7th Heaven

Tropea (1975). By the time guitarist John Tropea had recorded his solo debut on the tiny Marlin imprint in 1975, he had been a session guitarist for nearly a decade. His understated, decidedly non-show-off playing graced records by everyone from Laura Nyro to Deodato (including Prelude and Deodato 2), from Ashford & Simpson to Bo Diddley, from Billy Cobham to Peter Allen, from Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway to Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Luiz Bonfá, and Ray Bryant. After this he played with everyone from Alice Cooper to Lalo Schifrin and Kurtis Blow and way, way beyond. Tropea's cast of studio players is a who's who of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. The core band on this funky, squeaky clean, keyboard, horn, and guitar driven set are bassist Will Lee, keyboardist Don Grolnick, percussionist Rubens Bassini, and drummers Steve Gadd and Rick Marotta - one in each channel…

You’d be forgiven if you thought Selena Gomez & the Scene’s third album in three years, 2011's When the Sun Goes Down, might show signs of a dip in quality control due to cranking out albums so quickly. You’d be wrong, though, because When the Sun Goes Down is actually an improvement over 2010's Year Without Rain. Where that record tried to position Gomez as a more serious and adult artist with varying levels of success, here she’s back to mostly being a young and breezy, happy-go-lucky pop singer. With a couple exceptions, the songs are sassier, lighter, and more fun. Her vocals are more spirited, the arrangements less reliant on heavy synths, and overall, there’s a more playful feeling to the record that’s more in keeping with her first album.

Ariana Grande is an American singer and actress. She began her career in the Broadway musical 13, before landing the role of Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009. After four seasons, the show ended, and Grande starred on the spinoff, Sam & Cat, which ended in 2014. She has also appeared in other theatre, television and film roles and lent her voice to animated television and films. Grande's music career began with the soundtrack Music from Victorious (2011). She signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her debut studio album, Yours Truly in 2013, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "The Way", reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100, with critics comparing her wide vocal range to Mariah Carey.

The debut album from Ariana Grande, 2013's Yours Truly, is a surprisingly sophisticated and unique showcase for the Nickelodeon sitcom star's soulful R&B vocals. As the character Cat Valentine on several Nickelodeon television shows including I Carly, Victorious, and Sam & Cat, Grande developed a huge fan following and the expectations were high for her debut album. Three years in the making and held up by numerous delays, Yours Truly lives up to those expectations. Produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Yours Truly is an impeccably engineered affair. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a better platform for Grande's voice. A resonant singer gifted with a lithe affinity for both high-energy melisma and gentle balladry, Grande often brings to mind the intonations of Mariah Carey.

Britney Jean is Britney Spears' eighth studio album and was released in late fall 2013. The album has been described by Spears as the most personal record from her catalog yet, and features collaborations with numerous producers including Sia Furler, will.i.am, William Orbit, and Naughty Boy. Spears co-wrote each track on the album, which is a concept album about the loneliness of pop life. Two singles have been released thus far, "Work Bitch" and "Perfume".