“burnout” is a quiet, emotional alt.pop song that recalls someone who seems to be disenchanted, aimless, and distanced from the people who care about her the most. You’ve already got to know Boston teen singer/songwriter Gillian Heidi through my blog posts last year about her songs “desperate” and “high”. While my past comparisons have touched on everyone from Billie Eilish through to Joan Osborne, it’s clear she has actually been innovative within the pop realm that has recently brought the charts back to life with Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license”. “burnout” has a similar uncertain theme to it, with the protagonist gazing at the stars to ponder what’s to come. Gillian’s vocal in “burnout” is particularly strong and affecting, always a beneficial tell-tale sign when in a minimal, sombre arrangement.
AXEL MANSOOR and ABHI THE NOMAD, “kids can be so stupid”
Readers of this blog know that the songs of Axel Mansoor have been a regular presence in these pages since 2017. He’s been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, appeared on NBC’s “Songland”, and now, is the APP icon (below) for the latest social media sensation, the by invitation-only Clubhouse! Truth can be cutting but it can also soothe the minds of those who have their own variation of it, so if you want a hush to go over a room of people, then play “kids can be so stupid”.
To get directly to the point, it’s about being bullied at school as a child, and how those memories still play in our thoughts years and years later. The song is a relatable, totally understandable recollection, while in the back of my mind I can always think of my own parents talking with the parents of some of those kids. And they were the adults who supported their children’s bullying activities, creating immediate bad blood between families in the neighbourhood because of the attitude “it’s not my kid, it’s your kid”, despite the bullying often being about being short, fat, effeminate, brown, black, Asian, and so on. If you didn’t fit their mold, you were not only different, you were not welcome either. Even as time passes, the bullying continues… and guess what, those kid bullies grow up to be adult bullies too, who some of us have had the unfortunate experience of working with.
Axel’s simple and heartfelt way with words and melody, and the compelling rap from Austin’s Abhi The Nomad, are what make “kids can be so stupid” work so well.
So adults, don’t let your babies grow up to be bullies.
Be sure to watch for Axel Mansoor on the Clubhouse APP for the regular session called “The Lullaby Club”.
Nathan Day is a new solo performer from the UK who previously led the band Darlia, which opened for The 1975 on tour, among others. His single “She Came Down From The Stars” – great title, eye-catching video too – should be put on the radar for those who enjoy 90’s flavoured alt.rock with electronic flourishes. His voice will appeal to fans of Nirvana, Radiohead, Oasis, and The Verve, and “She Came Down” is definitely a grower, one that will stand out on alt.rock radio stations and generate texts and emails inquiring about the performer. Look for a slow build on this one. Talents like Nathan Day need time to be nurtured with the public, and the kickstart will be when fans look for it to be played on the radio and for placements on popular rock streaming playlists.
The thought of knowing that a relationship is over puts dread into most people’s minds. L.A.-based alt.rock singer/songwriter Emeline has other ideas though, in her latest release “6 foot deep”. Through her own songs and initiatives as well as that of side project GARZA, Emeline brings forward messages of hope and empowerment. “6 foot deep” is about realizing a relationship is dead before your partner does. You know all of the signs and reasons, but s/he likely does not. It’s powerfully enacted in the entertaining video, in which Emeline dons various personas where she is in control of her own destiny, whether the absent partner understands or not – when you’re “6 foot deep” its time to move on before you suffocate. The song is well-executed and compelling, and I would pitch to fans of Halsey, Lorde, and Hayley Williams, who are most likely to embrace the free-flowing music of Emeline.
Change is afoot at the top of the chart, as new songs make inroads, and recent favourites start to run their course. My chart is totally based on my opinion, there is no science or method to the chart – what I currently enjoy most is at the top, and I’ve been pleased to share my list with you online for 23 years. The only rule I’ve had in place is that songs drop off after 10 appearances (20 weeks), to help keep the chart fresh, unless the song starts climbing back upward, which has only happened once (Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” managed 11 appearances and peaked at #2).
Swedish production duo NOTD get their first #1 with vocalist Catello with “Nobody”, which also recently topped the US dance airplay charts for 5 weeks. Also contributing to the songwriting were Sandro Cavazzo, noted for his work with Avicii, and Victor Thell of Smith & Thell. NOTD is the first Swedish act to top my chart in over 8 years, since Swedish House Mafia did it in 2012 with “Don’t You Worry Child”!
Swiftly moving up to second place is “Like Gold” by Loud Luxury & Frank Walker featuring vocalist/co-writer Stephen Puth. Loud Luxury have two #1’s to date on my chart – their rework of Craig David’s “Fill Me In” with Ryan Shepherd, and “Show Me” with fellow Canadian group Nikki’s Wives, while their greatest overall success, “Body” (featuring brando) also got to #2. Will “Like Gold” become their third #1?
Charging into the Top 5 is Japanese-British sensation Rina Sawayama with the Lady Gaga-inspired “Lucid”, moving up 9-4. Will “Lucid” become her first chart topper?
UK dance legends Faithless obtain their first Top 10 on my chart just shy of 22 years, since “God Is A DJ” (which bowed on this chart in March 1999), with “Synthesizer”, featuring vocalist Nathan Ball, which climbs 11-7. It’s from their recently released album All Blessed.
Any of the songs ranking 11-14 could find their way into the Top 10 in two weeks.
Rising 14-11 is the dark and mysterious “Sinnerman” (above) by veteran UK producer Hot Since 82 featuring singer/songwriter Ed Graves, from the album Recovery. The joy of finding synergy and harmony with someone is reflected in “All About You” (also above) by The Knocks and Foster The People, which moves up 15-12. The dazzling collaboration of Illenium, Toronto’s Dabin, and fellow Canadian Lights is hard at work in “Hearts On Fire” (below), which climbs 18-14. But the Fastest Riser on the chart belongs to UK producer Bobby Harvey with fellow UK vocalist Danny Dearden for the intense and emotional deep house track “Tell Me” (also below), which soars 21-13.
Out of the songs that debuted two weeks ago, two move up seven places on the chart. Mahalo’s US dance hit “Not Watching Anymore” (above) rises 28-21, while SoCal electronic dance producer Jay Bird’s personal best to date called “Escape” (featuring Chrxstal Sarah, below) climbs 30-23.
The first of four debuts belongs to Victor Perry, in collaboration with German producers Cal1 and l’essay for the soft and lovely “Stories”, which arrives at #27. Victor is just finishing off a long run on the chart with “Fantasy” (#25), which peaked at #3. “Stories” is also a very welcome follow up to last year’s “What I Deserve”, which got to #2 behind Joel Corry & MNEK’s “Head & Heart”.
Next up at #28 is the quirky delight “Space Melody” by Germany’s VIZE and Sweden’s Alan Walker, partnering this time with fellow producer Edward Artemyev and vocalist Leony. VIZE reached #2 last year with the infectious “Never Let Me Down”, while Alan Walker gets his third appearance on the chart, one of which of course was “Faded”, which peaked at #3.
Also making his third appearance on the chart is NYC indie pop-dance-soul singer/songwriter Reigen with the dark and dreamy “blue” at #29. Both of Reigen’s other songs have reached the Top 10, with “Come Back To Me” climbing to #2 and his cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams” peaking at #10.
Making his debut on the chart is Toronto R&B/pop singer/dancer D!XON with “Arms Around Me” at #30. Be sure to check out its diverse and well-choreographed video above, which totally suits the bold and sexy vibe of the song.
A reminder that the music from my chart and blog are featured regularly on the online radio station The New Radio GTA. You can hear their Big 20 on Wednesday evenings with ‘The Musicman’ James Rogers and listen for songs from the chart too 🙂Scroll down the station’s main page to listen to lots of variety from across the decades! I’m the new music consultant for the station so you can expect even more 🙂 You can start by joining Radio GTA’s new interactiveFacebook group too!!
View the full BILLCS Top 30right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify:BILLCS Top 30 Songs
I wrote about “Ghost” by Ebony Buckle last summer, which introduced me to her stunning voice and unique stories. Based on a 1980’s story about the world’s loneliest whale who would sing at a frequency of 52hz (higher than any species known to humans), “Wonder” quite enchanting indeed. While the video has great effects and weaves the story well, to me it somehow doesn’t capture the warmth and fascination of the song itself as well. Ebony’s voice will recall Kate Bush and Sinead O’Connor for precision, with Maggie Reilly’s flair for storytelling (co-writing courtesy of husband Nick Burns). “Wonder”, with its taut, contrasting arrangement, keeps you patiently waiting for what Ebony will sing next, until its long and deliberate fade out leaves the eye-opening story finished, for now.
“Head Over Heels” is a 90’s inspired R&B-flavoured straight up pop confection, courtesy of Russia-born, L.A.-based multi-talent Cooper Phillip. It the song has that seamless vibe that is at the root of a good bop, it’s because Cooper’s talent comes from her pre-teen years and being raised by a family of classical musicians. Her main influence, somewhat surprisingly, is Ella Fitzgerald, and she eventually enrolled at the prestigious Moscow State Classical Academy where she studied classical piano, music theory, harp, jazz, blues, ballet and voice. She left Russia at age 17 and ended up in L.A. after accepting a life-altering gig. The video has a flirty and fun premise to accentuate the song’s empowering lyrics about seizing the moment when you want to make a go at romance, even if you screw up a bit and have to backtrack. “Head Over Heels” is a delight and be sure to put Cooper Phillip on your pop radar.
Some of you may already know about Swedish singer/songwriter flyckt as a member of Urban Cone or Moodshift, but he has a winner with his snappy solo pop/dance single “Love Is Overrated”. The song is about the ongoing inner battle about the importance of love in one’s life. Love can be fleeting, cruel, harsh, and amazing, and it can also be all-consuming. “Love Is Overrated” questions if you should sacrifice life for love or vice-versa, and how people will feel about this will differ. flyckt’s voice reminds me sometimes of Justin Bieber in its semi-soulful moments, and at other times Norwegian pop singer Jesper Jenset. The video takes us for a late night brooding walk to ponder the circumstances, providing a strong showcase for flyckt.
IDRIS ELBA & INNER CITY and STEFFANIE CHRISTI’AN, “No More Looking Back”
RITON & NIGHTCRAWLERS and MUFASA & HYPEMAN, “Friday” (Dopamine re-edit)
TEN CITY, “Be Free” (Emmaculate and Shannon Chambers mix)
CHRIS LAKE & ARMAND VAN HELDEN and ARTHUR BAKER & VICTOR SIMONELLI, “The Answer”
Are we in store for a big 90’s House Music Party that we don’t quite know about yet? All signs are pointing to a lot of fun ahead if these four new songs and even the resurgence of Crystal Waters’ classic “100% Pure Love” in recent weeks on RuPaul’s Drag Race are any indication. So enjoy this digression from my usual blog posts!
Kevin Saunderson and his revamped Inner City project team up again with Idris Elba for “No More Looking Back” in follow up to the Inner City album release We All Move Together. Using the stellar vocals of Steffanie Christi’an once again, “No More Looking Back” is an amazing marriage of classic house and disco styles with a dash of early 70’s soul meshed with today’s technology and sounds. Once clubs are back, if they aren’t blasting this one, then they are missing out big time.
“Friday” by veteran British producer Riton reinvents The Nightcrawlers’ smash “Push The Feeling On” as a new theme for the weekend, with fun interjections from Mufasa and Hypeman, making it an easy sell to today’s audiences while still soaking in its 90’s house roots. Dance music radio is all over it in the US and deservedly so.
Ten City, the always dynamic duo of Marshall Jefferson and Byron Stingily, returns for the first time in 25 years with “Be Free”. Not to sidestep Byron’s own solo successes, it’s like the pair parachuted in right out of the 90’s and comfortably into today’s slicker sounds to capture exactly what they were best at with sophisticated classics like “That’s The Way Love Is” and “My Piece Of Heaven”. “Be Free” is breezy, soulful fun that should not be missed by house music fans.
Like the Inner City track, “The Answer” by Chris Lake and Armand Van Helden with Arthur Baker and Victor Simonelli emphasizes a soulful early 70’s-inspired vocal over 90’s house-flavoured rhythms. Longtime club veteran Chris, surprisingly, is the novice producer, if you will, among the other three heavy hitters, and this collaboration just flows so beautifully. There’s just so much to enjoy about this song and it’s no wonder that it’s bubbling at US dance radio.
I think there will be a lot of happy house music lovers and club DJ’s if these tastes of 90’s house develop into more of a trend. I also hope these releases serve as inspiration for producers looking for a creative jumping off point in dance music!
Quebec’s Kayliox cemented himself in the electronic dance music scene in the mid 2010’s with a steady stream of fresh songs and remixes as well as club and festival appearances around the world, including at Tomorrow World and Paradiso. After a bit of a break and becoming a master sound engineer, Kayliox returns with the soulful deep house of “Lost Control”. From its piano beginnings till its last sung note, it’s 2:48 of pop bliss – if you’re in the mood for something lyrical and melodic, or a club banger, it’s all tidily rolled into one. The icing on the cake is Victor Perry’s sweet, varied vocal, which has a few showcase moments unto itself and is decidedly different from his lovely new solo song “Stories”. The chemistry between Kayliox’s beats and synths and Victor’s singing is of such high calibre that I’m sure we’ll hear it again sometime soon.
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