Lopez Blogs

My obsession with the upcoming Ballroom Remixed project continues! If you were listening to Sir Larry of the Flick today on Sirius OutQ's Morning Jolt show, you would have heard exclusive full length previews of BRR tracks by Simon Curtis, Neo, Elouise and Jeronimo (along with the Kyle track below). If you were tuning in, you will know that the Simon song is a mid-tempo pop extravaganza, Neo has a swirling disco epic, Elouise - a dramatic, theatrical, passion infused afrodisiac of a tune and Jeronimo has this cheeky little uptempo number that can't help but make you smile. All make you feel the music, make you have the urge to grab the one you love and shimmy! And you can buy them all on May 24th! How amazing. For now though, here is an exclusive preview of the brillopants new Kyle track...

Kyle Brylin already reached new levels of amazingness this year when he responded to my request to do a dude version of the Rihanna classic S&M. It became a bit of a viral hit, and quite rightly so as it showcased Mr. Brylin's voice nicely amidst a saucy, throbbing synth beat. Now he has a brand new track on Ballroom Remixed with the impossibly brilliant title of "I'm A Man (Not A Piece of Meat). The title alone is quite spectacular, even though it makes me feel ever so guilty as I may have pointed out how lovely Kyle is in previous music reviews. Oops :P Anyway, the song has a persistent rhythm that reminds of some classic Erasure tunes and is paired with an addictive drum beat that propels the track forward. Match that with some wickedly insightful lyrics ("You stare me down and size me up/As if I'm going to strip/As if you stare hard enough/My pants become unzipped") and a sultry vocal performance from Kyle, and you have a winningly camp piece of music that surely will become an instant classic. Kyle may be imploring you to consider his inner worth but his "come on now" and integral panting give you the impression that he doesn't mind the odd undressing with your eyeballs. Can totally see Kyle performing this on So You Think You Can Dance surrounded by buff AussieBum-esque models doing some brilliantly inventive dance routine in the background. In their undies. magnificent!! Be sure to follow Kyle on twitter and purchase Ballroom Remixed on May 24th :)



BTW! (By the way, not born this way)! If you are quite up for an up jump the boogie while listening to great pop songs, you could do far worse than enter a competition to win VIP tickets to Capital FM Summertime Ball :) How amazing! To enter the competition you need to join the Summer Time Ball roadtrip and answer daily pop related questions. Get an answer right, you move forward. Get an answer wrong, you move back! It's like a music related snakes and ladders :) You can also get accelerator codes from Capital FM by keeping an eye on their social network links such as twitter :) There are also random prizes including vouchers for my beloved Starbucks! Hurrah! I've joined the Capital Birmingham queue to try and win myself some red carpet treatment :) Who knows - we could be shimmying along to summer sounds together. Imagine!!

You actually couldn't get two more diametrically different cover versions today, but both are by artists I adore and both bring a certain frisson of excitement in their work - one to an old classic, the other to something more new and brash. And that, my dear little pop pickers, is how it's done. Read on my pretties, read on!

Kyle Brylin ~ S&M (Rihanna cover): While everyone was spaffing up their chuff over the Britney aided remix of the tune, I was pontificating that there really should be a boy pop cover version of this doing the rounds. Quick as a flash, I knocked one out (an e-mail, steady!) to the very lovely Kyle Brylin and lo and behold! Less than 24 hours later, he has tantalising lowered his underwear and delivered the smutty goods! Hurrah! Now that's service :P It's as frenetic and energetic as you'd imagine, and Kyle's vocal is impeccable - giving a dirty little nuance to lines like "if i'm bad, tie me down/shut me up gagged and bound me" while the scintillating bass and high hat compete with the scuzzy electro track. What I like is that Kyle absolutely makes the track sound like it was his from the start - that cheeky Rihanna was only keeping it warm until he got his hands on it. It gives the track a whole new energy being sung by a fella - and Kyle is just the fella to sing it. He never fails to delight me with his music and this is a worth addition to his canon. What a guy :)


Elouise ~ Tainted Love (Soft Cell cover): Another week, another blog where Paul raves about another Elouise track. And quite deservedly so. With her stunning cover version of Born This Way lodged in my top 5 most played tracks (and set to climb this week), it's time to turn my attention to Tainted Love. It starts off as a theatrical denoument - dramatic horns, trembling drums and a powerhouse vocal from Elouise. You can almost picture her standing on the turrets of her princess castle, wind blowing, while she castigates the evil Baron VonDonderlinger with her music. Love the way the music works down the musical register as she finishes the musical intro with "take my tears and that's not nearly...." Stunning. Rather brilliantly, it then turns into a finger clicking, Hey Big Spender-esque, saucy little number. The drama is still there, but it's given a very slight playful edge that sexes it up - almost as if Elouise is teasing, demonstrating what the errant lover could be having. Once again, Elouise is a storyteller and you can only sit absolutely compelled and bewitched by her tales. Oh god, please let there be an album soon :)

Apart from Justin Beiber and Bruno Mars (everyone was awaiting the new male Lady Gaga, who knew we just wanted Bruno instead?!), the girls have been running riot over quality boy pop acts of late. It's not that they are not out there, strutting their fella stuff, it's perhaps you just have to be more choosy and selective rather than buying the latest alternative version of the Beebs debut album. Here are a few offerings for your musing...

• Databoy ~ Cameron and Adam (aka Databoy) have got it going on. You actually have to say that last sentence with some of their pop star attitude otherwise it just won't work! They have charming good looks, a vital energy that just exudes from them in interviews and performances and (perhaps most importantly) the music to back it the exterior package. Their debut single, Stupid, cannot easily be dismissed as a novelty electro tune. While lyrically it details how to make drinks, musically it's an explosive package that gallops along at a million miles an hour. It's littered with resounding beats, swirling synths and a delirious middle 8 breakdown that draws on eastern influences and has wicked fast handclaps propelling it to the final bonkers chorus run through. Listen once, catch your breath and find yourself diving back for more. Similarly Misinformation is a sizzling gem with an amazing singalong chorus that really showcases the vocal prowess going on in this group - and is accompanied by a glittering video that sees more bling than a Liberace museum :P Astonishingly good - you'll want to get to know their tunes now, and be sure to see them perform with Simon Curtis in NYC on April Fools Day :)
• The Adamski Kid ~ I have supported many upcoming pop sensations during my blogging years. Some should not be mentioned again (uh, Billiam anyone), but several I still mourn now (Mohair, Upper Room, Digital, etc). Most recently, my very beloved indeed The Dirty Disco came to a shuddering halt and helping me ease the loss is lead singer Adam now making music under the stage moniker, The Adamski Kid. There are a couple of tunes already, including the scintillating declaration of independence that is I Dance Alone. Industrial beats and a fuzzy synth dominate, but it is The Adamski Kid's powerful and distinctive vocal that stand out on this track. That's no mean feat when you listen carefully to everything else that is going on behind the voice - each beat, layered backing vocal and sound effect is seamlessly merged to create a relentless, almost terrifying feel that is completely encompassing and draws you utterly into the world. Is it designed to mirror the fear of going solo? No matter, it's absolutely electric and I can't wait to see some of Adamski's innovative visuals to accompany what is already a promising solo career...

Nick Hagelin ~ ICU: Hurrah for Nick Hagelin I say. Sometimes I just need a blast of pure, unadulterated pop that has me bopping in my seat and tapping my feet. I first noticed Nick in my picks for 2011 and he's only gone and done a blooming video for his pop confection track ICU. Basically the track is an emminently catchy tune about a fella having a right good social time in busy places but only having eyes for his dream lady. Aw. While the video features one of my least favourite things (wearing sunglasses in a club - honestly, i've tried it and couldn't see a flipping thing!), it also features some of my most favourite things - namely blokes looking all dapper and doing a dance routine. Yay. The kid scrubs up well and has some moves in his arsenal that are almost mesmerising to watch. It then goes all panda-rific including a panda bootyhumping some lady, which gave me a genuine "lol". It sounds bonkers, it is bonkers but it totally works for some reasons. Great tune, fun video - now go tell all your friends :)


Kyle Brylin ~ Everything I'm Missing: I've been incredibly remiss (it's a good word isn't it - remiss. Just rolls off the tongue) in posting about Kyle Brylin's latest tune. It's been circulating for a while now (check out Bill's post on it) but blame it on the fact that i accidentally paused at exactly five seconds and have been unable to get it off my screen since :P The tune is written and produced by Kyle and starts off all "ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you - the high hat!" before a dark and dirty beat kicks in before Kyle draws you inextricably into his world with a sultry vocal that somehow makes the tune feel ever so dangerous, like you shouldn't be doing/feeling whatever you are doing/feeling... It's basically an aural orgasm of a tune as Kyle insists that he's ready to go all the way down. MAGNIFICENT. And just ever  so ever so titillating. Oh. My.

Love or hate, decide. I'm all excited about the new single from upcoming boy popper Kyle Brylin, only the bloody thing keeps getting delayed. No doubt it's to make sure that his package (oo-er) is perfect for the discerning masses, but I'm an impatient fella. I managed to track Kyle down and have a word, though I have to say my palms got all sweaty and I was a bit nervous. I often make massive faux pas when talking to pop people. What if I accidentally call him Kylie?! What if I get pulled into a Dermot style shoulder bumping hug that I am not ready for?! (This happened with Sergey Lazarev and my arm ended up trapped with my hand pressed uncomfortably against his crotch. The shame). Luckily Kyle is as charming as he is handsome and we have a rather lovely natter, which you lucky lucky folk can read below.

For those who don't know, Kyle Brylin has had some rather good electro-pop EPs out, including one of my fave songs of 2010 - the effortlessly brilliant The Star. His next single release is the addictive Committed which has a percolating beat, some great synths and a chorus as big as all outdoors. It makes you want to bump and grind your hips, grab the one you love and shimmy... It's due out in early January and I can't wait :)


1 - Kyle, buddy, what is going on?! Are you "committed" to the release of Committed are what?! Your public demands to know what the freaking delay is?!

Hey, Paul! AHH I feel so bad for all of these delays, but trust me, each time the reason gets better and better! We've got the remixes all ready to go, and are waiting on the physical release (which I can not wait to get my hands on, so excited), tweaking the album art, and a few other additions. Don't worry though, this time it's for real: Committed releases in January.

2 - I hear there is a video coming too - or is that top secret? Ssshh, we'll keep it between us! Can you give anything away about it yet? Do you have a "vision" for it? Or is just a literal interpretation and you in a straitjacket?!

Okay, the cat's out! Haha where is everyone hearing all of this stuff?! (Me: you can't keep anything a secret nowadays!! Blame Twitter!) Yes, there is going to be a video, and it is the main reason for all of this delay. I told you it was good! I can't give away any details, I don't want to make any expectations. However I will share that I came up with the concept (no straight jackets, it did cross my mind though) for the video and we are scheduled to shoot in NYC the beginning of December. It will be my first video, so the anticipation is killing me!

3 - That will be freezing if it's an outdoor shoot! Wrap up warm! Right, lots of your songs lend themselves to a choreographed dance routine. These are becoming increasingly important in a pop video - can you bust a move and will you be grabbing the one you love and shimmying to your music on stage/video anytime soon?

There will definitely be some move busting. I'll be doing the choreography for the video myself, as well. I haven't gotten to preparing for live shows yet, I mean, where the heck do I even BEGIN??

4 - Is it frustrating being "an upcoming artist"? Do you have to keep down a day job until you are selling a Ke$ha number of downloads? Do you ever feel like saying "ah fuck it, i'll just apply for X Factor next year"!?

Well, I wouldn't say that it's frustrating but it's definitely testing my patience haha. I really love it though. You only get one chance to be that "upcoming artist" so I'm just enjoying that ride and my anonymity, living in the moment of my story unfolding. You know how on all artist's websites they have a bio section? I feel like I don't really have one yet, but day by day it's being written, and that's very surreal for me. Yes, I do have a day job, and I am absolutely in love with it. I was actually promoted and transferred a few weeks ago. We'll see where the future takes me. I have very, very high hopes that my two worlds will merge.

As for X Factor and all that. No joke, I'm asked every single day about doing American Idol. The answer is no. I can't get wrapped up in that reality stuff, it's just not me.


5 - Didn't you do some modelling as well? Everytime I check facebook or twitter you are looking rather dapper in a suit! Or is that just how you lounge around your apartment?!

Why thank you, Paul. :) Yeah, I've done some modeling, though I certainly don't claim to be a "model". It's funny how many of my photos actually are taken in my apartment though. My former roommate and I would move everything away from the walls and take pics all the time. Photography is one of our biggest hobbies.

6 - You should post more twit pics then! Talking of twitter, you seem to be a bit like me - tweet first, think later. On the phone, during sex, in a meeting - is there anywhere you won't be tweeting? (ooo that rhymed!) And do you have any twitter regrets?

You're a poet and you didn't even know that you were one (no-rhyming intentional). Hahaha I pretty much act first and think later all day long. Half the shit I say and do I'm like, "did that really just fly out of my mouth?" Hey, if it's funny, it needs to be said. Because a good laugh is always necessary. I have my blackberry with me at all times, unless I forget it somewhere which just happened this weekend. twitter regrets? I have a few from when I very first started twitter, because I was basically drunk from age 19 to 20, but I just can't bring myself to delete them, it's like a story line. No matter how immature haha.

7 - "I was basically drunk from age 19-20". Amazing!! Now you are older and wiser, do you think that all this social media is a help or a hinderance to promoting music? Sometimes i love it, but then sometimes i miss the days when you first heard a song for the first time when you actually first bought the single or album... (god i sound ancient)

Ancient? I was around for them too! Ugh I miss the albums days so much. I feel like the popularity of single downloading has made it way too easy for artists. So you have one good song, big deal. You have to be able to back that up, and it'd better be with 11 more tracks and some kick ass album art. Someone recently asked me what my favorite album that released this year was. I honestly couldn't think of anything. The last album I bought that I still love to listen to from beginning to end is Season of Poison by Shiny Toy Guns. Utterly Brilliant.

8 - I'll give it a whirl. You've sung on some rather romantic little ditties, such as my favourite - The Star (a mix between JLS One Shot and Girls Aloud Untouchable). Are you a big softie with the ladeez/fellas/whatever at heart?!

Me? Soft? um... NEVER. That recording of The Star was actually done acoustic, I stripped out the guitar and pumped it up. I wanted it to be more fun, and save the acoustic stuff for in person. But yeah, every lyric in every song I write is drawn from a real experience. I guess you could say I'm a little soft. lol.

9 - What artists are you loving right now? Which songs do you wish you'd got your hands on and belted out?

Right now I'm really loving Kid Cudi Up, Up and Away, Locnville Sun In My Pocket, Lady Gaga Changing Skies and Jeffree Star Queen of the Club Scene. What song do I wish I'd have gotten my hands on? I sing I Just Can't Wait To Be King from The Lion King every day, I don't know why, but it's always in my head. It's so funny because I don't even realize it and everyone is always like "um, Kyle are you singing The LION KING?" hahaha. It's my favorite Disney movie, I can't help it.

10 - See - that would be brilliant for Elton John week on the X-Factor in the UK this Saturday!! Why do you think burps taste of Fritos when you haven't even eaten Fritos? And what are Fritos?

Oh, to be from a land where Fritos are unknown. I envy thee. They are these disgusting corn chips that basically fuel this country haha. You'll see them if you ever go to a Super Bowl Party. I really hope you have to ask me what that is, too. hahaha.

11 - I will buy a bag when I am in FloRida (the state, not the rapper) next month. And what IS the Super Bowl? Is it a tupperware party? Ok, if you were to show me the haunts of your home town, where would we hang out? Who would you be avoiding?!

Haha oh man. Well I can straight up say there's no chance in hell we'd be going to Wal*Mart, because I don't feel like having to say hi to every single person who knew me when I was 11. I would definitely show you my old bedroom, it's the corner of my mom's basement. Maybe hang out at Park-No-Fun (the "playground" up the street that sucked). And we'd definitely have to go on a roadie through the back roads and get really blazed. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

12 - I look forward to it! What is your most embarrasing High School memory?

I got caught throwing away our lunch trays because I thought they were ugly and wanted new ones. Instead of reporting me to the police or making me pay for them, they made me wash the dishes for two weeks, and have lunch detention for the rest of the school year. You've seen Drop Dead Gorgeous, right? Remember when Kirsten Dunst is doing the dishes at school and the guy says "You've got lutefisk in your hair" and she says "Then it must be Wednesday!"? It looked just like that. Ido have to add: we got new lunch trays that year. :)

I love Drop Dead Gorgeous. The mom with the beer can welded to her hand?! Amazing. And frankly I think lunch trays need to be pretty to make the world a better place. Well that's all i can think of right now. it's been a blast. come to England. We'll hang.

One of my new years resolution is to get a passport next year. One of my goals is to get there by the end of next year. I'll look you up. :)

Please do. What a nice fella.

I'm sure it's not just his doing, but the very good 8 Bit Heart album from Simon Curtis has seemingly open the gate for an onslaught of boys doing aces pop tunes in 2010. Though to be totally fair, thanks to my cosmic horn, I've been checking and searching for stand out boy pop all the live long day and certainly since this blog started over 4 years ago! It's hard to keep up with all my upcoming boy pop superstars on a daily basis so I thought i'd update you on some of the latest essential info...

COSMIC HORN-OSITY:

• Kyle Brylin ~ Committed: There are lots of things that are very pleasing about the latest official release from Sir Kyle of Brylin. First off is the lovely single sleeve above - there is some good pop star hair action going on, nice graphics (kudos Liam) and I'm loving the cheeky looking to the side eyes. What IS he gazing at?! Then there is who is involved in the single - it includes ace pop loving music folk like Daniel Volpe & Thomas Lipp (Monrose) and Charlie Mason (most recently wrote Upgrade for Eric bloody ace Saade). But most importantly is Kyle and the song - it may be familiar to some of you, but this is a corking new version. I've had a sneak peak and it is intensely dancified, it's an insiduous electro pop groove that literally pulses with energy, enveloping you and pounding you with it's beats into glorious submission. Quite smashing and surely one step closer to success for the handsome Mr Brylin. Out on Sept 7th - buy it pop fans, or incur my wrath :P
• Blake McGrath ~ Relax: Dancer Blake is now aiming for a solo pop career and has put together a scintillating dance tune that is rich in bass and beats, yet built around the chorus of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax (a song my Mormon parents were so mortified to find me listening to in my youth that they told me it was about needing the toilet!). Purists may balk at this, but it's an effective use of the tune that sits nicely along side such pop classics as Sugababes' Freak Like Me and Liberty X's Being Nobody. All in all, it's definitely worthy of your time and really only in need of a slamming dance routine video to elevate it's amazingness!
• Jonathan Fagerlund ~ How delightful. Jonathan has been on my radar almost for as long as this blog has been going and always been quite the charming young gentleman. He's firmly rooted in the quality pop genre and put out some well received but not megaperforming albums - most recently the excellent Welcome To My Life album which included aces single Dance In The Shadows. This steady output of pop has meant not only a healthy number of tunes I can sing along to, but given fans the opportunity to see Jonathan blossom from boy to man. And blossomed he has :P He's now putting together a dance act with fellow Swepop singer, Sandra Dahlberg (entitled Nord) and I can't wait to hear/see the results. And like fellow pop dude Donal Skehan, his blog indicates a healthy obsession with yummy food. What more could a guy want?!
• Sean Same Difference ~ Balls: The very good Shine On Forever is out on August 29th. Go buy it. In the meantime, Sean has been busy stripping off for the Checkum campaign - encouraging dudes to have a feel of their balls to check for unusual lumps. As a cancer survivor, I can tell you this is all sorts of vital and naked pictures reminding you to do so are essential :) Shine on forever indeed!

Coming soon: The Saturdays and how to put it right; Alphabeat/Eric Saade video breakdown; boyband potentials; and everything I mentioned yesterday!

What a day it has been. I've been on a train most of the day travelling to 'that London' for work and the like... It has possibly been hotter than hell, and sometime you could physically see the cartoon smell wiggles eminating from people's arm pits. Yack. Then I tried to help some woman who fell rushing to catch the tube - I grabbed her hand to help her up, only the door shut leaving her on the platform shaking her fist and me in the train holding her shopping back! I was mortified. The whole carriage was looking at me like I was some sort of common criminal!! It was all made better though by All The Lovers coming on at exactly the same time a loved up boy-boy couple started canoodling. It was rude to watch, but it was like my own little serendipitous moment. Delightful. Anyway, you didn't come here to read about any of that, you came here for a full breakdown of the new Adam Tyler video...

ADAM TYLER - FRICTION

The song ~ let's face it. Friction is actually a properly good, catchy, entertaining pop song. It's got a wonderfully catchy chorus, it's a little bit aggressive which gives it an edge that saves it from sacharrine, it has a brilliantly broken down middle 8 that is both seductive and a little bit scary, and it sounds very modern indeed while still feeling totally comfortable and recognisable. It nicely balances elements of pop, synth, electro and danceability in a forward thinking way that places it at a high level within the current future boy-pop star competition (see below). It's well deserving of its 3 weeks atop the fizzypop charts - mainly because it's pop juxtaposed with a downright dirty electro edge that kept me humming along for weeks. And now, there is a video! Let's investigate that...

The video ~ Adam has actually raised the bar (as I noted above) in the current boy-pop market. He's done wonders to produce a quality video that merges a number of scenes, scenarios and dance routines successfully. Here are some of the highlights...

• As the video begins, there is a dictionary definition of what friction means. So not only is the video fun, it's instantly educational as well. Teachers could quite rightly show it in English class and not feel like they are just passing time til break like Mrs Krabappel...
• Then there are some nice shots of Adam posing - sometimes with his pecs out and sometimes with paint on his face (in a deep way, I assume to represent the tension and war like attributes of the friction in his relationship?!) There is quite a creepy shot at around 16 seconds, which looks static but then his eyes move. Well I was scared...
• From around 25s most notably Adam is sitting in half a disco ball. This is because he loves pop. And because the light looks quite nice shining off it. He is also on a balcony in quite an expensive looking apartment. He is enjoying a nice glass of red wine (or fruit juice if he is under 21) with his lady friend...
• But oh no! At 42s, he has obviously done something to her drink (told her it was a $10 bottle when really it was $5 from walmart?) and she rather rudely spits it all over him. Still, good for him to know at this stage that she is actually a spitter and not a swallower :P
• At 45 seconds, if it isn't enough that she has spaffed her juice all over him, she throws the wine all over him. Kudos (not on the wine throwing, waste of damn good wine - that $5 stuff is highly underrated) - it looks quite good splashing off his face! Well shot cameraman, well shot...
• Then they are having a bit of a friendly, then less friendly tussle inside the apartment. Again, this is to show the friction between them, but really I suspect it's the Santa Ana winds driving them crazy :)
• Adam remains a complete gentleman and doesn't respond to Lady Friend's aggressive pushing. Not even when she slaps him at the one minute mark. Which looked quite real. I bet the poor lamb had finger marks on his face. I'd take her to Judge Judy :)
• At about 1m to 1m15s, Adam is standing static in the kitchen looking well pissed off while Lady Friend continues to rant. I have used this tactic myself - just don't respond to the hystrionics. It gets them even more riled while you remain aloof. Well done Adam. Round one to you.
• Ooo then it all changes. Adam is in the desert. And he has forgotten half his clothes. Now this part is to symbolise the animalistic nature of the arguing that then leads to the passion. So the video is still very educational as it will teach kids symbolism and they will be able to read Wuthering Heights and know that the wildness of the moors reflect the wildness of Heathcliffe's temperament! Amazes.
• As the lyrics talk about a little break in the dance, Adam and Lady Friend actually dance. It is vaguely reminiscent of the Buffy musical episode when people were forced to dance. Luckily, there are much better dance routines to come. Phew :P
• The second chorus continues the friction as the relationship dance theme, interspersed with some nice shots of Adam looking all angsty and passionate about the situation. Though I don't recommend lying on the railway tracks as he does at 1m54s. This is not to be tried at home kids :)
• GOOD LORD! It's sexy Adam in the middle 8 (2m15s on). He's all panther like, wound tightly and ready to erupt. There is also some close crotches proximity going on. And! Adam goes a bit saucy/kinky as he chains his Lady Friend up and takes her for a walk! It's all a bit True Blood naughty and I like it!
• BUT THEN! Amazingness happens! A full on bonkersosity dance routine kicks in at 2m36 with arms everywhere and a dance troupe. It's possibly the best full on dance routine since Same Difference's excellent We R One (or their new one actually for Shine On Forever). Dance routines are sorely lacking in pop at the moment. Hurrah to Adam for returning them to magnificence!
• There's quite a romantic but chaste little smooch at the end, and then a nice 'aw, we made up' hug. Though Adam has a naughty glint in his eye so I suspect part of him, as the song says, was addicted to the friction and quite liked it all actually. The saucy devil.

So there you have it. A thoroughly entertaining video, with good popstar hair, nice use of finger paints and a full on dance routine. With added naughtiness! Amazeballs. Now go and bloody buy it on iTunes per favor. I thank you!

See also:

• Kyle Brylin ~ also currently vying for boy pop amazingness. His Discrepency EP is all sorts of addictive, he seems quite the charmer and has some nice new pics with brillo pop star hair as above demonstrates. As Poster Girl will testify, this is very important in the world of boy-pop...
• Simon Curtis ~ how could I bypass an opportunity to remind people about Simon?! His album 8 Bit Heart has been incredibly well received, he's getting more interest by the day and developing his live show. Personally I'd whack Alter Boy online for $10 a pop to raise some cash, but for now let's relook at one of the prettiest most addictive ballads of the year, the achingly gorgeous title track to his album :)

Blimey, the day just flew away from me today and I've actually got a lot accomplished work, piano and novel wise! Hurrah. I would pat me on the back but my shoulder's playing up and I can't bend that way (that's what he said)... that said, the blogging world is fair alight with news of some video that is a bit jackson meets madonna meets marilyn manson meets a porno movie and doesn't say alejandro (loosely translated as la isla bonita over ace of base's wheel of fortune) nearly enough between the 5 and 8 minute mark. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about - your best bet for a decent excited review of it is ademwithane... I have gone with updating you all on some spunky boys who have, uh, got my musical juices going....!!

Boys boys boys:

• Kyle Brylin ~ The Star: I wrote about his track If They Only Knew back in April. It was proper good then and it's proper good now in remix form on his aces new EP, Discrepency. This new EP is filled with delicious treats such as the sparsely clubby title track (with brilliantly furiously spat out verse lyrics); gloriously gothic electro-ballad Make Things Right and intense I Always Play For Keeps. The lyrics are clever, the music ranging from electro to industrial and the singing always enticing. However, the highlight for me is the deliriously joyful ode to love, The Star. Filled with optimism and hope, it's the most pure pop moment on the EP and absolutely soars because of it. It's like JLS' One Touch and Girls Aloud's Untouchable got together for a date and ended it with a lovely romantic cuddle. Yes it's that good. Check out Kyle on twitter and his Last FM page here (where you may be able to download The Star for free!!). AMAZEBALLS!
• Sam Taylor ~ Every Time We Fall: It's rather pleasing indeed that It's A Mistake seems to be popping up all over the web, particularly at Chartrigger and the latest Pop Trash Addicts panel :) Hurrah! Read my review from a while back here. Sam previewed this latest song on youtube a while back, then it disappeared. But good things come to those who wait, and a full version of the tune has popped up on Sam's soundcloud page. It's a dreamy yet melancholy big percussive mid tempo ballad that tells a story of love gone wrong, mistakes and regret. All classic themes, all sounding even more devastating coming from Sam's lovely vocal style. Follow Sam on twitter here and read his new blog here. Now next time, can the world have a big ol' camp disco number please - that would be most amazing...
• Juvelen ~ All-Time High: Juvelen, the upcoming swedish-popdude-singer from a couple of years ago has quietly crept back onto the scene with a jolly good new ditty, called All-Time High. This is very good news indeed, as Juvelen had a rather excellent album out back in 2008 (review here) called "1", which was tres bon as it goes and a few other bloggers soon found him most pleasing too. This is typical of his debut album - an 80s synth driven sounding electro ditty, infused with some rather cool sound effects and a pleasant vocal that - knitted together - make a smashing pop tune for people to enjoy. I hope this means a second album is forthcoming... You could probably hear the song here if you were that way inclined...

Other ace news...

• Darin ~ all hail. Lovely little Swedish pop dude Darin is returning. Following on from his all too epic melodifestivalen ballad, You're Out Of My Life, he is releasing a brand new single soon called Love Killer. It's another ballad and from the LQ clips popping up on youtube, promises to be all sorts of magnifico. Jacket aside, I like his spiffy new look :)
• Eric Saade ~ oh Eric. I still have eric-tion fever, and while I am very much in love with It's Gonna Rain, i've accepted Break of Dawn as the next single. So much so that I am quite excited about the video premiering on Thursday. And part of me thinks that the song would make a lovely Shayne Ward comeback single...
• Robbie Williams ~ I'm partially annoyed by the fact that Robbie has seemingly given up on his rather good latest album before he even had chance to release the very good indeed Starstruck as a single. Bah Robbie, bah! But D'Luv reports that my favourite Take Thatter from the very moment I bought the 7" posterbag pack of Do What U Like has teamed up with my second fave thatter on a new duet called Shame. I was strangely unexcited by this at first, but within a day my nipples have gotten erect and now I can't wait!!
• Simon Curtis ~ has been particularly busy opening for La Roux (aka The Eurythmics Tribute Act) and doing pride performances of his 8BitHeart album tracks. I change with which song is my favourite, but I am rather liking the ferocious Beat Drop at the moment. Particularly the militant dance opening of the Show Mix (though boooo to it ruining the theme of all 8BH songs ending in binary code digits!!)
• Ola ~ apparently Overdrive is out (or out today) and yet I have not heard this potentially glistening pop gem. What gives?! :P (This is worse than the utter seemingly non-promotion of tres bon new Bjorn Johan Muri single, Circles!) If anyone can point me in the right direction, please do so. I thank you!
• Bjorn Johan Muri ~ talking of Bjorn, I've finally tracked down a fairly decent performance of his new single. About blooming time I say. With a dance routine and everything! Immensicles! Magnifico! See below!!
• Jonas Oakland ~ ooo isn't Jonas Oakland looking very fine nowadays? I'm quite the smitten little kitten :P I do like a handsome dude in a shirt and tie, plus he sings so he ticks all the boxes. His new single Beat of my Heart is all sorts of dancetastic amazingness and you can hear some remixes now on the always excellent and delightful Scandipop. AND! If you check back sometime Fri/Sat, there will be a free download of said song on that site. Bonza!
• Finally ~ Maroon 5 (Adam LeFine) and Brandon Flowers SO need to release their singles to radio sooner rather than later. That will be all.

Back thurs. With Disco Lemonade!! and the latest Larry Flick show!!

Ooo, this month's fizzypop chronicles is a weird one. On the one hand, it has lots of brilliant songs on it. On the other hand it doesn't seem to flow quite right for some reason. So I'm not entirely happy with it, though I emphasise I think the song choices are - once again - flawless. They are here, presented in no particular order, except the first one and last one tend to be favourites so the playlist begins and ends on the most euphoric of highs with more euphoria on each song in between. Glad that's cleared up then, innit?

• Sophie Ellis Bextor-Jones ~ Bittersweet: It's really all sorts of magnificent isn't it? If this song were a person, I'd want to hug it while shaking a groove thang in glitter-infused hot pants. The chorus is an insane belter of a tune, and Sophie sounds as marvelous and gorgeous as ever. I didn't think it was going to be possible to top the ever so wonderful Heartbreak Makes Me A Dancer, but good gracious me, she's only gone and done it. If this peaks outside the top ten, my whole world may implode quite heavily...
• Gabriella Cilmi ~ On A Mission: Tip - I was walking my usually deserted early morning route to work whilst this was blaring out in my earphones and I think I was actually quite audibly strutting along singing "I am a woman, on a mission" whenst I came across these old women and we all gave each other quite a start. I mean I didn't literally come across them, because that would be frightful, but I think you get the gist. The song is excellent, by the way. Love the faux bad girl rap. I sound well 'ard when I do it...
• Michaela Wright ~ Never Gonna Give In: There are multiple reasons to adore this heavily addictive song. Michaela seems rather lovely on twitter. It's a Larry Flick show staple. It has some rather amazing dance remixes of the song that send it soaring to the glitter ball and then bounce like little shards of multi-coloured lights around the dance floor. And whatever genre you hear it remixed into, it still has an ace melody and chorus. Bonus - it features the rather handsome Alex Kordek in the video. Yum yum pigs bum.
• Kimberley Locke ~ Strobelight: I worship Kimberley Locke. I still think that the heavenly 8th World Wonder is one of the best pop songs to come from American Idol. Her Christmas album was just a retro dream. And her last album was a corker that was criminally ignored. So I'm all ready for her new single, which is produced by Cutfather - who apparently has worked with Kylie and, er, the Pussycat Dolls so he's half way there. All of this is a very long way of saying, I haven't heard the song yet because the release dates been pushed back but I'm so eager to hear something dancetastic from l'il kim...:P
• Ke$ha ~ Blah Blah Blah: Hmmm, it seems a bit criminal to follow these classy dames with the dubious morality that is Ke$ha. However, I did quite like Tik Tok (did you hear it blended with Kylie's Love At First Sight? Almost as genius as MaDonna Summer!) and while this follow up single isn't nearly as brillo, it does have me blah blah blahing along sometimes. Though everyone knows Marina blahs better in the Girls song she has :)
• The Bang Bang Club ~ Chemistry: Rather brilliantly, I have heard this track described as Erasure on testosterone. Not much has changed since I last wrote about it - it remains a rather charming little 80s pop synth ditty with an excellent chorus, great production, enticing vocals and yummy boys. For a more grown up opinion than that, why not check out Nick Alien Hits, where you can download the track for free as well! Jonas Bonus - it's released on my birthday. Wizard!
• Adam Tyler ~ Schizophrenic: I actually had another Adam Tyler track which is really out of this world, but I don't think I'm allowed to write about it yet, so I'd rather draw everyone's attention to a down and funky Dirty Dasmo remix of this track which has just surfaced on his myspace page. It's a trip down the rabbit hole (for the overstimulated puppy!) as the remix adds mind-bending beats and effects to the slick electro club banging original. As with all Adam songs it's firmly focused on delivering a chorus so pleasing that you end up pinching yourself to check it's real. It is. Amaze and a half.
• Kyle Brylin ~ If They Only Knew: I wrote about this track quite recently, and quite frankly it's a pleasure to write about it again for two reasons. One is that the more you listen to it, the more the insinuating beats hook into your memory and the chorus creates a heady atmosphere of synth and song that is just delicious. Two - Kyle is quite dishy so any excuse to visit his myspace page as he looks quite nice in a shirt and tie. With good popstar cheekbones and hair.
• Sergey Lazarev ~ Alarm: On the one hand I remain intensely disappointed that this song isn't quite as brilliant as it should be. By Sergey standards, it's not one of his finest and actually rather generic sounding. On the other hand (for I have two), it's such a fun tune that fits in with "today's sound" so jolly well that it's hard to be peeved for long because you are having such rollicking good fun singing along to it. So what's the harm? To be fair the video above (ghastly sound) really enhances it with a fun dance routine and energetic performance :) The album better be superb though...
• Quentin Mosimann ~ Gimme A Break: Ah franglais! Quentin follows up his exciting single Toc Toc with a song that has the chorus mostly in English, the verses in French and tests my translation skills to the limit. He's a rather giddy mix of bonkers electro-pop though and utterly contemporary and fab. It's always nice to sing along in French too, even if you don't know what you are saying. And from SUCH a great album. Go check him out now. Bonkers and wonderful, possibly unofficial clip below - but exuding such fun and energy! Go! Tout de suite...
• Magnus Carlsson ~ A Little Respect: Oh my days. If Bang Bang Club are Erasure on testosterone, Magnus' version of A Little Respect is Erasure doused in perfume and poppers and kept in a handbag for a week. It's more festive than me at age 11 when I dressed action man Julian in a barbie evening gown and stuck him on the Christmas tree. It's totally europop, and fairly faithful to the original but with even more glitter and bells added. If that is at all possible. Too much, yet not enough...

Part two coming tomorrow!

Hurrah it's Friday. I shall go through my normal ritual of playing Steps' Stomp (for the line "thank god for the weekend...") and probably watch Coronation Street, even if the Gail as a murderess storyline is a bit poo. Other than that I will endeavour to catch you up on some foxy new boy pop, which we all know is the most attractive pop of all. This is a fact that cannot be denied. Right, enjoy - I'm off to make a nice hot chocolate. Rock n roll!

UNI5 (Sammy Taylor)

It's no surprise at all to "regular" readers that I absolutely adore Sam Taylor (see my recent write up on Chemistry is Dead). I found him to be quite charming frankly. His voice and foppish good looks are made for a pop career. And if needs a bit of a boost to accomplish that, I'm not going to grumble - particularly if he is going to form a mixed-sex pop group that has the potential to sing a song for Eurovision written by musical guru and sometime genius Pete Waterman. If I was a football fan, I would probably yell something like "get in" at this type of news, then do that clench fist and pull it in towards you while looking at it proudly manouevre. Oh you know what I mean. Anyway, back to UNI5 - they all look adorable (check out this video), Lee is a proper bobby dazzler too and Sam tells the world that his fave Pete Waterman song is Kylie's Step Back In Time. Amazing choice. I wanna funk too. Anyway, hurrah for Sam I say, and I'll be following the clearly made for me UNI5 with avid interest :)

Khris Lorenz

While Khris has announced on his myspace that he is moving towards writing and producing over singing, there is no doubt that his own tunes are still worth checking out. It's a heady eclectic mix of styles in each tune that proves to be rather alluring sound; there's elements of thrashy rock, trashy pop and aggressive electro - each attacked with vigour and enthusiasm and aggression to match the mood of the song. I Don't Want A Girlfriend is a blistering electro-rock kiss off that has an addictive chanted rap running through the middle 8 and chorus that elevates the song to aceness; Bounce has enough pop elements in it to be entirely appealing, yet retains a harder rock edge to it. The juxtaposition of the musical styles could be seen as abrasive, but they completely work and the music is like a blast of invigorating fresh water on a hot sunny day. Be sure to check out his latest EP on iTunes...

Kyle Brylin


Kyle not only has a rocking pair of headphones, he's quite effortlessly managing to churn out an edgy brand of dance-pop that is instantly memorable as much for the persistant beats to his assertive choruses. It constantly astounds me what people can come up with in their bedrooms these days (oo-er) and tracks like the fuzzy If They Only Knew is a whip smart bit of electro-pop with a bit of an industrial edge to make it stand out. The effects on his voice really match the mood of the song and as he writes all his own stuff, it's clear he has a great knowledge of what makes a good pop song with a hard beat to it. Love it when he says "round 2"... And god bless 'im, he's not afraid to whip out the odd softer side of me cover version - particularly with a lovely acoustic Last Christmas; also check out his vibrant video of Story of our Lives. He exhibits a real charm in this videos and his voice really stands out. Definitely one to keep an eye on. For now, check out a free download over at arjanwrites...

Other ace boy pop:
Ola Joyce (courtesty of Alien Hits)
Fabio Lendlum (courtesy of DontStopThePop)