The Final Countdown... Number 6

We're now at the halfway mark! Only 5 songs left in my Final Countdown of my favorite songs of 2007.

#6: Hellogoodbye - Here In Your Arms

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This song is actually not a very good representation of the rest of their album... it seems the band got extremely lucky with this track because they've failed to have anymore major chart success with the album.

So it seems that the stars aligned when they recorded 'Here In Your Arms.' It was one of those perfect summer songs. One you could blast and all your friends could sing and dance along to. The lyrics are simple and easy to sing along to (except for the chorus... you can just make up words for the chorus and noone will be able to tell the difference... it's all part of the fun really!) So thankyou Hellogoodbye for giving me one of my favorite songs of the year!

The Final Countdown... Number 7

#7: Magnus Carlsson - Waves Of Love

One of the most memorable moments for me this year was at the Globen in Stockholm during 'Melodifestivalen.' Various celebrities were coming on stage to read the results from various cities in Sweden. Every time a new celebrity came out they received a round of applause... nothing special... until they announced Magnus Carlsson and started to blast his entry that had already been eliminated 'Live Forever.' No one... not even Carola received the same kind of reception as Magnus. It was clear from his face that he was extremely surprised by the reaction as well. It was as if the audience was saying... "We're sorry for not voting for your song, you should have been up there tonight." It was an amazing moment... and the look on his face was priceless. If my voice wasn't gone from screaming for Sanna and Mans already... it was definitely gone once Magnus hit the stage!

Although his song 'Live Forever' didn't make it to the final in Melodifestivalen, Magnus went on to release a great first English solo album. It was exactly what you would have wanted from a summer album and 'Waves Of Love' was definitely a summer anthem for me. A great song to blast from the car when you're driving around in the summer.

We Interupt The Countdown To Bring You Something Special...

I wanted to get through the countdown before I posted anything new for all of you...

But unfortunately this cannot wait. If I had heard the song earlier it most definitely would have been in my top ten for sure. I've JUST got this song and have already played it about 15 times in a row now.

Peter Cincotti - Goodbye Philadelphia

It's not very 'pop' but it's great nevertheless... If you appreciate good songs across different genres then you will be able to appreciate this song from Peter Cincotti who is only 24 years old!

He has actually been around for quite sometime now. His new album of original material will be released in the USA in 2008 and you can expect to hear more about him very soon.

The Final Countdown...Number 8

#8: Sugababes - About You Now

*I don't know if anyone ever watches the youtube links that I post... but if there is one video you need to watch... it's this one; Sugababes perform About U Now (Acoustic)*

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I feel like I keep repeating myself lately with some of these artists and songs... but It's just a lot of these songs are really just that great! I tried to stay away from some of the songs that are going to be on everyones top 10... but there was no staying away from this track. If you haven't heard it you must have been living under a rock this year. The single has just made another jump back up the Singles chart in the Uk last week from #19 to #12! Why is this such a big deal? Because the song was released September 19th 2007! It's still in the top 20 almost 4 months after it's initial release! The song spent 4 weeks at number one and is now officially the girls biggest hit to date.

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Most acts peak early in their careers and never truly reach the heights that they started off at... but depite a number of problems, mostly involving line up changes... the band continues to have success. Why? Because they are genuinely talented and release great songs. I've been lucky enough to see them live twice now... and each time they blew me away with how great they sounded live. Something that one has to respect in a pop artist. In the comments section Paul from 'The Zapping.com' mentioned the 3 album/Greatest Hits/Split curse that has plagued so many other bands... it's a formula that the Sugababes I'm happy to say, have broken.

The Final Countdown... Number 9

#9: Markus Fagervall - All The Way

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The winner of Swedish Idol 2006 and his debut album included this gem of a track. It's a bit of rock with a bit of pop... I love the backing vocals in the chorus... when I was trying to decide if I really wanted to put this song in my top 10 all it took was hearing those vocals again and I knew it belonged as one of my top 10 faves this year. His album 'Echo Heart' is full of edgy rock/pop tracks and has already gone double platinum in Sweden.

The Final Countdown... Number 10

This is it... my top 10 favorite songs of 2007... lets begin with #10!

#10: Girls Aloud - Girl Overboard

For those of us that were slightly dissapointed with the new Girls Aloud album, one of the bright spots on the album is this hard hitting track. When I really think about it I don't actually know if it would do that well as a single actually... but that doesn't make me love it any less. The girls have really shown a lot of maturity in their image and sound in 2007 and I think this is key to their staying power. They really are a group that has been on the cutting egde of pop music since they were formed almost 5 years ago now! They've outlived almost every pop act around and they're still going extremely strong in the charts. I for one can't wait to see what they're going to do next.

The Final Countdown... The Runners Up

This will be the last post before we get to my TOP TEN of 2007!! These are the songs that I would consider to be runners up... I LOVED them this year... but they didn't get as much 'play' as the rest of the songs on my list. Still they deserve to be mentioned!

Soren Bregendal - Untold

I've posted acouple songs from Danish band C21 this year... Soren used to be a part of C21 and he released his solo album 'Life Is Simple, Not Easy' this year. While I found the album to be a little lacklustre... this song stood out and I played it regularly over the past few months.

Erik Segerstedt - How Did We Change

Erik Segerstedt - 2 Happy 2 Soon

Back in the spring I posted a comparison of Erik Segerstedt vs Markus Fagervall. At the time I said that Erik's album was superior to Markus'. While I still agree that Erik's album is better overall, Erik failed to have a song in my top ten... can the same be said for Markus? Check out my next post for the answer.

Backstreet Boys - Helpless When She Smiles

Backstreet Boys - Any Other Way

Backstreet Boys - Something That I Already Know

'Unbreakable' is probably the first BSB album to really flop... and I say it's because the band didn't work with Max Martin at all which is a crime! But still... I've always been a huge BSB fan and I did enjoy the new album. 'Inconsolable' was a lame first single I thought... but there are definitely some bright spots on the album. The album also did extremely well in Canada where there has always been a lot of support for the band. At the end of the day I think this might be the end of BSB. These songs are some of the best songs from 'Unbreakable.'

Ultra - Feeling Alive

Uk Band 'Ultra' came back out of nowhere and released an independant pop album... something that is rarely seen in the world of pop. While no one even knew they did it... the album was really good... Feeling Alive is a great song from the alb.


BWO - The Destiny Of Love

BWO continue to show us that they know how to make the oddest videos in the history of Pop. Every video they release is more creative and odd than the last. While I wasn't truly impressed by any of their singles this year, Destiny Of Love was a solid track backed by a wonderfully strange video.

Danny - Feat. Therese - If Only You

One of the smartest moves in the world of pop in 2007 was deciding to add Therese to this track from Danny's album and release it as a single!

Alphabeat - 10'000 Nights Of Thunder

I dedicated a post to Alphabeat last month and I think you all should go out and buy their album!

Da Buzz - Take All My Love

Da Buzz showed us just how many hits they've had in the last 10 years with the release of their Greatest Hits album this year which gave us this amazing track.

Damien Leith - 22 Steps

This song only gets posted because I think the song has wonderful lyrics. I'd actually love to hear someone cover it and make it better, I don't think Damien does it justice. He does sing it quite nicely live though!

Girlband - Electric

Australia shows us that the 'Popstars' brand isn't dead with 'Girlband'

Girls Aloud - Call The Shots

One of the girls best selling singles in sometime... it stayed in the top 5 for ages in the Uk.

Enrique Iglasias - Wish I Was Your Lover

These are the kinds of songs Enrique needs to be releasing as singles!

Sugababes - Never Gonna Dance Again

The Sugababes really brought me back as a fan this year... their album was spectacular!

The Final Countdown...

Melodifestivalen 2007

Some of my favorite songs of the year came from Melodifestivalen. It's been almost a year since the 32 songs were released and some of these songs are still so good that I play them constantly. While I loved so many of the songs... the ones I'm listing here are the ones that are so good that I continue to play them constantly. Since most of these songs have been around and posted on numerous blogs over the year I won't be posting links to the mp3... but if there is one you would like feel free to leave a comment and I will add the link.

Sonja Alden - For Att Du Finns

Uno & Irma - God Morgon

Mans Zelmerlow - Cara Mia

Of coarse Melodifestivalen 2007 helped pave the way for the massive success that Mans has had in 2007. It was clear that Mans won over the publics heart with his performance of Cara Mia. When his album was released soon after the competition he showed us what a true pop album should sound like. 'Stand By' is one of my top 5 pop albums of the year and had some of my favorite songs like...

Mans Zelmerlow - Miss America

Mans Zelmerlow - Brother Oh Brother

Mans Zelmerlow - Work Of Art (Da Vinci)

Linda Bengtzing & Markoolio - Varsta Schlagern

One of my favorite Swedish female singers of all time was supposedly denied a place in Melodifestivalen in 2007. So she shot back by releasing the song on her own... a cheecky duet with Markoolio. 'Varsta Schlagern' was their way at poking fun of of the chaos that is 'Melodifestivalen.' The music video has to be one of the best videos of the year as well. If you follow Melodifestivalen at all you'll see spoofs of all your favorite artsits from 2006 including BWO and Carola.

The good news is that Linda Bengtzing is BACK in 2008 with a massive Schlager Stompter! She's going to be guaranteed entry to the final round for sure!

The Final Countdown...

Amy Diamond - Stay My Baby

Amy Diamond - It Can Only Get Better


I usually don't go for really young childish singers... but there is something about Amy Diamond that I can't get enough of. I think it was the moment I saw her sing 'It Can Only Get Better' Live...

Amy's new album is fantastic! Her 2006 album 'Still Me Now' is and album I think all pop fans should add to their collection. If you haven't discovered Amy check out her last single - Stay My Baby... one of my favorites of the year.

The Final Countdown...

Ola - S.O.S

This song is what Pop music is all about. Upbeat, Catchy, Energetic, Hard Hitting and Unapolegetic! Songs like this are rare nowadays... of coarse the only country it seems that is still willing to reward songs like this is Sweden of coarse! This song is SO CLOSE to being in my final top 5 of the year... but when I put it up against the other songs it just didn't measure up. Still the song is one of the best of the year... and definitely places in my top ten for the year. Ola has had a great year in Sweden and let's hope he gives us more like S.O.S in 2008!

Celine Dion - Immesite

Celine Dion - A Cause

Did you know that on May 18th Celine Dion released a french album 'D'elles' which was her 34th album in her career? Did you know that the album entered the album charts at Number 1 in Canada, France and Belgium? The album is one of the top 5 best selling albums of the year in Canada. She recorded two French television specials for the album both shot to the number one spot for ratings in Quebec and France. Celine has garnered a lot of attention for her new English album 'Taking Chances' but she continues to record in France in many french speaking countries. These songs are definitely worth mentioning in 2007.

Fall Out Boy - Thx Fr Th Mmrs (The Lindburg Palace Radio Edit)

Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race

If one were to write a book on popular music in the year 2007 you would have to devote a chunk of that book to Fall Out Boy. The band that has been around since 2001 finally hit the mainstream this year with the lead single from their 4th album 'This Ain't A Scene It's An Arms Race.' The band has had a great yaer with 4 hit singles. I've always found them to actually be quite curious. I really don't know much about them besides Pete Wentz is in the band. He's the only one you ever really hear about and he isn't even the lead vocalist! I always wonder how the rest of the band feels about the fact that he has become the band's unofficial leader, at least in the public eye. Although it is understandable as he is quite fit ;) I honestly think it's a crime that Fall Out Boy were not nominated for any Grammy Awards this year... I think it says a lot about the credibility of these American Awards shows.

Matchbox 20 - How For We've Come

I posted this track here recently and after careful consideration I think it deserves a mention as one of my faves of the entire year. Rob Thomas really knows how to write a hit single and this track has hit written all over it. It's catchy and hard hitting... makes you want to get up and sing along for sure.

The Final Countdown...Part 3

Darin - Insanity

Darin - Everything But The Girl

Another of my favorite albums I discovered early in 2007 was Darins 3rd album - Break The news. I posted some of my favorite tracks here back then, but I will re-post in case you missed it. Almost one year later I'm still playing his album on heavy rotation. Insanity is very 'Maneater' and 'Everything But The Girl' is subtle without being too dramatic. Both songs are the best from this album and both songs ended up being released as singles!

Marija Serifovic - Destiny

You probably won't believe it but as much as I LOVE Melodifestivalen... I simply don't follow Eurovision as much as you might think. It's because of this that although Marija won Eurovision earlier this year... I didn't actually listen to the winning song until September! When I finally took the time to listen to the song in full I realised that the song truly did deserve to win the competition in 2007. It was performed very well and is slow but dynamic at the same time. I definitely prefer the english version 'Destiny.'

Darren Hayes - The Sun Is Always Blinding Me

I know I posted about Darren multiple times this year... but that's only because his album deserved so much more attention that it actually received. Now that I've had acouple months to let the 2 disc album sink in this has become one of my favorite tracks of the year. The guy knows how to craft the perfect songs and this beautiful track really shows off his writing and vocal talents.

Musicals

2007 was a good year for pop music on the big screen in the form of musicals. High School Musical continues to reign supreme around the world, while Hairspray had movie go-ers singing along to it's infections soundtrack! Now the thing about musicals... is they are MEANT to be cheesy! So keep that in mind before you judge these songs too harshly. They definitely wouldn't be on my list of the best songs of the year... but since these are only my 'Favorite' songs of the year, or songs that deserve recognition... these two songs deserve a place here...

Hairspray - You Can't Stop The Beat

High School Musical 2 - What Time Is It?

The Final Countdown... Part 2.

Let's pick up where we left off... with more of my favorite songs from 2007:

Mika - Love Today (Single)

If you're making a list of artists that deserve recognition in 2007 you've got to add Mika to your list. The guy exploded this year with his debut album 'Life In Cartoon Motion' hitting the charts in countless countries around the world. The guy had success in every country that his music was released! Mika has released 6 different singles from his debut album and has sold over 5 Million copies of it!

Mika actually won a World Music Award this year for being the Worlds Best Selling New Artist and the Best Selling Male Pop/Rock artist! He just finished his Uk tour and I am lucky enough to have scored tickets to his show here in Vancouver on February 15th!

If you have not checked out his first album you MUST do so! It's one of the best albums of the entire year. He has promised his next album will be full of even more unapologetic pop songs! I can't wait!

'Love Today' was automatically my favorite album track when I first picked up the album and was also released as a single soon after! It has also just been nominated for a 2008 Grammy in the best Dance category. Check it Out!

Agnes - (Baby) I Want You Gone (Album Track)

So her album 'Stronger' may have been released in 2006 but since I didn't discover it until my trip to Sweden in March 2007 and since I love the track I'm including it on my list of favorite songs this year. Agnes is ready to release her 3rd album this March and you can expect that I will post some of the best tracks from it once I get back from Sweden in 2008!

Michael Buble - Everything

You couldn't turn on a radio without hearing this song multiple times throughout the day. The success keeps coming and coming for this singer who hails from my hometown of Vancouver Canada!

Turning Someones Song Into A Ballad

2007 was the year for people to take a fast song... slow it down and turn it into a ballad. Some of the best renditions have been sung by fans and independant artists who use the songs to show off their talent. Check out some of the best below...

Gift Of Melody - Singing Sugababes - About You Now

I don't know her name... but she NAILS this ballad version of the Sugababes smash hit - About U Now

Jay Norton - Singing Robyn - With Every Heartbeat

Scott Simons - Singing Rhiannas - Umbrella

I posted his version of this song acouple months ago. I really felt like he took the song to a whole new level.

The Countdown

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - What Have We Started (Album Track)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Today The Sun's On Us (Single)

2007 saw the triumphant return of Sophie after taking time off to focus on her family. Her single 'Catch You' was released earlier this year and saw her career pick up right where it left off. Her album was filled with pop gems. Her video for the single 'Today The Sun's On Us' received a lot of airplay in the Uk as well. She has two of my favorite tracks of the year.

Melody Club - Fever Fever (Single)

Their album 'Scream' was released in 2006 but this track was wisely released as a single in 2007. From the moment I heard this song it immediately went into high rotation on my iPod. Melody Club come from Sweden of coarse and while I found the album to be a little weak, they do have a handful of tracks that are just as good if not better than 'Fever Fever.' Their sound is different from everything else that is out there and is a little edgy but at the same time very easy to listen to and very catchy! 'Fever Fever' is one of my favorite songs of the year.

Jordin Sparks - This Is My Now (Live)

The winner of the 2007 American Idol took her time releasing her album and after 3 singles the album has failed to light up the charts after peaking at #10 on the Billboard chart.

The reason why I felt like Jordin deserved a spot on my year end chart? After she was announced the winner of Idol she went on a number of TV shows and performed the winners song 'This Is My Now' accompanied with a piano. I have to say it was one of the best performances I had seen all year. I have searched high and low for the performance on YouTube but all I can find is a similar performance on a different TV Show.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

The Final Countdown...

Tis the season in blogworld for the year end countdown! Now I considered not doing a countdown this year... so many other blogs have started some AMAZING countdowns... I didn't want to just end up with a countdown full of songs that everyone else had already covered. So I'm going to try and stay away from some of the most well known singles of the year, and instead focus on the songs that captured my imagination. Singles and album tracks that should have been singles. These are the songs and the artists that deserve to be recognized in 2007.

Although some of these songs will be mentioned in countless other blogs and countdowns this year... I think it just shows that a good song is universal. I'm extremely happy that you all come back to my blog every day to check out the music I'm passionate about. Hopefully you guys have discovered some new songs and new artists that you may not have heard about before.

Although these songs are not officially ranked, I will save my top 5 tracks for last!

Lets Begin...

PS. Check out an extensive year end countdown of the best 'Singles' actually released in 2007 over at PopPosterGirl who has introduced me to some of my favorite songs of the year!

You Can Take Me Hand... I Can Take The Strain

I just heard on the radio that the first day of Winter isn't even here yet and yet I'm tired of Winter already! I can't wait for the sun to come back so I can head to the beach again...

So today's song is for everyone out there who is waiting desperately for Summer to come back...

Supersister was a Uk based girl group who had 3 singles hit the charts in the late 90's. Their final single 'Summer Gonna Come Again' was recently covered by Icelandic group - 'Nylon.'

For those of you that remember the original version of this song was quite toned down... but the remix really takes this song to another level. It's one of those rare songs when the remix is better than the original! So turn up your speakers, close your eyes and remember that Summer is only 6 months away! (Unless you happen to live in a part of the world that is sunny!)

Supersister - Summer Gonna Come Again (Love To Infinity Radio Mix)

It's Taking Control Of My Body And Mind...

So today I'm dedicating my post to random dance tracks from artists that are 'Better Best Forgotten'

The kind of songs that come out every few months that are great to sing and dance to... but the kind of songs that aren't going to go down in history for much else. Most of these artists are lucky if they ever get a second hit. But today we'll look back and honour some of them...

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Thomas Shwartz - More Than A Feeling

Of coarse if you want to have a big hit dance single all you've got to do is cover someone elses song! Here some random guy named Thomas Shwartz give us his take on the classic 'More Than A Feeling.' I have a feeling we will never hear from Thomas Shwartz again.

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Sunblock Feat. Robin Beck - First Time

When this song hit the charts last year it definitely wasn't for the "very first time." Robin Beck had a hit back in the 80's with 'First Time' when it was used in a Coca-Cola Commercial. Sunblock actually had Robin re-record her vocals for this version of the song when it was released last year.

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Sash Feat. Tina Cousins - Just Around The Hill

So Tina and Sash have both had success individually and also had a hit with this track. So while both artists alone are more than a one hit wonder... this is one track that probably isn't getting played too often today.

Sarina Paris - Just About Enough

Wow! Does anyone else remember this song? It was a mediocre hit in Canada back in 2001. I don't know much about her other than she is from Italy and I used to love this song so much I actually bought her crappy album!

Rollergirl - Close To You

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If you don't know who Rollergirl is you're really missing out! I actually think I should dedicate an entire post to the tragedy that is Rollergirl. You might be suprised to find out that Rollergirl actually had a string of singles... 6 I believe! She hails from Germany and if you haven't seen her videos you're in for a treat. I'll post a link for my favorite below.

Deepest Blue - Give It Away

This duo had two hits and this one was my favorite by far. I still listen to this song on a semi regular basis!

Pluto - Goodbye Girl

I found this in a deep dark corner of my hard drive. It actually reminds me of Hellogoodbye quite a bit. This song could actually be a big hit today if it was released again don't you think?

One Ton - Super Sex World

Another Canadian act. I don't know if they ever released this track internationally? If you know feel free to pass the info along... I can't be bothered to look it up online. I remember the music video was really fun!

Fragma - You Are Alive

This group has some big singles across Europe starting with the massive hit - Tocas Miracle. 'You Are Alive' was the last mainstream hit they ever had.

Nobody Told Me We'd Only Get One Chance...

One of my favorite things to do on my blog is feature songs that were AMAZING, but that for whatever reason never went on to become big hits despite their greatness.

One of these songs is from 'Darius.' If you live in the Uk you'll remember that he got his start on 'Pop Idol' where he became the underdog of the competition. When he was voted out late in the competition Simon Cowell offered him a record deal singing cover songs. Luckily for us Darius turned the offer down and went on to sign a 5 album deal and released his debut self-penned album in 2002.

For the next year it seemed Darius was on top of the world. He had a number one single, a platinum album and had a sold out tour across the Uk.

But in the world of pop music single sales don't always translate to album sales... and for a record company it's all about album sales.

'Kindalove' was the first single from his second album and when it was released it peaked at #8 in the singles chart before falling steadily out of the charts. Although his next single 'Live Twice' entered the charts at #7, the album stalled and peaked at a dissapointing 36.

Since then Darius has kept a pretty low profile working on various theater shows in London's West End.

Rumour has it that Darius has recorded a number of songs this year and is hoping to have a new album released in 2008!

Darius - Kindalove

I absolutely can't get enough of this track. It's totally upbeat and fun to sing along to. I love the backing vocals as well... they're very quirky don't ya think?

Darius - Live Twice

He wrote this song as a tribute to his father who was battling cancer. It's a very touching song... the kind of song that sends shivers down your spine. The good news is that his father beat cancer and is healthy!

Darlius - Colorblind (Acoustic Version)

This is the song he will be remembered for most of all; his number 1 debut single.

I had to add this picture... i found it to be completely adorable...

MELODIFESTIVALEN 2008

THIS IS IT!

The first 14 acts have been announced for the first 2 semi-finals in February!

There aren't too many suprises here, most of these artists were rumoured to be taking part this year. The most exciting entries are:

Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room The first time she's ever entered with an english song. I'm a HUGE fan of 'Vagar Du, Vagar Jag,' but its rumoured that this song is a ballad which is a little dissapointing :-(

Ola - Love In Stereo After a very successful year in 2007 Ola is planning on starting 2008 off with his first entry in Melodifestivalen. I can't wait to hear this track.

E-Type & The Poodles - Line Of Fire Both acts have entered in the past and this year they're hoping that combining forces will be enough star power to get them a ticket to Eurovision. Both acts have such a unique sound, it will be interesting to see how they mesh.

Velvet - Deja Vu Velvet has had a string of hits in Sweden and after reaching the semi-finals in 2006 she's giving it another shot in 2008.

We still have 14 more semi-finalists to be announced and 4 wildcards!

I've just finished booking my flights as well!

I'll be in London England on March 6th - March 9th

Then it's off to Sweden for Melodifestivalen March 10th - 20th

If anyone wants to meet up while I'm over there shoot me an email - lanocty@hotmail.com