90s Dance Queen Gina G Returns with a Hot New Single

Gina G is back ya'll!  I have to say...after listening to her new single, "Next 2 U," it's almost like she never left...ALMOST.  "Next 2 U" is a fun and infectious dance pop jam with a nice little 80s/90s vibe to it. First released in Gina's native Australia on May 27th, the single has since been made available worldwide. "Next 2 U" was written by Gina, Billy Pace (Celine Dion), Duane Morrison (Madison Avenue), long time Gina G collaborator John Collins and produced by Morrison and Pace. The single has been remixed by Mind Electric, Loud Manners, Pee Wee Ferris and Jean Paul. The Loud Manners remixes are available to download on U.S. iTunes HERE.

While fans of American club music might recognize Gina G for her kitschy 1996 pop hit "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit," she actually started out in the early 90s, performing with an Aussie dance group called Bass Culture. After moving to Europe in the mid 90s, Gina G entered the A Song For Europe competition, which she won, in turn becoming the UK's official entry into the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest. The song? "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit," of course! While the song didn't win (it came in 8th place) it went on to become Gina's first #1 hit in the UK. Over here in the States the song was also a modest hit, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, #13 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #5 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, #25 on the Adult Top 40 chart and #11 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi Singles chart. The song also earned Gina G her first Grammy nod for 'Best Dance Recording' at the 1998 Grammy Awards.

Gina G continued to have success, more so in the UK than in the States, with singles like "I Belong To You," "Fresh!", "Ti Amo," "Gimme Some Love" and "Everytime I Fall," all of which were included in Gina's debut solo album called Fresh! Following the release of Fresh!, Gina took a break to start a family and recuperate from a tediously long lawsuit against a former manager. Gina reemerged in the early 2000s with the indie release of a Nancy Sinatra cover ("These Boots Are Made For Walkin'") however the track failed to get any real attention. In 2005, Gina attempted to represent the UK once again in the Eurovision Song Contest, however this time finishing fifth, losing out to Javine (whatever happened to her?!) who's song "Touch My Fire" wound up placing second overall."

In August of 2005, Gina released her sophomore album, Get Up & Dance (Stuntgirl Music/Universal Records), selling it exclusively through her website (the album became available on iTunes in 2009).  In 2006, Gina released a new indie dance recording, "Tonight's The Night" under her own label, Stuntgirl Music. The track debuted at #2 on the Music Week Pop Dance Chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. The video was also a major success, landing high rotation on MTV Europe, MTV UK, VH1 'The Hits,' and a bevvy of other music channels. In 2007, Gina gave birth to her second child and once again disappeared from the public eye to focus on her family.

Now it's 2011 and Gina G is ready to take over dance floors worldwide with her energetic new pop dance singe, "Next 2 U."  Make sure you download the single on U.S. iTunes HERE and catch the super sexy video, directed by Albert Ong.  It's great to have Gina G back doing music and looking better than ever!

Check out Gina G on the web:

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

'Platinum Hit' Spotlights The Art of Songwriting in a Fresh New Reality Music Competition

Courtesy: Bravo Media

With so many music reality TV series out there right now, it's hard to pick a favorite. Between old favorites like FOX's American Idol and NBC's runaway hit, The Voice, there are seemingly hundreds of opportunities out there for talented young artists just waiting to be discovered.  The latest music reality TV competition to hook me in happens to live on Bravo TV, my personal favorite basic cable channel of all time -  Platinum Hit.

Platinum Hit, which now airs Fridays at 8 PM ET (previously Monday's at 10 PM) is a competition totally geared towards songwriters.  Hosted by singer/songwriter Jewel, the format of the show is very similar to that of other Bravo TV shows (past and present) including Project Runway, Shear Genius, and Top Chef, in that the contestants start out doing a the equivalent of a Top Chef "Quick Fire" challenge (called a "Hook Challenge" on Platinum Hit) writing a hook based on a topic provided by Jewel.  Contestants then take that winning hook and craft a song around it with sometimes brilliant, sometimes dreadful results.  One of the many things I like about this show is that it forces the songwriters to co-write together, something that is seen all too often in the music industry today.  Drama ensues when contestants are pitted against one another, forced to make music within the confines of a small, stuffy recording studio.  BRILLIANT television!

Each week the contestants are thrown numerous curve balls, and asked to step outside of their comfort zones time and time again, all in the hopes of winning that coveted prize.  The "ultimate hitmaker" crowned at the end of the series will win a $100,000 cash prize, a publishing deal with Sony and BMI Songwriters, The Writing Camp, and a recording deal with RCA/Jive.  That's HUGE!  Another favorite aspect of the show is the extremely talented panel of judges and mentors.  In addition to host Jewel (who also serves as a judge) we have singer/songwriter/producer/music publisher/A&R executive/composer Kara DioGuardi (American Idol), Keith Naftaly (Senior Vice President of A&R for RCA/Jive Label Group) and a rotating panel of guest judges including Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield, Donna Summer, Jermaine Dupri, Taio Cruz and Ryan Tedder. Take a look at those names people!  Yet another thing I love about Platinum Hit, is the fact that so many different genres of music are represented here, a true testament to the diversity seen in today's music landscape.

Another cool aspect about Platinum Hit is how IMMEDIATELY AFTER every show, viewers can purchase the mastered versions of the songs heard on that last episode and put them onto their iPods, computers, or other portable listening devices.  As with any good music reality series nowadays, it's all about the immediacy factor - how fast can they make those songs available for download.  All you have to do is visit Platinum Hit on iTunes: iTunes.com/PlatinumHit and BAM. In addition to the original tracks (and episodes themselves) fans can now download Platinum Hit: The Winning Songs Live (Live Performances from Episodes 1-5), which was digitally released on July 5th. The five track digital EP features live renditions of the winning track from each of the shows first five episodes. Check out the tracklisting below and download it on U.S. iTunes HERE or over on BravoTV.com.

Tracklisting:

01. My City (Live) (Nick Nittoli, Jes Hudak, Karen Waldrup)
02. Paint This Club (Live) (Nick Nittoli, Sonyae Elise, Scotty Granger, Melissa Rapp)
03. Where I Need To Be (Live) (Johnny Marnell, Brian Judah, Scotty Granger)
04. Walk Through Walls (Live) (Johnny Marnell, Scotty Granger, Jes Hudak)
05. Love Me To Life (Live) (Scotty Granger, Sonyae Elise, Brian Judah)

Tune in and watch Platinum Hit on Bravo TV every Friday.  It's a fresh, new kind of talent competition, that puts the spotlight on a talent that really deserves a whole helluva lot more attention than it gets.

The Platinum Hit Bravotv.com showsite, mobile site and BravoNow application available on iPad or iPhone will have access to contestant bios, photos, episode recaps, blogs and videos. Fans can also join the series Mobile Fan Club to receive Music 101 trivia and tune-in alerts directly to their phones by texting MUSIC to 27286 or visiting m.bravotv.com for more information. As always, fans using the BravoNow application can share these videos on social networks.

Check out Platinum Hit on the web: Official Site//iTunes