I will admit that when I found out viral duo Karmin had inked a deal with a major record label, I was a bit surprised. Don't get me wrong — I absolutely loved their rendition of "Look At Me Now" that catapulted them onto everyone's radar and I understand that anyone with enough exposure can get signed, but Karmin did not strike me as a music act with enough talent to warrant an album, let alone a possible career with longevity.
With the recent release of Karmin's debut single "Crash You Party", I have done a total 180! This unique, genre-blending track adds a much needed spice to the bland dance-oriented music scene right now. Kudos to Karmin for a killer debut single!
Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to the second ARTIST #TALK hosted by Arjan Writes at Dylan's Candybar in the Upper East Side of NYC. The special guest of the night was British singer/songwriter V V Brown, who charted on the Billboard Hot 100 with the instantly-catchy "Shark In The Water" and opened for Maroon 5 all over the country!
I arrived at 8pm and thought no one would be there as people tend to be late to these things but to my surprise the second floor of the famed candy shop was already buzzing. The room was full of reporters, bloggers, and fans. There were representatives from Billboard, The Huffington Post, MTV, and HypeBot. As waiters went around offering finger food, DJ Hannah Rad was blasting some seriously killer songs that any pop music blogger and lover would instantly recognize! Who else is currently mixing Lana Del Rey with Pitbull? The answer is no one, so go check her out right now!
Back to V V! At around 8:40pm, Arjan got the attendees' attention as he began to introduce the woman of the hour. The beautiful V V nonchalantly walked to her interview seat with a small glass of white wine and sweetly greeted the sixty of us in the audience. I don't want to reveal anything specific from the interview as that will be shown when HP and Arjan release it, but V V offered a rare look inside her ups and downs in the music industry, how her troubled start made her grateful, and a deeper understanding of her artistry.
After a solid twenty minutes of questions, V V world-premiered three new tracks along with her new single "Children". The song I responded to the most is titled "Famous" and it begins with a rough, pulsating beat as V V proclaims, "Everybody seems like they're upside down / They keep on talking, and talking, and running." It offers a glimpse on V V's take of the current distorted priorities that we as a culture have. V V explains, "The song was written about a generation that has uninspiring aspirations and believe material wealth is what happiness is." With powerful lyrical content and a striking pop sound, "Famous" should definitely be the second single off V V's upcoming sophomore effort Lollipops & Politics (early 2012).
V V's new material makes it is easy to see her maturity as an artist as she has taken a major stylistic leap by bending herself into experimental musical shape. I cannot wait for the release of the perfectly-titled Lollipops & Politics.
Fun Fact: I got to ask V V that if she were able to to take any song from any artist and call it her own, which it would be and she answered with the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody"!
British songstress Charlene Soraia has hit the scene with a beautiful cover of the 2001 classic "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling. Entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 20, "Wherever You Will Go" marks the first cut from Soraia's debut album Moonchild.
If this enchanting cover is a preview of what's to come from Moonchild, then I am eagerly awaiting its release!
One Direction have seriously delivered a massive hit with their string-driven second single "Gotta Be You"! The quintet continue to push the boundaries for what is considered 'contemporary' on the sweeping track that finds the boys sounding mature beyond their years. After the gigantic success of debut single "What Make You Beautiful", which debuted at #1 and became the fastest-selling single of the year in Britain, the boys are going against the dance-pop sonics of the moment and fine-tuning their own 90s-driven sound.
With hit-making music, looks to kill, diverse personalities, and appropriate styling, 1D will undoubtedly take over as the biggest boyband to come out this decade! If you need any convincing, the boys were recently in America signing a multi-million dollar record deal. Epic, Columbia, and RCA are some of the labels rumored to be in the running. I don't care who signs them, as long as they make them a massive act here in the states!
Love this song and love this music video! Prepare for "We Found Love" to go worldwide!
"Despite the song's feel-good, sunny vibe, the video is a dark look at love and substance abuse. The mini-movie opens with Rihanna, doing her best Eliza Doolittle cockney accent, saying, 'I saw you screaming when no one can hear. You always feel ashamed that someone could be that important that without them, you feel like nothing. No one will ever understand how much it hurts. You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you. Then when it's over, it's gone, you almost wish you could have all that bad stuff back, so that you can have the good.'
Her speech certainly foreshadows the events of the video. Perhaps inspired by films like Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream, Rihanna and Dudley O'Shaughnessy play gutter punks who are not only addicted to one another, but also drugs and partying. The video is a montage of their love affair: a dizzying mix of sweet, tender moments, sexier, naked moments and moments where both Ri and Dudley are too messed up to care much about anything but the feeling of being high, often leading to fighting."
I never thought I would discover real talent by watching MTV but here is an indie artist with immense potential who finds herself starring on a long-running reality show. Alexandra Govere is an American-born Zimbabwean and a member of The Real World: San Diego. I hate everything MTV-related but for some odd reason I waste my time watching this ironically-titled television show. It's absolute crap but it's a great diversion from the real world.
Anyways, back to Alexandra. In the second episode, this girl showed off an amazing pair of pipes to the rest of her castmates and the world (AKA less than 2 million viewers) when she invited two singer/songwriters over for a writing session. After a little help from her collaborators in coming up with some guitar chords, Alexandra began singing her original song "Beggars". I was immediately stunned by her unique vocals, hit-making writing ability, and all around artistry. She struck me as having all the makings of a successful recording artist and so I quickly researched more about her. Here are some things you should know about the impressive talent:
She finished high school at 14-years-old.
She was the first black female gymnast to represent Zimbabwe in artistic gymnastics at the September 1999 All Africa Games.
She received degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford at 19-years-old.
She started an organization for orphans who lost their parents to AIDS.
She was discovered by Alicia Keys' Grammy Award-winning producer Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.
Less than two weeks ago, Alexandra announced that she left Krucial in order to take the independent route as she did not fit into the "typical Hip-Hop label lifestyle." Thank God she did! Alexandra is not Hip-Hop; she is one of those artists that does not fit it any specific genre. Here's hoping a major label with a clear vision, which falls in line with Alexandra's artistic goals, snatches her up soon because people need to hear Alexandra's arresting sound and finely-tuned vocals!
Always one to push boundaries, Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin has teamed up with Rihanna on a new track from the group's forthcoming fifth album Mylo Xyloto. The striking electronic ditty is titled "Princess Of China" and is full of sweeping 80s synths.
Martin admitted to MTV that he had originally intended to offer the song to Rihanna for her new album Talk That Talk, but his bandmates wanted to keep it for themselves.
"In like a dream scenario, we had a song that I'd secretly kind of written to see if Rihanna would want to sing it. And then the rest of the band wanted to keep it, so we came up with the idea of asking her to sing it with us, and, to our great surprise, she said okay."
Martin has already deemed the track his favorite part of Mylo Xyloto. I really like the song, but unfortunately it's not that catchy. "Princess Of China" is going to have a difficult time gaining radio airplay and mass appeal, but if anyone could help its chances it's RiRi!
The pretentiously-titled album is due for release on October 24th.
James Morrison and Jessie J, two of Britain's biggest talents, have teamed up for an arresting duet titled "Up". The ballad marks the second single from Morrison's third album entitled The Awakening, which managed to debut at No. 1 in the UK back in September.
The music video finds a forlorn Morrison wandering his way up through an abandoned building as he makes his way to Jessie J's top-floor apartment. Though, I'm not entirely sure how she got up there with her broken foot. The pair, who happen to be two of my all-time favorite artists, end up singing their hearts out on the urban rooftop. Here's to convincing on-screen chemistry!
Jack and White, one of indie-pop's newest duos, recently released the music video for their track "Double Trouble". The "love 'em and leave 'em" acoustic song is bittersweet but you couldn't tell from the beautifully vibrant video - Brooke White and Jack Matranga look like their having so much fun!
Lana Del Rey has undoubtedly been the most talked about new artist on the web for the past three months, winning fans in the pop sector and getting slammed by the hipster blogosphere. But as Heidi Montag will attest to, infamy does not equal record sales, which is why it’s so surprising that Del Rey’s debut EP shot straight into the top five of iTunes yesterday; it currently finds itself at No. 14.
To add to the momentous day, the controversial songstress made her television debut last night on the UK’s Jools Holland talkshow, where she delivered a rendition of her breakout hit "Video Games".
Del Rey certainly looked the part for the performance, wearing a sexy 60's-inspired mini-dress with a slightly retro twist to her honey brown hair, but her overwhelming nerves were apparent, especially towards the end of the song. Her big eyes almost looked like they were welling up at times, and her vocal performance was done in the slurred, drunken style of her recent “Blue Jeans” performance.
In most cases, looking terrified and singing like an intoxicated grandma would make for a pretty awful performance, but in this case, it only made Del Rey all the more endearing. There was an emotional fragility and vulnerability to both the performance and the vocal delivery that really made this a debut to remember.
The Reign of Rihanna shows no slowing down as RiRi gears up for what is sure to be another fantastic year for her! Talk That Talk marks the sixth album for Rihanna and is one of the most-anticipated of the year! With no promotion whatsoever for the first single, "We Found Love" has surpassed all expectations by reaching No. 1 in the UK this week! I'm sure that this No. 1 is only the first of many that will come Rihanna's way for the next year! If she's lucky, maybe she'll be on the charts for as long as Katy Perry's Teenage Dream was. Who am I kidding? That is never going to happen!
October basically just began but I'm almost positive this fresh slice of Pop is going to be my favorite song of the month.
"Always On The Run" from French DJ/Producer Yuksek (Pierre-Alexandre Busson) is absolutely sick. There are some major Rock, Alternative, and Pop influences on this one that make it a finely-tuned piece of contemporary music. With some solid push behind it, this track has major hit potential.
My only reservation is the public is still in love with Dance-oriented songs. I think Yuksek is sonically a bit before his time and if released a year from now, when the public has started to get tired of the same rehashed music, his sound will find more acceptance.
Stop everything you're doing and listen to this right now!
Here's a few reasons why you should:
You've never heard Britney sing like this (sans Auto Tune).
Britney actually co-wrote this track.
You might see Britney in a new light.
It will make you angry that Britney doesn't release more material like this.
The previously unreleased song from the pop diva is titled "Everyday". There is no real indicator as to when the ballad was recorded. Though if it was for Femme Fatale, I can see why it was left off the set of relentless dance-pop jams.
I don't really care when or why it was recorded, I'm just glad it was and that it leaked! And is it just me or are there some major similarities between this and Christina Aguilera's 2002 hit "Beautiful"? It could possibly explain why this was never released...
British pop star Olly Murs is back with his sophomore effort In Case You Didn't Know. The album is due for release on November 27th and includes the chart-topping lead single "Heart Skips A Beat". "Dance With Me Tonight" marks the second single to be lifted off the album and you can hear a 30-second snippet of the track below!
Here's the track listing for In Case You Didn't Know:
1. "Heart Skips A Beat" 2. "Oh My Goodness" 3. "Dance With Me Tonight" 4. "I've Tried Everything" 5. 'This Song Is About You' 6. "In Case You Didn't Know" 7. "Tell The World" 8. "I'm OK" 9. "Just Smile" 10. "On My Cloud" 11. "I Don't Love You Too" 12. "Anywhere Else" 13. "I Need You Now"
After not making it to the live shows on the current season of the UK's The X Factor, British troubadour Max Vickers is putting his new found exposure to good use. The quirky 18-year old has released a video of his original track titled "Escape Artist". The song is packed with a unique sound and crisp lyrical content that is sure to make a few record labels race to sign him once his contract with the immensely successful singing competition is over.
It is imperative that Cher Lloyd brings her unique blend of pop, urban, and rap to the states immediately! There is no other artist in the current industry like her and she would definitely add some much needed excitement to the bland dance-oriented scene.
With a No. 1 hit to her name with debut single "Swagger Jagger", it will be interesting to see if lightning strikes twice for Cher with her second single "With Ur Love" featuring another genre-mixer, Mike Posner. The Max Martin-produced track is due out for release on October 30th. As blog Music & Lyrics pointed out, that week will be a tough one since she will be competing with Jennifer Lopez, Sean Paul, Avril Lavigne, Beyonce and The Wanted's new singles. That week will be key to really measure Cher's popularity in the UK.
The video is so simple yet so cute. There's no better word to describe it. Not to mention that Cher looks absolutely beautiful!
Here's a video of Cher performing a live acoustic version of "With Ur Love". I'm so fascinated by the fact that she sounds exactly like she does on the recording of the track!
