Described by Kelly as her “favorite song she’s ever recorded,” “People Like Us” has all the power and rallying conviction of “Since U Been Gone” but instead calls out to the “damned, the lost and forgotten” and demands that they hold it together and stick together. An anthem for anyone who’s ever felt run over, left behind, misunderstood and, most of all, stubborn enough to never stop fighting, “People Like Us” needs to be the theme for every Gay Pride of 2013. Kelly’s been our hero forever, but with this one she’s solidified herself as an icon. Supported by an incredible remix package, expect to hear this one all over very shortly.

Disney’s got a reputation for shaping children in their impossibly business-minded image, only to have them explode later in life into something that would make Vanessa Del Rio guffaw; but Demi Lovato really has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. From her Barney & Friends beginnings to her very public airing of battles with eating disorders, substances and cutting, Demi has emerged a seasoned individual at the age of 20, and her musical expressions reflect that. “Heart Attack” discusses the conflict of a player finally being faced with a love stronger than her defenses and the condition it would leave her in if left in the midst of it. The remix package includes an amazing variety and truly has something for every sound with interpretations by Alias, Manhattan Clique, Belanger, DeeJay Theory and the incredible White Sea.

Probably the oddest pairing of talent in a long while, but like so many things that originally register as weird, the product is startlingly gorgeous. The Stafford Brothers, a house music production duo from Australia, enlist the all too forgotten Christina Milian and a sizzurp-soaked Lil Wayne to create an unexpectedly emotional dance track about the love you wish you’d never acknowledged and just let pass by. While Christina’s vocal prowess is about on the level of Britney, her delivery on this one can elicit tears, without which this track would be a lot more forgettable. The remixes vary and are mostly too aggressive for the delicate content, but Myon & Shane 54’s Monsters Mix really does it justice.

If any rising dance music star is proving young that she’s got all the goods, it’s Alexis Jordan. After three incredible singles and an impressive full-length album, Alexis showers us with “Acid Rain,” boasting production by Stargate and an addictive rubbery bassline sample from Bingo Players’ “Get Up (Rattle)” and a message of undeniable hope about someone coming to her rescue during the hardest time in her life. Originally released featuring rap verses by J. Cole, the final release excludes him (he really muddied the tone of the track) and features remixes by Ferry Corsten, KoKo and Steven Redant. This is the first single from Alexis’ forthcoming sophomore album ,and all we can say is bring the rain, baby.

There’s nothing more delicious than a mixing of disparate elements and having an unexpected hybrid emerge whose beauty you never saw coming. British singer/songwriter Jessie Ware, after a string of promotional singles that didn’t chart nearly as well as they should have, released her debut album Devotion in August overseas and it shot straight up the charts. A blend of R&B, downtempo electronica, hip-hop and soul, Jessie’s unique sound has been described as “the missing link between Adele, SBTRKT and Sade.” The album has earned her 2013 BRIT Award nominations for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough. This EP finally introduces her to the U.S. market — four gorgeous cuts from the full album along with a remix of the title track (actually a re-titling of the album track “110%” due to sample clearance). If Aaliyah and Alicia Keys made love to a synthesizer and had a Jewish baby, it’d be Jessie Ware. For the backdrop to some good lovin’, go straight for “Sweet Talk” and “Devotion.”

Not since Funky Green Dogs’ “Rise Up” has there been such an unscary Christian reference in secular dance music. On this sixth and final single before their indefinite hiatus, Swedish House Mafia leaves the sweetest aftertaste imaginable. Combining classic piano House with a soaring male vocal sells the optimistic message packaged in a gorgeously uplifting anthem that works as both a peak-hour club track and a mainstream radio single. Though it’s better to bow out with a hit than a dud, it’s still bittersweet knowing that it’s the last we’ll be hearing from this talented duo for a while. The remix package by Tom Staar & Kryder, Promise Land and Joris Voorn takes the track into tech, electro and garage.

There’s something so fundamentally right about the union of Tori and Peter — and so wrong that it took this long to happen. A remix of a remake of an original, Rauhofer’s take on this song is in fact the third iteration of a re-thinking. “Flavor” began as a downtempo song about celebrating the diversity in the world on Tori’s 2009 album Abnormally Attracted to Sin. It was then included on her 2012 album Gold Dust, which featured orchestral remakes of selections from Tori’s catalog, inspired by her 2011 album Night of Hunters in collaboration with the Metropole Orchestra. And now, it gets the dark 4 a.m. treatment. Featuring Peter’s trademark sexy, dramatic afterhours vibe, the mixes actually succeed in continuing the stripped-down intention of the remake but translated for the dancefloor. There are four versions on this remix package: Radio Edit, Big Room Mix, Club Mix and Old Skool Dub.

I’m afraid that this troubled singer’s latest effort to re-establish her chart supremacy gets the “Worst” award this go-round. I just know the Gay Mafia will be GPS’ing me on Grindr to suffocate me in a cloud of pink glitter. Bring it on! I fail to see anything redeeming here. At its core, “Scream & Shout” is a marketing tool, an exercise in product placement and name recognition in lieu of substance. There are so many elements relying on the strength of each other that by the end the entire catastrophe just topples, like a house of cards. For starters, it’s pretty obvious that will.i.am is using Britney’s name only as a selling point. Britney gives a phoned-in performance, speaking in a mock British accent and relying on previous chart successes to persuade you that this one is cool. She barely sings backup vocals to will.i.am’s chorus, which itself is so digitized the source vocal could have been done by anyone — or anything. Then there’s the video, relying on T-Mobile commercial-style effects, with will.i.am shamelessly plugging his iam+ photo.social iPhone accessory and Beats by Dre portable speaker system. Thank God we’ve still got Britney dancing … Well, no, she’s not dancing. She’s just posing in blown-out lighting with a big-hair style that evokes country singers like Bobbie Gentry and Dottie West, and nanosecond snippets of a ragtag crew of backup dancers. If there’s anything to scream or shout about, it’s that will.i.am has proven that he’s more interested in marketing than music; that, and, with Britney’s golden years having come and gone, all we’ve got to look forward to is the inevitable oldies infomercial and more tabloid headlines.

Kerli Kõiv, the Estonian singer-songwriter who gave us the musical style “bubble goth,” finally releases this first official single off the forthcoming second studio album Utopia. Not to knock it, but what exactly is goth about a title like that? Following two hit, yet apparently “promotional,” singles — “Army of Love” in 2011 and “Zero Gravity” in 2012 — “The Lucky Ones” will be setting the tone for what to expect from the blonde, glittery pixie in the future. Produced by SeventyEight and sounding much like most of the radio dance pop out there, “The Lucky Ones” has all the makings of an international hit. And if the remix package is any indication, Island Records believes that, too, with official mixes that include big-room treatments by Rich Morel, Morgan Page, Hector Fonseca and Oliver Twizt.

One of the clear standout tracks on Morales’ recent album, Changes, featuring Russian up-and-comer Polina, “Stay” is one of those intimate House tracks that I never thought would be given the single release treatment. The lyrics underscore that incredibly private feeling of wanting to be with someone, but wanting him to be the one who demands it: “I wanna stay the night/Although my mind tells me no/Just make me stay the night/And drown deep inside your world.” The single features seven mixes, including an “Album Mix” different from what appears on the actual album, and the triumphant return of progressive House legend Rui Da Silva.