Thursday, June 28, 2007

GIRL POWER IS BACK!


GIRL POWER

I don't even know what to say! This has to be one of the biggest musical moments of my life! Girl Power is back! For those of you who haven't heard... the rumours are true, the Spice Girls have re-united and are going on tour!



Here are the basics!

-The band will be doing select shows across the globe

-You will only be able to get tickets by registering online... there will be a random draw to see who will actually be able to purchase tickets.

-www.thespicegirls.com is their new website for the tour.

-There will be a greatest hits album released in November.

-There will be new tracks on the album.

-There will be a new documentary on the band.



Here are some quotes from the Press Conference:

Geri: "I was lying in bed one morning and I phoned Emma and said, "I want to be a Spice Girl again."

Victoria: "We'll celebrate the past and that'll be it."

Geri: "I've got a gun under the table."

Melanie C: "A girl's allowed to change her mind."

Halliwell called the reunion a 'one night stand', joking: "So you can enjoy it more, right?"

Victoria: "One of the main reasons why I think some of us want to do this is for our kids to actually see what we used to do."

Things I'd Like To See On Tour:

-I think they should end the concert with 'Wannabe' and have all of them come out in their old Spice Girls outfits... ie. The Union Jack dress for Geri!

-I think when they sing 'Goodbye' they should make Geri stand off to the side of the stage and then make her leave so the other 4 can sing 'Holler.'

-Geri should sing Holler and Let Love Lead the way with the other 4.

-They should announce that all their kids are getting together and making the Spice Girls Juniors band!

SO HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE REUNION?! Post your comments below!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

HAPPY CANADA DAY!


Hey Guys!

Thanks for being so patient while I've been on vacation. Regular updates will start back up July 1st which just happens to be... 'Canada Day!'

So in honor of Canada Day we're bringing you the best of Canadian pop music.

B4-4

B4-4 had success in Canada back in 1999. The band actually scored a record deal after walking into Sony Records office and by chance happened to sing for the chief recording engineer! The band had 3 hit singles, a top ten album and were nominated for best new group at the 2001 Juno Awards. The band toured extensively across the country and even opened for Destinys Child back in 2001! The band were famous for their spikey hair and provocative lyrics. Their debut single 'Get Down' was basically about performing oral sex. Rumour has it that 2 members of b4-4 have scored a new record deal and will be releasing an album this fall!



Sky

I used to LOVE Sky! Sky were a massive success story. The James and Antoine met back in 1992 and soon were writing and performing together. In 1997 the band released their debut album on their own record label in Quebec. Eventually 43 radio stations in the province had begun playing their songs. A feat practically unheard of for an independent act in Canada. It wasn't long before the band was signed to EMI Canada. When their album 'Piece Of Paradise' was released in 1999 it debuted at #6 in Canada and eventually hit #1 in Thailand. The massive success lead to a record deal in the US, Uk and Japan.


But the success proved to be too much for lead singer James, who was very reluctant to step into the international spotlight. James announced he was leaving the band in 2000 just as the band won best new act at the 2000 Juno Awards.

The Antoine replaced James with a female singer 'Anastasia' in 2000 and released 'Travelling Infinity.' Despite moderate success with 2 more singles the duo disbanded soon after.

Once again in 2003 Antoine re-formed Sky with another lead vocalist 'Karl Wolf.' An album was released with little to no promotion and Sky was finally put to rest.




Velvet Empire

Canadas 2nd band formed by the show 'Popstars.' Velvet Empire proved to be a one hit wonder with their debut single 'Frontin On Me.' The video went to number one on MTV Canada, but lack of promotion from radio meant that the band never achieved any real success and were dropped after the first album.

Velvet Empire - Frontin' On Me


Prozzak


Postergirl did a post on Prozzak awhile back... so I won't say too much about the band. Their first two albums did quite well across Canada. A 3rd and darker album was released independently in 2005 but as a result there was no promotion and the album failed to have any success. Prozzak are a side project of 2 members of the Canadian band 'The Philosopher Kings.' Prozzak are an animated duo and their albums basically reflect their never ending search for true love. Their animated music videos became quite popular across the country and the duo eventually went on a Canadian tour!

Prozzak - Infatuation


Prozzak - Be As


Friday, June 22, 2007

VIVA FOREVER!


OH MY GOD!

After WEEKS of speculation there has been an official statement released about the future of the Spice Girls. Their management company has released the first official statement abojut the band for the first time in years!

It says that "The Spice Girls are set to make an official announcement to the world regarding future plans on Thursday June June 28th."

It seems fairly certain that the Spice Girls will confirm that they are re-uniting for a final good-bye tour. Melanie C has already confirmed that all 5 girls have spoken, and that She is willing to get bacfk together for a goodbye tour, but does not want to record any new material with the girls. Also it seems that their managment company just recently bought the rights to 'spicegirlsofficial.com!'

So remember Thursday June 28th! GIRL POWER! !!

Spice Girls - Viva Forever (Acoustic Version)

Thursday, June 21, 2007

This Is For The Women Of The World Like Me!

Hey Guys...

First off apologies for the lack of updates... I have a friend over from the Uk for two weeks... so I've been busy trying to keep him entertained 24/7!

So unfortunately I don't have much time to leave a proper post... so instead I'll post some MP3's for now. I'll try to add some info about them later!

NG3


NG3 hail from Sweden and their name stands for "Nasty Girls 3." The band have had some moderate success from what I can tell and even went gold in Norway! They had a bunch of singles and an album. I've heard rumours that there may be new material in the works? The band also tried to break into the Uk back in 2004... but that didn't work out too well!

Here they are in all their glory with my favorite NG3 tracks...

NG3 - The Anthem

NG3 - Holler

NG3 - Tell Me

Up next - A Canadian Pop Extraveganza... and one of my all time favorite Swedish summer bands!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I'll Never Let Another Teardrop Fall...


Does anyone remember back in 1999 - 2002, you were either a Backstreet Boys fan or an *Nsync fan.


While I liked both, I would always side with BSB and they have never let me down. Having been around for well over 10 years now, the band is getting ready to release a new album; their first without Kevin Richardson who left last year.

Their last album, 'Never Gone' is one of the best albums ever produced! Although the album only had one hit single in the US, the album has sold over 3 Million copies around the world!

The bands management has strategically leaked 3 songs on the web to 'test the waters' and guage fans reactions. Their management pulled a similar tactic before 'Never Gone' was released. The web was flooded with tonnes of new BSB tracks. Fans reactions helped decide which songs would make the final cut.

This song is sweet and simple. While it doesn't scream hit single... it is a strong album track and has great vocals and lyrics. I can't wait for the album!


This was one of the leaked tracks from 'Never Gone.' The track never made it to the album and features the boys doing a very different sound than we're used to from BSB.

Another track that didn't make it onto 'Never Gone.' The track was featured as a bonus track on some releases.

You're Living In Delirium


So my friend over at PopPosterGirl has scooped me once again. I've been planning a post on Lena Philipsson all week and sure enough she posted about Lena the other day!

But that's ok... I'm not afraid of looking like a copy cat... the fact is we both have amazing taste in music... and there's enough room for all of us in bloggville! So onto Lena Philipsson.

Lena has been around for more than 20 years in Sweden, with her career starting off back in 1984! After her debut single she participated in Melodifestivalen in 1986, 1987 and 1988! Throughout the '90' s she released many more albums, always re-inventing herself. Then in 1997 she simply stopped.

Then in 2004, after a 7 year hiatus Lena EXPLODED back onto the music scene by entering and winning Melodifestivalen with the now infamous 'Det Gor Ont.' The album went gold in just 9 days!

Earlier this year Lena celebrated over 20 years of music by releasing a greatest hits collection, simply named 'Lena 20 Ar.'

And for you... my all time favorite Lena Philipsson tracks:






Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Bring It All Back...

So I've decided to go out on a limb here and dig out some songs that you probably thought you would never hear again. Songs that aren't particularly good and are probably better best forgotten!

But it can be fun to dust them off and play them again after not hearing these songs for years!

So before you download these songs... I warn you... maybe it's better that they remain forgotten?! Download if you dare!
The Boomtang Boys had considerable success in 1999 when their debut album went gold in Canada. They released 3 singles with vocalist - Kim Esty. The most memorable being their debut single 'Squeeze Toy.'

There was a time when Adam Rickitt was the most featured face in pop music magazines in the Uk. His music career was short lived and despite having signed a 6 album deal... he was dropped when his debut album failed to enter the top 40.
After touring with Britney Spears and NSYNC in the USA the band released a full album and had small success with their debut single 'Messed Around.' The group disbanded soon after. This band definitely deserved to end up in the pop music cemetary.
This was a one off single that originated in Germany. The band was a pop super group made us of many popular acts in Germany at the time to raise money for charity. The band featured artists like The Backstreet Boys, The Moffats, Mr. President & Gil.
This is a girl band that opened for Girls Aloud back in 2005. Their only single was pretty lame, although the chorus is catchy!

Originally part of a duo 'Metro' discovered by Simon Cowell. D-mac eventually released this single back in 2002.
I used to LOVE this song by US girlband - Dream. The girls were signed by Sean Diddy Combs. The band had considerable success with their first two singles hitting the top 5 in the USA. After the Sept. 11th attacks further singles from the debut album were cancelled. In 2003 the band attempted a comeback with their 2nd album. But after the first single failed to find commercial success, Dream were dropped by Bad Boy Records. The album, though it had already been recorded... was cancelled.


This Russian bombshell should have had more success! She's released some amazing singles in the Uk and all of them have failed to find the success they deserve. This was one of my faves.
Going all the way back to 1995 with this one!

After being dropped in the Uk... the girls still had an album released in Australia and in parts of Asia.
After having massive success with 'Summer Girls' the group faltered with their 2nd album. This was one of the gems found on their 2nd alb.

Who wasn't singing along to this back in 1996!

Ok i'm too tired to add anymore! If you guys liked this I'll post a part two sometime soon!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

It Should Have Been A Single...


So I have a secret... I'm a Celine Dion fan! So I'll try to make this my last Celine post.

After taking an extended break in 2000 Celine Dion made her comeback with "A New Day Has Come" in 2002. Despite topping the charts in most countries around the world and kickstarting her career once again... the album received mediocre reviews. Critics called the album 'forgettable' and the lyrics 'lifeless.' Mainstream radio had moved away from artists like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston and were playing R & B. There was less and less opportunities to receive airplay for a singer like Celine Dion on mainstream radio.

In 2003 Celine Dion decided to try something new. Releasing the album "One Heart," an album that attempted to do something different than the soaring, melodramatic ballads she was known for. The critics hit back even harder this time. The album was labeled 'predictable' and 'banal.'

Since then Celine Dion has managed to make a comeback in a HUGE way. Instead of focusing on mainstream radio she has focused on her roots... singing in french. She has released 3 french albums in the last 4 years.

2 weeks ago Celine Dion proved that she isn't going anywhere. Her new french album 'D'elles' is the number 1 album in Canada for the last two weeks and has already gone 2x Platinum. The album debuted at number 1 in 4 Countries!

When her show in Las Vegas ends later this year she will attempt to reclaim internationall success with the release of a new english album in October.

Despite the fact that 'One Heart' was panned by critics, there were some amazing pop songs that are rare for a singer like Celine Dion. 3 tracks were written and produced by pop genius Max Martin. One of the best was a song called 'Faith' which should have been a single!




I was lucky enough to see Celine in Las Vegas in 2005 and the show was SPECTACULAR! I've never seen anything like it. She was flawless! My friend and I screamed so loud throughout the entire show the old lady next to us told us to shut up! At the end of the show a guard in a suit came up to us and asked if we were big fans. He said that since we were making such a scene that maybe we'd like to go backstage for a tour! We actually got to stay in the colleseum and go backstage to see how the show worked. Celine was gone by then... but had to be one of the coolest things I've had the chance to see.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Shook My Life & Hit Me Like A Drum...


Being such a huge fan of international pop music, I am always amazed at the number of artists that can end up having massive success in some countries, while they will be completely unknown in others.

The US is especially notorious for being almost impossible to 'break' into. Record stores are littered with albums from established international artists that failed to have any chart success at all. Even US record labels have been accused of paying off radio stations to play tracks from artists like Mariah Carey, Beyonce & Britney Spears (i.e. Pay For Play.) In 2005 one of the worlds largest record labels 'Sony BMG' was found guilty of 'Pay for play' and had to pay 10 Million dollars in a settlement.

One artist that reached massive international success across Europe in the last few years is Helena Paparizou. You may remember Helena as the lead singer for Greek band - Antique who had a number of hit singles between 1999 - 2003.

After going solo and releasing her debut album in 2004, Helena was approached to represent Greece at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. She accepted and 'My Number One' became the 2005 Greek entry at Eurovision. The song won the contest and shot Helena into the international spotlight overnight.

After a succcessful tour in 2005 she went back into the studio and the first new song to be released was 'Mambo,' which stayed at number 1 in Greece for an outstanding 10 weeks straight!

2006 saw the release of her second album 'The Game Of Love' in English and 'Yparhi Logos' in Greek. Various record labels across the globe acquired the rights to release her music. Depsite success in Greece, Sweden, France and Belguim, Helena wasn't able to be everywhere at once. Tracks were released in The US and the UK but failed to have any success due to little or no promotion at all.

I expect to hear big things from Helena over the next year and so should you! Her first two albums have been extremely well done and are full of hits! Discover Helena Paparizou below...

Trivia - Although Helena releases music outside of Greece under the name 'Helena.' Her real name is infact Elena Paparizou but goes with Helena to avoid confusion in pronounciation in other countries.

Helena Paparizou - Mambo
Helena Paparizou - You Set My Heart On Fire
Helena Paparizou - Gigolo
Helena Paparizou - The Game Of Love
Helena Paparizou - Heros
Helena Paparizou - It's Gone Tomorrow

Bonus - Antique - Follow Me (Club Mix)












Monday, June 04, 2007

Ace of Base vs Ace Of Base - Part 1


Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE Ace of Base fan. The first pop song I ever liked was "The Sign" back in 1994. I don't know what it is about the band that fasinates me so much. Perhaps it's a bit of rotting for the underdog. The band exploded onto the international music scene with their debut album. It broke worldwide records and for a long time was the best selling debut album from any artist in the world until the Spice Girls finally outsold them in the late 90's.

Today I'll post the first of a 3 part special on Ace of Base. I'll focus first on their 3rd album, and their struggles with their record companies in 1998-1999.

After their 2nd album, 'The Bridge' in 2005 the band started to have problems with record companies around the world. In 1998 the band had 7 different record labels around the world, each label wanting the band to have a different sound. Now another thing I love about Ace of Base is that they write, sing, and produce most of their own music. For a group with such artistic integrity the band found it hard to maintain control and keep record labels in different countries happy at the same time.

As a result, when the 3rd album was released there were extensive differences in tracklistings and single releases depending on which country you were in.

For most of Europe the first single was 'Life is a Flower.' The song was upbeat, catchy and had a positive message. The song went on to win an award for receiving the most radio airplay out of every song released in Europe in 1998.

Their Uk record label had asked the band to cover 'Cruel Summer' for the 3rd album and it was chosen as the 2nd single from the album 'Flowers.' This was when the problems began with their North American record label. Clive Davis and Arista records who were releasing Ace of Base records in North America had decided the album was "Too European" in nature and had the band made extensive changes to the album.

1. Cruel Summer was decided on for the first single in North America. This proved to be a smart move. The track was top 10 in the USA & top 5 in Canada, their first hit in 4 years. The album was re-named 'Cruel Summer.' The version released across Europe was different from the American version. In France the band recorded a more acoustic based version with French boyband - Alliage.

2. Life is A Flower was too european. Clive Davis had the band re-record the track with new lyrics, changing the track into a love song. The key was also changed. The track was released as their second single but failed to get any promotion on radio stations. There was no music video filmed either and the song peaked at #76 in the US. There were no more singles released in North America from the album.

3. The album was lacking any radio friendly ballads. Clive Davis convinced 'Linn' who had not sung any lead vocals on the album, to record a beautiful ballad 'Everytime It Rains.'

4. A number of songs on the album were re-produced and mixed differently from the versions on the European album. The changes often were to give the songs a darker or more 'American' feel to them. Other songs were left off the American album completely.

So what did all this meddling mean when it came to the music? Luckily the material the band produced was amazing quality. Even the changed tracks were amazing. Although the band did not always have complete control over their material, it is a rare occasion where there were over 25 versions of tracks released in various parts of the world from one single album instead of the usual 10 - 15.

So take a minute and listen to some of the tracks below. Hear the differences between the American and the European versions and decide for yourself.


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Friday, June 01, 2007

S.O.A.P Is In The Air...

It's funny how looking back over my cd collection you see how long ago it was that these songs were released! I just found my old single for S.O.A.P - This Is How We Party, that was released almost 10 years ago now in 1998! After looking them up I found out they had a second album out in Europe with some GREAT pop songs!

S.O.A.P were a dansh duo of sisters who's debut single was an international hit! After the success wore off the band went on to release a second album in Europe and tour as the opening act for Savage Garden back in 2000.

Soon after the tour the band decided to call it a day and S.O.A.P was finished. But that didn't stop one of the sisters from continuing to release music as a solo artist!

Check out some of my fave S.O.A.P songs below!

S.O.A.P - This Is How We Party

S.O.A.P - I Wanna Go Back

S.O.A.P - Like A Stone (In The Water)

Saseline Sorensen - Postergirl

Next time a little Ace Of Base perhaps?!