Ones to Watch in 2011: Guinevere

With a CRAZY photo like the one above, how could you NOT like new artist Guinevere? Why don't you go listen to her debut single, "Crazy Crazy" below and if you like what you hear, you can even get it for free HERE.

The Toronto-born singer/songwriter, Guinevere is in the midst of putting together her debut album, working with hitmakers including Cirkut (Britney Spears), Brian West (Nelly Furtado), Arthur McArthur (Drake), Kevin Rudolph (Lil Wayne), Pilzbury (Danny Fernandez) and Ari Levine of The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, Cee-Lo, Mike Posner). Alright, I'm sold! "Crazy Crazy" is a hard-hitting bit of pop music that showcases Guinevere's talent and feisty attitude.

Before going solo, Guinevere was the frontwoman for a rock-spiked pop band called Get Rebel, formed with friends from a music camp she was kicked out of due to her shenanigans. While the band didn't stick together much past a year, during her journey Guinevere did have the pleasure of meeting Crash Karma bassist and songwriter/producer Amir Epstein, who would go on to become her manager and songwriter.  Now, as a solo act, Guinevere is channeling ever fiber of her being into her music and she's hell bent on breaking out. According to her bio, Guinevere's goal is to live up to her namesake.

"I have all of these medallions that I like to wear of King Arthur slaying the dragon and Guinevere is very close to my name," she explains. "But even more interesting is that she was King Arthur's wife and had an affair with his best friend, Sir Lancelot, and created a huge storm in the knighthood."

I really think there's a lot of potential here. She's got the voice, she's got the personality, she's got the look. Add to that a top notch team of producers and there's definitely hit potential in Guinevere. Now it's all about getting noticed. Here's hoping my blog helps her a little bit in that department.

Check out Guinevere on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Jessie and The Toy Boys to Open for the Legendary Ms. Britney Spears

Jessie and The Toy Boys, Britney Spears (inset)

What an honor! One of my FAVORITE new artists, Jessie and the Toy Boys has been announced as one of the fabulous openers on Britney Spears' Femme Fatale tour! Earlier this month, Britney announced that Jessie and the Toy Boys, Nicki Minaj and Nervo would be joining her on tour as she promotes her latest hit record, Femme Fatale, released at the end of March. Tickets for the tour don't go on sale until next Saturday but you can check out a list of Tour Dates below and start getting excited.

“This is the Femme Fatale tour and I’m thrilled to have the hot Nicki Minaj join me and Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo will get everyone on the dance floor," said Spears. “Can’t wait to take the Femme Fatales on the road.”

You know another thing that will get you excited? Footage of Jessie and the Toy Boys performing at this year's SXSW festival! Check that out HERE! Amazing. What's more, go get the remixes for her first single, "Push It" on iTunes HERE. The single is climbing the dance charts, currently sitting pretty at #17 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

The big dilema I'm faced with now is, do I drop dough on tickets? I haven't been to a Britney Spears tour since her Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004 when she was promoting her In The Zone album. It was...good. It was Britney. I went there full well knowing I was going to get live vocals. It was going to be a spectacle (and indeed it was). The problem now is, money is tight. I like to spend money on an artist that I know is going to blow me away vocally. I'm on the fence. Someone convince me one way or the other.  I would love to see Jessie and The Toy Boys live...so that's definitely a draw. Get Jessie and the Toy Boys Jimmy Harry and Tony Kanal (of No Doubt)-produced single "Push It" featuring Yelawolf on iTunes HERE and watch the video below.

FEMME FATALE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

June 16//Sacramento, CA//Power Balance Pavilion
June 18//San Jose, CA//HP Pavilion
June 20//Los Angeles, CA//Staples Center
June 24//Anaheim, CA//Honda Center
June 25//Las Vegas, NV//MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 28//Portland, OR//Rose Garden Arena
June 29//Tacoma, WA//Tacoma Dome
July 1//Vancouver, BC//Rogers Arena
July 4//Winnipeg, MB//MTS Centre
July 6//St. Paul, MN//Xcel Center
July 8//Chicago, IL//United Center
July 12//Dallas, TX//American Airlines Center
July 13//Houston, TX//Toyota Center
July 15//New Orleans, LA//New Orleans Arena
July 17//Atlanta, GA//Philips Arena
July 20//Orlando, FL//Amway Center
July 22//Miami, FL//American Airlines Arena
July 26//Cleveland, OH//Quicken Loans Arena
July 28//Detroit, MI//The Palace of Auburn Hills
July 30//Philadelphia, PA//Wells Fargo Center
July 31//Washington, DC//Verizon Center
August 2//Uniondale, NY//Nassau Coliseum
August 5//East Rutherford, NJ//Izod Center
August 8//Boston, MA//TD Garden
August 11//Montreal, QC//Bell Centre
August 13//Toronto, ON//Air Canada Centre

Check out Jessie and the ToyBoys on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hot Video Alert: Kate Ryan - LoveLife

I distinctly remember being in Europe with the family, staying in a hotel and watching Beligian pop star Kate Ryan's cover of Mylène Farmer's "Libertine" video on Euro MTV. This might very well have been my first dabble in electro-pop/Euro-dance territory. As a song, "Libertine" still does it for me and as an artist...so does Kate Ryan. "LoveLife" is Ryan's new single, and the first off of her forthcoming fifth studio album. While nothing mind-blowingly original or fresh, "LoveLife" is still a fun, high energy dance-floor stomper. In the video, Ryan looks fierce and fabulous as ever, strutting her stuff as a super model. "LoveLife" samples German alt rock band Liquido's late 90s single "Narcotic," and is single #1 off of Ryan's new album, Electroshock. Ryan paired up with British songwriting team DWB (Paul Drew, Greig Watts, and Pete Barringer), who wrote "LoveLife" as well as three other tracks - "Robots," "Running Away," and "One More Time." The album is due out in May, while "LoveLife" is out now. Check out the video below and familiarize yourself with Kate Ryan's back catalog on U.S. iTunes HERE. (via Pop In Stereo)

Check out Kate Ryan on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hot Video Alert: Natalia Kills - Wonderland

It seems like it's been an eternity but we finally have a new Natalia Kills video to fawn over. Kills' third single, "Wonderland" was released digitally on April 12th, preceded by the absolutely stunning video. Natalia herself co-directed the video with her video production partner, Guillaume "G" Doubet, creating a dark, twisted fairy tale of sorts. The video draws loosely from Alice In Wonderland in terms of imagery. We have a tea party of some sort that...shall we say, ends badly? The VEVO version is actually CENSORED, but you can sneak a peak at the gory uncut version on www.NataliaKills.com.

After a successful string of dates with Swedish pop icon Robyn, Natalia spent a few months touring in Europe in support of her official first single, "Mirrors" which was a top five hit in Poland and a top ten hit in Austria and Germany. Her debut album, Perfectionist, was released in a few countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland) in early April, debuting in the top ten in Germany and at #35 on the Austrian Album Charts. U.S. fans can expect Perfectionist out later this year. Watch the "Wonderland" video below, download the single HERE and read my Natalia Kills interview HERE.

Check out Natalia Kills on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//VEVO

Frankmusik Does it in the AM: New Single Due Out May 3rd

Yes Yes Yes YES! New Vincent Frank music is HERE and it was worth the wait! I've said it before and I'll say it again - Frankmusik's debut album, Complete Me is one of my favorite pop albums of the past few years. If what I've heard from his sophomore effort is any indication, I think Frankmusik might have TWO ALBUMS on that list. Before going solo, Frankmusik was known for his remixes (Lady Gaga, Pet Shop Boys) as well as production work (Ellie Goulding, Sky Ferreira). Going solo proved to be a fruitful endeavor for Frankmusik, as his album was a top twenty hit, peaking at #13 on the UK Albums chart and spawning two modest hit singles, "Better Off as Two" (#26) and "Confusion Girl" (#27).

Frankmusik - Do It In The AM Remixes by Interscope Records

Having lived in Los Angeles for a while now, Frankmusik was chock-full of inspiration for his new, freshy fresh, synth-poppy-sweet album, inspired by the dirty, raw energy of LA. Hot on the heels of first single, "The Fear Inside," second single "Do It In The AM" features a little help from his friends (& labelmates) Far East Movement. "Do It In The AM" is the title track off of Frankmusik's forthcoming sophomore record, due out later this year through Cherrytree/Island Records and will be available to download starting May 3rd. Oh - and the good news doesn't stop here! Get pumped for a collection of hot remixes from the likes of Les Loups and Jacob Plant, not to mention Frankmusik's own Crystal Palace remix. While the single version of the song might be my favorite, the remixes are DEFINITELY worth a listen. Check them out below and fall in love with Frankmusik.

Check out Frankmusik on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//VEVO