If you haven’t signed up to my Future Pop mailer yet, here’s a taste of what you’re missing:
Future Stars
Aleks Josh (Unsigned)
Every new artist I find at the moment seems to have an Ed Sheeran cover on their YouTube channel, but Aleks Josh’s version of The A Team is the first to really impress me. Aleks is a confusing prospect, a muscly Serbian-British 17 year old boy with a gun tattooed on his arm and a fantastic voice. He would shoot through the rounds of X Factor but will do even better without it. Aleks is managed by Lou Al-Chamaa (who’ll always be Leona Lewis’ electrician ex to me) and has been recording with Talay Riley and Jester but there’s no sign of a record deal or publishing contract at the moment. I doubt that will last long as this guy is far too talented to fail.
This Mancunian hipster with a ridiculous haircut may be the best shot at creating a male Adele, with his strong soulful voice and strategic straddling of the UK urban and adult contemporary scenes. The Jools Holland crowd will love him but he’s had strong support from sites like SBTV, RWD and Pinboard Blog too. Daley is best known so far for appearing on Gorillaz’s Doncomatic and is working with Bernard Butler and Beyoncé collaborator Shea Taylor on his debut album. Although he appeared in the BBC Sound of 2011 top 15, he’s yet to make his move on the UK charts but I reckon he could end up much more successful than James Blake or Jamie Woon, similar artists who both made the same list’s top 5.
12 is young to start any career, let alone one as tough as music, but James has the talent and confidence to do it, and of course his age is a great selling point in the Bieber era. James was a member of cute Britain’s Got Talent boyband New Bounce, and has since built up a following on YouTube, even earning himself an
A64 from SBTV. What impresses me is that he tackles songs like Nobody’s Perfect and 1+1 without falling into the trap of turning the song into one big warble. Even many accomplished adult singers can’t resist that temptation! If a record deal doesn’t come his way, there will undoubtedly be a role for him in Thriller Live.
Future Hits
This week’s theme for my Future Hits playlist is songs that could be hits if they were re-recorded by a different artist.
Tracklisting:
- The Pusher – Blinded By The Dark
- Cash Cash – Victim Of Love
- GCC – Mind It
- Ulrik Munther – Fake It
- Kerli – Speed Limit
See you next Monday for more pop from the future!
