Last October, I ran one of the most popular features ever on This Must Be Pop (mainly thanks to A&R scouts frantically refreshing the page), Unsigned Month. Every weekday I posted a new unsigned UK pop act that I felt needed more recognition, and it ended with a vote, which was won by indie-poppers Bluebell.… Continue reading Unsigned Month: One Year On
Future Hits: Boys vs. Girls
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. This week’s Future Hits playlist features five collaborations between male and female artists which I think could be big UK hits. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw0LjVTuPux_2BfjoxOfIOYHnGMQclVBj] Tracklisting: Pitbull ft. Ke$ha – Timber Naughty Boy ft. Ella Eyre & Wiz Khalifa – Think About It Rudimental ft. Emeli Sandé… Continue reading Future Hits: Boys vs. Girls
Future Stars: Wilkinson (Ram Records/Virgin EMI)
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. Mark Wilkinson, known simply as Wilkinson, moved up to the next league of dance producers yesterday when he achieved his first top ten hit with new single Afterglow. He's now just a week away from releasing his debut album, titled Lazers Not Included (confuzing… Continue reading Future Stars: Wilkinson (Ram Records/Virgin EMI)
Future Stars: Catey Shaw (Unsigned)
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. When researching artists tipped for big things at this year's CMJ festival, there was one singer who stood out above all the lo-fi punk and electro hip-hop nonsense: Catey Shaw. The young New Yorker grabbed my attention with her colourful hair and her catchy… Continue reading Future Stars: Catey Shaw (Unsigned)
Future Stars: SZA (TopDawg/Aftermath)
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. New Jersey girl SZA is so cool and cute that it feels like a wasted opportunity for her music to be so grown-up and dull. I know there is a market for this kind of music but, as with Rainy Milo and Jhene Aiko,… Continue reading Future Stars: SZA (TopDawg/Aftermath)
Anatomy of a Hit: Lawson – Juliet
It’s time for the fourth instalment of my new feature, analysing the highest charting new entry to the UK singles chart top 10 each week, which this week goes to… #3 – Lawson – Juliet Lawson played it very safe with their first album Chapman Square, releasing a series of inoffensive radio-friendly singles, which couldn’t… Continue reading Anatomy of a Hit: Lawson – Juliet
Future Hits: British Blokes
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. This week’s Future Hits playlist is all about the British male solo singers. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw0LjVTuPux_9Wrc5RXiEvnLGqI3b2BtG] Tracklisting: Robbie Williams – Go Gentle Gary Barlow – Let Me Go Jake Bugg – Slumville Sunrise Sam Smith – Nirvana Classified ft. Olly Murs – Inner Ninja
Future Stars: LOLO (Island/Universal)
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. If it wasn't for persistence and rebranding, Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey wouldn’t be household names. LOLO‘s hoping that at age 25 it's not too late for her to do the same. Born Lauren Pritchard in Tennessee, she starred in the Broadway musical… Continue reading Future Stars: LOLO (Island/Universal)
Future Stars: Hozier (Rubyworks)
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. 2014 may be the year of the Irish singer-songwriter. In one song, Dublin-based Andrew Hozier-Byrne (known as Hozier) has eclipsed the potential of Daniel James, who I featured a few weeks ago. Take Me To Church is a deep, powerful track with an anti-homohobia… Continue reading Future Stars: Hozier (Rubyworks)
Future Stars: Storm Queen (Ministry of Sound/Defected)
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe. In dance music, a song is never a flop, because there's always a chance it could pick up steam and become a hit months or even years after its initial release. Ben Pearce experienced this recently with his 2012 single What I Might Do,… Continue reading Future Stars: Storm Queen (Ministry of Sound/Defected)