Lopez Blogs

What an entirely pleasant weekend it has been. This is clearly a nice change from me moaning about how busy/tired/moody I am, so grab it with both hands and run with it I say. Something called Aphrodite has brightened the world this weekend (it's the spiritual successor to Light Years and a general love letter to pop), and everything else good seems to a glow a little brighter because of it - Scissor Sisters live, a nice Starbucks, Shrek Forever After at the Imax (so pricey!), Chinese meal with the Ace Gang, No-van being evicted on Big Brother (Scabby and K-evil next please), the last Doctor Who episode before Christmas (wrapped up a good year nicely - something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue = silly genius!) and now a nice lazy Sunday. Plus of course the giddy thrill of the lovely Kylie duetting with the Scissters on my current fave from their Night Work album at Glastonbury (above). Even just watching the video and hearing the crowd roar at about 35 seconds gives me huge goosebumps. It's a giddy, glorious pop treat. Heaven.

Magnifico new pop for the remainder of your weekend:

• Didrik Solli-Tangen ~ My Heart Is Yours: I've been meaning to write about this for forever and a day (or at least since Eurovision). Basically Simon Cowell can stop looking for either the next X Factor winner's song or a brillo massive Westlife single because the exquisitely charming Didrik has delivered an elegant, crescendo-ing moment of pop regalness that continues to grow into it's massive and spine tingling finale. Utterly glorious, and lovely Didrik has a rather entertaining blog where he documents nearly every moment of his life with pics and diary entries. Oh and if the above is a bit too pomp and circumstance for you, there are some brilliant dance mixes floating around too...
• Tom Stereo ~ Number One: It's thanks to Scandipop that I've picked up on the latest boy-pop obsession from Sweden. His latest single is a pulsating disco affair that brings the sunshine from outside into wherever you are. Great catchy chorus reminiscent of the great S/A/W days of music, but with a more up to date sound. And if that wasn't pleasing enough, there is a fun key change to spice things up for the final couple of chorus renditions. Brillo and can't wait to hear more...Plus any video montage that starts off as hornily as the above link does it a-ok with me :)
• Ollie Wride ~ Headrush: This one is thanks to Poster Girl who it is entirely fair to say, has become a tad obsessed with young Ollie. There is definitely something about his music that straddles glam rock, electro-synth, the theatricality of the best McFly songs (think Transylvania) and yet is still firmly rooted in pop sensibilities. And that vocal - something really special could come from this guy; at around 2 minutes into Headrush he delivers a gorgeous, flawless vocal which just sends shivers. He certainly knows how to deliver catchy tunes, but there is something more about him that places him above your average generic boy-pop star. Check out his video for an incessantly addictive tune called Pop Music below - it's raw and unrefined and yet...I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just feel amazing things are coming from Ollie Wride :)

Top 21 singles of the week:

Well, like Kylie wasn't going to remain at number one with all the Aphrodite love going on... :P Maroon 5 get their umpteenth top 5 hit with Misery and Darin debuts at 8 with sparklingly lovely Can't Stop This Love. He looks rather dapper in the clip below too so be sure to enjoy that :P And the little Magic Numbers enter at 13 - definitely a grower this one. I love it more and more with each listen...

21 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Circles
20 ~ Lovestoned, Thursdays
19 ~ Gravitonas, Kites
18 ~ Adam Tyler, Friction
17 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, Hearts Don't Lie
16 ~ Kelly Rowland, Commander
15 ~ JLS, The Club Is Alive
14 ~ Bright LightX2, A New Word To Say
13 ~ Magic Numbers, Pulse (NE)
12 ~ The Bang Bang Club, Chemistry
11 ~ LeKid, Mercy
10 ~ Scissor Sisters, Fire With Fire
09 ~ Dirty Disco, White Room
08 ~ Darin, Can't Stop This Love (NE/VID)
07 ~ Chanee & N'Evergreen, In A Moment Like This
06 ~ Brandon Flowers, Crossfire
05 ~ Maroon 5, Misery (NE)
04 ~ Simon Curtis, Beat Drop
03 ~ Same Difference, Shine On Forever
02 ~ Eric Saade, It's Gonna Rain
01 ~ Kylie Minogue, All The Lovers (7 weeks)

Coming Monday ~ a full breakdown of the new Adam Tyler - Friction video :)