Lopez Blogs

I love Friday afternoon off. If Friday afternoon off were a hot dude, I would probably be going in for a clumsy first date smooch right about now. It's been a busy week but not an entirely bad one. The highlight was a riotous forty minutes or so, playing some new music on my now regular Larry Flick Morning Jolt slot. So much fun. A lot of time was also spent obsessively analysing queue patterns in Disney World and planning out the Florida trip. I may have overplanned and forgot to schedule "fun" in there... :P Anyway, prior to a mammoth Take That blog tomorrow and of course the monolith that is the X Factor sunday blog, here are some of the things to tide you over through the weekend...

FizzyPop Weekend Supplement:

• Nikita ~ Tonight: I am loving Nikita. Both the new show on The CW which makes me want to pretend I'm a rogue spy bringing down a clandestine government agency and this scintillating Blondie-esque disco track. It's a rather gorgeous, sparkling track that makes you want to grab the one you love and shimmy. Indeed, there is some magnificent layered vocals in the addictive chorus - part of it sounds like an updated I Feel Love while running behind that is the Blondie type Sunday Girl adlibs, all weaved together wonderfully by a pulsating electronica beat. Remember when Annie & Isabel Guzman were going to be the next big dance floor divas? They may have been outdone by Nikita. Instantly massive, this will get dance floors heated through the cold winter months. BTW, I know from personal experience that it sounds absolutely heavenly after 3 glasses of quite expensive wine...
• Annie Lennox ~ Universal Child: Annie Lennox was born on December 25th, ergo I feel she has earned her right to put out her Christmas Cornicopia. This track is the self penned lead single from that forthcoming collection and is an earnest, forthright sweeping song full of inspiring lyrics and a crescendo of instruments that never overshadow that distinctive vocal style. As a charity single it is probably everything that Madonna was trying to achieve with the somewhat weak and watery Hey You. Gets better with each listen and fine for a spin anytime of year. Love it.
• More Christmas albums ~ since I wrote about the upcoming Christmas song releases from various artists here, several more have hit the marketplace including - gasp - one of my fave girl groups Wilson Phillips!! Hurrah! They have done a Christmas album before, but that was back when it was just Carnie and Wendy! I need some Chynna in the mix. Also whipping out festive releases are Lady Antebellum (the boys look f-i-n-e on the cover), Sheryl Crow (a 2010 edition of a previously released album. Ka-ching) and uh, Katherine McPhee. It may only be October, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

• Simon Curtis ~ Since 8 Bit Heart garnered him a ferociously loyal following, it seems like Simon has been working hard to move onto the next stage of his career. He's been busy recording the heavenly Andrea Lewis duet (read about it here; my number one song this week!) and hopefully his new album with apparently some Ace of Base-esque beats on there will be available before Christmas. He's also been involved in the Love is Louder campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the struggles bullied teens go through, and provide them with some support and comfort. Vital stuff. Surely a NoH8 photo shoot must be coming?!
• The Feeling ~ In The Year 2525: Talking of charity, while I impatiently await a 3rd Feeling album (due next year or probably whenever Sophie Ellis Bextor deigns to release hers), they have recorded a rather spiffy version of the Zager & Evans number one hit. It's for the 1969 Key To Change album, which raises money for young homeless people. The track retains the slightly spaced out, hippy-esque vibe of the original, but marries it with the trademark layered vocals of the group and it's certainly nice to have this entirely pleasant stop gap until the new album comes out (or until I can start playing Feels Like Christmas again). Dan sounds positively luscious. As normal...

Top 21 songs of the week:

21 ~ Darin, Lovekiller
20 ~ Jesse McCartney, Shake
19 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Once Upon A Time
18 ~ Maroon 5, Give A Little More
17 ~ Elouise, The Winner Takes It All
16 ~ Nadine Coyle, Insatiable
15 ~ McFly, Shine A Light
14 ~ Charlotte Church, Back To Scratch
13 ~ James Blunt, Stay The Night
12 ~ Westlife, Safe
11 ~ Brandon Flowers, Only The Young
10 ~ JLS, Love You More
09 ~ Gravitonas, Religious
08 ~ Pink, Raise Your Glass
07 ~ Jessie J, Price Tag
06 ~ Robbie Williams, Shame
05 ~ Joe McElderry, Ambitions
04 ~ Shayne Ward, Gotta Be Somebody
03 ~ Robbie Williams, Heart & I
02 ~ Take That, The Flood (VID)
01 ~ Andrea Lewis ft Simon Curtis, Talk To Me (NE/1 Week)

Coming soon: Sat (Take That full video breakdown!); Sun (X Factor Live Shows 2); Mon (A1 & Big Time Rush album reviews)...