Lopez Blogs

One major omission from my recent monthly telly review was the rather wonderful "The Next Best Thing", an American TV lookalike contest which has recently been running over here on Living TV and reached its conclusion last week.

Thought the calibre of contestants on this was far superior to the recent (and rather rubbish) BBC effort "The One and Only". After a series of brilliantly entertaining auditions and a couple of semi-finals, the final line-up was revealed. The finalists included a brilliant Frank Sinatra, Robin Williams, Little Richard, Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner, two Elvises (Elvii?) and some non-singing comedy acts - Lucille Ball, George Bush and Paris Hilton.

Many of these acts are already appearing on the professional tribute circuit and that's no surprise as they were mostly excellent.

In the end the viewers decided that their favourite impersonator was "Heartbreak" Elvis (as opposed to "Blue Suede" Elvis) however we thought that Ol' Blue Eyes was robbed.

Credit also to the hilarious judging panel whose comments during the auditions had us in stitches - certainly a big change from the usual Idol/X Factor bores with all their usual cliched, scripted remarks.

I really hope that there will be another series of this show as it was very entertaining - you can't really say that about many of the tired reality talent shows on TV at the moment.

I've mentioned Jack McManus a few times on here over the last couple of weeks. Now I've discovered the existence of yet another curly-haired, piano-playing, singer-songwriter by the name of Julian Perretta, who has in the past week signed a 5 album deal with Sony BMG/Columbia Records. Well done to him, there is a very catchy song called "Wonder Why" on his MySpace (www.myspace.com/julianperrettamusic) it sounds a little bit Hoosiers-ish but don't be put off by that. At least he doesn't sound like Scouting For Girls, who are possibly (IMHO) the worst band of this decade. "Like I Do" is very good too, by the way.

Oh, those Swedes. Do they never stop making great music?

I haven't really checked out Magnus Tingsek in the past, although I believe he's already made a couple of albums. "Let It Shine" is his new single, and it's a kind of jazzy, funky guitar track which builds very nicely indeed to a smooth and soulful conclusion. In an interview last year, Salem Al Fakir mentioned that he liked Tingsek and I can understand why, as they both seem to be very creative musicians.

So I've now had a listen to another of Tingsek's songs, "World Of Its Own" which is another very good, soulful, almost reggae-ish track. Some of Vincent Pontare's stuff reminds me of this.

Looking forward to hearing more from Mr Tingsek, who will join our already long list of Swedish musical greats!

Hur förbereder man sig själv och sin garderob inför Eurovision Song Contest 2008? Jo – med en shoppingresa till New York. Med en dollarkurs som ligger lägre än någonsin tidigare så borde det finnas alla förutsättningar för en lyckad shopping. Nu hoppas jag hitta lämpliga attiraljer till finalen 24 maj så att Roger och jag kan glädja bekanskapskretsen med våra nunor i tv-rutan.



Men först är det 2 arbetsdagar i Wien denna vecka och på torsdag bär det av till New York. Egentligen hade jag velat vara kvar i Wien på tisdag 1 april. Min absoluta favorit från i fjol har nämligen konsert där - Tysklands Roger Cicero. Jag skulle ge bra mycket för att få lyssna till hans fantastiska röst och jazzig storband. På tyska! Ja vem kunde tro att tyska var ett sådant svängigt språk. Inte jag i alla fall - men jag ändrade mig när jag hörde Cicero jazza loss i Helsingfors. Nå ja - jag får väl ta en tripp till Tyskland vid lämpligt tillfälle och lyssna på honom.


Vi har tagit klivet över till sommartid och kvällarna blir allt ljusare. Endast 55 dagar återstår innan det är final i Belgrad 24 maj. Tiden fram tills dess kommer säkert att gå i snabbt tempo men innan dess återkommer jag med rapport från New York och hur schlager shoppingen lyckades.






Eftersom jag ska tillbringa 2 dagar i Wien och eftersom Österrike inte är med i år så får fjolårets artist Eric Papilay vara med på bild.

Well, not just yet, but she will be soon - with a new album "Onirique" to be released in October, according to French music news sources on the web. Tracks on the album include "Onirisme", "Faire... Et Défaire", "Dans Ton Antre", "Ma Nature Est...", "Excaliburia", "Who's Mylène ?", "Aux Points Cardinaux", "Je M'Expose Et M'Impose", "Poésie Visuelle", "The Witch Of Dreams", "Voyage Au Bout De Tes Sens" and an acoustic version of "Rever".

As usual, Mylene is being her notoriously reclusive self so there is little other information available, but what we do know is that she will perform live on 12.09.09 at the Stade de France in Paris.

I am so excited about the prospect of a new album from her, mainly because I was so disappointed with "Avant Que L'Ombre". Not because it was a bad album (because it wasn't) but because she has set herself such an impossibly high standard, that such classics as "Anamorphosée" and "Innamoramento" would always be hard acts to follow.

Also, I didn't think she'd make any more albums after the last one, so this is really, really exciting news!! Can't you tell....I'm excited!!!!

A few months ago I had started a "Hall of Fame" thing on here, which I scrapped after a couple of months only because I couldn't be bothered, no other reason....anyway A-ha was one of the acts I was planning to feature so again a mention on here is well overdue. Tonight I'm not focusing on the obvious ones, so no "Take On Me" or "The Sun Always Shines On TV", wonderful though they may be.

No, I was walking along the road today and suddenly "I've Been Losing You" came into my mind, so I thought I'd feature it tonight. All these years later, I still don't think this talented Norwegian trio ever get the credit they deserve for their mature, well-crafted 80s pop, so its about time I gave them a mention on here! Find this great song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbg4JFdcbY4

Right that's all for tonight, I'm off now because the clocks go forward tonight to signal the opening of British Summer Time (which is a bit of a joke as there's no such thing) and I really don't want to lose much more sleep as we're already losing an hour tonight :0

Back tomorrow with....something or other.

Some ska is overdue on here, methinks. Back in 1979/1980 this was the hottest musical revival thanks to the likes of The Specials, Madness, The Selecter, Bad Manners....and the band I'm featuring tonight, The Beat, whom I particularly loved. I still have "I Just Can't Stop It" on vinyl, my copy of which always jumped when my favourite track "Mirror In The Bathroom" came on - probably from over-playing it! Find this brilliant, catchy hit song from 1980 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTNpaaPHENE

I remember they went over to break America and had to change their name to "The English Beat" which was quite funny. They didn't really have too many hits afterwards - although "Too Nice To Talk To" is still worth a mention and can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IarQsEd0mLg&feature=related

A couple of members of the band subsequently went on to form the Fine Young Cannibals, who had a few hits towards the end of the 80s and were also rather good too.

The Brothers Johnson are probably best known for "Stomp" which is a fabulous disco track from 1980, but tonight I'm gong back to 1977 for one of my favourite songs of all time, the chilled-out, soulful "Strawberry Letter 23" which again was a big hit in the USA but is relatively unknown over here.

No video for this one (sorry again) but someone's posted the song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SjUoYPDroU and I urge you to check it out as it is, and always will be, rather fab.

We're on a soft rock vibe tonight eh!!!

OK so everyone of a certain age may (or may not) admit to remembering "Escape (The Pina Colada Song", the one about liking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. I tried a pina colada once, wasn't impressed...anyway I digress, my favourite Rupert Holmes song was "Him" which is a kind of revenge song about a guy discovering that his girl has been cheating on him. This is from about 1980, if I remember correctly, the big shades and facial hair give it away. Find "Him" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9qkcipJdCo

I remember that I borrowed his "Partners In Crime" album from the local library, I liked the title track but no-one seems to have that one :(

Back to 1978 for some smooth, American, sunny, soulful pop. I don't know anything about them except that "Love Will Find A Way" was a big hit in the USA for this band, and I've been meaning to feature this on here for a while but never got round to it. If you've never heard this it might just appeal to you if you're into stuff like Daryl Hall and John Oates. Find it at YouTube as usual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85LAhZDOM8w

In the absence of a video someone has posted a photo of the band, and being the 70s it's all big hair, big grins and even a big moustache....!

In the words of the great philosopher Neil Diamond...."hello again, hello!!"

Sorry I haven't been around here much over the past week, apart from posting the playlist the other night. This is mainly due to the fact that I've had a horrible heavy cold yet again, the same one I had just two months ago...just wish that people would stop being so generous with their germs! Anyway I'm on the mend now, although I still feel there's a Globen-sized gap in my Saturday nights since the end of Melodifestivalen :(

This week also saw the arrival at EuropeCrazy HQ of my latest gadget - a DVD recorder. My grand plan is to convert almost 200 video tapes to DVD, mainly consisting of stuff which I've taped off the telly over the last 20 years, purely for space-saving purposes. It's going to be a very time-consuming exercise as I need to go through a pile of video tapes - the ones I haven't already obsessively catalogued. This is going to have a major impact on my time over the coming months, so if I'm not around here as much then that will probably explain why. Otherwise, I will attempt to resume normal service!

View interview in Russian here - Пузыри шипучки Fizzy: Интервью Sergey Lazarev - "поп-музыкы будет существовать forever"

We start off by discussing Sergey's current album TV Show. Sergey explains that actually he is most often asked to describe his sound, which he finds difficult because he feels the music should speak for itself and that he does not pigeonhole himself into one particular genre. However, he does explain that there is a european pop feel to the whole affair - the one Russian aspect of it is Sergey himself. Clearly excited by his music and upcoming third album, Sergey describes his plans to break big outside of mainland Europe:

"I have released two solo albums in Russia and am currently recording the third one. Here we started the promo last year, we released the first single "Fake" - it's a light pop song that we released in clubs last year. It was like the first step for me. Then we followed that with the single Shattered Dreams - it's a huge 80s song by Johnny Hates Jazz. We did a few different mixes of the song and released it in the clubs. Then I released the third single Everytime and now I am here to promote my next single - "Girlfriend". So it's a step by step process and I am trying to promote myself as the new person, the newcomer from Russia. English people know something about Russia, but not very much and not very well. I'd like to explain more, especially through music."

When I mention that there is a variety of different sounds peppering his two albums, Sergey drops some Robbie Williams "The Ego Has Landed"/McFly "Just My Luck" type news into the conversation...

"Actually we are releasing the album here (in the UK) on the 26th May and it will be a mix from my first two albums. I will choose the songs that really sound the most 'now'. I have to choose carefully because the first album was released two years ago and recorded even longer ago - but I wanted to do this mix because I believe that there are a few songs on the first album that are very strong and modern, even now."

When talking about one of the key ways to break into the UK, Sergey and I discuss his current club dates and how they compare and contrast to work he has done back home in Russia...

"We have a few club shows in different areas and to different audiences. I was quite surprised that in one of the clubs it was for under 18 year olds, which I believe is quite common in England. We don't have that in Russia and then I was told that you even do school tours in England! I was actually very nervous but the children were very excited and I got excited, and relaxed a little bit and actually the performance went very well. Girlfriend (which is released in May) has already started in clubs."

I mention that it must be a huge difference to perform in these clubs to say, performing Flyer in the Eurovision finals. When Sergey raises an eyebrow as if to say "you saw that??" i tell him it is on youtube, and he nods 'of course!' - a theme that will return several times later in the chat...

" I recorded that song especially for Eurovision and we didn't have a lot of time to put the performance together. My dancers and I had about a week to do it, and everyone thought we did a great job and that it went very well. We are not going to do it here, but today we are going to wear the costumes as they are very nice costumes and especially at Heaven, I think they will love it! Eurovision was a great opportunity to show my song to a russian audience and also to compete. Sometimes when you are an established famous artist, you don't always have the feeling of a challenge. This is why I did it as well as tv shows like Dancing on Ice and Circus With The Stars. I need that challenge. I need something more."


And i'd be happy to give it to him, but there really isn't time :P Already Sergey is moving on to talk about his opinions on Eurovision...

"People had been asking me for about 3 years now to do Eurovision and i had said no. It's a very different type of show - it's one day and no one really remembers you afterwards. It's a different type of contest to how it used to be and it has a different image. [I mention that in England it's not taken particularly seriously] - oh but in Russia it is VERY serious [and Europe - particularly Sweden?] Yes yes yes - Sweden! In fact one of my dancers is from Sweden which is where I went to record the song. Actually my dancer was more upset than anyone else that we didn't get through to Eurovision because he wanted to dance in the contest, but i'm okay with it. Russia took it very seriously and if you win the contest from that date til next year you are a superstar - but then everyone will forget about you. And it's hard to move on from there because you always have the stamp of Eurovision."

It stikes me that actually music and activities Sergey makes for a specific audience are - thanks to the internet - now global commodities. I ask him if he enhances the power of the internet, or just lets it happen naturally (after the interview we briefly chat about pop sites he looks at and I know a surprising amount of them. I'm looking at you PPG!)...

"I think it's natural for people to discuss music and some people will like you and some will not. It's impossible to assume that everyone wil like you. I do think it was better when people wrote letters and had more 'secrets' [like no one gets to go the shops anymore and buy a single by their favourite artist that they are hearing for the first time?] Yes yes yes! Everything has to be so open! [Like Britney Spears?] Like Britney Spears! Every move is documented. And she is more famous for her private life now than she is for her music. Which might be ok now, but in a few years she will have to do something about the music."

As Sergey drinks his peppermint tea (it's good for his vocal chords), I'm eager to discuss Dancing on Ice as I'm such a huge fan. We chat a little about the current series and the popstars that come in 3rd or 4th place. Not second like Sergey which elicits a laugh and a "of course"! I'm interested to know whether he suffered any injuries that seem to dog the UK version...

"It actually was quite dangerous - i didn't break my leg or anything, but I did take it all the routines very seriously. I spent a lot of time practising on the ice because I really like this show and I am really happy that I took part. After this show people looked at me in a different way and had a better idea of what i was trying to represent. Actually I did almost win the show. The judges did actually award me first place, but the audience voted me second. But what happened was the voting was not very, um, 'clear' and it turned out to be even better because after I did a tour across Russia and every person I met said they thought i was the best, and all I could say was thank you thank you!"

Ooo voting scandals in reality tv shows? That's very ITV isn't it?! I ask Sergey if he still skates, and he replies that of course he can but doesn't always have the time. Straight after the show he did his tour and then Circus with the Stars which I am also anxious to hear more about...

"I actually won Circus with the Stars which was great as I wanted to do different directions, expand my experience. They are doing the second season of Circus now and after I get back from England I will be doing a new performance for the show. You can check the old performances on youtube - I did several categories: Clown, working with animals, acrobatics, trapeze and illusionist. I did a lot of things, but my favourite was trapeze. So i'm sure it will be on youtube because I am going to do trapeze again. Check it out!"

I promise to do that and can't help but think how great it must be to have been a Sergey fan and follow him on all these shows. Simon Curtis take notice - movie, soundtrack, dancing on ice, and UK tour please. I ask Sergey who he is a fan of....

"I've always liked Robbie Williams [though later reveals he doesn't like the tag "Russian Robbie"!] and I like Justin [ i love how Justin is now a one name commodity!], Kanye West, Chris Brown and Usher. [A lot of r'n'b?] Um, it's just more 'now'. I like pop music and I like dance pop music and i think it will never die - it will exist forever. People are passionate about pop music, they like to drink and dance and have fun to it, so pop music will never die."

As I am obsessed with artists doing the occasional cover of other artists songs, I ask Sergey if he will do a cover for his third album or whether Shattered Dreams was the last one for the time being?

Sergey performing Earth Song

"I did a famous song for my first album by Michael Jackson called Earth Song. Maybe I will do something for the third album. I like to take a song that was popular ten years ago or whenever and turn it into something more modern. [I purport that Shattered Dreams wasn't an obvious choice for a cover version] No! Whenever I start to play it here everyone starts to dance because they know it, but yes in Russia the adults they may recognise the song but not who sang it. They always think it was Duran Duran! Teenagers though it is totally new for. Shattered Dreams is still really big in Russia and I was on the Song of the Year award show. It's rare for a song in English to be on the show because the Russian tv channels don't like to play English music. But sometimes they have no choice - the song was popular and people wanted to hear it. "

And sadly with that my brief time with Sergey was up. We had a quick chat about what he likes about England (White Chocolate Mochas with cream on top and the cold but sunny weather); weird blogs that want to be his best friend; the crapness of the name "zavvi"; and me trying to persuade him to perform Flyer at his PA that night (he agrees to consider it, and actually does sing it! Woo hoo! The power of fizzypop rules!). Then he tells me of his plans for his upcoming birthday (April 1st - i don't ask for an invite as I don't want to be one of these weird blogs he mentions :P ) and has to dash off for a radio interview. And i'm left totally enamoured with this super talented yet down to earth and friendly chap. Marvelous.

ESSENTIAL LINKS:
Sergey's UK Music site
My review of TV Show
TV Show makes PPGs top 50 albums of 2007
Sergey Fansite (For the Americas - great site, check it out!)

Slightly edited mp3 audio of interview

Thanks to Lander PR!

It's been a ridiculously busy week and I was going to write about lots of things but never really got around to it, so I am going to chuck them all together in a nice little casserole for you all here. Eat up, it's tasty goodness...

London and I fell out this week. I've always viewed London as the slightly hoity toity brother I don't really get on with and quite honestly only go there for the musicals and a little S&M (Simon and Mark you pervs). Weds there were too many people, walking too slowly, the tubes were too hot, i had a headache etc, etc. However, I have made peace with The Feeling picking Without You as the second single over the title track of their album. It's a lovely chilled little number where they are missing "london town" (oh dear) and Dan and Richard look perfectly adorable in the video. I still want Join With Us as a single though - there is this incredible moment at around 4 minutes where it launches into this guitar riff that reminds me Phantom of the Opera before going all Uninvited piano solo. Gives me chills every time (check out XO's and TBFKADT's views)...

I'm almost too gay to function right now... After watching Connie and Carla (AGAIN!) with the increasingly svelte and buff Dazpanteloons last night, and deciding once again that I would totally turn it into an international hit stage musical, I finally got to listen to the stage version of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert soundtrack on the way to work. And it's a fucking marvel. All 70s and 80s classics disco'd up and done broadway style. It's too amazing to write about fully here but expect to hear more on it from me soon...

There are three acts that will restore the balance to my pop group world very shortly. One I have already written about will be massive international girl group pop, one I mentioned before very briefly under their original name SoundFactory (but now have a new name) will bring back poptastic boyband music, and there is a very ace new Steps-lite group floating around too. Expect full revelations next week....

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and ace writing are two reasons i'm excited about The Tudors returning on Monday, but then again there is also Henry Cavill. Rar indeed....

"Just A Minute" - Rongedal: and it takes just a minute to enjoy the sheer catchiness of this song!!
"Love In Stereo" - Ola: better than Sibel. Don't you agree?
"Lay Your Love On Me" - BWO: come on, let's start a campaign to get this released over here!!
"Bang On The Piano" - Jack McManus: catchy, radio-friendly tune by yet another talented curly-haired singer-songwriter...
"Black and Gold" - Sam Sparro: my 'single of the year' so far, and good news this week as it's gone into the UK chart at no. 23. Can't wait for his album.
"I'm Good I'm Gone" - Lykke Li: will review her album on this here blog very soon. 'New Robyn' tag may be justified if this is anything to go by.
"Homecoming" - Kanye West featuring Chris Martin: got the iPod on shuffle again this week, and it likes this a lot. And so, still, do I.
"If Only" - KT Tunstall: I'm still not a fan, but I liked this song for a while and didn't know who it was. That's two of her songs I've liked now.
"Fascination" - Alphabeat: still enjoying this, although now completely overlooked by my local radio stations.
"Come On Girl" - Taio Cruz: and this one too, no-one's playing it but I'm making up for it with repeated plays on the iPod.
"Beli Jablan" - Aleksa Jelic & Ana Stajdohar: sometimes you just need a cheesy Serbian disco-pop tune to dance around to. This is it.

Thanks to Modfab!

STEP 1) Pick a musical artist
STEP 2) With only SONG NAMES, cleverly answer these questions...
STEP 3) No repeating song names...


THE SONG MEME - DEBORAH GIBSON STYLE:

1.) Are you a male or female? -- Any Other Man
2.) Describe your self? -- Red Hot
3.) Describe your day? -- Too Fancy
4.) Describe where you currently live -- Streets of London
5.) If you could go anywhere, where would you go -- Down That Road
6.) Your best friend is -- My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
7.) Your favorite colour is -- Out Of The Blue
8.) You know that -- We Could Be Together
9.) What's the weather like? -- Don't Rain On My Parade
10.) If your life was a television show, what would it be called? -- Famous
11.) What is life to you? -- M.Y.O.B!
12.) What is the best advice you have to give? -- Shake Your Love
13.) Describe your ex? -- Fallen Angel
14.) Your current relationship status? -- Sounds Like Love
15.) What's your favorite hobby? -- Shock Your Mama
16.) When you think of your friends? -- Wishing You Were Here
17.) What do your friends think of you? -- We Could Be Together
18.) What does your current love interest think of you? -- Wake Up To Love
19.) You always travel with? -- People
20.) The best way to end a long day? -- Sex
21.) Your occupation is? -- Electric Youth
22.) When you grow up, you want to? -- Raise The Roof
23.) What does your family think of you? -- Anything is Possible
24.) Your favorite food is? -- Eating To Be Social
25.) You want to be remembered as? -- Naked

This guy and I get down and dirty in his most in-depth UK interview to date...

Any new song by Lady Madonna is bound to attract intense scrutiny from fans, media and of course the ever-so -caustic element of the blogging world. It's been 3 years since Madonna embraced disco with her Abba-sampling "Hung Up" and the dance til you drop album Confessions On The Dancefloor. Since then she's adopted a baby, signed a new deal and recorded a song for the Live Earth concerts called Hey You. Dubbed Hey Poo by the fans, it certainly wasn't her finest moment. And while i was one of the very few people who quite liked leaked "The Beat Goes On" (Instrumentation!), it didn't bode well for the forthcoming album Hard Candy. But then this little gem dropped on an unsuspecting public...

And clearly I like it. A great deal. It is indeed my most overplayed song on my mp3 player at this very moment. Much like the insiduous r'n'b tinged groove Secret did for Bedtime Stories 14 years ago, this song sets out the manifesto for the forthcoming album. It's a persistant r'n'b dance groove, full of trumpeted horns, dirty backroom (dark room?!) rhythms and of course the delectable synth fuelled chorus, where Madonna trades lines with hot pop boy de jour Justin Timberlake. And it's all very exciting and thrilling to listen to. Clearly, Madonna wanted a song that was contemporary AND that radio would pick up on. And with this she has that. My problem with it however, is that it doesn't stand up as unique and as goosebumps inducing as some of her other lead off singles that were dripping in innovation and style (think of when you first heard Like A Prayer, Vogue or Erotica). That doesn't mean it's not a good song - it means Madonna is a victim of her own success and the high standards she has (unwittingly?) set for herself. This is a good tune, a fun tune, a danceable tune - but it could have been equally as successful sung by Nelly Furtado or Gwen Stefani. I'm wondering when Madonna chose to follow the current pack of female faves rather than lead it?



I have no doubt that the song will be a success (it's already number 7 in the UK top 40)- but would it not have been more exciting if Madonna were to have come back with something similar to this years most hypnotic electro groove to date? I'm talking about the spine tingling magic Sam Sparro has created on the outstanding track Black and Gold. Full of slow building and crackling synths, his voice shepherds in a new era of pop that pays homage to the past with a firm eye on the future. It's all quite lovely and all quite exciting. So while I remain true to Four Minutes and eagerly anticipate Hard Candy, i long for Madonna to take the reigns of pop again and usher in a brand new era...

Stream Four Minutes here...

Coming soon - my favourite Madonna moments...

If you are a red blooded woman, you have probably noticed that you have been popping up all over the web recently with the onslaught of your perfectly lovely pop-thrill-tastic electro tinged songs of goodness. You probably read about yourself on girl band loving DontStopThePop, Pop of the Justice (their forum contributors are sometimes so fucking vile) and even press release lover Arjan Writes... However, if you are not a red blooded woman and this media excitement has passed you by, you can catch up by reading my first post on them here, see them all wise and man like in my 2007 Christmas card and of course I'm sure that DSTP featured them earlier too but I can't find a post...

Anyway, I finally got a chance to digest their newer tunes properly today and boy were they tasty. I was driving up to Preston (the place not the Ordinary Boy) and was in a dance flavoured pop mood, so exhausted the latest singles by Girls Aloud and Sugababes and popped on new tracks by Red Blooded Women. First up was i-will-be-so-mad-if-this-ain't-the-first-single Colour Me Dirty - which features a rather brilliant sample of Yazoo Don't Go. The sample doesn't make the song, the girls do that fine on their own, but it certainly makes it a catchy tune that stands up alongside other sample heavy hits like Beware Of The Dog and SOS for sheer glee and popposity. Their voices blend seamlessly together like a finely tuned instrument that complements the swirling bassline and plinking instrumentation. All in all it's a song that is drenched in pop goodness and deserves a much wider audience - if only because i am dying to see a perfectly choreographed dance routine by a selection of fine male backing dancers. (Note to RBW - I will be happy to audition the blokes for you to save time)! Also available for listening is the marvelous Synthesizer - that mixes early Madonna (think Borderline and Lucky Star) with pre mental Britney (think Toxic and Overprotected), adds a smidge of all things 80s, sautees it with some throbbing Prince bass and synths and then glazes the whole thing off with a fiery addictive chorus that will have you saying no to rehab as no one would want to be cured of this fine habit. And therein the girls have the kahonas to have two excellent first singles and launch the best new girl group since the Sugas and Alouders first popped on their slutty silk knickers. Super dooper....

And as I was in a dancey driving mood, here is what finished off my dance-pop soundtrack:

• Jesse McCartney ~ Leaving (Bimbo Jones radio mix) (Dreadful - strips the song of its faux reggae Ace of Base/Shayne Ward charm...)
• BWO ~ Lay Your Love On Me (Soundfactory radio edit) (just what you'd expect - as perfectly aligned with BWO as sleazesisters were with Steps)
• Mariah Carey ~ Touch My Body (Craig C radio mix) (is it very wrong that I am loving this song more and more each day)
• Belle Lawrence ~ I Thought It Was Over (Almighty mix) (ups the disco ante of the original song by The Feeling to the nth degree)
  

Well, for a start he appears on Swedish rapper Form One's new song "Money" which you can hear at http://www.formoneonline.com/ and like everything else Vincent's involved in, it's got a very catchy chorus with that "money money money money money" hookline. I'm not sure how well this will do - it's possibly the worst time of year to release a single in Sweden as the Sverige Topplistan is swamped by everything Melodifestivalen - but it's well worth a listen.

Vincent's official website http://www.vincent.cd/ also reports that "Miss Blue" is being released in Germany and has been added to NRJ radio's playlist. He will also be doing promotional stuff over there in April/May. It's all going very well for him just now - he deserves international success!

Hello all and happy Easter to you! I hope you all had lots of fun. The weather has been freezing here in England so Darren and I have been snuggled up watching epic films like King Kong and Carry On Matron. The nasty weather has also given me time to finally finally sort out my blogging. All the pertinent posts from thezapping blogspot and thezapping dot com are now here at my new spiritual home FizzyPop! And if you cast your eyes right, they are all indexed nice and neatly for you to find old posts much easier. After a hideous start to 2008, burn out with the html-difficult zapping and general exhaustion, I feel ready to blog again - so thanks to my friends who have put up with my random posts here for the past month or so. You can now go tell it on the mountain that I have risen again. Or something less sacriligeous. And let me know what you think of the index features!

Coming this week: Some aces news from Simon Curtis; Something VERY exciting in the form of Sergey Lazarev; plus thoughts on Sam Sparro, The Kooks Konk and probably some other stuff.

FIZZYPOP CHART MAGIC w/e 23rd March 2008

21 ~ Sergey Lazarev, Everytime
20 ~ Simon Curtis, Another Heartache
19 ~ Ferras, Hollywood's Not America
18 ~ Kylie, Wow
17 ~ The Feeling, Without You
16 ~ Duffy, Mercy
15 ~ James Blunt, Same Mistake
14 ~ The Feeling, I Thought It Was Over
13 ~ Shayne Ward, Stand By Your Side
12 ~ Sugababes, Denial
11 ~ Jonathan Fagerlund, Playing Me
10 ~ Blake Lewis, Got To Get Her
09 ~ Idina Menzel, Brave
08 ~ Maroon 5, Goodnight Goodnight
07 ~ Girls Aloud, Can't Speak French
06 ~ Alphabeat, Fascination
05 ~ David Jordan, Sun Goes Down
04 ~ Jason Mraz, I'm Yours 08
03 ~ Leona Lewis, Better In Time
02 ~ Jesse McCartney, Leaving
01 ~ Madonna ft Justin Timberlake, 4 Minutes... (New entry/1 week)

Can I add Jack McManus to the list of people I want to rave about?

"Bang On The Piano" is rather fab, isn't it!! The video has now been added to The Box playlist and if you haven't seen/heard this then head over to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMla35_YWoM for a fine old slice of radio-friendly pop which is out on 21st April and which (I will foolishly predict!) will do major damage in the top 40 in the next few weeks. Jack is yet another one of these solo singer-songwriters (many of whom are also called Jack!!) but I am really impressed with what I've heard so far. Check out his MySpace (www.myspace.com/jackmcmanus) for some more of his fine tunes including "Not The Hardest Part" and "You Think I Don't Care" and "Either Side of Midnight".

No Retro Saturday this week...it will be back next week though.

Because it's Easter weekend, (and I'm on holiday till Tuesday) I thought I'd share a few things that make me laugh.

First one tonight is the mighty Dr Evil with some good advice....Zip It!



Next..."how did those pig tracks get on the ceiling?"



Who needs John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John when you've got Arthur Mullard & Hylda Baker? Sadly this is not the full song but it's better than nothing!!



Next, "Wonderwall" revisited easy-listening-style by the Mike Flowers Pops:



A bit of "Little Britain" now. I thought I'd go for a 'Mr Mann' sketch rather than the more obvious ones :) MARGARET!!!

"Coronation Street" is now a long long way from its former glories. This year the soap has controversially been overlooked for a BAFTA award nomination. What’s wrong with it? Well...ridiculous storylines (Michelle’s ‘two sons’ - aaaarrgggghhh!!!) and a lack of humour, that’s what’s wrong with it. Too much emphasis on the boring Platts, the latest instalment being demon-David pushing his tedious mother Gail down the stairs. Yawn, and, er, yawn again.


I began watching "Hollyoaks" last summer, mainly because my (much younger/target audience) work colleagues kept raving on about how good it was. Well I’m still watching, and still enjoying, this very underrated saga of the beautiful, bed-hopping young folks of Chester. It manages to combine the dramatic, the humorous and the trivial. Most recently, the whole Jake/Nancy/Charlie storyline has been gripping. Corrie, watch and learn.


"Harry Hill’s TV Burp" is still the funniest thing anywhere on British TV at the moment, but he seems to polarise opinion - you either love or hate him. Well, his show is certainly my "TV Highlight of the Week"!

I’ve been catching up on "Coach Trip" on Sky Real Lives, which is a kind of Big-Brother-By-Bus, as a group of intrepid travellers visit various European countries by bus and at the end of each show there’s an eviction vote!



"I’d Do Anything" started last week - it’s the latest Andrew Lloyd Webber casting show (following the very good "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria" and the fabulous "Any Dream Will Do") this time they’re searching for a Nancy and an Oliver to fill the roles in a new production of "Oliver!" I don’t expect this series to have the magic of the previous two, mainly because I don’t really like child performers. As for the adults....well the blubbing and sobbing tonight was too over the top for me. Get a grip, dry your eyes and toughen up, people!
Anyway who’s our favourite Nancy so far? Well, you know that EuropeCrazy is the home of appreciation for curly haired men, so let’s hear it for a curly haired girl too - GO JESSIE!!!






Thank goodness "Dancing on Ice" is over. It’s one of those shows which I don’t like, but I still watch it. (A bit like X Factor!) Not happy, not happy, really not happy with the result this year. Chris Fountain should have won and not Suzanne Shaw. Boooo.





"Boston Legal" remains my favourite TV show from the USA, and season 4 is currently running on Living TV. You’d think it would have gone stale by now, but the formula is so slick and funny and sharp that it could run and run. Well scripted, well acted, with such a mischievous sense of fun - if you haven’t seen it you are missing out.



Living TV is also currently showing an underrated little series called "Army Wives" which I rather enjoy. It took me a while to get to know the characters but now I’m enjoying this undemanding soapy drama about, well, army wives. Good show with lots of potential.

Many people say that "ER" jumped the shark a long time ago, and admittedly its best days are behind it, but I still enjoy watching this American hospital drama. The ‘Abby’s return to alcoholism’ storyline is getting a little drawn out now and it’s got a lot more soapy in recent series (to compete with the now more successful "Grey’s Anatomy" perhaps?) Yet there is something about "ER" that keeps me watching series after series.

"Fascination" - Alphabeat: Yes I know it's old news, but I came late to the party and it took me a while to appreciate this, but now I absolutely love it. At last a great pop song in the top 10!
"Lay Your Love On Me" - BWO: unquestionably my fave MF song of this year and expect it to be in this playlist for a long time to come.
"Love In Stereo" - Ola: And likewise this too. It shouldn't really work but it does, and is yet another one which will have a long life after MF.
"Line Of Fire" - E-Type & The Poodles: yes I expect ridicule for including this one but I think the studio version works better than the live one.
"Just A Minute" - Rongedal: extremely catchy song. Yes it's reminiscent of M**a and also the S*****r S*****s but what's really wrong with that?
"Black and Gold" - Sam Sparro: this is a truly fantastic record which I'm nowhere near getting tired of.
"Beli Jablan" - Aleksa Jelic & Ana Stajdohar: been watching this lots and lots of times this week on YouTube. I decided to check out some of Aleksa's other stuff and I've decided he's now my favourite Serbian popstar!
"This Corrosion" - Sisters of Mercy: got my iPod on shuffle play and this week it seems to like this a lot. From the days when 'goth' music was good, and not the corporate pop-with-eyeliner it is today. Yes I'm getting old.
"Point of View" - DB Boulevard: another oldie, this time from 2002, which still sounds rather good. Whatever happened to their singer Moony? I liked that "Dove (I'll Be Loving You)" song she had out as well.
"Come On Girl" - Taio Cruz: although this is still in the top 10 I'm extremely annoyed that my local radio station's still not playing this, yet we still get Duffy, Adele, Rihanna etc about 20 times a day.

Apologies for the lack of new music in the playlist: I'm still gripped by Melodifestivalen fever and probably will be for some time yet. :)

Yes it's "Loved-Up Swedes Week" here at EuropeCrazy and I can only echo what Poster Girl has said about Sweden's latest showbiz couple - none other than Måns Zelmerlow and Marie Serneholt...

...Poptastic!

Yes, Aftonbladet reported today that these two rather fab Swedish pop stars are now a couple. Congratulations - and we hope that they'll be very happy together.

About fucking time. Don't they look gorgeous??

Things you should know before I get on with today's post...

~ The four minute version of the Madonna featuring the rest of the world track "Four Minutes" is actually quite marvelous indeed. As is Miles Away. Hurrah. Expect blogger to go into meltdown as people dissect every single second of it. Quite rightly so too...
~ Suzanne Shaw quite rightly won Dancing On Ice last night. Although Chris Fountain performed better during the series, he was strangely off his game yesterday and Suzanne was quite incandescent.
~ Run Fat Boy Run (the film starring Simon Pegg) is very lovely and bought a tear to my eye. Plus outstanding use of the Tom Baxter track "Better"
~ I finally got and listened to Ferras' album. Stunning. More later in the week...

OK ~ on with the singles selections. All from potential eurovision entrants in Sweden and other places. Which frankly is why England will never again win the bloody thing again because instead of using the cream of our talent, we use has been acts and half assed songs. Oh well.

Sergey Lazarev ~ Flyer: Everything about this track not only screams "amazing eurovision song" but also bloody batters you down with it's amazing aceness as a generally flabbergasting popsong. I like how the verses are slightly more muted at the start before a disco beat kicks in and a frenetic chorus blasts forth with its dance club vibe and Sergey's built for the world of pop vocals. Incredible...

Ola ~ Love In Stereo: I had Ola's album for the longest time without every paying much attention to it. Then in January when I needed some ace pop music to brighten up the post Christmas blues, Ola answered my SOS (see what I did there) and provided some quite serviceable music. This song is less club-y than Sergey but I totally dig the bagpipes sound in the middle and the drum driven chorus is a total winner...

Rongedal ~ Just A Minute: I wonder what what would happen if the Scissor Sisters had a brief but sordid affair with Mika and the baby was delivered by a midwife who used to be in Abba? Well gay twins would be born and produce a funky honky tonk piano driven song with "ooos" in the chorus and influences from all of the aforenamed acts. Possibly the best song to listen to if you want a big smile on your face. Plus an in your face cheesy key change puts it totally OTT> PS - that's a good thing...

Therese Anderson ~ When You Need Me: I haven't really had any reason to bother with Therese or Pay-TV, but when poppostergirl mentioned that this song was written by my beloved Evan (who, actually, is making the music that Erasure should currently be making) I had to check it out, and rather bonza it is too. Dramatic erasure-esque pop fills the verses before gears switch vocally and an operatic driven chorus leads the song to exaltation. It shouldn't work at all but actually it does and brilliantly so. Seeing as I love Evan, I shall chalk that up to his brilliance, but acknowledge the brill vocals too.

And of course, yesterday I wrote about the aceness of BWO's song and I couldn't possibly top Poppostergirls raves on Charlotte Perelli's Hero (what the hell is schlager anyway?!), but they add to this crazy little concoction of sounds that all wanted to enter Eurovision. Good luck Andy Abrahams. You are SO going to need it...

One of the things that kept the "other (time consuming, html-ly difficult and somewhat expensive) blog" going was my obsessions with things. Be it books (harry potter, the faerie wars, Wicked, Georgia Nicholson diaries), movies (Love, Actually, Stardust, Hairspray, Enchanted), clothes (Gap, ASOS, Jack Jones), friends (too many to mention), decent blogs (again far too many to mention) or music (Deborah Gibson, Simon Curtis, Maroon 5, The Feeling et al) it's the stuff that drives my world each day. Putting down thoughts on those things here serves as almost a diary of my obsessions (some last forever, some are fleeting) for you poor folk to read/ignore... So I thought today I would catch up on a few of my ongoing obsessions....

~Most people know by now that the lovely to look at and listen to Jason Mraz is back. 2 years ago his lovely demo song (on the cd single for Wordplay) "I'm Yours" soundtracked the preparations and big day for Darren and my civil partnership. The lyrics are perfect for a romantic occassion but i have to say I was a bit dubious about him rerecording it for a comeback single. Still, the studio version totally works (it's in my top 5 played tracks of the week 2 years after it first was!) and the video (above) is this lovely laid back collection of live life to the full feel good mini pieces of art. Just lovely. Also quite smashing is his contribution to Randy Jackson's compilation with Jon McLaughlin called Something To Believe In...
~ Adem will be pleased to know that the new singles by SugaAloud have reignited my passion for their respective albums. I quite adore the Sugababes "Denial" video (love the Mutya's fleeting cameo at 1m36s :P) and the french language version of Can't Speak French by the Girls has me all in a bilingual tizzy of delight. One minor gripe though - the video for that track reuses choreography from Biology and looks like a sluttier version of this...

~ While David Archeluta fulfils my adorable future popstar quota on the current series of American Idol, those gorgeous little munchkins Same Difference FINALLY release their debut single on April 21st. As I've said before I really couldn't care what they release at this point so enamoured am I. I'm just hoping a fabbo pop album follows. The above clip just totally encapsulates how edible these crazy kids are :P
~ I still totally get BWO, even though they get slated for putting out similar sounding releases time after time. However, when the music is as enjoyable as this abba-pastiche-meets-Madonna's-Sorry/HungUp, then frankly I don't really care. Lay Your Love On Me is a great pop tune, though I'm not quite ready to give up on the Fabricator album yet. I think that Last Flight To San Francisco would make a GREAT single and video...

~ While I was have a gay old time in The Vegas, Ruthiepoos (who is really ill at the moment with bronchitis. Poor ruthie) and her soon to be civil partner Lou went to see The Feeling perform in Birmingham. They said the concert was utterly fabbo and that the cover of Electric Dreams (above) was just knock your socks off spit in your face fantastic. I am warming to the idea of Without You as 2nd single from the fine Join With Us album. Plus Dan GS looks great and talks a good game in his attitude cover shoot article this month...
~ Not so sure about Maroon 5 releasing Goodnight Goodnight as the 4th (and probably final) single from their IWBSBL album... Personally, I would have either gone for the tender Better That We Break or rollicking ballbuster If I Never See Your Face Again. Oh well, as long as Adam looks good in the video, what does it really matter?

~ Rob Thomas is a whore! So sayeth Piz and me a little bit. I wasn't totally won over by the season four promo available on the season 3 dvd boxset of Veronica Mars (I have my own thoughts on how season four should've gone and have a whole post prepared if anyone is interested?) and i'm even less enamoured to read that Mr Thomas is involved in a spinoff of Beverley Hills 90210. Really? Picture me with look of puzzlement on my face and VERY raised eyebrows. Much more satisfying is the news that his critically beloved (by me) low rated Cupid show from the 90s is getting a second shot at fame. Hurrah, etc.
~ The ever excellent and trashy Gossip Girl debuts in England on ITV2 on March 27th. I love how the male stars are totally at ease with their growing gay fanbase (who have dubbed them the Gossip Gays). None of this Blake Lewis "worst rumour? That I'm gay" nonsense for them. Indeed look how lovely they are on the cover of Out magazine. Yummers.

See? A whole post about obsession and I didn't even mention Simon Curtis and his magnificent collection of Alter Boy music. Maybe next time..... :P

Everything has a beginning....everything comes to an end. Appropriate really that 2008's Eurovision national finals season ended tonight in Stockholm, with the final of what (to me) is the best national song contest anywhere - Melodifestivalen. (17.03.08 - I've updated this post with some photos now).

A fabulous webstream (I did have some technical, computer-related problems tonight - all unrelated to MF) which meant I missed the first 10 minutes, but these now resolved and once more well done to SVT for producing a weekly must-see spectacular. Counting the days till the DVD drops through my letterbox.

Today Aftonbladet published results of a poll which said that a vast majority of the Swedish public want to see Kristian Luuk presenting MF in 2009. And why not? He's great.

Only an hour to go and I'm getting so excited!!

I'm quite happy with the final line-up (apart from the dire Christer joke-song), although I'd have been happier if Ola had made the final, but at least the final is Carola-free and that can only be a good thing.

I know lots of other people out there are doing predictions for tonight, so here are mine.

10th place - "I Love Europe" - Christer Sjogren.
Too many joke entries at ESC this year already, and I can confidently predict (ha ha ha) that this will be at the bottom of the scoreboard tonight.

9th place - "Upp O Hoppa" - Frida & Headline.
I quite liked this when it qualified however I think they will lack the sufficient fanbase to get a result tonight and the occasion might just be too big for them.

8th place - "Thank You" - Amy Diamond.
Another early qualifier whose novelty has now worn off although she will still have a few fans out there, but not enough to get her above 8th place.

7th place - "I Lågornas Sken" - Nordman.
Now I like this but again there are too many stronger entries tonight and this will probably be too, um, "Swedish" to do better, I can't see it pulling off a Roger Pontare-style shock win.

6th place - "Just A Minute" - Rongedal.
My second favourite song of the contest (behind BWO of course) and will pick up a few votes thanks to the boys' enthusiasm and professionalism, but still visually offputting.

5th place - "Hur Svårt Kan Det Va" - Linda Bengtzing.
This song probably turned me into a Linda fan. Again her enthusiasm will translate into votes, however there are too many other schlager-divas tonight who will steal votes from her.

4th place - "That Is Where I'll Go" - Sibel.
Not a favourite of mine I admit (and she kept Ola out of the final, boooo) but she does have a good voice. Poor draw position though - and performing after Charlotte may either inspire or destroy her.

3rd place - "Lay Your Love On Me" - BWO.
Just like Alcazar, it seems that BWO are destined never to win Melodifestivalen. If it was up to me....oh well it's not, and I'll just have to live with that fact. This is utterly poptastic but I can't really see it getting a better result tonight. Good draw position though!

2nd place - "Empty Room" - Sanna Nielsen.
Schlager-diva who always gives it her all, this will get the 'Sarah Dawn Finer result' this year, i.e. a ballad among the uptempo numbers. This is a real challenger, although I've never really been a fan of hers but credit where it's due, she does this rather well.

And the winner will be....

"Hero" - Charlotte Perrelli. Well what else can I say, this screamed 'WINNER' from the first time I heard it and it still does. She is a very strong, professional performer and this has all the ingredients for a Melodifestivalen winner. And it will win tonight. Absolutely.

After a few quite stagnant weeks in the Sverige Topplistan singles chart, Amanda Jenssen’s "Do You Love Me" has finally been knocked off the top spot. Guess what’s no.1? None other than "Hero" by Charlotte Perrelli, with Sanna Nielsen’s "Empty Room" at no. 2. Is this an omen for Saturday night perhaps?

Yes, Melodifestivalen fever has hit the Topplistan now that the songs are available to buy. Other MF acts in the top 40 chart this week: E-Type and The Poodles (no.3), Velvet (no.9), Linda Bengtzing (no.10), Fronda (no.11), Sibel (no.12), Nordman (no.13), BWO (what, only no.16?), Andra Generationen (no.18), Johnson & Häggkvist (no.25), Patrik Isaksson & Bandet (no.29), Suzzie Tapper (no.33), Calaisa (no.35), Frida & Headline (no.39). Not much room for anything else eh!!

Next week I’ll probably write about some of the non-MF stuff in the chart, there are a few new songs around and I need to check them out.