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.
