Florence and the Machine
The new… Bat For Lashes
She came third in the BBC Sound of 2009 poll, and it makes sense. Florence released a brilliant single last summer, and followed it up with another pretty good one a few months ago, but so far she hasn’t quite had the hype to get her into the top ten. Now she’s getting it, and no doubt success will be quickly coming her way. She is very similar to Bat For Lashes (although a bit more colourful) and it will be interesting to see, since Natasha is making her return to the music scene imminently, which of the two will be most successful. Is there room for two neo-Kate Bushes? And then there’s Marina and the Diamonds as well… she’s got no hope! Anyway, Florence is a lovely young girl and I will definitely be buying her album when it comes out.
Poptasticness: 88% Hit potential: 90%
Gary Go
The new… Ross Copperman (but without the good songs)
The problem with Gary Go is that he quite unavoidably BORING. He is a new singer-songwriter, but has already had experience writing for other acts. He was even part of the team who wrote the songs for Britannia High. Perhaps he was the reason for their failure! He looks geeky, but not in a cute or stylish way. He is the archetypal songwriter thinking his songwriting ability (which can’t be that great – surely you would save some good songs for yourself?) entitles him to become a popstar, and he will soon find out that he is wrong. This music is not terrible, and far less annoying than acts like The Fratellis, Wombats and Scouting for Girls. It’s possible that he could release one or two great songs as Ross Copperman managed (not that anyone noticed), but he hasn’t done it yet.
Poptasticness: 40% Hit potential: 35%
Janelle Monáe
The new… Outkast
I’ve been following Janelle for quite a while now, and I really hope that she will break through in 2009. She has been mentioned on several ‘ones to watch’ lists, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t happen. I discovered her song Violet Stars Happy Hunting back in April and immedately posted it up on Into The Groove, but unfortunately she decided to release a different song as her next single, and subsequently I quite forgot about her. She’s such an original popstar, totally different to the other r’n’b acts at the moment. She brings a pinch of soul which makes her sound like an authetic 60s star, and a poptastic electro slant, resulting in a unique style more innovative than any of her contemporaries: a superstar in waiting. Surely this will be recognised in time – she is too special to go unnoticed.
Poptasticness: 94% Hit potential: 72%
The Jessie Rose Trip
The new… Amy Winehouse
I don’t know much about this act yet, and to predict them to be the next big thing would be quite a long shot. However, there’s a really great vibe about their music and I think others will find it similarly appealing. They could be grouped with pop-soul acts like Duffy and Gabriella Cilmi, but (as much as I am loathe to support rocky sounds) the addition of a ‘proper’ band makes the music sound a bit more rough and real, which really works for them. The singer conveys a great, feisty attitude in her voice and lyrics. I don’t know if there’s potential for a really big success story here, but I’ll definitely be following them with interest in the future. It’s Just Soul could be a hit, and I reckon they’d have good airplay if they could get noticed a bit more, because the style would fit on Radio 1 and Radio 2, even maybe local radio.
Poptasticness: 81% Hit potential: 42%