Thursday, 20 February 2014

Kimberley Walsh, James Arthur and Union J dominate The Maloneys

Kimberley Walsh,  James Arthur and Union J all scooped double gongs at the 2nd annual The Maloneys.
The night after the Brits , the Z list were out in force again to celebrate the very worst in British music.

Carol McGiffin , Lee Ryan,Vanessa Feltz, Luisa Zissman, Vincent Simone ,Natalie Cassidy , Katie Hopkins, Jim Davidson and Wagner were all on hand to present the prestigious awards.
Live performances came from Girl Thing ,5th Story, Voice winner Andrea Begley, Gabz .
Jane McDonald also performed a Miley Cyrus medley.
Sinitta dedicated her performance of Mark Owens Child to Simon Cowell and new son Eric

Former Girls Aloud backing singer and Bradford bull Kimberley Walsh won the Tesco Clubcard Worst British Album for Center Stage. She also scooped Worst British Female.

Union J were named Worst British Group and Worst British Breakthrough.
Needless to say James Arthur enjoyed a night of success. The charm school graduate and dentally challenged singer won Worst British Male and Worst British Single for You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You.

The Maloneys 2014 Winners

Tesco Clubcard worst British Album -Kimberley Walsh Center Stage

Worst British Group -Union J
WORST BRITISH MALE -James Arthur
WORST BRITISH FEMALE -Kimberley Walsh
WORST BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH-Union J
WORST BRITISH SINGLE -James Arthur You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You

WORST BRITISH LIVE - Atomic Kitten

WORST INTERNATIONAL MALE- Justin Bieber
WORST INTERNATIONAL FEMALE -Azealia Banks
WORST INTERNATIONAL GROUP- 30 Seconds To Mars

Thursday, 13 February 2014

Eternal 's 10 Greatest Hits




Tonight , 20 years after debuting with the classic Always And Forever , Eternal will relive and revisit the 8 glory years that made them one of British musics biggest girlbands of all time.
Getting back together for the first time in almost 15 years , sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett and Kellie Bryan-Gudgeon have reunited for ITV2's Big Reunion nostalgia fest.

Before the Spice Girls , All Saints , Sugababes and Girls Aloud , Eternal were undoubtedly the UK's ultimate girlband and one of pop's hottest commodities.
Fifteen Top 20 hits including a sole UK Number 1 and 10 million records sold worldwide. Of course , being a all female group , there were the departures of Louise Nurding  and Kelle Bryan before Eternal ended in 2000.
To this day they remain one of the UK's most successful  and beloved female groups.

So what better way to celebrate this epic reunion than counting down Eternal's 10 Greatest Hits

10. Save Our Love ( UK Number 8 ,  January 1994 )

The follow up single to debut smash Stay , the opening gong gives way to a breezy RnB /pop anthem which again showcased Easther Bennett's stunning vocals.
'we got to save our love , Save Our Love '


9. Good Thing ( Number 8 , March 1996 )


The third single from sophomore album Power Of A Woman , was dripping in sass. 'Could it be magic , could it be fantasy ' purrs Easther on a track that would'nt have looked out of place on a TLC album.
Amongst one of their most underrated singles , its also one of their most R&B influenced and sassiest 


8. Someday ( UK Number 4 , September 1996 )

This was Eternal's first single release post-Spice Girls who had dominated the charts all summer. Taken from the soundtrack of Disney's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame , it was another vintage Eternal ballad.
At the time , the Power Of A Woman era was winding down. Again , Easther Bennett soars on a ballad Whitney would have killed for. It's somewhat schmaltzy Disney lyrics prevent it from being their most touching ballad







7. Angel Of Mine ( UK Number 4 , September 1997 )

The song that would prove in some ways to be Eternal's swansong. The gorgeous Angel Of Mine , was a Top 5 smash the month a nation was in mourning for Princess Diana.
Easther's vocals are gorgeously restrained , the song itself simple and delicate. It was the perfect lead into their forthcoming Greatest Hits. The song would be covered by US R&B starlet Monica , but couldnt live up to the original







6. I Am Blessed ( UK Number 7 , December 1995 )



One of Eternal's most beautiful ballads deserved much better than its Number 7 peak. One of their more over looked tracks ,the second single from Power Of A Woman , was a gorgeous soaring ballad perfect for the Christmas season/
Hopefully it'll get an outing on some future live dates. Beautiful


5. Power Of A Woman ( UK Number 5 , October 1995 )




Eternal were at their most anthemic on their first single post-Louise , the brassy womanhood anthem Power Of A Woman.
One of their trademark songs coupled with one fo their sexiest videos saw Eternal mark the transition from combat wearing girls on their debut to sassy , sexy women. It suited Eternal to a tee and took them to another level. They truly looked ans sounded remiscent of a British En Vogue




4. Oh Baby I  ( UK Number 4 , November 1994 )

My personal favorite Eternal song of all time. This is THE ultimate Eternal ballad. Twenty years later , it still sounds immaculate. The song that truly made me fall in love with Eternal. The fifth single from Always And Forever , was a vintage mid 90's pop ballad.




3. Just A Step From Heaven ( UK Number 8 , April 1994 )

From the opening intro , this is unmistakably Eternal. Epic on every level , by far one of their most beloved tracks. Their 3rd single was my first introduction to Eternal. Ahead of its 20th anniversary , it still sounds ahead of its time. Anthemic stomper.




2.  I Wanna Be The Only One ( UK Number 1 , May 1997 )

Eternal's only Number 1 came from their Before The Rain album. Assisted by BeBe Winans , this gospel flecked , summer anthem deservedly gave Eternal a long awaited chart topper.
For the one week in May 1997 , all was right with the world. This rousing number saw Eternal at perhaps their poppiest. It remains a pop classic








1. Stay ( UK Number 4 , September 1993 )

Hard to pick the ultimate Eternal song. But Twitter fan feedback  suggest their debut single Stay has swayed it.
It was a fantastic introduction to Eternal. Easther kicked ass vocally and the girls were fresh and relevant.



Monday, 27 January 2014

GRAMMYS 2014 -Daft Punk sweep board as Macklemore and Madonna's matrimonial moment steals show







Daft Punk cleaned up at last nights 56th Grammy Awards in front of a star studded crowd in LA's Staple Center. The French dance duo picked up the prestigous Album of the Year for Random Access Memories , beating out Taylor Swift , Sara Bareilles , Kedrick Lamar and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
Get Lucky was crowned Record of the Year whilst also scooping Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Dance/Electronica album.
It caps off a remarkable year for the dance pioneers. They performed alongside Stevie Wonder , Pharrell Williams and Niles Rodgers.


Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were the other big winners of the night , clinching Best New Artist as well as gongs for Best Rap Performance , Best Rap Song for Thrift Shop and Best Rap Album for The Heist. The duo stole the show alongside Madonna and Queen Latifah as surrounded by 34 married couples , they performed an emotional rendition of gay marriage anthem Same Love.
It was a moving moment that brought the house down. Madonna emerged halfway through the performance and sang the chorus of her classic Open Your Heart , before joining Mary Lambert for the rest of the song. Audience members were visibly moved by the statement performance.

New Zealand wunderkind Lorde won her first Grammy. The 17 year old who also performed on the night won Best Pop Solo Performance for Royals. She beat out Katy Perry who once again went way empty handed from a Grammys ceremony. Bruno Mars was the other big winner in the pop categories as Unorthodox Jukebox won Best Pop Vocal Album.




The other winners on the night included Imagine Dragons , Jay-Z , Adele , Zedd , Vampire Weekend , Alicia Keys , Rihanna and Pharrell Williams.
Beyonce opened the show with hubby Jay -Z , Pink also wowed with a typically acrobatic perfomance. Katy Perry , Robin Thicke , Taylor Swift, Foo Fighters , Paul McCartney all took to the stage.


Watch Macklemore and Ryan Lewis team up with Madonna for a stunning performance of Same Love at the 2014 Grammys

Thursday, 23 January 2014

Kiss Kylie

Kylie Minogue has revealed the cover and title of her forthcoming slbum.
Kiss Me Once marks the Aussie pop queen's 12th studio album. The gorgeous cover shows Minogue behind a water drop covered pane of glass with striking lipstick.

Minogue revealed the image and title on her Instagram account. The album our later this year is preceded by the glistening Into The Blue.
The lead single leaked earlier this week ahead of Monday's official premiere.
The track is a joyously , uplifting slice of sparkling pop euphoria.  Vintage Kylie. A song to raise smiles and spirits on dancefloors worldwide. It's a smash and a fantastic starting point for this new era of La Minogue.

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Disclosure team up with Mary J.Blige




Disclosure have premiered the video for the reworking of F For You , featuring the Queen of Hip Hop/Soul , the incomparable Mary J Blige.
The soul legend joined the platinum selling Lawrence siblings Howard and Guy onstage at Terminal 5 in Manhattan on Sunday night for an impromptu performance.
The reworking of their UK Top 20 hit from last summer is enhanced by Blige's unmistakeable vocals  is a pulsating , more ferocious take on the original.

Disclosure have been busy in the studio of late working on another new track entitled You Stressin , with up and coming rapper Bishop Nehru. The track is available to hear on Disclosure's official Soundcloud account.
The lads have also been in the studio with the legendary Q-Tip.
No confirmation as yet as whether the new tracks are for a new Disclosure album.

ThisSunday , the UK dance duo from Surrey , vie for their first Grammy as Settle battles it out for Best Dance/Electronica album alongside Daft Punk and Calvin Harris.
Disclosure lead the pack at next months Brit Awards on February 19th , with a huge 4 nominations for Best British Group , Album , Breakthrough and Single for White Noise.

Disclosure kick off their triumphant UK tour on March 4th in Birmingham and finishing with their biggest show at London;s Alexandra Palace on March 8th.

Watch the video for Disclosure featuring Mary J, Blige "F For You " below


Paloma Faith unveils A Perfect Contradiction artwork



Paloma Faith has debuted the striking album sleeve for imminent new album A Perfect Contradiction. The stunning artwork sees Faith play five different characters in the typically cinematic looking sleeve.
The album itself is set for release on March 3rd , preceded by the Pharell penned Cant Rely On You , which premiered last week.

It's hard to see many album covers topping this one but lets hope the album itself delivers.


Glad You Came -The Wanted announce break

 Following dismal sales of their latest album , Word Of Mouth , British boyband The Wanted look set to go their separate ways following the conclusion of their latest tour in May.
Max George , Siva Kaneswaren , Tom Parker , Nathan Sykes and Jay McGuinness made the announcement via a statement on their official website. Whilst the statement stressed the band would continue on , it looks like The Wanted's days are numbered.

The writing has seemingly been on the wall now for some time. Word of Mouth , was finally released in October after long delays. It saw diminishing returns despite spawning 5 UK Top 10 hits.
However , the group has long failed to replicate the success of their most famous track , 2011's Number 1 Glad You Came. Their most well known track broke them in America , giving them a Bilboard Hot 100 Top 5 smash. It also saw them nominated for MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards. It sold 3 million copies alone. But numerous singles have failed to recreate the instant success that Glad You Came brought. Their E! documentary series The Wanted Life which aired last year , followed the guys in America. Guided by Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun , we saw the five piece meet Michelle Obama and party in the States. It failed to capture significant viewing figures.

What was clear from the show was that Siva was more interested in spending time with his demanding girlfriend and that without lead vocalist Nathan Sykes , The Wanted struggled.

The boyband burst onto the scene in 2010 with All Time Low, which debuted at Number 1 from their eponymous debut album. Two more Top 10 hits followed , including Comic Relief single Gold Forever.

Glad You Came , was released in July 2011 and spent a forthnight at Number 1 , taking the bands to new levels of success. Second album Battleground followed as did Lightning , cementing The Wanted as one of the UK's biggest boybands.
An on/off feud with One Direction followed , with barbs and asides swapped via Twitter. Tom Parker proved the most outspoken , lambasting One Direction's Louis Tomlinson.

The Wanted's third album was a long time coming with five singles released before its eventual release in October 2013.
Neither Chasing The Sun , I Found You , Walks Like Rihanna , We Own The Night or Show Me Love ( America ) , stuck around that long.  The latter two singles , one of which sounding like a Glad You Came rehash were rush released and subsequently dropped like stones from the charts.

Despite emphasising that this is more a hiatus than a split , its hard to see anyway back for The Wanted. Expect Nathan Sykes to be the true solo star of the group and the rest to be reality tv fodder. Although Ma x George may eke out a solo career , its hard to see how well he'll fare.

Love or hate them , The Wanted were my boyband of choice for the past few years. Edgier than One Direction , they were a male Saturdays of sorts. After 4 years and 10 UK Top 10 singles , when it comes to The Wanted , we are glad they came.

Watch the video for Glad You Came below