Ones to Watch in 2012: Lily Elise

As big a fan I am of Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis and other winners, oftentimes the contestants that most captivate me aren't the winners, but rather those that don't even make it to the final round.  Case in point...Lily Elise.  A contestant on season 1 of The Voice, from the moment Elise stepped out on stage, this 20 year talent just emanated pop star appeal.  When she opened her mouth to sing...DAMN!  No wonder she got Christina Aguilera to turn her chair around! Although she was eliminated in the Quarter Finals Elise made an impression on me, so it's exciting to see her moving forward with her own burgeoning pop career.

Read more »

The Wanted Announce Debut U.S. Performance, Prepare for Release of Sophmore Album

America. Get ready for The Wanted! Admittedly I haven't been this into a boy band since *NSYNC last hit the charts with their 2002 hit single "Girlfriend" (with rapper Nelly - remember that song?). While there may have been a light sprinkling of appealing boy bands between 2002 and now, none have me quite as revved up as The Wanted.  There's just something about these boys...especially Max. Getting back on track, The Wanted are coming to America! No, seriously! They are.  The sexy English pop/R&B quintet are scheduled to play their first ever U.S. gig at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City on October 25th (the 1 year anniversary of their first album release).  Pick up your tickets on Live Nation HERE or by going to the Gramercy Theater Event Page HERE.

The Wanted are relatively new to the music scene, but boy did they know how to make an entrance.  Their debut self titled album was a top five hit in the UK (peaking at #4) when it came out this time last year and spawned a #1 hit with their first single "All Time Low," and a #2 hit with "Heart Vacancy."  The band's third single ("Lose My Mind") did modestly well too, coming in at #19.  Since March, the lovely boys of The Wanted (Max George, Jay McGuiness, Siva Kaneswaran, Tom Parker, Nathan Sykes) have been gearing up for the release of their sophomore album, Battleground, due on November 7th (in the UK).  March 13th saw the release of "Gold Forever," (#3) the official 2011 Comic Relief Charity single, followed by the album's official first single "Glad You Came" which went all the way to #1 and has since amassed over 6,000,000 views on VEVO.  The band's new single, "Lightning" was released this week and follows the same winning dance-pop formula that has served The Wanted so well up till now.  The single was co-penned by Steve Mac, Wayne Hector and singer/songwriter Ed Drewett, who's own under-performing single "Champagne Lemonade" remains one of my favorites of last year.  This isn't the first time Drewett has paired up with The Wanted, in fact the band's debut single "All Time Low" was also co-written by Ed and Steve Mac.  Check out the video for "Lightning" below, directed by Matt Stawski (Cee-Lo Green, All Time Low).

The fact that the band is doing a performance in New York gives me hope that they're planning some sort of full fledged U.S. pop chart assault.  As of Monday night, the only thing you can buy from The Wanted on the U.S. iTunes store was "All Time Low," and an "All Time Low" remix package (featuring mixes by Digital Dog and Ralphi Rosario). Hmm. Let's hope we get a proper U.S. album release (not one of those hodge-podge best of collections), and plenty of promotion.  In other news, check out the uber sexy Max on the cover of Attitude Magazine, the best-selling UK gay magazine and a complementary behind-the-scenes video from the photoshoot. Yummy! Download "All Time Low" on U.S. iTunes HERE and "Lightning" on UK iTunes HERE, featuring remixes from Chuckie and Alias.

[EDIT: I spoke too soon. "Glad You Came" was released on U.S. iTunes on Tuesday October 18th (download it HERE). In addition you can pick up the iTunes Live EP from the band HERE.]

Check out The Wanted on the web:

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