I'll Soon Be Gone Now...

I recently found out a little trivia fact for you...

What song holds the record for having the longest vocal note held by a singer?

It's held by Morten Harket the lead singer of A-Ha. In 2000 their single 'Summer Moved On' hit the Uk top 40. In the track Morten holds a vocal note for 20.2 seconds; The longest vocal note ever held in a Uk top 40 hit.

This was done without any vocal stretching effects and you can hear him hit the note live at one of their concert appearances.

A-Ha are probably most famous for their huge 80's hit - 'Take On Me,' but suprisingly the band has continued recording to this day and has had moderate success recently in Europe with some of their singles.

I'm actually a big fan of their track 'Did Anyone Approach You.' I love his voice in this one and the way it builds up as it goes along. What do you think?

One of their most recent hits was 'Analogue' which I'm posting for you as well. This track has a great use of piano against a guitar. A-Ha has really shown that they are a talented band and deserve the recognition they've received with their last two albums.

A-Ha - Did Anyone Approach You

A-Ha - Analogue

A-Ha - Summer Moved On (Listen for the 20.2 second long note at 3:10)

Spice Up Your Life!

Dreams really do come true!

The Spice Girls JUST announced 3 more dates for their tour... and they're now opening the tour in my city - Vancouver, Canada!

If you haven't registered for tickets yet... get on it!
Don't worry if the girls aren't coming to your city, because you can now vote where the girls should play! Whichever city gets the most votes will be "SPICE CITY" and will get their own tour stop!

GIRL POWER!

Check out this AMAZING new promo shot the girls just did as well!

The Day It Rained Forever...

Aurora is a dance act created by 2 english DJ's. The act had their debut back in 1999 with the single "Hear You Calling" and soon exploded in the Uk charts with their follow up single, a cover of Duran Durans 'Ordinary World' which peaked at #5 in the Uk!

Like many dance acts the band has worked with many different vocalists to record their songs. After the band had success with 'Ordinary World' they teamed up with 'Lizzy Pattinson' who became the new full time lead vocalist for Aurora. The band began to work on their debut album and in 2002 released 'Dreaming.'

But the album turned out to be a bit of a suprise. Instead of focusing on the dancey/trance hits that made the group famous, the album was a collection of slower ballad based songs. Unfortunately their further singles failed to set the charts on fire and there wasn't much more heard from the band after the album was released.

The band released further singles in 2003, 2005 and in 2006 each track using a different lead vocalist.

None of the singles have matched the success of their earlier singles. Their last single was in 2006, a cover of the Texas hit 'Summer Son.' It peaked at #82 in the Uk.

Still at once time Aurora was one of my favorite bands to listen to! I find their singles to be extremely catchy and easy to sing along to. Their videos are quite nice to watch at well! Find out for yourself below...

My favorite song from Aurora has to be 'The Day It Rained Forever.' I don't know what it is about the song... but i absolutely LOVE the title!

Aurora - Ordinary World

Aurora - The Day It Rained Forever (Pop Beats Version)

Aurora - Sleeping Satellites

Aurora - Real Life

BATTLE OF THE B-Sides!

That's right... today I launch a fun new interactive experience on this blog!

The first ever Battle of the B-sides! B-sides are typically a dumping ground for bad songs that weren't good enough to make it onto an artists album... but sometimes an artist suprises fans with a B-side that is spectacular and in some cases is better than the single itself!

Today I want to celebrate some of these B-sides and challenge you to decide which B-side is the best! I tried to pick a range of tracks that are each a little different from the others but each track is a great tune!

You will have a chance to vote on all 12 B-sides and after 1 week the top 6 will move onto the semi-finals. From there we will narrow it down to the top 2 tracks until there is only one B-side left standing!

Let the battle begin...

Ace of Base - No Good Lover

5ive - Sometimes

Westlife - Still Here

Steps - Just Like The First Time

Ace of Base - Don't Stop

Will Young - Hey Ya

Girls Aloud - The Crazy Life

Pop! - Precious

Rachel Stevens - Queen

Ben Adams - I'm Gone

Duncan James - This Day

Ace Of Base - Mercy Mercy

Now please vote for your favorite B-sides to the right!

Sexy... No No No

Here it is! The brand new smokin' single from Girls Aloud! The first single from their forthcoming 4th album!

Girls Aloud - Sexy!... No, No, No

Once again the girls atre pushing the boundaries of pop music and giving us something totally fresh and new! I LOVE IT!

The Sun Shines Brighter

If you keep up to date on your Uk Boybands you'll know who 'Ultra' is.

When the band released their first single back in 1998 - Say You Do, it got to number 11. The band were then suprised to hear that the single went #1 in Italy of all places!

Over the next 2 years the band had several singles hit the top 20 in the Uk, Italy and Spain! Despite being mobbed by over 3000 female fans once... the band maintained that their popularity came from their songs that they helped write and produce.

But as always things changed due to record company politics. When it came time to record their 2nd album in 2000 the band found that everyone that worked for the record label when they had been signed no longer worked for Warner. It seemed that despite selling over 1 million albums, no one at Warner was interested in continuing to release music with 'Ultra.'

Despite other offers from other labels the band was disillusioned with the music industry and the band finally split up in 2001.

3 members of Ultra ended up forming their own music production company and ended up writing songs for Bryan Adams, Kylie Minogue, Liberty X, Phixx and Natasha Bedingfield.

In 2005 the band started spending more time together and decided to release a new album... this time with no record labels to hold them back. In Feb. 2006 the band released their 2nd album 'The Sun Shines Brighter.'

And despite that fact that they no longer grace the covers of teen magazines or have their singles playing non stop on radios... the band is finally making the music they want, their way.

The new songs are good too, they're a lot more grown up and mature. What do you think? Were you an Ultra fan? Do you like the new stuff?

So here is some retro Ultra vs the new Ultra.

Ultra - The Right Time

Ultra - Rescue Me

vs

Ultra - Right Here, Right Now

Ultra - The Sun Shines Brighter

Ultra - Feeling Alive

How Do We Sleep While Our Beds Are Burning...

Novaspace had success in Germany and other European countries between 2002-2004. The band was a collaboration between singer Jessica Bohrs and dance producer Felix Gauder. Novaspace had moderate success across Europe and released 2 studio albums and one remix album in their time together.

My all time favorite is their cover of the 1988 classic 'Beds Are Burning.' This is a great track to blast this summer and the video is fun too.

Novaspace - Beds Are Burning

The Sun Has Come Your Way...

Oh how the mighty fall...

After the 2nd series of 'Pop Idol' in the Uk... runner up contestants Sam and Mark decided to join forces and begin recording together as 'Sam & Mark.' They signed with Simon Fuller and immediately released a beatles cover 'With a Little Help From My Friends' which entered the Uk singles chart at #1! Things were looking bright for the two-some!

The duo released their second single 'The Sun Has Come Your Way' in July 2004. Unfortunately a high chart position did not come their way a 2nd time. The single peaked at a dissapointing #19 and the boys were dropped.

But these boys don't give up. Despite their failure as a recording act, the boys have managed to successfully carve out a career in television hosting various programs in the Uk including TOTP Reloaded, Level Up and their latest show - Do Something Different!

So while we most likely will never have another single from the boys... we'll always have this pop gem which I happened to love!

Sam & Mark - The Sun Has Come Your Way

What Have I Done To Deserve This...

UPDATED: The link to 'Some Day' was incorrect... It's now updated with the correct track

If you follow Eurovision, you may be familiar with Manual Ortega. After his debut single 'El Amor, La Vida' became a huge hit in Austria, he represented his country at Eurovision with 'Say A Word.'

It turns out his failure at Eurovision didn't stop him... he's gone on to release 3 albums in Austria and is still releasing material today.

My favorite songs from him are the ones from his debut album 'Any Kind Of Love' which you can discover below.

Manuel Ortega - Some Day
I love the build up at the start or this track.

Manuel Ortega - 123 You're Fooling Me

The guitar in this track is very hard hitting... as is the sound of breaking glass that kicks the song off.

Manuel Ortega - Now That You're Gone

I would actually love to hear someone more established cover this track. I think with someone elses voice on lead vocals it would be even better.

I Know It Takes 22 Steps From The Walk To Your Door...

If you like boys that sing sappy songs with guitars you'll like the new single by Australian Idol winner: Damien Leith.

The new single is a little bland... but I really like the lyrics. They're the kind of lyrics I think everyone can relate to...

Now although I haven't fallen for his new single... Damien Leith stole my heart late last year with his debut single - Night Of My Life. The song was number 1 in Australia for 4 weeks and went platinum in it's first week of release!

So here you can download both of Damiens singles... Night Of My Life is a MUST download!

Damien Leith - Night Of My Life

Damien Leith - 22 Steps

Calling Angels...

There is a lot of buzz starting over the new BWO double-A side that is being released soon... until then let's look at another band that is often compared to BWO.

Nouveau Riche was a duo of Ulrich & Dominika (Ex- Army Of Lovers) and they released 2 singles back in 2005. Soon after Dominika decided to leave the band.

It wasn't long before it was announced that Camilla Brink would replace her. Their new single 'Angels' and their new album have just been released in Sweden. The album includes new recordings of the first 2 singles and their website makes no mention of the fact that Dominika was once a part of the band.

I don't know if I really like their songs or not... they're ok... but just not as catchy as track from BWO. What do you think?

Nouveau Riche - Angels

Nouveau Riche - Oh Lord (Single Version)

Nouveau Riche - Calling All Boys

Nouveau Riche - It's My Party

We Love To Entertain You

WOW!

You know when you hear a song and you know from the first 5 seconds that you've just found your new favorite song?!

Well wait until you hear this! It's the German B-side to 'Shine.' I don't know why this wasn't included on their album because it's a sure fire hit. It's like nothing the band has ever done before... which is maybe why it wasn't on the album... it definitely would have stood out from the other tracks.

When bands do songs dedicated to their fans they can sometimes come off as fake or forced... not this one! I was lucky enough to see Take That on their reunion tour last year and they were so cool. They were so grateful to be given the chance to perform for their fans again.

This song deserves so much more than a B-side... It's one of my new favorite songs of the year! Hopefully you agree!

Take That - We Love To Entertain You

Bengtzing Come Back!

It's no secret that I LOVE Linda Bengtzing. One of the first posts I ever did was devoted to the Swedish songtress!

After performing in Melodifestivalen 2005 & 2006, releasing an amazing Shlagerific album, being nominated for a Swedish Grammy and then hitting #1 earlier this year with 'Varsta Schlagern' it's time that Linda releases a new album!

Swedish Press and my friend PopPosterGirl reported on this earlier this month. Supposedly Linda wants to release a new single, but is having a hard time convincing her record label to release it before her album is ready.

As much as I would love to see her at Melodifestivalen again next year... I think her record label needs to speed things along and get the album released sooner than later! Who's with me?!

For now I'll spend my time blasting her debut album and the few gems that were included on various 'Fame Factory' albums. One of which is posted below with some album tracks!

Linda Bengtzing - Steg For Steg (Fame Factory 2005)

Linda Bengtzing - Han Ar Min
Linda Bengtzing - Medan Du Sov

We'll Keep The Neighbours Awake Too Late...

There is one artist I've been waiting patiently for to release new material. Recently he announced he would even be working with Pop God Max Martin! That got my hopes up even higher!

Then I heard this... Shayne Wards new single - If That's Ok With You.

What the hell did he do?! This has to be the worst single so far this summer. I love that he's trying to do something more upbeat after an album of ballads. The song is definitely trying to be a summer hit, but the song does nothing for his voice. It sounds like he's trying to be an R & B singer or something?! The more I listen to it the more physically ill I get... I think I have to delete the song. If his whole album is full of this crap I will never forgive him!!! This is probably just his way of stopping the constant comparisons to Westlife. Basically his last album was just a cover of every album Westlife has ever done, But I happen to LOVE Westlife!

Hear for yourself and tell me what you think. Just to make up for how crap it is I'll also post some of his old songs to show that once upon a time he was amazing!

Shayne Ward - If That's Ok With You

Shayne Ward - Someone To Love

Shayne Ward - A Better Man

Shayne Ward - Next To Me

Meet The Man Of The Hour...

Scott Simons

I just heard this song and I'm left speechless. The first question I had after it was over is... where has this guy been all my life! He really transformed this song from a fun summer anthem into something special. I think we're all going to hear the name Scott Simons A LOT more in the future!

Visit his website - Here.

Scott Simons - Umbrella

How Many Times Before We Understand...

The A-Teens started back in 1998 as 'The Abba Teens,' doing covers of ABBA songs. I remember when they came out I HATED them. I don't know what it was but I hated the fact that their whole existence was just doing lame ABBA covers. I spent about a year bashing them!; they were the band I loved to hate.

And that's when it happened. I heard their new single 'Upside Down!' No matter how hard I tried to hate it... it kept getting stuck in my head until I finally cracked under the pressure and bought the single. I kept it hidden from everyone I knew... I thought I could keep it a deep dark secret. But a few months later I saw the video for their next single 'Halfway Around The World.' Before I knew it I was hiding my face as I went to the record store to buy the album 'Teen Spirit.'

It turns out I wasn't the only one that fell for the 4 young Abba loving Swedes. Their debut album was a top ten hit across the globe with their singles hitting top ten in almost every country they were released in. The band even did the impossible and broke into the U.S market!

In 2000 it was announced the band would start releasing original material and 'Upside Down' was their first. The track was a huge success again hitting top ten across the globe. Their album went on to similar success as well.

I find it really interesting that a band as pop based as the A*Teens failed to make any impact in the Uk! Although 'Upside Down' reached #10 back in 2000... 'Halfway Around the World' barely made top 30 and their album failed to make top 75 in 2001. Meanwhile in the U.S their album sold over 500'000 copies.

Despite the failure in the Uk the band continued to sell albums everywhere. In 2001 Disney invited he band to record a song for the 'Princess Diaries' soundtrack. When it was released in Sweden, 'Heartbreak Lullaby' stayed in the charts for over 4 months! The album ended up selling over 1 million copies worldwide.

The band went on to release their final album in 2002. Despite successful singles from that album... sales were not as strong worldwide as their record label had hoped. Sales for their 3rd album peaked at approx. 350'000 copies.

In 2004 after the release of their Greatest Hits album and their final single 'I Promised Myself' the band parted ways and started their own solo projects. The 3 new tracks from their Greatest Hits album showed a maturity that the band had grown into in their 6 years together and I was extremely dissapointed to see the band split up. Although... how long can you go on with a name like The A* Teens.

A*Teens - I Promised Myself

A*Teens - The Final Cut
A*Teens - A Perfect Match

A*Teens - Closer To Perfection

Watch When I Become Me...

Earlier in the year I was introduced to Anders Johansson over at PopPosterGirls blog. She posted a track 'Is He The One.' The song was stunning, with lyrics and a melody that had you singing along from the first listen.

I was so enthralled by the song that when I was in Sweden I went and bought both of his albums before even listening to them. Unfortunately I found that the rest of the tracks on his albums are nowhere near as good as 'Is He The One.' But still there are one or two songs that do stand out from the rest and I'll post my favorites below.

PopPosterGirl recenltly posted the new single from Anders, a cover of 'Alone' originally done by 'Heart.' Check out her amazing blog - Here.

Anders Johansson - When I Become Me

Anders Johansson - Meant To Fly