Lopez Blogs

AGH! It's Sunday already (unless it's not when you read this - just insert whatever day you are reading it on instead to make it relevant and topical!) which means I totally skipped my "5 Song Friday" post I was going to type up. Oh well. My obsession with Matt Dusk has continued well into the weekend, and his feel good vibe has rubbed off on me ~ some good stuff at work, a nice Saturday with friends and a surprising upgrade on my mobile (cell) phone. Hurrahs all round and on with the songs that stood out this week :)

• Gavin Mikhail ~ The Climb: I like Gavin. He's good honest people :) And he has one of the best, largely undiscovered power ballads in Brave (review here) I've ever heard (that I still think you can download free here). In the meantime and inbetween time (prize if you get that defunct pop group reference!) he has been uploading cover versions of songs to youtube, and his rather lovely reading of the Miley song is very nice indeed. It's quite earnest, got a bit of heart and soul in there and is injected with some personality. See Joe McElderberry, this is how it's done. Now if Gavin could become massive please, I'd be quite happy with that.
• Part Six ~ Showtime: German boyband Part Six have just released their second album (Showtime) and the title track is entirely agreeable. For some reason, it's only out in Poland but if you want to track it down, you can purchase it here. Showtime is an upbeat, funky little pop number that ticks all the boyband boxes such as calling girls "baby", being utterly unthreatening in their sexiness and generally whipping out urban tinged choruses with rather nice harmonies. It's a bit reminiscent of Blue and JLS, but I can't stop singing it and it makes me want to shake my "boo-tay" so that can only be a good thing. Plus the video is ever so reminiscent of the first part of Steps "Stomp", and days of a week in a song always wins me over (as does counting - see Kyrah!) PS their other single from the album, The Love Is Over, is equally bonza. I previously wrote a much wittier post about them here...
• The Wanted ~ All Time Low: Talking of boybands, British ones tend to have quite a hard time breaking through (unless they have been on X Factor and even then there's a FutureProof for every JLS) - indeed this blog is littered with the remains of V, Digital, Pacific Avenue, Switch 22 and Avenue. The latest to win me over and give fame a bash are The Wanted, whose myspace has several clips on of tunes that could do quite well actually if people just gave them a chance. All Time Low is an energetic, pulsating disco throbber with some nice strings, beats and a swirling chorus that is nicely polished - it's almost what Coldplay would sound like if they gave themselves a dance remix. They continue this vibe with tracks like Behind Bars, which is a bit more aggressive and rocky; and they get all serious (as boybands should from time to time) with Heart Vacancy. I'm easily wooed by boybands, I'm eager for a new era of boyband massiveness and if the boys want to woo me more at Nightingales on the 24th, then I'm ok with that :)
• Kyrah ~ Uh Oh Ah: Sometimes you just need a song that grabs you by the shoulders and gives you a darn good shaking. Uh Oh Ah is that song. It's incredibly immediate with it's sliding synths & electro beats, a catchy chorus - with counting!!! - and it's morals-of-an-alley-cat type lyrics. Sure it's a reminiscent of Ke$ha, but I enjoy a good slutty yarn as much as the next bloke and it's a great getting ready to go out song over mimosas. Apparently, according to Poptrashaddicts, there are lots of sexy remixes coming that can only make this aural orgasm groan harder! Score!
• Kameron Martinez ~ Kinkyy: It's so kinky in fact that it deserves an extra 'y' - this completely deserves to be after Kyrah because this addictive, insiduous electro-pop tune is just complete filth telling you all the places and positions he's going to do it with you ("up against the wall/on the kitchen floor/baby tie my hands up give me a little more"). I almost blushed except I've done it all myself :P It's a very minimalistic song, but I'm completely addicted in the same way I was to JC Chasez's All Day Long I Dream About Sex. And in fact, you can download the song legally by clicking this link. Be sure to check this out and then take a cold shower :)
• Allo Darlin ~ Dreaming: What a gorgeous little surprise this is! It's a floating little ditty that is as wistful in the lyrics as it is uplifting in the melody. Adding to the juxtaposition is the delightful female vocal playing off against the hunky deep bass vocal of guest singer Bobby Monster from my adored Pipettes. It's a song that absolutely makes you want to fall in love, and a quirky use of instruments (is that a ukelele?!) keep it fascinating from start to finish. And it's available as a free download! The heavenliness just keeps on coming - can't wait for an album (lovely lovely video is below)...

Top 21 Songs of the Week:

21 ~ Mika, Kick Ass (NE)
20 ~ Alex Gardner, I'm Not Mad
19 ~ Magnus Carlsson, A Little Respect
18 ~ Diana Vickers, Once
17 ~ Music Go Music, Light of Love
16 ~ Elouise, Fireman of my Dreams
15 ~ Eric Saade, Manboy (NE/Acoustic Vid)
14 ~ The Candle Thieves, We're All Gonna Die
13 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Yes Man
12 ~ DeeDee, Endure (NE/Listen Here)
11 ~ Sergey Lazarev, Alarm
10 ~ Mariah Carey, 100%
09 ~ The Pipettes, Stop The Music
08 ~ Alcazar, Headlines
07 ~ Darin, You're Out Of My Life
06 ~ Ola, Unstoppable
05 ~ Neo, Human Frontier
04 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, On A Mission
03 ~ Simon Curtis, Super Psycho Love
02 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Bittersweet
01 ~ Adam Tyler, Friction (1 week/NE)

More on the amazing Adam Tyler song on Thurs - suffice to say, it's true magnificence! Also this week, Thurs 15th is when I'm on Larry Flick next, and the next fizzypop chronicles should be up tomorrow...

There seems to be an increasing amount of focus at the start of each year on which acts are meant to be huge in the upcoming 12 months. Perhaps these lists were always around and I've only just started paying any attention to them? Anyhoo, I quite like these lists - it gives me a few pointers and gets me checking out new talent, most of which I've already read about on blogs anyway! So I thought I'd do something a bit different - the main acts i'm rooting to have big success in the next 12 months. I've written about all these acts before, and some of them have been going for a few years. But i thought i'd remind you all of them again, before I do my "hot new acts to watch" post on Friday... And they are presented here in no particular order other than alphabetical :)

Alien Beat Club: They were the finalists on this year's Danish X Factor and a group I think X factor blogger Mark would have loved were they in the UK version. I mean, they mashed together Circle of Life and Just Dance for crying out god's sake. Other than this stroke of genius, they have been busy putting together lovely material like smooth mid-tempo pop nugget My Way, doing charity songs like It's My World and generally becoming a mixed gender JLS. Quite marvy.


Simon Curtis: oh please stop exhibiting any surprise that the amazing Mr. Curtis makes this list once again for the fourth year in a row. And that's not to say he hasn't had degrees of success before now - Alter Boy remains an epic piece of work (and a much bootlegged one too) and Spectacular is an enjoyable movie musical with a fun soundtrack. However, 2010 already feels like it's going to be all about 8BitHeart. Delusional and Diablo (in particular) are mammoth slices of forward thinking pop that just get me more than excited for the album release. Success is so close for Simon, I can taste it :) (Simon also features in a 10 to watch list over at Bill CS)


Rochella Danishei: Just as Candy Coated Chaos looked like they were on the cusp of hitting it big, it was all over. Luckily, out of the ashes of that which has fallen, something equally pop and perky arises and Rochella has been busy building up a solo reportoire of songs for the world to enjoy. Tracks like The Show Must Go On and Roll The Dice are funky, spunky slices of dance-pop that entice and seduce. Glad to know that Rochella is still working with ace producer Jadion too - he's got to be the next go-to producer of brillo pop! So yes, rochella solo is shaping up to be quite the intruiging development...

Elouise: God, let me count the ways I adore the music of Elouise. There are a lot. Her live shows just sizzle with energy, enthusiasm and fun. You all know how much I adore her disco-tastic version of One Night Only (Whitney used the same template for A Song For You!), and the gorgeous Terry Ronald track Pretender and Steve Anderson song Another Day are just soaring torch songs that are both timely and timeless. Picking great people to work with is a key ingredient for pop success so Elouise is already on the right track. Now hurry up and release Fireman of My Dreams...


Dean Lennon: How is former Digital boybander (surely time to retire that now) Dean not massive already? He has the tunes, the clothes, the image, the hair and the cheekbones of a popstar - so he's already streets ahead of most :P His tunes have been floating around myspace for a while, but he has let me preview a few of his new ones and they are most excellent in a this is what george michael or prince would sound like if they were still amazing and funky sort of way. And really that's more than one could ask for in a pop star isn't it?

James Leon: I still think that Club With No Name is one of the most engaging new pop tracks of recent years - kind of a more effortlessly cool Party In The USA. Fear not though electro-pop lovers, James has some darker, funkier tracks up his sleeve as evidenced with the grand single, Purple Heart. Whatever your pop preference, I suspect that the upcoming debut will hold something that will delight even the most discerning of pop pickers.

Marina & The Diamonds: I fell and fell hard for Marina early last year when I Am Not A Robot earwormed it's way into my brain. It was (is) a near perfect pretty pop song with substance and depth that got more addictive with each listen and a tune I'm still not tired of. While Marina's songs since then haven't made such an impact with me, that doesn't matter because the standard was set so impossibly high that everything else is still rather wonderful. She seems primed for a big media push in February and I suspect many more people will be diamonds by the end of the year...

Gavin Mikhail: I am a sucker for a guy who plays piano and can create such elegant, lasting melodies and lyrics. Thus, I've stuck by Gavin since I discovered the amazing power pop ballad Brave a couple of years back. I still think the song is one of the most romantic, inspirational tunes I've heard in a long time and a perfect choice for an X Factor winner. Heck, if Joe had sung this I would have been won over. Gavin's talents don't stop there and he has continued to put together an impressive arsenal of new tunes to win over admirers. Beyond You is such a glorious song that I'm hoping it reaches a wide audience very soon - those crashing chords, that singable chorus, the heavenly guitar. Dreamy.

RedBloodedWomen: They have already had their sugababes line up change so you know they are serious about the pop game! They've had some amazing pop songs floating around the internet and gay prides for some time now including the funktastic You Made Your Bed and Enjoy The Silence. Now they are back with some glam new images and new tunes for the new year including the ever so good Relax (which is the type of song the indecisive Saturdays would kill for) and future dancefloor classic Halo. The tunes are there, the stars are aligned, it's time for them to make their entrance into the UK pop game :)

Sparkling Arrest: I must confess I first got into the sparkling arrest because I thought their name was rather brilliant for some reason. That's neither here nor there because I wouldn't have stayed obsessed with their music if it wasn't any good. They create these epic songs that crescendo into magnificence, envelop you into the story they tell and leave you yearning for more. As outstanding as the studio tracks are, I suspect their real magic will come in the live shows when the songs are given that extra energy that come from thousands of people singing along. Be sure to check out anthemic Seventh Sign and the entirely perfect Skyman for a sample of some great songwriting.


Sam taylor: He first came to attention when two of his melancholy songs soundtracked the sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant, always amazing Beautiful People. Since then he's seemingly been rather quiet but has a number of tunes on his myspace that are quite delightful including (at one point) the delicious, spine tingling cover of I Don't Know How To Love Him. There's something quite magical about Sam's pure voice singing the line "and i've had so many men before..." And it is all about his voice - it's smooth and lovely, suited to a variety of genres and could carve him a career as varied and engaging as Will Young. Communication is a dream. Plus he's quite pretty too :P

Adam tyler: I only recently came across Adam Tyler and his enthusiastic brand of electro-pop and I've been quite the smitten little kitten ever since. He seems to have encapsulated the enthusiasm for fun, addictive pop that powered the Spice Girls to their creative peak and channelled it into some seriously entertaining tunes. The big old softie has a bit of a romantic side too when he proved he can do big gothic love gone wrong anthems on his recent Ghost of Christmas Past single. However, the season of good will is over, so pick up your dancing shoes and burn some Friction in the new year. Pull shapes indeed :)


Waterloo: When you've got the same management team behind you as the invigorated Same Difference, then you know I'm going to be taking an interest. The foursome became a threesome in 2009, yet their dedication to producing pop songs that reminded you of all the great pop that came before with fun melodies and great choruses was unwavering. Four Letter Word is still the best song that Ace of Base never released, while Break The Habit is a great mid tempo tune. They continue to be working with some legendary british pop producers so great stuff is coming up...

Killian Wells: Who the hell is Killian Wells is a question that will be on the lips of many people in 2010. He's taken a cheeky swipe at the world of pop with his great dance tune VIP and has many more great songs up his sleeve. Encapsulating 80s electro influences into a modern sounding pop world, Killian has a great deep voice that adds warmth and passion to his tunes and always gets me coming back for more. Thoroughly charming fella too, and a big supporter of the NoH8 campaign. Plus he was in a Kelly Rowland video! Stardom beckons!!

Greetings all and a very merry Christmas to one and all. As my most favourite time of year draws to a close, I'd like - as is tradition now - to present you with my rewrite of The Night Before Christmas, and some festive contributions (that are hugely appreciated by myself) from friends of the blog. Please enjoy, have a wonderful holiday break and many positive happy wishes for a great new year :) Oh and if you have any time for cooking left, please try some of Donal "Industry" Skehan's Christmas recipes - I've been delving into them all December with brilliant results (PS, imagine if him and Simon Curtis made a record together!! Talk about dream Christmas wishes!!)

It's me again, yes how did you guess cos the last time you were really impressed! Hope you enjoy :) Sorry my head's cut off slightly! Sorry it's so dark! Sorry it's not as funny as last year! Sorry the sound's crap! Sorry I'm such a colossal failure :P Oh pooey to all that, i think it's quite good! Merry Christmas!

Ah, the lovely Sean and Sarah from Same Difference share their unique and adorable brand of festive cheer. I'm still playing the wonderful Pop (2008) album with alarming regularity and can't wait for the 2010 version. Plus their interview in Gay Times is hilarious. "I prefer a battered cod!!" It makes me all fuzzypop inside...

Love this video from gorgeous diva in waiting, Elouise. It's so picturesque Christmas card, with the fire and the tree and the oversized brooch. Oh, and that she recognises that fizzypop makes the yuletide gay :) Amazing. SuBo!! Oh and obviously I'm fully behind Elouise as the pick for Bond song in 2011, as long as 2010 gives us full studio releases of Fireman, Another Day, Pretender and One Night Only... :)

I think Adam Tyler has rapidly become one of my favourite stars to watch in 2010. He just seems so gleeful and exciteable, almost like an overstimulated puppy! And I mean that in the nicest way possible! I love that out of all the things I've written about him, his press release quotes me saying he is "a thoroughly lovely chappy". Not only has he played bongos on a makeshift drum, but he has given me a copy of his christmas song Ghost Of Christmas Past (reviewed here) to pass onto you all for a mere 24 hours! So get it while it's hot. May I just say the full version is entirely more amazing than the clip ever gave me hope it would be. Totally haunting, ethereal chimes, a melancholy vocal and morose yet engaging chorus. Full credits if you're interested of the song in the comments...


THE PICTURES:

Ah how I've become besotted with The Morning Jolt this year, hosted ably by Larry Flick and his hilarious sidekick Keith. They have really brightened up a lot of my afternoons at work (time difference) and played some great music too. Here's to a wonderful amount of amazing DJing in 2010...

Oooo and now it's time to get all bloggy for Christmas, so in order it's seasons greetings from lovely Aaron at fabtasticmusic, then festive cheer from the super Mel at Melismatic, topped off with a double ender of two photos from the fine fella Phil at Worrapolava. Hurrah!

Then there is Will W, who (along with Mel) is probably the one person I know who shares such an obsession for Starbucks and their festive flavouring. Plus he has done a rather spiffy version of Blue Christmas, which you may or may not be able to get on his blog! If you can't get it then there is the aces Christmas gift of a remix of Hollywood Ending that Will is giving away - and being played soon on the aforementioned Larry Flick's show! Looking jolly chilly in the winter wilds of Colorado is my globe trotting amigo John of PopMusicNotes whilst below them and bunkering down from the snow in Iowa is the gorgeous Dan and his ever so wonderful family. Of course, rounding off this quadrilogy is the effortlessly cool DanUk :) And under him is the fine figure of a couple Olga and Yuri who look radiant and like little Christmas angels :)


And finally, it's the witty spunkbag (i mean that lovingly) known as Dluv who gets a pic all to himself because cos quite frankly he deserves it. And it also means anyone else who wants a pic edited in before the end of Christmas eve can do so and as an extra incentive you'll be snuggled up next to Chartrigger. Amaze!

To be updated ~ new non exclusive videos from The Feeling and hopefully more pics from readers and friends! But until then...Merry Christmas y'all!!

UPDATE#1

XO will like this and hopefully help him feel a bit better :) Paloma Faith, who expertly sang about New York earlier in the year, has done a cover version of the seminal and raucous Pogues/Kirsty McColl song Fairytale of New York. It's a song that is easy to get wrong - just look at how Ronan Keating tried to tame the song a few years back! However, even with Scouting For Girls this works really well - i love the introduction of the female vocal in the intro and the choir as effective as "BING CROSBY" in the Pet Shop Boys Fizzypop Christmas number one :) Paloma is just mesmerising to watch - slight point deducted for looking like she was reading the words, but otherwise a sterling effort :)

UPDATE#2

Two very different but great Christmas songs for you now. First up is the still wonderful purveyor of piano pop tunes, Gavin Mikhail. He's put up a delightful version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. His voice is always quite pure and wonderful, and the piano arrangement is heavenly and makes it sound like the most beautiful contemporary pop song you've heard this festive season. I love songs that are just driven by piano and Gavin excels at this. If you haven't heard his anthemic should-have-been-an-x-factor-winners-song Brave, then you are doing yourself a big disservice. Check that out now, and be prepared to hear more about Gavin in the new year... Next up is a rather different Christmas entry from two merging for a common cause groups Crocodiles and Dum Dum Girls. Merry Christmas Baby (Please Don't Die) is a decidedly fuzzy sounding, garage punk effort with jangling bells that is instantly quite brilliant and possibly sounds like The Ronettes would if they had been recording after one too many jack daniels. Surprisingly amazing (and dedicated to DanP76 & Phil - I think they'll like this!)

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK - CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE!

21 ~ Little Boots, Earthquake
20 ~ Mika, Blame It On The Girls
19 ~ Industry, My Mistake (NE)
18 ~ William Young, Hopes and Fears
17 ~ Backstreet Boys, Bigger
16 ~ Whitney Houston, I Look To You
15 ~ Mini Viva, I Wish
14 ~ BWO, Kings of Tomorrow
13 ~ Darin, Viva La Vida
12 ~ Blake Lewis, I Left My Baby For You
11 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, A Stranger Saved My Life
10 ~ The Saturdays, Ego
09 ~ Agnes, Love Love Love
08 ~ Simon Curtis, Delusional
07 ~ RyanDan, Can't Help Falling In Love
06 ~ Alcazar, Thank You
05 ~ JLS, Close To You
04 ~ Leona Lewis, Stop Crying Your Heart Out
03 ~ Robbie Williams, You Know Me
02 ~ Simon Curtis, Diablo
Christmas Number One: Pet Shop Boys ~ It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas (6 weeks)

Coming up:

• December 26th - Top 50 songs of 2009
• December 28th - Top 30 albums of 2009
• December 29th - Top 10 TV Shows of 2009 (and best shows born this decade)
• December 31st - Top 5 albums of the millenium so far...

Chiselled cheekbones, good looks and ridiculously amazing popstar hair aren't quite enough to launch popstar careers anymore (sorry V). Nowadays you have to have a decent understanding of melody, beats, individuality and an awareness of what would work at radio. I first came across Kaden almost 18 months ago and was taken with his pop-electro tunes that were driven by Timbaland-esque beats. Much like Simon Curtis, he manages to imbue his songs with intelligent lyrics and meaningful subjects without forgoing a sense of melody or funky slick beat. After saying I didn't like the hip hop element of Mariah's album, I contradict myself again by warming to acts like V-Factory and Kaden. Alone is a great song with a tinge of Darren Hayes about the vocals and a social message that hints of the minimum wage crisis that haunts America. Live Fearless is about taking that chance in life, facing up to your problems and actually living your life. It's sparse beat and middle 8 spoken rap are strangely hypnotic with Kaden's voice sounding great when he says "love me - the one who loves you". I am eager to hear more work from this dedicated young fella - who was nice enough to answer some random questions about his music for me, and then i lost the answers in my inbox (hence the slightly dated response about Janet Jackson's new song Feedback!) Many thanks to Kaden for his time (and patience)....

Other pop potential gossip:

• Girl groups are hot! First Candy Coated Chaos rock the clubs in America, then Red Blooded Women set off some electro-tinged fireworks here, and now Stonefoxx are flying the flag for pure pop goodness. New songs like Crystal Clear are full of summery fun, and Hot Summer is downright slinky, and as effortlessly delicious as bubbles rising in a cool lemonade. Check out the girls now because they will be all over the place soon...
• Gavin Mikhail is hot! He's been winning competitions all over the place and doing acoustic sets for Billboard magazine website. I'll be revisiting his lovely debut album soon...