breakaway" hits.

Best Example of Artistic Bloat
Darren Hayes "This Delicate Thing We've Made"

If you were to drop a diamond into the ocean and then go looking for it, would you ever be able to find it again? Thats what this bloated double-cd ended up feeling like. The lead single, "On the Verge of Something Wonderful," was simply one of the best songs that came out this year. Unfortunately by the umpteenth song that repeated on my iPod, they all started sounding alike. Two cds may have sounded like a great idea down under, but someone really needs to edit Darren Hayes down.

Best Wasted Opportunity
Britney Spears "Blackout"

One of the best albums of the year, bar none -- not that she seems to care. Her attitude is infectuous. If you will not even try to pretend to promote your own work, why should I even care? I am now tired of this so-called comeback. I bet some of her producers wish they had saved their best hooks for someone else.

Best Musica en Español

There is a rumor that Everything is Pop will soon be focusing a bit on Latin American music, so I will spare you too much detail right now, but any list I came up with has acknowledge some very strong Spanish language albums this year. In alphabetical order, here are five of the best:

Belanova "Fantasia Pop."
Juanes "La Vida es un Ratico"
Miranda! "El Disco De Tu Corazón."
Motel "Motel"
Julieta Venegas "Limón Y Sal"

"I wanna challenge MTV right now to play more videos!"

The bottom line from tonight's Video Music Awards: I'm clearly too old for MTV, but I'm never too old for great music.

Luckily, amidst the endless brain-sucking reality show promos and the too-hip-to-be-cool revamped format, MTV surprised by rocking Las Vegas (with a small teensy exception).

The real news: Rihanna is now a superstar.

Tonight she graduated from the ranks of the wannabes and proved she's got the goods. Just one step in front of the cameras with a microphone and she was electric. The entire place was wrapped around her finger. Then for dessert she showed off a more playful side, jamming at ease with Fall Out Boy of all people. The woman has pipes and is in control. I love it!

Speaking of the emo wonders, the Fall Out Boy suite looked like the best party of the night by far. I'm perpetually amazed how Pete Wentz and company have won me over to their side. Their early fame pretty much brushed right by me, leaving me to really discover them with the new album, which is generally fantastic. I may be a few decades old for this party, but I'm officially a fan now. Let's just hope they keep it together for the long haul. Props to Gym Class Heroes too for breaking through, I've had some neat stuff of theirs on my iPod for a while now.

The best part tonight was that when people showed up with a real microphone, they really brought it. Nelly Furtado belted it out when she needed to, proving once again that she's earned her way back to the top. Alicia Keys was mesmerizingly playful channelling a George Michael classic and making it all her own. Linkin Park seriously rocked the nightclub. Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters tore through their amazing new single. Even Kanye West gave me a reason to tap my foot, almost making me forget he was destroying Daft Punk.

The night also gave some well-deserved props to a pair of puppet-masters behind much of the music that MTV is quietly still playing in the late hours of the night. Timbaland ruled the night running from his suite party, to the club he controlled with Linkin Park to his rousing closing medley with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. Mark Ronson continued to wow me as the evening's fearless house band leader. He had the goods backing up Alicia Keys, letting Maroon 5's Adam Levine shine and sneaking in all sorts of great stuff from the past year in music. Both Timbaland and Ronson brought their distinct visions for pop music to the table tonight.

There were two performers who notably went the lip sync route tonight.

One of them more than made up for it and literally soared. Chris Brown earned his Michael Jackson moves leap by leap, from table to table. It was pure tour-de-force show-stopping entertainment.

The other, Britney Spears, turned it into a trainwreck of a comeback. As someone I hold near and dear put it best:

"She might as well have come out with a cigarette and beer in her hand," said a wise man I know.

For the most part, though, MTV shook things up a bit and brought the music back, if only for a night. Choreographed spectacle gave way in Vegas tonight. allowing great perfomances to soar on thier own.

It's a shame the commercial breaks made it clear that this was only a one night stand, despite Justin Timberlake's earlier challenge otherwise.