Lopez Blogs

Not since Darius in Pop Idol and Mathieu in Star Academy have I gone over the top and got totally fan-girly over a competitive-reality-show contestant. Here we go again !!
Bad news though as it looks as all the live show clips have been removed from YouTube: but at least we can still watch all the clips from the live shows at www.bbc.co.uk/joseph which is just as well, as I am regularly feeling the need to watch his absolutely stunning performance from Saturday night, over and over again. Still wishing I was that girl...

Thanks to good old YouTube I was able to put some music to the names in Idool 2007. And yes, there are some talented singers this year. First the boys - Andrei (I think he originally comes from Belarus) who is very subtle but can let rip when he needs to. Then there is Wim, who is, how shall I put it, a little unusual looking but what a singer. He has a lovely understated voice and will go far. Dean is this year's "rocker" and again should last a few more weeks. Esther and Elke are the two girls left and both are strong singers although Esther has the edge.
This week, Kim, the pretty dark haired girl from Limburg, was evicted. The competition is getting tough now and it's hard to predict who will go next.

Ah the good old internet. You want info, you got it. You want tons of Lee screencaps from "Any Dream Will Do" to drool over, then I have discovered the very place.
http://community.livejournal.com/lee_mead/

I am now addicted to this show!!
Double eviction this week, nothing whatsoever to do with the Grease live shows over on ITV (oh cynicism :( )
Seamus - "Start Me Up". The curse of being on first didn't upset the arrogant (don't mention his age) 35 year old too much. It was OK, but it didn't set the world on fire.
Lewis - "I Saw Her Standing There" - Too posh and artificial to be convincing. A backward step from the first couple of weeks.
Rob - "Pretty Woman" - aka Blokey-Builder Joseph. Not that there's anything wrong with him, he's competent enough but Joseph is not the show for him.
Antony - "Patience" - In the beginning it was reinvented as a show tune, but then it turned into a spectacular fall from grace as Chippendale-Joseph failed to hit the high notes.
Chris - "Tell Her About It" - Another very competent performance from Toothy-Joseph: enough to keep him safe for another week.
Ben - "Life Is A Rollercoaster" - Boyband-Joseph. Still more boyband than West End star, he did well enough but is still out of his depth for this type of show.
Daniel - "The Lady Is A Tramp" - Bad song choice Lord Webber, and the whole effect was a little smarmy for my tastes. Main contender to the unstoppable Lee: but a long way behind him tonight.

Lee - "I Don't Wanna Talk About It" - And now the masterclass from a true professional who performed with class, subtlety and vulnerability. I think I'm in love! Utterly fantastic, gave me goosebumps. How good does he look in that red shirt. HE IS JOSEPH SO GIVE HIM THE JOB NOW.
Keith - "Crocodile Rock" - He is not the worst and he has grasped the whole performance thing, but often at the expense of his vocals, yet "Tesco Boy" has sufficient charisma to guarantee a few more weeks.
Craig - "Signed Sealed Delivered" - He did OK, but as someone once said, "distinctly average". The problem with Fake Bake-Joseph is that he's, well, not Joseph.

And so to the first sing off. Craig vs Antony. Ant gives an overcooked rendition whilst Craig is clean and faultless. Out goes Antony and his intolerable g/f.

Sing off no. 2: Seamus vs Ben: Seamus out!! He couldn't leave however without alleging conspiracy theories and proclaiming during "Close Every Door" that "I have been promised a show of my own". Possibly a Leo Sayer/David Essex tribute show we presume.

So we have Lee, Daniel, Lewis, Rob, Keith, Chris, Craig, Ben. Who will go next?

Chariots of Fire - BWO: Commercial and radio friendly pop from the one and only Alexander Bard. The video for this is now on "The Box".
All I Want Is You/Absolutely No Decorum - The Ark: From what is already a contender from my album of the year. They have produced yet another effortless collection of strong songs, and these are two of them.
Tokyo - Danny Saucedo: Swedish "Idol" finalist proving that his 15 minutes aren’t up yet.
Shine - Booty Luv: Will not have the longevity of "Boogie 2 Nite" but this is a fine dance effort, cheekily sampling Chic along the way.
Valerie - Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse: From an astonishing collection of cover versions, this one sees Amy jazzily stomping all over the Zutons’ hit. Say "Yes, yes, yes" to this.
Bones - The Killers: Took me a long time to get into this previous single but now I rather like it a lot.
Poison Arrow - ABC: One of those random play songs on my MP3 player which keeps coming back again!
Cupid’s Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes: Utterly daft sampling of Supertramp’s "Breakfast in America" which gets away with it.
Today/Throw It All Away - Zero 7: Jose Gonzalez and Sia work their magic.
Kiss The Bride - Christophe Willem: Not the Elton John song, but Nouvelle Star’s king of the geeks with a new English-language song from his excellent debut CD.
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5: Very classy return to form, even if it does include an f-word; the video is nice and Adam looks very good in a suit indeed.

Yes it's 9 days till I'm off to Stockers and the excitement is going through the roof. I've wanted to go there for years and years so there's a lot of expectation. I'm sure we won't be disappointed. As the great philosopher Pink might have said - "I'm coming up so I'd better get this packing started" (!!)

For today’s session I have decided to review two recent high-profile album releases; Dignity from Hilary Duff and Timbaland’s Shock Value.

Let us start with The Duffster and her bumper new crop of pop delights, Dignity. Always one to bore the world with guitar-driven tedium, Duff uses her most recent studio outing as an excuse to branch away from the John Shanks sound, and finds a refreshing electronic soundscape instead. “Co-writing” each song on the album, Hilary would like to have us think she has not only grown as a woman, but as a recording artist as well (I honestly don’t believe she wrote more than a word or two here and there; I’ve heard stories of her recording process that would make any true recording artist cringe, but THAT is another story :)

The album itself, regardless of dear Hil’s level of participation, is quite a well put together pop outing; from electro-lite 80’s inspired fare, to Timbaland-esque dance, the album is far more upbeat than any of her previous work, and that is a good thing. Songs like Stranger, Happy, and the first single, With Love, add some sorely needed spice to her repertoire, and ,dare I say, a bit of actual nuanced artistry with the song Dreamer? This song is an upbeat, somewhat throwaway bubblegum ditty that is actually about a man who stalked her for two years. “Oh you’re such a dreamer,” Hilary sings to the nutcase who is now sitting in jail for going so far as to write her death threats. When taking the subject matter into consideration, this song becomes not only anything but throwaway, but a distinct career highlight for the typically stale starlet.

Speaking of stale, Ms. Duff’s vocal limitations simply must be addressed. Now I am not saying that you have to be Whitney Houston to be a successful recording artist, far from it, but I always have found Hilary’s voice to be like a bottle of Sprite that has lost its fizz two days prior, and this album is no exception. I don’t know if it is because of a distinct lack of dynamics or range, but something just seems terribly lackluster about her vocal chops. Hmm.

Ryan from One Republic

Overall, if you’ve been craving some good danceable pop and can’t quite wait for the next Kylie affair, then I strongly recommend you go pick up Dignity. The very Kylie-esque Danger, Happy, and my personal favorite clip from the album, Gypsy Woman are especially listen-worthy (Gypsy Woman actually being written and produced by fellow Tulsan, (where I’m from, Tulsa, Oklahoma) Ryan Tedder). Mr. Tedder (whom some may recognize from the Myspace superstar band, OneRepublic) has moved on from my dear old hometown of Tulsa to become Timbaland’s personal protégé for the past two years and has emerged quite the stellar producer. Gypsy Woman is just so bloody good, go listen to it now!

That brings us to the second album of the day, Timbaland’s recently-released opus, Shock Value. Now I am not a recent addition to the Timbo band-wagon, au contrere my lovelies, I have been quite the fan since way back in the Aaliyah days, but I have always preferred Tim’s more pop-inspired material (surprise, surprise) and this album most certainly does deliver (for the most part). I would be so bold as to dub this record “FutureSex/LoveSounds 2.1” as Tim is clearly very much in the same space creatively as he was when Justin’s most recent album came into fruition, but who could fault a man who has been working more than any producer EVER practically this past year? I sure can’t, that’s for sure. One particularly obnoxious observation I could make note of would be the fact that a mere matter of years ago, uber-producers on high, Max Martin and Kristian Lundin respectively, would have literally been skinned-alive critically for releasing an album that sounded so very similar to his previous work. Double standard for Hip-Hop? I think so.

That isn’t to say that Timbaland’s critical accolades are without merit though, for the fact remains that he truly is one of the most prolific American music producers ever, and has etched out one of the most distinctive sounds a sound-crafter could ever hope to engineer. The majority of this album is a testament to that. The songs that really aren’t would be such blasé tripe as Bounce (feat. Missy Elliot and JT) and Kill Yourself (feat. Sebastian and Attitude). Highlights would most certainly include Oh Timbaland (featuring a brilliantly executed Nina Simone sample), Apologize (a remix of the afore-mentioned OneRepublic’s melancholy masterpiece), Come Around (featuring the always refreshing Indian tart, MIA), and my personal album favorite, Bombay.

In summation, if you are a fan of the Timbaland sound, go get this record immediately, for it does not, by any means, disappoint any true Timbo fan.

Thanks Paul!

LINK: Purchase Dignity

LINK: Purchase Shock Value

LINK: Simon Curtis Myspace Page

LINK: One Republic Myspace Page

My attention was drawn briefly on Saturday night whilst visiting FNAC's website. Being at a very advanced stage of a bottle of Chilean Merlot, I began to hallucinate. Brice has an album out!! Ah, Brice, the wannabe Ben-from-Kyo from Star Academy 6, whom I actually quite liked. I didn't investigate any further until tonight, when my curiosity got the better of me. Back to FNAC, only to discover that Brice is not the Brice I thought he was, but another Brice entirely.
Fascinating Brice Fact Of The Day:
Neither of the above are to be confused with Jean Dujardin's grotesque but hugely popular comedy creation, the yellow-clad surfer Brice de Nice, whose film of the same name was a massive hit in France in 2005 and also gave the world "Le Casse de Brice" - an equally massive hit single.

The theme this week was "French songs".
Julien, who is rapidly becoming France's answer to American Idol's Sanjaya, took on "Comme D'Habitude". Ugh. OK so it was the nearest he's been to singing in tune, but that's a long way from singing in tune...
Pierre sang the Serge Lama song "D'Aventures en Aventure", not one of my favourite songs but he always draws you in with that lovely voice and those big brown eyes...anyway, he was once again faultless tonight.
Raphaelle sang "Comme Ils Disent", another ballad, and gave yet another mature and commanding performance. She is clearly the best of the remaining females.
Canelle chose something much more modern - "Tous Ces Mots" by Nadiya, however her enthusiastic performance wasn't matched by some off-key and "pitchy" vocals.
Alex stayed in his comfort zone with "La Voix des Sages". Another good show, and he is probably my second favourite male contestant behind Pierre.
Gaetane gave a pleasant performance of Bruel's "Au Cafe des Delices" but she is still not standing out as one of the best contestants.
I am still puzzled at why Soma is still in this contest. Again he looked terrified on his version of Faudel's "Mon Pays" and was vocally dodgy.
Another contestant who should be long gone, Julie, slaughtered Calogero's "Si Seulement Je Pouvais Lui Manquer". Her days should be numbered very soon.
Tigane gave an interesting version of De Palmas' "J'en Reve Encore" but no-one can do as good a version as Gerald himself.

According to the recap on www.m6.fr, the jury liked Alex, Raphaelle, Tigane and Julie tonight. Pierre, Gaetane and cult figure Julien all managed to escape the bottom two places, filled tonight by Canelle and Soma. The public chose Soma, and so Canelle, who was first to sing tonight, leaves the show. Eight contestants remain.

Hej! As they say in Sverige. Yes I am finally trying to learn the basics of Swedish. In my case very basic indeed. OK so I think I can count to 100 and the phrase that most sums me up is "Min svenska ar inte sa bra" which is nothing to do with underwear but actually means "My Swedish is not that good"!!

Switch22 - 1985

Simon: I’ve seen these boys quite a bit on The Zapping, but had been a hold-out as far as listening goes up until Paul sent me this song for review, and I have to say that at first I was underwhelmed, then grew to really dig the track by the end. This song in particular seemed to again be very Robbie Williams-esque to me, but that is not a complaint. I find it to be quite incredible just how much Williams seems to have influenced the British pop sound. Production is slick, and I love the end, when the song comes out of the bridge. Good work boys.

Jadion: At first, I didn’t like this song. The theme of longing for the old days seems to have been done before. IE= LFO- Summer Girls etc.. But after hearing it a couple of times, it kind of grew on me. It is well done, and makes you want to move. This may be WAY off to some people, but it sort of reminds me of Gorillaz. I’m not sure why. This should be a nice DJ song and the people my age will appreciate the nostalgia.

Just Jack – Glory Dayz

Simon: Mr. Jack seems to have pulled off quite a feat in becoming rather a love-child of Robbie Williams and Lilly Allen, regarding sound and potential marketability. I must admit that I do enjoy “Starz in their Eyes” quite a bit more than this track, but it still does encapsulate that same cheeky, indie Brit-vibe that launched Ms. Allen to the limelight of the music world last year. Where Allen has succeeded in ascending a pop-throne of her own (no rhyme intended, I assure you :) however, I remain hesitant to predict the same for JJ. I never much cared for the bulk of Robbie William’s rapping, and JJ seems to go for that sound quite a bit. Kind of left feeling a bit indifferent with this particular song, but intrigued by the artist regardless.

Jadion: Upon first pressing play, I hear birds. I have to give credit to anyone who can use samples of birds chirping with a straight face. The sounds are pretty well mixed, vocals are well mixed and compressed. Their sound reminds me of the short lived group Crazytown (the song, Butterfly). As an American, I have to say that this song wouldn’t fit in our mainstream playlists very well as it is very different than what generally works here. That being said, I believe it could have a niche audience. I have to give it some originality and creativity points. I am a very picky person with a relatively small realm of songs that I LOVE for my own personal tastes. But I am very capable of acknowledging when something is done well. In the technical department I give this a 7.5 (of 10). It sticks with me as far as it isn’t like everything else we usually hear, but I wouldn’t call it a hit song.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Me And My Imagination

Simon: So Euro, so Disco, so refreshing…Ms. Ellis Bextor is one of those artists who I appreciate more and more the more I listen to her. She’s definitely not making the waves over here in the states like she tends to do over there in Europa, but that’s what she does; Euro-dance, and she does it well. I would imagine I could hear this song being blasted in many a high-end fashion retail outlet here in LA, where you tend to find most European music being played stateside. I like her the most when she goes a bit more electro, but I am not complaining.

Jadion: This track sounds like a super cool hip techno euro sound that you would find playing as ambient music in a swanky Manhattan hotel lounge. It is very good for that purpose. But I wouldn’t see myself listening to it while walking my dog or driving the coast. It really isn’t my kind of song. It is done well and I believe this is simply a matter of personal taste. Sophie has a very nice quality to her voice. If you like the runway model soundtrack material, you will like this song.

Ultra – Sun Shines Brighter

Simon: Westlife wannabes cover a mediocre, wannabe Westlife song. Harsh I know, but this song is just so lackluster to me, pointless. (Paul – although I actually like this song, I laughed my ass off at this review!)

Jadion: Sounds like a country song in the intro. Then it goes into a very tired verse that sounds like it should be in the soundtrack to a really bad teenager angst movie, right about the time the poor girl falls in love and the guy realizes that “she’s the one”. Clean production, but a boring song that makes you say “yeah well, at least it was a clean recording”. As a producer I always wonder, when the decision to release a single like this is made, do the people doing it actually BELIEVE it is a hit song? If not, why bother?

Thanks to Simon and Jadion for their candid and often hilarious reviews J

It wasn’t very hard was it?? (found in the April 11^th Instinct Magazine). Now for those of you wanting to listen to some vintage simon, click this link here…

Simon Does Sweden...

Ok people, we are gathered here today to discuss in full, the enigma that is the pop-factory of Sweden. I don’t know about you guys, but I am so perplexed and intrigued as to how such a cold, dark country tucked away in the arctic circle of Scandinavia can continuously churn out delectable gem after delectable, lighthearted gem of addictive, uplifting, pop glory. Not only do they make it seem to the outside world as though they live in some sugar-infused paradise, but they also give off the impression that Swedes are simply full-fledged, master sound engineers from birth! More on that in a minute…

I don’t think I am alone in making the assumption that ABBA paved the way and laid the foundations for Swedish pop as we know it today…I mean, any group that can come from a country with no prior world-wide musical superstars and go on to sell over 370 million albums is sure to leave just a bit of an impact. Think about it though, how many times have you listened to a current Swede-produced hit and thought, “wow, this totally could have been an ABBA song, wait…is this a cover?” I rest my case.

Then the early nineties brought us Ace of Base, who not only had the modern-day ABBA sound down pat, but also were a male/female quartet and even went so far as to use the letters A and B prominently in their band’s name. A few years later we had Aqua, the shortly thereafter the world met one of my favourite pop groups of all time, A*Teens. Even more impacting than the country’s offerings act-wise to the global music market were the Swedish producers who came into their prime during the nineties. Denniz Pop tore down the floodgates when he agreed to produce the Ace of Base song, Mr. Ace (which soon became known as a little ditty you all may know called All That She Wants). A year after that Mr. Pop recruited Martin Sandberg to be a part of his new production outfit, Cheiron Studios, a man who later gave himself the professional moniker, Max Martin.

Shortly after Denniz Pop’s tragic death, Max Martin (along with newfound partner, Rami) and Kristian Lundin ascended the throne of Sweden’s top power-producers, ushering in a true golden-age of pop music. This is the time when the world was treated to the best of the best that electronic pop could aspire to be. From Backstreet to *NSYNC to Britney, every tune released was a perfectly polished pop soundscape, timeless and truly unforgettable. Even the imitations were still leagues ahead of all the trash that’s on the radio today. Take A*Teens second album for example, Teen Spirit; it was almost a complete rip-off of the “Cheiron” sound, something for which it was very much lauded critically at the time of its release, but take that album now, and compare it to what you could go buy in stores today, and as far as production value goes, it is leaps and bounds better! Truly! Their signature producers, Tysper/Grizzly never achieved the kind of god-status they way their peers Max Martin and Kristian Lundin did, but in terms of sheer sound-crafting talent, they are right on up there. Have you ever heard A*Teens final release, I Promised Myself? Go download it immediately. Pure pop perfection.

These days acts like BWO, ex-A*Teen Marie Serneholt, Pet Shop Boys cover group, West End Girls, and most recently, girl duo Lucky Twice, are still at it; still championing the sound that ABBA forged and Cheiron perfected. Those who dismiss this music as frivolous are truly ignorant, for what on Earth is frivolous about a sound that continually strikes a chord (no pun intended) with millions upon millions of people across the globe? This is the only breed of music that consistently does so, and it all comes from a cold, dark, little northern corner of the world we all know as Sweden…

Now if only the damn record labels would wake up and remember what it was like to sell millions of records, and what kind of sound it was that made that happen… :P

Simon's recommended links:

BUY: ATeens Greatest Hits

Can't believe that two weeks from tomorrow, I'll be in the Swedish capital with my faithful travelling companion. Am I excited? AM I EXCITED!!!

The weather in Stockholm has been cold, then hot, then cold again but it's gonna get hotter and it's expected to go all the way up to 22 degrees later this week.

EuropeCrazy doesn't do politics, but if we did we would say "Allez Segolene Royal". The people of my favourite country are choosing a president today and although that horrible Nicolas Sarkozy is favourite to win the thing, Ms Royal has managed to do the impossible and actually give the Socialists a chance of victory. It remains to be seen if she is all style and no substance, but then she wouldn't be the first leader to be like that....!

Stop Me - Mark Ronson: a stunning and soulful cover version of the Smiths’ "Stop Me If You Think..." Fully deserves its place at no.1 in the UK top 40.
Melodies En Sous-Sol - Calogero: Becoming one of the stand-out tracks on "Pomme C" which has picked up mixed reviews from critics and fans alike.
Elu Produit de L’Annee - Christophe Willem: A cracking piece of French pop from last year’s "Nouvelle Star".
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5: Still liking this. Why is it not on the radio yet?
Our Velocity - Maximo Park: Knew this song for a while but didn’t know who it was. Now I know I can put it in the playlist.
I Love You Mi Vida - D’Nash: This is really growing on me now and I can’t get the tune out of my head.
This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race - Fall Out Boy: Took me a long time to get into this one, it’s been around for months but I’m only getting into it.
Last Night - Brolle Jr: whatever happened to him? This is an old classic from the man considered not good enough to reach the Swedish Idol finals. A unique singer.

Koen and Kris Wauters have been very busy lately. Not only have they been making a new Clouseau album but they're back on VTM as Flemish TV's answer to Ant and Dec - presenting the third series of "Idool". Kim, Andrei, Wim, Elke, Esther and Dean are still in the competition whilst Brenda, Tom, Adil and Kira have been evicted. The last series of Idool was in 2004 and that was won by Joeri Fransen. Series 1, in 2003, produced many popular artists in Flanders although like many other talent shows the runners up became more popular than the winner. Peter Evrard won that year, but he hasn't been as successful as runner up Natalia. Wim Soutaer and Brahim have also been very successful.

Found a mash-up of "Every Breath You Take" by the Police and the ubiquitous "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol on YouTube - now retitled "Every Car You Chase"!! It actually works quite well, I quite like these mash-up mixes from time to time.

Something considerably more disturbing is a new video of Stock Aitken Waterman's finest hour or low point, depending on your view - "I'd Rather Jack" by The Reynolds Girls. The only positive thing I can say is they've worn well. The girls, that is, not SAW....

Three weeks from tonight, the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Helsinki and my favourites are changing by the day. One day it's Sweden, then it's Ukraine, then it's Germany, then it's Iceland, then it's Cyprus, then it's Russia and today it's Spain - they have a terrrible draw but I can't get enough of "I Love You Mi Vida".



If we at EuropeCrazy were partial to the evils of betting, we would put vast amounts of roubles on a Russian win for the very first time. Serebro (pictured above) - or as someone called them "Sugababeski" could see next year's Eurovision Song Contest being held in Russia for the very first time ever, thanks to the cheeky, contemporary and, um, Britney-tastic "Song Number One" which dares, possibly for the first time ever, to mention the words "Bad A**" in a Eurovision lyric. They will probably be rubbish on the night, but in preview form this is sounding unstoppable.

After the speedy dispatch of Chris last week it was onwards to week 2, with songs selected which allegedly would show off a bit of acting as well as vocal ability.
Needless to say it was a mixed bag and some fared better than others. Here’s what we thought:

Well done well done

Lee - can do no wrong for us. He’s professional, confident and looks very good. Very good indeed, especially in that red shirt! He’s Joseph and he’s our favourite so just give him the job now!!

OK
Keith - or should we say Keith with the teeth. Did well tonight but we have reservations that he’s still too young for the role.
Rob - his blokey-builder image is not right for this part, but he’s doing well and will again go far.
Ben - despite odd choice of song - he’s too young for "All By Myself" he redeemed himself apart from a few bum notes.

I should’ve seen it coming, but I totally missed the release of the latest Clouseau album "Vonken & Vuur" at the end of March. Anyway the second single from the album called "De Tegenpartij" sees them continue their currently impressive form with the follow up to the excellent "Vonken & Vuur" and it’s another uptempo pop-rock number. Haven’t yet had a chance to listen to samples from the CD but will review it as soon as I hear the tracks.

Another Wednesday brought another edition of "Nouvelle Star" (M6) and this week's theme was rock songs. The major shock of the evening was one of my favourites (and a favourite of the French showbiz mags too) - Ilyes. I am still at a loss to understand why, as his rocky take on the awful Lara Fabian's power ballad "Je T'Aime" was a joy. He has such charisma too and will be missed from the show.
Ilyes was in the bottom 2 with Julie, who is trying too hard to look like this season's rock-chick. She shambled her way through Mano Negra's "Mala Vida" which had been done brilliantly by Gael on last year's Star Academy.
Our other favourite Pierre continued with his bad song choices. Doing the Rolling Stones was a bad enough idea, but doing "Angie" was even worse, and he turned it into cabaret hell. Nevertheless we still like him, although he needs to pick the right song soon or he’ll be following Ilyes out the door.
Raphaelle did a spirited "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For" whilst Soma bravely camped his way through Raphael’s "Sur La Route" and is now on very shaky ground in the weeks to come.
Julien aka "ukelele boy" appears to have taken on favourite status, however his hilarious "Heartbreak Hotel" calls to mind X-Factor Chico or indeed the current phenomenon, American Idol-Sanjaya, where the truly duff are kept in as some kind of public empowerment.
Tigane, who had already made a fair attempt at Gnarls Barkley’s "Crazy", did rather well with his soulful version of Paolo Nutini’s "Last Request" and he will go a long way in this contest.
Meanwhile Gaetane has been grabbing some headlines in France thanks to her romance with Julien. She also did well here with her version of Blondie’s "Call Me". She is the latest in a never ending line of pretty French brunettes on talent shows and will again last another few weeks.
Her rival in the pretty-brunette contest here, Canelle, did a fair performance of Telephone’s "Cendrillon" but again was rather old-fashioned and cabaret.
Finally, Alex, who (apart from Ilyes) provided the most original rendition this evening - his James Brown-style version of Dutronc’s "Les Cactus" was quite inspired and very good.
Really not happy that Ilyes is gone - it should either have been Julie or Soma. :-((

THE TEN QUESTIONS THEZAPPING ASKS EVERYONE – WITH LIMITED EDITION:

Limited Edition are a three piece vocal harmony group that i’ve had my eye on for some time now. Rising from the ashes of boyband 4Pl@y, they mix a smooth blend of pop and r’n’b in the style of the late lamented Blue. More recently they have been writing together as a band and their first collaboration Unfair has some lush instrumentation and smartly blended harmonies. However it’s Innocent that is their standout track as the tempo ups and the boys really show what they can do together. Keep an eye on their myspace site as they prepare for the launch of their debut single. They’re not that Innocent (and it helps that Simon is quite RAR!) :P

Following my previous post regarding Emmanuel Moire and Christophe Mae, been checking the French album charts and found Christophe's "Mon Paradis" at no. 3 whilst Emmanuel's "La Ou Je Pars" at ... no.101!!

Looks like Le Roi Soleil has been dethroned - but I still prefer him though.

THEZAPPING MAROON 5 MAG HAG:

Now Adam and his merry band of boys are back on the scene, I can now revel in the marviosity of them being in multiple magazines and on umpteen tv shows. Of course, none will be quite as magnificent as a certain Instinct Magazine article out on May 14^th, but they can all aspire, n’est pas (that’s one of my most endearing features – modesty. I’m clearly just dripping in it!) Anyway, I am quite taken with the cosmo girl feature above…

And I am quite happy with the Complex contradictions feature here. Can I just say Adam looks mighty fine in a suit. BTW, I mentioned on the Maroon 5 fan forum that I had done the interview for Instinct and most are really excited to read it. Except one dude who wanted to know if I had tricked Adam into being interviewed for a gay mag. Hahahahaha, with the scarf below? He’s practically an icon! PS you should expect a lot more of this over the coming months :P

Your Love Alone Is Not Enough - Manic Street Preachers feat Nina Persson: Inspired collaboration and a return to form for the Manics after recent rubbishy efforts.
Rejection - Martin Solveig: Top French DJ sampling Prince's "Kiss" brings very catchy results.
Elu Produit de L'Annee - Christophe Willem: As mentioned in previous post, he has delivered, and then some.
Butterfly - Superbus: A real grower - the French pop/rock hit of the moment.
Si La Vie Demande Ca - Native: Vintage French soul number covered on last year's Star Academy by Nadiya & Dominique.
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5: Pleasantly funky trailer for their new album, and thankfully won't get played to death like "This Love".
Love Today - Mika: OK I give in. It's growing on me.
Valentine Lost - Eirikur Hauksson: Intense Icelandic rock with equally intense lyrics.
Comme Ci Comme Ca - Evridiki: Cyprus goes French and only her rubbish dancing can prevent a deserved high placing in Helsinki.
I Love You Mi Vida - D'Nash: Genuine Latino pop, not bad going when it was co-written by a Swede.
What Have You Done - Within Temptation: Massive rock tune criminally ignored by the British public but not ignored by me!
Dimmi Perche - Nyco: Appealing French pop tune sung in Italian. Matt Pokora better watch out as Nyco could steal his crown.
Candyman - Christina Aguilera: Utterly bonkers 1940s style singalong!

~ Simon has an adorable bunch of new pics up on his myspace site, including this fun one from his 21^st birthday…Oh and be sure to click on my Simon tab at the top. It's all sexy and revamped. No content yet, but that's all in hand and coming when i'm back from hols!

Here at EuropeCrazy HQ we have never been too excited about Nouvelle Star season 4 winner Christophe "Tortue" Willem. However, rather than rushing out a debut album of the usual cover versions/songs written by l'equipe Obispo, the young man wisely took his time before releasing his debut CD "Inventaire", enlisting some of France's more credible and fashionable songwriters to help him out. Now having heard the first two singles from the album "Elu Produit de L'Annee" (refreshingly old fashioned classic pop) and "Double Je" (Scissor Sisters-tastic) can we now officially apologise to the bespectacled chanteur and say that we actually think he's rather good. P.S. We still hate his version of "Sunny" though.

French singer Frederic Lerner has been away for a while but he's back with a new single "Ca Passe Ou Ca Casse" and his new album is due for release in two weeks' time. He hasn't changed too much musically though, and his voice remains far too reminiscent of Jean-Jacques Goldman - I'm sure he wouldn't mind a page of JJG's bank balance though!

Towards the end of 2006 a song called "Un Autre Nom" by Cyril Paulus got a lot of airplay on French radio, and I liked this song very much and still do. Now the good news is that not only does he have a follow-up single "Je T'Oublie" (which is good, but not as good as his debut though) and also an album called "Banquise" which is musically influenced by his love of English-language soft rock. Fans of Crowded House and Travis may particularly enjoy his music and he is definitely a name to look out for.

Thanks to wonderful old YouTube I've just had the opportunity to hear the French language version of Magnus Carlsson's "Live Forever" which is called "Je Vivrai" and is rather fab too.

Over in France, they're not holding back on "Nouvelle Star", with not one but three contestants - Martine, Vincent and Michel - eliminated this week. Alex was saved by the jury and our favourites Pierre and Ilyes sailed through another week. Pierre's lively performance of Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover" wasn't 100% brilliant although that's down to poor song choice - he owns the stage when performing and, as someone once said, the camera loves him. Part-time lover maybe, but on this show he's a full-time (nouvelle) star.
Meanwhile the gravelly voiced rocker Ilyes took on "It's A Heartache" and did well although again was let down by the wrong song. Nevertheless this young man - who bears a disturbing visual resemblance to David Walliams (!) - already has enough fans across the Channel to guarantee that he will remain in the show for many weeks to come.

The Hoosiers

I came across The Hoosiers because Napster was bombarding my inbox with recommendations about them and I just checked them out in case the former free music file sharer was correct. And they bleedin’ were! Debut single Worried About Ray is a perky little guitar led tune with an enticing vocal and intruiging lyrics. Worse Case Scenario ups the lethargic tempo of the single and buzzes with energy and pop potential. I am just loving his voice going into falsetto too. Just amazing. And be sure to hunt around for their quite unique cover of We Didn’t Start The Fire. Brilliant – and the only band ever to lead into it with Chim Chim Cheree… Quite the stunning find!

William Tell

I have written about Ryan Ferrada’s song Touch You Sexy before (here) so I am not going to repeat that for you here… However, it goes without saying that, along with Lee Cheney, I am very excited for more of Ryan’s music, especially since (thanks to Simon – see below) I discovered a song of his called Can’t Let Go which is just such a beautiful, haunting ballad that I encourage you all to go and seek it out on Napster or iTunes immediatelement… Ryan is not only drop dead gorgeous, he has worked hard to get where he is today (see his comments about being bullied in school L) and deserves huge success in the future. I know Baz from Digital loves Touch You Sexy and here is what Simon Curtis had to say about it…

“This track is fantastic. The chorus leaves me a little hungry, but overall I quite enjoy this one. Glad to have Paul discovering music like this for me! Haha. I must say I find his song “Can We Do It Again?” to be leagues ahead of TYS, but it still is an enjoyable listen. Very Kylie, which is a huge compliment in my opinion. Interesting to see that this guy has once opened for Sugababes as well. Definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for more music from this one. Paul, please send me ‘Can we do it again’ asap please!”

Ryan was kind enough to sit down and be probed by my good self and a good time was had by all. Or at least me ;) Here’s what the young star had to say…

1 - Tell us a little bit about yourself - how did you get to be a singer? Are there lots of school plays and musicals in your background?
Hi! Yes, don´t laugh but I was in choirs from a very young age. When I´m recording my producer teases me and says “drop the choir voice. More pop!” so I´m not sure how helpful it really was… I was always part of the school plays but to be honest I´m a useless actor. I just start laughing and then the audience laughs so I won´t be trying acting any time soon.

2 - Can you talk a little bit about the song on your website? I really like it and found it to be a breath of fresh air in today's pop market.
Thank you! It´s actually the first song I recorded with “Greg Fitzgerald”. He wrote and produced “Burning up” and “Fever” for Kylie, and I said I wanted to be in that area of Pop. We wrote the song together really quickly and he made me feel really comfortable when I was recording. He handed me the head phones and said “Kylie likes these” and from then on I knew it was going to be fun. I wanted to write a hot track with a sexy vibe. The dirtier, the better!

3 - Talking of the pop market today, what do you think of it? Any favorite acts? Anyone out there who really isn't worthy of your time?
There are a lot of great pop acts out there. I opened a gig for the Sugababes and after I got the opportunity to watch them from the sound booth. They blew me away! From their live band to their vocals, it was really spectacular. I love Madonna, Britney, Kylie, George Michael and Michael Jackson. They are the artists that I really admire. Obviously there is some music I´m not fond of, but I´m not the type to go trashing other people´s work. I also opened some gigs for Ronan Keating and I learned a lot from him, on and off stage. He treats everyone with respect which I think is an amazing quality.

4 - What about shows like X Factor or American Idol? Ever tempted by that route? Any favourites from those shows?
When those programs started I had already released my first album in Portugal and Spain. I had already had a number 1 single and album and I didn´t feel it was the right way for me to go. And to be honest I don´t know how I could perform under that kind of pressure! Just the look of the judge´s faces is enough to make me go out of tune! When I´m on stage it is all rehearsed and everything is under control.

5 - You are recording in London again soon - what sort of sound are you going for in those sessions and is it heading towards an album?
Yes I have already started the album! And I´m really excited to say that I convinced my producer to let me do a version of the song he did for Kylie “Burning up”. Each song on the album is different from the next. I just want to do music that I love, from retro 80´s sound to dance.

6 - Live Lounge on radio one is one of my favorite shows - where acts cover songs in the chart that they might not normally sing. What song would you cover and who would you want to do a cover of one of your songs?
I would definitely go for a George Michael song. “Too funky” was one of my first demos. That song is hot! And I would love to hear George Michael do one of my songs to see how he would perform it.

7 - I'm very passionate about music but also have a shallow side that appreciates pop star hair and fashion. How important is image to you and what would you be wearing on an average day?
I would be lying if I said that image didn´t matter to me. I go to the gym every day for about two hours. I´m addicted to cardio, but I should really be pumping more iron! I try my best to put 100 % in to everything that I do, from my music to my image. I was the chubby geek in school so I think I´m afraid of being that person again.

8 - Who have you been most influenced by in the music industry?
I grew up with a lot of 80´s music around me. But I would have to say either Madonna or George Michael. It was always their songs and videos that captured me.

9 - You take the zapping on a night on the town. What can I expect?
It depends which country we are in! I love being host and try to make sure that everyone I´m with is having a great time. I love going to nice restaurant´s with my friends and trying out all the trendy clubs in London.

Martin won the Swedish version of "Strictly Come Dancing", obviously thanks to his breakdance-tastic show dance, however I still can't understand the voting public's fascination with the man as he never ever looked comfortable on the dancefloor, unlike his rival Tobbe who at least managed a smile now and again.

The moral winner of the thing was of course the mighty Lasse Brandeby, who in true "Vote for the worst" style was kept in the contest long past his sell-by date, however he did give us many laughs along the way.

The latest edition of France's Nouvelle Star has kicked off and already the first two contestants - Isabelle and Mounir - have been eliminated. Who will follow in the footsteps of last year's winner, the critically acclaimed Christophe "Tortue" Willem? It's too early to tell, although having a look at the videos of last week's show there was one contestant who has already set a very high standard to follow - 30 year old Pierre (pictured above). He has already attracted attention in the French gossip mags as he's already in the music business as a backing singer - most notably on Sinclair's 2005 tour.

Boogie 2 Nite - Booty Luv: One of the year's more enduring dance tunes which took a long time to grow on me, but now it's stuck to my CD player.
The Arrival - The Attic feat Therese: First of this week's pick of my Melodifestivalen tunes - a dance anthem which has massive hit potential.
Let's Go Crazy - Prince: Having a bit of a Prince revival these days so what better than this one to dance around the room to.
Destination Calabria - Alex Gaudino: Another week on the Europecrazy playlist for the ultimate floorfiller of the moment.
A Little Bit Of Love - Andreas Johnson: This week's other MF selection, which is now lodged in my brain and I can't get it out. Help!
Relax, Take It Easy - Mika: Another week on the playlist for what should have been his next single in the UK.
Read My Mind - The Killers: Going from strength to strength at the moment from an album which is a real grower.
Mancunian Way - Take That: Another song which continues on my playlist. Top quality tune which even non-fans should love.

For a European music blog we're a bit short on new European music but hopefully it will get better over the coming weeks. Please please please!

Finally I have put pen to paper (or keys to keyboard) and here is my review of all the songs from the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, based on their various studio/video versions circulating all over the web.
Here goes....

ALBANIA - "Hear My Plea" - Frederik Ndoci & Aida
Loved Albania last year thanks to lovely Luiz who did a great performance of his ethnic song well. Frederik is more than a little scary though and this has your attention wandering by the chorus.
ANDORRA - "Salvem El Mon" - Anonymous
Something different from the very small country. Fans of all the Busted/Fall Out Boy genre will lap this up but they are not the Eurovision audience, Rather likeable in a strange way, but would be more successful totally sung in English.
ARMENIA - "Anytime You Need" - Hayko
I am rapidly mixing up all these countries like Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Georgia! He’s a little earnest and this ballad may do well thanks to the diaspora vote (like last year) or again may get lost.
AUSTRIA - "Get A Life - Get Alive" - Eric Papilaya
I rather like this although it will not do well at all. It’s vaguely modern in a rock-dance way and has hit potential but again not a Eurovision song.
BELARUS - "Work Your Magic" - Koldun
One of the first songs to be chosen and still the one that has left the most impression on me (apart from Sweden of course). Expensive video to sell the blue-eyed Idol winner, but can he do it on the night? Minsk 2008?
BELGIUM - "Love Power" - The KMGs
Earth Wind and Fire resurrected for 2007. Disco without the Skamp-irony, this will sadly end up near the bottom of the scoreboard although it is a pleasant if forgettable way to pass 3 minutes and an interesting departure for RTBF.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA - "Rijeka Bez Imena" - Marija Sestic
Favourites last year and always a contender, it’s ethnic-ballad-by-numbers time, and lacks a recognisable hook although she’s an appealing enough singer in the Balkan mould.
BULGARIA - "Water" - Elitsa and Stoyan
Completely bonkers yelping, drumming Safri Duo-inspired techno. I am at a loss to describe this any further. Winner? Loser? Eh??????
CROATIA - "Vjerujem U Ljubav" - Dado Topic & Dragonfly
Chilled out blues in the style of Eric Clapton or Chris Rea, another rock-influenced number. Not a classic by any means but a welcome departure from the usual Balkan female-in-a-floaty-frock. More English lyrics please.
CYPRUS - "Comme Ci Comme Ca" - Evridiki
Further proof in an already bonkers and ‘diverse’ year that anything goes. Legendary Cypriot singer does a full Cypriot entry in the French language. She is a very good singer, all she needs is to lay off the dad-dancing.
CZECH REPUBLIC - "Mala Dama" - Kabat
Welcome to ESC! Hair metal from the Czechs - it won’t do well unless some voters still want the Lordi-effect to continue a year on.
DENMARK - "Drama Queen" - DQ
Drag-pop which cruelly robbed Jacob Andersen’s "Listen To Love" which should rightly have been the Danish entry this year. Freak-show novelty which will again do well or bomb.
ESTONIA - "Partners In Crime" - Gerli Padar
She looks like a dark-haired Estonian Pink, and that’s what it sounds like. Commercial pop with hit potential, although again not really made for Eurovision. Will struggle yet again to get out of the semi.
FINLAND - "Leave Me Alone" - Hanna Pakarinen
Another missed opportunity as the Finnish voters chose not to send Lovex. Idol winner and Amy Lee wannabe, not what the reigning champions should be doing but good on them for sticking two fingers up yet again.
FRANCE - "L’Amour a la Francaise" - Les Fatals Picards
Charming novelty tune which again is not quite right for Eurovision and possibly only the British will get the "Franglais" joke. Catchy and engaging though, with a cheeky nod to "Toxic"/"Work Your Magic" - will anyone notice the plagiarism?
FYR MACEDONIA - "Mojot Svet/My World" - Karolina Goceva
Yet another of those pretty, leggy Balkan beauties who populate the contest year after year. This has a sense of deja vu about it, but is virtually guaranteed the votes from the neighbours. Not the worst I’ve heard though.
GEORGIA - "Visionary Dream" - Sopho Khalvashi
Another debut country with an ethnic-sounding soaring tune. Change of song title as previously known as "My Story" Dramatic and swooping with a whiff of techno, if she can pull off the soaring vocals it could do well.
GERMANY - "Frauen Regier’n Die Welt" - Roger Cicero
Big band charmer who has already gone platinum in his native country. Good singer who can deliver a good performance of an average song, and possibly bringing Germany’s best result in many a year.
GREECE - "Yassou Maria" - Sarbel
The Greek Ricky Martin, only about 7 years too late. Not the worst this year though, and it won’t be the last time we hear the words "Shake It Up" from the eastern Mediterranean this year....
HUNGARY - "Unsubstantial Blues" - Magdi Ruzsa
Very likely to polarise audiences this year, the most un-Eurovision song on show this year and therefore very unpredictable to, er, predict the result of. Further proof that this is a very odd year indeed!
ICELAND - "Valentine Lost" - Eirikur Hauksson
Thoughtful rock ballad which will either do very well or flop badly. He is a good singer but not the most visually appealing. One of this year’s best in generally a disappointing year. Now if they had sent Jonsi singing this....
IRELAND - "They Can’t Stop The Spring" - Dervish
Rather than the obvious solution and send Brian Kennedy every year till he rightly wins the thing, Eire has chosen a trad folk band with a trad folk number. Potential winner? Like Dolores O’Riordan singing a protest song. Watch this go.
ISRAEL - "Push the Button" - Teapacks
Not the saucy Sugababes singalong but yet another novelty number allegedly about the leader of Iran - how topical is that? "Wanna see the flowers bloom/don’t wanna go ka-boom ka-boom". Most bonkers Israeli entry in years.
LATVIA - "Questa Notte" - Bonaparti.lv
Latvian version of G4 (r.i.p.)/Il Divo. Possibly the worst styled act of ESC 2007 if the preview video is anything to go by. Potentially dangerous voting-wise, if they get out of the top hats and jeans it could be Riga 2008.
LITHUANIA - "Love Or Leave" - 4Fun
Not much fun going on here on this Dido-esque acoustic strummer. This one may just pass by the viewers and voters and is too forgettable to repeat the success of last year’s "We Are The Winners".
MALTA - "Vertigo" - Olivia Lewis
Eurovision’s most desperate-to-win country attempts a little drama with a flamenco-flavoured rousing number which is not a winner but will gather a few votes. Not a winner though.
MOLDOVA - "Fight" - Natalia Barbu
One of this year’s first songs to be chosen and yet again another Evanescence-style rock number sung by a girl with long dark hair. May again struggle to get out of the semi.
MONTENEGRO - "Ajde Kroci" - Stevan Faddy
Pop-rock star with Scottish ancestry - what’s not to like? Well, not too much sadly, as he will need to deliver a strong performance to lift this below-average rock-influenced number off the bottom of the scoreboard.
NETHERLANDS - "On Top Of The World" - Edsilia Rombley
She is good, there is no doubt about it. However, the Anastacia feel is a few years out of date and this could kill the song’s chances. Edsilia herself also prefers to sing in Dutch - could this also limit her performance?
NORWAY - "Ven a Bailar Conmigo" - Guri Schanke
Winner? Loser? Will Europe’s voters swallow the vision of an over-the-hill Geri Halliwell in a mini-dress giving it cod-Latino-by-numbers? I’m just bitter because none of my favourites in MGP won. :-(((
POLAND - "Time To Party" - The Jet Set
Polish Black Eyed Peas-influenced contemporary number, again with massive hit potential but ESC potential? Possibly not, but they should at least be congratulated for trying something remotely modern.
PORTUGAL - "Danca Conmigo" - Sabrina
ESC’s most depressingly old fashioned country continues to keep up its standard of dull entries. I love the country and its people so much, but do not judge it by its Eurovision entries.
ROMANIA - "Liubi, Liubi, I Love You" - Todomundo
Another novelty entry - they seem to be polluting the contest this year. That old trick of singing in various languages to get votes is employed to full effect here and could very well work.
RUSSIA - "Song #1" - Serebro
Bad-ass girl trio who, with a good vocal performance and the right choreography could cheerily be romping off with the title and taking the contest to Moscow 2008. Russia will inevitably win the thing one of these years - this one maybe?
SERBIA - "Molitva" - Marija Serifovic
That is of course if the Serbs do not, as it is their destiny to also win it. Marija is, how should I say, a Serbian version of Alex Parks if you catch my drift. Good singer - although not the most glamorous to ever grace the ESC stage - who is guaranteed to achieve a very high placing thanks to neighbour voting.
SLOVENIA - "Cvet Z Juga" - Alenka Gotar
Bizarre mix of opera set to a disco beat. What will Europe make of this? Another of those songs which will possibly polarise the audience, not remotely a favourite of mine but who can account for taste?
SPAIN - "I Love You Mi Vida" - D’Nash
The outcome of the marathon "Mision Eurovision" selection process delivered this Latin dance number sung by a rather appealing boyband. Only a poor position in the draw (the dreaded 2nd spot) will prevent this achieving a deserved high position.
SWEDEN - "The Worrying Kind" - The Ark
No need to worry as Ola and the boys are sure to deliver an understated performance in Helsinki....NOT!! I’m biased as I love this band and the song and they will be my favourites. Hope they win (but they probably won’t :-(( )
SWITZERLAND - "Vampires Are Alive" - DJ Bobo
Obvious winner this year if the voters will go for old-school Eurodance cashing in on the Lordi freakshow of last year. Could be hampered by the 6 persons on stage rule and will need a stunning performance to sell the song.
TURKEY - "Shake It Up Shekerim" - Kenan Dogulu
More shaking it up from the eastern Med. Kenan brings eye candy with a Timberlake-style number similar to Andreas Lundstedt’s "Move" from the MF semis 2007. Guaranteed a respectable place in the final standings.
UKRAINE - "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" - Verka Serduchka
Addictive foot tapper from Dame Edna from space. Entertaining 3 minutes of utter bonkers nonsense from a Ukrainian drag queen singing about "lasha tumbai". To dance or not to dance - all the way back to Kiev 2008????
UNITED KINGDOM - "Flying The Flag (For You)" - Scooch
Et finalement, Royaume-Uni. A gay old Europop ode to air travel from the good old bad old days of Eurovision, selected of course in very dubious circumstances and virtually guaranteed nil points from our continental neighbours.

I’m always a bit behind everyone else when it comes to SwedePop (except Matt LIL who hadn’t heard a BWO song before today. Stunned, much!) so forgive the late bandwagon jumping here of superswedeypopstars The Sounds. They are rather fabulous in a rock-meets-pop-meets electro-meets-ace sort of way. They definitely have the intricacies of creating a melody that will be swimming around in your head for weeks and lead singer Maja Ivarsson has a very distinctive vocal style that sounds strangely aggressive and alluring all at the same time. The songs are cabaret and theatre all in one while wrapped in a confection of doomy pop sugar. Very cool and very necessary for you to nip out and purchase Dying To Say This To You right now. Hurry!