Just Jack
Could this at last be the year that Jack Allsopp brings his innovative pop music to the UK charts? Already receiving Radio 1 airplay and an appearance on Later With Jools Holland, his career is looking the brightest it has yet, but the album could still flop as his brilliant debut The Outer Marker somehow managed to in 2003.
Potential hit: Starz In Their Eyes
Chance: 85%
Quality: 90%
Mika
I’ve championed him from the moment I heard his music, and I doubt I’ll be stopping any time soon because everything I’ve heard since has confirmed my suspicions that he is a fantastic pop star, and the live show I attended added extra certainty – if anyone deserves to be the big hit of 2007 it’s Mika and it’s hard to see how he could not achieve it.
Potential hit: Grace Kelly
Chance: 95%
Quality: 95%
Dragonette
They’ve been around for a while but this Canadian duo have yet to receive much attention anywhere in the world – however, this is slowly changing as they played popular gigs in the UK recently and singer Martina Sorbara appeared on the latest Basement Jaxx single, Take Me Back To Your House.
Potential hit: Jesus Doesn’t Love Me
Chance: 65%
Quality: 92%
NOISEttes
Now here’s a female singer with serious girl power attitude. I don’t love the music and I’m not sure if it will gain commercial success, but it’s interesting and I think the group will gain a strong indie following in 2006, perhaps breaking into the charts if Radio 1 and NME get on board.
Potential hit: Don’t Give Up
Chance: 70%
Quality: 68%
Klaxons
Surely the most commonly tipped to be ‘big in 07’, this band do deserve at least some of the hype, but with people already mocking ‘new rave’ when it hasn’t even really taken off yet, they could be a one-hit wonder, a non-hit wonder or perhaps, more optimistically, the one new rave band to succeed.
Potential hit: Golden Skans
Chance: 95%
Quality: 73%
Switches
A new pop-rock act with a lot of potential, signed to Atlantic Records. Their songs have great energy, catchy and fun and perfect for the current singles and albums markets – those who love Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Fratellis etc. listen up cos the Switches may be your new fave band.
Potential hit: Drama Queen
Chance: 70%
Quality: 76%
New Young Pony Club
Also linked to ‘new rave’ but this time with a female singer and not really sounding much like a rave at all. Any band that celebrates the delights of ice cream is fine with me, and the song has a great video too, but I don’t love the music that much.
Potential hit: Ice Cream
Chance: 50%
Quality: 45%
Jack Savoretti
A good bet for the next Damien Rice or Scott Matthews, his single Without could be a hit as although I find it pretty boring myself I can see its appeal for the older, more laid-back music listeners. Jack is already a Radio 2 favourite, if he catches on with Radio 1 as well he might be huge.
Potential hit: Without
Chance: 80%
Quality: 50%
Alphabeat
A recent addition to my list of pop loves but I’m already sure I’ll be following them in 2007 as the 3 songs on their MySpace are all excellent, especially the first two which I just can’t stop listening to. I hope I don’t wear them out before the new year has even begun!
Potential hit: Fascination
Chance: 60%
Quality: 95%
Ella Rouge
Led by Benny Andersson’s son Ludwig and having been boosted by an appearance on the MySpace front page, this pop/rock act could be the biggest Swedish act of 2007, at home and abroad. They’ve got some great songs, such as LA Dogs which I posted on Into The Groove way back in February!
Potential hit: That’s Me With The Gun
Chance: 45%
Quality: 84%
And making exciting comebacks in 2007 will be:
Hanson
Britney Spears
Kylie
Maroon 5
Gavin Degraw
Natasha Bedingfield
I can’t wait! I suppose I should also look back and see how successful last year’s predictions were, just so you know whether to trust me or not.
Right: Fall Out Boy, José Gonzales, Chico, Arctic Monkeys
Wrong: Click Five, Matt Willis, Protocol
So I guess there’s about 50:50 chance of any of these predictions coming true!