Lopez Blogs

Happy new year everybody! I had a lovely evening over at Ruthiepoos with Lou, Lydia, Tom and of course my very own dazpantaloons. Fun, good times, games and fireworks out in the freezing cold (hence the chilly look above) were had by all as we waved goodbye to the crapfest that was 2008 and bought in a bound to fine 2009. Although I am chagrinned that I shamed myself by necking some booze at midnight, which caused me to dry heave and dribble all over lydia's creamy caramel slices :( When I woke up at Ruth's country house (she lives in a house a very big house in the country), it was one of those gorgeous frosty mornings where the trees and bushes and ground for miles around were covered in a dusting of frost. Very picturesque and wipe-the-slate clean way to start the new year. And what a good time to discuss what acts could be very enormous and gigantic indeed in 2009. I've broken this down in 2 parts - one is acts that I've written about before and still have to become as massive as they should be (today) and the second part will be on Sunday (with my first chart of the new year) with acts that are new to me, but probably not very new to anyone else at all. So that's something to look forward to then isn't it?!

THEIR TIME TO SHINE IN 2009:

06 - Mr Hudson: I wrote about the delightful Mr Hudson and his library back in 2007 when they came out with an album about living in London and Birmingham called a Tale of Two Cities. It promptly did pretty much nothing apart from enchant me, particularly with the hip-hop-brit-pop tinged cover of On The Street Where You Live. Since then they have hooked up with annoying genius Kanye West, and have a new album out sometime this year. After a year where decent british indie acts were few and far between, I'm eager to for Mr Hudson to come back and knock everyone's socks off. Check out a free download on their webpage to get you up to speed...
05 - Bryn Christopher: The Quest really should have shot the strangely attractive Mr Christopher into the stratosphere. I mean it was featured on Grey's Anatomy for goodness sake (as was a Mr Hudson track recently!) and was an epic and a half pop tune. Then came the equally amazing Smiling which was penned by some ozzie sheila and was a dark little tune that (with Bryn's velvety yet rugged tones) still managed to sound uplifting. Mercifully, the record company haven't given up on him yet, and he continues his brilliant singles streak with Fearless. His album is bur-illiant by the way.

04 - Isabel Guzman: I first fell in love with Isabel about a year ago and she has provided me with many an amazing pop-dance number since then without ever getting the attention that lesser pop strumpets like Lady BlahBlah and CatPee Perry seem to attract. Isabel not only continues to look stunning in each photoshoot she does, but she will be blowing sky high with Mysterious very soon indeed. Her album should be one of THE essential pop treats of this year.
03 - Daniel Merriweather: Daniel first came to my (and everyone elses) attention when he did the stunning remake of The Smiths' Stop Me with Mark Ronson. Soon everyone was talking about his distinctive voice and eagerly awaiting his first album. Which has taken forever and a day to put together. I mean, I'm all for DIY pop but you don't have to burn each cd individually Daniel! Still, his first single proper is out soon, is called Change and apart from an annoying rap bit in the middle is a soul drenched and beat lead as one could hope for from this bright young spark...

02 - Ryan Ferrada: Somehow without any promotional video, no promo club appearances and no release date on the schedule, Ryan Ferrada has managed to effortlessly glide to number two on the Music Week Club Chart with his infectious pop-funk ditty Dirty In The Club. With a video and marketing campaign that Ryan has carefully orchestrated himself ready to launch in the first quarter of 2009, I can't help but feel that with the right exposure this massive club smash will be crossing over to the pop charts very soon. And only 3 years after I first heard Touch You Sexy...
01 - Simon Curtis/Spectacular: Yes yes. Simon has topped my "must stars" list at the end of 2006, 2007 and now 2008. I'm loyal and Simon has yet to let me down with his delightful brand of suckled-at-the-teat-of-swedish-pop Alter Boy music. Once the movie-musical Spectacular hits in February, all eyes will be on Simon and the world will FINALLY be exposed to his music. Bring on the music, the cd release, but more importantly the carefully choreographed dance videos and highly entertaining world tours. Spectacular will just be the start. By this time next year, we will all be worshipping this pop messiah...

Other acts worthy of still watching: Candy Coated Chaos; Oh Laura; A-List; Red Blooded Women; Stonefoxx; Jonah; V-Factory; Gavin Mikhail...

The one song that desperately needs a decent pop cover in 2009!

Celeb Big Brother Update: Latoya Jackson is in the house! And if 2008 reminded of 2000 with it's musical output (Same Difference=Steps; Britannia High=S Club) then Big Brother 2009 brings back 2001. There's Mutya from the Sugababes (who entered in the foulest dress i've ever seen), Michelle from Liberty X and of course lovely Ben from A1. Which means that Ben is this year's Mark Owen. So he might win. Release two albums. Then get A1 to reform and be massive. Aces....

Important things in the world of pop (and pop culture) that i really couldn't be arsed to write about this week...

• Hurrah! I can (non) exclusively reveal (i.e. I read it in Music Week) that the title of the first Same Difference single is very possibly but not guaranteed to be called "Pop". Assuming it's not a cover version of the lacklustre N*Sync single from some years back, it's either going to be a work of post modern genius or very possibly the tale of another of Jamie Tinkler's failed attempts at stardom...
• I had assumed that Alphabeat would go with the perky as nipples on a cold day pop classic GoGo as their fourth delightful single from the This Is Alphabeat album. I assumed wrong. Instead it's the perky as nipples on a cold day pop classic What Is Happening. I am quite pleased with this turn of events.
• Isabel Guzman is making her UK debut appearance courtesy of the mighty Popjustice. I am rather pleased that she seems to be receiving top billing too. Surely it cannot be long til Britain falls prey to the charms of songs like Mysterious and Kill The Boy? Please?
• An effing plethora of albums hit my mp3 player this week that i meant to blog about but frankly none lived up to the brilliance of William Young's album or Killers/Girls Aloud singles. They can be categorised as follows though ~ Good (Kaiser Chiefs; Lenka; Monrose), Quite Good (Travis, Jennifer Hudson, Ben Folds), and Oh Dear (The Pretenders; Snow Patrol). I've linked to other blogger's album reviews where possible :)
• It's the only album of hers I've liked this millenium, but Mariah Carey seems to have given up on E=MC2. There seemed to be about 8 choices for the third single, but to me a fourth and final single was clear ~ I Stay In Love is a gem of a midtempo ballad and rather lovely with it too. Again, miles ahead of the new Leona songs :(
• BWO are now a bit like Steps aren't they? They won't really change their sound very much, but are rather good at what they do. Case in point - a rather funky remix of Barcelona (by ) is doing the rounds and the Gormenasai promo cd is jampacked with floorfiller bodypopping interpretations of the Fabricator track. Brillo - eyecatching vids to follow no doubt...
• Golly, Popjustice surely do hate(ish, then partially like) Luigi Masi don't they? To be blunt, he was not very good at opening for Girls Aloud but i figured he was just out of his depth. I guess not - but perhaps he is saving the best stuff for the album. If Strobelight is a hit in England over far more talented folk like Darin or Simon Curtis, then everyone involved in his career deserves to be hunted down and given chinese burns. This is parental pandering at it's very worst!
• Why on earth The Feeling would bother releasing a fifth single to an ungrateful Britain from their aces Join With Us album I don't know, but I'm still hankering for a video to Won't Go Away. It has the best sax solo in a song since 1989's Should've Been The One by Debbie Gibson...
• Is it me or is it bloody 1990 again? NKOTB are ruling the album charts (well for a week before a McFly like plummet) ; 90210 is on tv again and Tiffany is still milking the fact that she chose a good cover version 20 years ago and playing at a club literally round the corner to my house! I am going to Ruthiepoos instead
• Finally, how remiss of me would it be to not point out that Simon Curtis and Victoria Justice have done some really cute behind the scenes thingies for popstar magazine. Check out the VMA one here and the Teen Vogue one below...
  
  

You know, I was sitting down last night reading the latest issue of homo-friendly lad mag Details, and I thought to myself "Self. You do not write enough about the acts you are obsessed with at the moment. Particularly that Simon Curtis dude." And while all might seem quiet in the world of fizzypop faves there is actually a whole bunch going on. So let's kick off with the adorable Mr C...

• The ever lovely Dan from The Feeling was in the telegraph newspaper this weekend talking about fashion. You can check it out here along with a swanky video interview... (I'm not loving his comment about M&S suits seeing as I just bought two from there!!)
• The ever lovely Sean and Sarah from Same Difference are currently in Sweden recording their eagerly anticipated debut album and another welcome blog appears from them on their website. In your face anonymous commenter!
• The ever lovely Adam Levine of Maroon 5 was quite rightly featured as one of the hottest bachelors of the moment by not-as-good-as-entertainment-weekly People Magazine. Go them. Though he wouldn't be very bachelor-y if I got my hands on him...
• I haven't mentioned the charming Robert O'Connor for a while, and actually it's been a while since i spoke with him. However, his debut album is now out. I recommend you purchase it so you will know what I am talking about when I do my review of it very shortly...
• A-List and V-Factory continue to polish their acts up in preparation for world domination. Or at the very least Fizzypop domination. A-List have a lovely little pop ditty called I Do on their myspace (and now regular rotation in my head) which the increasingly miserable gits at the popjustice forum labelled as "five years too late"; while V-Factory continue to promote their debut EP and have a rather smooth new tune bobbing around called Treat A Lady. Excellent stuff...
  
  
  
  
• I was sad to read over at Yuri's place that Blake Delewisicious had been dropped by evil Arista. However, on some Fox morning show t'other day, he backpeddled a bit and decided he had merely ended his association with Arista. Whatever, the label was not a good fit for him and hopefully he will come to Britain and become the megastar I know him to be. Plus he looks quite good in the clip, so extra points for that!
• I'm not sure how I feel about McFly giving away their new album with hate rag The Sunday Mail. On the one hand, they are masters of their own domain now so can do what they want and it may well help them shack off the "boyband only" tag they are unfairly lumbered with. And it means I get the album on July 20th. But on the other hand, it's the Sunday Mail. I feel dirty just thinking about buying it!
• La Guzman continues to be amazing - check out her video for the brilliant Mysterious. It's got running around and a hint of lesbian subtext. Isabel looks freaking amazing. I just can't get enough of the ice cool swede!

OTHER OBSESSIONS:

• Adam wasn't the only person making the People sizzling singles list. My favourite two gossip guys were up in there too - in fact just behind Adam, which is an enviable position in anyone's book. (God I have turned into Jackie Collins)...
• Ugh, thank god Alex has gone from Big Brother. Vile, bad tempered, rude, ignorant, threatening young lady who sadly will never ever change. Am loving Luke and Kat. So so bored of evil Jennifer and dull Dale. At least Stuart takes his top off a lot :P
• Have just finished the hilarious and heartbreaking We Can Be Heroes (Pam!!), as well as the just wonderful Gavin and Stacey. I have a non sexual crush on Nessa. Love how her character was "one of the original members of All Saints but i didn't get along with Shaznay!" Tidy!

Right back tomorrow with probably an album review or two; or maybe some pop potential. Who knows? Hayfever tablets making me tres loopy!

What a fairly normal week it has been. Maybe 34 will signal a quiet and pedestrian life for me from now on. One can only hope so. Work has gone well too this week with a number of big contracts I put bids in for coming through successfully, which is always a relief. Time to start talking bonus methinks. But that's not very exciting for anyone else except me (and DazPecs) so I will carry on. I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend - we are off for a nice BBQ (weather permitting) at RuthieLoos on Saturday which I can't wait for. Their new house is freaking GORGEOUS!! Anyway on with the highlights from the week...

• I had a nice email from the VFactory boys this week - they saw my review from earlier this week, and sent me a free legal mp3 of their mighty fine single She's Bad to host for you all. Download it here and expect to hear much much more from them in the future!
• And well, gosh darn it! I had a lovely email from Isabel Guzman too - it freaks me out that people read my site. I'm never big headed enough to email and say "oh I wrote about you!" - most of my interviews have come about through luck and even then I don't feel worthy enough to be in the presence/phone receiver of people!! Haha, anyway it's great to see Isabel taking off - and such influential sites as Popjustice and Arjanwrites. Where fizzypop humbly leads... :P
• Talking of leading, hurrah for The Script going top 15! I wrote about them way back in January offering a free mp3 - something that is now being offered here! I'm usually way way out in my predictions for success, so I'll take a few hits over my many misses any day!
• And talking of popjustice, they were absolutely right about the New Kids single, and finally caught up with what XO and DanUK have been telling me for weeks now - Daggers = Good.
• It's quite "trendy" for bloggers to not like the new Madonna album. Fortunately all the people who count (see the links list) tend to like at least most of it. I'm more addicted to 4 Minutes with each listen... Plus i've never been "trendy" anyway (evidence = Debbie Gibson love over my classmates adoration of Inspiral Carpets)
  
  
  
  
• TV is good again. And leading the way is SuhAlan's The Apprentice. Why oh why everyone has to address him as Sir Alan is beyond me. However, once again, the boardroom bits are the highlight of a show full of wankers. While Heat magazine may love Alex, it's all about Lee McQueen for me. Not only does he refer to himself by his name, but he gets very excited and says "fuck" to show that he is down with the kids. Check out from about 1m4s on the above clip and look at snooty Rafe's distaste for his naughty language...

WHAT THE BEST IN BLOG ARE UP TO THIS WEEK...

• DanUK is on leave from work and enjoying the weather, brilliant Buffy comics and not so brilliant Angel comics. I shall catch up on them this very weekend...
• D'Luv - as well as lots of brilliant stuff about Mariah and Rick Astley - reveals Coldplay to be scandalous plaigarisers! The shock of it all has me coming over with the vapours...


• ModFab has a list of many ace moments on Broadway - many that I agree with. No Wicked? Boo that whore :P


• ModFab was also one of several bloggers along with lovely Yuri who quite wisely realised that Jason Castro is indeed this season's Sanjaya on American Idol and deserved to be booted off.


• Talking of Yuri, he pointed me in the direction of the Blake Lewis remixes of How Many Words. The radio remix is pretty darn fine.


• Poppostergirl (Hero) and Troy (Bullet) were dancing round their apartments to Charlotte Perelli. And though, I probably won't post my album review of it now, it's a marvelously poptastic piece of work...


• DanUSA, the lucky dog, got a bro-mosexual crush on him and a Dolly Parton concert all in one week. Magnif.


• XO's mixtape posts continue to delight and fascinate me. Lots of cool linkage too, particularly the post about bloggers and merely copying press releases into their blogs. You can SO always tell :P

The top 21 fizzypoptastic songs of the week...

21 ~ Jason Mraz, I'm Yours
20 ~ Shayne Ward, Stand By Your Side
19 ~ Mariah Carey, Touch My Body
18 ~ Duffy, Warwick Avenue
17 ~ Blake Lewis, How Many Words
16 ~ Jesse McCartney, Leaving
15 ~ Sergey, Flyer
14 ~ Captain, Keep An Open Mind
13 ~ Ola, Love in Stereo
12 ~ Alphabeat, 10000 Nights of Thunder
11 ~ Caracola, Smiling in Love
10 ~ Jack McManus, Bang on Your Piano
09 ~ The Last Shadow Puppets, Age of Understatement
08 ~ Rongedal, Just A Minute
07 ~ Kylie, In Your Arms
06 ~ Madonna, 4 Minutes
05 ~ Jesse McCartney, Bleeding Love
04 ~ Maroon 5, If I Never See Your Face (featuring Rihanna)
03 ~ David Jordan, Move On
02 ~ The Feeling, Without You
01 ~ BWO, Lay Your Love on Me (2 weeks)

Coming this weekend: an album smackdown threeway (with free legal album download!!!); the #1 artist who will be a household name by Christmas; the delayed start of the fizzypop chronicles

Coming next week: More JM initialled artist album reviews; Madonna week; some other guff....

CCC with V Factory - musing over pop world domination

If VFactory are the next big thing in boybands, then surely my beloved Candy Coated Chaos will ride the girl group wave to international success very shortly. From blissful beginnings the girls have eschewed the "fall out drunk from clubs" route to fame, and replaced it with a strong work ethic and commitment that is only matched by their talent. Far from mere pop poppets, the girls individual styles makes the group visually stand out, while their choreography is slick and exciting. Add to that mix their harmonic voices blended together with such razor sharp precision that i'm scared I'll cut myself just listening, and it's a confectioners dream - no hard candy here (see what i did there???)

When not hobnobbing with VFactory guru, Tommy Page (above with the lasses), CCC are busy at work with my fave producer Jadion putting together an array of tracks that dazzle and delight. Most of them i've written about before over the past 12 months but they are certainly worth revisiting and more than stand the test of time. When a rock track is turned into a dance number, it can either be an amazing treat or an utter disaster - Eddie Money's Take Me Home Tonite is turned into an ominously thudding floor filler that has added layers thanks to the carefully added harmonic backing vocals complimenting the main thrust of the song. No Time 4 Games is swedish pop from the 90s with a millenial sheen added to it - glorious chorus btw in this track with a really assertive vocal without shouting that matches the message of the lyrics perfectly. For a softer side to the girls check out their latest version of Promise. Entitled Sacred Vow, it's the perfect compliment to Simon Curtis' Another Heartache ~ beautiful piano, elegant vocal. I can only imagine a lovely candle lit video accompanying this track. And trust me ~ HUGE things are just around the corner for these girls, some ace collaborations coming up with one of my fave people and of course the amazing talents of Jadion behind them - it's a cocktail that simply can't fail.

• Woo hoo! Blake Lewis releases an EP of remixes for How Many Words on Tuesday. I'm not crazy about the lazy cover but can't wait to hear the radio remix...
• The ever stunning Same Difference are headlining Blackpool Pride this weekend. Lucky chav gays :P
• Isabel Guzman is EVERYWHERE! Check out her webpage for the latest blogger postings... PS! Try to spell her name correctly bloggy dudes!
• Woo hoo! sergey continues to show his taste and class by booking Birmingham Pride! And busy recording the russian HSM soundtrack! He is so same difference right now :P

It doesn't really matter but I am very thrilled that two of my favourite new acts of 2008 are intrinsically linked. Now if only Oh Laura would cover Love Song and Isabel would cover Release Me, I'd be in song sharing heaven. For now, I will just say thank bloody heavens above that Isabel Guzman has gotten around to releasing an EP of magnificent new material. Remember when popstars put proper b-sides on their singles, not just "karoke versions" or "simlish" (Whatever the fuck that is!)? This harks back to an era when you would get value for money with your single purchases. Bring back the posterpack next Isabel!

The EP kicks off a whistlestop tour through the world of Ms Guzman and Mysterious is an aptly named lead off track. With a tip of her hat melodically to No Good Advice/My Sharona (depending on how old you are) during the first few moments, the song transforms into an out and out, balls to the wall, kick you in the crotch fantastic little pop song. Isabel flirts her way into the attention of a young dude, who is playing the hard to get perfectly as she becomes more and more intruiged with him - the minimal middle 8 gives a sense of light headedness as Isabel takes a breath before launching back into her dangerous pursuit. The title track sees events take a turn for the worse, as the title track leads to confessions of guilt in a beautiful pop refrain that hasn't been heard since Madonna sang Papa Don't Preach. Once again, the music carefully matches the mood of the song getting more sinister and ominous as the tune progresses to it's satisfying conclusion.

If Gwen Stefani weren't so obsessed with being harijuku, she might edge some of the corporate sheen out of her songs and produce something as hand clappingly glorious as And The Beat Goes; sometimes the world just needs a song with chanting, an insistent beat and a hook that would make Peter Pan quiver. And as abruptly as that, the party is over and it's back to a roaring fire, a glass of wine and an acoustic version of her internet fave Love Song. It's an entirely softer side of Isabel and one that adds layers to the EP in terms of depth and performance. In parts it is virtually acapella that shows that when dancing more is more, but when romancing less is often the best policy. If the EP is reminiscent of a night out, then this is the reflective moment before dawn, when shards of light pierce the skies and your consciousness before you get back on your feet for one last hurrah. That comes in the form of a remixed Mysterious (Attie-tude Mix) with melodic piano tinkling in the background and a breakdown middle 8 that deserves the best dance routine since Janet Jackson's Miss You Much. Isabel Guzman - exhausting and brilliant all at once. What more could one ask for?