GA solo battle: Cheryl vs. Nadine

So, having lived with the two songs for a couple of weeks, I feel that I can comment on this. Cheryl Cole's new single Promise This, leading her second album Messy Little Raindrops premiered a few days after the long awaited debut solo single from Girls Aloud bandmate Nadine Coyle, aka 'the voice of Girls Aloud'. Being something of a GA loon (I own all 21 singles, albums, DVD's etc... and bought the box set too) I was very excited to hear both of these. Promise This by Cheryl is pretty far removed from the three singles from her debut album. An electro pop stormer in a Saturdays vein, it has a catchy hook, a brilliant piano backing and some brilliant lyrics and chants in French. Definitely a winner and the video is very good too. That's four out of four Cheryl singles that I loved then. I can't decide which is the best out of this, 3 Words and Fight For This Love.



Over to Nadine then and her debut solo single Insatiable. Sadly not a Darren Hayes cover, this is a song that I loved from the very first play. A brassy strong intro, some have called it 'dated' but I really wouldn't say that personally. It sounds fresh purely because Nadine hasn't gone down the now tired RedOne soundalike route. An individual song, which suits her distinctive voice down to a tee, with a great chorus. At this moment in time I very slightly prefer Nadine's song but both are fantastic - I do miss Girls Aloud though, rather hugely. This time two years ago I was obsessed with The Promise and I have to admit to not liking either of these two solo singles quite that much. With Nicola, Sarah and Kimberley, they were part of something very special indeed, and I do hope that they fulfill their promise to get back together at some point. Tangled Up and Out Of Control were effortlessly good - critically acclaimed, solid and excellent pop music. Chart predictions for the two songs? Cheryl's is obviously a #1 - she could basically release anything as a lead and take it to the top at the moment. Nadine's not as famous these days and might have to settle for top three at best - assuming that radio get on board, which hopefully they will!!!

The curse of the Euro hit in the UK...

What is it with nearly every huge European hit this year stalling between 21-40 in the UK charts this year? Sure they usually hang around for a while but I can't fathom why the UK is the only country where a lot of songs completely fail to properly catch on, when the rest of the continent are absolutely loving them. Aside from Yolanda Be Cool, who are Australian anyway, just with a typical Eurohit sound and legacy, only really Inna and Edward Maya have done brilliantly well in the UK charts this year, though the latter's Stereo Love only spent a month in the top twenty before spending an eternity in the bottom half of the chart where it remains even now. But what of Stromae's Alors On Danse (#27), Lena's Satellite (#30), Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) (#21), Keri Hilson's I Like (#34) and Hurts' Wonderful Life (#21). The latter are even from the UK! Granted they've scored themselves a top five debut album here but the song has absolutely blown up in the rest of Europe, yet their home country can't even put it top twenty!!!



It's been a strange year chartwise in the UK. Most of the biggest sellers have failed to top the charts - in fact it looks as if Eminem and Rihanna's #2 hit Love The Way You Lie will be topping the year to date chart soon!!! A lot of No.1 singles have been flash in the pan year 2000 type in one week and out of the top five the next (or at least down to the bottom of the top five). But the real confusion, for me, lies in this strange quirk of having all of the biggest European hits of the year doing so badly here. All I can chalk it up to is that they are not getting enough support here for whatever reason. Maybe the radio and TV bosses deem these songs to be less relevant to the UK than the rest of Europe. Maybe the UK follows and copies the US music scene more closely than anyone else.



Alors On Danse and Wonderful Life managed to get onto the Radio 1 playlist, somewhat surprisingly for the former, but it's received little support from elsewhere and hence isn't likely to go much higher than it already has. Waka Waka, I Like and Satellite meanwhile, all huge No.1 hits in Europe's other biggest market, Germany, haven't received any Radio 1 support whatsoever, let alone commercial radio support. It's sad to see that we seem completely out of touch with the rest of Europe with our charts, but hopefully these songs will go down as classic singles regardless of their peak - they all certainly deserve to. Whilst the UK enjoy disposable cod-reggae/carnival songs from X Factor alumni at the top of our charts, at least the rest of Europe are enjoying quality, decent music which is the real sound of 2010!!!

Grange Hill Can't Handle Me

Anyone remember the 1990s theme tune to UK high school based drama Grange Hill? The simple but memorable piano melody, composed by Peter Moss, was one of my favourite theme tunes of the era. Anyway, listening to Flo Rida's Club Can't Handle Me recently, I suddenly realised that the Grange Hill music would fit perfectly beneath Flo Rida's song. Kudos to remixer Doberman for coming up with a great remix of the original theme that laid a perfect soundbed for the mashup, seeing as the original was far too short. I had a bit of a play about with the two songs on Audacity and the concept seemed to work, but my mashup skills weren't quite up to scratch. So I sent the idea and a demo of my basic mix to friend and mashup king Hitstastic to work his magic and voila, see what you think of his final version 'Grange Hill Can't Handle Me' by LB9 vs. Hitstastic;



Club Can't Handle Me is a great song but really incredibly generic and way too similar to I Gotta Feeling in places, production wise. If this was the radio mix, I know I would have bought it on single! But maybe I'm biased as it was my idea! Here's to rap stars in the future sampling British TV theme tunes for real, next stop Eminem vs. Birds of a Feather!

A personal journey through music

I've been thinking recently about the ways in which I love and have loved music. It's ironic that I love it so much now as an adult, as I really didn't start appreciating music until 1998, when I was 11! Before that I liked a few odd songs, but never bought any music or went out of my way to listen to it. But now a lot of my favourites are 90s songs that I enjoyed at the time but have rediscovered in the noughties, having bought various compilations and learnt more about the history of the industry. The Corrs' sophomore album Talk On Corners changed my views on music albums wise, when I received it along with my first stereo in 1998, and Cher's seminal anthem Believe was the first single/song that I truly loved and became obsessed with, so all hail the vocoder!!! From circa October 1998 onwards I'd listen to the chart every week to hear the latest songs. I suppose my music phases can be briefly grouped as the following;

1987-1998 - I didn't really listen to/enjoy an awful lot of music aside for a few songs and never listened to any album until 1998. I was always extremely cultural aware though, for somebody who didn't actually listen to much music. I could tell you the full names of every Spice Girl, and probably even every member of Solid Harmoine! I read the magazines and stored all of the information but didn't listen to the music - it was a very strange relationship to the industry.

1999-2002 - From here on in I primarily listened to and loved chart dance, thanks to ATB's 9PM (Till I Come) and Alice Deejay's Better Off Alone at first, although I did like pop - very little from any other genres though. I first watched the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999 and recall liking Charlotte Nilsson, Selma, Evelin Samuel and Precious (which I bought on single on its release week, not realising that it was anything to do with ESC - obsessive in waiting!). The 2000 contest I only liked Alsou and Ines so basically wrote off my Eurovision love as a passing fad. But then 2001 had about 10 songs I loved and this was when the real obsession kicked in. My favourite song of all time also surfaced during this period - the Rob Searle trance remix of N-Trance's Set You Free. Defines perfection. If I could only listen to one song for the rest of my life, it would have to be this.



2003 - This was a big transition year for me, and my least favourite year of the 00's for many reasons (personal as well as musical - finishing school and doing exams, starting college, getting a job - I found it all very stressful). There was NO good dance about all year which devestated me, so I had to turn my attentions elsewhere. Delta Goodrem turned me fully on to pop music at this point. I loved Born To Try instantly but wasn't a real convert until I bought the Innocent Eyes album in the summer. From that point onwards I stopped being so all over the place with my tastes and pop was at the forefront now.

2004-2005 - I went through a piano singer/songwriter phase - Sarah McLachlan/Missy Higgins/Lucie Silvas etc... - all spawned from my love of Delta. I Still loved pure pop and dance started to seep back into my tastes too. I finally started to like male artists after six years of only caring for females, with very very few exceptions (Tanel Padar & Dave Benton, Eiffel 65, Wheatus, ATB - that's about it!). It was the summer domination of James Blunt and Daniel Powter (who I LOVED) which got me into males finally, bizarrely. I also finally loved a rap song for the first time - The Avenue by Roll Deep! And Kelly Clarkson and The Veronicas kick started a love affair with pop-rock too.

2006-2007 - This was when I really started to branch out with my musical tastes. I finally opened up to stuff from any and every genre, besides still loving pop and dance. Notably, after always hating it, Carrie Underwood turned me on to the occasional delights of country music! Males started to rule my tastes at various times, females at others. Two thoroughly good years for music across the spectrum - 2006 had Voodoo Child, Hips Don't Lie and Rock Steady, 2007 had With Every Hearbeat, Rule The World, Love Song and Believe Again all surface within mere weeks of each other (ok Robyn was slightly earlier!). I started going to gigs a lot during these years too, although I had been to a few in 2004-2005, but I was at uni in these two years and it was very much routine for me (and surely most students!?!) by now.

2008-present - nowadays I'm open to just about anything, and will give anything a chance. Inide, rock, dance (I enjoy all sub genres of it basically too), any type of pop, country, really coming around to love rap and R&B nowadays too. I just listen to a lot more variety, more foreign music, far less UK chart music than ever before. My tastes have certainly developed over the years - I love things now that I never would have loved when I was much more narrow minded and dance obsessed ten years ago. But my heart does remain with pop and dance primarily. And it will take somebody truly special indeed to ever penetrate my three favourite artists ever - Delta Goodrem, The Corrs and Shakira - nobody holds a light to these three for me. Other artists I've gone on and off but whenever I think I might be getting bored of one of these, they pull something truly sensational out of the bag (Believe Again, the entire Borrowed Heaven album, and She Wolf/Waka Waka respectively). I mustn't underestimate the contribution of the following so far unmentioned acts on my life in terms of my musical 'journey' though: Girls Aloud, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Lady GaGa, Colbie Caillat, KT Tunstall, Kelly Llorenna, Atomic Kitten, Christina Aguilera, Natasha Bedingfield, Mariah Carey and Vanessa Amorosi - all incredibly instrumental in shaping my tastes and indeed soundtracking my life so far.

Manics are back, and inspired by Steps!?!

Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers are back, and after an album that didn't perform particularly well sales and chart-wise, they seem to be after a hit this time. The lead single from Postcards From A Young Man, is called (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love, and after loving their last commercial lead single in 2007 - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough, which featured Cardigans' singer Nina Persson, I was intrigued to see how they're intending to bag a hit in an era where rock music is performing terribly in the charts. In fact it has a practically non-existent presence these days save for the odd Facebook campaign boosted entry, like Rage Against The Machine. A far cry from five years ago when the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand were powerful chart forces.

It would seem that the Manics answer to this, with their new single, is to jump back ten years in time and use an incredibly similar main hook to Steps' 2000 #1 hit Stomp!!! It may have been a UK #1 but everyone knows it was far from their best and got to the top by default on a low sales week. Why not borrow from classics such as One For Sorrow or It's The Way You Make Me Feel!?! It's a catchy song, and I actually do like it, but it's a very strange experience listening to it indeed. Can the Manics buck the trend to score a rare rock hit or is the genre too irrelevant chart-wise for this to make a mark at the moment? Time will tell...but for now, 'everybody clap your hands *clap clap* get on up and dance, we're gonna stomp all night now!';

Manic Street Preachers - (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love



Steps - Stomp

Radio 1 in not ignoring French language song shocker!!!

The inescapable Alors On Danse has been an absolutely huge smash hit across Europe this year, topping the charts in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia and Switzerland and going top 3 in Sweden, Russia, Poland and Finland. Of course, with any other hit on this scale it would seem rather obvious that eventually, and always last, it would cross over to the UK market. However, I was always dubious about this prospect in the respect that foreign language hits in the UK are few and far between to say the least, the last French language top ten hit here being Moi Lolita by Alizee in 2002. Others have been promoted on TV to no avail - La Tortura by Shakira and Ella Elle L'a by Kate Ryan for example, but they've never properly caught on, mainly because radio refuse to play them.

So was Australian act Yolanda Be Cool's Italian language recent UK No.1 hit We No Speak Americano breaking through the dawn of a new era for non English language songs to cross over into the UK charts? Certainly the country's biggest radio station, BBC Radio 1, seem like they're finally going to start supporting them. No sooner than Yolanda Be Cool is taken off the playlist, Belgian singer Stromae's Euro smash is added!!! So if you're from the UK but have been living under a rock and managed to avoid Alors On Danse's huge internet presence this year, get ready for the onslaught because it's about to go big!!! If you're a European reader, you may laugh at how ridiculously long it takes 99% of Euro hits to reach these shores, if they ever do at all that is, knowing full well that you were dancing to Alors On Danse in March!!!



Hopefully this is going to be the start of something for UK radio's near blanket refusal to play anything in a language other than English. We've missed out on some great tracks here that are regarded as classics across the rest of Europe, so please, can the snobbery finally end now? Imagine if radio and TV in Germany enforced a policy of playing only German language music - the country would be up in arms about not being able to listen to new material from the likes of Lady GaGa, Robbie Williams, Katy Perry and Amy Winehouse!!! Similarly many of us in the UK are getting a little bit tired of missing out on all of the big foreign language hits that we all enjoy on our holidays on the continent, or hear through the internet. So here's to change, ALORS ON DANSE! da, da, da, da, da, da...

A pop standard...but only in Norway!

British/Norwegian boyband A1 have always had a bit of a knack with a tune. Mark and Christian are great songwriters and Ben is a very strong vocalist. Since reforming, they've had a lot of success in Norway with Comic Relief single Take Me Home, Melodi Grand Prix runner up Don't Wanna Lose You Again (which so deserved to go to Eurovision over Didrik!) and new single In Love And I Hate It, which is the most 'classic' sounding A1 of all three of their singles. They've been performing at some of the summer shows over in Norway recently, and recently sang their aformentioned new single as well as Everytime at Allsang på Grensen.



For anyone who may have forgotten, Everytime was a boyband ballad of epic proportions which has been sadly forgotten in the UK despite peaking at #3 upon its release in November 1999, their biggest hit to date at that point. Unfortunately it was probably rather overshadowed by the fact that it was released the same week as Robbie Williams' classic ballad She's The One, which of course went straight to #1. In Norway however, it was a slightly different story. Everytime peaked at #3 there as well, but spent 13 weeks inside the top ten and went down as something as a pop standard, as you can see by the huge reception for it in that video. Had they been performing it to a big UK crowd, I expect barely anybody would even recall the song's existence, let alone know every word.

This all tells a very interesting story about how different countries take to different songs, which also of course can dramatically change a setlist when acts go to perform in different territories. The centrepiece of a Kylie Minogue set in the UK might well be the likes of Better The Devil You Know and Spinning Around but in the US, she'll pay more attention to The Locomotion, her first big breakthrough hit there. Similarly, Sex On Fire has just joined the elite million sellers club for Kings Of Leon in the UK, but it barely dented the charts in their native America, where Use Somebody was by far their biggest hit.

It's always interesting to see how cultural differences and promotional decisions affect what do and don't go down as 'classic singles' from one country to the next. But one thing's for sure - Everytime is far too strong to be forgotten everywhere but Norway, so can somebody resurrect it by singing it in X Factor this year please? It would surely make a nice change from hearing O-Town's All Or Nothing for the 874th time!!!

Kelly Llorenna returns with a drastic musical overhaul!

It's fair to say this is one of the most unexpected direction changes I've ever seen. Kelly Llorenna, 'queen of clubs' and one of my favourite British singers of all time is now fronting a new pop/rock band called Freak Asylum. For those that don't know, Kelly's the singer behind THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME ™ (Set You Free by N-Trance) and had solo hits with Tell It To My Heart, Heart Of Gold and This Time I Know It's For Real, and not forgetting the brilliant Flip & Fill collaboration True Love Never Dies! The new band are apparently influenced by 'Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, Pink, The Veronicas, Kelly Clarkson, The Prodigy, Marilyn Manson, H.I.M., John 5, Madonna, Adam Lambert, Muse, Pendulum, Pretty Reckless'. Freak Asylum are working on an album currently...and juding by the sound of That's What I Hate About You, I can't wait to hear it!!!

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/freakasylum
Website: http://freakasylum.co.uk/

Welcome to the wonderful world of Medina

27 year old Danish singer Medina (real name Andrea Fuentealba Valbak) has emerged as the biggest star from her country since Alphabeat. In fact she's so successful in her homeland that the singer, that merges dance and R&B, has already featured on five #1 and two #2 singles there!!! Although You & I, the English translation to her mega hit Kun For Mig, stalled at #39 in the UK charts when given a release last year, it's gone on to become a top ten hit in Germany which has prompted the release of a full English language album, Welcome To Medina.

Rather than being a direct translation of her Danish LP it features English translations of the four singles; Kun For Mig (You & I), Ensom (Lonely), Vi To (The One) and Velkommen Til Medina (Welcome To Medina). All of these work really well and lay the foundations for a fantastic album, definitely my favourite right now and if you haven't yet heard it I fully recommend that you do. Addiction, 6AM, Execute Me and Selfish are other highlights with only a couple of filler tracks, and even those are better than most. I personally think that she should be given another chance in the UK - the fact that You & I went top 40 at all actually surprised me and there's clearly some interest in her here.

Roll Deep: Bringing grime to the masses?

Ever since they broke out into the mainstream in 2005 with the brilliant The Avenue, I've been a major fan of Roll Deep. The 'crew', that has featured a number of rappers over the years, most notably Wiley, who has also had solo hits with Wearing My Rolex, Never Be Your Woman, Take That and Cash In My Pocket, have been together since 2002. The Avenue, which sampled, Heartache Avenue by The Maisonettes, was their first chart hit, sadly just missing out on the top ten back in summer 2005, debuting and peaking at #11. It was the first mainly rap song that I probably ever loved, I was never much a fan of the genre before it. I thought that the sample was genius and the verses were perfect. Had it been released in 2010 for the first time it would have been an easy #1 single, but the genre hadn't quite reached the masses by this point.



Other acts bubbling underground in the mid-noughties before really breaking out in the last couple of years have included N-Dubz, Tinie Tempah, Tinchy Stryder, Skepta, Devlin and many others. The sound is very much the 'in thing' and Roll Deep are partly to thank for this, as of course, is Dizzee Rascal who was a member of the collective before they hit the mainstream. The first British grime rapper to really break into the charts, Dizzee sold consistently and had memorable top 20 hits with the likes of Fix Up Look Sharp, Dream and Stand Up Tall, all well ahead of their time and incredibly influential songs. His breakthrough from star to superstar came with the 2008 #1 collaboration with Calvin Harris, Dance Wiv Me. Since then he's hit the UK #1 spot with Bonkers, Holiday, Dirtee Disco and Shout and also smashed with Dirtee Cash and You Got The Dirtee Love with Florence + The Machine. In fact with 5 #1's in less than two years, and almost everything he releases being assured of a place at the top of the charts, you wonder if he's the new Westlife?

Roll Deep scored their first UK #1 single a few months ago with the anthemic Good Times, an uplifting dance/rap hybrid that featured a pulsating trance backing not dissimilar to DJ Sammy's cover of Heaven and a brilliant chorus from emerging talent Jodie Connor. It spent three weeks at #1, the joint longest spell in the past 18 months. New single Green Light will hopefully repeat that feat as if it's at all possible, I love it even more than its predecessor!!! A fantastic bassline hook paves the way for more Wiley led rapping and another excellent female sung chrous, this time from Tania Foster, responsible for the great pop song Supawoman. Hopefully a summer anthem for them, the last thing that this great inspirational group need is to be a one hit wonder. Thank you Roll Deep, even if you didn't open up the eyes of the masses to British rap and grime, you've certainly opened me up to it.

New Music; Katy's dream comes true - Ace of Base are back!!!

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Following the enormous worldwide success of California Gurls, pop superstar Katy Perry's latest offering is the slightly slower tempo Teenage Dream. Not too dissimilar melody wise to its predecessor, it's another surefire hit with an instantly memorable chorus, plenty of attitude and oomph and far better than what the pretenders trying to steal her crown are coming out with. For somebody once tipped to be a one hit wonder after I Kissed A Girl, she's made that tricky transition to bona-fide megastar and should have a very long career ahead of her. Her debut album, One Of The Boys, was easily one of my favourite albums of 2008, the singles as well as Self Inflicted in particular, so I can't wait to see how the album of the same name shapes up when it's released at the end of August. The early signs are very promising indeed!



Ace Of Base - All For You

Out are Jenny and Linn, and in are Clara and Julia with a change of (noticeably younger) vocalists from the Swedish pop band. Ulf and Jonas remain behind the scenes, therefore the actual music and production doesn't stray too far away from what you'd expect. It sounds modern and contemporary yet delightfully 90's influenced at the same time. Melodically I'm reminded of Cutting Crew's (I Just) Died In Your Arms funnily enough but there is more than enough here to convince you that this is the same band that released such classics as The Sign, All That She Wants, Life Is A Flower and Don't Turn Around. Instantly catchy, typically Swedish, I was quite worried about the new line-up seeing as I loved Jenny and less so Linn, but luckily we have the former's solo career to look forward to as well (which was kick started with the excellent Here I Am), so two Ace of Base-related albums coming very soon, I can't wait!!!



Lena Meyer-Landrut - Touch A New Day

Following the monster European smash, and of course Eurovision Song Contest winner, Satellite, was never going to be easy for German teenager Lena. She opened her chart career there with three simultaneous top five hits of course, Satellite, Bee and Love Me. With the arguable highlights of the album already out, yet only one of these a 'traditional' single, a new single was needed and the pleasant and breezy, but clearly album filler fodder, Touch A New Day was chosen. It's leagues behind Satellite in terms of quality, but is clearly aiming for a different audience, which should help shift more copies of the album if nothing else. At the time of writing it's fallen from #28 to #38 in the space of a few days on Germany's iTunes which probably suggests that they are suffering from 'Lena fatigue' or maybe that a better single should have been picked, Not Following or her gorgeous cover of Jason Mraz's Mr Curiosity for example. The last thing Germany will want is for their new superstar and national treasure Lena to become a one hit wonder (well three I guess, how confusing!). But she's been confirmed to represent her country again next year to attempt to 'defend' her title, so she should have another #1 single on the way next March. The chances of having another Eurovision winner on her hands are probably slim to none.

He's an Eric Saade hypekiller

Swedish superstar Darin is back with another gem! Clearly fed up with his #1 male artist in Sweden status being lost first to Måns Zelmerlöw and then Eric Saade, he's here to take his crown back hoping for his 4th #1 single there. The moody pace in the verses and sweeping dramatic strings in the intro almost make it sound like a Scandi-pop take on a Bond theme. It's pretty fantastic anyway and surely the best thing he's done in years, at least since Breathing Your Love. It does bizarrely remind me of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors in parts of the melody though!

Streamlining the blog...

From now on, I will no longer post my weekly top songs and albums list, I think I cover my favourite new songs/artists well enough in the other posts. I will of course put up my highlights of the year at the end of December, just in case you missed out on anything during the course of the year.

Top Songs/Albums; WB 5/7/10

Songs



1. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (2)
2. Shakira feat Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (1)
3. Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way (NEW)
4. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (3)
5. Leddra Chapman - Summer Song (8)
6. Voe - Don’t Talk To Me (NEW)
7. The Naked & Famous - Young Blood (NEW)
8. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (4)
9. Agnes & Björn - When You Tell The World You’re Mine (6)
10. Roll Deep - Green Light (18)
11. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (7)
12. K’Naan - Wavin’ Flag (5)
13. Rasmus Seebach - Natteravn (21)
14. Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup - We No Speak Americano (9)
15. Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite (NEW)
16. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Extra Mile (20)
17. Vengaboys - Rocket To Uranus (30)
18. Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up (14)
19. Kylie Minogue - Better Than Today (NEW)
20. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (25)
21. Example - Last Ones Standing (23)
22. Mark Ronson and The Business Intl - Bang Bang Bang (17)
23. Stromae - Alors On Danse (12)
24. Lena Meyer-Landrut & Ellie Goulding - Not Following (11)
25. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (13)
26. Fallulah - Bridges (10)
27. Kylie Minogue - Too Much (NEW)
28. Sarah McLachlan - Loving You Is Easy (19)
29. I Blame Coco - Self Machine (16)
30. The Wanted - All Time Low (32)
31. Sarah McLachlan - Forgiveness (NEW)
32. The Saturdays - Missing You (NEW)
33. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (15)
34. Jason DeRülo - What If (42)
35. Kylie Minogue - Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love) (NEW)
36. The Pipettes - Call Me (43)
37. Marina & The Diamonds - Oh No! (38)
38. Daruso - Since You Been Gone (NEW)
39. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (26)
40. Tinchy Stryder - In My System (39)
41. Kylie Minogue - Can’t Beat The Feeling (NEW)
42. Alexander Rybak - First Kiss (NEW)
43. Locnville - Sun In My Pocket (49)
44. Kelly Rowland - Commander (Re-entry)
45. Eminem feat Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie (37)
46. Flo Rida - Club Can’t Handle Me (33)
47. Miley Cyrus - Two More Lonely People (NEW)
48. Kylie Minogue - Closer (NEW)
49. Kylie Minogue - Illusion (NEW)
50. Swedish House Mafia feat Pharrell - One (Your Name) (44)

Albums


1. Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite (NEW)
2. Sarah McLachlan - Laws Of Illusion (1)
3. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries (2)
4. Clubland 17 (NEW)
5. Example - Won’t Go Quietly (3)
6. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Make My Day (4)
7. Absolute Summer Hits 2010 (5)
8. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (6)
9. Miley Cyrus - Can’t Be Tamed (NEW)
10. The Pipettes - Earth vs. The Pipettes (7)
11. Christina Aguilera - Bionic (8)
12. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (11)
13. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (12)
14. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (13)
15. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (9)
16. Safura - It’s My War (10)
17. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (19)
18. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (16)
19. Tom Dice - Teardrops (14)
20. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (20)

Top Songs/Albums; WB 28/6/10

Songs



1. Shakira feat Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (3)
2. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (1)
3. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (2)
4. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (4)
5. K’Naan - Wavin’ Flag (5)
6. Agnes & Björn - When You Tell The World You’re Mine (NEW)
7. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (8)
8. Leddra Chapman - Summer Song (10)
9. Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup - We No Speak Americano (31)
10. Fallulah - Bridges (12)
11. Lena Meyer-Landrut & Ellie Goulding - Not Following (6)
12. Stromae - Alors On Danse (19)
13. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (7)
14. Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up (20)
15. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (11)
16. I Blame Coco - Self Machine (9)
17. Mark Ronson and The Business Intl - Bang Bang Bang (17)
18. Roll Deep - Green Light (NEW)
19. Sarah McLachlan - Loving You Is Easy (Re-entry)
20. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Extra Mile (Re-entry)
21. Rasmus Seebach - Natteravn (NEW)
22. FC Kahuna feat Hafdis Huld - Hayling (NEW)
23. Example - Last Ones Standing (NEW)
24. Spark - Shut Out The Moon (28)
25. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (30)
26. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (18)
27. Stromae - Te Quiero (34)
28. Christina Aguilera - Little Dreamer (13)
29. Love Generation - Love Generation (16)
30. Vengaboys - Rocket To Uranus (24)
31. Marla - Lipstick For The Vampires (NEW)
32. The Wanted - All Time Low (NEW)
33. Flo Rida - Club Can’t Handle Me (22)
34. Salem Al Fakir - All Day Love (NEW)
35. Lissie - When I’m Alone (43)
36. Alexander Rybak - Oah (NEW)
37. Eminem feat Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie (Re-entry)
38. Marina & The Diamonds - Oh No! (33)
39. Tinchy Stryder - In My System (41)
40. The Pipettes - Ain’t No Talkin’ (NEW)
41. Sarah McLachlan - Love Come (NEW)
42. Jason DeRülo - What If (Re-entry)
43. The Pipettes - Call Me (36)
44. Swedish House Mafia feat Pharrell - One (Your Name) (45)
45. Joshua Radin - Brand New Day (38)
46. Alexander Rybak - Why Not Me (NEW)
47. Cocknbullkid - Cocknbullkid (NEW)
48. Baby Alice - Pina Colada Boy (NEW)
49. Locnville - Sun In My Pocket (NEW)
50. Leddra Chapman - Wine Glass (NEW)

Albums

1. Sarah McLachlan - Laws Of Illusion (NEW)
2. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries (NEW)
3. Example - Won’t Go Quietly (NEW)
4. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Make My Day (NEW)
5. Absolute Summer Hits 2010 (NEW)
6. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (1)
7. The Pipettes - Earth vs. The Pipettes (4)
8. Christina Aguilera - Bionic (2)
9. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (3)
10. Safura - It’s My War (NEW)
11. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (9)
12. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (7)
13. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (6)
14. Tom Dice - Teardrops (5)
15. Lissie - Catching A Tiger (NEW)
16. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (11)
17. Fallulah - The Black Cat Neighbourhood (10)
18. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (8)
19. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (15)
20. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (14)

New Music; Cascada 2.0, a Xtina bonus and a royal wedding!!!

DARUSO - Since You Been Gone

Set to be released on the August 1st on AATW offshoot 3 Beat, who were behind recent hits from Agnes, Inna and Edward Maya, this is proper old school pop dance. I've heard of this band before, the producers are in fact none other than Jewels and Stone who have been responsible many dance remixes of pop songs, particularly in the last decade for acts such as S Club 7 and Girls Aloud. DARUSO's song Closest Thing To Heaven and indeed the whole set up of the act (two background producers, female lead singer) reminded me of Cascada, but this is slightly less like them. An instantly catchy song, it's nothing groundbreaking but songs like this always sound better in the summer, a time when I tend to listen to far more dance music than any other period of the year for some reason.



Christina Aguilera - Little Dreamer

Christina has set an undesirable new record in the UK yesterday when her long awaited fourth stuido album, Bionic, crashed from #1 to #29 in its second week, by far the biggest fall from the top of the charts of all time. Being one of the biggest fans of her eponymous 1999 debut album and 2002 opus Stripped possible, I was slightly underwhelmed by 2006's Back To Basics to say the least. Still, I'd been looking forward to a return to form with Bionic considering the star names she'd worked with, but the main album didn't really excite me as much as I'd hoped, and some tracks are just pure awful. However, being the loyal fan that I am, I bought the deluxe edition complete with bonus tracks, and downloaded iTunes only bonus track Little Dreamer, to ensure I had all 24 songs from the project. Safe to say that everything on the bonus disc deserved a place on the main album, not to mention this glorious Ladytron produced song. I have no idea why Stronger Than Ever and Birds of Prey weren't considered for the album when Prima Donna and My Girls were. But the biggest joke is that Little Dreamer, possibly the best song of hers I've heard since Candyman, not only didn't qualify for the album, but didn't even qualify for the bonus disc, and will forever be an iTunes only oddity. Maybe if the rest of Bionic had been more like this sound, it wouldn't have been such a relative flop worldwide. Recommended.



Agnes & Bjorn Skifs - When You Tell The World You're Mine

Billed as the biggest royal wedding in Europe since Charles and Diana, Princess Victoria of Sweden married her gym instructor Daniel, now prince, at the weekend. The event spawned a load of pop singles from the country's biggest stars. Carola and Darin both have singles for the event as does one of my stars of the year, Salem Al Fakir, whose All Day Love's main hook sounds strangly like Timewarp!!! But my favourite, and the official wedding single, is this duet between Swedish veteran, former Eurovision entrant and legend Björn Skifs and now international star Agnes Carlsson. It shouldn't work but it really does, and this ballad is a classic, almost like it could have been taken from a timeless Disney animation. It's already shot to #1 on iTunes in Sweden, which is no shock really considering that the pair performed it live at the wedding to the princess and prince, and I really wouldn't rule out the song being covered by an X Factor act or SyCo star in the near future. The songwriter is, after all, behind many of Westlife, Leona Lewis and many others biggest hits.

Top Songs/Albums; WB 21/6/10

Songs

1. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (2)
2. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (1)
3. Shakira feat Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (4)
4. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (7)
5. K’Naan - Wavin’ Flag (8)
6. Lena Meyer-Landrut & Ellie Goulding - Not Following (3)
7. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (14)
8. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (5)
9. I Blame Coco - Self Machine (13)
10. Leddra Chapman - Summer Song (10)
11. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (9)
12. Fallulah - Bridges (NEW)
13. Christina Aguilera - Little Dreamer (18)
14. Tom Dice - Me & My Guitar (6)
15. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (11)
16. Love Generation - Love Generation (12)
17. Mark Ronson and The Business Intl - Bang Bang Bang (15)
18. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (31)
19. Stromae - Alors On Danse (Re-entry)
20. Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up (30)
21. Jadyn Maria feat Katy Perry - A Man’s World (NEW)
22. Flo Rida - Club Can’t Handle Me (43)
23. Colbie Caillat - Maria (35)
24. Vengaboys - Rocket To Uranus (22)
25. Jérémy Amelin feat Angelika - Oh, Oh! (NEW)
26. Little Boots - If Wishes Were Horses (NEW)
27. Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me (17)
28. Spark - Shut Out The Moon (NEW)
29. Fallulah - Only Human (NEW)
30. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (36)
31. Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup - We No Speak Americano (41)
32. Riva Starr - I Was Drunk (40)
33. Marina & The Diamonds - Oh No! (42)
34. Stromae - Te Quiero (NEW)
35. Ola - All Over The World (NEW)
36. The Pipettes - Call Me (50)
37. The Like - He’s Not A Boy (NEW)
38. Joshua Radin - Brand New Day (Re-entry)
39. Susanna And The Magical Orchestra - Someday (NEW)
40. Daisy Dares You - Rosie (25)
41. Tinchy Stryder - In My System (NEW)
42. MIA - XXXO (45)
43. Lissie - When I’m Alone (48)
44. Aloha From Hell - Don’t Gimme That (NEW)
45. Swedish House Mafia feat Pharrell - One (Your Name) (NEW)
46. Eric Saade - It’s Gonna Rain (Re-entry)
47. Inna - Amazing (47)
48. Sibel feat Lazee - The Fall (NEW)
49. Basshunter - Saturday (NEW)
50. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Touch A New Day (NEW)

Albums

1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (2)
2. Christina Aguilera - Bionic (1)
3. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (10)
4. The Pipettes - Earth vs. The Pipettes (NEW)
5. Tom Dice - Teardrops (3)
6. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (7)
7. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (6)
8. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (5)
9. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (4)
10. Fallulah - The Black Cat Neighbourhood (NEW)
11. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (8)
12. Eric Saade - Masquerade (9)
13. Uffie - Sex Dreams & Denim Jeans (NEW)
14. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (11)
15. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (12)
16. Boyzone - Brother (14)
17. Marina & The Diamonds - The Family Jewels (18)
18. Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers (13)
19. Timoteij - Längtan (16)
20. B.o.B. - The Adventures Of Bobby Ray (15)

Top Songs/Albums; WB 14/7/10

Songs

1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (1)
2. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (3)
3. Lena Meyer-Landrut & Ellie Goulding - Not Following (5)
4. Shakira feat Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (13)
5. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (9)
6. Tom Dice - Me & My Guitar (2)
7. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (4)
8. K’Naan - Wavin’ Flag (32)
9. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (12)
10. Leddra Chapman - Summer Song (16)
11. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (7)
12. Love Generation - Love Generation (19)
13. I Blame Coco - Self Machine (NEW)
14. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (6)
15. Mark Ronson feat Q-Tip & MNDR - Bang Bang Bang (11)
16. Katie Melua - The Flood (8)
17. Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me (34)
18. Christina Aguilera - Little Dreamer (NEW)
19. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (10)
20. Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (43)
21. Christian TV - When She Turns 18 (NEW)
22. Vengaboys - Rocket To Uranus (NEW)
23. Christina Aguilera - Lift Me Up (28)
24. Shy’m - Je Sais (NEW)
25. Daisy Dares You - Rosie (20)
26. Tiffany Page - On Your Head (NEW)
27. Velile & Safri Duo - Helele (NEW)
28. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (17)
29. Tom Dice - Always And Forever (21)
30. Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up (NEW)
31. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (36)
32. Eminem feat Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie (NEW)
33. Christina Aguilera - Stronger Than Ever (NEW)
34. T.I. feat Keri Hilson - Got Your Back (NEW)
35. Colbie Caillat - Maria (NEW)
36. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (41)
37. Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster (27)
38. Florence + The Machine - Heavy In Your Arms (48)
39. Christina Aguilera - Birds Of Prey (NEW)
40. Riva Starr - I Was Drunk (NEW)
41. D Cup & Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano (NEW)
42. Marina & The Diamonds - Oh No! (Re-entry)
43. Flo Rida - Club Can’t Handle Me (NEW)
44. Michelle Branch & Timbaland - Getaway (NEW)
45. MIA - XXXO (38)
46. Skepta - Rescue Me (50)
47. Inna - Amazing (46)
48. Lissie - When I’m Alone (NEW)
49. Alexandra Burke - Start Without You (NEW)
50. The Pipettes - Call Me (NEW)

Albums

1. Christina Aguilera - Bionic (6)
2. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (1)
3. Tom Dice - Teardrops (2)
4. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (14)
5. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (3)
6. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (4)
7. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (5)
8. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (8)
9. Eric Saade - Masquerade (7)
10. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (10)
11. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (18)
12. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (15)
13. Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers (9)
14. Boyzone - Brother (13)
15. B.o.B. - The Adventures Of Bobby Ray (11)
16. Timoteij - Längtan (12)
17. Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (Re-entry)
18. Marina & The Diamonds - The Family Jewels (Re-entry)
19. Inna - Hot (16)
20. Katie Melua - The House (17)

Top Songs/Albums; WB 7/6/10

Songs

1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (1)
2. Tom Dice - Me & My Guitar (2)
3. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (3)
4. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (4)
5. Lena Meyer-Landrut & Ellie Goulding - Not Following (NEW)
6. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (9)
7. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (Re-entry)
8. Katie Melua - The Flood (7)
9. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (38)
10. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (5)
11. Mark Ronson feat Q-Tip & MNDR - Bang Bang Bang (19)
12. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (34)
13. Shakira feat Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (21)
14. Safura - Drip Drop (8)
15. Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (6)
16. Leddra Chapman - Summer Song (27)
17. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (12)
18. Sheelah - Psycho (13)
19. Love Generation - Love Generation (NEW)
20. Daisy Dares You - Rosie (22)
21. Tom Dice - Always And Forever (29)
22. Paula Seling feat Ovi - Playing With Fire (31)
23. Roll Deep - Good Times (16)
24. Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone (11)
25. Matisse - Better Than Her (10)
26. N-Dubz feat Bodyrox - We Dance On (26)
27. Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster (28)
28. Christina Aguilera - Lift Me Up (39)
29. Elin Lanto - Funeral (15)
30. Diana Vickers - Notice (17)
31. Debi Nova - Drummer Boy (NEW)
32. K’Naan - Wavin’ Flag (23)
33. Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life (14)
34. Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me (NEW)
35. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Love Me (NEW)
36. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (Re-entry)
37. E.M.D. - Save Tonight (40)
38. MIA - XXXO (33)
39. Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire (42)
40. Eric Saade - It’s Gonna Rain (NEW)
41. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (Re-entry)
42. David Guetta & Chris Willis feat Fergie & LMFAO - Gettin’ Over You (NEW)
43. Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (Re-entry)
44. The Chemical Brothers - Swoon (50)
45. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug (48)
46. Inna - Amazing (NEW)
47. Taio Cruz - Dynamite (NEW)
48. Florence + The Machine - Heavy In Your Arms (NEW)
49. Safura - Soulless (NEW)
50. Skepta - Rescue Me (NEW)

Albums

1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (8)
2. Tom Dice - Teardrops (2)
3. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (1)
4. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (3)
5. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (5)
6. Christina Aguilera - Bionic (10)
7. Eric Saade - Masquerade (6)
8. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (7)
9. Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers (4)
10. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (14)
11. B.o.B. - The Adventures Of Bobby Ray (NEW)
12. Timoteij - Längtan (9)
13. Boyzone - Brother (11)
14. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (17)
15. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (16)
16. Inna - Hot (12)
17. Katie Melua - The House (15)
18. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (20)
19. Agnes - Dance Love Pop (13)
20. Salem Al Fakir - Ignore This (18)

Almost 30 years of hurt gone for Deutschland!!!

Lena Meyer-Landrut, who I've probably mentioned more on this blog than anybody else (!!!), has got herself another incredible achievement by winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the fantastic Satellite, one of Europe's biggest hits of 2010 so far, particularly in Germany where it smashed all existing download records and has resided in the top five there for 10 weeks so far, 5 at #1, and sure to return to the top end now, following the triumph of the teenager from Hanover. It brings to an abrupt end the awful run of luck for Germany at the contest - they last won in 1982 with A Little Peace by Nicole and were last in the top ten back in 2004 with Max's Can't Wait Until Tonight. They had been amongst the favourites a couple of times in the noughties - with Corinna May's I Can't Live Without Music in 2002, which managed to finish in the bottom five and country pop song No No Never by Texas Lightning in 2006 - a similarly huge chart success as Lena in Germany, it finished 15th. Aside from these they've become more accustomed to the bottom five in the last few years, thanks to the likes of Gracia and No Angels.

So the standout song of the contest, the most contemporary and catchy song wins again, just like Fairytale last year, and for a nation who really upped their game and reaped their rewards accordingly. I'm ecstatic because it's easily my favourite song of 2010 so far. So what of the other results? They all trailed a long way behind Lena, but Turkey's rock band Manga finished 2nd with We Could Be The Same, following an energetic and memorable performance and Romania's fantastic Playing With Fire by Paula Selling and Ovi, came 3rd, equalling their best result in the contest, helped no doubt by their brilliant transparent double ended piano. Denmark's 1980s throwback anthem, sounding like Starship meets Tina Turner's The Best, did incredibly well in 4th place and the pre-contest favourites Azerbaijan didn't quite live up to the hype and finished 5th.

Special mention to Belgium who's gorgeous acoustic strummer Me & My Guitar, by Tom Dice, finished 6th, having won its semi final comfortably, their best result since 2003!!! So what of all of the many, many ballads? They almost all flopped! Ireland and Norway's You Raise Me Up meets Titanic clones both ended up in the bottom six having once been highly tipped, and Portugal and Belarus didn't do much better either. Last place, naturally, went to the United Kingdom, as we returned to form. After managing a rare top five last year with It's My Time by now Sugababe Jade Ewen, we're back to where we were in 2008 - dead last. Why? Because it's not 1989, its 2010 - simple as that. Please BBC, for 2011, can we have a contemporary song with at least a chance to do well, pretty please? We have one of the biggest music industries in the world, certainly the biggest out of any nation competing in Eurovision, but how on earth do the likes of Jemini, Daz Sampson, Scooch and Josh Dubovie represent what we as a nation listen to and buy? I'll admit to liking (and buying on single) three of the above four songs, but when we have the likes of Leona Lewis, Amy MacDonald, Cheryl Cole, Taio Cruz and others excelling around Europe, you have to wonder how they in any way relate to the things we send to Eurovision? Put it this way, had Cheryl Cole's Fight For This Love been our Eurovision entry, I don't think Satellite would have been such the clear cut winner it managed to be last night. But anyway, well done to Lena, Stefan Raabe and Germany - boo to Norway and Sweden for not picking A1/Bjorn Johan Muri or Salem Al Fakir/Timoteij, and lets hope the UK can follow Germany's zero to hero turnaround and win ESC 2011 in Berlin...or Munich...or Hanover...??? Enjoy Satellite once again, at Eurovision this time of course;

Top Songs/Albums; WB 31/5/10

Songs



1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (2)
2. Tom Dice - Me & My Guitar (40)
3. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (1)
4. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (3)
5. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (12)
6. Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (11)
7. Katie Melua - The Flood (10)
8. Safura - Drip Drop (14)
9. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (13)
10. Matisse - Better Than Her (NEW)
11. Eva Rivas - Apricot Stone (NEW)
12. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (5)
13. Sheelah - Psycho (4)
14. Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life (33)
15. Elin Lanto - Funeral (6)
16. Roll Deep - Good Times (9)
17. Diana Vickers - Notice (7)
18. Alexandra Burke feat Pitbull - All Night Long (8)
19. Mark Ronson feat Q-Tip & MNDR - Bang Bang Bang (NEW)
20. 3 +2 - Butterflies (46)
21. Shakira feat Freshlyground - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)
22. Daisy Dares You - Rosie (31)
23. K’Naan - Wavin’ Flag (NEW)
24. Dulce María - Inevitable (19)
25. Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me (32)
26. N-Dubz feat Bodyrox - We Dance On (Re-entry)
27. Leddra Chapman - Summer Song (Re-entry)
28. Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster (NEW)
29. Tom Dice - Always And Forever (NEW)
30. Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders - Life Looks Better In Spring (Re-entry)
31. Paula Seling feat Ovi - Playing With Fire (Re-entry)
32. Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything (16)
33. MIA - XXXO (39)
34. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (26)
35. Tone Damli Aaberge - I Love You (27)
36. Natasha Bedingfield - Touch (36)
37. Hafdis Huld - Action Man (45)
38. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (34)
39. Christina Aguilera - Lift Me Up (Re-entry)
40. E.M.D. - Save Tonight (NEW)
41. 3OH!3 feat Ke$ha - My First Kiss (23)
42. Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire (42)
43. Chanee and N'Evergreen - In A Moment Like This (Re-entry)
44. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours (47)
45. Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber - Eenie Meenie (48)
46. Filipa Azevedo - Há Dias Assim (NEW)
47. Infernal - Love Is All (38)
48. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug (50)
49. Tom Dice - Carrying Our Burden (NEW)
50. The Chemical Brothers - Swoon (NEW)

Albums

1. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (2)
2. Tom Dice - Teardrops (NEW)
3. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (1)
4. Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers (9)
5. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (3)
6. Eric Saade - Masquerade (NEW)
7. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (6)
8. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (4)
9. Timoteij - Längtan (5)
10. Christina Aguilera - Bionic (NEW)
11. Boyzone - Brother (8)
12. Inna - Hot (11)
13. Agnes - Dance Love Pop (18)
14. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (10)
15. Katie Melua - The House (NEW)
16. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (12)
17. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (Re-entry)
18. Salem Al Fakir - Ignore This (Re-entry)
19. Lady GaGa - The Remix (7)
20. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (15)

Top Songs/Albums; WB 24/5/10

Songs



1. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (9)
2. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (1)
3. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (6)
4. Sheelah - Psycho (7)
5. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (2)
6. Elin Lanto - Funeral (3)
7. Diana Vickers - Notice (4)
8. Alexandra Burke feat Pitbull - All Night Long (15)
9. Roll Deep - Good Times (5)
10. Katie Melua - The Flood (16)
11. Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (10)
12. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (17)
13. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (11)
14. Safura - Drip Drop (14)
15. Jenny Berggren - Here I Am (8)
16. Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything (19)
17. Stromae - Alors On Danse (13)
18. Elin Lanto - Give It All Up (20)
19. Dulce María - Inevitable (NEW)
20. Alphabeat - DJ (12)
21. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (22)
22. Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (25)
23. 3OH!3 feat Ke$ha - My First Kiss (28)
24. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - This Is My Life (31)
25. Elin Lanto - Singing Goodbye (47)
26. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (34)
27. Tone Damli Aaberge - I Love You (50)
28. Jason DeRülo - Ridin’ Solo (23)
29. Le Kid - Escape (24)
30. B.o.B. feat Bruno Mars - Nothin’ On You (21)
31. Daisy Dares You - Rosie (NEW)
32. Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me (37)
33. Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life (33)
34. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (30)
35. Bob Taylor feat Inna - Déjà Vu (40)
36. Natasha Bedingfield - Touch (NEW)
37. Elin Lanto - Tickles (39)
38. Infernal - Love Is All (NEW)
39. MIA - XXXO (42)
40. Tom Dice - Me & My Guitar (Re-entry)
41. Annemie - Animal Instinct (NEW)
42. Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire (45)
43. Kyrah - Uh Oh (NEW)
44. Rihanna - Te Amo (Re-entry)
45. Hafdis Huld - Action Man (NEW)
46. Three Plus Two - Butterflies (Re-entry)
47. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours (48)
48. Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber - Eenie Meenie (NEW)
49. Ólafur Arnalds - Hægt, Kemur Ljósið (NEW)
50. Ke$ha - Love Is My Drug (Re-entry)

Albums

1. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (1)
2. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (5)
3. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (2)
4. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (3)
5. Timoteij - Längtan (4)
6. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (6)
7. Lady GaGa - The Remix (7)
8. Boyzone - Brother (8)
9. Hafdis Huld - Synchronised Swimmers (NEW)
10. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (9)
11. Inna - Hot (NEW)
12. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (13)
13. Alphabeat - The Beat Is… (10)
14. Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment (11)
15. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (20)
16. Rihanna - Rated R (19)
17. Lady Antebellum - Need You Now (12)
18. Agnes - Dance Love Pop (15)
19. Jason DeRülo - Jason DeRülo (16)
20. Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (Re-entry)

2010 - Suddenly not as bad as it seems?

2010 seems to have got off to a rather dire start all round, particularly in terms of the UK charts which have been filling up with terrible charity records, more tuneless forgettable rap than I could possibly imagine existing and little else to cheer about. Thank goodness then that in the last seven days or so there have been some rather brilliant new songs appearing, or at least that I've heard for the first time. So taking the fifteen new entries to my 'chart' this week, here's a little overlook of what has surfaced, and what I think you need to be listening to, summed up in a sentence or two for each!

#3 > Elin Lanto - Funeral - Incredible pop song from a Swedish singer who I've never been wildly enthusiastic about before. Her new album, Love Made Me Do It, is something of a pop opus and this is the easy highlight. How can she make such a dark subject into such a joyous pop song?

#6 > Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls - I wasn't sure about this at first despite Katy being one of my favourite singers. But after a few listens the more summery take on Ke$ha's Tik Tok/Kylie's Love At First Sight comes into its own. Snoop even starts to sound like a decent addition after a while. Very enjoyable and one to listen to in the sun.

#9 > Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers - Talking of Kylie, the queen is back with All The Lovers, the first single from new album Aphrodite. I can't claim to be the biggest fan of either Slow or 2 Hearts as lead singles, so this gorgeous subtle yet at times stomping electro track is very welcome. Here's hoping for another long overdue UK #1, 2003 is a long time ago now.



#19 > Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything - The woman behind my favourite song of 2008, Love Song, is back with a song guaranteed not to prevent her from being a one hit wonder. A shame really as this jaunty piano led song could be Love Song's younger sister. As much attitude as that song had, this is a great comeback.

#20 > Elin Lanto - Give It All Up - My second favourite single from Elin's new album, this is the second best 80's power ballad influenced song of the last few months (after Alicia Keys' Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart of course). Brilliant chorus, really sticks in your head.

#31 > Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - This Is My Life - The second single from the team behind the fantastic European smash hit Stereo Love, about to debut inside the UK top 5 this weekend. More great Romanian influenced dance, lets hope this is another sizeable hit for the pair later in the year.

#38 > Lena Meyer-Landrut - Mr Curiosity - The teenager behind my favourite song at the moment, Satellite, Germany's Eurovision 2010 entry has released her debut album this week. On it features this lovely cover of a Jason Mraz song and my favourite from her in places average album.

#39 > Elin Lanto - Tickles - And so onto Elin's current single that she's used to launch the album with. I like it far more than Love Made Me Stupid and Doctor Doctor but surely Funeral is next in line for a release?

#40 > Bob Taylor feat Inna - Déjà Vu - Almost exactly the same as Inna's top ten UK hit Hot, but since when was that a bad thing? This is incredibly infectious.

#42 > MIA - XXXO - I was rather unimpressed with Born Free and its disturbing video but this is apparently the proper lead single. A big pop anthem with a great chorus, my favourite from MIA since the epic Paper Planes.

#44 > Fyfe Dangerfield - She's Always A Woman - Guillemots lead singer Fyfe's first breakthrough hit is an almost note for note cover of the old Billy Joel song. It's already soaring up the UK charts thanks to its use in the current John Lewis advertising campaign. Simple but very effective.

#45 > Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire - I can't claim to be a huge fan of Scissor Sisters usually. I don't like Jake in full falsetto mode but am rather fond when he sings in his lower register, as on this single and Mary, in fact he sounds exactly like Elton John. Comeback single Fire With Fire is similar to Human by The Killers in a way, but also very infectious after a few listens. Sounds like a pop standard already.

#47 > Elin Lanto - Singing Goodbye - The tables are turned and we're now at Elin's hypothetical funeral. This is another lyrically dark yet musically gorgeous song from one of the best pop albums of the decade so far.

#49 > Leona Lewis & Jennifer Hudson - Love Is Your Color - A duet between two superstars, taken from the Sex & The City 2 soundtrack. UK & US talent show stars Leona and Jennifer sound classy on this lovely ballad, rather than the diva-off I had been fearing. Melodically reminds me of a slowed down version of Show Me Your Colours by S Club 7!!!

#50 > Tone Damli Aaberge - I Love You - Norwegian singer Tone topped the charts last year there with the endearing Melodi Grand Prix runner up, Butterflies, a pure pop song made even sweeter with the use of strings and a harmonica. This song is much in the same vein but loses the harmonica. A string section, similar to the piano hook in Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles forms the base of the song's melody though. Very nice indeed.

Top Songs/Albums; WB 17/5/10

Songs

1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (1) *6 weeks at #1*
2. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (4)
3. Elin Lanto - Funeral (NEW)
4. Diana Vickers - Notice (18)
5. Roll Deep - Good Times (2)
6. Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg - California Gurls (NEW)
7. Sheelah - Psycho (5)
8. Jenny Berggren - Here I Am (3)
9. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers (NEW)
10. Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (10)
11. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (8)
12. Alphabeat - DJ (6)
13. Stromae - Alors On Danse (9)
14. Safura - Drip Drop (13)
15. Alexandra Burke feat Pitbull - All Night Long (32)
16. Katie Melua - The Flood (11)
17. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (16)
18. Richard Vission & Static Revenger starring Luciana - I Like That (7)
19. Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything (NEW)
20. Elin Lanto - Give It All Up (NEW)
21. B.o.B. feat Bruno Mars - Nothin’ On You (14)
22. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (22)
23. Jason DeRülo - Ridin’ Solo (23)
24. Le Kid - Escape (31)
25. Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (Re-entry)
26. Timoteij - Vild (17)
27. Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight (Re-entry)
28. 3OH!3 feat Ke$ha - My First Kiss (35)
29. N-Dubz feat Bodyrox - We Dance On (12)
30. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (34)
31. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - This Is My Life (NEW)
32. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (41)
33. Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life (21)
34. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (37)
35. Vanessa Amorosi - Mr Mysterious (27)
36. Kelly Rowland - Commander (30)
37. Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me (33)
38. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Mr Curiosity (NEW)
39. Elin Lanto - Tickles (NEW)
40. Bob Taylor feat Inna - Déjà Vu (NEW)
41. Adam Lambert - If I Had You (48)
42. MIA - XXXO (NEW)
43. Kele Okereke - Tenderoni (42)
44. Fyfe Dangerfield - She’s Always A Woman (NEW)
45. Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire (NEW)
46. Chanee and N'Evergreen - In A Moment Like This (25)
47. Elin Lanto - Singing Goodbye (NEW)
48. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours (49)
49. Leona Lewis & Jennifer Hudson - Love Is Your Color (NEW)
50. Tone Damli Aaberge - I Love You (NEW)

Albums

1. Elin Lanto - Love Made Me Do It (NEW)
2. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (1)
3. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (5)
4. Timoteij - Längtan (2)
5. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (4)
6. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (3)
7. Lady GaGa - The Remix (NEW)
8. Boyzone - Brother (7)
9. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (9)
10. Alphabeat - The Beat Is… (8)
11. Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment (6)
12. Lady Antebellum - Need You Now (14)
13. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (11)
14. Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You (10)
15. Agnes - Dance Love Pop (Re-entry)
16. Jason DeRülo - Jason DeRülo (Re-entry)
17. Gabriella Cilmi - Ten (13)
18. Melodifestivalen 2010 (16)
19. Rihanna - Rated R (18)
20. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (17)

Top Songs/Albums; WB 10/5/10

Songs



1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (1)
2. Roll Deep - Good Times (3)
3. Jenny Berggren - Here I Am (6)
4. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (7)
5. Sheelah - Psycho (2)
6. Alphabeat - DJ (5)
7. Richard Vission & Static Revenger starring Luciana - I Like That (13)
8. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (4)
9. Stromae - Alors On Danse (8)
10. Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (32)
11. Katie Melua - The Flood (17)
12. N-Dubz feat Bodyrox - We Dance On (15)
13. Safura - Drip Drop (14)
14. B.o.B. feat Bruno Mars - Nothin’ On You (29)
15. Diana Vickers - Once (10)
16. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (20)
17. Timoteij - Vild (NEW)
18. Diana Vickers - Notice (NEW)
19. Boyzone - Love Is A Hurricane (9)
20. Feminnem - Lako Je Sve (11)
21. Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life (19)
22. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (26)
23. Jason DeRülo - Ridin’ Solo (43)
24. Timoteij - Högt Över Ängarna (NEW)
25. Chanee and N'Evergreen - In A Moment Like This (33)
26. Sarah McLachlan - Loving You Is Easy (31)
27. Vanessa Amorosi - Mr Mysterious (34)
28. The Pipettes - So I’ll Say Goodbye (12)
29. Salem Al Fakir - Keep On Walking (16)
30. Kelly Rowland - Commander (47)
31. Le Kid - Escape (NEW)
32. Alexandra Burke feat Pitbull - All Night Long (49)
33. Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me (38)
34. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (40)
35. 3OH!3 feat Ke$ha - My First Kiss (NEW)
36. Jasper Forks - River Flows In You (NEW)
37. Jessy Matador - Allez! Ola! Olé! (Re-entry)
38. Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco (42)
39. Alexandra Burke - The Map (NEW)
40. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (22)
41. Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love (NEW)
42. Kele Okereke - Tenderoni (48)
43. Enrique Iglesias feat Pitbull - I Like It (NEW)
44. Krause - Soaring Through The Starlight (NEW)
45. Three Plus Two - Butterflies (39)
46. Owl City - Umbrella Beach (30)
47. Timoteij - Dansar I Månens Sken (NEW)
48. Adam Lambert - If I Had You (NEW)
49. Didrik Solli-Tangen - My Heart Is Yours (Re-entry)
50. Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders - Life Looks Better In The Spring (Re-entry)

Albums

1. Diana Vickers - Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree (NEW)
2. Timoteij - Längtan (NEW)
3. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (1)
4. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (6)
5. Lena Meyer-Landrut - My Cassette Player (NEW)
6. Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment (NEW)
7. Boyzone - Brother (4)
8. Alphabeat - The Beat Is… (2)
9. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (3)
10. Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You (5)
11. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (7)
12. Vanessa Amorosi - Hazardous (17)
13. Gabriella Cilmi - Ten (8)
14. Lady Antebellum - Need You Now (NEW)
15. Absolute Music 63 (9)
16. Melodifestivalen 2010 (12)
17. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (15)
18. Rihanna - Rated R (13)
19. Marina & The Diamonds - The Family Jewels (14)
20. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (16)

Top Songs/Albums; WB 3/5/10

Songs



1. Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite (2)
2. Sheelah - Psycho (1)
3. Roll Deep - Good Times (5)
4. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (7)
5. Alphabeat - DJ (28)
6. Jenny Berggren - Here I Am (NEW)
7. Edward Maya feat Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love (10)
8. Stromae - Alors On Danse (9)
9. Boyzone - Love Is A Hurricane (8)
10. Diana Vickers - Once (4)
11. Feminnem - Lako Je Sve (6)
12. The Pipettes - So I’ll Say Goodbye (3)
13. Richard Vission & Static Revenger starring Luciana - I Like That (20)
14. Safura - Drip Drop (11)
15. N-Dubz feat Bodyrox - We Dance On (NEW)
16. Salem Al Fakir - Keep On Walking (12)
17. Katie Melua - The Flood (21)
18. Anna Bergendahl - Rolling Dice (14)
19. Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life (22)
20. Niamh Kavanagh - It’s For You (17)
21. Lethal Bizzle feat Luciana - Go Go Go (42)
22. B.o.B feat Hayley Williams - Airplanes (24)
23. Boyzone - Gave It All Away (16)
24. Caro Emerald - A Night Like This (15)
25. Anna Bergendahl - Got My Heart In Your Pocket (36)
26. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart (31)
27. Pearl & The Puppets - Because I Do (30)
28. TV Rock feat Rudy - In The Air (Axwell Remx) (13)
29. B.o.B. feat Bruno Mars - Nothin’ On You (33)
30. Owl City - Umbrella Beach (48)
31. Sarah McLachlan - Loving You Is Easy (NEW)
32. Hera Björk - Je Ne Sais Quoi (25)
33. Chanee and N'Evergreen - In A Moment Like This (39)
34. Vanessa Amorosi - Mr Mysterious (Re-entry)
35. Uniting Nations - Blaze Of Glory (NEW)
36. She & Him - In The Sun (18)
37. Rihanna - Te Amo (37)
38. Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good To Me (NEW)
39. Three Plus Two - Butterflies (32)
40. Lady GaGa - Alejandro (Re-entry)
41. Ellie Goulding - Guns & Horses (46)
42. Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco (NEW)
43. Jason DeRülo - Ridin’ Solo (Re-entry)
44. Example - Kickstarts (50)
45. Kids Of 88 - Just A Little Bit (Re-entry)
46. Iyaz - Solo (NEW)
47. Kelly Rowland - Commander (NEW)
48. Kele Okereke - Tenderoni (NEW)
49. Alexandra Burke feat Pitbull - All Night Long (Re-entry)
50. Gravitonas - Kites (NEW)

Albums

1. Anna Bergendahl - Yours Sincerely (1)
2. Alphabeat - The Beat Is… (10)
3. Robyn - Body Talk Part 1 (4)
4. Boyzone - Brother (3)
5. Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You (2)
6. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 (NEW)
7. Lady GaGa - The Fame/The Fame Monster (9)
8. Gabriella Cilmi - Ten (6)
9. Absolute Music 63 (5)
10. Caro Emerald - Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor (7)
11. Madonna - Celebration (Re-entry)
12. Melodifestivalen 2010 (11)
13. Rihanna - Rated R (12)
14. Marina & The Diamonds - The Family Jewels (14)
15. Alicia Keys - The Element Of Freedom (17)
16. Leddra Chapman - Telling Tales (18)
17. Vanessa Amorosi - Hazardous (Re-entry)
18. Salem Al Fakir - Ignore This (13)
19. Ellie Goulding - Lights (15)
20. Joshua Radin - Simple Times (8)

Na Na Niiiii way...N-Dubz in great song shocker!

British rap trio N-Dubz, who transformed from low budget Channel U stalwarts circa 2005 to fully fledged pop stars with smash hits under their belt in the last couple of years or so, have shocked me by releasing the best song of their career!!! I can't say I've ever been a huge fan but they began to show promise with Strong Again, and then excelled finally with the brilliant Tinchy Stryder collaboration, Number 1, and the top 15 hit Playing With Fire. Their new single We Dance On, which is produced by Bodyrox of Yeah Yeah fame, is the latest in a long line of songs to sample classical masterpiece Pachelbel's Canon, also used in The Farm's Altogether Now, Vitamin C's Graduation (Friends Forever) and Coolio's C U When U Get There, amongst many many others. In my opinion, a song using that track as its melody has to be quite dreadful in order for me not to love it, and this most certainly isn't. Taken from the soundtrack of new film Street Dance 3D, the song has a singalong chorus and the song feels not a million miles away from Daz Sampson's Teenage Life, which in my opinion was the UK's best Eurovision entry of the noughties, and had it been held back to 2010, could well have been a UK #1 hit!!! Here it is, see what you think;