Music Is My King Size Bed: May 4, 2011

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Nicole Scherzinger Gets Promotional Ball Rolling Stateside: U.S. Single Due May 17, Album In The Summer

Scherzy Scherzy Scherzy. It's great to FINALLY have a Nicole Scherzinger album to look forward to. Back in 2007 former head Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger was SUPPOSED to release her debut solo album, Her Name Is Nicole, but sadly it never materialized, likely due to the poor chart performances of the singles. Scherzinger wound up releasing 4 songs from that album - "Whatever U Like," "Baby Love," "Supervillain," and "Puakenikeni." While the T.I. assisted "Whatever U Like" managed to chart in Canada (#57), the never released album's only real hit was "Baby Love" featuring singer/songwriter/producer and Black Eyed Peas' member will.i.am. While the song was a flop in the States, the single DID manage to chart in 8 other countries including the Czech Republic (#4) and Slovakia (#8). Over across the pond, the song was a modest hit, becoming Scherzinger's first UK Top 20 hit peaking at #14.

It became evident that Her Name Is Nicole was no more when The Pussycat Dolls released their sophomore album, Doll Domination, including some tracks that were originally meant for her debut. Pity, really. Now that The Pussycat Dolls are...regrouping without Scherzinger, the former Eden's Crush singer is ready for her long-overdue solo spotlight. Lord knows that this girl's powerhouse vocals deserve their own showcase and now is as good a time as any. Starting things off in the UK, Scherzy released "Poison," co-produced by RedOne and saw it become a Top 3 hit over across the pond. She bested herself with follow up single, "Don't Hold Your Breath," co-written by Toby Gad, which went all the way to the top of the charts! Her album, Killer Love (Interscope), was released in March in the UK and peaked at #8 on the UK Album chart. Well done Ms. Nicole!

Now...finally ready for another stab at the difficult to crack U.S. market Scherzinger is ramping up promotion on the album here in the states including a special performance (with Jason Bonham) of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" which was used to promote the 2011 NBA Playoff coverage on both ESPN and ABC. Today Scherzinger released the video for her FIRST U.S. single, the Jim Jonsin-produced "Real Love," which features 50 Cent on token rap duty. The single is due for digital release on May 17th followed by her album, due out in America sometime this summer. The song is OK but fails to impress me over all. It SUCKS big time that an artist (or her label) feels that it's necessary to throw a rapper on the track just to increase it's hit potential. The 50 Cent rap was added SOLELY for the album's U.S. release, appearing sans rapper on the UK version of the album. While the Paul Hunter-directed video is a lot of fun and features Scherzinger lookin' stunning (per usual), the song is more of a miss for me. Don't write Scherzinger off though. From what I've heard of the album, there are some potential hits in there - just not 100% sure that this is one of them. I just don't think that this rap really adds anything and that makes me sad. I'm DESPERATELY hoping that we get some club remixes for this one to at least give Scherzinger a Billboard club hit.

Time will tell, but I am hoping for the best. Like I said, Nicole Scherzinger deserves a shot at solo success based on sheer talent alone. Here's hoping that all of those X-Factor rumors are true. It couldn't hurt record sales, right? "Real Love" will be released on May 17th in the U.S. and June 5th in the UK. While the song is scheduled to impact mainstream U.S. radio on May 24th, it's already impacted UK urban music radio. U.S. fans, check out some of Nicole Scherzinger's other singles and collaborations on iTunes HERE.

Check out Nicole Scherzinger on the web:

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

Labels: 50 Cent, Music News, Nicole Scherzinger

Hot Video Alert: The Pierces - Glorious

I was first introduced to The Pierces by a co-worker of mine a couple of years back. Admittedly I wasn't in a place at that time to really get into them but I think I've mellowed out since then. The Alabama-born, New York-based sister act (Allison and Catherine Pierce), to date, has released three full length albums and two EPs. You & I, the duo's upcoming fourth studio album is scheduled for UK release on May 30th. Preceding the album's release, the girls will release "Glorious" as the next UK single. Following the Top 10 iTunes and Big Airplay hit "You'll Be Mine," "Glorious" is due out on May 23rd. Featuring The Pierces' trademark harmonies, "Glorious" is light and summery - destined to be their next hit. "You'll Be Mine" was A-listed by Radio 2 and went on to spend 6 weeks in the Airplay Top 20 chart.

You & I was prodyced by Guy Berryman (Coldplay) and his production partner Rik Simpson. Recorded in New York and in Coldplay's North London studio, the album will be their first since 2007's Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge. Check out the new video for "Glorious" below and get excited for the return of The Pierces!