You think you know Pop?!
You think you like Pop music?!
You Don't Know Pop!
If you want to hear something you've never heard before this is probably the place to find it. We will be posting information and songs on all your favorite popstars and hopefully you'll hear something new as well!
It is the end of an era in schlager tonight... as swedish superstars Nina & Kim decide to call it a day after performing one last time in Sweden.
Ok so maybe I'm being a little dramatic but Nina & Kim were great while they lasted. The burst onto the scene back in 2001 as the lead vocalists for "Friends." The band represented Sweden at Eurovision that year with "Listen to your Heartbeat."
When the band split in 2002, the girls stayed on as a duo and Nina & Kim continued to record ace pop music.
In 2002 'Six' were formed via the Irish Popstars Tv show. Their debut single immediately became one of the best selling singles of all time in Ireland, selling over 160'000 copies in its first week alone!
After a successful tour, 3 singles, a top 5 album and a sell out tour across Ireland the band decided to call it a day.
The Corrs have sold over 60 Million albums around the world, and while the band are currently on hiatus to focus on personal projects and families they hold a spot in Pop history as one of Irelands biggest musical exports. Say Goodbye (2006 Version) can be found on their new Greatest Hits collection this holiday season.
Occasionally record labels make a huge mistake and end up pulling the plug on an artists career long before their time. Samantha Mumba is a perfect example of this. Samantha rose to fame in 2000 when her debut single "Gotta Tell You" stormed the charts around the world reaching number 1in the Uk and number 2 in the USA. She scored 5 top ten singles in the Uk alone and earned a Grammy Nomination in 2002! Why then has this artist never released a 2nd album?! Well in 2002 Samantha released her eagerly anticipated new single "I'm Right Here" and while the song reached number 5 in the Uk, it bombed in the USA, peaking at number 80 on the Billboard chart. This prompted her label to cancel the release of her 2nd album 'Woman' and left Samantha Mumba without a record deal. It stuns me that such a successful Uk artist is dropped because she couldnt make it in the USA? There are hundreds of successful British Aritsts that never release in the US and they still have sucess in the Uk Ie. Robbie Williams, Girls Aloud, McFly?! I've never been a HUGE Samantha Mumba fan, but surely she deserved a 2nd album?
The good news is that Samantha Mumba is currently working on a 3rd album and it is said to be released in February 2007!
Bellefire were the band that never quite did as well as they should have. After 2 mediocre hits in the Uk Virgin suddenly dropped them before the release of their debut album. In 2003 the girls were re-signed to WEA records and released "Say Something Anyway," by far their greatest single to date.
Unfortunately the single peaked at Number 23 in the Uk before falling out of the chart after 3 weeks. From this point forward their record label continued to push back the release of their next single and album. While the band toured extensively across the Uk and Asia to boost their profile the damage was done. By the time the record label finally released "Spin The Wheel" as the next single, the record buying public had alerady forgotten the band and the single flopped. Their 2nd album never saw a Uk release and the band have since split up. Bellefire are another example of what happens when a good band are not supported by their record label.
Finally, Boyzone. When Boyzone split up in 2000 they were the biggest boyband in the world with 17 hit singles and over 10 Million albums sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Their split gave way to a successful solo career for Ronan Keating and short lived success for Stephen Gately. The band only ever had one US hit with "No Matter What" after appearing on a US Soap Opera. Rumours have been rampant that the band will reform although only time will tell.
Today we treat you to some of the scariest video's you'll ever see!
1. American Juniors - Make Your Own Kind Of Music The American Juniors are the USA's answer to the S Club Juniors. Unfortunately the American Juniors never took off as the show flopped and the album failed to chart. Today you can watch the top 10 American Juniors butcher Mama Cass' 'Make Your Own Kind Of Music'
2. BWO - Chariots Of Fire BWO (Formerly known as Bodies Without Organs) are Swedens biggest Pop/Dance export at the moment. The band was just nominated for 2 Swedish Grammy awards and have had a string of hit singles and 2 successful albums in Sweden and Europe. One thing BWO has always been known for are their "Weird" videos?! BWO have just finished the video to their latest single "Chariots Of Fire," and it is by far the strangest yet. Download The MP3 of Chariots Of Fire - Here
3. Girls@Play - Airhead What do you get when you cross the Village People with 5 good looking girls add a shiny backdrop and a cheesy pop tune? Why it's Girls@Play of coarse! Never heard of them? This group opened for Steps back in the day and while they never released an album, this song will go down in Pop history... although I'm not sure what for?
On March 10th - 10 of the biggest songs in Sweden will compete in Europes biggest music Pre-Eurovision song selection - Melodifestivalen 2007! The competing artists and songs have been announced and now the public must wait until the semi-finals in February before hearing the songs for the first time.
One of these artists will be Swedish Dance Duo - The Attic. The group has had huge success throughout Europe since 2004, both as a band and while collaborating with other artists (They've done remixes for Marie Serneholt & Darin). Their debut album 'The One' hit record stores on November 8th. The album has to be the BEST dance album I've heard in years. The album is available on iTunes and you can purchase the album Here. I can't even compare the album to anything I've heard before, every track is better than the last!
Im sitting at home on Sunday morning trying to think of a topic for my next blog entry and I can't! So you'll have to settle for some of my new favorite songs!
The Uk's newest boyband failed to make a big impact with their new single 'One Touch' last month and rumour has it they've been dropped already. The song One Touch is really thumping and great to dance along to.
What do you get when you take 4 female finalists from different seasons of Australian Idol, each of them having their own successful solo careers already, put em together to make their own "Super Group" and have them cover classic diva anthems? YOUNG DIVAS! The group was only formed to do a "One Off" single but the track exploded and after a sell out tour down under, their record label had them record a full album. The girls promise their solo careers are still their priority and this is just a side project...shame :(
WOW. Swedish Idol, Darin, has just released his 3rd album and it is by far his most accomplished to date. His single 'Perfect' is already a hit and now the album 'Break The News' is ready to hit the charts. I'd describe it as Justin Timberlake, only with more Pop! If you only buy one album online this Christmas, make it Darin.
Download two of my favorite tracks below and click HERE to buy his album!
In the world of Pop there sometimes seems to be a shortage of good songs. Therefore bands and artists often end up recording the same song. Usually the artists release their albums in different territories and no one ever gets to hear the alternate version.
Today we ask you to listen to the songs below and answer the question... Who sings it best?
1. Wonderful Life: This song was an international hit back in 1985 with Uk band 'Black.' While It's been around for ages and been covered by more than a few artists over the years. The song seemed to have made a comeback when Ace of Base covered it in 2002 on their 4th album, 'Da Capo;' and when Tina Cousins released it as a single in 2005. The question now is... who sings it best?
2. Do They Know It's Christmas: These songs were released 20 years apart from each other. While both were for charity and feature some of the biggest musical acts of their time, the original Band-Aid track will go down in history as one of the greatest christmas tracks ever recorded. The orginal track features artists such as Phil Collins, Bono, Bananarama, Culture Club and Wham! While Band-Aid 20 features Sugababes, Natasha Bedingfield, Will Young, Ravel Stevens, Jamelia and of coarse...Bono. The real question is, who sang it best?
3. One Night In Bangkok: This song was written by AbbA members Benny & Bjorn for their musical 'Chess.' The song became an international success when it was released by Murray Head. Since it's release in 1984 the song has been covered by many bands including Swedish superstars the A*teens and Danish boyband C21. The song had actually been banned in Thailand until 2005 when C21's version became the first version played in Thailand and went on to be a huge success there. Now you tell me... who does it best?!
4. Superstar: It's the battle of the pop princesses with the hit single 'Superstar.' Originally recorded by Danish reality tv singer Christine Milton, the song was a huge hit in Scandanavia and gave Christine her first gold and platinum albums. But while Christine was promised the international rights to the song, the producers and song writers sold the rights to EMI records to be sung by Jamelia. Producers Cutfather & Joe reportedly believed that Jamelia had a better chance of international success with the track. Rumour has it that Christine has pursued legal action against Cutfather & Joe over the rights to the song! Meanwhile you can decide who sang it best.
5. Dragonstea Din Tei/Ma Ya Hi: In 2004 it seems the entire world was singing along to O-zone's Dragonstea Din Tei. Although being sung completely in Romanian, the song was the a massive success across Europe, topping the charts in many countries and hitting number 3 in the Uk! The success saw the song revamped by a few acts including Italian singer Haiducci who brought the song to number 1 in Italy. The song was finally brought stateside by american dance artist Lucas Prata, who actually recorded the english version of the song with Dan Balan who was a member of O-zone!
Since the reality TV explosion began about 6 years ago music and reality television have formed a tumultuous relationship that has seen extreme highs and dramatic lows. T.V. shows like 'Popstars' 'Fame Academy' 'American Idol' 'Search For A Superstar' and so many more.
It is a phenomenon that has swept the globe seeing variations of the above shows in every major country around the globe! Today we celebrate with some of Reality televisions greatest international achievments and dissapointments. Enjoy these downloads!
Phixx broke onto the music scene via the Uk "Popstars" show and immediately caught the spotlight through their racey and sexually suggestive videos.
They released 4 singles in the Uk which received mild success in the charts. They went through a rough patch when one member left the band after their 3rd single and lost another member of the band soon after their 4th single release and loss of a record label.
Although the band never really hit it big in the Uk, it is interesting to note that Phixx hit it big in South Africa in 2005! The band was so successful there that they launched a tour of South Africa and also released a full album 'Electrofunk Revolution.' Not only did they realease an album, but it was a good album! This has to be one of the best Pop albums of 2005 and it is too bad that Phixx never saw the success they deserved.
If these 3 boys don't seem familiar to you, try adding two more and thinking of the name:
'D-Side.'
Back in 2003 Irish boyband, D-side, broke onto the international music scene with their debut album, 'Stronger Together.' This album spawned 5 hit singles Stronger Together, Speachless, Invisible (later covered by Clay Aiken), Real World and the least successful - Pushin' Me Out.
Since their debut D-side lost 2 members, and have since released 2 more studio albums, their latest was released in Japan last week. Although they have yet to make any further impact in the Uk... they continue to have massive success through parts of Asia.
I've heard their new album and I find it to be quite bland... and it doesn't compare to the hard hitting ballads fans loved on their first album...
So in rememberance of D-side... below are some great album tracks from their 2003 debut.
V - Were once tipped to become the best boyband the Uk had ever seen. But as we found out in 2004, the world had moved on from cheesy feel good boybands, and after the release of 3 AMAZING hit singles, their album flopped and they were dropped by their record label.
Most will remember them for their biggest hit - 'Hip to Hip,' Personally I will remember them for their very camp performance of 'You Stood Up' LIVE in the rain on TOTP.
We havent seen a group like Infernal since Aqua and the Vengaboys stormed the charts, but Denmark has proven once again that it is a never ending source of catchy pop music.
Meet Infernal, who tore up charts internationally earlier this year with the infectious 'From Paris to Berlin.' They've gone and done it again, this time with a cover of Laura Branigans Self Control.
Download the Extended version of 'Self Control' - Here My all time favorite Infernal song is still 'A to the B' which you can download - Here
Have you ever seen awards ceremonies and before they announce the winner the cameras show all the nominees on screen to catch their reactions when they find out they've lost?
When they hear they have lost most artists are genuinely happy for the winner and are happy to clap along, some look shocked when they found out they've lost, but still put on a fake smile because they know the cameras are rolling.
But this is a first! Earlier this week when the 2006 Country Music Awards were handed out Faith Hill freaked out on camera when it was announced that American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood, won best femal vocalist. As the nominations are read you can see Faith pacing and smiling, as the winner is read you see her arms go up as she shouts "WHAT?!" and walks off camera.
Faith and her manager have released statements saying that she was kidding around backstage, that her reaction was a joke and Faith would never act disrespectful to another artist.
A Joke?! Really funny joke! Just like Justin and Janet's fiasco was a "Wardrobe Malfunction!"
So was she serious? Or was she kidding? Watch the video below and decide for yourself!
Westlife are about to release their most original album yet. While I was dissapointed when I heard there would be another cover album, I am pleased to say that they've done a great job on songs like 'The Rose,' 'Total Eclipse of the Heart,' and 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling.'
To launch their new album Westlife are giving you a chance to make a cameo in their new video for 'The Rose'
Marie Serneholt has grown up and is taking the world of Pop by storm! She's just releasing her 3rd single off her debut album, but you can enjoy a live performance of "Wasted Love" below.
This March I will be travelling to Sweden to see Melodifestivalen 2007! One of the artists I'm hoping will be there is Linda Bengtzing! I recently picked up her debut album 'Ingenting Att Forlora' and it is one of the best pop albums i've ever bought even though I have no idea what she is singing as the entire album is in swedish!
Download 'Ingenting Att Forlora' - Here Buy her debut album - Here
Watch Linda as she strips off for Melodifestivalen 2006 below!
Girls Aloud continue to prove their staying power this week as their greatest hits album debuts at number 1 in the uk! The band continues to tell fans that their greatest hits collection doesn't mean the end of the band. Although I for one can't wait to hear Sarah's solo album ;)
Congratulations Girls!
Download their next single - I Think We're Alone Now - Here
For those of you who don't know, Jon came into the spotlight back in 2001 as the winner of the Danish version of 'Popstars.' He has had 2 successful albums and a handful of hits across scandanavia. There isn't a lot of information out there on Jon... so basically all you need to know is 1. He's Cute 2. His songs are cheesy and very catchy 3. He's Cute and 4. He won Popstars Denmark.
It is the end of an era in schlager tonight... as swedish superstars Nina & Kim decide to call it a day after performing one last time in Sweden.
