Trawling the archives of the UK pop charts for tenuous links, patterns and globally important trends. We're gonna get ourselves connected, as they say. (NB: they don't)
We always like hearing about new music here at The Pop Web and we've been fortunate enough recently to have been given access to a plethora of new bands and acts to tickle our fancy in recent weeks. Sadly, as perhaps befits our... ahem... frenetic updating record it's taken us a little while to get round to putting some words down on the page. However, you'll be thrilled to know that we are now in a position to tell you all about Van Go Lion.
First thing's first, that's a very definite tick in the bonkers name column.
Crucially, however, VGL are also known as Amy Paige and Josh Loerzel from Portland Oregon. The now ubiquitous Pop Web wikipedia check reveals that they therefore hail from the same locale as the Dandy Warhols and The Kingsmiths, famous for writing Louie, Louie. So it's encouraging to know we're already off to a good start.
The main things you need to know about Van Go Lion are:
1) Amy has an amazing voice which is in fact one of the most prodigiously perfect pop voices we've heard.
2) Amy has an amazing voice.
3) Josh enjoys wearing sunglasses indoors and has a particular knack for creating very atmospheric electro- pop.
4) Did we mention Amy has an amazing voice?
Let's illustrate all this with an example. The Ache is a track off their eponymous EP (out now, readers, etc.).
On the one hand, what you've got here is a brilliant vocal, and a cleverly understated backing track with enough bells and whistles to keep you hooked. The lyrics oscillate between the sublime (e.g. "I know that I will change, stay a perfect portrait lost in stages of the strange") to the faintly bizarre (e.g. "a pocketful of candy" with a suitably crescendo-ing emphasis on "candy"). It's by no means a perfect pop song, but it's a good measure of the potential that Josh and Amy have.
That potential is more fully explored in the bloody brilliant Glow
Amy's voice is allowed to absolutely shine here on a heartbreaking sad-disco which presses all of our buttons perfectly. It's a perfect showcase for what Van Go Lion bring to the table, in our opinion, which is well-crafted electro-pop with an emotional resonance which doesn't often spring to mind when you're confronted with anyone from the genre not called Robyn.
It's very clear that there's still a long way to go from Van Go Lion - some of the other tracks we've heard have demonstrated a bit of a worrying tendency to go a bit mad with the mixing desk, which in our opinion can detract, rather than complement the effectiveness of the vocal and the songwriting. But, despite that, we definitely feel that there's a band here with a lot of upside who, with more experience and exposure, may well develop into a real act to watch in the future. We certainly wish them well, and sincerely hope they get over to the UK sooner, rather than later so we can see how their live act measures up to the recording.
As we mentioned, their EP is out on iTunes at the moment (you can also visit their site www.vangolion.com to have a listen).
Well, another year, another X Factor is finally upon us, and after tonight's dramatic Judges' Houses stage of the competition, the final line-up for this series is now confirmed. Naturally, we're sure you're all clamouring to hear what we think of the final 12, so here we go.
THE BOYS (Mentor: Dannii Minogue)
We'll let you all in on a little secret. Dannii Minogue is actually our favourite X Factor judge, purely for her ability to counteract Cheryl's inevitable ridiculousness with some common sense (last year's unfortunate "outing" incident was very much the exception which proved the rule for us). We therefore had high hopes when we found that Ms. Minogue was in charge of the promising, but fairly homogonous boys' group. We were hoping that she would extract from the sam-iness of the group a diverse line-up which gave her three different acts to work with.
Oh how we were disappointed. Aiden Grimshaw was her first pick and, despite interesting vocals, seems to develop a clear case of narcolepsy whenever he sings. Sure he'll pick up the teenage girl vote and "mums will love him" but he was a prime case of someone who could have done a lot better by coming back in a few years once he'd acquired some more experience. How he was picked over the sublime Paije Richardson remains a mystery. Paige's performance was absolutely brilliant, and, for us, was the first time that we really got what he was all about. I hope he comes back next year and gets that spot on the live shows.
Next up was a little bit brighter, as the diva-esque Nicolo Festa brought the unbridled arrogance on his version of Paloma Faith's brilliant New York. Whilst Nicola's confidence is undoubtedly going to turn him into this year's Rhydian, there's just something very appealing about his unashamed self-belief and I think he's going to create some fantastic TV on the live shows.
Finally, Matt Cardle deservedly earned his place in the final, although at times his rendition of If I Were A Boy bordered on the downright bizarre. Nonetheless, he's got a brilliant vocal talent, and crucially, the glimpse we got at the end indicated that Dannii and the team have unleashed the stylists on him so that he's now miraculously hot rather than someone who might be selling weed on street corners.
On paper, it's a very strong line-up, but the three are a bit too similar for our liking. Paije in particular could have really helped broaden this group's appeal and, whilst the three of them all bring enough to the table to be strong competitors in the competition, I have a horrible feeling that Dannii's playing it safe could really come back to bite her.
Overall choice: 6/10
One to watch: Matt Cardle and/or Nicolo Festa
THE OVER 28s (Mentor: Louis Walsh)
Let's be honest, Louis drew the shortest straw imaginable here. First of all, he could have saved that by putting through the amazing Wagner (seriously, we absolutely loved him. His almost complete lack of a viable singing voice was very much by-the-boy once his neckwear was brought into the equation). Personally, we're really not fussed about Mary "have I mentiond I work in Tesco" Byrne, particularly since we can't really see how working in Tesco is in anyway a suitable sob story, and I thought her rendition of Fix You was awful enough even without her forgetting the words. On a plus point, I loved that they've decided to turn her into a Dawn French lookalike. Amazing.
Similarly Storm "His name's not Storm" Lee is about as dull as ditchwater and has only been put through to piss off Simon. Which is fine, but for our money he really doesn't have "it" and I expect him to be booted off fairly early on.
There is a glimmer of hope for Louis, however, in the form of John Adeleye. We picked him out early on as a possible contender after his beautiful rendition of Ain't No Sunshine in the auditions. He's the only one who brings the attractiveness to this category and his song choice of Billionaire was absolutely inspired. A stunning voice and I think if he survives past the first few weeks he could be a real contender.
Mary is probably the one who is going to get the furthest in this competition, but until she starts bringing something impressive to the table which we just haven't seen yet. We really have our fingers crossed for John in the meantime, though.
Overall choice: 5/10 (mainly for Wagner's absence)
One to watch: John Adeleye
THE GROUPS (Mentor: Simon Cowell)
We take back what we said about Louis. Simon's got the biggest challenge on his hands this series with the uninspiring groups. We were surprised Husstle didn't make it through as they seemed genuinely able to bring something a bit different to the table. So in the end we're stuck with F.Y. "don't call us JLS" D. who in the early stages of their audition brought some shocking vocals to the table but managed to find some harmony somewhere along the way and made an attempt at movement. Joining them are the two manufactured groups Belle Amie (who summoned up an interesting take of George Michael's Faith even if the vocals felt very weak at times) and One Direction (who we really can't summon up any interest for whatsoever, even if the two leads have pleasant enough voices). Putting the two groups thrown together at bootcamp doesn't give an awful lot of optimism for any self-made groups who come along to audition next year, really, does it?
Overall choice: 3/10
Ones to watch: Belle Amie
THE GIRLS (Mentor: Cheryl Cole)
CONTROVERSY ALERT! We'll get right down to it: the omission of Gamu in Cheryl's final line-up was absolutely perplexing given how much of a dead cert she seemed in the auditions. And, after a brilliant performance at Cheryl's house, she must have thought she was secure of that live final place. Especially when Katie and Cher, who sis get through, couldn't even complete their songs. Nonetheless, Katie and Cher have been the talking points of this competition from the very start: Cher is frankly a licence for Simon Cowell to print money and Katie is just the right mix of talented/batshit crazy to go far. On that basis, we're not disappointed that they've gone through but for both of them to get the nod after so vividly fucking it up is a downright shame.
Cheryl's first choice, however, was on much safer ground with Rebecca Ferguson who delivered a sublime version of Fireflies which Cheryl herself could learn a lot from. I'm not particularly sold on Rebecca's voice but I couldn't fault that performance. What we would say, though, is that it wouldn't have hurt her at all to be told to come back in a couple of years time after she's conquered her nerves. Yes, Katie and Cher have royally screwed up on the nerves front but, when they bring the confidence, they tend to hit the button. Rebecca delivers good performances but looks constantly terrified and that vulnerability will either make people fall in love with her or send them to sleep.
Cheryl's category is filled with controversy, and I think that Katie and Cher now face a real uphill battle where they didn't earlier to regain some of their credibility. I really hope they manage it because we have very high hopes for both of them to go all the way to the final.
Overall choice: 4/10
One to watch: Katie Waissel
So, a very controversial year, really, with none of the judges, for our money, getting things completely right (with Cheryl and Dannii in particular really dropping themselves in it). But, what's done is done, and let's set aside rumours of wildcard categories for now. If these twelve remain the only contestants in the live shows, which one of them do we think is going to win? Our heart holds out high hopes for Katie Waissel, Cher Lloyd and John Adeleye in particular. That said, I have a feeling this will be a "dark horse" year... To that end, The Pop Web's pick for the X Factor 2010 is...
Sometimes, in the great interconnected world of pop, you hit a roadblock. Sometimes, two artists seem so far apart that you just think you're never going to get there. Sometimes, you think that the web is broken, or, at the very least, that there are some roadworks and the diversions lead you through a single track road to the point where you just can't face pulling over to let another tractor past so you give up and go home. Sometimes, you just get far too carried away with your mixed metaphor.
This is not one of those times.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to announce that we have discovered a link between golden-haired, toothy "family-band" legends Hanson...
And the gothy, metal-plated toothed, walking freakshow Marilyn Manson...
"But how?" we hear you cry! We won't lie, readers, it was looking like it was going to be a long and tortuous journey. At least, it was until we saw on the horizon, the bright lights of...
Yes, the grand city of Tulsa, Oklahoma helped to make this one an unexpected doddle. The city (famous of course for its booming oil industry, its concentration of art deco architecture and the "prayer tower" of Oral Roberts University) is the place which the Hanson brothers call home (well, at least in their early years. For all we know, they might live in California or live quite happily in their condos in Boca. We just don't know/we're too lazy to find out).
Tulsa's legendary status on the world stage was cemented way prior to Hanson roller-blading their way onto the pop scene in 1997, however. In 1963, Gene Pitney immortalised the city in his paean Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa which reached number 5 in the UK pop charts. Give it a listen, if for no other reason than the frankly ludicrous orchestration which kicks off in the background which at the start suggests Gene managed to confuse Tulsa with Hawaii.
Gene Pitney had never had a number 1 hit in the UK, until the wonderful Marc Almond swooped in in the early part of 1989 with a devastating quiff and leather jacket combo to duet with Pitters on Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart. Despite an absolutely amazing vocal performance by both men, the song remained unreleased in the US, allegedly because the lyrics seemed... well... a little bit too gay to be radio friendly. Which is ridiculous... Clearly. I mean, just look at the last 10 seconds of the video. You really mean to tell me that people got camp from that?! Ridiculous.
Anyway, Marc Almond, will probably most likely go down in pop history as being the vocalist of the amazing 80s synthpop duo Soft Cell. The Cell had a litany of brilliant singles (of which our personal highlight is Say Hello, Wave Goodbye) but their place in the pop pantheon is principally earned by their wonderful reinterpretation of the Northern Soul classic Tainted Love, which, incidentally, is by far the most inventive use of fire-breathing dancing galactic bodies that we've ever seen in a music video.
At this point, it's a breeze. As much as we'd love to permanently strip it from the record books, Marilyn Manson decided that he would give Tainted Love a whirl in the name of a movie soundtrack and, in the process, earned his highest charting single to date in 2002. We think that the less that is said about this cover version the better, but in the interest of journalistic integrity (which, of course, we have in spades...) we'll just let the video speak for itself.
Subtle, isn't it?
Anyway, there you have it. The bright lights of the big city of Tulsa have proven to be a shining beacon in the marshy terrain of the pop web. It really is an amazing world, isn't it? When you can go from the downright-amazing MMMBop, to the downright-less-than-amazing Beautiful People and pass Gene bloody Pitney on the way. Brilliant.
Hanson - Gene Pitney - Marc Almond - Soft Cell - Marilyn Manson
So until, next time, we'll leave you with undoubtedly one of the best songs of the 1990s. But don't thank us...
We'll get right down to it. This is the new single by Joe McElderry, it's called Ambitions.
It just happens to be a cover version of a song by Norway's very own Donkeyboy. If it's of any interest, you can take a look at that version here. Joe's version, by and large, is along the same lines as the original so there's not too much contextual added value to be had here.
The bigger issue is whether this cuts it as the first "proper"* release of Joe's career. It's certainly a risky move: a vocal which is delivered almost entirely in falsetto and a track which has more than the faintest whiff of danceability about it. It's pretty much the last thing we expected to kickoff the album campaign, and for that, we can do very little but applaud. Undoubtedly, after the "Rage" fiasco a point needs to be proven and, in our humble opinion, Joe is more than deserving of genuine success from this campaign. Ambitions, with any luck, will go ahead and give him just that. At the end of the day, this is interesting, bold and very likeable
Sadly, though, we have real reservations about this being the first introduction to Joe's bona fide pop career. More specifically, we just wonder whether the less pop-savvy members of Joe's target demographic are going to "get it". Let's face it, it's all very well for people like us on the blogosphere doffing our caps at SyCo's bold decision to give Joe a comparatively heavyweight single with origins in a relatively obscure (yet undoubtedly prodigious) Skandivanian pop act, but, is it going to appeal to the cooing mums and teenage audiences which Joe so naturally appealed to on the X Factor? There's just a danger that this isn't quite what those groups in particular are looking for.
From a purely selfish point, we could just say "yeah? Well screw them. SyCo has put effort into making Joe a credible male solo artist by giving him genuinely interesting material to work with". The danger with that is, pop music bloggers on the Internet are fairly low down the pecking order of "people Joe McElderry needs to impress". But, we suppose, that's the thing about taking a risk: there's always the danger that it doesn't quite get pulled off. For the record, we absolutely hope that it does. Ambitions is a brilliant, clever single, which deserves to be the track which removes Joe from any clouds which the Christmas Number 1 debacle may have cast over his future prospects.
So with that said, we'll just put forward this question and leave it out there for consideration: is releasing Ambitions a stroke of genius? Or is it a single which is just too risky at this stage in Joe's career?
So, tumbling across our email inbox the other day, we encountered a very pleasant e-mail from a lovely chap by the name of ANTICS. ANTICS kindly supplied us with a couple of his "tunes" for us to peruse and we found ourselves more than faintly impressed by what was on offer. ANTICS is a solo artist hailing from Battersea which immediately puts him in great company, with pop luminaries such as the So Solid Crew, Simon Le Bon and Dannii Minogue residing at various points in the area (or, at least, that's what Wikipedia tells us and that's NEVER WRONG!).
Anyhoo, ANTICS kindly supplied us with a couple of tracks to listen to, our favourite of which was Headspace which you can listen to and comment on in the handy player below:
Our favourite thing about Headspace is the unashamed Saturday Night Fever vibe that the track is rocking. ANTICS clearly has a great instinct for making solid pop/dance music. He's got a commanding beat supporting solid vocals and great lyrics. Which, at the end of the day, is pretty much "job done" isn't it? Clicking on the handy little downward arrow will let you download a copy of the track and we very much hope that it will sit as nicely alongside your popular music collection as it does ours.
There are more tracks available on ANTICS' MySpace page which will give you a more comprehensive idea of what he's all about. Superstar is undoubtedly a highlight, which takes things in a very different direction to Headspace. Certainly, ANTICS is a work in progress at this stage; whilst the dance vibe is there throughout there are hints of more versatile leanings in tracks like This Love. Nonetheless, these early glimpses show genuine promise and we certainly look forward to seeing how things develop from him from here. And not just because the novelty of writing someone's name in CAPS LOCK clearly won't wear off for a while.
Diana Vickers has just unleashed her third single upon the world which is going to form the basis of the "deluxe version" of Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree. We'll get into the ethics of that particular marketing wheeze some other time, but for now, let's focus on the positives, shall we? My Wicked Heart received its first play on Radio 1 this afternoon and it goes a little something like this...
That's pretty much 3 for 3 on the "awesome single" front for Vickers, really, isn't it? Seriously, it's like everyone involved just thought "fuck it, I don't think it sounds quite big and brassy enough it. Get a raft of trumpets in here, stat!" It definitely pays off. This is a playfully fun single, in contrast to the more pensive Once and The Boy Who Murdered Love and firmly puts to bed any lingering doubts we may have had that Diana Vickers is becoming a licence to print money.
This song doesn't so much have "a hook" as it has an entire fishing tackle shop. Whether it's the infectious bass at the start or the infectious brass or the impish "ooops" in the chorus, everything about this song screams likeability. And just when you think the whole thing can't get more catchy, Vickers breaks out a "la,la,lai" middle-eight and exclaims "whoops-a-daisy!". Just take a moment to reflect on that, people. The phrase "whoops-a-daisy" is included in one of the month's best new tracks. Amazing.
This is a phenomenal single which shows Vickers at her pizie-ish best. It's perhaps not entirely original. A few listens has suggested more than a fleeting nod to tracks like Work by Amerie, and we hope we're not totally remiss in observing that the guitar has a Creep-ish timbre to it. Yet, despite that, there's no point in denying that My Wicked Heart *works*. At times, Diana's voice has genuine power behind it, rather than retreating into the naif whisper which we all know is so divisive. When seen alongside Once and Boy Who Murdered Love, this single continues the masterclass that the folks at RCA have been giving on hiding the negatives and accentuating the positives.
After The Boy Who Murdered Love failed to really make any sort of impact on the charts, Diana's team had to be worried that the momentum that was built with Once was dying off. But credit to everyone involved for ripping away the shirt of this project and giving it an adrenaline boost right in the aorta. This track, for our money, is a critical smash. We sincerely hope that it proves to be a commercial one, too.
If, five years ago, you had said that the members of Girls Aloud were all to take a break to pursue individual projects, you probably would have fallen off your chair if anyone had suggested that Cheryl Cole's solo debut would have been more hotly anticipated than Nadine Coyle's. I mean, let's look at the facts here: Nadine is, and always has been, the powerhouse vocalist of the group. Cheryl, on the other hand, has been known to produce vocals like this:
But, as we roll ever onwards towards the end of 2010, Cheryl's Three Words campaign has solidified her as a bona fide headliner, whereas Nadine's solo album and first single appears to have had a journey analogous to the exodus in order to see the light of day. Now, however, the first single from the album has finally been unveiled and the (probably extremely tedious) Cheryl vs Nadine chart war can finally get underway. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Insatiable
I think it's firstly extremely important to note that Nadine has wisely chosen not to stray too far from her pop roots. As MuuMuse has judiciously pointed out, Nadine hasn't got an urban bone in her body, and so it's very wise for her to be producing something wholly and unashamedly "pop" for this first single.
For some reason the first few seconds of the song reminds me of Echo by Girls Can't Catch. Anyway, that's probably not important.
No, the key thing here is that Nadine has made sure that the production has gone completely balls-out on making this sound like heavyweight stuff. The big and brassy backing track with the relentless production trickery could, in the hands of less-experienced vocalists, completely overshadow the song. Thankfully, Nadine produces a competent vocal which means that never comes to pass, and the focus is fittingly upon Nadine, the solo artist, and not on Nadine, the person who selects an overly aggressive backing track and can't keep up. In its own right, Insatiable is a great solo debut for Nadine. It's sufficiently distinct from her Girls Aloud oeuvre to avoid the "playing it safe" criticism, whilst, equally, she hasn't felt the need to reinvent the wheel and be seen as anything other than an amazing pop singer.
However, as sad as it is, comparisons are inevitably going to be drawn with Cheryl's solo debut (and, indeed, her forthcoming single Promise This). And this is where the Nadine solo campaign may well run into problems. Yes, Insatiable is a very good start. It's by no means a modern pop masterpiece, but it's a very competent effort and sets out the album's stall quite nicely. The problem is, it just doesn't have the vitality or (and please shoot us for saying this) the X Factor that Fight For This Love did. Insatiable, as good as it is, isn't an immediate hit. Indeed, there's little about it which screams "number 1 hit" in the way that Cheryl's debut absolutely did. We're writing all of this in full awareness that it's unfair to levy a comparison at two artists who, aside from being in the same band as one another, are actually producing completely divergent material. But, as unfair as it is, it is inevitable, and if you're going to judge the "Cheryl and Nadine solo experiment" on the basis of a comparison of Insatiable and Fight For This Love then, frankly, it's not even a competition.
It's extremely harsh. Insatiable, as we've said throughout, is a great pop song. Hopefully, it's a taster for even bigger and better singles to come from the album campaign. But one thing's for certain, it's not a song which is going to supplant the judgement that Cheryl Cole is the solo superstar of Girls Aloud.
Apologies for the recent silence on The Pop Web. We've been fairly busy with this thing called "life" (electric word, that). Anyway, we're returning with what we feel is a bit of a pertinent observation.
The album Fleshtone has produced some of the most interesting pop moments of the year so far, with the obvious highlight being Acapella. This latest single sees Kelis teaming up with the man with the most crowded Google Calendar in pop, David Guetta. Guetta's intervention in the pop world has produced some decidedly mixed results over the past couple of years, with him working absolute wonders for Kelly Rowland, and kicking I Gotta Feeling into the stratosphere of amazingness. Sadly he is also responsible for keeping Akon in the spotlight with the intensely irritating Sexy Bitch. You can't, as they say, have it all.
On this effort, however, Guetta's undoubted talent at the producer's desk and his ability to capture the pop zeitgeist blend perfectly with Kelis' stunning vocal. The song starts off delicately enough, with everything kicking off in the best possible way at precisely 45 seconds. The backing track, which, frankly, could be the standardised international symbol for "put your hands up" is absolutely irresistible and the switch in Kelis' vocal from the delicate, sensitively delivered verses to the disinterested, authoritative delivery of "You can't back down, lost in a crowd" works perfectly. The song oscillates perfectly between the emotional and the "oh fuck it, let's just get something down that'll sound amazing in a club at 2 am."
Our favourite lyric? "Big city's got you on the ground/ Afraid to fight? Don't make a sound/ So let's get to it/ Now you'll prove it/ Push back/ Scream and shout." This is a perfectly-pitched contribution to the world of pop and, frankly, deserves to capture more imaginations than just ours.
So be prepared for this to probably completely miss the top 40 on that basis alone :-(.
Disclaimer: we have no journalistic basis for assuming that David Guetta uses Google Calendar. Other diary/calendar software packages, are of course, available. It's just that we look at him and think "that looks like a young fellow who uses Google Calendar and probably benefits from the many great features embedded within it". If this is not the case, then we do, of course, sincerely apologise.
Just when you thought that all we could write about was the X Factor and its various alumni (11 days to go!!!), The Pop Web goes and gets obsessed with the simply fantastic Janelle Monae.
Our interest was first stoked with the excellent Tightrope which features Big Boi of Outkast fame. Spoilt for choice in terms of versions, we'd recommend either the official mix or the Wondamix which features Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B. and which really ramps up the guitar line and gives the song a really different edge. Both versions work perfectly, and really deserved to ignite the charts more than they did. Especially because the "Tightrope dance" which features fairly heavily on the original video is a thing of shoe-shuffling beauty.
Undeterred, Monae's campaign for album The Archandroid continues with Cold War which is a beautiful and heartfelt ballad which contains among other things a simply beautiful guitar line and a spectacular vocal performance. The video, channeling Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U none too subtley, is nonetheless a great showcase for Janelle's performance abilities. She is an absolutely captivating singer who backs that up with a compelling video/media campaign which leaves you in no doubt that this lady is a star.
Of particular note, we feel, is the reference to Wicked leading in to the middle 8 where Monae shouts out "Galinda!". This has henceforth become our amazing pop/amazing musical crossover moment of the year. And that's no small feat.
Ruth Lorenzo broke our hearts the other day by announcing that she had split from her record label EMI. The good news, however, is that this appears to have accelerated the possibility of finally getting our hands on some of her material. To that end, you can download the exclusive and new track Eternity from Lorenzo's official website The Raspberry Pattern.
Eternity is exactly how Ruth describes it, haunting and melancholy with none of the more divisive power-balled posturing which we loved but which we accept might not have been everybody's cup of tea. It's a well-crafted yet simple song, which certainly bodes well for future material. Certainly this is a very brave move splitting from a lucrative recording contract and going it alone. It's not a path we advocate for everyone wishing to put out an album. Yet for Lorenzo this may be the best way to go, inviting fans into the album production process and hopefully meaning that we can all get our hands on it sooner.
Why are so excited by the prospect of a Ruth Lorenzo album? It's simple, by far, Ruth is our favourite X-Factor alumnus not to have won the competition. In a very tough year (with Alexandra, JLS and Diana Vickers as competition no less) Ruth carved out a niche and an identity by simply "belting them out" with passion and a voice which could shatter glass at a hundred paces (in a good way, obv.) And again, whilst we accept (but wholeheartedly disagree) that not everyone appreciates a diva who can belt out a power ballad at terminal velocity, we simply couldn't help feeling that Lorenzo had a voice and a aptitude for performing which was truly special. As a result we can't wait to see how Lorenzo has transferred and applied that to original material. Naturally, we'd quite like to get a full studio recording of her performance of Purple Rain (which we controversially feel is the best X Factor performance in the show's history), but we'll settle for some interesting songs and the one-woman revival of the power ballad thank you very much.
After all, this is a woman who absolutely perfected a move we like to call "the power ballad stance" (think Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance" but with bigger hair and softer lighting).
We at The Pop Web would obviously, along with the rest of the Internet, like to extend our congratulations to Joe McElderry for coming outjust before the release of his second single at such a young age. Role model, brave, etc.
All joking aside, this appears to have been very well-handled, and is undoubtedly the best thing all round both for Joe's welfare and his public profile ahead of the inevitable intense public scrutiny which will come both from this announcement and the upcoming album launch.
That said, we don't really want to talk about Joe, we (inexplicably) want to talk about the runner up in the 2009 X Factor, Olly Murs. You know, the one who seemed to be the lovechild of Will Young and Gary Barlow. The one who, whilst not our cup of tea, had the unenviable task of somehow trying to stop Robbie Williams forgetting the lyrics to his own song. (Let's set aside for now the fact that despite this being the final of the biggest singing competition of the year, the whole thing still managed to sound no better than your average drunken pub singalong).
Anyhoos, we really didn't have high hopes for the inevitable "runner-up" career which Olly was clearly going to be launching (and not just because we were devout Stacy Solomon fans). Yet, six months have now passed, winter's schmaltzy light entertainment has given way to the hot piercing glare of a crowded Summer music scene and Olly has stepped back into the limelight with new single Please Don't Let Me Go. Here's the video. It's a bit stately.
A few points to note. Firstly, if you thought "he sounds a bit like Will Young" when he performed on the X-Factor, you'll be pleased to know that absolutely no effort has been put into disguising this similarity on this record. Oh well, we suppose that if Will himself can't crack the top 10 with an amazing single then we suppose we can't object too strongly at the presence of his vocal doppelganger having a stab at it.
Secondly, this video pleasingly contains a staircase-based dance routine. This, we feel is a highly underutilised tool in the pop arsenal and, we would further suggest, is what saved Hear'Say's Loving Is Easy from being a complete train-wreck.
Thirdly, and this is probably the most important bit. Please Don't Let Me Go is actually not bad at all. I mean, yes, it might as well come with a health warning saying "this will only sound good in Summer" as any single released by a Caucasian with something approaching a reggae beat inevitably does. Lyrically, it doesn't exactly break poetic barriers, but it does the job, which is to make Olly look something approaching a credible pop star. If you are expecting a modern day Bohemian Rhapsody, you were always going to be solidly disappointed. The fact is, that this is solid stuff, which is all it really needs to be. It's a likable, pleasant Summer single which, at the very least, is a much better introduction to a post-X Factor career than The Climb turned out to be for Joe.
Time will tell whether this is the start of a long and lucrative pop career for Murs. What we will say, however, is that it's a perfectly competent first step. And frankly, if Will Young's time in the commercially--viable spotlight is over, we could think of worse replacements.
That said, it'll probably be best all round if Olly learns his lesson from last December and doesn't return any of Robbie's calls.
This is the new single from Robyn, designed to give momentum for the release of her forthcoming album Body Talk Pt. 2 (or as I like to call it, Body Talk 2: The Petite Swedish Popstar With The Nice Voice Who Sh*gged Me) (editors note: She didn't. Obviously. It's an Austin Powers reference). Hang With Me appeared in acoustic form at the arse end of Body Talk Pt. 1, but this is the single version which is due for release. Please ignore Annie Mac talking all over the intro.
It's important to note the following:
1. Robyn is always amazing, and belongs to the exclusive "artists that thepopweb would happily hear sing the phonebook" club. 2. The eventual video probably won't have anything as brilliant as the dance moves from Dancing On My Own but, frankly, we can't see how anything will ever top that.
3. As much as Robyn is always amazing. This isn't quite as good as aforementioned Dancing On My Own.
We like the delicate yet idiosyncratic electronic backing track and the operator of the drum machine does a fine job in creating the all-important clap-along moments. Lyrically, the whole thing hangs together very well. The admonition "Just don't fall, recklessly, headlessly in love with me" is bloody brilliant and demonstrates in a flash why Robyn is such an important and eloquent songwriter. It hasn't got that iconic sad disco sound of Dancing or With Every Heartbeat but Robyn's voice, which just drips with sadness and emotion, creates the effect all by itself.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what doesn't quite click for us with this song. All of the elements are there. We love the lyrics. We love the backing track, we love that whooshing effect when it breaks into the chorus. The song misses a strong middle-8 and could do with a crescendo-creating bridge into the chorus but that's a minor niggle. We suppose it's a classic case of loving all the constitutent parts and being a little dissatisfied when the whole just ends up being the sum of its parts. Pop is like that sometimes.
We would like to underscore all of this with the following conclusion, however. This isn't our favourite Robyn song: it's still one of the strongest pop singles to be released over the past six months. She's that good.
McFly have a new single and album out soon (September and November, respectively). Said single is Party Girl which sounds something (i.e. exactly) like this.
First off, you can tell that Dallas Austin has been involved in all of this. While the oh-oh-ooooooh bits are heavily reminiscent of Gaga, there are real similarities to be had here with Pink's most recent output, particularly with So What (listen, for example, to the 50s-1:07 for that stuttering backing track effect which appears to be on all of Austin's acts since he picked up a copy of Kanye West's Flashing Lights). Certainly, the decision to go with a new producer has caused McFly to completely reinvent their sound. This is certainly a world away from Lies and yet very much appears to be heading in a similar direction with the over-the-top underpinning concept behind the album's marketing with them creating some kind of virtual Second-Life-esque world for fans to "interact" and get access to "exclusive content". It's easy to forget amidst all of this that, when it's all said and done, we're dealing with a new McFly song.
Certainly it feels like every type of in-vogue effect has been thrown at this to try and make it relevant, with the band wisely sensing that their earlier guitar-led pop is becoming increasingly dated and unlikely to penetrate the endless streams of RnB/Hip Hop acts which appear to have camped out in the top 10 at present. Rather, with Party Girl, they've gone all out to create a true blue pop song. And whilst it's not entirely convincing (you get the impression that JLS would be happier with this than McFly) we can't deny that it's a very successful change of direction. Yes, the lads are probably desperate to retreat behind a guitar and drumkit as soon as possible but the one constant in McFly's delivery is that they've always managed to have excellent, wel-arranged and well-harmonized vocals. What they and Dallas Austin have done is to extract that quality, give it a dose of ritalin, and send it into a recording studio and let the hyperactive madness play out. That's probably why he's one of the best in the business.
McFly's new single isn't so much a return to form as it is a complete reinvention. And, to give the boys credit, it's a very, very good one.
And that's something we'd never thought we'd be saying.
The world of pop suffered another crippling loss this week as it was confirmed that Girls Can't Catch were unceremoniously ousted from their contract with Polydor Records. Rather than struggle on without a record deal, the girls have done the smart thing and call it a day.
As we type this, we realise that Popjustice have already eulogised GCC better than we ever could but we'd just like to add to the whole debate by saying that whilst Girls Can't Catch never really set the pop world alight, with their first singles charting at numbers 26 and 19 respectively, they were a perfectly competent girlband who, with a bit of luck, may have at least reached the sub-Girls Aloud/Sugababes pantheon of female vocal pop groups (or, as we like to call it, "The Saturdays" level). Keep Your Head Up, in particular was a stonker of a single and a great way to launch what the band were all about. A shame it never really caught on but there you go.
So so long, Girls Can't Catch. We hope there's at least some consolation to be had in the fact that when we saw you supporting Girls Aloud at the O2 we whispered to the person next to us "they're alright but I do wish they'd get on with it so Girls Aloud can get out here and be pissed off by how much more popular Cheryl is".
Which is a substantially better treatment than Gabriella Cilmi received when she was supporting Leona last month.
Also, we've just chucked 10 pence Polydor's way by downloading the aforementioned Keep Your Head Up. Perhaps if we'd done that six months ago we wouldn't be in this mess but there you go.
Two words usually without fail send a shiver down our spine here at thepopweb.
Solo. Career.
Oh we can understand the temptation. Boy/Girl creates band. Boy/Girl quickly realises that they're the only one in band that anyone even remotely cares about. Boy/girl thinks "wait, I don't need these guys divvying up my paycheck. I can make it on my own!" Boy/girl throws some bollocks together in a studio. Boy/girl realises far too late that whilst no-one else quite realised it at the time, the rest of the band actually gave their music the x-factor which made it likeable and commercially viable in the first place. Boy/girl hobbles back home and can only sit and watch whilst said solo career tanks bringing down with it the shattered remains of their ego and talent.
In short, we're looking at you Sharleen Spiteri.
But fear not, ladies and gentlemen, all is not lost for the Holy Grail quest known as the solo career. Brandon Flowers (i.e. "him from the Killers") has taken a stab at the whole thing and has, to his credit, produced something extremely listenable. Crossfire is the first single to be released from his upcoming partly Stuart Price produced album Flamingo which is due out in September. Behold the video below. It features an ass-kicking Charlize Theron and Brandon demonstrating why he's the world's worst action hero given that Charlize appears to have to rescue him three separate times from some particularly blood-thirsty ninjas.
Yes, the song itself sounds like it could have slotted in nicely anywhere in the Sam's Town album (on an aside we're totally going to produce a paper one day on Mormon mythological influences on that album and the personification of mountains in Brandon Flowers' lyrics but that's probably "by the by") but given that Sam's Town was an absolutely stunning album once you listened to it three times through, that's definitely no bad thing. At least Brandon has stuck to what he's good at rather than going "I know, I totally need to do an album inspired by the music of the 60s because that's what all the cool kids are doing and it will thus totally kickstart my solo career."
In short, we're looking at you Sharleen Spiteri.
No, Crossfireplays it safe and is a tender and emotional love song which sees Brandon grappling with themes of "heaven and hell" whilst trying to get his paramore to sleep with him. It's amazing how in pop music decisions like these suddenly take on a cosmic significance rather than "oh bugger, I should probably just get an early night because I've got a presentation early in the morning etc."
The guitar outro of the track is absolutely bloody brilliant to the point that we imagine that Brandon is extracting genuine tears from it as he and Charlize drive off into the sunset. But, as you might expect, it's Brandon's vocals which really set this apart. His falsetto "Lay your body down" hook is delivered beautifully and the whole thing is given the electricity by the modulating and emotional vocal tone that Brandon does so well.
If this is even a taste of what's to come from Flamingo then we fully expect that this body of material will stand up very well alongside the rest of The Killers' output and may well buck the usual "solo career" trend. Time will tell, of course, but this is an extremely promising first offering and has certainly piqued our interest in seeing what Brandon can deliver on his own.
Which is more than can be said for the whole Sharleen Spiteri fiasco.
WAIT! Come back. Seriously. This is the new Same Difference single Shine On Forever (Photo Frame). We'll make this quick. It's bloody brilliant. In a number of sneses it's the love child between the more brilliant Steps singles like Deeper Shade Of Blue, Stomp and One For Sorrow and S Club Juniors'One Step Closer.
Of course, it's important not to be uncritical about these sorts of things. Sean still suffers from a severe case of "earnest-face" even when the sole content of his lyrical delivery is "yeah". Sarah, on the other hand, has properly embraced the spirit of this re-invention and at one point in the video even elects to liee on the floor of the club where they're shooting the video. That, friends, is commitment to a bit.
The track itself is exactly what Same Difference needed as an antidote to We R One which was brilliant in its own right, but not exactly a song which screamed "relevance or sophistication". In fairness, neither does Shine On Forever but it manages to be brilliant in a completely different way which is all that really counts in the end.
Crucially, the choreography on the "photo frame" lyric which consists of Sarah and Sean drawing a massive rectangle with their arms is a stroke of creative genuis.
In short, it's very good but we wouldn't go so far as Youtube user jdharris7 who commented
"Wow! Very sexy! I need to take a cold shower now. lol."
It's good, but it's still Same Difference. Some perspective is very important.
This is the video for The Saturdays' new single Missing You. A couple of things leap out at us, notably, that The Sats are surely liable for some pretty hefty fines after organising a rave in what appears to be an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Also, I know that when I'm down about something, schlepping down to the beach with four friends and putting on a choreographed dance routine just perks me right up.
It's a bit hard to know what The Saturdays can do to get back on track after the Wordshaker fiasco. This latest offering is a little bit more understated than Forever Is Over which is certainly welcome. And, really, it's only the repeating "I miss missing you" autotuning which grates. The chorus in particularly has a great energy to it.
But, if we're being honest, it's not a patch on Up which is surely the main thing you wanted to know, isn't it?
Poor, poor, Kelly Rowland, while fellow Destiny's Child alumna Beyonce has had an astonishingly successful solo career which has seen her set the cultural and musical mood (c.f. Crazy In Love, Single Ladies), Kelly has failed to make the same commercial and critical impact and at times has stuggled to even hold on to a record deal. Yet over the past year, Kelly has been able to hold on to musical relevance thanks to a lucrative collaboration with David Guetta. Whilst When Love Takes Over gave Kelly her second UK number 1 outside of Destiny's Child (although, if we're honest, we'd just prefer to forget about Dilemma. On the face of it, all looks fairly rosy, and perhaps this explains why Kelly's hooked up again with Guetta again on new single Commander.
We're distinctly in two minds about this offering. On the one hand, it's exceptionally catchy, and the video makes use of the often-underrated "let's have a dance-off with myself" trope. Commander is a well-pitched club anthem which frankly looks set to snag the pink pound and could thus be a real contender for a top 5 placing now that all of this ludicrous jingoism looks set to disappear from the charts.
On the other hand, it's hard to reconcile this outing with the promise which Kelly's early solo career showed. It's almost at this stage that she requires someone like Guetta or the Freemasons on hand to work with the raw materials and produce something chart-worthy. Longer term, this has to be a fairly risky strategy. Fairly or unfairly, Rowland's work will always be held up in comparison and competition with Beyonce's, and Rowland has never shown that spark or zeitgeist-seizing sensibility which has kicked her output into the stratosphere. Yes, Commander is a very good single but it's somewhat disheartening that Rowland has to share the credit with someone like Guetta in order to have a hit on her hands. It sort of reminds us of the good old days when people like Kelly Llorenna would stick their head above the parapet and have the odd top ten hit, but ultimately would be overshadowed by their association with dance outfits/producers which really provided the caffeine injection behind their vocal abilities. Everyone remembers N Trance. How many people remember Kelly Llorenna?
Perhaps this is an unfair comparison, and really, at the end of the day all that counts is that Kelly (Rowland, that is) will have a top ten hit on her hands and everyone will congratulate themselves on a job well done. Perhaps we're trying to find a story here where there is none.
But nonetheless, we're left with a prevailing lack of enthusiasm about Kelly Rowland's chances in the months and years to come. Just as Daylight faded away to nothing after Work brought her back into the spotlight, we can't help feeling that Commander will give Kelly a brief bit of attention, but ultimately isn't the foundation stone for a chart career which definitively proves that more than one Destiny's Child alumnus can stand on their own two feet and be a viable solo artist.
It's a shame, don't get us wrong. But, sadly, it's just a fact that some people are pretty much destined to be superstars, where others are fated to live from record deal to record deal to retain their prominence. We sincerely hope that Commander at least does the trick on this front for Kelly.
It's taken us around two weeks to recover from that Diana Vickers review. But thankfully we've been jerked back into reality, and it's all thanks to not having any more bloody exams to do the travesty that is the chart position of Robyn's new single this Sunday. Dancing On My Own. Here's the video; it's got a very half-finished feel to it. Almost as if they stopped building the set half-way through but Robyn was just like "screw it, the quality of my emoting is such that no one will really notice anyway."
The song itself is absolutely spectacular, and taps in perfectly to this "sad disco" malarkey (c.f. Scissor Sisters Fire With Fire; Lady Gaga Alejandro) which really is invigorating pop music this Summer. And, where, I hear you cry is this masterpiece of modern pop music and (if we're being honest) the natural lyrical progression from The Smiths' How Soon Is Now? going to chart if the Friday midweeks are to be believed?
Number 7.
:'(
But it's OK, because thankfully James Corden and Dizzy Rascal are here to massacre Tears For Fears in the name of cheering on the English Football team.
Thank God, we were worried that pop music had just curled into a corner and died for a second.
As we've said before, if All The Lovers can't make number 1 this Summer, then everyone might as well pack up and go home.
We're becoming a little worried now. Diana Vickers is about to launch her second single on the world, The Boy Who Murdered Love
It's bloody brilliant.
Yes, this brings the number of Diana Vickers songs which we don't dislike at all up to a grand total of 2. This already beats her total of likeable performances on The X Factor and thus far represents a 100% hit rate. Plus, they've kitted that video set out with some brilliant furniture (we particularly like the mirror above the fireplace).
Yes, Boy Who Murdered Love is essentially once with the tiniest bit of modulation on the vocals and the lyrics, but if it's formulaic, it's winningly formulaic. Diana's people are doing the important job of selecting songs which work with Vickers' divisive voice and in the process are creating some interesting pop music with a sound which is more grown up than most "Factor" alumni could ever dream of. It's certainly a whole world away from this fiasco:
And with that admission we're off to lie in a darkened room and listen to Once.
So we've just returned from the very first date of Leona Lewis' first ever tour. Expectations on the way there were not high for two reasons.
1. It was taking place in Sheffield. 2. There was a genuine fear that the entire night would involve Leona talking about everything being "amazing" and how she's "just pleased to be here."
And, to be fair, there was a fair bit of the latter.
THAT SAID, any doubts about this girl's ability to perform and put on a show were completely and utterly smashed on that stage last night, which bodes well for the upcoming dates.
Firstly, the whole thing was themed (loosely) to the movie Labyrinth. Calm down, calm down, Leona never came out wearing trousers like this:
Truth be told, the Labyrinth thing was basically an excuse to have some plastic looking trees and a swing involved but the whole concept worked genuinely brilliantly. It lent the whole show a real atmosphere which from the very opening gave the whole thing an energy and a darkness which worked fantastically with Leona's voice, the staging and the choreography.
Yes, readers, Leona Lewis danced.
Without wanting to give away the entire setlist for those who are planning to attend the future dates, we'll point out some of the real highlights.
Firstly, there was a definite "horse" theme but at no point did Leona ride an actual horse. Health and safety were probably involved.
Secondly, Better In Time was majorly ramped up and was guitar rather than piano driven. It definitely worked and injected a real energy into the song. Leona looked absolutely commanding up there during this and the darker and rockier tone to the song was a sublime choice. To this end, can we please advise SyCo that this girl is more than comfortable singing up-tempo songs. Indeed, she can more than keep up with a guitar or three. Please, please, don't make the next thing she releases a mid-tempo ballad. If we left with one impression of Leona after this concert, is that she is incredibly versatile when she's given the chance.
Thirdly, there was nothing "safe" about these performances. Forgive Me, one of her few naturally up-tempo numbers, was chuched out in the first half and massively re-jigged, again to lend the whole thing a darker sound. Remember Cheryl's Brits performance with Loretta Holloway mixed in to the second verse. Think that type of effect. It was VERY good
Fourthly, the costume changes were hidden with some amazing work by the dancers (she's borrowed the aerialists which P!nk used on her last tour performing "Glitter In The Air"). Usually, this was accompanied by some properly amazing VTs. One featured Leona looking demented while riding a swan. Another featured a mash-up of Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" this was properly amazing. And frankly, was good enought to be released as a single. It would certainly stop her being seen as a one trick pony.
Fifthly, there were some cover versions. Run of course was there and was the climax to the pre-encore show. It was suitably epic and elicited a genuine standing ovation. Also, The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face was a choice we really questioned at first, but she delivered an absolutely blistering vocal which slowed the tempo down without killing the momentum. She completely won us over. What was truly special, however, were the decisions to cover Could It Be Magic and Sweet Dreams. The latter was full-on mental with strobes, amazing choreography and got the whole place finally on their feet. It was an excellent choice, a very competent cover which did something new with the song not only by its choreography but also by the very fact that Leona's vocals were involved. She also did a very acoustic version of Cry Me A River which was brilliant as well.
Sixthly, there were some very interesting omissions to this setlist. There was no Stop Crying Your Heart Out, no My Hands and, amazingly, no Footprints in the Sand. This was not a concert for playing it safe. And my God it worked.
Seventhly, we've mentioned elsewhere how we felt that Outta My Head should have been released as a single. She did it last night and the place went mental. For the first time in the night, people were on their feet which, given that this is just an album track, is no mean feat. There was strobe lighting, laser shows, and Leona danced and didn't look terrified about the prospect of moving. Why this hasn't been released as a single is just beyond us as it's one of the strongest showcases for Leona's evolution as an artist and a performer. The video below really doesn't do justice to how well this was put together. Think about 50x more stuff going on with the lighting and you'll be there.
Finally, the encore was, predictably Bleeding Love. Watch the video below and just witness how much improved a performer this girl has become.
It was an absolutely stunning concert, which certainly reminded us of why we thought she was such a special talent from the start. Crucially, it proved that this girl is not just "a big voice for hire". She's an accomplished, polished performer who clearly isn't afraid to take risks with her live showcases. We just hope that Syco learn from this and allow her to take risks with her recorded output.
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Also, Gabriella Cilmi was there. On A Mission was alright (is it supposed to sound like Van Halen's jump, or is that just us being mental?). On the other hand we're so over Sweet About Me it's ridiculous. Also, the whole thing would have been better if she'd done the song from the Co-Op ad at Christmas.
Compare, if you will, the new Leona Lewis single featuring Jennifer Hudson, "Love Is Your Colour" with thanks to our friends at My Fizzy Pop for giving us the heads-up.
This is the song which will be featured on the upcoming Sex and the City 2 soundtrack. Now take a listen to the Cyndi Lauper classic "True Colours"
Now, far be it from us to get all litigous, but surely Cyndi has the grounds for a lawsuit here? The two songs are pretty much exactly the same. There is little to no perceptible difference!
Litigation aside, this adds to the cumulative case which is building up against Leona. For Christ's sake, this had the potential to be the power ballad of the 21st century. Instead, Leona and Jennifer chuck out what is tantamount to a lazy cover version but try and skip out on paying the royalties on it by shifting some lyrics about. Leona simply cannot get away with putting out these lazy efforts at the moment. Not when it is abundantly clear that the novelty of her astounding voice is clearly wearing off with at least the British public at present.
In other news, we're going to see Leona at the o2 in two weeks. We'll obviously be reporting back and letting you know how she got on. We're hoping for something amazing which reminds us exactly why we've been such big supporters of her career from the start. Hopefully she leaves this out of the set list.
Kylie Minogue's new single "All The Lovers" premiered on the radio this morning, and to commemorate the fact, the good folks at Parlophone have put it up on youtube to share with the world.
To put things very simply, it's absolutely bloody amazing. The lyrics are fairly standard Kylie fare (i.e. fairly simple with a real emphasis on repetition) but what really sets this apart is the amazing production job courtesy of Stuart Price. The whole thing positively bristles with energy and it hits the middle ground between club and radio playability perfectly. Kylie's voice sounds amazing and frankly the whole thing is exactly the sort of return to form that we'd hoped for and envisaged a couple of weeks ago. This absolutely deserves to be the song that propels Kylie back to the top spot after the mis-fire that was "2 Hearts". All this really needs is the kind of epic video which she pulled out for "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and this thing is pretty much destined to be THE pop hit of the Summer. If we were to compare "All The Lovers" to a drink it would definitely be a G & T as it works equally well at that bit of the dinner party where everyone's gone out to the balcony to reflect on how amazing everything is and also at that point at a club when you think you've reinvented the medium of dance, but you've actually just fallen over and possibly broken your girlfriend's nose in the process.
But we digress. "All The Lovers" is amazing. Well done everyone.
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