No more rain and lonely nights without you

Avril Lavigne's old stylist is clearly working for German singer Elin, even if he or she has been forced to tone down the "edginess" a little bit. Heck, the video for Elin's debut single even shows her on a skateboard. I've never listened to a full Avril album, but Elin has less snarl in her voice and her guitar hooks are less in-your-face, but with that style, she really shouldn't expect to avoid the Avril comparisons. At only 13, she's also likely to draw some JoJo comparisons (and, with that age, I somehow find the "one year wiser, so much older" line sort of funny).

Better With You (Radio Edit)--the first time I heard this song I was ready to brush it off--aren't there loads of people doing this sort of thing, and probably better? A few times later, though, and I found myself really liking it...plus, it passed the miming along in your room test, so it can't be that bad. I'm still not completely convinced it's not fairly generic, but even if it is, I still think I like it. It's another song that I wouldn't be surprised to find out was a cover, but it might not be. I guess it's teen-pop, a catchy mid-tempo song that breaks no boundaries lyrically or melodically and that, despite hinting at the chorus at the beginning, takes 55 seconds to get going, but that I still find myself singing along with every time it comes on. Speaking of the lyrics, though, I'm sort of worried about Elin--look at the following lines:

"You never gave me the time of day
But I never gave up and walked away
And now you're wanting it all
You never wanted me to be with you
You always had better things to do
But I never gave up on your love"

1.) I don't think this is going to be a very healthy relationship, and 2.) I'd be worried about his intentions, Elin!

To buy Elin's debut album Girl Talk, go here (physical). As a warning, though, her official site has clips of all the songs on the album and it doesn't sound very good. You can buy her debut single "Better With You" here (physical), here (digital; you'll have to search for "Elin"), or on iTunes.

Next up: maybe an American group.