Neon Hitch – Get Over You (Listen)
Finally we have a single release from Neon Hitch! When I came across her MySpace a few years ago I was instantly a fan and listened loads to her Robyn-esque demos. There are plenty of artists who sound a bit like Robyn, but Neon’s songs are actually of Robyn quality as well! Debut single Get Over You is as good as the demos, but I just can’t predict how it’s going to fare in the charts. I would love it to be a hit, and I think success could be achieved with a very clever marketing plan, but she could just as easily become another of those “should’ve been”s. I must say I’m a bit worried by her look, as the caked on make-up in her promo photos will only make people wonder what it’s hiding. Also her accent, which has gone a bit American in that weird Katie Waissel way, won’t endear her to people in the UK. Fingers crossed the song will get loads of airplay, be a massive hit, and we can worry about that later!
84% Poptastic!
Fugative ft. Nikki Flores – Sticks and Stones (Watch)
After the disaster that was Fugative’s attempt to join in with the UK urban scene (his last single, featuring Mz Bratt and Wiley was released a few weeks ago – have you heard it on the radio? I thought not!) he’s got a new strategy. For the next single, Sticks and Stones, he’s got a minor US star on board called Nikki Flores. Since she’s not known in the UK at all it seems a bit of a waste of money as any female singer would have been fine, but putting that aside I am much more impressed by this song than the last one. It’s cute and light with a great, uplifting chorus. I’d actually love to hear a full song like this without the rap at all. This will definitely appeal to the Chipmunk audience and that’s exactly what Fugative should be aiming for, but I sadly wonder if his window of opportunity may have passed. He should have grabbed it faster.
77% Poptastic!
Kerli – Speed Limit (Listen)
I posted recently about Kerli, an Estonian artist who is going poptastic with her new album. The album’s first single, Army of Love, was pretty good and had an excellent video, but I had a feeling Kerli was capable of much better. Speed Limit, her next single, proves me correct! It does lose a little of Kerli’s kooky charm, but I’m happy to forgo that in favour of a proper pure pop song with a great sing-along chorus. It also contains amazing lyrics such as “I’m sick of all my CDs and the radio’s not playing Kerli”. I doubt this song is going to get any more radio play than any of her previous efforts, but it’ll be getting plenty of plays on my iPod. I’m now very excited to hear the album in full, although it doesn’t even seem to have a name yet so we may have a while longer to wait.
81% Poptastic!
I've heard most of the new Kerli record. Not sure “speed limit” is officially the second single, but it's a frontrunner and the label likes it. The record has a lot of pop songs with an R&B feel and euro influences, too. There are better songs than “speed limit” on the set. She's great and i hope more discover her this year.