Saxobeat did pretty well but I reckon there’s still room for someone to swoop in and take the ultimate Euro crossover crown for summer 2011. Here are my thoughts on some of the contenders’ chances:
Loona – Vamos a la Playa
Here’s your typical Euro summer hit, the one everyone who holidays in Ibiza this year will come home singing, but I think it’s a little too cheesy and dated to see mainstream UK success. This year’s Piña Colada Boy. Pop fact: The singer is the girl who sang DJ Sammy’s Boys of Summer.
Poptasticness: 77% Crossover potential: 44%
Sak Noel – Loca People
This would have been huge in 1999, but how will it fare in 2011? I doubt many people who go clubbing now remember 1999 so that could be irrelevant, but I just don’t think a squeaky accordion and a bleeped out swear word is enough these days.
Poptasticness: 34% Crossover potential: 52%
Lucenzo ft. Don Omar – Danza Kuduro
This track from the Fast and Furious 5 soundtrack is currently seeing considerable success in both northern and southern European countries, but it sounds like a total racket to me. It has the obligatory accordions, but I think the abrasive vocals will limit its popularity in the UK.
Poptasticness: 18% Crossover potential: 35%
Christopher S ft. Max Urban – Star
This has only charted so far in Switzerland and France but it’s doing very well on YouTube and of all the tracks I’ve heard in my trawls of the Euro charts this year, this is the one I instantly thought could be a worldwide success. It’s incredibly catchy and fits right in with the David Guetta trend. If it gets enough exposure it’ll be huge.
Poptasticness: 80% Crossover potential: 86%
Radio Killer – Lonely Heart
This seems to be the most popular Euro summer track with the online pop community, but I don’t think it’s anything special. The chorus hook is quite catchy and the backing track is very danceable, but I don’t think the song is distinct enough in sound for people to remember it when they return from their holidays.
Poptasticness: 57% Crossover potential: 46%
So what do you think: Will any of these tracks, or another song entirely, be the summer hit of 2011? I can’t wait to find out!
interestingly all the tracks you chose (save one) came out last year. Can't speak for the UK market, but Sak Noel's “Loca People” is already a worldwide smash. It's now getting heavy club play in the US and I'd be very surprised if the same wasn't true in the UK. “Vamos A La Playa” already conquered France and just got a US release. Ditto for Chris S/Max Urban (though there are far better crossover tracks from the EU than that one IMHO for both UK and US markets).
The reason I chose to include these tracks is that I've only become aware of them this year, and they've all had a strong presence in the European iTunes charts which I've been following this summer. I haven't followed any of these songs' chart progress in intense detail but it would make sense if a song that was a summer hit in its home country one year didn't make it around to the rest of Europe/the world until the year after. Summer only lasts a few months so there's not always time for a song to spread before people have had enough of the summer sound. Which tracks would you like to see cross over to the UK and US charts?
It's actually Don Omar ft. Lucenzo.
I had to turn Christopher S off I thought it was so awful. I like Lonely Heart best and then Vamos a la Playa. Think the latter would be most likely to make it over here but not really sure any of them will catch.