Jane Badler – Page 2 – BILLCSMUSIC BLOG

BILLCS Top 30 #443 – November 3, 2014

After 6 weeks of having a lock on the chart, making it some of the best music weeks of the year thus far, the Top 3 songs have faltered and an influx of new songs is on the way, but that will probably still take another month or so, with the exception of one song which has its sights on #1. A list of the complete chart follows the blog post further down 🙂

The Top 10

“Smile” by Mikky Ekko gets an appearance at #1 after holding down the fort at #2 for six weeks. I’m looking forward to hearing the singer’s album Time when it surfaces – not sure of a release date now, and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t shoved back till the new year after he completes his tour with Alt-J. Ironically the singer’s collaboration with Chris Malinchak, “Stranger” (which peaked at #8) is #30 in this edition.

After killer performances in a four city North American tour – including Toronto, where I was fortunate to bear witness to her amazing voice and show – Jessie Ware’s “Say You Love Me” soars 6-2 to challenge “Smile” for #1 in two weeks. I don’t understand why “Say You Love Me” isn’t tearing up charts everywhere (it did reach the Top 25 in the UK), but there’s a dearth of beautiful songs on her album Tough Love too!
While Sam Smith’s “I’m Not The Only One” slips to #3, do not fear, fans, “Restart” is on its way up at #15!

He continues to post a lot of new music on his Soundcloud page, but for now “Thanks For Nothing” by Brandyn Burnette holds its own at #4.

Jamie Scott’s “Unbreakable” is slowly attracting friends at radio, and the song climbs this week 9-7, as his album My Hurricane will see release this month.

5 Seconds Of Summer’s memorable ballad “Amnesia” enters the Top 10, right behind the #7 peak of “She Looks So Perfect” at #8.

Oh look! Two Adam Tyler songs in the Top 10! No surprise that, I believe he’s done it before 🙂 So we have the Aron Friedman remix of “I Won’t Let You Go” at #5, and the Paul Hetherington 80’s retro-styled production of “Criminal” becomes yet another Top Tenner for Adam at #9!

Movin’ Up

Chromatone’s pop-rock-R&B flavoured song “Play For Me” continues to climb to a new peak, at #11 in this edition!
The last chart’s fastest riser, Jake Barker’s “Stage Fright”, moves up just outside the Top 10 at #12.
Semi-Precious Weapons look to follow “Aviation High” into the Top 10 with the unconventional love song “Brando”, moving up 17-13.

Actress and singer Jane Badler’s hypnotic and stylish “Losing You” makes a big move this week, rising 20-14!

The fastest riser on the chart this week can only be found within the new EP An Open Heart by Bright Light Bright Light. It’s “Arms Of Another” (musically inspired by Crystal Waters’ classic “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)”, climbing 24-16.

It debuted inside the Top 50 this week on the UK Official Singles Chart so “Gold Skies” by the triple threat of Sander van Doorn, Martin Garrix and DVBBS (featuring Aleesia) is proving to be an international chart threat, and it rises 27-20 on my chart in this edition.

It took a while to reach the chart, but “Superheroes” by The Script is well on its way, rising 28-22, from their 4th album No Sound Without Silence.

Chart Newcomers

Erasure has been one of my favourite groups since I first saw their show in 1986 (!), and their latest album The Violet Flame is one of their finest, harkening back to their classic late 80’s period. They’ve only surfaced on my chart three times since 2003, but each time it’s with a personal Top Tenner: Their cover of “Solsbury Hill”, “I Could Fall In Love With You”, and “Then I Go Twisting”. Can “Reason” join this trio? It arrives at #26 as the group completes its recent four.

Arriving at #27 is the initial single from the intriguing-looking soundtrack to the latest edition of “The Hunger Games” called “Mockingjay” (Part 1). I wasn’t a fan of the first movie, but award-winning singer/songwriter Ella Yelich-O’Connor, aka Lorde, is the curator of the soundtrack (not bad for turning 18 years old this coming week!) and the alluring “Yellow Flicker Beat” debuts on the chart. Lorde’s “Royals” only got to #11 before I tired of it; perhaps “Yellow Flicker Beat” will do better!

Lastly at #28, is the second official single by British Columbia singer Tristan Thompson, “Burn Again”, which I wrote about recently. This 16 year old will be a contender in the next year, mark my words!

The Full Chart

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailed web edition of my chart.

02 01 SMILE Mikky Ekko
06 02 SAY YOU LOVE ME Jessie Ware
01 03 I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE Sam Smith
04 04 THANKS FOR NOTHING Brandyn Burnette
05 05 I WON’T LET YOU GO (Aron Friedman remix) Adam Tyler
03 06 AFTERGLOW Harriet
09 07 UNBREAKABLE Jamie Scott
11 08 AMNESIA 5 Seconds Of Summer
12 09 CRIMINAL Adam Tyler
10 10 ZEPPELIN Eli Lieb
13 11 PLAY FOR ME Chromatone
15 12 STAGE FRIGHT Jake Barker
17 13 BRANDO Semi-Precious Weapons
20 14 LOSING YOU Jane Badler
22 15 RESTART Sam Smith
24 16 ARMS OF ANOTHER Bright Light Bright Light
18 17 KILLER WHALES Smallpools
21 18 THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID The Janoskians
07 19 GET TO KNOW YOU Corey Niles featuring Ish
27 20 GOLD SKIES Sander Van Doorn, Martin Garrix & DVBBS featuring Aleesia
08 21 NO FUN The Presets
28 22 SUPERHEROES The Script
16 23 THIS COULD BE SOMETHING Anton Ewald featuring Medina
19 24 HANG ON TO YOUR LOVE Penguin Prison
14 25 MUSIC GODS Davis Redfield featuring Carl Man
New 26 REASON Erasure
New 27 YELLOW FLICKER BEAT Lorde
New 28 BURN AGAIN Tristan Thompson
25 29 I BELIEVE Bright Light Bright Light
26 30 STRANGER Chris Malinchak featuring Mikky Ekko

Listen for My New Music Pick Of The Week on D-Moos.com!

As many of you are already aware, after many years away from the microphone, I am now pleased to be back as a voice on D-Moos.com Canada’s National Internet Radio Station, which mainly plays a selection of oldies, mostly from the 50’s to the 90’s, with soon to be more intrusions from the 2000’s and other new music.

Do listen in for my New Music Pick of the Week feature on D-Moos.com 8 times per day starting at 2:05 AM EST on Mondays, and while the station is only live in the evenings from 9:00 pm to midnight (with my long-time musical partner in crime “The Musicman” James Rogers), you can hear my voice at other odd times, particularly if you’re an oldies loving night owl on the weekend overnights 🙂

BILLCS Top 30 #442 – October 20, 2014

Time isn’t standing still, but when you’ve got a 1,2,3,4 kapow like what’s happening at the top of my new chart, you’re gonna have to be patient to find out when they all get shook loose. And it could happen as early as the next chart in two weeks but until then, enjoy:

#1 “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith

#2 “Smile” by Mikky Ekko

#3 “Afterglow” by Harriet

#4 “Thanks For Nothing” by Brandyn Burnette

Brandyn Burnette has a new acoustic set available on Soundcloud above and lots of free songs as well so I’ll be keeping you posted on the prolific singer’s new songs very soon!

ON THE RISE

The lone new entry to the Top 5 isn’t actually new, but it does sound significantly different from the original version which got to #5 in 2011. I’m talking about the mid-tempo Aron Friedman house remix of “I Won’t Let You Go” by Adam Tyler of course, which climbs 8-5.

As her album Tough Love enters the UK Top 10 and her October 26 show in my city approaches, Jessie Ware is the gal-most-likely-to as “Say You Love Me” continues to rise quickly, up 9-6.

It’s now due on November 10 (in Canada anyway), but if you go to iTunes you’ll find 3 more songs to preview from Jamie Scott’s My Hurricane album, including a duet with Christina Perri called “Gold”. In the meantime, his latest single “Unbreakable” moves up 11-9, joining his band Graffiti6 with their Top 5 entry from last year, “Free”.

Music fans are the always the first ones to get “Zeppelin” by Eli Lieb but even if you’re not familiar with the famous band’s songs or why friends might be jamming to Zeppelin in the car, then you can still revel in the positive and nostalgic vibe of the song. It anchors the top songs on the chart at #10.

Chromatone is out gigging in the London, England area quite regularly, so do try to catch one of his performances! His latest song “Play For Me” continues to advance on the chart 17-13.

It’s one of the more discreet songs on the chart, but it’s heartwarming and holds within its lyrics reams of truth. The fastest riser on the chart is “Stage Fright” by Jake Barker.

It’s not easy to find different love songs to write about but Semi-Precious Weapons has done just that with “Brando”. Hopefully a video is in the works and can make it out before their next album, still expected before year end.

I caught Smallpools’ set back when they opened for Neon Trees back in July, and with new songs like “Killer Whales” I look forward to their next album release. The band plays in my city on October 24 too. “Killer Whales” swims upstream to #18!

Between her acting career and her singing career, Jane Badler travels all over, and will next perform a concert in Paris at the end of November. Her beguiling single, featuring Spanish guitar via 70’s new wave via torch ballad, “Losing You”, lands at #20 on my chart, from her new album Opus.

Those Janoskians are still making their way across North America promoting their latest single “That’s What She Said”, which lands at #21 this week. The teens definitely like their Aussie boys when they get even a little more than naughty, and that’s what makes watching their success unfold rather interesting! Yes, this blogger likes The Janoskians 🙂

There’s nothing stopping Sam Smith short of exhaustion, and he’s announced another North American tour, including a stop in my city on January 20 at the biggest venue in town! I was fortunate to see him at the 500 person Virgin Mod Club last Spring for $15.00! “Restart” moves up to #22.

NEW TO THE CHART

Keep those dancing shoes on for “Arms Of Another” by Bright Light Bright Light, which I wrote about recently as the extra song (or ‘B’ side as we used to call them) on the new single for “An Open Heart”. The latter song already conquered this chart back at the top of the year, and now “Arms Of Another” arrives at #24.

And now I return you to the explosive and diverse dubstep/trap and other EDM scene. “Gold Skies”, brought to you by the quartet of Sander van Doorn, Martin Garrix, and DVBBS, and featuring vocalist Aleesia, sounds like a radio hit in the making, and it’s included on Martin’s EP of the same name on iTunes, which also features two of my 2014 #1’s, “Animals” and “Proxy” (previously a free download). “Gold Skies” bows at #27.

It’s been since 2011 that The Script last landed on my chart, and to me have returned to the sound now which got them popular in the first place back in 2009. “Superheroes” is the first single from No Sound Without Silence, the Dublin, Ireland trio’s fourth album. And they are well worth seeing in concert! “Superheroes” premieres at #28.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

While “Hang On To Your Love”, the Penguin Prison free download cover of the 1984 Sade debut glides up the chart at #19, the singer (aka Chris Glover) released his first solo single in three years last week. He’s not breaking a formula that won over fans like me either with “Calling Out”. It’s as simple a song as “The Worse It Gets”, with similar late 70’s early 80’s inspirations like “Kiss On My List” by Daryl Hall & John Oates or “What A Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers, but spun Penguin Prison style: Danceable ear candy! Can’t wait to hear more from PP’s upcoming sophomore album. Listen below and get it on iTunes.

https://soundcloud.com/penguin-prison/callingout

The Full Chart

Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailed web edition of my chart.

01 01 I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE Sam Smith
02 02 SMILE Mikky Ekko
03 03 AFTERGLOW Harriet
04 04 THANKS FOR NOTHING Brandyn Burnette
08 05 I WON’T LET YOU GO (Aron Friedman remix) Adam Tyler
09 06 SAY YOU LOVE ME Jessie Ware
07 07 GET TO KNOW YOU Corey Niles featuring Ish
05 08 NO FUN The Presets
11 09 UNBREAKABLE Jamie Scott
12 10 ZEPPELIN Eli Lieb
14 11 AMNESIA 5 Seconds Of Summer
15 12 CRIMINAL Adam Tyler
17 13 PLAY FOR ME Chromatone
06 14 MUSIC GODS Davis Redfield featuring Carl Man
23 15 STAGE FRIGHT Jake Barker
10 16 THIS COULD BE SOMETHING Anton Ewald featuring Medina
24 17 BRANDO Semi-Precious Weapons
21 18 KILLER WHALES Smallpools
22 19 HANG ON TO YOUR LOVE Penguin Prison
26 20 LOSING YOU Jane Badler
27 21 THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID The Janoskians
28 22 RESTART Sam Smith
13 23 JUST SAY HELLO Lyonn
New 24 ARMS OF ANOTHER Bright Light Bright Light
16 25 I BELIEVE Bright Light Bright Light
18 26 STRANGER Chris Malinchak featuring Mikky Ekko
New 27 GOLD SKIES Sander Van Doorn, Martin Garrix & DVBBS featuring Aleesia
New 28 SUPERHEROES The Script
19 29 TIME HAS COME Hannis
20 30 TEN FEET TALL Afrojack featuring Wrabel

Listen for My New Music Pick Of The Week on D-Moos.com!

BILLCS Top 30 #441 – October 6, 2014

The top three songs have an incredible lock on the chart right now, and there are five debuts, so without further adieu:

ONE!!!

Sam Smith “I’m Not The Only One”

TWO!!

Mikky Ekko “Smile”

THREE!

https://soundcloud.com/harrietsmusic/afterglow

Harriet “Afterglow”

THE REST OF THE CHART

So the next question is: Can Brandyn Burnette’s “Thanks For Nothing” crack the Top 3, as it rises significantly, up 10-4? The singer constantly reminds us on Twitter that the song may be a straight middle finger to a past relationship, but that it has an optimistic side to it about moving forward. Gotta listen to Brandyn!! There’s an ages old soul in that young body, methinks!

Those “Music Gods” keep forging ahead on this chart! Davis Redfield and vocalist Carl Man climb 7-6 in this edition.

Get to know Canadian R&B/hip hop singer Corey Niles as his latest song “Get To Know You” spreads across Canada, with the help of rapper Ish! It rises 9-7 🙂

Second time’s a charm, especially when it’s in a gorgeous, romantic, midtempo house remix! “I Won’t Let You Go” by Adam Tyler in an Aron Friedman remix gets to the Top 10 for the second time, and that’s only happened once before, with Nelson Clemente’s “You Want Me Don’t You” in 2008/09, which peaked at #3 both times. “I Won’t Let You Go” is at #8, three places short of its original #5 peak in 2011.

The fastest riser on the chart is “Say You Love Me” by Jessie Ware, moving 20-9, and arriving in the Top 25 on the UK Singles Chart this week. Simply cannot wait to hear it in concert later in the month. Looking at the Top 3, I have to wonder when “Say You Love Me” will be able to crack the mold, but we’ll see!

Jamie Scott’s “Unbreakable” may be unstoppable at this point – it moves up 16-11 this week and will almost certainly grab a Top 10 berth in two weeks!

Aussie faves 5 Seconds Of Summer seem to be making more waves at radio now as the Fall sets in with “Amnesia” rising up 17-14 🙂

Chromatone has such a good groove going on in “Play For Me” that you must check out the fantastic dance moves in its well-shot video. It climbs 21-17.

ABOUT THOSE FIVE DEBUTS…

It’s an overdue debut, but always better late than never. While his team has been promoting “Oh So Simple” and “Scared” from his fine EP Stage Fright, the romantic inside me has long been with The Voice contestant blue-eyed soul singer Jake Barker’s title song, which bows at #23. You can only hear a preview on iTunes but it’s worth purchasing the EP for its entire four song selection. The following lyrics alone just send me at each listen just after the minute mark: “10,000 people looking down on me / All eyes on me / Could I picture my life / All I see is you”. Jake Barker has an immense future ahead – and he didn’t even finish in the Top 10 on The Voice!
A love song of a very different kind is “Brando” by Semi-Precious Weapons, which arrives at #24 in advance of their second 2014, following Spring’s Aviation release. “Brando” gets away from the anthemic sounds on Aviation in favour of a song that sings about when you are faced with the fact that you are impossibly in love. Justin Tranter’s vocal is on its best game here, and I’m really looking forward to more from SPW before the end of the year! Now if we can only get them up to Canada to tour…

I wrote about Jane Badler’s “Losing You” a while back, but the song gets under your skin quickly, so it arrives on the chart at #26. Actress/singer Jane previously reached #8 with “Yesterday’s Tomorrows”, so her alt.pop stylings are no stranger to this chart! Be sure to check out the impressive video trek through personal hell below.

Those Janoskians fans have eaten up my Twitter timeline today as the boys play a show at the Danforth Music Hall. I like these guys for the fact that they are bold enough to take risks to break out of the boy band mold, even though they will attract some similar fans as One Direction, 5 Seconds Of Summer, and even Justin Bieber. The Janoskians shake things up with their innuendo with “That’s What She Said” at #27. North American radio isn’t playing, but then again that’s no surprise. The huge fan base says ALL!!

It seems like there’s always room on my chart this year for another Sam Smith song. The 80’s flavoured “Restart” (particularly reminscent of Daryl Hall & John Oates or The Doobie Brothers brand of white soul) premieres at #28 along with a new video below.

Extra! Extra!

The duo Erasure (being singer Andy Bell and keyboardist Vince Clarke) has long endured because they know how to deliver exactly what their audience wants, and continue to create new songs for their huge repertoire. Their music is hugely influential on today’s electronica performers, whether that’s obvious or not. Their latest album The Violet Flame is their best in many years, more than ever a throwback to their classic late 80’s/early 90’s period, which is where their set list focuses in concert. While “Elevation” rises on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, the chart-bound zinger on the album belongs to “Sacred”. Listen below!!

https://soundcloud.com/erasureinfo/sacred

Lastly, Tristan Thompson’s “Mistaken” shall return to the chart! It’s been bumped to being the third single release from Here For You in favour of another song, which I shall be writing about very soon!

The Full Chart

01 01 I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE Sam Smith
02 02 SMILE Mikky Ekko
03 03 AFTERGLOW Harriet
10 04 THANKS FOR NOTHING Brandyn Burnette
05 05 NO FUN The Presets
07 06 MUSIC GODS Davis Redfield featuring Carl Man
09 07 GET TO KNOW YOU Corey Niles featuring Ish
13 08 I WON’T LET YOU GO (Aron Friedman remix) Adam Tyler
20 09 SAY YOU LOVE ME Jessie Ware
04 10 THIS COULD BE SOMETHING Anton Ewald featuring Medina
16 11 UNBREAKABLE Jamie Scott
14 12 ZEPPELIN Eli Lieb
15 13 JUST SAY HELLO Lyonn
17 14 AMNESIA 5 Seconds Of Summer
18 15 CRIMINAL Adam Tyler
06 16 I BELIEVE Bright Light Bright Light
21 17 PLAY FOR ME Chromatone
08 18 STRANGER Chris Malinchak featuring Mikky Ekko
11 19 TIME HAS COME Hannis
12 20 TEN FEET TALL Afrojack featuring Wrabel
23 21 KILLER WHALES Smallpools
25 22 HANG ON TO YOUR LOVE Penguin Prison
New 23 STAGE FRIGHT Jake Barker
New 24 BRANDO Semi-Precious Weapons
19 25 WHEN YOU LEFT ME Sam Dickinson
New 26 LOSING YOU Jane Badler
New 27 THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID The Janoskians
New 28 RESTART Sam Smith
24 29 BIG CITY GIRLS (DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH SMALL TOWN BOYS) Zorro Blakk
29 30 KNEW YOU BETTER Adam Tyler

Listen for My New Music Pick Of The Week on D-Moos.com!

Dancin’ Up A Storm: @DJEsQuille features @JaneBadler on “My Skin On Your Skin”

DJ ESQUILLE featuring JANE BADLER, “My Skin On Your Skin”

“My Skin On Your Skin” is a sensational new dance club floor pleaser by Swedish DJ/producer EsQuille that just happens to feature a vocal by the ever-diverse Jane Badler. It’s a real throwback to some of the songs on the racier side of disco such as Musique’s “In The Bush” or Poussez’s “Come On And Do It”, but with a trendy techno-sounding vibe that gives it 90’s qualities. In any case, it’s a fast listen under 3 minutes, but you can go with the full blown Stonebridge club mixes which are available as a separate single on iTunes. I’ve loved hearing Jane in a dance music setting since the commanding remix of “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” a few years ago, she has just the right voice to help take “My Skin On Your Skin” that much further, so this is a great pairing! Don’t forget also to check out Jane’s new album Opus on iTunes, which features the engaging and dramatic new single “Losing You” which I wrote about recently.

Someone Else’s Hell: “Losing You” by @JaneBadler

JANE BADLER, “Losing You”

While Jane Badler is better known as an actress whose characters you love to hate – raise your hands if you love Diana from “V” – she is developing another career as a singer of unpredictable alternative pop. From her forthcoming album Opus, the USA-born, Australia-based Jane brings us “Losing You”, a Latin-influenced smoky-jazz pop tune which may contain the best vocal yet that I’ve heard from her – and I’m a big fan of her “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” from a few years back. You could put “Losing You” somewhere between Eartha Kitt and Amy Winehouse, and like those two singers it’s largely because Jane’s voice doesn’t bring another particular singer’s voice to mind… so I’d love to have her duet with Rufus Wainwright! But I digress. The video for the song is a treat. While we’ve seen other videos use the door-to-door imagery many times before, the director draws us in regardless of how unsympathetic Jane’s character is. Does she get what she deserves in the end of her own personal hell? You decide! Beautiful costumes, unique makeup and characterizations, and a convincing story all make it work. Watch below and get “Losing You” on iTunes on August 11.

“Volcano Boy” by @JaneBadler Is A Mystical Pop Charmer

JANE BADLER, “Volcano Boy”

That Jane Badler was also a well-reputed singer as well as a leading actress (most noted for portraying Diana in the TV show “V”) came to my attention about two years ago when she released the EP “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” and the beautifully dramatic title song, which got to #8 on my personal chart. A few releases later and we have “Volcano Boy”, a lush and very accessible pop song. It has a mystical side to it – a boy born out of a volcano? – and a sense of fearlessness which are quite in contrast to the pop melody. “Volcano Boy” is another lovely surprise from the multi-talented Australia-based (but America born) Jane, who makes fine choices in the songs she records. You can buy “Volcano Boy” on iTunes and watch for the remixes coming April 14. Check out the video below.

BILLCS Music Blog’s Top 75 Songs of 2012 – #60 to #41

Today I bring you the big middle bit of the list, a delightful array of 20 songs that more than tickled my fancy throughout the year. So this post is a little long, but bear with me…

Click here to view songs #75 to #41

Three singers in this list escaped from an often horrible fate in the music industry – record company hell. Tyler Hilton had never been away from the music scene, and of course showed up on TV quite regularly in One Tree Hill as Chris Keller. After many delays in trying to release a sophomore album, seven years perhaps is a long time between albums but his TV and film popularity preceded him and Tyler definitely grew in that time. So he ended up releasing his album Forget The Storm independently, and toured throughout North America, the UK, and Europe. It’s a fine rocking effort and gave Tyler the opportunity to connect with many fans who have been waiting for him, and “Prince Of Nothing Charming” became yet another Top 10 entry on my chart for him. Ryan Star is another fantastic singer whose previous record company was doing nothing to help the release of new songs after some success in 2010 with the album 11:59. So he switched to Island Records and saw his single “Stay Awhile” (video below) released while he works on a new album. Phenomenal piano man Jon McLaughlin also parted ways with his previous record company only to sign a new deal with Razor & Tie after releasing the exceptional (and now, no longer available) Forever If Ever album independently. Two of his songs slid into the Top 10 and both long runs on the chart. “Promising Promises” was originally featured on Forever If Ever but ended up being the title song of his re-released album. And to whet our appetite for that album, Jon teamed up with Sara Bareilles in one of those pairings where the voices just go so well together. A rerecording of “Summer Is Over” (video below) was the song the singer was waiting for to throw him back into the spotlight after touring North America for most of the year.

His initial songs didn’t really draw me in, but I thought “Better Than I Know Myself” by Adam Lambert had a lot of personal conviction in the vocal performance, and showed a more vulnerable side of the singer, so it became his first chart entry for me. Darren Hayes’ third and final entry in this list peaked in January where some chartphiles carried over “Bloodstained Heart” from 2011 (that song was #22 on last year’s list). “Black Out The Sun” is a lilting and sombre affair led by another wonderful vocal by Darren. Another darker song captured with a fine and appropriate vocal is Jane Badler’s theatrical “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” (video below), a song that gets better with repeated listenings (there are also many delightful remixes available). The Australia-based actress best known for TV’s “V” is well on her way with another career as a pop singer. And did funky pop seem out of vogue? Not if you’re Sam Sparro, who released his sophomore album Return To Paradise mid-year with lead single “Happiness” in advance. The album is a moody but always danceable affair, and is much better as a long-player than to isolate most of the songs individually.

Singles still go very steady in my musical world. “Champagne” gave the start of the year its fizz courtesy of Australian singer Nelson Clemente. Converse shoes had a stroke of brilliance by creating a free download with a highly entertaining video (below) to promote its products. So Foster The People head honcho Mark Foster gets paired up with Canadian producer/DJ extraordinaire A-Trak for the song “Warrior”, and who gets to save the day not only in one of the year’s most entertaining videos, but as the song’s vocalist? New Zealand chanteuse Kimbra, who duetted with Gotye on the year’s biggest song “Somebody That I Used To Know”. US production duo The Knocks did the rather unthinkable – they transformed M83’s ethereal “Midnight City” into a 3 minute pop song with the help of singer Mandy Lee, in a free download and a fine video (also below) to showcase the singer. I ended up liking it even better than the original so it ranks in the Top 50. Minnesota’s Nicole Brenny, known as Vague-à-bonde, is an emerging talent to watch who is recording a new album as well as a video for the song that reached the Top 10 on my chart, “Evolved”. The song has a gentle vocal whose toe-tapping refrain throttles you and makes you want more. UK quartet Boy Banned seemed on the bubble to go on to big things by the end of 2011, however the bubble exploded when they split after the release of the immensely likeable “The Stars Are Saying Yes” and its utterly charming video (also below). “Only The Horses” by Scissor Sisters proved that this outfit can produce fine original pop singles that sparkle amid an inconsistent album, outside of its engaging presence in the dance/EDM community with fun records like “Let’s Have A Kiki”. “Horses” became their first Top 5 hit on my chart.

The remaining songs in this group are featured in albums that have held their own since their release. “Unheard” is a jaunty album track from Netherlands singer Jeronimo, whose song “It’s A Fun Thing” is the Cartoon Network theme song in the south Pacific part of the world. His unique voice and eagerness to please made his album One Kiss one of the most solid records of the year, even if it didn’t receive release in North America. Another song from that record ranks higher up on the list 🙂 Markus Riva’s “How It Feels To Be A Man” is the Latvian singer’s second entry on the chart, and one of the highlights of the year’s best dance compilations This Beat Is…Poptronik Volume One that morphed into a summer dance festival on the beaches outside of Barcelona. Volume Two and another festival are in the works for this year. Another song from the compilation is featured later on as well. I proclaimed Brooklyn’s Matt & Kim as pop music’s hardest working duo after partaking in their most enjoyable show, where they had to work around a power failure (with the effortless help of the audience). “Let’s Go” is the song and video (below) that took them back to a simple and basic but high energy sound on their latest album Lightning.

Boston sextet Gentlemen Hall are one of my 13 Performers to Watch for ’13 and mix journeyman rock in with powerful, lush instrumentation on their EP When We All Disappear, which is still available for free on their website. While every song on that EP is strong, it was the joyous “All Our Love” and its accompanying video (below) that captured my attention this past Spring. And what would the year be without me including two songs from Austin duo DATABOY’s Dreams Are Gold album? “Lotion” was initially released on the free Summer Now EP, which led up to the release of their long-awaited full album. That record contains some of the most entertaining and heartfelt songs of the year, all also designed to make you dance, one being “Genius”, which could be the new unofficial theme song for “The Big Bang Theory”. Without question, Dreams Are Gold is my favourite album of 2012, and you’ll find two more DATABOY songs much higher on this list in the next few days 🙂

BILLCS Top 30 #393 – December 3/12

I think we should be seeing some new blood invading the chart soon. In the meantime…

“Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia & John Martin holds at #1, while “Parachute” from Matthew Koma’s EP of the same name is now at #2 and looks to follow his pairing with Zedd on “Spectrum” (#10) to the top spot. “Music Makes Me Lose Control” by Carlos Nóbrega hangs tough at #3, while the understated (and unfortunately underperforming) “Between The Raindrops” by Lifehouse & Natasha Bedingfield zips up to #4. Lifehouse’s Almeria will be on release before the next chart on December 17. And Bright Light Bright Light gets yet another Top 5er with “Feel It”. Do go to this link for BLx2’s musical Christmas Advent calendar of mashups – today he meshed his own “Moves” with “Your Loving Arms”, the classic 90’s club hit by Billie Ray Martin (listen and download below).

In the ‘movin’ on up’ category, we find a contender for the top bounding up to #6 – “Yeah Yeah” by Willy Moon (stylish video up top), who performs two gigs in New York City this week. “Evolved” by Vague-à-bonde continues to impress by rising to #7, and “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” by Jane Badler (who is in Sweden, for fans of “V” – video below) moves to #8. “Let’s Go” by Matt & Kim becomes their third Top Tenner on this chart at #9.

You can view the full chart using the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right, or you can click right here. You can hear all of the songs on the chart or watch their videos by clicking on the pics on the chart page. Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer. There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so

Not to be outdone, “Skyfall” by Adele is no slouch at #12, while the fastest riser on the chart is the infectious controversy-generating “Play The Girl” by The Netherlands’ Tao Hypah, vaulting 21-13. It’s just one of those songs that has a message which is totally secondary to its engaging melody and chorus. “Good Girlfriend” by Kid Massive & DATABOY and “Must Be the Love” by Arty, Nadia Ali & BT continue to follow each other’s dance steps up the chart at #14 and #15 respectively. Bim’s “Burn” continues to sear its way up at #17, with last week’s pop parade of “Time Bomb (Walk Away)” by Chris Wallace and “1998” by Matthew Koma” in tow at #18 and #19, as well as Daniel Bedingfield’s “O.V.E.R. U.” at #21.

The three debuts have already been written about in these pages so absolutely no surprise that they land on the chart. “Fast As I Can” bows at #25 and is the first independently released single by FrankMusik from his upcoming album You Are here, due at end of January. As good as the song is, this one revels in a powerful, soulful Vincent Frank vocal. Vince also posted a most beautiful demo of a ballad recently called “Shores” – do give a listen below. Matt & Kim score entry #2 from their Lightning album with “Now” at #27 (live clip below). After the duo take a well-deserved break from touring, they will be back at it with Passion Pit in the new year.

Finally, The Presets arrive at #29 with “Youth In Trouble” from their Pacifica album (live clip below). The song was the first video we saw and has resonated much longer than the official single “Ghosts”. The duo will be back in home country Australia in the new year for more dates.

BILLCS Top 30 #392 – November 19/12

Bear with me with this bare-bones write up of the songs on my latest personal chart. Aside from a few new videos, of course you can view the full chart using the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right, or you can click right here. You can hear all of the songs on the chart or watch their videos by clicking on the pics on the chart page. Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer. There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so

Swedish House Mafia & John Martin get their turn at the top with the memorable “Don’t You Worry Child”, which displaces another fave of mine, “Music Makes You Lose Control” by Carlos Nóbrega, which should hang around in the Top 10.

But aside from the turnover at #1, the chart seems to be about one name. The name is Koma. Matthew Koma. Not only does his collaboration with Zedd on “Spectrum” stay in the Top 5 at #3, but the title track of his EP Parachute vaults 17-4, which could result in a shorter stay at #1 for the Mafia. The New Yorker also debuts at #26 with “1998”, which definitely shows his edgier rock style, definitely recalling post-punk folks like Elvis Costello and XTC. His album Propaganda will be out in early ’13 – woo!

It puts a smile on my face every time I play Bright Light Bright Light’s mashup of his hit “Feel It” with Scissor Sisters’ “Let’s Have A Kiki”. “Feel It” moves up to #6 this week, and the Lifehouse/Natasha Bedingfield collaboration on “Between The Raindrops” is slowly finding favour, rising 10-7. Watch the video below – too bad there aren’t any scenes with Jason and Natasha together.

Two newcomers join the Top 10, songs that you won’t really find elsewhere! “Evolved” by Vague-à-bonde climbs 11-8 as the singer (Nicole Alicia) prepares a video and more new songs. “Evolved” has one of those immensely likeable qualities – it just sneaks up on you and hits you between the eyes with its chorus. Mesmerizing in a different way is “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” by Jane Badler which rises 12-10 and can be found on Jane’s EP Mistaken Identity which you can buy on iTunes.

Despite many songs tumbling on the chart, there’s still quite a bit of activity. “Yeah Yeah” by New Zealand’s Willy Moon soars 22-11 as the singer tours in the UK. Matt & Kim wrap up their Lightning tour (though they are touring with Passion Pit in 2013) and “Let’s Go” jumps 15-12. Kid Massive & DATABOY make a great pairing as “Good Girlfriend” moves 20-17 (video below). Right behind is the Arty/Nadia Ali/BT collaboration “Must Be The Love” at #18, Adele’s “Skyfall” at #19, “Burn” by Bim at #20, and “Play The Girl” by Tao Hypah at #21.

Joining the chart are two more new entries. I’m hoping it may not be too premature, but since “Remember When” by Chris Wallace exits after a mandatory 10 chart (20 week) run, I’ve installed “Time Bomb (Walk Away)” at #25. To me this is the natural follow up to “Remember When”. Over the past two weeks, Daniel Bedingfield released the provocative video to “Secret Fear”, which got to #5 on my chart this summer. The video is quite a feat, developed and directed by Daniel, and filled with numerous meanings. I’ve also been playing “O.V.E.R. U.” from his free Secret Fear-Stop The Traffik EP for months, and it arrives on the chart at #27. Listen to “Time Bomb” and “O.V.E.R. U.” and watch the video for “Secret Fear” below.

Shorter and more frequent blog posts coming your way soon!!

BILLCS Chart #391 – November 5/12 – Lose Control with Carlos Nóbrega’s New #1!

Even though we had a song with a video about an alien love story at the top of the chart two weeks ago, my Hallowe’en party song for 2012 is “Music Makes You Lose Control” by Portugal’s Carlos Nóbrega, which climbs to #1 for this edition of my chart, succeeding “Spectrum” by Zedd & Matthew Koma. Carlos is working on an album and I’ll be one of the first to have news on it as it happens. In the meantime buy “MMYLC” on iTunes and support independent music by doing so!

Zooming to #3 to become a real challenge for the top is “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin, which looks to replicate its UK #1 status in other countries too. The Mafia are playing to huge crowds on what looks to be a final tour for the trio. Below is a live clip of the song. Also joining the Top 5 is “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding, which still seems to be getting lost in the success of “Lights”. Nonetheless it is one of the more joyous sounding songs of the year.

After coming off of a successful UK tour supporting Scissor Sisters, Bright Light Bright Light continues to rise up the chart to #7 with new single “Feel It”, which features several remixes and a new/old song “Good Times”. Rod Thomas (BLx2) has once again given us a free download of a remix, coupling “Good Times” with Black Box’s “Everybody Everybody” as “Good Body”, below.

Two songs join the Top 10. “Unheard” (#9) by Netherlands singer Jeronimo isn’t a single, but is one of the most enjoyable and irresistible songs from his debut album One Kiss. And “Between The Raindrops” by Lifehouse featuring Natasha Bedingfield is indeed a grower, leaping 18-10, as I look forward to the band’s next album Almeria and perhaps a tour in 2013. Take a look at a live clip of Lifehouse performing the song, below.

Below the Top 10 is a steady busy stream of great music. “Evolved” by Vague-a-bonde moves to #11 as the singer records a new album. This independent release has a crackling good hook and a soft, winning vocal (listen below). Jane Badler’s “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” is at #12 and is also featured in the Stormby remix on the compilation Kiss My Lipstick Off. Imagine Dragons’ anthem “It’s Time” is now at #14, while Matt & Kim’s rollicking “Let’s Go” climbs to #15. As the release of Lotus approaches, “Your Body” by Christina Aguilera moves up to #16, and Mika’s “Popular Song” (taking its cue from “Popular” from “Wicked”) is up to #18. Kid Massive & DATABOY have a UK club hit with “Good Girlfriend” at #20, while “Must Be The Love” by Arty, Nadia Ali & BT jumps to #21.

As I expected two weeks ago, the chart got a bit of housecleaning and there are five new entries. It’s no surprise that the highest, at #17, is “Parachute” by Matthew Koma, if you read my rave about it recently. The one newcomer that I haven’t written about yet is “Yeah Yeah” by Willy Moon at #22. You know it as an iPod commercial song. But on its own, it’s a powerful crowd-pleaser from this 23 year old New Zealand native who is currently touring in the UK and Europe opening for Jack White. Watch the stylish, simple and fun choreography in the video below.

Despite the overhype, Adele’s theme for the new James Bond film “Skyfall” rises above it all, being such a gorgeous piece of drama unto itself, landing at #23 on the chart. At #25 is “Burn” by Bim from their Lifelines EP, which is due for worldwide release this week. This is the opener to the EP but is the core of it, full of intense emotions that could write their own book. The video is intriguing with its comic book theme, and really doesn’t have much to do with the song – watch below. Lastly, “Play The Girl” by another Netherlands singer, Tao Hypah, which I also wrote about recently, debuts at #28 following the #3 success of “Celeb”.