When I blogged about that BBC shortlist for 2009, I wrote about which artists I had the highest hopes for. My top 3 was Frankmusik with '3 little words', Lady Gaga with 'Just dance' & Kid Cudi with 'Day 'n Night'.
It turns out that I picked the most succesful ones off that list as Lady Gaga's 'Just dance' is currently holding the UK number 1 spot and Kid Cudi is right behind her at number 2 with 'Day 'n Night'. I'm not quite sure how Frankmusik is doing, but I still stick to my guns on that one too. I think it's a great track. Maybe it will pop up again in the future (becoming part of a commercial, movie or something along those lines)
The official winner of the BBC's list was Little boots. Who, I think, is not bad, but not the best of that list.
Anyway, I already told you before...I also do miss the mark sometimes. But it feels good when you get it right : )
Showing posts with label BBC News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC News. Show all posts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, December 05, 2008
BBC's Best of 2009 list is out. And it is brilliant!
Fifteen of the best rising music stars have been announced as the longlist for the BBC's Sound of 2009.
The list is designed to find the best up-and-coming acts for the coming year, with the winner to be named in January.
More than 130 of the UK's leading music critics and broadcasters named their favourite new acts, and the 15 with the most votes have made the longlist.
Adele triumphed at number one in Sound of 2008, followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas.
To see and hear the 2009 list, click here
I've checked out all the acts and think most of them are really good. Still, let me pick my favorite three & share them with you here. They are the most pop and the most catchy of the list, I think. It is possible that after several listens, I may start to prefer others that simply take longer to grow on you. But this is my list as it stands. Please let me know which of the list are your personal favorits. I'm curious to know.
Frankmusik: Dance singer, remixer and all-round whizz-kid Vincent Frank creates high-energy robopop in which fast neon beats jump out of '80s-tinged tunes.
Frank has remixed tracks for the likes of Mika, Radiohead and CSS. His debut album, Complete Me, has been co-produced by Stuart Price, who has worked with The Killers, Madonna and Keane.
Currently the hottest new hip-hop artist in the US, Kid Cudi has signed to Kanye West's label, features on the star's new album and has been supporting him on tour.
New York party princess Lady GaGa is making waves in the US, where her infectious top 10 single Just Dance has just been nominated for a Grammy for best dance recording. She has also written songs for Britney Spears, Pussycat Dolls and New Kids on the Block.
So, that's my (pop) list. Do also check out Temper Trap, La Roux, Passion Pit, Florence & the machine, and Master Shortie. As I said, the whole list is great. The BBC rocks yet again!
The list is designed to find the best up-and-coming acts for the coming year, with the winner to be named in January.
More than 130 of the UK's leading music critics and broadcasters named their favourite new acts, and the 15 with the most votes have made the longlist.
Adele triumphed at number one in Sound of 2008, followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas.
To see and hear the 2009 list, click here
I've checked out all the acts and think most of them are really good. Still, let me pick my favorite three & share them with you here. They are the most pop and the most catchy of the list, I think. It is possible that after several listens, I may start to prefer others that simply take longer to grow on you. But this is my list as it stands. Please let me know which of the list are your personal favorits. I'm curious to know.
Frankmusik: Dance singer, remixer and all-round whizz-kid Vincent Frank creates high-energy robopop in which fast neon beats jump out of '80s-tinged tunes.
Frank has remixed tracks for the likes of Mika, Radiohead and CSS. His debut album, Complete Me, has been co-produced by Stuart Price, who has worked with The Killers, Madonna and Keane.
Currently the hottest new hip-hop artist in the US, Kid Cudi has signed to Kanye West's label, features on the star's new album and has been supporting him on tour.
New York party princess Lady GaGa is making waves in the US, where her infectious top 10 single Just Dance has just been nominated for a Grammy for best dance recording. She has also written songs for Britney Spears, Pussycat Dolls and New Kids on the Block.
So, that's my (pop) list. Do also check out Temper Trap, La Roux, Passion Pit, Florence & the machine, and Master Shortie. As I said, the whole list is great. The BBC rocks yet again!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Opening up the world, one song at a time....
I just read an article on the BBC News website that talks about the same things I mentioned in my earlier posting on MTV's launch in the Middle East: about how it's such a wonderful feeling to be part of history and of the world opening up when you perform in countries that have been 'off limits' up to that point.
Music has the great power to unite and I believe that that is actually the 'higher purpose' (though often unconscious) & the 'spiritual calling' of those that are being a performer/entertainer. They are here to bring a smile to people's faces, to raise their resonance and to express feelings for them that they might not be able to express themselves in any effective way.
The moments mentioned in the following article surely must be amongst the artists' favorite memories once they look back on their careers:
Musicians who changed the world
Rock icon Eric Clapton has been invited to play a concert in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. If he accepts, he would be the first Western rock star to perform in the Communist country.
He would also follow in a long line of performers who have broken down cultural barriers around the world.
BONEY M IN MOSCOW, 1978
Boney M tickets attracted big money on the Russian black market
Boney M were already big names in the USSR when they landed in Moscow in December 1978.
The disco group had already enjoyed smash hits across Europe during the 1970s, and a special Russian version of their album Nightflight to Venus was produced.
More than 100,000 people tried to get tickets to see the disco quartet, whose hits by then included Rasputin, Daddy Cool and Rivers of Babylon.
Very few Western acts ventured behind the Iron Curtain, although Sir Elton John did so the following year.
Boney M officially split in the mid-1980s into two groups with an original member in each, both bearing the Boney M name.
Last year, the group led by Marcia Barrett performed in South Ossetia, a region trying to break away from the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Georgia hoped a Boney M concert might convince the villagers of Tamarasheni to see the brighter side of life under its government.
WHAM! IN CHINA, 1985
Wham! outmanoeuvred Queen to put on the first show in China
Wham! wanted to become the biggest group in the world, but settled for being the first Western stars to perform in China instead.
In 1985 China was a closed communist state and getting it to agree to host an international pop act was a big challenge.
Wham! manager Simon Napier-Bell travelled to Beijing and made a continuous stream of phone calls to various government ministers.
He claimed to have lunched a total of 143 contacts, three times each.
Mr Napier-Bell also decided to sabotage rock group Queen's chances of being first.
He made two brochures, one featuring respectable-looking Wham! fans, and the other featuring Freddie Mercury in a flamboyant pose.
The Chinese picked Wham! and George Michael joined Andrew Ridgeley to perform in front of 15,000 fans in the People's Gymnasium in Beijing.
Fans on the upstairs levels were delighted and excited to see them - but partly due to fear of the secret police, those downstairs remained quietly in their seats.
DAVID HASSELHOFF IN BERLIN, 1989
David Hasselhoff remains a major singing star in Germany
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Germans in both the East and West wanted to celebrate.
Their choice of star David Hasselhoff - already a soft rock sensation in Germany.
The star of Baywatch and Knight Rider was already big in Austria and Switzerland when he decided to cover a German song in English, called Looking for Freedom.
The song resonated with the mood of the nation and was a number one for several weeks.
When the Berlin Wall fell shortly after, the authorities organised a New Year's Eve party to celebrate.
Hasselhoff was picked to headline the gig in a move reportedly rubber-stamped by Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
He said he would never forget the sight of almost a million fans watching him perform at midnight, a moment which led to him being overcome with emotion.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS IN CUBA, 2001
The anti-US government tone of the Manics was a hit in Cuba
When Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959, he initially denounced Western music as a "decadent influence".
But that principle could be bent for a group willing to speak out against the US government.
So in February 2001 Welsh band Manic Street Preachers headed to Cuba looking, in their words, for an "adventure".
The Manics show was billed as the biggest rock concert by a Western band in 20 years.
The 5,000 Cubans who filled the Karl Marx Theatre paid just 25 cents a ticket, the then-equivalent of 17 pence.
The band made clear that they supported Cuba because it fought against Americanisation, and the set reflected that.
It included performances from Know Your Enemy, an album whose cover featured a Cuban flag.
Mr Castro stood and applauded after a rendition of Baby Elian, about a boy who was returned to Cuba from the United States.
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS IN SYRIA, 2007
Iglesias said Damascus was far less dangerous than portrayed
US President George W Bush's government branded Syria part of an "axis of evil" and imposed sanctions against it, accusing its government of backing terrorism.
But diplomatic rows did not stop Spanish sensation Enrique Iglesias from performing the first Western pop concert there for 30 years in July 2007.
Iglesias - who later said he was unaware of the significance of his visit - perfomed in front of 10,000 fans at an open-air stadium built specifically for the event.
The show was organised by a mixture of private companies and Syrian expatriates, with a promise that revenues would go to charity.
The organisers said they hoped his presence would encourage other performers to follow.
Music has the great power to unite and I believe that that is actually the 'higher purpose' (though often unconscious) & the 'spiritual calling' of those that are being a performer/entertainer. They are here to bring a smile to people's faces, to raise their resonance and to express feelings for them that they might not be able to express themselves in any effective way.
The moments mentioned in the following article surely must be amongst the artists' favorite memories once they look back on their careers:
Musicians who changed the world
Rock icon Eric Clapton has been invited to play a concert in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. If he accepts, he would be the first Western rock star to perform in the Communist country.
He would also follow in a long line of performers who have broken down cultural barriers around the world.
BONEY M IN MOSCOW, 1978
Boney M tickets attracted big money on the Russian black market
Boney M were already big names in the USSR when they landed in Moscow in December 1978.
The disco group had already enjoyed smash hits across Europe during the 1970s, and a special Russian version of their album Nightflight to Venus was produced.
More than 100,000 people tried to get tickets to see the disco quartet, whose hits by then included Rasputin, Daddy Cool and Rivers of Babylon.
Very few Western acts ventured behind the Iron Curtain, although Sir Elton John did so the following year.
Boney M officially split in the mid-1980s into two groups with an original member in each, both bearing the Boney M name.
Last year, the group led by Marcia Barrett performed in South Ossetia, a region trying to break away from the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Georgia hoped a Boney M concert might convince the villagers of Tamarasheni to see the brighter side of life under its government.
WHAM! IN CHINA, 1985Wham! outmanoeuvred Queen to put on the first show in China
Wham! wanted to become the biggest group in the world, but settled for being the first Western stars to perform in China instead.
In 1985 China was a closed communist state and getting it to agree to host an international pop act was a big challenge.
Wham! manager Simon Napier-Bell travelled to Beijing and made a continuous stream of phone calls to various government ministers.
He claimed to have lunched a total of 143 contacts, three times each.
Mr Napier-Bell also decided to sabotage rock group Queen's chances of being first.
He made two brochures, one featuring respectable-looking Wham! fans, and the other featuring Freddie Mercury in a flamboyant pose.
The Chinese picked Wham! and George Michael joined Andrew Ridgeley to perform in front of 15,000 fans in the People's Gymnasium in Beijing.
Fans on the upstairs levels were delighted and excited to see them - but partly due to fear of the secret police, those downstairs remained quietly in their seats.
DAVID HASSELHOFF IN BERLIN, 1989David Hasselhoff remains a major singing star in Germany
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Germans in both the East and West wanted to celebrate.
Their choice of star David Hasselhoff - already a soft rock sensation in Germany.
The star of Baywatch and Knight Rider was already big in Austria and Switzerland when he decided to cover a German song in English, called Looking for Freedom.
The song resonated with the mood of the nation and was a number one for several weeks.
When the Berlin Wall fell shortly after, the authorities organised a New Year's Eve party to celebrate.
Hasselhoff was picked to headline the gig in a move reportedly rubber-stamped by Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
He said he would never forget the sight of almost a million fans watching him perform at midnight, a moment which led to him being overcome with emotion.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS IN CUBA, 2001
The anti-US government tone of the Manics was a hit in Cuba
When Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959, he initially denounced Western music as a "decadent influence".
But that principle could be bent for a group willing to speak out against the US government.
So in February 2001 Welsh band Manic Street Preachers headed to Cuba looking, in their words, for an "adventure".
The Manics show was billed as the biggest rock concert by a Western band in 20 years.
The 5,000 Cubans who filled the Karl Marx Theatre paid just 25 cents a ticket, the then-equivalent of 17 pence.
The band made clear that they supported Cuba because it fought against Americanisation, and the set reflected that.
It included performances from Know Your Enemy, an album whose cover featured a Cuban flag.
Mr Castro stood and applauded after a rendition of Baby Elian, about a boy who was returned to Cuba from the United States.
ENRIQUE IGLESIAS IN SYRIA, 2007Iglesias said Damascus was far less dangerous than portrayed
US President George W Bush's government branded Syria part of an "axis of evil" and imposed sanctions against it, accusing its government of backing terrorism.
But diplomatic rows did not stop Spanish sensation Enrique Iglesias from performing the first Western pop concert there for 30 years in July 2007.
Iglesias - who later said he was unaware of the significance of his visit - perfomed in front of 10,000 fans at an open-air stadium built specifically for the event.
The show was organised by a mixture of private companies and Syrian expatriates, with a promise that revenues would go to charity.
The organisers said they hoped his presence would encourage other performers to follow.
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