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Future Pop is your weekly email featuring the hottest new pop songs and artists that you need to know about. So read on, listen up and make sure you tweet me @poptastic to let me know what you think of my picks!
Future Stars
Ariana Grande (Universal Republic)
Her name may so far only be known to kids and Nickelodeon employees, but the signs are already in place that Ariana Grande could be the next big teen star. The 18 year old singer/actress started her career on Broadway 3 years ago and has since made her name in the kids TV world as one of the main characters in Victorious. She has also cleverly cemented her teen popularity by posting cover videos on YouTube which have huge viewcounts, one even reaching 14 million views! She’s pretty with personality, glamorous but normal, the perfect teen star. It’s no surprise she’s already the idol of an army of young girls. Ariana’s currently working on her first single and album to be released in 2012.
If you’re looking for the new Rihanna then there can be no better bet than Rita Ora. Although she was born in Kosovo and grew up in London (including studying at Sylvia Young’s) she was spotted and signed up by Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation in 2009. Since then she’s been recording her debut album with some of the world’s best, including Rihanna collaborators Stargate, Tricky Stewart, Drake (she even starred in his video for Over) and Chase and Status. Although her incubation period seems endless, with such huge names involved there’s no chance her label will give up on her now. Plus she’s got a great look, a great voice and is still only 20 years old. Remember this girl’s name!
Although Beatrice is Swedish she’s been signed up by Levels, the British management company who look after Yasmin and Wretch 32. Her sound certainly fits better with the UK music scene than the Swedish one at the moment, but taster track The Conqueror has a powerful, memorable melody that any Swedish songwriter would be proud of. She says she likes “strong lyrics and hooks” with “an interesting production” and it shows in The Conqueror. The song was co-written with Astma and Rocwell, who’ve worked with top Swedish pop acts like Vincent, Amanda Jenssen and September. Beatrice’s mysterious cool combined with her collaborators’ pop credentials has created something pretty special, so I hope they continue to work together on her debut album.
Future Hits
This week’s theme for my Future Hits playlist is album tracks that I think should be released as singles.
Tracklisting:
- Alexandra Stan – Bittersweet
- Demi Lovato – Hold Up
- Cher Lloyd – Playa Boi
- The Wanted – Last To Know
- Birdy – White Winter Hymnal
See you next Monday for more Future Pop! In the meantime check out This Must Be Pop for loads more like this and don’t forget to email and tweet me with your thoughts on the songs and artists above, and any suggestions for next week.