You Don't Know Pop!

MOVING ON

2009-02-05T23:59:00.001-08:00

ATTENTION POP MUSIC LOVERS!

Effective Immediately I'm closing this blog...

BECAUSE...

WE HAVE A NEW HOME!!!!!!

www.youdontknowpop.com

I'm happy to announce that we are moving effective today!

So tell your friends, update your bookmarks, change your links and scream it from the rooftop!

I've always wanted my own website address without the whole blogger part to it and now I finally have it.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Thanks to everyone who made this blog what it is!

In a short time we've received more than 150'000 Page Views! WOWSA!

I look forward to sharing even more of the music I love with all of you at the new site

www.youdontknowpop.com

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Not Cool.

2009-02-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

Just a note:

As Bloggers I know that we all get information from each other about the songs that we love and we all share that information between us... it's what makes blogging fun and it's how I've made some good friends in the blogging world.

In fact many of the songs I post come from various sources from all over. But I don't go to other blogs, take a song and then post it on my own blog. In fact there's often songs I want to blog about that other great bloggers get to first and then I avoid blogging about the same song because they got to it first!

If you like something I've posted... post a link on your blog like I've done here in the past.

I love to see a good blog so if you have your own blog and want me to feature your link here please e-mail me and I'll add it.

Lets Push It Harder Tonight

2009-02-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

Attention pop music lovers. Here is your new favorite song of the week!

I don't know how I missed this last year but this song has been kicking around for ages now.

Addictiv is a Canadian singer who has released a handful of singles in Canada without any major success until recently. With each spin 'Tonight' continued to garner more and more airplay across the country as people began to hear the song for the first time.

With little to no promotion the song eventually made it into the top 50 and became quite the sleeper hit through the fall.

I don't get a chance to post music from fellow Canadians too often so I'm pretty happy to share this one.

It's a great song to dance to and could easily be mistaken for a track from the Pussycat Dolls.

Addictiv - Tonite

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When Good Songs Go Bad: She Doesn't Got It

2009-02-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

What is it about french songs not translating well to english?

The best example of this has always been Alizee who had some fantastic french singles that not only didn't sound as good when they were sung in english, they flat out didn't make much sense!

Anyone remember this classic line?

"Bubbles and water
Legs up for hours
My goldfish is under me
To bathe for hours
Makes my mouth water
I’m “formely” ecstatic
It’s not a problem
I lazy ‘round
Bubbly and stubborn"

What the heck?! Those are actually the English lyrics to Alizee's single - I'm Fed Up.

Well someone thought the only way to break Kate Ryan into the Uk would be to translate her mega hit "Ella Elle La" into English.

That person needs to be fired.

Not only has the song lost it's punch but the flow of the lyrics is lost when she sings it in English.

Am I being too harsh? What do you guys think? Hate it? Love it?

Kate Ryan - Ella Elle La (English Version)

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Back To The Beat!

2009-02-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

2008 is over and it's time to start focusing on 2009!

January was filled with great pop music and I have so much to share with you guys!

The first new song of 2009 is one I'm really excited about.

'The Days' are the first new boyband of 2009 and after a lot of touring and getting their name out there are finally releasing their debut single - "No Ties" on February 16th in the Uk.

The band hails from the Uk and consist of brothers Luke and Dan with their two friends Harry and Tim. The band was discovered by the same label that discovered Coldplay and Keane and I'm going to go out on a limb and predict a big hit for these boys.

Their debut single reminds me of "The Midway State" but a lot more fun and upbeat. It's guitar and piano driven pop music with really catchy vocals. My favorite part is the "Dadada Da Da Dada!" It's a perfect weekend pop song!

You can purchase their single both digital and physical on Feb 16th but you definitely need to check out the video below and hear the track for yourself.

If you like that check out a bonus track as well.

The Days - You're A Rock (Demo Version)

You can purchase the debut single 'No Ties' - HERE

2008 - Melodifestivalen Favorites

2009-02-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

I really can't believe it's been one year since we all waited anxiously to hear the 2008 entires from BWO, Charlotte Perrelli, Sanna Nielsen and Linda Bengtzing.

2008 was a record breaking year in Sweden for Melodifestivalen as it continued to dominate the ESC National Selection contests in Europe. No country comes even close to the interest, popularity and success of Melodifestivalen.

Personally I felt like 2008's competition was one of the best I've seen. Not only were the songs fantastic but the competition was fierce! Almost every semi-final was a real nail-biter with no obvious winner for the most part. There was scandal... whether you were voting for or against "Androla" there was scandal when Carola and Andreas failed to make it through to the finals after losing to 'Nordman' in the Second Chance Round. And the best part was that although Charlotte was pegged as a favorite to win even before the songs were played it was a close call as Sanna came THIS CLOSE to beating her.

After one year are the songs still as good? Which songs had staying power?

Here are my favorite Melodifestivalen songs of 2008!

I tried to organize them but I can't choose the best of them... I like them all! The first 5 are definitely the top 5 ... but really they're all interchangable within the top and bottom list.

Alexander Schold - Den Forsta Svalan

I don't think this song would work as well in English as is does in Swedish. I was lucky enough to catch Alexander singing a live acoustic version of this track right in downtown Stockholm and it was even better then the studio version.

Amy Diamond - Thank You

Probably the funnest song of the year. I never expected her to win with this one but I'm glad she made it through to the finals. Amy continues to release some of the best pop music in sweden. Every track on each of her 3 albums is really good which is rare for a pop artist.

Charlotte Perrelli - Hero

The song that won it all. A fantastic performance, the voice, the lasers and the world famous head spin dance move. Too bad the music video was a complete waste. Something tells me that after she bombed at Eurovision, the Swedes are going to go in a completely different direction this year.

Linda Bengtzing - Hur Svart Kan De Va?

Linda! She's so determined and shes my absolute favorite swedish celebrity. She also got her highest Melodifestivalen placing with this track which the juries loved but the swedish public didn't reward with votes unfortunately. Oh Linda... please come back in 2010!!

Johnson & Haggkvist - One Love (Soundfactory Remix Posted For Download)

The best moment ever was when Carola thought she was going to win the spot in the finale and they called 'Nordman' instead. You can re-live the moment again on YouTube!

Patrik Isaksson & Bandet - Under Mitt Tunna Skinn

I told you before that I love Patrik Isakssons voice and this is my favorite song of his overall. He ALMOST had a spot in the finals too!

BWO - Lay Your Love On Me

Ok so this song should be really high on the list as well. Not only is it one of their best songs in a long time (IMO) but their performance was amazing. I loved Marina sprawled across the couch whispering into the mic for her one line.

Daniel Mitsogiannis - Pame

Although the song is one of my favorites of the year... this performance was one of the absolute worse! What was he wearing?! Who choreographed that routine?! It was a disaster :(

Nordman - I Lagornas Sken

I never really liked this one until after all was said and done and I got home and stopped blaming them for taking Carolas rightful spot in the finale. I really enjoy this track now and how different it is from the rest of them.

Ola - Love In Stereo

Sure the bagpipes make absolutely no sense at all to the song... but who cares?!

Sibel - That's Where I'll Go

Another song that took awhile to grow on me... I think it was actually watching her belt it out live that made me really appreciate the track.

Something Kinda ... NEW!

2009-01-31T10:33:00.001-08:00

ATTENTION POP MUSIC LOVERS!

I believe in sharing music with other music fans so that we can discover new artists, share the music we love and promote artists around the world. I also believe in supporting artists who release this music by purchasing their albums and seeing them on tour.

Living in North America where there isn't a lot of good ole fashioned pop music around you can go your whole life unaware of all the amazing acts and songs that are around out there.

That's why I started this blog and to keep this goal alive I have a MASSIVE change coming to "You Don't Know Pop."

I hope to reveal it very soon, so although there haven't been a lot of updates in the last week... keep your browsers here so you'll catch the announcement when it comes!

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You're Up Then You're Down

2009-01-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

We interupt this list of farovite songs from 2008 for an exclusive with Katy Perry!

Yesterday some friends and I won tickets to the Virgin Radio launch party and were treated to an acoustic performance from the singer.

We also won a chance to go backstage which we used as an opportunity to confirm that Katy Perry has indeed named her cat... Kitty Purry.

Katy Perry has one of my favorite tracks of 2008 with the Max Martin written - Hot & Cold.

Thanks Katy!

2008 - Favorite Singles

2009-01-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

So far you've seen some of my favorite breakthrough artists, my favorite Swedish singles and some of the best not quite pop songs of the year.

Now here's a top 20 selection of some of my favorite miscellaneous pop songs of the year. It's just a coincidence that most of the tracks come from British artists! I tried to organize and rank them from high to low but all of these songs got a lot of play from me this year and I like them all for various reasons.

Disclaimer - I find it far too difficult to rank my favorite songs overall that's why I've been splitting my posts up into different categories :) If you take the top 2 songs in each post then you'll have a good idea what my ultimate top 10 of the year would have been.

Disclaimer #2 - I know I'm going take a lot of flack for putting Westlife so high on this list... I guess I just can't get enough of boybands!

UPDATE: Mp3's have been removed by request.

Brian McFadden - Twisted
I posted this track recently and I remember one of the comments that a reader left was how surprised they were that they actually liked it as much as they did. If you missed that post or you failed to listen to the song... give it a chance and see what you think.

Westlife - Something Right
The band are currently on a hiatus and I miss them already. Haha... I'm a loser. I absoutely love this song. Am I the only one out there that LOVED this song? Please leave a comment and let me know that I'm not alone. Although let's not talk about the disgusting video that was made for it.

McFly - One For The Radio
I absolutely love this song from McFly. Last year it was 'The Heart Never Lies' and this year they had me shouting along to 'One For The Radio.

Craig David - Insomnia
Finally Craig David releases a truly amazing pop song and it's completely overlooked by almost the entire world?! Sigh. I hear ya Craig... I hear ya!

Kate Ryan - Ella Elle La
Probably one of the biggest international pop hits of the year. Kate Ryan continues to improve with every release. Ella Ella La was the perfect song to dance to this summer.

Katherine McPhee - All I Need Is You
So it might not have been an official single and she may be washed up but this song was beautiful.

Pink - So What
I've never been a huge Pink fan and even this one took some time to grow on me. But after hearing it for the 10 thousandth time on the radio I finally joined in the fun.

Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come
This track probably should have been on my "not quite pop" list. If it had been it would have been very high on that list.

Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air
I still remember the first time I heard this song... I was eating lunch and I heard it on the radio. The DJ never announced who it was singing and it drove me crazy trying to find out who sang it! The remix I posted last year remains one of my favorite mixes of 2008.

Nixon - Tiffany
THANK YOU to PPG for introducing us all to this track. It's very retro in all the right ways.

Boyzone - Better
Boyzone - Love You Anyway
Boyzone came back this year and stole some of the Take That thunder! If you read my blog regularly you'll remember that last year Take That had one of my top 5 songs of the year with "We Love To Entertain You." This year Take That are nowhere to be found on my list and Boyzone had two of my favorite tracks with both of their singles.

The Saturdays - If This Is Love
A band that includes two original members of S Club 8 was destined to be amazing. The Saturdays are the best girl band since Girls Aloud. They still have a lot to learn but their debut single was a great introduction to the band.

David Jordan - Sun Goes Down
You tend to either love this track or despise it. I have a soft spot for this funky track.

Beyonce - Halo
When my friend told me I HAD to hear Beyonce's new single I said... "I'll Pass." I then spent the next two weeks playing Halo on repeat. I really thought this song would be massive when it was finally released though. What's up?! Why hasn't this song hit number one everywhere?

Ace Of Base - Lucky Love 2009
So this wasn't officially a single either but it did get released on their latest Greatest Hits package and it did chart in the France iTunes chart so I'm including it on my favorite tracks. Mostly because I'm desperate for new music from Ace of Base and at this point I'll take cheesy remakes of their old hits if I have to.

Britney Spears - Circus
Britney is back! The whole craziness around her is really quite sad so I won't say anything other than I was definitely digging her new album and 'If You Seek Amy' is going to me on my 2009 chart in 12 months!

Metro Station - Shake It
Is it just me or was no other song featured in more TV shows, movies and commercials than this track. No one seems to know who sings the song or anything about them... but everyone knows the song. SHAKE SHAKE... SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE IT!

The Feeling - I Thought It Was Over
This one is for Paul over at the Zapping. I believe he loved this song for a very long time this year.

Miley Cyrus - See You Again
Two Words... I'm sorry. It's just so damn catchy.

Enrique Iglesias - Tired Of Being Sorry
I wasn't sure if I should even include this one. I feel sorta bad for the guy... so I'm including it out of pity :)

Blind Item

2009-01-14T22:55:00.001-08:00

This will only be on here for 12 hours.

Get it while it's hot.

Go into the comments section for the link.

You won't be dissapointed.

2008 - Best Eurovision

2009-01-13T23:04:00.001-08:00

So as most of you know I'm not a HUGE Eurovision follower as I tend to be completely consumed with Swedens national selection I tend to miss out on all the Eurovision frenzy. That doesn't mean I didn't have some songs really stick out for me and get a lof of personal airplay.

The songs listed below are my favorite NON SWEDISH Eurovision tracks that either either made it into or attempted to make it into the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.

1. Euroband - This Is My Life

By far my favorite Eurovision track of 2008. There hasn't been a greater duo since Magnus Backlund and Jessica Andersson. I didn't love their album as much as I loved this track, but with outfits like this I forgive them for it. They were definitely the best dressed Eurovision act of the year. Their video is also one of the best pop videos of the year IMO.

2. Paolo Meneguzzi - Era Stupendo

So he stole Amy Diamonds song and his performance of this track was lame. The song is still one of my favorites of the year and easily steals second place.

3. No Angels - Dissapear

Paolos performance may have been weak but at least he could sing his own song. No Angels on the other hand absolutely butchered their track - Dissapear. I really do think that if they had been allowed to lip synch their track they would have done much better. Unfortunately they came across as a pop band that couldn't produce when the time came.

4. Kostas Martakis - Always And Forever

I will never forget his fantastic performance of Always and Forever in the Greek national finals. This is also my favorite Eurovision CD cover of 2008! It may have something to do with those eyes.

5. Man Meadow - Viva La Musica

In the OGAE Second Chance 2008 competition, Man Meadow placed third overall based on fan votes. Unfortunately they never made it into the Eurovision Song Contest with this track.

6. Donal Shekan - Double Cross My Heart

Yet another song that never made it to the ESC after a miserable performance in the Irish pre-selection contest. Instead of sending this good ole Ireland chose to send a stuffed Turkey. Wow.

7. Kalomira - Secret Combination

The Greeks are on a roll at Eurovision lately! This track made it to the ESC and placed 3rd overall! It's a great track very sexy with an awesome beat.

8. Tereza Kerndlova - If You Wanna Have Some Fun

So this song is extremely 'dated' and part of me didn't want to include it on my list... but out of all the 2008 songs I did end up playing this one for about a month before I lost interest, so it makes an appearance as the last song on my Eurovision favorites list.

P.S. Apologies to Ani Lorak who I just discovered really today. I think if I had heard her track earlier it would have made it onto my favorites list!

PPS. WOW I can't believe how close the votes are in my poll for favorite Swedish single! You guys seem to be split between Agnes and Velvet!!

2008 - Best Not Quite Pop

2009-01-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

Ok so hopefully this doesn't scare you all away because these songs are not typically the songs I would be posting but 2008 had a some fantastic songs that I happened to love that wouldn't normally be the kind of pop music that I would post on this site. These are songs that deserve to be mentioned because they're some of my favorite "Not Quite Pop" songs of the year.

I promise to post some fantastic cheesy pop songs very soon! I've got a bunch of new stuff to share with you all as soon as we get through these posts about 2008!

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Coldplay proved again that they are the biggest band in the world thanks mostly in part to this track which is has to be my favorite "Not Quite Pop" song of the year. I had never even heard it until one day I saw them performing the track live on tv and my favorite part was the bell. The next night I bought the track on iTunes and it's been playing non stop for most of the year.

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
If you're a fan of music there's no way you can't fall for this track. Jason Mraz has a sweet voice, the song is fun and summery and very sweet. This song should be on everyones playlist this year.

The Killers - Human

Where did this song come from?! The Killers came back in a big way this year when Human was released. Did anyone else catch their amazing performance at the MTV Europe awards this year?

The Rasmus - Livin' In A World Without You

Most of you may have heard of The Rasmus with their international hit -In The Shadows. Earlier this year they released a new album and this was their first single. It was a huge hit in their native Finland with at least 6 weeks at number 1 there.

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Kanye West - Love Lockdown

I cannot believe I'm supporting Kanye West in any way, but Love Lockdown is a unique track, very well produced and written. He may not be able to sing it live! But it is a fantastic track. The fact that he was able to appeal to a different kind of music fan with this track shows that despite how much of an ass he is... he is a talented musician.

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Fall Out Boy - I Don't Care

A great track to YELL to!

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2008 - Favorite Swedish Singles

2009-01-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

2008 gave me some favorite songs that weren't all from Sweden for the first time in a long time! Ok so a lot of them were from Sweden... I can't help it! Is there something in the water there or what? Everything they touch turns to gold!

This posting of my favorite songs has really turned into a mish mash and a bit unorganized. I thought about ranking the songs but after I got halfway I couldn't decide which ones I loved more. So the higher the song the more I like it basically!

First off you need to know that this list does not include any of the 2008 Melodifestivalen songs as I will have a post dedicated strictly to Melodifestivalen tracks next.

Danny - Radio
What a comeback! I think that 'Radio' is his best solo song to date don't you?

Agnes - On and On
Speaking of comeback, Agnes really surprised me with this track. I wasn't expecting it from her at all and wow what a pleasant surprise.

Amy Diamond - Stay My Baby
Remember back at the beginning of the year I was going crazy for Amys album 'Music In Motion?' Little did I know when I was playing this track on repeat all day that in 2 short month's I'd give it all up for her next single.

Sanna Nielsen - Nobody Without You
If Kelly Clarkson hadn't released 'Since U Been Gone' already this song could have easily been my favorite non Melodifestivalen track of the year. It was her most upbeat track on her album... if only she could do more tracks like this.

Jonathan Fagerlund - Playing Me
If it wasn't for PPG I never even would have heard of Jonathan Fagerlund. This song almost completely passed me by! I absolutely love the chorus and if you were to follow me when I'm walking outside by myself with my iPod and I thought I was all alone you'd probably hear me belting this song out. It's one of my top played tracks on my iPod this year.

Mans Zelmerlow - Miss America
Technically this track charted in the Swedish Singles chart in 2008 which makes it eligible for my favorite swedish singles list! It's a younger and more fun version of Fredrik Kempes original. Let's be honest... it's only on my list to tide me over until his new single is heard for the first time in a few weeks!

Velvet - Take My Body Close
Where did this come from? The Swedish Lisa Scott-Lee pulled this hit from out of nowhere! I've always appreciated Velvet for what she is. She's had some fun songs and she really tries so hard! After failing to get very far with 'Deja Vu' she could have given up but instead she released this Ace track! Can we please get an album this year!?

Ola - Feel/Good
I really didn't like this song at first! But I think it was only because I was still stuck on 'Love In Stereo.' Now that i've had time to let the song settle in it's really become one of my favorites of the year, especially during the summer. It's a great track to play when you're out at the beach with your friends.

Alcazar - We Keep On Rockin'
Alcazar are going to explode in 2009 just you wait. The debut single from the new 'Alcazar' was really just a way to get audiences to warm back up to the band. I predict big things from Alcazar in 2009.

BWO - Barcelona
BWO... I don't know what to say about them. Sometimes I feel like they're in a rut... othertimes they release songs that deserve to take over the entire world. 'Barcelona' is not one of their best singles of all time but it was one of my favorites from them this year.

Patrik Isaksson & Sarah Dawn Finer - Du Som Tog Mitt Hjärta
I discovered Patrik this year and I can't wait to pick up his greatest hits album when I'm in Stockholm. I don't know what it is about his voice but I can't get enough of it.

Maia Hirasawa - The Worrying Kind
Maia Hirasawa should have been sent to Eurovision instead of 'The Ark' and this version of 'The Worrying Kind' proved it to everyone.

Sibel - Walking Away
Sibel can sing an upbeat song too, see! Too bad the video was absolutely horrible and the the track really can't be classified as a hit single.

Elin Lanto - Speak N Spell
I'm really not a fan of Elin Lanto at all, but she won me over with this one.

Martin Stenmarck - Rubb Och Stubb (Bassflow Remix)
Everything Bassflow touches turns to gold, especially when it comes to Martin Stenmarck singles. It might not be as good as his 2 previous remixes with them but was still a nice addition to the collection.

E.M.D - Jennie Let Me Love You
3 number 1 singles and a number 1 album. E.M.D. are Swedens officially Swedens biggest boyband and this was my favorite track from them this year.

Magnus Carlsson - Walking In My Shoes
The new single from his greatest hits album is cute but nowhere near as good as some of his previous singles. Also is it just me or is that beat the mover overused beat in pop history. I can name at least 5 tracks that have used that exact same beat

Brolle - Det Ar Hon
I prefered this to his previous single 'Solo In Stockholm.'

Markus Fagervall - If You Don't Mean It
It's not as good as Dean Geyers version, but I still like the song and since I can now say it's swedish it can be on my list this year.

2008 - Best Breakthrough

2009-01-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

2008 was a great year for pop music and over the next month I'm going to look back at some of my favorite songs and artists of 2008.

If you read this blog actively you'll notice that I've already posted about most of these artists multiple times over the year. If you haven't taken the time to discover these artists you're missing out!

Lady Gaga
Favorite Tracks - Boys, Boys, Boys; Poker Face; Just Dance

She taught her self to play the piano by ear at age 4, she wrote her first song at age 13 and at age 14 she was already performing in public. Lady Gaga was born to be a performer! Did you know that at age 19 she was signed to a record deal but was subsequently dropped before releasing any material? It wasn't until 2007 that she signed a deal with 'Interscope' and was hired as a song writer. She started singing demos of the songs she had written for other artists and the rest is history.

Her debut single was released in April 2008 and is still top 10 in the USA in January 2009! Lady Gaga is what many are calling "The Future Of Pop" and she is here to stay.

I was lucky enough to see her live in November and she is one of the most high energy performers I've ever seen!

Alphabeat
Favorite Tracks: Go Go; Ten Thousand Nights; What Is Happening

Speaking of the next big thing Alphabeat have had a spectacular year! After making a name for themselves in Denmark the band set their sights on the Uk where they've firmly established themselves as a modern pop band after earning themselves a top 10 album and 3 top 20 singles.

Despite all their achievements the band was hit with some bad news last week when it was announced that the band has been dropped by their Uk record label. What will happen next for 'Alphabeat' seems to be undertermined but something tells me we haven't heard the last from the danish sextuplet.

The Ting Tings

Favorite Tracks: Great DJ; That's Not My Name

Not only are all my favorite breakthrough artists immensely talented but they're also fantastic live performers and they've all been turned down or dropped by various record labels.

Like Alphabeat, The Ting Tings have been together since 2004! The duo originally signed a record deal under the name "Dear Eskiimo" and were dropped soon after.

Turns out their being dropped was the best thing that could have happened to the british duo as they learnt that they had to take their career into their own hands. The band spent all of 2007 touring small gigs across the Uk making waves wherever they went. Their gigs soon started to sell out everywhere they went.

In January of last year the band was voted third in an annual "Acts Of 2008" list of emerging artists.

When their debut single "Great Dj" was finally released to mainstream radio it became an instant hit. Their second single "That's Not My Name" went number 1 in the Uk in the Spring and the band continue to tour across the world in support of their debut album.

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One Love... It's All I Need

2008-12-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

On January 1st we'll begin the look back at the best moments of 2008 in music.

Let's begin by watching how amazing this song truly is now that you've had some time to look back on it.

I'm Always The Last To Know...

2008-12-06T23:36:00.000-08:00

Melodifestivalen fever has hit hard with almost all of the artists being announced! It won't be long until we've heard the songs and the first 2 acts will make it through to the finals. Across Europe and across the globe there are all kinds of music competitions but there really is nothing that compares to the scope and magnitude of Melodifestivalen in Sweden.

At this time when the internet is on fire with stories about the entires this year I'm looking back at some of my favorite entires of the past.

I'd love to hear what your favorites are! Maybe we can do a vote on some of the best Melodifestivalen hits and misses of the last decade?

Excellence - Last To Know

This is actually the very first Melodifestivalen performance I ever saw back in 2003. Excellence won the swedish television show - Popstars and had a handful of hit singles from their debut album before entering Melodifestivalen in 2002. They performed in the first semi-finals and placed 4th initially making it to the second chance round where they placed 7th out of 8. I loved the song and their performance but unfortunately their vocals were far too weak to make it into the finals.

Sarek - Genom Eld Och Vatten

*Link Updated with correct song ;)

In 2003 Sarek performed one of of the most memorable Melodifestivalen entries in recent history. They were voted first place in their semi-final but when it came down to the finalen they placed 6th overall when they received a relatively low score from the jury.

I Want You By My Side

2008-11-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOD!

Asa you all know I'm a MASSIVE fan of Swedish singer 'Evan.' I was lucky enough to have him answer some of my questions for an interview that I posted here on YouDon'tKnowPop earlier in the year.

There was a lot of doubt as to whether he would release a third album or not and we can officially say that all doubt has been lifted as he will release his third album Mid-2009.

A huge thanks to PPG for pointing this out on your blog!

Now Evan has been kind enough to post 4 songs on his site for you to check out. I am FLOORED right now. These songs are BRILLIANT! They are even better than everything he's released in the past.

You can check out all 4 tracks HERE!

This is going to be a fantastic album and I cannot wait for it to be released.

In other news Same Difference are currently sitting at the lower end of the top 10 for their debut single! The official chart will be released on Sunday so you still have time to move them up the chart! if you haven't bought their single yet GO DO IT NOW!

The band have also announced that they'll be doing a theater tour of the Uk this Spring! So now I have to re-plan my Sweden trip so that I can be in the Uk to see Same Difference on tour!!

New Music Tuesday

2008-11-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

This week we have a song from an Ex Swedish Idol contestant and an Ex Boyband member.

Song #1: It's best described as September meets Da Buzz meets Cascada. It's catchy and dancey. Overall an impressive first single from this Swedish newcomer.

Gathania - Blackout

Song #2: Listening to this song makes me feel like A1 never really broke up. I can imagine hearing this on their album back in the day. A sweeping and dramatic upbeat pop song. Turns out Christian has had a successful career in Norway since A1 broke up.

Christian Ingebrigtsen - The Truth About Lies

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A Very Schlager Christmas?

2008-11-24T00:14:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you take 3 Melodifestivalen Diva Veterans and put them together for a Christmas Album?! Well Sanna, Shirley and Sonja have released their very own Christmas Album 'Our Christmas.'

Well unfortunately for schlager fans there's a huge lack of upbeat schlagertastic tracks. It's a sweet album and it's a real treat to hear Shirley and Sonja singing in english but overall it's lacking some "Umph." As far as I'm concerned "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is the best Christmas song of all time and I HATE Mariah Carey. But no one will ever be able to improve upon her version of that song and although Sanna and the gang give it a good effort... it really is missing the magic.

If you're looking for a touch of Schlager this Christmas you're not going to find it here. As fas as Christmas albums go this one's a little weak. Here's hoping at least one of these 3 will make a Schlager comeback at Melodifestivalen 2009. There are 7 more acts to be announced on Tuesday Morning!

Sanna, Shirley & Sonja - Silent Night

I prefer to remember them for songs like this... AMAZING!

Hope & Glory!

2008-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

WOW! THIS IS IT! Today the first 8 names were announced for Melodifestivalen 2009. There aren't too many surprises here as most of these names were already flying about. The great news is that they are now official.

Mans Zelmerlow
BWO
Sarah Dawn Finer
Emilia
Alcazar - Stay The Night
Jennifer Brown

What I find amazing is that if there are such huge names in the first 8 acts announced just wait until the rest of the acts are announced! Each of the first 8 acts are established stars in Sweden with 6 of the 8 having made it to the finals of Melodifestivalen before.

You will all remember Emilia from her massive international hit single - Big Big World... she enters Melodifestivalen for the first time next year. Jennifer Brown also makes her competition debut next year. She's been around for quite some time in Sweden and has released 4 albums over the last 15 years.

BWO - Paradise On Mars

Alcazar - I Love The DJ

The biggest question so far is what is going to happen between Alcazar and BWO! Both acts have competed multiple times in the competition and each of them have placed 3rd twice. It's clear that both acts have a massive following but it's going to take a unique song to really get the entire country to rally behind the act rather than relying just on the bands fan bases.

This is Good! This is Great!

2008-11-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today is Music Video Christmas!

1. Same Difference - We R One

The Wait is over! You can finally catch their debut video and WOW! This Is GOOD! THIS IS GREAT! The video is Grease meets Steps meets S Club 8! It's sunny and fun and catchy as hell. I think if there is any celebrity i'd want to spend the day with out on the town it would be Same Difference. They will be performing their biggest performance to date when they make an appearance on X-Factor on Nov. 22nd!

Thanks to Paul at MyFizzyPop for posting the video first! Check out his observations Here!

2. Boyzone - Better

I think Boyzone may have surpassed Take That for best comeback! This is such a beautiful song and the video is perfect! Boyzone were one of the first major pop acts to have an openly gay member when Stephen Gately came out in the late 90's. 10 years later the band are breaking down barriers by having a male love interest for Stephen in the video. It's a brave move and it's the perfect song to cuddle upto when it gets cold this winter.

3. Alphabeat - What Is Happening

Alphabeat are the band that just keeps on giving! They honestly will not stop until they've released every track on their album as a single! If you haven't joined the Alphabeat bandwagon you're missing out. Their newest video for What Is Happening is a gem!

THIS IS IT!

2008-11-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

SO!

For those of you who don't know this blog is under attack.

Over the past few weeks posts that I've made have been removed due to copyright infringements over the songs I've posted.

I will not let this stop me from posting about the best pop music around!
Shutting this blog down will not stop music fans from sharing the music they love.

The purpose of this blog is to promote the songs and artists who often only release music in select countries/territories.

As a music fan I have spent thousands of dollars on importing albums and singles from all over Europe because those cds are never released here in North America. If it wasn't for fans sharing songs from these artists online I would never have discovered the artists and never paid for the albums.

When a record label refuses to release a cd on iTunes internationally or refuses to accept North American credit cards so that fans can download the mp3's legally on the artists web site, fans have no choice but to download the songs for free using a variety of sites online.

If you are a fan of Pop music and a fan of Same Difference please support them by purchasing their album and thereby ensuring future releases from the brilliant duo.

To those of you that have heard Same Difference - We R One... I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

If you missed out on the song please visit their official myspace where you can check out clips from their forthcoming album - POP!

http://www.myspace.com/samedifferenceworld

You can pre-order the debut album from Same Difference - Here

Don't You See That Love Is Free...

2008-11-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

Does having a "gimmick" help or hurt an artist? Steps were one of the most successful pop acts of the 90's with their singles that came with the dance steps inside. With the sheer multitude of acts out there competing for a spot in the charts maybe having a "gimmick" is what sets you apart from the pack.

You see it time and time again at the Eurovision song contest as countries send novelty acts to the competition instead of real talent to try and get some attention. Silvia Night anyone? Dustin the Turkey?

Perhaps one of the most successful artists with a gimmick has to be my personal favorite novelty act - Rollergirl!

Rollergirl discovered her love of rollerskates while working at a rollerskating rink in Germany. In the late 90's Rollergirl was discovered in Spain and soon after that released her debut single - Dear Jesse a 'Madonna' cover.

In the next 3 years Rollergirl released 7 hit singles before taking off her skates for good. If you look her up on YouTube you can still see her rolling through her videos or live performances. If you're lucky enough to own her album you own a piece of history! The album comes with all her hit singles and the rare gem - "I Keep On Rolling"

Rollergirl... if you're out there somewhere please come back to Pop music. Life just isn't as fun without you. We miss your cute pink skates and your computer enchanced vocals.

I saw we start a campaign today! Rollergirl for Germanys Eurovision entry in 2009!!

Let's look back at the greatness that was 'Rollergirl.'

Remember when she gave us her take on the Japanese Geisha?
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Rollergirl - Geisha Dreams

How about her take on the classic Eternal Flame. Just wait until you get to the breakdown in the middle!

Rollergirl - Close To You

Or how about her SMASH HIT!

Rollergirl - Superstar

If you liked these you'll enjoy her classic videos even more.
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In this video you'll see her make a dramatic entrance but the audience doesn't seem to care.

It's Like A State Of Mind...

2008-11-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

Have you ever listened to an entire album, listened to the songs and decided after one listen of certain songs that you didn't like them. You may have listened to the album over and over since then and always skipped the same songs. Then one day you forget to skip the song and after listening to it again you realise that you actually love the track.

I used to skip this song and never really gave it a chance until my friend borrowed the cd and returned it and told me that this was his favorite song. Now my friend is probably the last person in the world to like anything by Amy Diamond and here he was telling me a song he liked that I had never even bothered listening to! So I put the song on and fell in love with it immediately. I can't believe I never gave it a chance before.

I've posted about Amy Diamond multiple times now but I couldn't resist another. I really do love all three of her albums. Each album is full of single-worthy tracks and what I love is that each song has really unique sounds/instruments that you don't really hear in the average song.

'Shooting Star' can be found on her debut album and is easily one of the best tracks from that album.

With rumors flying that Amy will try for Melodifestivalen again in 2009 I figured I'd start getting excited now. If she enters with a song even half as good as 'Thank You' then we have a lot to look forward to.

Amy Diamond - Shooting Star

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If Walls Could Talk...

2008-10-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

As we look forward to Melodifestivalen 2009... over the next 4 months I'll look back at Melodifestivalen competitions since past!

To start us off lets remember the "Peoples winner" from this year...

Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room (Acoustic Version)

Put Your Boots On Baby...

2008-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

The Saturdays debut album is available now and is a MUST HAVE! Finally an album is released that is worth purchasing! Every track on the album is worth listening to including the slow ones.

There is still one song that stands out from the rest of the pack and that's 'Work' which begs to be released as a single. For those that like their pop a little more relaxed check out the albums title track 'Chasing Lights.'

The Saturdays - Work

I LOVE EUROPE!

2008-10-25T19:25:00.001-07:00

The song titles have been announced... the speculation has begun... tickets have sold out! Melodifestivalen fever has already begun and there's still almost 4 months until the first night of competition!

At 12am on Thursday night I sat at my computer like a mad scientist as I fought against thousands of other fans for one of the coveted tickets to the Final on March 14th in Stockholm. The good news is that I was successful! Not only do I have 2 floor seats to the final... but I have ROW 6 seats on the floor for the Dress Rehersal!

This will be my third trek to Sweden to catch the event and if you haven't been you really ought to consider it! Although tickets are sold out you can still find tickets at various ticketing sites online.

Mans Zelmerlow, BWO, Alcazar... the rumours are flying! Who will take part in 2009? Who will the 4 wildcards be?!

It's Just Me and You... And We Are Running

2008-10-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

When a song is good... it doesn't matter what kind of music you listen to... some songs just demand respect.

This song starts off slow and beautiful... but watch as it transforms halfway through!

WHAT A PERFORMANCE!

A Message From Ace of Base

2008-10-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

And now... a very special message from Ace of Base

Pop!

2008-10-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

On November 24th do your part!

Make You Voice Heard!

It's your right and your responsibility!

PURCHASE THE DEBUT SINGLE FROM SAME DIFFERENCE

"We R One"

The Stunning Debut album 'Pop' will follow on Dec. 2nd

Pre-Order the single and album at www.hmv.co.uk

Let The World Keep Turning...

2008-10-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I posted about my love of Brian McFaddens debut album and that he had finally put together a second album. Since then the album has been released and spawned 3 singles. Brian actually released this album on his own label to retain creative control over his career.

Taking creative control means that he's decided to focus his attention on the Australian market where 3 singles have been released from the album. Although it seems that this may be the end of his solo career as the singles have charted at 13, 29 and 99 respectively. Although the album did chart at a respectable '5' in the Australian album charts.

His second single was 'Twisted' has to be one of my favorite songs of the year. I just can't get enough of it. It's upbeat, catchy as hell and really sweet at the same time. It reminds me of 'Irish Son' in a way actually.

Brian McFadden - Twisted Twisted

GUESS WHO?!

2008-10-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone...

So first off I owe a huge apology for the lack of updates without any explanation at all. To be honest life sorta god in the way and I had been lacking any inspiration.

But so much has happened in the world of pop music I have no choice but return to the blogosphere to help celebrate the biggest resurgence in pop music in years!!! Everyone who is anyone is releasing new music right now or is in the process of releasing new music.

But I'm back now! So tell your friends, give me a shout out on your blog! If there are any new blogs out there shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment so I can check you out!

With so much going on where do I start?!

I'll start with a post about the first band I ever loved - Ace of Base.

For their fans it's been a long long wait for anything from this band. When their comeback was announced a year ago there were promises of a remix album, new songs, new material and a world tour. Their new website launched on April 9th and 2 weeks later was forgotten and has never been updated since.

Basically the band have dropped their management and are continuing to work on a deal to get their new music released as soon as possible. To help built momentum before any new material is released the band have FINALLY released the studio version of Wheel of Fortune 2009. This version will show up on a new greatest hits compilation to be released in Scandinavia and Japan.

So cross your fingers and let's hope that by this time next year the band will finally have released their 5th studio album. Until then you can enjoy this re-vamped version of Wheel Of Fortune. I really do love it! It's a great example of the direction the band is heading in. It also does a great job of taking an old song and making it sound fresh and new. I actually like it a lot better than the original.

Ace of Base - Wheel Of Fortune 2009

It's So Hard For Me To Breathe...

2008-09-13T00:09:00.000-07:00

So as a general rule I don't think it's a good idea to take a ballad and remix it. The results are usually messy and end up ruining a great song.

Take a fantastic song like Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air and the stakes are a lot higher. It's one of my favorite tracks of the year and I wasn't too impressed when I heard there was a remix.

But then I heard this! Jason Nevins hit all the right spots with this mix... he hasn't changed the song too dramatically... just added a soft beat and makes it a bit more dramatic.

I think you'll like this even if you don't usually like remixes... check it out and lemme know what you think.

Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air (Jason Nevins Mix)

81 Days And Counting

2008-08-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

YES!!! IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!

Mark these days down NOW! On November 17th (The Day before my birthday) Same Difference will FINALLY release their debut single. Then on November 24th they will follow it up with their debut ALBUM!!

This is the best news of the year from the best new band of the year. It's been a long journey for the band and there was never any real certainty that they would actually get to release a full album.

This is a true test to see if the public are willing to spend money on good old fashioned pop music again.

Support the little guys and BUY their album when it comes out.

If you have no clue what I'm talking about and don't know who Same Difference are then watch this!

Just Dance!

2008-08-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

So it took me awhile to finally jump on the Lady GaGa bandwagon... but I can't resist anymore and I'm loving 'Just Dance' finally. The song has been floating around the world since April so I'm a little behind the times here but better late than never! The song is already an international hit single reaching top 10 in various countries across the globe.

If you're behind like me check out the track...

Lady GaGa - Let's Dance

Speaking of dancing the new Infernal album was released last week. I'm actually not as impressed as I thought I would be with the album... after listening to the entire album I really only felt like I wanted to keep the two singles. So if you're on the fence about purchasing the album I'd say hold off.

Infernal - Mr. Money

I usually post about established artists but sometimes you need to give some love to the new up and coming talent. If there's an act you need to keep an eye out for it's 'The Ultrasonics.' Their debut single - Perfect Girl is being released digitally in the Uk on August 25th. If all goes well you should be hearing more from them soon. Their style is probably best described as retro electro-pop. The track hasn't been released yet but you can listen to it online. Lemme know what you think

The Ultrasonics - Perfect Girl

The blog has been overrun by the girls lately... so I think the next post will be all about the boys!

When I Play... I Play For Keeps

2008-08-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

Ugh Today is a great day for Pop Music! Seriously where would we be without Sweden? It's hoenstly the only country left in the world that produces serious pop music that is still popular in the mainstream.

Today we celebrate 3 fantastic tracks from 3 Swedish super dance divas!

Let's Begin...

Agnes Carlsson

The winner of Swedish Idol is back for her 3rd album! If you're a regular reader here at YDKP you'll remember that her last album had some killer tracks on it. Well she has finally released the first single from her forthcoming 3rd album and she has really upped the ante! When I first saw the track had been released I assumed it would be either a cheesy ballad or an attempt at being 'cool' with an R n B based track. She's done us proud though by going with a BIG epic dancey pop track.

This is a MUST download...

Agnes Carlsson - On and On

Velvet

Hot off the heels of her dissapointing placement in 'Melodifestivalen' earlier this year. Velvet isn't giving up and delivers her best offering to date with this track from her new album to be released soon.

Velvet - Take My Body Close

Elin Lanto

So I will admit I HATED her song in 2007's Melodifestivalen. 'Money' was bland and her performance was rotten. But she sold me with 'Speak N Spell' which was a favorite of mine earlier this year. Her latest single isn't as good as Speak N Spell... but it's not bad!

Elin Lanto - My Favorite Pair Of Jeans

New Music Monday... On A Tuesday!

2008-08-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

To make up for my lack of updates I have some hot new tracks for you to evaluate!
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Infernal - Whenever You Need Me

Talk about a departure from their last album! Their first album was very in your face pop music but with their first two singles Infernal have really come into their own. I find their new songs to be a new brand of sophisticated dancey/pop music. I'm really excited for the album now which will be released next week!

David Archuleta - Crush

This years American Idol runner up finally delivers his debut single - Crush. I think the guy has a great voice... and sure the song is easy to listen to, the chorus is catchy... but its soooo TIRED! I've heard this song a billion times! It's been done over and over and over. It's a safe and boring single choice... not that I expected anything else from him. I just find it all a little boring.

BWO - Lay Your Love On Me (Biffco Radio Mix)

It's funny how a slight tweak to the beat can make a great song even better but they did it with this slight remix! Check it out.

We Should Be Dancing... But We Chose To Fight

2008-08-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

First off... apologies for my lack of updates lately and thank you for continuing to follow my adventures in pop. I'm going to try to update more regularly... otherwise I'd have to shut down and I don't want to do that. I've considered sharing posting duties if someone wanted to join the YouDontKnowPop team.

But enough of that let's get back to the music! BWO have released a 3rd single in the Uk with - Lay Your Love On Me and although they've managed to garner some radio support this time, they single entered the chart this week at #69. But that isn't necessarily bad news since the physical single still hasn't been released!

I read an interview with Alexander where he was asked why Uk radio has suddenly jumped on board and started promoting the new single and this was his answer which I LOVE:

"I think what they like is that we're not manufactured. We've had too many Idol winners and too many boybands and too many girl bands. I hate manufactured music, I like music that's organic and real. With BWO it's obvious we're real because a major record company would never put together a group featuring a 47-year-old man, a 43-year-old woman and a 26-year-old guy who looks like he's brought mum and dad on stage with him."

So to the Uk record buying public... please go out and purchase your copy of - Lay Your Love On Me this week and get BWO into the top 20 where they belong!

To celebrate I'm posting a song i just recently discovered from the band! One of my favorites since the first album I have to say!

BWO - We Should Be Dancing

Time To Make A Difference By Standing Up

2008-07-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

So I've been sitting on this track for awhile now and I wasn't sure if I was going to post it or not.

When I heard that there was new music from Bosson I was so excited. When I finally heard it I felt a little let down. I filed the track away deep in the catacombs of my hard drive... but when it suddenly started playing the other day I found myself singing along.

It's been playing on my iPod all week now and I think I actually like it! I do feel like it's a bit yoo repetative? It's much different from anything he's done before. It's the closest thing that Bosson is going to get to a Timbaland track and it's making a statement about the world today at the same time. The good news is that Bosson still gives us his trademark high pitched "Ooooohhhs" at the end of the track. It wouldn't be Bosson without the high pitched "OOoooOooahhhh."

Thoughts?

Bosson - Wake Up

Speaking of Bosson lets throw in one of my favorite Bosson remixes!

Bosson - You Opened My Eyes (Godspeed & Moe Mix)

Feels Just Like The Devil's Ridin' Me

2008-07-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

WOW! Talk about a comeback! Sarah Connor is back with a vengence!

The singer debuted in Germany back in 2001 breaking records with her successful singles. She's the first act ever in Germany to hit number 1 with 4 consecutive singles. She immediately became a huge star in Germany... but when her third single - From Sarah With Love spread across Europe she was soon in demand across the globe.

The name Sarah Connor may actually sound familiar to pop music fans in North America because of her single - Bounce. The track was never originally intended to be released in North America... as she was unknown outside of Europe. But in 2003 a pair of US Dj's came across the single and started playing it. Before long the song had spread and Sony USA decided to release it across North America. The song soon began to chart in Canada and the US but a pregnant Sarah Connor was unable to promote the track.

While Sarah has still been very much involved in music over the past 4 years... she hasn't been making any real waves outside of Germany. Over the past 3 years she's released a bunch of Christmas albums, a Motown cover album and contributed to various movie soundtracks.

In 2007 Sarah announced that she was going to work on a new album that would be more suited to the dance floor. That album is now finished and the first single is 'Under My Skin.'

This is one of the best songs so far to be released this summer. You need to download this track and start playing it everywhere! I think she could be a huge hit for her across the globe.

Sarah Connor - Under My Skin

We All Look The Same In The Dark

2008-07-10T00:11:00.000-07:00

WOW! While most artists get old and you lose interest in them as time goes on... some acts consistently get better with each subsequent release. McFly are one such group.

I remember when they first started I dismissed them as just another teen rock band trying to cash in on the 'Busted' phase. I didn't mind the odd song from them... but I kept on waiting for them to fade away. The thing was... they never just went away. To date they've released 14 singles and had 7 number 1's!

After releasing a Greatest Hits album last year the band announced that they were unhappy with the decisions their record label had been making and they would no longer be releasing music with a major label. Instead the boys have formed their own label and now have complete control over their music.

The new album 'Radioactive' will be released in September but we've already had our first taste of their work with the new single - One For The Radio.

All I can say is WOW! After hearing this song I'm officially a full fledged McFly fan. They've really outdone themselves this time. This song has everything right. It's hard hitting, catchy, easy to sing along to, melodic and in your face at the same time. I love the line... "Don't pretend you hate us then you sing our songs..."

McFly... like Girls Aloud in a lot of ways have proven that they have staying power because they're not afraid to grow, develop and try new things. I can't wait to hear what they come up with next.

McFly - One For The Radio

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Best Kept Secret

2008-07-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

Some bands will never be able to step out from the shadow of their one big hit single. The charts are littered with artists that never make it past their one big hit; artists that break into the top 40 or sometimes even the top 10 with their debut single and then fall into oblivion never to be heard from again.

What causes a one hit wonder anyways? There are hundreds upon hundreds of them over the years. It is simply a fluke? Were the artists other songs just really really bad? The truth is that most one hit wonders aren't really meant for anything more than that. Often times they're tracks that are recorded as a novelty or to cash in on a fad. Remember the Baha Men?

Uk super group 'Steps' were originally put together to record 5'6'7'8 and cash in on a line dancing fad that had swept the Uk. They're one of the few examples of a one hit wonder gone wrong! They went on to score tones of hit singles.

Sometimes you'll have an act be labeled a one hit wonder in only one country while the band enjoys success in other countries. A prime example of this would be 'Take That' who are considered a one hit wonder in North America for their hit single 'Back For Good' but enjoy superstar status in the Uk and across Europe.

One performer I recently re-discovered would fall into 'One Hit Wonder' status and that's Jennifer Paige. Best known for her debut single - Crush in 1998. She had a great voice, sweet look and a catchy radio-friendly track. The song was a top 5 hit in almost every country it was released and hit number 1 in a handful of those.

Despite the huge initial success the next two singles failed misterably and she faded into the shadows. What most people in North America don't realise is that in 2001 Jennifer released a second album and a new single (A cover of the Australian Popstars - Bardot hit - These Days.)

But unfortunately the record label didn't bother to promote the album and I doubt many people in North America even know that she was still around in 2001. Her second album did receive some airplay in Europe, but not enough to save her record deal and she was dropped in 2002.

Now it's 2008 and it's been 10 years since her debut single. Jennifer is now working with an independent record label and is still releasing music on her own terms this time. If you're interested in her newest single you can hear it here. Her new album 'Best Kept Secret' has already been released in a handful of countries.

One of my favorite Jennifer Paige tracks comes from her little known second album. It's upbeat and sunny.

Jennifer Paige - The Way Of The World

Jennifer Paige - These Days

What are your favorite One Hit Wonders?

It's The Summer Of Love...

2008-07-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Summer has finally arrived in Vancouver, BC and I can't be happier. There's nothing that I love more than hanging out at the beach, relaxing with a book and my iPod, having a pic nic with friends, playing frisbee and blasting some fun pop music. Some songs were just meant to be be played in the summer at the beach or while driving with the top down. They're my favorite summer pop anthems and if you don't have them already you ought to download them and heat outside now!

DJ Sammy - The Boys Of Summer

So back in about 2004 I actually saw DJ Sammy perform live at a festival in the Uk. He was one of the most energetic performers I'd seen in some time and he really got the crowd worked up. One of my favorite tracks was 'The Boys of Summer' a cover of the famous Don Henley track. Rumour has it that DJ Sammy will release a new album this year... hopefully we'll have another summer anthem from Mr. Sammy!

Alexander - Stay With Me

This is a thumping pop track from the German Idol. I've posted it here before but I always get a warm fuzzy feeling when I play it... so here it is again.

Britney Spears - Stronger

Wow... I hadn't listened to this in ages. Do you remember how great she was back then! This was one of my all time favorite videos as well. This summer is the perfect time to dust off this track and blast it out your car window.

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Da Buzz - Alive

Da Buzz always make me think of summer... it's probably why they are very well knoiwn for their summer tours of Sweden. 'Alive' definitely has the feel of summer to it.

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Darius - Kindalove

This is turning into a greatest hits post as I've also posted this track before. This is one I love to play while out in the sun though, hopefully you feel the same way.

E.M.M.A - S.M.S

Here's a bit of swedish cheese for ya. Don't even ask me why I have this track... but it sure is catchy!

Emma Bunton - The Crickets Sing For Annamaria

I wouldn't describe this as a summer anthem, but it's a very relaxing track and still has a summer feel to it.

Enrique Iglesias - Escape

UGH I LOVE THIS SONG! Sorry, but I'm going through my library here and am finding all these great songs I haven't listened to in quite some time. This is definitely a song to play this summer.

Girls Aloud - Long Hot Summer

The title says it all doesn't it? They always have the best singles covers ever!

Gorillaz - 19/2000

I remember searching desperately for this version to this track. It was definitely the poppiest song they ever released and was a big hit for them as well.

S Club 8 - Don't Steal Our Sunshine

Ok so I know that technically they were being called iDream when this was recorded... but they were still S Club 8 to me. I wish this had been a single!

O-zone - Despre Tine

Mi Ya Hi!!! I actually liked Despre Tine more than I ever liked Dragonstea Din Tei... Can you believe I actually bought their album. It's one of my more embarassing album purchases.

Ok so I got a little crazy with the songs... and i'm really tired and I can't even remember what this post is supposed to be about. Let me know what you think of the songs. What are some of your summer anthems?

For my next post I'll be re-introducing a one hit wonder from the late 90s!

New Music Monday!

2008-06-23T21:14:00.001-07:00

Earlier this year the newly re-formed Alcazar released 'We Keep On Rockin' which peaked at #4 in Sweden. The The new Alcazar continue to release music as a trio with their new track - Inhibitions. This one isn't as catchy as their last that's for sure. It's very different from any other single they've released in the past. It actually reminds me of Geri Halliwells "Look At Me." Anyone else see that connection? Although I'm not AMAZED with the new track I'm definitely looking forward to the album which should be released soon!

Alcazar - Inhibitions

Katherine McPhee is fighting hard not to become another fallen Idol. After her first album was released in 2007 she was quickly dropped by her record label. It might have been the end of McPheever until she hooked up with the legendary David Foster. The two have been working together on a second album and the first of their songs has finally been released. It's being used to promote a Japanese Airline and is called 'All I Need Is You.' I much prefer this song to the kind of stuff she did on her debut album. Her voice is perfectly suited for these kinds of ballads. If she plays her cards right she could end up with a successful singing career. Hooking up with David Foster was definitely a smart move!

Katherine McPhee - All I Need Is You

PS. Same Difference are now in Sweden working with the same people that worked with artists like Ace of Base, Steps and Enrique Iglasias... OMG I CANT WAIT!

Another Rainbow Shows You Who You Are...

2008-06-17T07:50:00.001-07:00

This summer cities across the globe will celebrate Pride with rallys, parades, parties, music and celebrations. I find it so strange that people can hate, discriminate, hurt and kill other human beings just because or who they love. Every race, every sexuality, every gender... everyone deserves to be treated fairly and equaly.

Below are some of my favorite songs that stand for all of these things. Have a great summer! Turn up your stereo! And Don't Stop The Pop!

Magnus Carlsson - Another Rainbow

Alcazar - Someday

Stephen Gately - New Beginning

Boyzone - No Matter What

Savage Garden - Affirmation

Regina Lund - Rainbow Star

Xandee - 1 Life

The Attic Feat. Therese - The Arrival

BWO - Save My Pride

Tina Cousins - Wonderful Life

Darren Hayes - Listen All You People

Kate Ryan - We All Belong

Cher - Love One Another

Nina & Kim - Bortom Tid Och Rum

Prozzak - Be As

You Weren't There... Distant Far Away...

2008-06-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

You know... I don't post enough ballads on here. Although I post a lot of upbeat pop songs... I have a soft spot for a good ballad. Although if you're a regular reader I'm sure you've figured that out by now. My love for Westlife is no secret.

When Lene Marlin debuted in 1998 with her first single 'Unforgivable Sinner' the song became the biggest selling single in Nowegian music history when it stayed at #1 for 8 weeks. Lene Marlin then had an international hit back in '99/00 with - 'Sitting Down Here.'

When she released her second album in 2003 the first single didn't fare as well and most of you probably never even heard it. The song was called - You Weren't There. The song isn't groundbreaking or anything... but there's something about it that I love. When I listen to it I feel like there is a lot of emotion there... I find it a very sad song. What do you think?

Lene Marlin - You Weren't There

You Hide Behind Your Lies...

2008-06-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

Ok so his career may be over... his last album tanked and his two singles weren't exactly smach hits. There was a time when Gareth Gates was one of the biggest stars in the uk and he had some decent songs!

Now I never did listen to his newest album (the 2 singles did nothing for me,) but I've just been going through some old mp3's and came across one of his old gems. 'Lies' is a great track that was on his second album - Go Your Own Way. The album was sorta cool actually. It had 19 tracks split onto 2 discs... one titled Day and one titled Night. 'Lies' was on the day album and was written by some of the best Swedish song writers around.

The song may be dated... but if you love old cheesy pop songs and you missed this one... it's a great one to add to your collection.

Gareth Gates - Lies

An interesting tidbit is that Gareth Gates holds a record for the loudest fans. They broke the record by screaming at 130 decibles at a concert in Sheffield! Now that's something to be proud of :)

Chemistry... Look What You Do To Me

2008-06-04T11:21:00.001-07:00

So the other day I was in HMV and a song came over the sound system... and I suddenly found myself singing along. The next track came on and again I found myself bopping along to the beat.

I finally had to stop and ask what it was?! How could I have never heard of these songs before?

I walked up to the counter to some scary looking punk/emo guy and asked him what was playing. In the most unhappy look you can imagine he says... "Donna Summer." He obviously wasn't a fan ;-) I was too embarassed to buy the album at that point. I mean DONNA SUMMER?

I never would have thought that I'd be posting about Donna Summer... but she has just released her first new studio album in the last 17 years! If you are a fan of pop music there are some fantastic songs on this album. I've only listened to half of it so far, but I had to post these two gems for you.

I think 'The Science Of Love' is officially one of my favorite songs of this year. It sounds NOTHING like Donna Summer.

Donna Summer - Fame (The Game)

Donna Summer - The Science Of Love

For those of you that are too young to know who Donna Summer even is... check this out:
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Donna Summer - The Eternity Megamix

I Don't Wanna Hurt Anymore...

2008-06-03T00:54:00.000-07:00

IM BACK!

A huge apology for my sudden dissapearance. I just spent the last 2 weeks in Calgary for work and had no access to internet while I was away. I'm back though so spread the word and we'll get right back to the POP!

On Dec. 22nd 2001 Uk pop group Steps were performing their final stop on their 'Gold: Greatest Hits Tour.' Moments before the band were to hit the stage, band members Ian and Claire presented the other 3 with letters from their lawyers stating that they were leaving the group.

In an instant the Uk's biggest pop band were finished and the announcement was made public on Dec. 26th, 2001. While the other 3 members of the band felt betrayed by Ian and Claire, it was made worse when they found out that Ian and Claire were going going to release music as a duo from this point forward known as "H & Claire."

Their debut single received a lot of promotion, mostly off the back of the Steps split, there was a lot of interest to see what the duo would do. But Steps fans were divided over the duo's work. Many fans felt betrayed by the duo and refused to support them. The single debuted at #3 int he charts and the pair were also announced as presenters for SM:tv in the Uk, this gave them a built in audience to promote their music to.

By late 2002 the Uk chart scene began to change and move away from happy go lucky pop music. Their next singles charted at #8 and #10 but the final straw was when their album entered the chart at #53 and then fell off the following week.

Suddenly the band simply dissapeared. To this day there has never been an official announcement regarding the duo. There are rumours that although they are no longer recording together, they are still under a legal contract to WEA records, which means if Claire were to ever release solo material, she would be bound to release with WEA Records.

In a way I'm glad that H & Claire failed as a duo. It serves them right for the way they ended the band. At the same time I think the band split at the right time, they were on the top of their game and never had to stay together and watch people turn on the band.

As for H and Claire their solo music was mediocre at best... the album was fairly bland and probably isn't even remembered by many out there. That being said the band did produce one song that never really received the recognition it deserved.

'All Out Of Love' is a song that I can't get enough of 6 years after it's original release! It starts off slowly... builds up as it goes along... has a great dancey beat, a fantastic live dance routine and the video version even had a breakdown in the middle!

Another song to remember was Another You Another Me which was penned by Benny & Bjorn of Abba.

H & Claire - All Out Of Love

H & Claire - DJ

H & Claire - Another You, Another Me

Check out the fantastic dance routine to this song below!?
Does anyone else love this routine as much as I do?!

YDKP Will return on June 2nd!

2008-05-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

Like A Flower Leaning Toward The Sun...

2008-05-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

WOW! 4 months ago I was lucky enough to see one of the biggest acts of all time re-unite when I flew to L.A to see the Spice Girls on their reunion show. Last night I got the chance to see Mel C on her solo Canadian tour. It's so odd that only 4 months ago she played to 15'000 screaming fans, doing dance routines and wearing a dress... when last night she rocked out to an audience of about 200 people at a local night club.

Mel C is a born entertainer, she performed last night as if she were in front of 15'000 fans. But even more important was that it was clear she was having a lot of fun. She played a great show with songs from all 4 of her albums with a 5 piece band. While she sang almost every track from her new album (which was just released in Canada) she also sang most of her biggest hits, including the dance remix of 'I Turn To You' which will go down in history as one of the best remixes of all time. She proved last night that she can sing a fun pop song, jam to a rock song or bare her soul in a touching ballad. If you ever get the chance to see her perform it's a show you won't forget.

Mel C - Carolyna (Radio Mix)

Mel C - Better Alone (Pop Mix)

Mel C - Yeh Yeh Yeh

Quand tu l'as tu l'as

2008-05-14T00:16:00.000-07:00

Kate Ryan's new single is really fun and the more I listen to it the more I like it. I've never been a huge fan of her stuff. I mean it's good, and I listen to her songs but besides Je T'Adore the rest of her songs just don't really stand out for me. I think Ella Elle L'a may be my second favorite song of hers now... plus her poptastic video for it helps. She's definitely channeling some Scooch in the vid!

The song is a cover or an 80's French hit and you can actually check out Alizee doing her version on French television acouple years ago.

Kate Ryan - Ella Elle L'a

In other news... I'm Mr. technology lately as I recently bought Tivo; which I never would have thought that I would need... and now that I have it... I don't know how I ever lived without it.

Also, I got to take part in a marketing survery recently where I got to test out a new accessory for my iPod. I got to test out Energizer's 'Energi To Go' kit which basically allows you to charge your iPod no matter where you are with a simple device that is powered with 2 double A batteries. So yesterday I was on the bus, watching video clips on my iTouch when sure enough the batteries died. I plugged the Energi To Go right on to my iPod and went right back to watching the videos. By the time I was finished not only did the ipod not die... but it ended up being fully recharged even while I was using it to watch video. Since I spend about 3 hours a day on a bus for my commute this little device has officially become my new life saver.

So there is my product placement for today... Tivo is my new best friend... and if you do any kind of travelling with your iPod... you should check out the Energi To Go kit.

Tell Me When The Morning Comes

2008-05-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

Jarvis Church

I don't post songs from Canadian artists too often but I have posted about a Canadian band 'Prozzak' that had some big hits back in 2000. Well the 2 guys of 'Prozzak' come from a Canadian band called 'The Philosopher Kings' who peaked in the mid-90's are released an album as recently as 2006. The lead singer of the Philosopher Kings is Jarvis Church who has achieved some success in Canada as a solo artist and as a producer.

Anyways, I was listening to David Jordans album recently and his voice and style reminded me of Jarvis Church. His name may not sound familiar to you but he's worked with fellow Canadians Esthero and Nelly Furtado. So I dug through some of my old Mp3's and found a gem of a song - Who Will Be Your Man. It was probably the poppiest thing on his album which was released back in 2002. The song is catchy and he has a great voice. This may not be your typical cheesy pop song, but is definitely worth a listen to.

Meanwhile David Jordan is set to release his new single - Move On in the Uk which is a fantastic choice after the amazing 'Sun Goes Down.'

Jarvis Church - Who Will Be Your Man

David Jordan - Move On

Here In This Place I Never Thought We'd Be Today...

2008-05-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

So now that everyone has had some time to reflect on Melodifestivalen I think It's a good time to bring this topic back up.

Why did the public turn on Carola and Andreas, two of the biggest singers in all of Sweden?

I think more than anything it was the publics way of pulling both artists back down to earth. I mean Carola had won Melodifestivalen in 2006, and Andreas had placed 3rd and 2nd place in the last two years. They each received massive amounts of publicity and success over the last two years because the public voted and supported each of them.

When the two of them decided to join forces for Melodifestivalen 2008, anyone would admit that they seemed like a sure fire winner. I think that's where the problem lies. What makes the competition so great is that anyone can enter and anyone can potentially win. When two of the biggest stars in Sweden join forces simply to take home first place it's almost like the public doesn't have a say anymore.

When they didn't make it directly into the finals and instead only qualified for the second chance round, the Swedish media had a field day! It didn't matter that they were beat by two fantastic tracks that deserved their spot in the final... suddenly people got excited that they could tear down the two singers. It was no longer a competition for best song... it was about ensuring that they didn't make it into the finals.

When they performed in the Second Chance round against Nordman they really stepped up their game. No other artist in the competition changed their routine like Johnsson and Haagkvist did. But for the first time in Melodifestivalen history... while Carola and Andreas were performing their competition were receiving an immense number of votes before they had even started to perform. Never has another artist received such a high influx of votes while the other act was performing. People weren't voting for Nordman at this point... they were simply voting against Carola and Andreas.

Once Nordman beat Carola and Andreas in the first round they never received the same number of votes again. What is even more unfair is that in all, Carola and Andreas received over 200'000 votes at the Second Chance round. Meanwhile Sibel received just over 100'000 votes and yet she qualified to the finale.

So what is the point of all this? I don't know that there is one. I'm sort of proud of the message that was sent by sending the duo out of the competition. It sends a message that it doesn't matter who you are, just because you're a big name, doesn't mean you'll win it all. Was it fair? I don't think so. At the end of the day the song was fantastic although I still would have voted for Charlotte. Finally, I can't help but feel bad for Carola. The media were seriously cruel to her while I was in Stockholm with her photos splashed across the front page of newspapers every day.

Will Carola ever do anything with the song contest again? Only time will tell... but perhaps the public simply need a break for awhile. I for one would love to see her surprise us all by taking some time off and then proving everyone wrong by re-entering with a fantastic song... perhaps a power ballad?!

'One Love' continues to be one of my favorite songs this year and the more I listen to their song 'Lucky Star,' which was meant to promote the duo in the lead up to the competition, the more I like it as well.

Johnsson & Haggkvist - One Love

Johnsson & Haggkvist - Lucky Star

Johnsson & Haggkvist - One Love (SoundFactory Radio Edit)

This Is The Last Glance... Now We're Through

2008-05-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Recently I've fallen in love again with one of the best pop bands since 'Steps' took their final bow back in Dec. 2001.

The band is 'Six' and they were formed via the Irish 'Popstars.' After writing about Room2012 the other day I dug up my old Six album and have fallen in love with them all over again. I remember the day I received their album in the mail directly from Ireland. There was a big rainbow on the cover and all I could think was... this is going to be an AMAZING album. Boy was I right!

When the final 6 members were announced back in 2002 the band included 'Nadine Coyle' who is currently a member of 'Girls Aloud.' At the time Nadine had auditioned her way onto the show and ended up being chosen for the band. That was until she finally admitted that she had lied throughout the show and that she was only 16 years old when she auditioned for the band (Contestants were required to be 18 years of age.) As a result she was disqualified and replaced. Obviously she isn't upset because she went on to become a member of one of the best selling british girl bands of all time.

So in February 2002 after months of hype and build up the debut single was finally released. 'Whole Lot Of Lovin' stormed up the Irish charts and to this day remains the biggest and fastest selling Irish single of all time. The single was eventually released in New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Iceland and Sweden where it reached top 5 in all markets.

When their second single 'Let Me Be The One' hit number one in July 2002 the band looked to be on the verge of a the big time. The band toured with Westlife, released a top 10 album and were told that they would be launched in the Uk. The band were keen to break away from the "Irish Popstars" label and break into the Uk market based soley on their music.

As Louis prepared to launch the band in the Uk rumours began to surface that the London record label was pushing to have the band change their name. Apparently the name 'Six' was not very original. Not only was the record label unhappy with the bands name... they weren't convinced that 'Whole Lot Of Lovin' should be the first Uk single as it sounded "too Steps-Like."

A date was finally set for their the Uk release of 'Whole Lot Of Lovin' but that day came and went without a word. Their website went dormant and the band was mysteriously never heard from ever again.

At the end of the day you have to remember that Six were only the second Popstars act to from from the United Kingdom. When the band were launched the only other act around was Hear'Say who at the time were the biggest act England had seen in some time and there were no 'failed' popstars acts at the time.

When the band was launched they were told by their management and their record labels that they were a surefire hit, the songs sounded great and they were going to be rich. When you're 18 years old and you have people around you telling you that you're going to be massive and all your dreams are coming true you have no reason to believe that things could go horribly wrong.

What happened? Where did Six go? Who is to blame for their downfall?

The answer comes down to one man - Simon Cowell who at the time was the head of the BMG Uk. When the time came to finally release their music in the Uk Simon Cowell pulled the plug on the project when he decided that the band were noth worth the financial risk and that they would not be successful in England. Although the band were still being managed by Louis Walsh, the group was under contract to BMG Uk who still owned the rights to release music from the band if they chose to. The problem was, although Simon Cowell had no intention of releasing music from Six in the Uk... he did not release them from their contract which meant they couldn't sign with another label.

So for one year back in 2002 the world was at their fee and Six were on top of the world. If you missed all that was Six you can download some ace tracks below.

Six - Let Me Be The One

Six - This Is It

*Hopefully I'm not the only one worried about this happening to Same Difference? Their single has been delayed for a second time and looks like it won't be released until the summer.

Show Me A Mountain i Can't Climb

2008-05-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

YES! So I woke up this morning... opened my mailbox to find a signed copy of Charlotte Perrelli's new album - Hero.

I've given it a quick listen to and here are my initial thoughts. First of all this is the first time I've ever really listened to a lot of her material. I know Take Me To Your Heaven of coarse... and I've heard the odd single here and there, but I've never listened to one of her albums before.

My first thought is that I really like her voice. She really is a versatile singer and really can sing anything. Like Sanna's album I would describe this as an international sounding album. It is not an album full of Schlager songs unfortunately... but there is something on here for everyone and it's going to appeal to a broad audience! You have 'Hero' and 'Bullet' for the schlager fans. There's a wide variety of ballads and then you get some mid-tempo treats like 'Not Alone' 'Addicted' and 'Slowly.'

Is it the must have pop album of the year? Not even close, but it's a nice album, easy to listen to... but not overly catchy. Besides 'Hero' and 'Bullet' you won't have these songs running through your head 24/7. All I can say is thank god for Fredrik Kempe who wrote half the songs on the album. This man is a pop genius and I cannot wait to hear his new group that PPG mentioned on her blog while back.

If you haven't heard Bullet you are missing out! It's going to be her next single and is FANTASTIC! Really hard hitting and the perfect follow up to 'Hero.' A ton of blogs have already posted it so instead you can check out this one which is also a bright spot on the album.

Charlotte Perrelli - Show Me A Mountain

Just Like The Sun In Heaven... We Will Be Glorious!

2008-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

So I've been super busy lately and not posting as often as I'd like to... I have a stack of songs that I wanna post so please bear with me and I'll get to them eventually.

I know Melodifestivalen JUST ended and Eurovision isn't even over yet... but that hasn't stopped me from speculating over who will enter Melodifestivalen next year!

There are new artists that enter every year, acts that are looking to expand their fan base by entering the competition and then there are the established acts that return to the competition after a few years away.

Who will enter in 2009?! I have a wish list going already and one of those artists is Shirley Clamp. She has turned her back on schlager but I think that by next year the timing will be right and it would be the perfect time for her to launch a new album.

Of the 4 albums Shirley has released, the first two are fantastic pop albums that any pop fan would be proud to own; songs like Att Alska Dig and Lever Minna Drommar are timeless!

If songs sung in Swedish aren't your thing... she has a track from her debut album called 'Champions' that is worth a download. The song was Sweden's official soccer world cup song in 2004. Can I just say that I love the fact that the world cup song in Sweden is a really gay pop song... sigh... only in Sweden.
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Shirley Clamp - Champions

Who do you want to see back in the competition next year?!

I'm Trying To Be Cool But You're Making Me Hot

2008-04-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

TrueBliss, Bardot, Velvet Empire, Sugar Jones, No Angels, Girls Aloud, Hear'Say, Bro'Sis, Monrose...Room 2012?

What do these bands have in common?

They were all formed by various versions of the television show 'Popstars.' The show began back in 1999 in New Zealand with the creation of girl group - TrueBliss. The show concept was then sold internationally and over the next 5 years the airwaves and charts were inundated with 'Popstars' acts. Eventually the shows popularity waned and the show was dropped in every country except for one. Almost 10 years after its debut the show is still creating new bands and is still successful. That country is Germany! Although it was also announced last year that the 'Popstars' show will return to France this year as well.

The latest band to come from Germanys 'Popstars' are Room2012. The show started last summer and were announced the winners in December 2007. Room2012 are the 6th band to win the German competition but are also the first band to win that did NOT have their debut single or album go to number 1 in the charts. In fact their second single bombed when it peaked at #52 last month.

So what does this mean for the future of the show? I have to admit that I was sort of shocked to hear that the format was still being used... I guess those Germans really do love their popstars! But the lack of success for Room2012 has me asking the question... how important are record sales to shows like this?

Look at American Idol which is on it's 7th season in the US. For the first time in it's run the show is starting to show it's age. The show is still a powerhouse in the ratings... but thsoe ratings have started to dip this year. Of the 6 previous winners how many of those winners have truly had any real success? The list is extremely short. I would argue that the only true success has come from Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Of coarse I'm not including some of the other finalists that have had a lot of success such as Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry and Kellie Pickler.

Are these shows really about the best singers? Do the right contestants win these shows? And if the public is choosing the right winners why are they not more successful?

Check out a list of the best selling American Idol contestants Here.

I do know this... American Idol isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I believe the entire cast of Judges and Ryan Seacrest are under contract until 2010.

Check out the latest single from Room2012 below:

Room2012 - Naughty But Nice

Broken Hearts and Fading Dreams...It's Not So Easy As It Seems

2008-04-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Evan

I've spent a lot of time posting about artists who are immensely talented but for whatever reason never really saw the success that they deserve. Evan is one of these artists. His two albums are probably the most amazing albums I've ever owned. It's dissapointing that he never really had the success that he should have. His music is so unlike anything else around it's the kind of music that should be celebrated for breaking away from the same old typical sound that every other artist copies over and over.

The introduction on his website reads:
"Do you like your music tasteless and restrained? If so, don't read on... because Evan is the very opposite."

"Less is more? I don't agree. More is more" Evan suggests with a smile. And that is exactly what you get when you listen to his songs. His passionate songs, romantic lyrics and rythym make songs like Queens "Behemian Rhapsody" seem pale in comparison.

In 2003 Evan sent out a demo of his songs to record labels across Sweden. By chance someone had left his cd in the player and it was discovered by the head of music and programing at RIX FM. This lead to his being signed to 'Stockholm Records' and his debut single was released in July 2003. Besides a few small guitar parts, every intrument on his debut album was performed by Evan himself. Besides writing, singing, mising and recording his own music, he's also produced remixes for artists like BWO, Alcazar and Agneta Faltskog of ABBA.

In 2006 Evan made his debut in Melodifestivalen with his song 'Under Your Spell' which would become the first single from his second album. Although he didn't make it out of his semi-final, the esposure created a new fan base and kick started the promotion for his second album.

In 2007 Evan decided to focus on writing and producing for other acts and that decision led to his return to Melodifestivalen this year when his song 'When You Need Me' was chosen to compete in this years competition.

The first time I heard Therese Andersson sing 'When You Need Me' I immediately thought that it sounded like the kind of song Evan would sing. So I wasn't surprised to hear that he did in fact write the song. The song is typical of his style; grand and pompous music, filled with tragedy and romance that has really become his calling card. With his music the lines between genres are blurred and you get a musical experience that no other artist has the guts to release.

Earlier this month I had the chance to interview Evan and ask about his experience in Melodifestivalen this year:

Listening to your albums and other songs you've written and remixed, you have a very unique sound and style that comes across in the songs you write. How would you describe your sound? What is your inspiration?

"I want my music to be timeless and maybe a bit dramatic with a touch of both fairytale and reality. I guess my inspiration comes from everything that touches me in real life and I try to have my 'own' sound."

Your song 'When You Need Me' was selected to take part in Melodifestivalen this year and was sung beautifully by the amazing Therese Andersson. What was it like working with her? What did you think of her performance?

"I think her performance was great but even better in Kiruna than in Linkoping. She was really easy to work with both in the studio and 'live' and I hope we get to work together on more songs in the future."

You have participated in Melodifestivalen in the past with "Under Your Spell," did you feel less pressure this year since you didn't have to perform the song yourself? Do you prefer to be on stage or behind the scenes working with other artists?

Of coarse there was less not being an artist this time, no pressure at all actually because I felt that Thérèse was such a great artist, I was so relaxed, knowing she would make a great performance.
Even though it would have been better in an economical point of view to be an artist in the show, it felt really good to "only" be a writer and producer this time.

If you could write a song for any artist, who would you like to write for?

I have recently "discovered" the band Within Temptation from the Netherlands and I think they are playing the kind of music I am pretty interested in. A mixture of metal and symphonic stuff. I used to be a pretty soft music guy but now I feel I have found a harder side of myself that i want to discover more.

Melodifestivalen is obviously a great opportunity for a lot of exposure in Sweden. You've entered the competition twice now. Would you consider submitting songs in the future?

Yes, of course.

Next month Eurovision will take place and a lot of countries have resorted to sending songs that can best be described as a joke i.e. Dustin The Turkey from Ireland. Do you think the Eurovision Song Contest is still relevant in 2008? Are the right songs winning or has it become too political?

Let´s say I prefer to have Italy in the show rather than Turkey and "friends", but I find it pretty amusing hearing very different kind of music but i don´t think the quality always is top of the line, unfortunately. Maybe it will be a good final this time with two semifinals.

In only 5 years you've had a successful career singing, writing, producing and remixing. What would you like to achieve that you haven't yet?

My initial goal in my music career was to sell 5 million albums... so I guess I still have a long way to travel...Joke aside, I will work really hard to reach out with my music outside sweden for the next years to come.

Your albums continue to be two of my favorite albums of all time. What is your favorite song from the albums?

My favorite song if I had to pick only one is "Afterglow" which has a moment of magic. There are other songs that mean a lot to me but maybe are not among the "best" song.Like "Everything I´d ever do", "The way we used to make love" and "Farewell" which are among the first songs I wrote where I started to think that my music was maybe qualified for being on a record...of course a lot of people don´t agree with me on that point... ;-)

Finally, did you vote for Sanna or Charlotte?!

I vote for Charlotte.

A massive thank you to Evan for taking the time to answer my questions.
You can purchase both of Evan's albums Here.

Evan - Farewell
You MUST listen to this song entirely. It's simply amazing... it's like 3 songs in one and really explodes at the end!

Evan - Dance With Me

Evan - Turn The Lights Down Low

Therese Andersson - When You Need Me (SoundFactory Club Mix)

New Music Monday... On A Tuesday!

2008-04-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys...

So I haven't done a new music monday post in awhile... but I've been sitting on some songs that aren't exactly worthy of their own post... so I'm just going to compile them all in one for y'all!

Euroband

Eurovision is less than a month away now and the artists are busy promoting their singles across Europe, doing interviews, releasing videos and performing for anyone who will listen.

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When I first heard Icelands entry I wasn't immediately sold on the song. It seemed too much like a generic dance track from the early 90's. But I've gone back and listened to it again and I'm LOVING this song. It's everything that's perfect about pop music. It's fun, cheesy and extremely polished. Euroband is made up of two Icelandic singers who truly love Eurovision and everything it stands for. Both singers have tried to enter Eurovision in the past as solo artists and this year they finally get their chance.
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Will the song win Eurovision? No... but it's definitely going to be a bright spot in the competition! I just listened to the song 5 more times since writing this and I love it even more now.
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Also if you haven't seen their HILARIOUS music video for this song you need to look it up on youtube right now!
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Euroband - This Is My Life

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Varsity

I had hoped that US record labels had finally given up on creating new teenage boybands, but just when you thought it was safe 'Varsity' have hit the scene. Their record label has tried extremely hard to set themup for success. They've recorded songs from Timbaland and Ryan Tedder (Of OneRepublic). I find their songs to be too "safe" and a little boring. If you're going to make a new boyband at least try and give us something a little different. They're nowhere near as good as bands like Busted/McFly/Phixx/V. Also their outfits remind me of Steps if Steps were a boyband and trying to be cool. What's with all the matching bright colors? I'm sorry but these guys just don't do anything for me at all. The songs are extremely bland/boring/un-inspired/American.

Varsity - Future Love
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Basshunter

Jonas Altberg, AKA. Basshunter is a perfect example of the opportunities that have opened up for artists because of the internet. Jonas started to produce music from home back in 1999 and in 2004 he released his own album via his website.

Before long he was receiving job offers from clubs across Europe and eventually won a record deal with Warner Music. His music is best described Eurodance and he's had considerable success throughout Europe. His big hit was of coarse "Boten Anna" which eventually became the english hit "Now You're Gone."
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Basshunter is currently trying to build on the international success by releasing a cover of 90's dance hit - Please Don't Go.
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Basshunter - Please Don't Go

New Kids On The Block

Does anyone really care that New Kids On The Block are back? I vaguely remember songs like Step by Step and Hang Tough, but I guess I'm too young to really appreciate their reunion? I think the problem with NKOTB is that their songs really aren't timeless and don't really mean anything today. I think the band realises this as well and this is why the band are really focusing on their new material which they say is the reason they're back together... the songs were simply too good to pass up.

A few songs have leaked onto the net including 'Click Click Click.' I have to say this one really grew on me. I'm really interested to see what the rest of the album will sound like. I've always had a soft spot for Joey McIntyre and I really like the way their voices sound together on this track. So time will tell if the new album stands up to all the hype they're trying to create around it.

New Kids On The Block - Click Click Click

In My Darkest Hour You Surely Give Me The Power...

2008-04-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind on this but I needed acouple days to really listen to Sannas album and give it a chance before I judged it.

My final verdict is that this is an extremely strong album (Which fits the title perfectly) and a great step towards becoming a star outside of Sweden. As much as I would love to see more schlager tunes from Sanna, when she sang Empty Room at Melodifestivalen this year, she really proved that she has what it takes to really be an international artist.

So this album is the first step in that direction. For an in depth review check out what PPG had to say on her blog. The album has ballads, songs with a hint of country and upbeat radio friendly tracks as well. This album could easily fit in on the music store shelves here in North America and 'Empty Room' could potantially be a hit here if she played her cards right. Do I think it'll ever happen here in North America? No... but there are a lot of doors that will be opened for her because of this album.

The shining star on the album is 'Nobody Without You' which I predict will be one of my top 10 songs of the entire year in 2008! Another track that I'm really happy with is 'Strong' which can best be described as a really nice song.

Sanna Nielsen - Strong

Erik + Mattias + Danny = E.M.D

2008-04-15T23:32:00.000-07:00

Super boyband E.M.D's second single - Jennie Let Me Love You debuted in the top 10 this week in Sweden. If they boys play their cards right they could turn that into another #1 single over the next few weeks.

If you still don't know who E.M.D are they're a relatively new act made of up 3 swedish singers, two of them being ex-Idol contestants. Danny and Erik both had relatively successful solo careers before joining E.M.D. so you may wonder why they put their solo careers on hold to come together as E.M.D. Well let's be honest... these guys could stand on stage and read me the dictionary and I'd still buy their album. So I imagine the record companies saw dollar signs in their eyes when they realised they could put 3 good looking and popular singers together to form a band that would have an immediate fan base. Even if the band dind't work out the boys could easily return to their solo careers.

Thankfully they've released some decent music to go with their looks. Their debut single (A cover of the classic - All For Love) was a number 1 hit ... although it was a bit bland and really didn't add anything to the original. Things have changed with their new single though which is a great pop/rock track.

If you're a fan you can expect a full album from the boys on May 14th! If the song writers are any indication, this is going to be a HOT album! The best place to purchase that album would be Here.

E.M.D. - Jennie Let Me Love You

Also, check out this great performance below!

I've Been Sitting Watching Life Pass From The Sidelines...

2008-04-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes the world tries to knock it out of you...

But I believe in music, the way that some people believe in fairy tales."

If you are a fan of music that moves you... music that is epic, haunting, sweeping and dramatic; if you are a fan of movies that have the power to make you cry even if they are really sappy and maybe even far fetched... you need to see the movie 'August Rush.'

The movie was released recently on DVD and has basically been dismissed by film critics across the board. Despite the reviews I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this movie is probably one of my favorites this year. Sure the acting is superb and I'm not ashamed to say that I may have even cried a bit... ok I cried a lot!!

What really brings the whole movie together and makes it really special is the music. The music is filled with so much emotion. If you pay attention to the Oscars you may have noticed that one of the songs was nominated for "Best Original Song." This week the soundtrack has shot up the iTunes album chart into the top 5 overall! The song has been on the billboard top 100 albums chart for the last 14 weeks!

I rarely post this kind of thing... but I'd love to see what any of you think of the movie/music. Check out some amazing tracks from the soundtrack below. I had a hard time picking my favorites but there you are:

August Rush - August's Rhapsody

This song makes up the dramatic finale. This is the reason I bought the soundtrack... I cannot get enought of this track.

August Rush - This Time (Sung By Jonathan Rhys Meyers)

This haunting ballad is sung by the lead actor who you may recognize from various movies and TV shows.

Ace of Base - Redefined

2008-04-12T03:16:00.000-07:00

New Look, New Site, New Management, New Tour, New Album, New Line Up

Ace of Base - Redefined

THeir brand new website has just launched. Soon they will have a section where you can personally remix their videos and songs!

The band will be on tour from now until the end of 2009. If they come to a country near you you MUST see them!

Check out their new site at www.aceofbase.com

Girls Who Want Boys Who Like Boys To Be Girls

2008-04-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

Sister Love

My bud over at Don't Stop The Pop just did a fantastic post on a small Swedish record label 'Hitworks' and their amazing line up of pop artists! For his extensive review of each artist check out his blog Here.

After checking out the Hitworks site I've discovered my new guilty pleasure! Move over Caracola because 'Sister Love' are here! Despite an extensive biography on their website, I can't read a word of it because it's in Swedish and I'm too lazy to translate it. So their music will have to speak for itself i'm gonna take an educated guess here and say they're sisters?!

They're everything great about Caracola but a little more edgy and more dance influenced than cheesy pop. Their debut album was released today and if you like what you hear be sure to download their album from the 'Hitworks' site. Great news is you can download the album from anywhere in the world!

I sort of wish they had ended up with a bigger record label, I'm not sure how mainstream they're going to get with 'Hitworks' and I think these guys deserve some success with an amazing album like this. Their song 'Boys and Girls' is actually a cover of a song from 'Blur' so it might sound familiar.

Sister Love - Boys and Girls

Sister Love - Scary Alligators

I'll Play This Song For You As I Am Your Singer...

2008-04-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

Haven't heard of Kostas Martakis?! Something tells me that's about to change very soon!

Kostas is only 23 and comes from Greece. After working as a model for some time he shot to fame on a reality tv program in Greece - "Dream Show." He instantly became a star and signed a record deal soon after his appearance.

His debut album was released in Greece and has had a number of hit singles from the album. He has become so popular in Greece that he recently took part in their National Final to represent Greece at Eurovision 2008.

When the song was originally presented to the press a rock/pop version was previewed. But both Kostas and his record label decided perform the dance version of the song. After a televote and jury vote Kostas ended up in 2nd place with 33.8% of the vote. Despite losing the competition the song has gone on to be a hit in Greece peaking at number 3 in the singles chart.

The great news is that there are currently plans to release an international english alum this year! I am extremely excited for an english album from Kostas and not just because it's sure to have lots of nice photos inside!

If you didn't hear his song for Eurovision you can check out the 3 different english versions below.

Kostas Martakis - Always and Forever (Eurovision Version)

Kostas Martakis - Always and Forever (Rock Version)

Kostas Martakis - Always and Forever (Ballad Version)

Welcome To The Future Of Ace of Base

2008-04-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

How amazing is this! The first official promo shots in YEARS have finally been released! Things are going to start getting very exciting for Ace of Base fans! Ace of Base are one of my all time favorite bands and words cannot express how excited I am for a new album. The band is notorious for taking a long period of time in between albums.

A lot of sources online are saying that Ace of Base have re-formed like a lot of other bands that are re-uniting lately. The truth is that although they may not have released an album globally since their greatest hits album. Ace of Base have in fact never broken up! The band has been together constantly since the early 90's. Their last studio album was released in 2003 although it was not released in every country. The band did release a number of singles from the album and I would argue that it was one of their best albums to date.

Ace of Base - Hey Darling
One of my favorite songs from 2003's "Da Capo" album.

Ace of Base - Beautiful Life (12" Extended Version)

Where Have I Been?!

2008-04-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

So despite the fact that some of my favorite blogs like PPG and The Blog Formerly Known As 'The Zapping have featured him before... I never really took the time to check him out and see what all the fuss was about. All I can say is... boy have I been missing out!

Jonathan Fagerlund is AMAZING!

His single "Playing Me" is currently a huge hit in Sweden and it seems to have completely passed me by until now. Check out his amazing new sigle below! If his album is going to be anything like this track I'm very excited to hear it!

Without Love... It Aint Much

2008-04-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

With a picture like this you'd think that this woman would give us some great pop music!
There's a good chance you may not have heard of this famous Australian, Melissa Tkautz, but she's actually been around since the early 80's!

Like most famous Australians she started her career acting in a soap opera. She immediately became one of the most popular characters in the show. Due to her popularity, the producers had Melissa record a song that would be used as part of a dream sequence for her character. They decided that they would use the show to launch a singing career for Melissa in real life. The idea was a hit and the single - Read My Lips, shot straight to number one in Australia. It didn't take long for Melissa to leave the show to focus on her new found singing career.

After leaving the show Melissa went on tour to promote her debut album, but her futher singles failed to impress fans. In December 1992, after her last single only managed to hit top 20... her final single from her debut album failed to chart at all.

Luckily for Melissa the show "E-Street" took her back with open arms. In 1993 Melissa returned to the show and was a main focus of the season. Despite it's popularity and overall good ratings the network cancelled the show that year.

The poor girl didn't have an acting job or a singing career. After E-Street was cancelled Melissa continued to do guest roles in various television shows and even decided to give singing another chance. She released a single with a new look and a funkier edge but although critics were impressed, the single peaked at a dissapointing #39.

For the next 10 years Melissa worked in various television shows until finally in 2005 she re-launched a career in music with a cover of "The Glamorous Life." The song was destined to be a huge pop hit! Until the worst thing that could happen happened. Another version of the song was released at the exact same time! Despite the fact that there were 2 versions of the song competing for airplay, Melissa's version had some success and she released her first album in 15 years! Despite the success of 'Glamorous Life' her next single charted at #72.

She gave it one more shot in 2006 after recording material in Sweden. 'Easily Affected' was released and was supposed to be the first single from a new album. The song was extremely bland and the vocals were weak... there was nothing really to it. When it peaked at #86 the album was shelved indefinitely.

For someone who has been famous for 20 years it seems Melissa hasn't really had any real success since her first single back in 1991. That doesn't seem to have stopped her though! It all seems a little too "Lisa Scott-Lee" for me. At some point you just have to say enough is enough already. How many bombs does she have to release before she realises people don't want to
hear her sing!?

I haven't been impressed with any of her songs besides "The Glamorous Life" which has a great beat and is easily her best single, although probably not worthy of anything better than top 20. If you haven't heard of Melissa Tkautz before then this is the one and only song you need to hear.
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Melissa Tkautz - The Glamorous Life
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Felt Myself Magnetized, My Senses They Were Hypnotized...

2008-04-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Brian McFadden

Many times I have posted my thoughts on record labels dropping seriously talented artists. While sometimes I think the record labels are justified in their decisions... often times it doesn't make much sense and fantastic acts are left without a record deal. One of these artists is the amazing Brian McFadden.

When his debut single was released in July 2004 it went straight to number 1 and his album charted in the top 30. While not a stellar debut for the album he proved that he could maintain his success with his next singles when his second single hit number 6 in the singles chart. His 3rd single, a duet with his girlfriend Delta Goodrem peaked at number 3! With 3 top 10 singles is this not the kind of artist a record label wants on their roster?

Not many artists get a fourth single from their debut album, but in May 2005 a final single from his debut album was released. 'Demons' was a dark and haunting choice for a single and only hit #28.

Brian continued writing songs for other artists... he's written songs for Delta Goodrem, Il Divo and Girls Aloud to name a few.

Instead of focusing on a second album, in 2006 his record label Sony released a duet with Leanne Rimes... a song called 'Everybody's Someone." The song was taken from Leanne's album Whatever We Wanna. The track, which received little to no promotion in the Uk, peaked at number 48.

I don't know what happened next exactly but in March 2007, almost 3 years after his debut single hit number 1, he was dropped by Sony records due to "dissapointing album sales and the failure of his last 2 singles."

Something tells me his departure from Sony had more to do with him deciding he wanted more control over his career than dissapointing album sales. Brian has since launched his own record label and already released a self-penned single in Ireland - 'Like Only A Woman Can' which hit number 1 there. Brian is now in charge of his career and there is no one to hold him back. His second album is titled 'Set In Stone' and will be released on April 19th with a new single to be released very soon! Until then you can enjoy these gems!

Brian McFadden - Irish Son
This is my favorite song from his debut album!
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Brian McFadden - Pull Myself Away
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I never used to like the song - Like Only A Woman Can, but after watching this video and listening to the lyrics one more time I've decided to change my mind. The song is written about Delta Goodrem and how she's changed Brian since meeting her. Easily one of the sweetest videos/songs I've heard in a long time.

No One Sees Me But The Silver Moon

2008-04-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Enrique Iglesias

In 2001 when Enrique Iglesias released his second english album it immediately became one of my all time favorite albums. I thought 'Escape' was the best of the best. If I was blogging back in 2001 there's a very good chance that it would have been my number 1 song of the year, 'Escape' remains his most successful single to this date!

But he followed it up with a weak third album '7' in 2003. The album failed to light up the charts and none of the singles enjoyed and particular success. Soon after Enrique all but dissapeared from the english music scene.

All that changed last year when he released 'Insomniac' in 2007 off the heels of the debut single "Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song)." While the album doesn't have anything on it quite as good as "Escape" it's really grown on me over the past two months.

In particular I have fallen for his latest European single - "Tired Of Being Sorry." The song isn't being released in North America, but has charted in the Uk, Sweden, Finland and has just been released in France. If you haven't heard this song you should definitely check it out below. The verses are very calm and if you only heard the verses the song would be extremely boring... but I LOVE the chorus. I've always had a soft spot for Enriques vocals and I love the instruments and melody in this. It's one of the best choruses of the year I think!?

Sometimes when artists are releasing singles in different territories it is common practice to have a popular singer from that country feature on the vocals. (This was done previously with Enriques single for You're My Number One; vocals from Russian singer Alsou were added)

This time french singer 'Nadiya' had added a french touch to his latest single. I still prefer the original version, mostly because I prefer Enriques voice, but I don't mind this french version at all. Nadiya has been extremely successful in France with 9 top 40 singles under her belt.

Enrique Iglesias Feat. Nadiya - Tired Of Being Sorry (Laisse Le Destin L'emporter)

Enrique Iglasias - Tired Of Being Sorry (Album Version)

Must Be Doing Something ... WRONG!

2008-03-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

*NOTICE... IF YOU DON'T LIKE WESTLIFE PLEASE READ NO FURTHER*

After raving about Westlife's song - Something Right last week, I am disgusted to find this...

Something Right has officially been chosen as the bands third and most likely final single from their 9th album - Back Home.

The song has been re-mixed for the Uk single release and an official video clip has been released. The bad news is that it looks like they spend about $20 on the video. While the imagry is somewhat pretty... it looks like someone made it on their home computer.

When it comes to the re-mix they have utterly detroyed the years best pop song by adding a generic back beat to try and spice the song up and make it more 'cool.' The problem I have with that is that Westlife aren't cool! That's why I love them! I am really upset over this! I LOVE this song so much and I wanted it to be released so bad and now they've gone and ruined it! You can tell I'm mad because I used a lot of exclamation marks!

If you didn't get this track when PPG first posted about it I'll post it here again so you can hear the song in all it's original glory. Then you can compare it with the cheap remix it has received on the new video.

Westlife - Something Right

In other Westlife news... on June 1st Westlife will celebrate their 10 year anniversary by performing the biggest show of their entire career. The band will perform at Europe's 4th biggest stadium to a sold out crowd of 82'300 fans. The show, dubbed "10 Years of Westlife" has been described as a pop extravaganza! The show will of coarse be filmed and released on DVD. Westlife continue to be the worlds best documented act on DVD of all time with almost every music video and every tour having been released on DVD.

The band also announced that after their final concert they will take the next year off and that the band will not release a new album in 2008 and will concentrate on production of their 10th album for a release in 2009.

Let's Go To Denmark!

2008-03-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today I'm taking you back in time to re-visit 2 successful Danish acts that just won't quit!
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First I'm going to take you back to the summer of 1994! If you were alive back then chances are you used to sing along to this track. It was that Whigfield had an international number 1 smash hit with - 'Saturday Night.' Despite not having the same success that she had with her debut single. Whigfield remains active in the music industry to this day. She continues to release music as Whigfield. She has also written songs for other acts across Europe and in 2005 recorded a number of songs under the name 'Naan.'
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As is with most acts that have huge initial success but can never re-create it, they tend to rely heavily on the song that made them famous in the first place. Acts are forever re-recording, remixing and re-releasing their original hit singles i.e. Pete Burns, Tiffany, Nikki French. So it's only fitting that Whigfield re-record her original hit and a bunch of other ones that nobody remembers and throw it all together on a new album!

Here is the 2008 version of 'Saturday Night.'

Whigfield - Saturday Night 2008

In other news...

Last year you may remember I posted news that 'Aqua' had re-formed! Although we may not have heard much from the band since their original press conference the band remains together and have announced 9 concerts in Denmark at the 2008 Gron Koncert to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy campaign.

This is the same show where Aqua last performed as a group back in 2001. Which seems like an appropriate place to launch a comeback.

The band are taking their time before making further commitments and plans as a band. At their press conference the band said they want to 'test the waters' to see how much interest there is in the band today.

Although Aqua are back together it hasn't stopped band member Soren from continuing his current project! Soren is currently in a band with his nephew, Nicolaj, called 'Hej Matematik!'
The band has released 3 digital singles to date and is about to release their debut album in Denmark. I wouldn't know how to describe their music... It's a little electro-pop meets funky R & B!? But as you can see in their album cover, they're definitely looking good!

Hej Matematik - Du & Jag

Here is the clip of their latest video - Du & Jeg

For those of you that are interested the video for their second single features a cameo by all other 3 original Aqua members! As Soren and his Nephew walk through a deserted mall they pass a store window where the 3 other members of Aqua are standing in the window and watch Soren as he walks by. It's neat to see them together again if only for a moment! You can see the clip to that video on youtube.

If you're looking forward to seeing Aqua in concert this summer don't get your hopes too high. They are planning to tour various cities across Europe but it will not be a world tour by any means and the number of shows will depend on how much interest is generated. Personally I would like to see a Greatest Hits album/dvd released with perhaps a new single?! I miss Aqua!

Here is a photo of the band from when they announced their reunion back in the fall!

How Hard Can It Be To Give Us The Album We Want?!

2008-03-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Linda Bengtzing

Did Linda Bengtzing give us the album we all wanted? Full of Alla Flickors and Hur Svart Kan Det Va's? The answer is no. But I think after listening to her first album no one really thought she would give us the album we all want her to record.

The album is definitely lacking in Schlagerificness but I've given it a chance and I really enjoy it! It's missing some of the raw energy of the first album, but I really feel like she's grown and the songs are more mature. I've officially decided that I like the album! It feels like a natural progression from her debut album. I think you have to respect her for doing the music she wants to do. If you don't mind guitars with your pop music then this is an album you must check out!

Now that being said I think someone ought to hit her upside the head and tell her that she needs to give us a pure Schlager album next time though. I mean, what a tease! She enters Melodifestivalen with what could be one of her best songs so far and then gives us an album of the music she really wants to be doing. Put down the guitars Linda!

Linda Bengtzing - Inga Pojkar / Varlden

Me and Linda before the Melodifestivalen Dress Rehersal.

Linda awlkinig past me as she hits the stage for Melodifestivalen 2008.

In other Linda news PPG gives you an interesteing comparison of an album track from her debut album. Check it out over at PopPosterGirl.

This Is Caracola

2008-03-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

Ok so I know I just posted about Caracola, but they deserve another post I think. There are very few artists willing to release the kind of pop album that Caracola have just released. Many acts will put out one or two pop songs and then give us an album full of the music they really want to release.

Caracolas english album is simply called 'This Is Caracola' and there is not a single ballad on the entire album! It does feature english versions of some of their previous swedish songs. Some of my favorites are below.
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Caracola - Love Alive
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Caracola - Summer Night
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You can purchase their album Here.

Tomorrow Babe It's You And Me Time...

2008-03-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Westlife

Ok so I know most of you guys have made it clear that you're not fans of Westlife, but seeing as this is my blog... I'm going to continue to try and change your mind about them.

I used to be the worlds biggest Westlife fan... but after releasing crappy albums of covers over and over again, I really started to dismiss them alltogether.

But the band finally pulled it together for their latest album 'Home' which has been out for sometime now. While there are still some horrid covers on the album as usual... the band also has included some amazing original pop songs. The crowning achievement is of coarse the song 'Something Right' which will forever be one of their best songs of all time. It has been featured over at Poppostergirls site, so I won't bother posting it unless there is someone out there that doesn't have it still? The track was never released as a single in the Uk, but was a single in Sweden!

Their latest single in the Uk is 'Us Against The World' wasn't pushing any boundaries and isn't likely to make any new fans, but it features an unreleased track on the B-side called 'Get Away.' It's nothing groundbreaking but it's an upbeat sound that we rarely hear from the band. I'm not sure if I like the song as much as I like the first 15 seconds with the OooooOohhh!!

Westlife - Get Away

We Can Build This Dream Together

2008-03-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

Not since Lisa Scott-Lee said that she would quit pop music if she didn't get top ten with 'Electric' has there been so much at stake on a groups chart position.

If you haven't discovered 'Same Difference' yet here is what you need to know. The group is brother and sister team, Sarah and Sean. They shot to fame on the Uk television show 'The X-Factor' which is basically American Idol except that there are no age restrictions and the contestants are split into solo guys, solo girls and groups.

From the minute they auditioned I knew that they were going to be my new favorite band. Simon Cowell said "You are possibly two of the most annoying people I've ever met."

They made it all the way to the final night of the competition and ended up in third place! Now although they didn't win Simon Cowell offered them a record deal anyways, but there is a catch!

On April 21st they will release their debut single. If the song doesn't go top 5 it is very likely that there will be no further releases from the pop duo. Now I'm really dissapointed that the first single isn't going to be 'Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now' which has instant hit written all over it. The first single instead will be High School Musical's - Breaking Free.

So what does this mean? We need to get the single to be top 5 so they can release 'Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now' next!

You can catch their new website Here.

Watch Their Audition:

Watch them perform Breaking Free:

In other fantastic news, after taking some time off from the blogging world Paul, from thezapping.com has decided to reclaim his throne and launch his new blog 'My Fizzy Pop'

Ooha Oh Ba Ba Do Wah Yao Yao!!!

2008-03-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

If you haven't discovered the band Caracola you've been missing out. Not only are these girls cute, their music is 100% pure unapologetic, in your face pop. Their songs are very summey, the kind of song you want to blast from your car or at the beach.

After an album in Swedish, the girls have finally released their english album off the heels of their appearance in 'Melodifestivalen'.

One of the things I love about Caracola is that they can actually sing live. Usually bands like this prefer to lipsync their way through a single or two and then proceed to get dropped by their record label.

Melodifestivalen has not been kind to it's previous girl bands. Artists like Excellence, Bubbles and Cosmo4 have all but dissapeared. Caracola have been around since 2006 and judging by their intensive promo tour they have scheduled from now until September, these girls aren't going anywhere!

Caracola - Smiling In Love

Caracola - Anda Fram

Here is a photo of me meeting the girls last week in Stockholm!

Alright Now Dance People!

2008-03-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Markoolio

So the first time I ever heard of Markoolio was last year when he did the 'Varsta Schlagern' duet with the brilliant 'Bengtzing.' The song is brilliant in every way and shot straight to number one for weeks.

I remember looking Markoolio up and thinking... who is this guy?! He looks a bit odd, and I got the impression that his album was really more tongue in cheek and really just a bit of a joke.

Well during my trip, I was out dancing when a Swedish track came on. All the Swedes seemed to enjoy it, they were singing along and having fun. All the foreigners sort of scratched their heads and said "What is this crap?!"

Well the song was immediately stuck in my head and I had to ask someone what it was. Her answer: Markoolio!

So here is the song... keep an open mind here... the chorus is extremely catchy and fun to sing along to. "REAGGAE!! INGEN SOMMAR UTAN RAGGA!" It reminds me a lot of DJ Otzi, if anyone remembers him.

Markoolio - Ingen Sommar Utan Reggae

Hit Me By Surprise, No Way To Deny...

2008-03-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

Sibel

Who will i dedicate my first post to after my return from Sweden?!

Well I've got jet lag and I have to be up early for work... but I couldn't go to bed without posting a little something for you all.

In total I brought back 68 cd's from London and Sweden... that means loads of new songs for you all. (Although I accidently left half of them in Sweden... long and horrible story... but they're being mailed back to me)

Sibel was a force of nature up on stage this year at Melodifestivalen. When I first saw her I thought... who does she think she is up on stage with these other great artists. But give this girl a long flowing dress, a wind machine and a dramatic power ballad and she will work it out! She really did impress me on stage, she was also extremely sweet in person

The album is full of sappy ballads but there are acouple tracks where Sibel turns things up a notch, one of those songs is 'Walking Away' which is very easy listening and has almost a country sound to it; very Carrie Underwood or Leanne Rimes actually. If you would like an album full of dramatic power ballads that aren't quite as good as 'That's Where I'll Go' then you should definitely check out her debut album.

Sibel - Walking Away

Sibel - That Is Where I'll Go

Thank You For The Music... The Songs We're Singing

2008-03-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

There isn't much I can say that hasn't been covered on every other pop blog around. I think the Swedes have done us proud this year. 2008 will be remembered as an extremely strong year for Melodifestivalen.

It was a year where anything could have happened. Charlotte was the obvious favorite, but Sanna was only 18 points behind. It truly was an exciting competition this year. Watching the show live at the Globen you really could feel the energy as each artist gave it their all.

When the dust settled Charlotte took home her second Melodifestivalen victory and will represent Sweden in Belgrade.

She will now go on a tour across Europe to promote the song and we will soon find out how the European public responds to the track. While the song is anthemic, catchy and has a lot of passion. There really is nothing groundbreaking or new with her song. It's a formula that has been done before and it will be interesting to see how she does at Eurovision and to see if she can beat Carola's placing from 2006.

My final thoughts are basically this. Whether you're a long time fan, a casual observer or if you have no idea what the hoopla is about. Melodifestivalen is about great music written by the best song writers and performed by the best talent. It is a competition that truly gives everyone a chance, from the first time performers to legendary stars. This is a country that takes this competition extremely serious. The entire city has been living and breathing Melodifestivalen every day of the last week. It has been on the cover of every newspaper since the day I arrived. arrived.

The entire city has been so warm and receptive. Everywhere I go I would meet new people, share opinions on the performers and the songs and make new friends. Sweden has something very special with Melodifestivalen and it is something no other country has been able to truly replicate. If you've ever thought about making the trip here for Melodifestivalen stop thinking and just make it happen in 2009! You won't regret it.

I'm off to London on Wednesday and I'll be back home in Vancouver, Canada on Thursday.

My cd count is now up to 66 cd's!! So you can expect some great new songs once I'm home and the blog returns to normal.

Finally... I've met a lot of people during the trip who actually read this blog. Talk about a small world! So I want to give a huge shout out to all of them and thank you guys for coming back, listening to the songs I post and leaving comments and feedback. You keep me motivated to continue posting the music I love.

I LOVE SWEDEN!

2008-03-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU ALL!

So lets break it down.

1. You wouldn't believe the luck we've had on this trip. Yesterday we were walking back to our hostel when I heard a microphone and an announcement being made on the street. A crowd had formed and when I went to take a closer look... (There was a big stage up on a catwalk between two buildings) LINDA BENGTZING walks out and performs her new single in the middle of the street!

It was AMAZING, if we had been 5 minutes earlier or later we would have missed the whole thing. Afterwards they announce that she is signing autographs in the mall area! So I actually got to meet her and she signed her single for me.

She was SUPER nice in person and surprisingly short and petite. I told her that we were voting for her and I got a fantastic photo of us together.

At this point I thought my life was complete. THEN! We head to the Globen to watch the dress rehersal. We were about 2 hours early so we go into the Globen Mall and guess who is right in front of us... CHARLOTTE PERRELLI! They're playing 'Hero' on a loop and she's signing autographs!

So of coarse we signed up for that. She was a bit of a diva, but still nice enough. She signed my single 'Take Me To Your Heaven.'

2. The dress rehersal: They basically explained to us that the Final tonight is live, but that they were recording the dress rehersal so they could play it if there was a problem during the live broadcast on Saturday.

Charlotte was flawless... but in a way seemed like she wasn't really trying. I think that of coarse they don't want to give it 100% because they have to be ready for Saturday night.

Sibel's vocals were really poor last night. I'm not sure if she is sick or was just holding back... but it was probably her worst performance so far in the competition.

Linda rocked it! She's toned down the performance a bit and her vocals were really strong. I still don't like the choreography too much... but the audience loves the song and her single is sold out at every shop in Stockholm.

Amy Diamond was the most improved vocally. She sounded MUCH better and she added something to her stage props which I love.

Nordman has a really good chance of winning it all tonight. It was pretty clear after watching the audience reaction that people are LOVING Nordman. I think perhaps a lot of fans will split the vote between BWO and Charlotte which will leave an open door for Nordman.

Sanna was perfect as usual and hadn't changed anything in her performance.

Rongedal was another big surprise... everyone loved them. Of coarse the people around us were impressed that we knew the entire routine and gave our own performance as well.

Christer is the song you love to hate.

BWO was a big hit as well and nothing much had changed for their performance either.

So Im really stuck... I don't know what is going to happen tonight! The media here seems to have Charlotte pegged as the winner but I think BWO and Nordman could easily steal it.

Don't forget half of the vote is decided by a Jury and half from the public and quite often the juries and the public don't match.

3. So today we did some research and found out that there was a massive autograph singing taking place downtown. So at 11:30 I was waiting outside to see performances from Daniel, Alexander Schuld, Caracola, The Poodles and Ola!

Daniel was really really nice. It was actually pretty good to see him sing 'Pame' without all the glitter and campy costume and dance routine. I really really like this song. I talked to him for acouple minutes and he was really happy to sign autographs and pose for photos. Daniel said he wants either Charlotte or Sanna to win tonight.

Caracola were by far the nicest of all the stars I've met here (actually they're tied with Linda who was really great as well.) They signed 3 singles for me and asked me about Canada. They want Sanna to win tonight.

Alexander Schuld did a SUPERB acoustic version of his Melodifestivalen entry, but he wasn't very receptive when signing autographs.

The Poodles also did an acoustic set of a bunch of their hits but I couldn't be bothered to wait in line to meet them. They were also giving their single away for free to everyone walking on the streets. It came across as a little desperate actually.

It was great to see Ola live since I'm not seeing him in the final tonight, but he only sand Love in Stereo which was dissapointing. Caracola sang two tracks and I hoped that Ola would at least sing SOS as well. When we met him he was shocked to hear we were from Canada and he was really nice as well and talked to us for acouple minutes before posing for pictures.

I think I've told every artist that I've met that we've come all the way from Canada just to see them.

4. We went clubbing last night and they played Mans, Linda, Chatlotte, BWO, Amy, Christer, Shirley Clamp, Carola and Andreas, Rongedal, Sanna Nielsen and so much more... it was madness!

Im just getting ready to head to the Globen now to watch the Finalen. Don't forget you can watch it live online at svt.se/melodifestivalen tonight!!

Thank You Sweden!

2008-03-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

WOW!

So Im here in Stockholm and here is an update for you all!

First off we went shopping yesterday and I spent approx $6000 Kronor on Cds and clothes! Thats about $1000 USD in one day.

When I was buying some cds the guy at the register told me that Amy Diamond would be signing autographs there that night! *I was buying her Gold edition of Music In Motion*

So at 4pm I waited in a line of 10 year old girls to meet Amy Diamond. When I finally got there I told her that I was a little embarassed because I was the oldest fan there and that I had flown all the way from Canada to see her in Melodifestivalen. *Only a slight lie* She was sort of embarassed and slightly scared! She signed my album and then I asked her what her favorite song was besides hers of coarse and she said she couldnt decide.
I posed for a picture and that was it! My brush with Swedish popstar fame!

BUT HERE IS THE BIG NEWS!

Tonight we went to a little bar in Gamla Stan and I met the stage director for Charlotte Perrellis performance in Melodifestivalen! He gave me some inside info on her performance!

First off... when her performance begins and she is in black and white... he said that the organizers were originally not very happy with the idea and they had to work hard to convince them. In the end the organizers gave in and said they would see how it worked in the semi-final. He said they were happy with the way it worked out.

ALSO! We can exclusively tell you that the catwalk has been extended for Charlottes performance! He seemed to make a big deal about this.

THe night was amazing they played Mans Zelmerlow, Charlotte twice! BWO, Britney, Nsync, Worlds Apart!! 5ive, Westlife... it is obvious that the Swedes take their pop music very seriously.

Its now 2am and Im off to bed!

Expect a massive update after the dress rehersals on Friday night!!

No Ola, No Carola and No Caracola.

2008-03-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys!

After 4 days in London I've officially arrived in Stockholm. This is after a 4 hour delay at Heathrow. Then when we finally got on the plane they announced that we would be stuck there for an extra 30 minutes because some idiot accidently used the de-icing chemicals on the planes brakes and now they had to wash the breaks.

So first off London was amazing. Bought lots of new clothes and cd's of coarse. Did plenty of dancing at the clubs. You should have seen me do my dance routine to Steps - Last THing On My Mind... it was classic ;)

On Saturday night I went to a Swedish pub in London where they actually showed Melodifestivalen - Andra Chansen live via sattelite! You can't imagine how cool it was to watch the show live in a room with a bunch of other fans.

It was clear that Ola was the crowd favorite and everyone was extremely relieved when he won his first round against Caracola who put up a great fight and looked amazing might I add!

THe biggest shock of the night of coarse was Carola and Andreas failing ot make it through to the finalen. Carola had changed her performance from the loud dramatic show to a sweet and innocent performance with a lot of interaction between her and Andreas. It wasn't enough and Nordman beat tthem in the first heat. You shoul dhave seen her face! It is all over the Swedish newspapers still. I don't really understand what happened? I think the song is amazing and Carola and Andreas are huge stars in Sweden.

I think this will be the end of Carola ever doing anything with Melodifestivalen again. Actually Id love to see Carola on stage with Nordman during their performance on Saturday! She could be the witch and they could burn her live on stage! No?! Just a thought.

When they showed clips of all the songs that were in the final everyone cheered or booed and it was clear which songs were the faves.

Everyone loves Amy Diamond, Charlotte, Linda and BWO!

After the show they played a bunch of classic schlager songs and everyone sang and danced along. It was amazing. My friend who I brought with me and who has never been exposed to anything really schlager before was amazed!

I also have to give a huge shout out to Leyton! We were talking at the pub and when I told him I was from Canada he asked if I had a blog... sure enough he reads the blog! When I get home and I can post music again I have something special for ya so keep an eye out !

My final thought on Melodifestivalen is that Charllotte needs to win. I LOVE BWO and I won't complain if they win... but I think Charllotte will be able to get high marks at Eurovision.

In other Pop news, last night we went to The X-Factor live tour in London last night at the O2 arena. The show was really really good but the night truly belonged to 'Same Difference' who stole the show. Their debut single is released on April 21st and I'll have a post dedicated to them when I get home!

Ok enough rambling from me... I'm really really tired and this post probably doesn't make a lot of sense.

I can't wait to post new songs for you guys and get home to listen to all my new cd's. I'll update you again soon. I'm going to the dress rehersals on Friday and then of coarse the finalen is Saturday night. Be sure to watch it live online at svt.se/melodifestivalen

Thank You For The Music

2008-03-04T23:29:00.000-08:00

At 3:55pm I'm boarding a plane to London, England and after a few days there I will head to the center of Melodifestivalen Fever... Stockholm.

It's only fitting to dedicate this post to the greatest band ever to come from Sweden - Abba.

There is simply no denying that Abba is simply the greatest pop band ever. To this day they continue to sell millions of albums a year.

Their music is simply timless and is being rediscovered by new legions of fans every day.

If the only songs you know from Abba are Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen and Take A Chance On Me... then it's time you educate yourself. The best way to do that is with Abba - The Definitive Collection. It includes some great songs that aren't on the shorter Abba - Gold album.

As pop fans each of us has in debt to Abba for the fantastic music that we listen to every day.

ABBA - When All Is Said And Done

ABBA - Under Attack

ABBA - Does Your Mother Know

Although ABBA may no longer be with us as a group, their songs are constantly being covered by modern artists and being given a new twist like the classic ABBA Medley performed at the '99 Brit awards...

Steps, Billie, B*Witched, Cleopatra & Tina Cousins - Thank ABBA For The Music (12" Mix)

Nils Landgren - When All Is Said And Done

Evan Dando & The Lemonheads - Knowing Me, Knowing You

Sweden Does Us Proud!

2008-03-02T23:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Night Sweden showed that 'it wasn't hard at all' to put through the two biggest schlager anthems through direct to the finals!

Every year Sweden outdoes itself with the calibre and quality of the songs in Melodifestivalen. The SVT does a spectacular job of choosing a wide variety of songs to enter the competition.

I never thought the public would put through Linda and Charlotte in the top 2 but they did and I am so happy!

Everyone has already posted about this on every pop blog around so I'll keep my thoughts brief...

First, after seeing the performances I changed my mind about two of the songs.

1. Daniel... talk about ruining a perfectly good song. After hearing the one minute clip of Pame, I was on cloud nine, sure that the song would be one of my favorites of the year. I believe I said it may even be better than Cara Mia! Well my apologies to Mans... because Daniel was horrific on stage.

I'm sorry but everything about that performance was just wrong. His outfit... the dancing... his whole attitude on stage. He was too "showey" but maybe that's not the word I'm looking for.

The song is sooo good, I just felt like the performance didn't match the song, it made it too 'hokey.' I'm actually glad he didn't make it to the final now.

2. Sibel. WHAT A VOICE! Does anyone else think she looks a little strange though? But wow that girl can sing! It's a very different ballad than Empty Room... but with vocals like that she definitely earned her spot in the Andra Chansen.

But the night belonged to two women last night:

Linda and Charlotte! I LOVE Linda on stage... she has such fantastic energy and she is so genuinely happy after every performance... i dont care what anyone says about any of her past performances... i've loved every single one. She isn't the worlds best singer, but she gives 110% and I adore her!

Charlotte gave us the final 'new' melodifestivalen performance of 2008 and they saved one of the best for last. The heels, the dress, the glitter microphone, the hair, the lasers, the wind machines and of coarse... the key change. With all the drama on stage it really wasn't much of a contest at all.

Congratulations Sweden... you've done us all proud this year.

Next Saturday one of the most amazing second chance rounds will take place. There is only one thing Sweden has to correct in order to put everything right this year... and that is send Carola and Andreas to the Finals on March 15th!

I am sooooo excited!

Heads Up: I leave for London, England on Wednesday. I'll be there for 5 days where I will be doing a lot of shopping, dancing and seeing Same Difference live on tour!

On March 10th I'll be heading to Stockholm! I'll be seeing the dress rehersals on Friday and then I've got floor seats to see the Final at 8pm on Saturday March 15th!

I will have time for one more music post before I leave... I will have mini updates while I'm away!

So while I may not update very often for the next 20 days... stay tuned because when I get back there will be a tonne of new music to share!

Linda vs Charlotte

2008-02-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!

If you don't follow Melodifestivalen this is the time for you to start! This contest is about great music and this semi-final is FULL of great songs. This is like Christmas for Pop music lovers.

You can now hear one minute clips of all the songs for the next 24 hours.

Here are some thoughts:

1. Niklas Stromstedt - This song is very very retro sounding, like hippy music from the 70's. It doesn't do anything for me unfortunately. I think he's definitely out of the running with this one.

2. Calasia - A pretty song... but it has absolutely no wow factor. It's no Empty Room or For Att Du Finns. They have no chance and I think they'll be out of the competition in the first round of voting.

3. Fronda - Absolute utter crap. There is nothing I like about this song. I actually have a bit of a headache listening to it. Please let this song get voted out first away.

My prediction is that these songs will be the top 5.

5th Place - Sibel - That Is Where I'll Go: I heard a lot of positive things about this song and I can't say that I agree. Sure it's nice... but it's not very catchy and isn't something you could sing along to. I think she'll lose out in the end, not even a second chance for Sibel.

4th Place - Nordman - I Lagornas Sken: You know... I actually like this song! If they can perform it well I think they're guaranteed a spot in Andra Chansen.

3rd Place - Daniel Mitsogiannis - Pame: WOW! One of my favorite songs of the entire competition this year! OMG I can't spot listening to it. I think I love it more than Cara Mia!!! This is going to be one of my favorite songs of 2008 I think!

2nd Place - Carlotte Perrelli - Hero: When the song started I was sort of like... This is it? I was like... what is the big deal? Then the Chorus starts and the rest is history. Charlotte will go direct to the finals with this track. The verses are a bit weak I think... but WOW that Chorus is spectacular.

1st Place - Linda Bengtzing - Har Svart Kan Det Va: Ok so maybe Linda won't actually get first place... but she deserves it! I honestly think she will end up in second or third place tomorrow... but she deserves to go directly to the finals with this. It's perfect swedish schlager all the way with an AMAZING key change to end it all.

I sort of want to call in sick to work so I can sit here and listen to these songs all day!

Case Study: Hear'Say

2008-02-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

The public loves to take an artist... bring them up and then watch their star fall... the harder it falls... the better.

One of the most prominent examples for this is with the band - Hear'Say from the Uk.

Am I the only one that liked them?! I mean ok their second album was crap... but who's to blame for that?! And you have to admit they sure did have a great use of the apostrophe in their name! No band had had such great use of an apostrophe since N'Sync.

Hear'Say was the first band created through the "Popstars" format. When the band won the television show back in late 2000 they were on cloud nine! When their debut single 'Pure and Simple' was released in March 2001 you couldn't go anywhere without hearing it. The single sold over a million copies and spent 27 weeks in the top 100. When the album was released 3 weeks later the band became the first british band to have a number one single and number one album at the same time.

The album was an extremely strong debut from a manufactured pop band. The entire album was full of good songs. I remember playing it for ages when it was released. By the time the second single was released there were hints that something wasn't right.

The second single was a remixed version of 'The Way To Your Love.' I just think if a record company has to remix an album track in order to release it, they must not have a lot of faith in the song. Nevertheless the single also went straight to number 1 in the uk singles chart.

Here's where things get fishy. After a second single the band went on tour and started to record a second album. There were no more singles released from their number 1 album - Popstars. It started to become clear that a lot of people were only looking to make a lot of money from the band and they had no interest in making smart decisions.

In November 2001 a new single was released, the first from their second album which came out in December.

In case you missed it lets look at this timeline again.

Debut Single - March 2001

Debut Album - March 2001

2nd Single from the first album - June 2001

Band goes on tour - No more singles from the first album

First single from second album - November 2001

Second Album - December 2001

THE SECOND ALBUM WAS RELEASED 9 MONTHS AFTER THE FIRST ALBUM!!

Does anyone else see a problem with this? Clearly the band had no control in what was going on. When the second album peaked at #24 in the album charts it was clear there was a problem. At this point lead singer Kym Marsh left the band after becoming the center of attention in british tabloids.

There were no further singles taken from the second album! An entire album with only one single?! What was the point of even releasing an album then?

So after Kym left the band did the next logical step... create ANOTHER T.V. show. It would put them back in the public eye and they would use the show to select a new member for the band.

Good idea? Perhaps... until allegations came out that the entire audition process had been rigged. Johnny Shentall was announced as the new member of the band... the problem? Johnny had worked with the band in the past as a dancer. Johnny had also been in a band himself previously. People that had auditioned said Johnny had bypassed all the line ups and was given preferential treatment throughout the entire show. It was said that the show was just a ploy to get more publicity for the band, that the band never intended to choose someone from the public.

Once Johnny was selected the band recorded a third album and went on a festival tour of the Uk. By this time the public had turned on the band. At every show the band performed at they were met with booing and abused by members of the public. At one point the band was actually threatened by an armed man on the highway. When the reports came out the public accused the band of making the entire story up to get publicity.

The band held things together and released a new single in August 2001 - Lovin' Is Easy. I always thought this was their best single. It was a more mature sound and should have been their comeback. The single entered the charts at #6... their record label wanted a top 5 hit. A month later the band announced they had split up due to negative public reaction and hostility and industry pressure. Although the third album had already been recorded it was rumoured that Polydor records had never intended to release the album after Lovin' Is Easy failed to meet expectations.

How does a band go from 2 number one singles and a number one album to basically being dropped by their record label 9 months later?!

They may be gone... but personally I will always remember them for their brief shining moment in the world of pop.

Hear'Say - Lovin' Is Easy

Hear'Say - Pure And Simple (2002 Mix Feat. Johnny)

Hear'Say - Monday Monday

Hear'Say - One Step Closer

Hear'Say - Breathe

Jason Donovan vs Rick Astley

2008-02-24T11:49:00.000-08:00

Rick Astley

Jason Donovan

So I may not be old enough to remember when these two singers were in their peak... but that doesn't mean they dont' have a special place in my heart!

Rick Astley and Jason Donovan both had their careers take off when they teamed up with Stock, Aitken and Waterman's record label PWL. Both have had huge amounts of success and both continue to be involved in music to this day.

But who is the ultimate 80's PWL posterboy? Let's examine the evidence and you decide.

Most Hit Singles:

Jason Donovan: 17

Rick Astley: 16

Most Original Solo Albums:

Rick Astley: 6

Jason Donovan: 3

Most Number 1 Singles:

Jason Donovan: 4

Rick Astley: 3

Most Greatest Hits Albums Released:

Rick Astley: 4

Jason Donovan: 3

Worst CD Cover:

Jason Donovan: Happy Together

Rick Astley: The Ones You Love

Biggest Career Outside Of Music:

Jason Donovan - Acting

Biggest Scandal Of Their Career:

Jason Donovan: After being accused of being gay by a magazine Jason sued the magazine and won over $400'000 in damages. As a result Jason was accused of being homophobic. As a result he alienated a lot of his gay fans and Jason says that the entire fiasco was a mistake that hurt his career.

Rick Astley: In 2006 Rick had signed on to appear in the BBC's Celebrity duet show - Just The Two Of Us. At the last minute Rick pulled out and left the show organizers scrabling to fill his spot. Industry insiders critisized the singer for his unprofessionalism.

It's a tough call... but only one artist can reign supreme ... who is your favorite Stock, Aiken Waterman posterboy? Is it Rick Astley or Jason Donovan?

Rick Astley - Megamix

Rick Astley - Let's Go Out Tonight

Jason Donovan - Happy Together

Jason Donovan - She's In Love With You

I Was Wrong!

2008-02-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

So after listening to the one minute clips from tonights semi-final I was pretty un-impressed.

Maybe I was just in a bad mood, or maybe it took the full performance to really hit home for me... but after watching tonights semi-final live... I was WOWED!

Every performance (with the exception of Eskobar) was SPOT ON! The vocals were great, the performances were each special in their own way and the songs were MUCH better than I first thought.

First off... BWO ROCKED THE HOUSE! Now that I've seen it live and heard the whole song, I think Lay Your Love On Me is better than Temple Of Love. They definitely deserved to go straight to the final.

Therese was amazing... she borrowed Carola's wind machines and flags from 2006. Glad to see they're going to be used again in the second chance round. She'll go up against Sussie Tapper and Therese will win no contest!

Boy was I wrong about Caracola... the song is fun and extremely catchy... I've been singing it all day and they could sing live! I'm glad they get a second chance, but I'm a little scared that they're going up against Ola in the second chance round. My vote is going to have to be for Ola I think.

Finally the SHOCKER of the night! Frida vs Patrik! I LOVE Patrik's song. It's going to get a lot of play on my iPod. I was SURE he would go direct to the final.

But then along comes Frida and she really proved what this contest is all about. With a great song, great personality and great performance, the public will do the right thing. I never thought she had a chance (neither did she!) and sure enough she was voted direct to the final while Patrik is out of the competition.

I'm really happy with the results. I'm EXTREMELY happy that Eskobar didn't make it... the song was mediocre and the vocals were by far the worst of the night.

What A Show!

I cannot wait until next week!!

The Calm Before The Storm...

2008-02-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

For the next 24 hours you can listen to one minute clips of the next 8 songs in Melodifestivalen.

I hate to say it but this may end up being the most boring semi-final yet.

There are only 2 songs that I really like, the rest are all pretty lacklustre to me, I don't even care who else goes through.

1. BWO - Lay Your Love On Me

Look, I LOVE BWO. They've produced one of the best albums of all time (Prototype) but I'm sorta getting bored of these singles they continue to release. Maybe it's just me? But this sounds like every other song they've ever released mixed in with Madonna's 'Hung Up.'

I do like it, but I don't LOVE it. When you compare it to the other songs we have in thie round, BWO is my vote to go straight through to the finalen.

2. Patrik Isaksson & Bandet - Under Mitt Tunna Skinn

This is the song I probably like the best in this semi-final. It's in swedish which I love and the chorus is high energy with a lot of layers. This year is lacking in Swedish entries and I think if this gets performed well he can make it to the final!

3. Caracola - Smiling In Love

No surprise that I like this song. It's very summery and cheery. I'll be interested to see how they can sing this live though. It's not as good as Cosmo4 from last year and Cosmo4 sung it great live. I doubt the girls will be able to pull this one off live.

The rest of the songs I'm not even going to bother ranking because I really don't like any of them. Therese is ok, but I don't think the opera bits work in the song. It would have been a much stronger entry if it just had a normal chorus. You can tell the song was written by 'Evan' but Evan should have sung it himself.

Eskobar will probably get to the final with this track, but it's extremely boring and if they send this to Eurovision they would never get past the semi-final.

The other songs aren't even worth me talking about.

The good news is that next Saturday is the Heat Of Death!!

So lets hope Patrik and BWO go through and Caracola get a second chance.

Maybe I'll like the songs more after they're performed?!

What If I Change For You...

2008-02-21T22:39:00.000-08:00

AIt's no secret that I'm a massive fan of cheesy pop, but my musical tastes are actually quite diverse and I love to discover a new song no matter what kind of music as long as it's good quality music.

I have just made one of these discoveries. The band is 'The Midway State' and they actually opened for Mika at the concert I went to.

When they came out I thought... oh no, not another lame opening act. Boy was I in for a surprise. These guys are amazing live and have a lot of talent. To top it all off they're Canadian :)

This is their debut single I believe - It may not be your thing... but hopefully you'll be able to appreciate it nevertheless.

The Midway State - Change For You

The band have released an EP which you can purchase at their website.

BOOM!!

2008-02-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

In 2 week's I'll be hitting the shores of England for 4 days before I fly to Stockholm for the FINAL of Melodifestivalen 2008!

While in the Uk there is no better place to dance to cheesy pop music as the famous G-A-Y Nightclub.

Already I'm thinking about the songs I'm most looking forward to hearing while I'm there.

The club is famous for playing tunes by artists like B*witched, Steps, S Club, Atomic Kitten, 5ive, Kylie, V, Ace of Base... if it's pop and if it's cheesy you'll hear it there.

One song I cant wait to hear there is:

Atomic Kitten - I Want Your Love (Radio Edit)

Atomic Kitten - I Want Your Love (Ricochet Alternative Edit)

Pure pop at it's best!

This Is New Of That I'm Sure...

2008-02-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

Oops! Let's try this again!

I accidently posted a No Angels track instead of Velvet yesterday.

So here is the song I meant to post!

The CD quality version of Velvet's new single - Deja Vu.

Enjoy!

Velvet - Deja Vu

Why It's Ok!!!

2008-02-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

So at first I was FURIOUS!!

How could CAROLA end up in the Andra Chansen?

Then It hit me... why this is a GOOD THING!

1. Sanna Nielsen deserved to go automatically... the song is beautiful and the vocals were flawless. The song is different from any other ballad that's been to the finals in sometime.

2. Ola was great, and deserved to go to Andra Chansen. I don't think he'll make it to the finals... but if he does he'll be a welcome addition.

3. Rongedal are fun, catchy and the song is pure fun. If they would have gone to the Andra Chansen, there is no chance they would have made it to the finals... this way they already have their ticket to the final!

4. Carola and Andreas will have no problem winning the second chance round and will end up in the final anyways!

So there you have it... It's ok that Carola and Andreas go to the Andra Chansen. Because it means that a great act like Rongedal get to have a minute in the spotlight and will be in the finals too!

Everybody Wins!

P.S. I LOVED tonights show... it was a HUGE improvement on last week. I still really like Alexanders song and I imagine I'll be playing the cd version a lot once I get my hands on the 2008 album!

Next week: BWO & Caracola!!

WOW!

2008-02-16T00:37:00.000-08:00

Ok so I just got back from seeing 'Mika' live on tour.

If he came to your city and you didn't go to see him, you missed out on one of the funnest concerts I've ever been to.

This man has the most energy and has more fun than anyone I've ever seen on stage.

No one was sitting, everyone sung along and danced along to every song. He had us eating out of the palms of his hands!

At the end of the show he told us this was the last night of the North American tour and that he was going to stop touring to finish his second album...

He came back on stage to do his finale... There was more confetti and streamers than i've ever seen in my life... and then... he starts bringing people on stage... and then more people start going on stage... and then the entire audience starts going on stage!!!!

At this point security start physically pulling people off the stage... you can't even see Mika anymore there are that many people up there.... and yet he is having a blast... still singing the song!

It was SPECTACULAR!

While I was on stage I happened to pick up the drum stick he was using earlier in the show... it had rolled forward and was just lying behind a light...

I knew Mika would want me to have it... so I officially have my very first drumstick from a concert! YAY ME!

So in closing... Mika is AMAZING... if you haven't discovered how amazing he is ... please make the time to do so.

Mika - Happy Ending

UGH he was FLAWLESS when he performed this... the audience took the part of the choir... it sent shivers down my spine!! AMAZING!

Songs Online Now!

2008-02-15T07:03:00.000-08:00

OMG OMG OMG OMG

So I have absolutely no time to talk... but here are my favorites from Melodifestivalen Night 2!

You can hear the clips online starting today for 24 hours!

Here are my faves though! This could change once I see the live performances... but I am VERY surprised!

First off Ola and Sanna aren't even in my top 3!!

1. Carola & Andreas - One Love

2. Alexander Schold - Den Forsta Svalan

3. Rongedal - Just A Minute

4. Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room

5. Ola - Love In Stereo

6. Lasse Lindh - Di Behovar Aldrig Mer Vara Radd

7. Andra Generationen - Kebabpizza Slivovitza

8. The Nicole - Razborka

Who will make it to the final? I think Carola and Andreas will go Direct... but the rest it a toss up... I really have no idea. No other song is absolutely good enough to go direct... I think its going to be very tough to call this one. I think the only other person who is guaranteed anything will be Sanna... she will either go direct or to to Andra Chansen.

You're Not Alone, We Are Together

2008-02-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Wilkes

Don't ask me where I dug this song up from. I was going through some of my old mix cd's back from like 2001 and fame across this old gem of a track.

The singer is Jonathan Wilkes you is best known for being Robbie Williams best friend. After singing a record deal with innocent records his debut single was released... unfortunately one single was all it took. The single peaked at #24 in the Uk.

His official website says that he was 'disillusioned with the music industry' and decided to put his singing career on hold. Sounds to me like he was dropped when the single failed to live up to expectations, but whatever helps ya sleep at night Jonathan!

Jonathan can still be seen performing in musicals in London; currently in 'Cinderella.'

At the end of the day I was one of the few people it seems who really liked his song. Sure it was repetative, but it was catchy and a good 'Spring' type song.

So let's look back at the one single Jonathan had and enjoy it together for old time sakes!

Jonathan Wilkes - Just Another Day

Bringin On The Killer Hook...

2008-02-10T00:08:00.001-08:00

Now this is a song that SHOULD have been in Melodifestivalen... the triumphant return of Alcazar!!

It may not be the same old Alcazar as before... but at least it's got half of the original members and they sound like nothings changed! They go back to basics for this classic disco track. It would be nice to hear them do something a little different... but hey... if it aint broken don't fix it!!

OOhh love the hand clap at the bridge!

Alcazar - We Keep On Rockin'

MELODIFESTIVALEN 2008!

2008-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

So the first semi-final has ended... the dust has cleared and two songs have been put through to the Finalen.

I'm not surprised by the results. It was clear that Amy and Christer would go through from the start.

As you can imagine I'm THRILLED that Amy got through! I did think her vocals were a bit weak, but the choreography was great! You have to remember she is only 15! She did an interview with esctoday where they ask her how she'd feel competing against the Swiss song if she made it to Eurovision. She handled the question very well and basically said that she didn't write the song, and that it's something the song writers have to deal with and that she wishes the song luck.

As for Christer... I realise the song is cheesy... but I have to admit I find myself smiling when I listen to it. It's all in good fun... but I sure do hope that he doesn't get very far with the song in the finals.

As for the Andra Chansen... I'm happy that E-type & The Poodles got through, I was sure they would... but I'm really dissapointed that Velvet didn't make it. It really is a crime. A lot of people said her vocals weren't very good, but I actually thought she sung it really fantastic live! An upbeat song is really hard to sing live, and she did a superb job.

I LOVED Brandur's voice live. He has a lot of talent, but the song just wasn't right.

Michael's song is great, I'm definitely going to be playing it a lot... he also did a great job live, but I think there's nothing really special about the song that hasn't been done in the past.

So until the next 8 songs are released!