[Hot Video Alert] Mia Maestro - Blue Eyed Sailor

Photo Credit: Brantley Gutierrez

Argentina born/Los Angeles based singer/songwriter Mia Maestro might be best known for her work in television and film, most notably in the 2002 movie Frida opposite Salma Hayek and in J.J. Abrams' ("Lost", "Fringe") 2001 - 2006 spy series, "Alias." .  In fact, when I stopped to read the press release about her new single," I did a double take.  "Mia Maestro? Nadia Santos from Alias? WTF?" I had no idea that she was a singer.  Mia just released a STUNNING new music video for a song called, "Blue Eyed Sailor," the first single from her upcoming debut EP of the same name which is due out December 4th on Vapor Records.  

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In Case You Haven't Heard Part II

Promises promises. I know I promised a more POP-focused post following my rock-themed update back on September 9th, but life happened. Apologies.  Now the tunes I wanted to mention here are even more outdated but that's OK.  There are still some quality tunes here worth talkin' about. In this post we cover new stuff from X-Factor winners, Little Mix, UK dreamboat Ben Montague, pop cutie-patootie MIKA, Canadian popstar Esthero, plus a couple more. Enjoy!

How this little JAM slipped by me I'll never understand, especially considering how invested I was in season 8 of the ORIGINAL X-Factor.  Little Mix (formerly known as Rhythmix) are a four-piece girl group comprising members Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirwall and have the distinction of being the FIRST group to ever win it all on The X-Factor.  While they took their sweet-ass time to release any new tunes, first single "Wings" proves that these girls are well worth the wait.

Following the release of the girls' first #1 single, a decent enough POP cover of Damien Rice's tear jerker of a singer/songwriter ballad "Cannonball," they unleashed a proper up-tempo dance/pop tune on Great Britain in the form, of the TMS-produced hit "Wings," which went on to become the girls' second consecutive #1 hit single. You go girls!  The single was released on August 26th, backed by a tight remix package, featuring dance floor makeovers by The Alias and Sunship.  As nice as the remixes were, the song really shines brightest in it's original form.  It's a forceful little stomper of a pop tune, chock-full of plenty of soul and punchy attitude.  

Upon first listen, you could swear Little Mix has been singing together for years, rather than being the prime example of "manufactured" pop, a group made up of four solo singers plucked from the X-Factor reject pile by mentor/judge Tulisa Contostavlos.  The girls prove themselves and THEN some in their first official single, taken from their forthcoming debut album, DNA, which is scheduled to drop November 19th via Syco/will.i.am.   Here's hoping they do well enough in their native land to warrant a trip over here to the States.  If Cher Lloyd could do it successfully, I see no reason why these girls can't!

Download "Wings" on UK iTunes and check out the colorful and fun video ABOVE.

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Ones to Watch in 2012: Ben Howard

Have you heard of Ben Howard?  Until recently, neither had I (although a song of his, "Promise" did appear in an episode of House this season).  Try as I might to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to quality UK music, this talented guy slipped by unseen and unheard.  Hey, it happens! There's just so much good stuff coming out of the UK these days that I can't keep track of it all. Well, as it turns out, now is as good a time as any to do a write up because his album, Every Kingdom, was recently released here in America.  Not only that, but Ben Howard is about ready to embark on a little tour out West (sorry East Coast, we missed our shot).

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