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  Now the tunes I wanted to mention here are even more outdated but that's OK.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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Canadian Singer/Songwriter Esthero Signs with Universal Music Canada; First Single Due June 5th

It brings me great pleasure to announce that Canadian singer/songwriter Esthero is BACK with a new single, album AND record label.  Esthero's SNAPPY new single, entitled "Never Gonna Let You Go," was serviced to radio on May 31st and will be available to download on June 5th, along with "remixes for you to dance yer butt off to," according to the talented singer/songwriter via her Facebook page.  SCORE! I'm still jamming along to Esthero's "Fastlane" and "O.G. Bitch," so the prospect of some new bangin' mixes has me all hot and bothered!

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Hot Video Alert: Rye Rye - Boom Boom

I am LOVING Rye Rye right about now. She's a little spitfire isn't she?  21 year old Rye Rye first caught my attention with her single, "Never Will Be Mine", featuring Swedish electropop Goddess Robyn.  "Never Will Be Mine," released nearly a year ago, served as Rye Rye's second official single from her forthcoming album, Go! Pop! Bang!, which is due out May 15th via controversial artist M.I.A.'s own Interscope Records imprint, N.E.E.T.  Rye Rye's latest offering is a feisty little ditty called "Boom Boom," which heavily samples the Vengaboys' 1998 international hit "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom" in the chorus.  Clever Rye Rye. Very clever.

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Esthero Announces Title of Third Album, 'Everything Is Expensive'

Now I'm not really one to create an entire blog post around one, single Tweet...aw who am I kidding. Of course I am! One of my favorite Canadian-born, California-based singer/songwriters Esthero (AKA Jenny-Bea Englishman) Tweeted the working title for her forthcoming third album.

@theRealEsthero: The album is called 'everything is expensive' - mainly because I'm pretty sure 'let's talk about Sax' is taken

I can hardly contain my excitement here! I've been on pins and needles, waiting for new material to surface from Esthero. I first heard Esthero's "O.G. Bitch," which was released as an EP with a whole slew of remixes. At the time "O.G. Bitch" came out I was relatively new to the whole electronica/dance music scene but her smooth soulful vocals sold me almost instantaneously. When her 2005 (Warner Brothers/Reprise) record, Wikked Lil' Grrrls came out I was already a fan. When I started hearing her music on TV and in films, I would get a little giddy because I knew who she was! Why the album didn't solidify Esthero's place in the mainstream is a mystery to me. Wikked Lil' Grrrls is an underrated album if you ask me, one that should have launched Esthero into the stars. Featuring high-profile appearances by Sean Lennon, André 3000 and Cee-Lo not to mention musical gems like "Fastlane," "Thank Heaven 4 You" and of course the title track - this album is still one I listen to today and love.

Breath From Another, Esthero's debut album (Sony/The WORK Group) came out back in 1998 and featured two official singles - the title track, "Breath From Another" and "Heaven Sent." "That Girl" was also released as a promotional single with a companion music video. Admittedly I wasn't familiar with Esthero prior to "O.G. Bitch" and the Wikked Lil' Girls album, but the whole Trip-hop sound of her debut still sucks me in.

While we eagerly await details on her forthcoming album, we're fortunate enough to be graced with some snippets of new music. Listen to a beautiful new song called "You Don't Get A Song" over on This Is Real Music. Also worth a listen - an incredibly stunning ballad from the new album called "Black Mermaid." Want to download some Esthero to hold you over? Well - U.S. iTunes doesn't have Breath From Another but you can get it HERE. iTunes has Wikked Lil' Girls (HERE) as well as "O.G. Bitch" (HERE). Also worth the download, Esthero's "We R In Need of a Musical Revolution" EP (HERE).  Look out for more info on the new album (hopefully) soon!  You can also catch up and ask Esthero some questions via Formspring so make sure you do that too.

Check out Esthero on the web:

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

Continuing To Get Suckered

So the drama continues with my stupid quest to get a program I could get free by other means, free legally. If you'll recall my last post about getting suckered into buying a CD from the Sony store...turns out I didn't read the fine print. I had to spend at least $30 in order for this stupid thing to work. I only spent the cost of one over priced Sony CD. So...stubborn as ever, I went back to the offer, back onto the Sony website and bought 3 more items:

• A Yoga for beginners DVD
• Esthero - "Fastlane" (CD Single)
• "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying"- New Broadway Cast Recording

Awesome. These options are random, I know, but I didn't want to spend too much money, just by buying a TV show on DVD that I didn't really want...so instead I buy three smaller things I don't really want just to stay around $30. Ugh. If this post doesn't make you think I'm crazy, I don't know what else I have to do. The good news is, I love that Esthero single and I love Megan Mullally from "Will & Grace" in this show AND I have been meaning to try Yoga, so hopefully all three items will come in good use.