Billboard single reviews: Danity Kane, Jakob Dylan

ARTIST: DANITY KANE

SINGLE: DAMAGED

NEW YORK (Billboard) - With its release last month of second album "Welcome to the Dollhouse," reality TV girl group Danity Kane -- the mother lode of Sean "Diddy" Combs' "Making the Band" -- became the first female group in Billboard history to debut at No. 1 with its debut and sophomore sets. That certainly sets things up nicely for first single "Damaged," hand-picked by fans on the group's MySpace page. The sexy, breathy opening line is enough to grab attention: "Do-do you got a first aid kit handy?" From there, a notable shift from its previous hip-hop signature to dance/pop showcases strong vocals bouncing along a finely produced pop gem that sparkles and blips over blended harmonies.

ARTIST: JAKOB DYLAN

SINGLE: SOMETHING GOOD THIS WAY COMES (COLUMBIA)

With the Wallflowers on hiatus, Jakob Dylan has been flying solo for a while, and something clicked when he opened as an acoustic artist for T-Bone Burnett in 2006. The first single from his Rick Rubin-produced solo debut, "Seeing Things" (June 10), recalls the minimalist storytelling of country blues masters like Robert Johnson, while offering a modern, latte-friendly sound. Over a spare, finger-picked acoustic guitar, Dylan dreams of picture-perfect Americana ("Got sweet apple pie on the stove/The birds are all flying low"), with a relaxed, Springsteen-esque vocal.

ARTIST: SARAH BRIGHTMAN AND PAUL STANLEY

SINGLE: I WILL BE WITH YOU (MANHATTAN)

Sarah Brightman has never been much of a radio presence in the United States, but the recent No. 13 debut on the Billboard 200 album chart of "Symphony" shows she has quite a captive following. "I Will Be With You," a duet with Kiss vocalist Paul Stanley, is pure bombast, but its journey to the peak is seductively melodic with a decided edge, meshing pounding percussion and a cascade of heavenly strings. Brightman's skyscraping soprano vocals are a given, but the addition of the surprisingly earnest Stanley is pure guilty pleasure.