Throughout the rest of the year, you will not be able to escape the melody of “Animals” by 17 year old DJ/producer Martin Garrix, and it will make you want to jump up and pump your fist at some points. It will be everywhere, in the background, waiting to grab you! The strange thing is that this Billboard Dance Club Play hit is an instrumental. It’s been years since an instrumental actually broke through to pop radio, but I think “Animals” is a catchy enough piece of business to cut through (and Major Record Label, please do not insert any Rap singer into the mix, thank you). Neither the single edit nor the video do the song justice; just listen to it in its full 5 minute original mix. It’s one of 2013’s biggest surprises – look for it to be #1 on the UK Singles Chart next Sunday.
BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT, “An Open Heart” (video)
I’m always pleased to write about new Bright Light Bright Light,and I’ve already written about this song, which will be on “In Your Care”, the upcoming EP by BLx2 (Rod Thomas). But Rod has taken to release a video ahead of the EP as well. It’s a simple affair, with Rod alone in a bright but barren room, which is in complete contrast to the upbeat melody but on point in terms of the sad lyrics that form part of the song. Like with many of BLx2 songs, Rod wants you to think about your emotions and then do something about them. As I mentioned a month ago, this could be one of my very favourites of 2013 (and it sounded oh so great in concert in NYC a few weeks back too).
After hearing SIRPAUL’s music over these past few years and following his enthusiastic tweets, I like to consider him as a disco ambassador of love… and lust. His new album Seventh Star certainly contains enough positive, timeless energy to spill over into three albums of music, and is a fine follow up to songs that appear on the two This Beat Is…Poptronik! compilations, his recent collaborations with Armand Deluxe, and of course his last album The Horse. It’s a slick blend of pop and club-oriented dance tracks whose topics frequently lead to bed… never a bad thing of course! Collaborating producers include Armand Deluxe, Kevin Maroda, Baron, AKB, and Human Body.
Lead single “Every Single Moment” is hands down the best song, (already performing well on my chart at #24, video to come soon!), simply fresh and wondrous danceable pop. Similarly suited to bridge pop and dance is “He’s So Unusual”, which I honestly didn’t like at first, but it has an early 90’s dance vibe with lyrical reflections from past eras, and I think a lot of guys will relate. The album doesn’t waste time to have SIRPAUL get his major sexy on with a menage-a-trois of club bangers right in the middle: “Turning Me On”, “Black Leather”, and a standout, “Your Bedroom”, featuring producer/rapper Baron. The latter is late night, get-your-groove-on, pulsating and thrusting… whatever you desire! “Side By Side” is also a high point, propulsive eurodance that will keep you moving. Only the closing song “The Centenary Diamond” really to me doesn’t fit on this highly engaging album.
SIRPAUL continues to have a unique pop/dance approach and Seventh Star is now available on iTunes worldwide. Next up…. remixes!!
In a powerful Top 5 last week, I was uncertain who would emerge at #1 on the new chart. But it’s Neverest whose latest single “Rewind” moves 3-1 this week. Neverest is in good company with River Tiber and Kwik Fiks & Bongiovanni as Canadian performers with #1’s on my chart this year. The quartet is also on a triple bill with Shawn Desman and Tyler Shaw at The Mod Club on November 16 in Toronto. Do catch their show if you haven’t! Always full of surprises and positive energy. PLUS near the bottom of this post (but before you look at the full chart) I am featuring a new song by the writer of “Rewind”!
The Rest Of The Top 10:
Ryan Adamés has a 3rd appearance at #2 with his warm and fuzzy cover of Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”. That song is suddenly emerging on many TV talent shows but none of the covers that I’ve heard have the unique appeal of this rendition. It’s available for free if you go and like Ryan’s Facebook page 🙂
ARTPOP and new single(s) approach in the coming weeks, but Lady GaGa’s “Applause” is still climbing my chart at #3.
It looks like Miguel & Jessie Ware’s duet of “Adorn” is eye-ing #1 in two weeks. My excuse for being a latehead on the song earlier this year 😛 It climbs 8-4.
Kaden’s “Black Light” falls to #5, but he has another song, the title track from the compilation Fuel For The Machine on deck! You can listen to a preview of itright here.
Betty Who’s “Somebody Loves You” is one of the most joyous songs you’ll hear this year, and the Aussie-born New York-based singer climbs 10-6.
While we await what sounds like will be a compelling video for his song “Lift Your Head”, Sam Dickinson’s soulful and energetic “Learn To Wait” climbs another notch to #8.
Pet Shop Boys score their second Top Tenner from Electric with the sublime “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” at #9.
Australians Parralox created one of the most interesting album of cover versions this year with Recovery. Excellent choices include Front 242’s memorable industrial club hit “Headhunter”, here given a full blown electronica dance treatment. It lands at #10 on the chart 🙂
Fast Risers:
The more I listen to Osvaldo Supino’s “I Have A Name”, the more I appreciate the honest beauty of the lyrics and the arrangement. It’s the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 21-11, while Osvaldo-with-a-boombox creates fun and havoc with “Ma Radio” further down at #15.
I can’t wait for more new music proper from DATABOY, but in the meantime their stellar mashup “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness” is doing the trick just fine thank you, and moves up to #12.
FrankMusik’s gorgeous “Hymn” from his acoustic piano album Between Us rises to #17. He’s playing two shows in NYC this week, on Thursday October 24 at Rockwood (which I will miss, dammit, because I arrive in NYC the next evening 😦 ) and Saturday October 26 for a Hallowe’en DJ set at Fox & Jane. More stops in Washington DC and Philadelphia afterwards for you fans!
“Can’t Hold Back” by Anton Ewald is the last fast riser, moving 28-21. I’m thoroughly impressed with his EP, called A. It’s really contemporary and diverse pop, and only the Swedes can seem to get this right!!
New to the Chart:
As older songs reach their maximum amount of appearances (10 = 20 weeks) and drop off, it helps make way for lots of fresh new tunes to dazzle you.
It’s no surprise to regular readers of this blog that two new songs by Simon Curtis make their debuts. Last week Simon unleashed a free mixtape called WWWwhich I wrote about. Forever our boy robot, Simon continues to impress – and this is the music that didn’t make the cut for his upcoming album, but were songs instead written for others. Fans are so glad these are available for download through theMuuMuse website. First at #19 we have the unexpected, hypnotic, and stunning dance epic “Do I Have To Dance”. Further down it’s a call to arms once again for the raucous, energetic “Berlin Wall” at #28.
I actuallywrote about this next debut quite a while back, but the more I hear it, the more it resonates with me. It’s also one of the rare songs that leaves a big lump in my throat at the end every time after “I want it more than ever”, followed by the saddest firework sounds you’ll ever hear. Beautifully sung by LA-based singer Jarell Perry, “4th of July” debuts at #25. And it’s also afree download right here.
Travis Garland is on tour and is coming to my town on November 7! Ticket bought! His Spanish-flavoured, seductive disco in the form of “Easy” is a departure for him in the songs on his self-titled album, but it works beautifully and bows at #26.
The final debut at #30 comes from a NYC dance troubadour whose songs are most often about fun and sex, and fun and sex 🙂 Nothing wrong with that. His new album is on deck for a November release called Seventh Star, and I’m talking about SIRPAUL with his single “Every Single Moment”,which I wrote about recently. You can buy it on iTunes. Two of SIRPAUL’s songs are also available on both volumes of This Beat Is…Poptronik 🙂
Bonus Feature:
The writer of Neverest’s “Rewind” is former basketball player and Toronto singer Corey Niles. Having a mentor in fellow Canadian singer Dru (noted for his own hits “She Can Ride” as well as his appearance on Doman & Gooding’s dance smash “Runnin'”, which got to #15 on this chart in 2009) who is featured in Corey’s song “Rollercoaster” is a huge plus. Don’t underestimate the presence of this song. It’s going to lend a fresh urban sound to radio here in Canada that you don’t get to hear much by Canadians beyond songs by Drake. “Rollercoaster” does not let up, it slams pretty hard in a sizzling blend of contemporary R&B styles, and gives a great introduction to the solo Corey Niles. Watch for what sounds to be an intriguing video debuting this week on MuchMusic. Listen and watch the lyric video below. BOOOM!
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailsweb edition of my chart.
Here’s the full BILLCS Top 30
03 01 REWIND Neverest 02 02 AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME Ryan Adamés 04 03 APPLAUSE Lady Gaga 08 04 ADORN Miguel F/ Jessie Ware 01 05 BLACK LIGHT (Stormby remix) Kaden 10 06 SOMEBODY LOVES YOU Betty Who 07 07 TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Justin Timberlake 09 08 LEARN TO WAIT Sam Dickinson 12 09 LOVE IS A BOURGEOIS CONSTRUCT Pet Shop Boys 15 10 HEADHUNTER Parralox 21 11 I HAVE A NAME Osvaldo Supino 18 12 WE CAN’T STOP SUMMERTIME SADNESS DATABOY 11 13 ROYALS Lorde 16 14 I REMEMBER Nick Pes 17 15 MA RADIO Osvaldo Supino 05 16 SKIRT Kylie Minogue 20 17 HYMN FrankMusik 06 18 HOMEWRECKER Travis Garland New 19 DO I HAVE TO DANCE Simon Curtis 14 20 PROBLEM (Kat Krazy remix) Natalia Kills 28 21 CAN’T HOLD BACK Anton Ewald 24 22 IMPOSSIBLE Ryan Star 26 23 JULIET Lawson 27 24 REPLAY Zendaya New 25 4TH OF JULY Jarell Perry New 26 EASY Travis Garland 13 27 VOCAL Pet Shop Boys New 28 BERLIN WALL Simon Curtis 19 29 DIRTY FLOORS Andy Suzuki & The Method New 30 EVERY SINGLE MOMENT SIRPAUL
New Buffalo, NY based electropop singer 19 year old Daniel Robinson must have one heckuva thought process when writing his lyrics. At times they seem highly random when strung together, and that’s not a bad thing at all because it helps the listener think outside of the box. “Not Your Boy” also happens to be blessed with a thoroughly infectious melody which will get you singing those unique lyrics, punctuated before the 3 minute mark by a dubsteppy break that will leave you waiting for it on subsequent listens. Daniel’s enthusiasm for it all comes out in a really bright-sounding vocal. Daniel’s second EP Guesswork includes “Not Your Boy” and is available on iTunes. Watch the lyric video above for all those words that somehow fit!
FollowingFriday’s post featuring links to preview songs from WWW, the full 8 song electropop mixtape surfaced today as a free download from Simon’s good friend Bradley Stern akaMuuMuse.com. Fans will remember that WWW features unreleased songs (which Simon announced today were written for other people) that will not appear on Simon’s upcoming official album release. That’s not to say that they are any less than what should be on an official release. Many times songs do not make the cut for a variety of reasons which have nothing to do with whether or not they were ‘good enough’. Straight away, the best song hands down is the epic dance track “Do I Have To Dance”. This is a massive club hit in the making, taking early house influences and marrying them with the Britney/Katy/GaGa pop of the day that Simon so adores. The song features some of Simon’s best vocals and showy production, giving his lower and higher registers a major workout. “Berlin Wall” is another battle cry that Simon’s fans love and the song just cruises along from beginning to end. Similarly “Fight For Your Life” draws listeners in as Simon makes it a highly personal experience.
The Swedish-pop-sounding “Heart In 2” (above) is the closest to what could be a pop hit, another fine piece of songwriting and production. “Diamonds On The Dancefloor” (below) is solid 3 minute serendipitous pop if a little more familiar sounding as some of Simon’s other songs. Even almost more unassuming is “Satellite”, another tidy pop song that clocks in at just over 2 minutes long. “Meteor” was quietly unleashed online after being featured in the ABC Family show “Twisted”, but it and “Neon Lights” are to me needlessly filled with autotune that detracts from Simon’s brilliant voice. These are the only songs on WWW which lose me. But I’m so glad Simon chose to offer WWW to us as a free download after more than two years without new songs. WWW finds him generally on a much more pure pop mission than in the past, thanks to input from new co-songwriters and producers, and this bodes well for what’s coming. If there’s one song that stands out though it’s “Do I Have To Dance”, a truly monster dance song revolving around Simon hypnotically and repeatedly singing “notice me”, for which I would love to hear remixes 🙂
The new chart has an unexpected double whammy from a talented young Italian artist who knows how to seamlessly and successfully bridge emotional pop with dance music. But first…
In the Top 10:
The Top 3 is solid with a reason. “Black Light” by Kaden is #1 for a 4th appearance (8th week), but the top could be taken in two weeks by “As Long As You Love Me” by Ryan Adamés or Toronto’s Neverest with “Rewind”. And Lady GaGa’s “Applause” slides into 4th place as we ready for the onslaught of ARTPOP promos a month in advance of the album’s release. So the next #1 is fair game! Travis Garland’s “Homewrecker”, from his self-titled debut album, rises to a new high of #6, as does Justin Timberlake, from the newly released 20/20 Experience Part II, with “Take Back The Night” at #7.
Fastest Risers:
No indeed, “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness”. DATABOY’s brillo mashup is a perfect end of summer song that contains some of the Austin lads’ (Cameron and Adam) best vocals. It climbs 25-18.
“Adorn” by Miguel featuring Jessie Ware moves 13-8, and ya never know, it could have its eyes on the top of the chart, too.
It’s great to see UK indie singer Sam Dickinson jump into the Top 10 with “Learn To Wait”, as he prepares a video for a softer, emotional song “Lift Your Head”, from his album The Stories That Occurred.
Betty Who’s “Somebody Loves You” jumps out of my stereo and iPod Touch whenever I play it, and gains momentum on the chart, soaring to #10.
It appears that Pet Shop Boys ditched “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” as a follow-up single to “Vocal” in favour of “Thursday”, featuring UK dance artist Example. That won’t stop the song from edging its way to the Top 10, as it lands at #12 this week.
New to the Chart:
Yes, that Italian singer I mentioned at the top along with his new video for the poignant “I Have A Name” is indeed Osvaldo Supino. While he has a penchant for the naughty and double entendre, he is at his best either having great fun with his boombox in the video for “Ma Radio” (which advances to #17) or being ultra-sincere with “I Have A Name”. The video captures those moments in time… some you don’t want to relive, and some you do. It’s from Osvaldo’s latest album Exposed (as is Ma Radio), and is also part of the amazing dance compilation that is This Beat Is…Poptronik Volume 2. The song arrives at #21.
In a few weeks, “Juliet” by Lawson will take over the UK charts when their Chapman Square Chapter II album will also be released. What’s in store for North America will likely centre around “Learn To Love Again” (#5 here earlier in the year) and a variation of the new album. Can’t wait! “Juliet” debuts at #26.
It takes a lot of a song to stick with me amid so much other great new music. I don’t often draw from the Disney channel cadre of artists, but I was truly impressed when I saw Zendaya perform in concert this past summer. “Replay” has become a modest pop hit already from her debut self-titled album, and still stuck in my head, premieres at #27.
Lastly, Anton Ewald’s A EP has been the Europop winner this year that is normally held by the likes of Eric Saade. With Eric’s album focusing more on softer, lyrical songs, Anton’s already grabbed a big win with “Begging”, still on the chart after peaking at #2. “Can’t Hold Back” is simply energetic Europop at its best and bows at #28. You can also pick up Anton’s A Acoustic EP online.
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and details web edition of my chart.
Here’s the full basic BILLCS Top 30
01 01 BLACK LIGHT (Stormby remix) Kaden 02 02 AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME Ryan Adamés 03 03 REWIND Neverest 06 04 APPLAUSE Lady GaGa 04 05 SKIRT Kylie Minogue 08 06 HOMEWRECKER Travis Garland 09 07 TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Justin Timberlake 13 08 ADORN Miguel featuring Jessie Ware 11 09 LEARN TO WAIT Sam Dickinson 16 10 SOMEBODY LOVES YOU Betty Who 12 11 ROYALS Lorde 17 12 LOVE IS A BOURGEOIS CONSTRUCT Pet Shop Boys 05 13 VOCAL Pet Shop Boys 15 14 PROBLEM (Kat Krazy remix) Natalia Kills 20 15 HEADHUNTER Parralox 21 16 I REMEMBER Nick Pes 22 17 MA RADIO Osvaldo Supino 25 18 WE CAN’T STOP SUMMERTIME SADNESS Databoy 07 19 DIRTY FLOORS Andy Suzuki & The Method 24 20 HYMN FrankMusik New 21 I HAVE A NAME Osvaldo Supino 10 22 BEGGING Anton Ewald 14 23 BROKENHEARTED Lawson featuring B.o.B. 29 24 IMPOSSIBLE Ryan Star 19 25 LIFE (IS MY REVENGE) FrankMusik New 26 JULIET Lawson New 27 REPLAY Zendaya New 28 CAN’T HOLD BACK Anton Ewald 26 29 WINNING GROUND Eric Saade 28 30 HEARTS Dan Black featuring Kelis
London-based Irish singer Maighréad follows up hersummer single release “Sooner”with its accompanying video. The singer looks wonderful amid a beautiful outdoor scenic backdrop fashioned by producers Diz.co. It’s highly complimentary to the emotional side of the song, which brings longing and regret to the dance floor through the hot electronica rhythm of the song, yet isolates those feelings in the visual setting. This classy video should help take Maighréad to the next level as she promotes the single. You can get it on iTunes.
A little while ago, I labelled“What’s Going On” as a SMASH. And indeed it will, come official release by Sony on November 17. This is great news for producer and remixer extraordinaire Monsieur Adi in teaming up with British singer A*M*E for their rework of the Soul II Soul 1989 hit “Back To Life”. The two things that drive this song are the magical electronic melodies fashioned by Adi along with the powerhouse vocal by A*M*E, given that Caron Wheeler’s original is so hard to top. And in the video we get to see A*M*E owning every scene she’s in, plus, at last, le Monsieur himself! Love the fashion too – a chunk of money was invested in this video and it shows. In about a month or so, watch for “What’s Going On” to go BOOM.
“Black Light” by L.A. singer Kaden rides the top of the chart for a third appearance, while Ryan Adamés’ ever-stunning ballad turn of Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me” is now at #2. Just to make it interesting, Toronto’s Neverest glides to #3 with their rivetting “Rewind”.
Fastest Risers:
I’m on a mission to get Miguel’s “Adorn” to be a bigger hit than it was at the top of 2013. Thanks to an exquisite remix featuring Jessie Ware, the song zips up my chart to #13.
Lady GaGa looks to have one of her biggest charting songs here with “Applause” racing to #6.
“Somebody Loves You” by Betty Who had the viral delight of being featured in a massive marriage proposal announcement video for two men in Salt Lake City. Indeed it is a beautiful song that fits the occasion and moves up to #16.
Other newcomers to the chart besides “Adorn” last week all climb up six places: “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” by Pet Shop Boys (video is on its way), “Headhunter” by Parralox, and “I Remember” by Nick Pes, from the must-have dance compilation This Beat Is…Poptronik Volume Two!
New to the Chart:
I’ve already written about the three premieres, but they are all well worth repeating.
It was almost an instantaneous decision to add the lone new song from FrankMusik’s Between Us acoustic piano album, “Hymn”, and it arrives at #24. It’s one of Vince’s most painful and beautiful songs to date. I’ll have to check, but I don’t think there has been a chart in 2013 that has not featured a FrankMusik song!
Right behind at #25 is DATABOY’s devistatingly original mashup “We Can’t Stop Summertime Sadness”, seamlessly blending the Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey songs in an electronica way that you could never have imagined. And you can see the guys sing their hearts out in the video – can’t wait until they can tour. More new music on the way soon from Cameron and Adam! Download it for free after watching the video using the link below the video 🙂 I think the only other ‘mashup’ I’ve charted was Pet Shop Boys’ blend of “Viva La Vida” and “Domino Dancing” a few years back, though another worthy one is Penguin Prison’s “GoldenTrain/Working Day And Night”.
Ryan Star is currently accepting pledges to fund his upcoming album via PledgeMusic. He’s already recently released a well-received EP of his thoughtful form of rock, and sold out four shows in New York City at the beginning of August. His single from the EP deserves some belated attention, so “Impossible” arrives at #29, joining a slew of other Ryan Star songs to appear on the chart, including the Top 5 “Right Now”, “Last Train Home”, and “Breathe”.
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and details web edition of my chart.
Here’s the full basic BILLCS Top 30 🙂
01 01 BLACK LIGHT (Stormby remix) Kaden 03 02 AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME Ryan Adamés 06 03 REWIND Neverest 04 04 SKIRT Kylie Minogue 02 05 VOCAL Pet Shop Boys 13 06 APPLAUSE Lady GaGa 07 07 DIRTY FLOORS Andy Suzuki & The Method 10 08 HOMEWRECKER Travis Garland 12 09 TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Justin Timberlake 05 10 BEGGING Anton Ewald 15 11 LEARN TO WAIT Sam Dickinson 14 12 ROYALS Lorde 21 13 ADORN Miguel featuring Jessie Ware 08 14 BROKENHEARTED Lawson featuring B.o.B. 19 15 PROBLEM (Kat Krazy remix) Natalia Kills 22 16 SOMEBODY LOVES YOU Betty Who 23 17 LOVE IS A BOURGEOIS CONSTRUCT Pet Shop Boys 18 18 WHAT’S GOING ON Monsieur Adi featuring A*M*E 09 19 LIFE (IS MY REVENGE) FrankMusik 26 20 HEADHUNTER Parralox 27 21 I REMEMBER Nick Pes 24 22 MA RADIO Osvaldo Supino 11 23 REMIX MY LOVE Killian Wells featuring Kristinia Debarge New 24 HYMN FrankMusik New 25 WE CAN’T STOP SUMMERTIME SADNESS DATABOY 17 26 WINNING GROUND Eric Saade 16 27 BLURRED LINES Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams 20 28 HEARTS Dan Black featuring Kelis New 29 IMPOSSIBLE Ryan Star 28 30 I THINK I LOVE YOU Bongiovanni
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