Anna Abreu - Just A Pretty Face?

Yet another Idol alumni - this time out of Finland. Anna Abreu is a Finnish-Portuguese singer who has had much success after taking part in Finnish Idol in 2006 and has become the best selling female artist ever in her country still at the age of just 19.

Her latest album, Just A Pretty Face? was released last month and reached #3 on the Finnish charts. The album has a bit of everything and certainly has some standout tracks. The first single, Music Everywhere is reminiscent of Kelly Clarkson (if she was from Europe) and after a few listens certainly gets stuck in your head. The song reached a peak of #2 on the Finnish charts. Other than this, Liquid and Slam are memorable tracks, with the latter sounding a lot a missing song from Britney a la Blackout or Circus.

Although Abreu's favourite track of mine would be 2008's Vinegar, which has been remixed and is getting a UK release at the end of this year following in the steps of some other Scandinavian artists. It is her first and only (so far) song to reach #1 in Finland. In the style of sounding like other pop divas, Vinegar sounds a lot like Kylie's Can't Get You Outta My Head (which isn't a bad thing).

Below find links to all of the above-noted tracks along with the video for Vinegar and a live performance of Music Everywhere from earlier this year.

stevie.





Anna Abreu - Just A Pretty Face?

BWO - Big Science

BWO have been around since 2004, and have been making their mark ever since. As is evident in the album cover for their latest album, Big Science, they could easily be labeled as eccentric and they have managed to achieve success not just in their home country of Sweden - but all across Europe and even in Asia. Their style hovers somewhere between dance and pop with an electro feel making them widely popular even in the hard-to-break US and UK markets.

They've had 15 Top 40 singles in Sweden and have achieved their highest successes with songs that they have entered in Melodifestivalen. Temple of Love was entered in the contest in 2006 where they finished 2nd but managed to reach their first and only #1 on the Swedish charts. Their next effort at Melodifestivalen was in 2008 with Lay Your Love On me which ended up 3rd and which charted as high as #2 in Sweden and was their second-highest charting single ever. 2009's Melodifestivalen entry failed to impress and You're Not Alone failed to reach the finals, but was the first release from the album released just after the competition.

2009 saw the release of Big Science which has followed in typical BWO fashion with several hits. Right Here Right Now was the second single released and ended up with a collaboration with Swedish eurotrash diva Velvet and with a remix from UK remixing geniuses Cahill for the UK release of the track.

The third single from the album, Rise To The Occasion, was released this September in Sweden and oddly enough features a building that very much resembles Toronto's CN Tower in the video. As most BWO videos before it, this one is a joy to watch and suits the band and the single perfectly. December will see the release of Kings of Tomorrow, the album's fourth single, and a video should be soon to follow.

With almost six years and so many tracks, trying to highlight some of the best from BWO is certainly a challenge. Below find links to Rise To The Occasion as well as their Melodifestivalen entries from 2006 and 2008 noted above (because I'm such a fan of a great live performance!). Find a selection of hits from Big Science to download as well the amazing collaboration with Velvet on Right Here Right Now and their Melodifestivalen hits.

Enjoy!
stevie.







BWO - Big Science

Alcazar - Last Christmas

So let's try again - I should have continued to postpone the post until finding the single but I am sure it only built suspense for it anyway. You can download Last Christmas below as well as Alcazar's new song on the EP, One Two Three Four in their usual disco fabulousness style!

THIS is how you do Christmas music! :)

Alcazar - Last Christmas

Alcazar - One Two Three Four

Alcazar - Last Christmas

Easily the poster-band for Eurotrash, Alcazar have been through several member changes over the past 10 years but still continue to pump out the hits despite this. Two of the original members, Andreas and Tess are still around and are currently joined by Lina to make up Alcazar as of 2009.

Their latest release, Last Christmas, is a cover of the Christmas classic. As always, they manage to add their typical Alcazar flare to the track and the video is phenomenal. As campy and trashy as they come - it's pure gold! The single has been released as part of a re-release of their latest album, Disco Defenders.

In being the premier band for eurotrash, Alcazar have released quite the line-up of hits over the past few years. If you're unfamiliar they are definitely worth a listen. They've topped the charts all over Europe and have been contestants in Melodifestivalen to represent Sweden at Eurovision on three separate occasions - 2003, 2005 and this past year in 2009. They've come very close - with two 3rd place finishes in their first two efforts (Not A Sinner Nor A Saint and Alcastar respectively) and were 5th with Stay The Night last March.

Below find a link to the video for Last Christmas along with live performances of Stay The Night and Physical. Burning was a recent release in the UK although only reaching #40 on the dance charts. Download links for all of the above along with one of their biggest hits in Sweden, This Is The World We Live In, are below as well! Lots of links - but all worth their viewing!!!

Merry Christmas and ENJOY!
stevie.









Alcazar - My Favourite Singles

Agnes - I Need You Now - LIVE in the UK

Let's cross our fingers and hope that Agnes achieves half the success of Release Me with I Need You Now. Apparently she's just getting over a cold so given that I'd say this performance was pretty amazing.

Inna - Hot

Easily one of the biggest dance songs in Europe from 2008 was Hot by Inna. From Romania, the song also made it to #1 in Moldova, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain, Russia, Hungary, Greece and Turkey - some of the trashiest countries in Europe! As if that wasn't enough, Inna has followed up this massive hit from 2008 with three more singles.

She has followed up Hot with Love (#1 in Turkey) and then in 2009, Deja Vu (#2 in Romania) and her latest single is Amazing which has found the top of the charts in Romania and Bulgaria and #2 in Turkey.

Inna probably falls into that dreaded category of having songs to her credit that all do sound quite similar. This usually leads to making an artist a one-hit wonder but it appears that Inna has managed to avoid this with successful singles to her credit following the massive popularity of Hot.

Below you can find a link to a great performance on the amazing stage in Sopot, Poland earlier this year along with the video for her latest track, Amazing, along with download links to some of her latest singles. So far so good for Inna and after the performance in Sopot it looks like Eurovision might be in her future???





Inna - The Singles

Amy Diamond - Swings & Roundabouts

Despite being only 17, Amy Diamond has been around for quite a bit. Her first single What's In It For Me, which reached #1 in both Sweden and Norway, was released in 2005 when she was just 13. Obviously at her age it makes sense to expect some pretty childish pop but despite that being the case she's had some songs worthy of notice over the past few years. She made it to the finals of Melodifestivalen in 2008 and competed again this year in 2009 with It's My Life which was co-written by Alexandar Bard of BWO.

Needless to say It's My Life was a step in the right direction for Amy. Although still some of the kiddy-pop you'd expect from a teen, it's got a bit more of an electronic vibe similar to several other of the songs on her latest album, Swings & Roundabouts. The first single, Up, reached #4 on the singles charts in Sweden and is a pretty big step in the right direction. Compared to a certain other 17-year old making it big in North America, Amy's a lot less annoying, a lot more talented and obviously also a lot more eurotrash - the most important part!

Below find links to her performance of It's My Life from this year's Melodifestivalen as well as some of the better songs from her latest album. She may be 'the laughing stock of Sweden' but compared to what North America offers we'll take some Amy!

Enjoy!
stevie.



Amy Diamond - Swings & Roundabouts

Jade Ewen - My Man

Jade Ewen has been making quite the strides in the world of Eurotrash in 2009. It all started when she won Your Country Needs You in the UK and was selected to be their representative at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. The involvement of the legendary Andrew Lloyd Webber brought a lot of attention to Jade and the UK and It's My Time managed to end up 5th which was was the best result for the UK in well over a decade.

Her first solo single after It's My Time was My Man which was a lot less slow, boring and straight out of a musical and a lot more fun, party and eurotrash! Along with an amazing remix by the man of the hour for remixing in the UK, the song was destined to keep Jade in the spotlight for quite a bit longer.

Then along came the Sugababes, the UK's eurotrash staple, and once again another member leaving the group and leaving room for none other than Jade. The promotion for My Man was halted and it looks like her album Punching Out might not make it out any time soon. Instead she's teamed up with the Sugababes and her first single with them is About A Girl which has been produced by Swedish powerhouse RedOne (a la Darin and Lady Gaga).

My Man (and especially the Cahill remix) had a lot of potential for Jade but one can't blame her for turning this kind of opportunity. Either way, check out the video for My Man as well as the original and Cahill mixes and the latest track from the Sugababes, About A Girl.



Jade Ewen - My Man (The Remixes) & Sugababes - About A Girl

Medina - You & I

Medina is a Danish/Chilean artist who made a name for herself with Kun For Mig which has pretty much been the biggest song in Denmark for 2009. It spent 7 weeks at the top of the dance charts in Denmark and then another 6 weeks on top of the overall charts. It was getting tons of buzz online and first caught my attention even in Danish but was given an English remake for a release in the UK and was destined for chart success but has so far only reached #39. It's been remixed by some of the best out there right now but has still probably disappointed many in its performance.

Regardless, the track is absolutely amazing and although probably not really fitting into what one might call 'eurotrash' in terms of its sound its Danish roots certainly qualify it for this blog and it's a track I'm absolutely in love with. Have a look at the video and also check out the original and some of the remixes although, in my opinion, nothing comes close to the original!

Enjoy!
stevie.



Medina - You & I (The Remixes)

Darin - The 2009 Singles

What do you do when your album only reaches #10 in Sweden and the top-charting single from it only reaches #2? If you're Darin, you release another single that instantly reaches #1 on the charts just to remind everyone what a star you are! Darin released a cover of Coldplay's hit Viva La Vida last month in Sweden and did just that.

Along with Viva La Vida, Darin also came out with another track in 2009 that didn't appear on Flashback and which probably proves without any doubt that Darin really could be quite popular in North America. Pop That was worked on with David Jassy who is a Swedish producer who has moderate success with Ashley Tisdale and also wrote Heidi Montag's Body Language. The song hasn't officially been released anywhere but it's probably something Darin has in his back pocket if his UK debut does well this coming month.

On top of all this in 2009, Darin has been announced as one of the wildcards for Melodifestivalen 2010 which is Sweden's national selection competition to choose their representative at Eurovision 2010 in Oslo. Needless to say without any other of the 33 participants announced yet he is still a clear front-runner. Eurovision "what?" you may be asking - more info is sure to come if you keep posted.

Below find links to Darin's premiere of Viva La Vida on Swedish Idol 2009 and a clip of Pop That along with links to download. Enjoy!

stevie.





Darin - The 2009 Singles

Darin ft. Kat DeLuna - Breathing Your Love

Darin was the runner-up on Swedish Idol in 2004 and has had quite the career in Sweden with three #1 albums in two years after his win. These albums brought him some success in Finland and Germany as well but somehow he remained pretty unknown. His latest album, Flashback was released at the end of last year and Breathing Your Love reached #2 in Sweden while the rest of the album's singles haven't had similar success to his previous releases.

Darin has worked extensively with Swedish producer RedOne who has worked with some huge names in music and even received a Grammy nomination for his work on Just Dance by Lady Gaga. Darin was also involved in writing the track Lovestruck by V-Factory which came out earlier in 2009.

I'm pretty convinced that if Darin was from North America he'd be a lot more popular than he is currently and it's great news that Breathing Your Love is going to be his first release in the UK and is due out by the end of the month. It's the route that brought Agnes to stardom so here's to hoping it works for Darin as well!

Here's the video for Breathing Your Love along with the original and first remixes of the track. All three versions are amazing and should prove quite a success for Darin.

stevie.



Darin ft. Kat DeLuna - Breathing Your Love (Remixes)

Agnes - Release Me

There really was nowhere else to start a blog like this for 2009 than with Agnes. I've been in love with Agnes for over a year now and this song was released in Sweden about this time last year but it took its time getting popular elsewhere. It started in the UK where it reached #3 (selling almost 400,000 copies) and has gone on to chart in no less than 16 other countries as well. Agnes is FINALLY making it big in North America reaching #1 on the US Billboard Dance Charts with the next likely target being the Billboard Top 100! (and maybe Canada?)

This track is truly amazing and shows off Agnes' amazing voice along with being the kind of track that is perfect for the clubs. A perfect combination of everything that makes for good music. I've attached the video re-done for the US, the original video used in Europe as well as one of her many amazing live performances of "Release Me" from earlier this year in Sweden. Finally, you can download the song and the Cahill remix which is in my opinion the only one I've heard worthy of standing up against the original.

A worthy first post - I hope you enjoy!

stevie.







Agnes - Release Me

Agnes - Release Me (Cahill Club Mix)