Lopez Blogs

This post should have gone up yesterday, but then I got all distracted by the X Factor. Then I got distracted by all the palava about the X Factor autotune malarky. Crikey. And then I spent far too long gazing at the new Robbie Williams single sleeve for Shame (which I shall probably be writing a lot about on Thursday). Then Darren came in looking all sorts of fine, so I know where that led. Then i woke up with a gunky eye and here I am. Better late than never are my six songs for Sunday. On a Monday. Perhaps you can save them for next Sunday. Waffle over...

Six Songs For Sunday:

• CJ Baran ~ Boomerang: You may or may not remember CJ Baran as one part of power pop group Push Play. They made some nice tunes. CJ looked quite nice in a suit. They split up (I think). Fear not, because CJ is actually shining as a solo star. He has managed to put together a collection of stonking tunes that are not only reminiscent of a Dr. Luke sound, but have a definite electro-pop vibe (drenched in funk and disco) about them that just sizzles. BOOMerang is an essential getting ready to go out tune guaranteed to get you singing along and put you in a proper bonza mood. The "boom boom boom" refrain in the chorus is a slice of genius and a semi-rapped middle 8 with wiggly synth noises is incredibly addictive. And if that has whet your appetite for more, be sure to check out his response ditty to California Gurls on youtube. Amazing.
• Mans Zelmerlow ~ Et Maintenant: Oh Mans. You speak French too! Is there no end to your charms?! The dishy Swedish pop star belted out a gorgeous broadway ready version of the French standard this weekend in Sweden. He was backed by a full orchestra giving a grandiose to the proceedings often missing in these popstar performances for tv shows. Even if you don't understand what he is singing about, he imbues the performance with such grace, passion and elegance that it is mesmerising. The dramatic ending is all sorts of wonderful. And yes, that is Marie Serneholt looking on in the first few seconds. Heavenly.

• A1 ~ In Love and I Hate It: A1 are back! Again! This is their third single since their reform as a trio and possibly their best yet. It's definitely their cleverest title so far and that has to count for something does it not? It has a very gentle, acoustic built verse before a sparkling chorus comes flying in and builds into a powerfully propelled not quite ballad with enormous singalong potential. The boys (collectively and individually) have proved they can throw out an amazing pop tune or two and this is a worthy addition to the collection. Some clever lyrics reflect the juxtaposition of the title song (matching love/hate; agony/ecstasy) and the general instrumental perkiness is a nice antidote to the futile situation the boys find themselves in. The voices sound great, the tune is fantastic and it's upped my anticipation levels for a fine new album from the lads.
• Ola ~ Fire: It's pretty relentless when you are a Swedish popstar. Darin's output this year is crazy. Eric is on single 4 from his 3 month old debut album. And Ola has barely finished with his latest EP and he's contributing to the Swedish version of the Camp Rock 2 soundtrack with the funk-hop vibed Fire. It's perfectly in keeping with Ola's recent output so sits nicely in his discography and he looks great singing along with Mohammed and Endre in the video. It's Disney with an everso miniscule pop-cool edge and I love it :)

• Westlife ~ Viva La Vida/You Raise Me Up: Oh Westlife. 11 years on and I still adore you. Despite the woeful lack of promotion of their fine Where We Are album, the boys have been ploughing forward with a series of immense concerts that has culminated with a Steve Anderson produced acoustic set in Dublin. Sadly I wasn't there, but that is what the power of youtube is for! Their cover of Viva La Vida put a different spin on recent versions by Darin and Pet Shop Boys, but perfectly showcased the boys vocal control and was soundtracked by a glorious & sumptuous string section. Mark's vocal is quite spinetingling and as they come out of the instrumental middle 8, the song just flies, soars and majestically floats around the arena. Oh, and their acoustic reading of You Raise Me Up had me goosebumping like crazy. This HAS to be released on dvd :)
• The Hoosiers ~ Who Said Anything (About Falling In Love): I've heard all the buzz and great reviews around the new Hoosiers sound and so of course I had to delve in and try it for myself. Thanks to XO, I have an instant favourite from the album. It's not brilliantly representative of what is on the album, but it is a dramatic pop tune built around some luxurious keyboard riffs, a gentle shuffling beat and then a delicious string section in the chorus. It's vaguely reminiscent of Tears For Fears and if The Feeling have a tune as delightful as this on their next album, I will be over the moon :)

Top 21 singles of the week:

21 ~ Eric Saade, It's Gonna Rain
20 ~ Darin, Can't Stop Love
19 ~ Kylie, All The Lovers
18 ~ Brandon Flowers, Crossfire
17 ~ Same Difference, Shine On Forever
16 ~ Alesha Dixon, Drummer Boy
15 ~ Ace of Base, All For You
14 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Not Giving Up On Love (NE)
13 ~ Maroon 5, Give A Little More (NE/PIC)
12 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, Love Me Cos You Want To
11 ~ McFly, Party Girl
10 ~ Eric Saade, Masquerade
09 ~ Gravitonas, Religious (NE)
08 ~ Scissor Sisters, Any Which Way
07 ~ Bright LightX2, Love Part II
06 ~ Maroon 5, Misery
05 ~ DeeDee, Balls
04 ~ Kylie, Get Outta My Way
03 ~ Kelly Rowland, Shake Them Haters Off
02 ~ Amy Meredith, Lying
01 ~ Darin, Lovekiller (3 weeks)

Coming soon: Gravitonas. Robbie Williams. Gary Barlow. Boybands. McFly.