Romania's very own Inna is back with a new single taken from her second album 'I Am The Club Rocker'. The track is definitely stepping away from the typical Inna sound but nevertheless it is still dance music and it's produced by Play & Win. It will be interesting to see how this one does, as her last couple of single have not been as successful as some of her previous singles.
Time for a bit of a blast from the past. Livin' Joy were an Italian production team with American vocalist Janice Robinson (who sang on 'Dreamer') and later on Tameka Starr. Livin' Joy had some success in the 90s with all their singles reaching the top 20 in the UK, three of those were top ten hits. I believe this track was intended to be released in 1999 but the release was cancelled due to lack of interest (I reckon it just wasn't played on radio stations because of the title!). Such a shame because I think they had a lot more to give. I know that "Livin' Joy" were doing some UK club gigs a few years ago with a different singer.
Sweden's very own Loreen, is back with another amazing track. Her vocals are powerful and full of emotion, just like 'My Heart is Refusing Me'. The track actually sounds like it could have been a ballad and has been remixed. The violin instrumental at the very start of the track reminds me of Dannii Minogue's 'Disrememberance'. I think Loreen is onto a winner. Bring her to the UK please!
Here's a track from some more Romanians. This time they're called Crush+ Alexandra. It's got 2.7 million views on YouTube so it's obviously doing alright. I don't know much else about this act apart from that I think the female singer looks a bit like Sarah 'Fergie' Ferguson! Enjoy!
Here's one of my favourite Italian acts. I love the fact that Gala dares to be different, and sticks by her music lyrics "I've never done as I've be told"! Her 'Tough Love' album showed a bit more of an edgy and rocky side to Gala. She performed in Beirut a few weeks ago and a radio station there previewed 'Lose Yourself in Me'. I don't know whether it will get an actual release, but it would be nice and an official video would also be great.
The video has since been removed from YouTube - Sorry!
I haven't really been a fan of Aqua's recent music, but I saw this video on YouTube earlier today and I quite like this one. It's a slow tempo track with some lovely vocals from Lene. This track reminds me a little bit of Lene's 'Pretty Young Thing', which isn't a bad thing at all. I wonder if Aqua plan to go global again. Check out her shoes...how somebody can even stand in those shoes is beyond me!
My favourite Swede of the moment is back with an awesome track. From what I've read it's already number 1 on Swedish ITunes, so looks like it's going to be a hit there anyway. I wonder if the UK will get a release? 3 Beat/AATW better start planning some good promotion if they are still working with Agnes.
Australia's very own Gina G is back with a new single. The song first appeared on her MySpace page some time ago (two years?) in a demo form, then it was released on ITunes three months ago and a video was shot in a club in Australia. There was also a performance on Australian TV. A remix of the song was then released (Loud Manners), and then the song disappeared from ITunes with the original video disappearing from YouTube! Phew!
But do not fear, the song has been remixed (yes...again) and now features a rapper called Vigilante, and there's also a new video. The song can already be pre-ordered from various legal download sites (ITunes, HMV Downloads...) and is due for release on 9th October. The track isn't quite as good as 2006's 'Tonight's The Night', so it will be interesting to see how it will do - I hope there will be some club and TV promotion to boost its profile.
Yep...another song called 'Vamos A Bailar'. This one is by an Italian duo Paola & Chiara Lezzi, who are sisters. They were discovered in 1996, and have been releasing music since 1997. They have also released solo material during their music careers. They have been quite successful in Italy, and 7 of their albums have made the Italian top 40. 'Vamos A Bailar' was a number one hit in Italy and reached the top 20 in several other European countries. There were plans for it to be released in the United Kingdom, but the release was unfortunately cancelled, despite new remixes being made by Almighty. There are also Italian and Spanish versions of this track.
Here's a song that was introduced to me about 10 years ago by a friend. I really do not know much about this act except that it was released in Germany in 2000. The vocals are by Spygirl. On the CD cover it actually says 'The Ze-Factory DJs Present Azuca'. I don't think it was a big hit but I still like it anyway! Sorry about the video quality - it's all I could find!
The Queen of Europop released a new single in June. Denmark's very own Whigfield aka Sannie Carlson has been working extremely hard in the Off Limits studio (in Italy) over the last 6 years, where she has composed some amazing songs for people like In-Grid, Benny Benassi, Benassi Bros, Spagna, Ann Lee, and most recently for herself ('To Feel Alive' with Oral Tunerz and 'C'est Cool').
'C'est Cool' is a quirky little dance number, which steps away from the typical bubblegum style Whigfield tracks, but still keeps hold of the catchy simplistic lyrics, which made Whiggy successful all those years ago...about 18 years ago in fact! We've been given two versions of the video, so you're bound to like at least one of them (the left version is a mirrored version of the right...clever!). How hot is Whiggy looking by the way? She could definitely give any bond girl a run for their money! And how cute is little Benito? Watch out for more Whigfield singles coming soon (hopefully) to ITunes and other legal download sites.
Here's a song I have loved since a friend introduced it to me about 10 years ago. It's amazing how the girl can change from a diva voice to a high pitched voice for the rap. I think it's pretty obvious that the singer was just miming to the Jenny B/Sandy Chambers style diva vocals (maybe it is one of their vocals...no proof though...). Well Dutch singer Loona released a version of 'Vamos A La Playa' last year and it's doing quite well around Europe, I know it's been top 5 or something in France. I'll probably post a bit more about Loona another time.
So whilst I'm on the search for some more 'good' modern Europop. I'm going to post some blasts from the past and some rarities for you to enjoy. This one is by The Course (not The Corrs...) and they made an amazing dance version of The Fugees 'Ready or Not'. This one reached #5 in April 1997 in the UK. They also did a cover of 'Ain't Nobody', although I don't remember this version and it's not as good as 'Ready or Not' anyway. The Course were a Dutch and British team.
Here's a song that was released in Sweden during Melodifestivalen (the Swedish version of Your Country Needs You - but a million times better). It's by Loreen and it's called 'My Heart is Refusing Me', it didn't win but it's still amazing nevertheless! She was in Swedish Idol in 2004 by the way.
So Germany's Sascha Lappessen (aka Sash!) is back with a new single called 'Mirror Mirror'. You may recognise the melody of the song...yep it's a sample of 'Ecuador'. It reminds me of a mixture of 'SexyBack' by Justin Timberlake and 'Just Dance' by Lady Gaga. I like the song, but the video is disappointing. Sash! has had some sophisticated dance music videos in the past so it's a shame that he's had to lower his standards. It's already out on Itunes in the UK, so don't expect this one to appear in the singles' chart soon. Apparently an album called 'Life is a Beach' is due for release - date TBA.
Leona Lewis steps away from the ballads and moves into the dance/europop territory with thanks to Sweden's Avicii. Apparently there was some kind legal battle because Syco (Simon Cowell's people) stole the instrumental from Avicii. It's all been sorted out now though and Avicii is looking forward to working with Leona...hmm I wonder how much they paid him? Anyway, the track first took form as an instrumental track called 'Penguin'. There are two different vocal tracks which use the 'Penguin' instrumental, 'Collide' being one of them and the other track being 'Fade into Darkness' which features vocals by Andreas Moe. I like both vocal versions but 'Collide' is growing on me a little bit more...
Thought I might as well write this section as one blog, basically because I do not know that much about the following acts. Romanian Pop has been a huge success in Europe and North America as of late. We've had hits from Edward Maya, Inna and Alexandra Stan, and with more and more Romanian acts trying to crack Europe...who knows what will be next? Here's a few Romanian tracks I quite like at the moment.
Here's a good track that got lost somewhere in planet pop by the looks of it. It was released in the UK a few weeks ago but unfortunately made no impact on our charts. It's had over 4 million views on YouTube and was a top 10 smash in its homeland. I'm surprised it has not been a bigger hit than what it has been.
Radio Killer - Lonely Heart
Next up is Elena who represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 with the song 'The Balkan Girls'. Her track 'Disco Romancing' made it onto the Clubland 19 compilation. The video below is for a track called 'Midnight Sun', which is a cheesy fun song and will probably not get a release over here in the UK :-( it's had over 1 million YouTube views.
Elena - Midnight Sun
Next up is everyone's favourite Cher Lloyd lookalike (but better looking...). Alexandra Stan has done really well for herself and her 'Mr Saxobeat' and has been quite a huge hit over in the US. Her next single is called 'Get Back (ASAP)' and will probably be out shortly. The video has already been uploaded by 3beat. I can't see this one matching the success of 'Mr Saxobeat' and might even struggle to get into the top 40...let's see how it does when it's released. The single after 'Get Back (ASAP)' will be 'One Million featuring Carlprit' and is a little bit repetitive and less dancey - I'll get back to you on that one!
Alexandra Stan - Get Back (ASAP)
Alexandra Stan ft Carlprit - One Million
This next one you should all know. Inna has had several hits in the UK and had success with the singles 'Hot', 'Amazing' and 'Sun is Up'. Her other tracks have failed to make the top 40 but have been successful in other European countries. Her most recent single is 'Club Rocker' which has been a bit of a flop in Romania, even though one of the versions features Flo Rida. She's also released an updated version of a track called 'Un Momento'. I wonder which track will be next for the UK? Her 2nd album 'I Am The Club Rocker' is out next month.
Let me take you back to 2005 when the Benassi Bros were invading the charts over in mainland Europe, especially in France. A singer going by the name of Edun was signed up to the Off Limits label in Italy. She was discovered by Benny Benassi and Ferry Corsten when they were looking for a singer to feature on their collaboration under the name of FB, where she fought off competition from over 100 vocalists, the title of the track was 'Who's Knockin''. After that, Alice Edun recorded a song called 'Put Them Up/Put 'Em Up' which was composed by none other than Sannie Carlson (better known as Whigfield). The single performed really well over in the United States and reached number 2 on the Billboard Airplay Dance Charts.
Put Them Up/Put 'Em Up
Despite no longer working with Off Limits, Alice is still working on music and has released a handful of singles, one of my personal favourites is 'Survive' with Spanish producer Oscar Salguero, released in 2008.
Survive
She recently released a new single called 'Don't Ask Me Why', which has a beautiful piano introduction. It's about falling in love with someone after almost giving up. It's awesome when the chorus kicks in. We hope to hear more from Alice in the near future! Keep 'em coming!
Another Swedish act here. This duo are a brother and sister act who have both released music in different groups and this time they're together. This track has been clocking up the views on YouTube despite not even having an official video out yet. It was released in Sweden a few weeks ago and is climbing up the chart. A bootleg version of the track which features Romanian singer, Inna, has helped boost its profile. The bootleg version also comes under the name of 'Summer Lover' and samples a tiny section of her hit single 'Sun Is Up'. Hope there's a follow up single!
So this track has been lurking around for a while and was released last year in Sweden. It's just been released in the UK through 3beat. Ola took part in Swedish Idol in 2005, alongside Agnes and Måns Zelmerlöw, so a pretty good season for Europop. Ola has also taken part in Melodifestivalen (where the winner is picked to represent Sweden for Eurovision). The string arrangement really makes this song stand out and Ola's vocals do not disappoint. Unfortunately I can't see this song disturbing the top 200 in the UK due to the lack of promotion, which is sad as 'All Over The World' has a formula which was successful for Agnes (Release Me) and Robyn (With Every Heartbeat).
For those reading this right now...WELL DONE...you have found the Europop Nation blog site created by moi! This blog isn't trying to be anything different or isn't going to change the world, but I can guarantee it's going to feature some feel good Europop music from err... Europe and I might also venture to other nations where Europop style songs are being produced (copied...).
Over the last 2 or 3 years Europop has made quite a substantial comeback and is making its mark in territories such as the USA (take Alexandra Stan - Mr Saxobeat as an example) where it was once dominated by RnB tracks. Now even RnB stars are venturing into the Europop market and giving their tracks that extra special little twist...Rihanna's doing it, Lady Gaga's doing it and Chris Brown's doing it, to name a few.
Let's see how this blog site goes. I'll be posting some of my favourite tracks from the past, present and the future. Eventually I'd like to start interviewing some Europop acts...so spread the word.
