Cher Lloyd Second Single: 'With Ur Love' (Watch)

I loved Cher Lloyds first X Factor audition so much I played it over and over during the audition stages but by the time it got to the live shows I had started to go off her. I didn't dislike her, as I did Katie Weasel, but she had started to act way too diva-like for me.


I had mixed views during the live shows. Some weeks she nailed it and others left me cold. By the final I had warmed to her again but at this point wanted Rebecca Ferguson to win. 


Then she released the absolutely awful 'Swagger Jagger' which somehow got to number 1 in the UK. I really hoped this wouldn't set the tone for the type of music she was going to release and so was pleased to hear her new single 'With Ur Love', which is a massive improvement. 


To me 'With Ur Love' has got a very M.I.A kind of sound to it. She's still using the word 'swag' (get over it now please Cher) but none of the annoying 'rapping' - it's much more melodic this time round and you can hear her voice more. 


The video is uplifting, featuring heart shaped balloons floating around the city and sees Cher with an Amelle (from the Sugababes) undercut, which suits her. 


The video also features Mike Posner who sings the line ' I don't even care if you sing my songs wrong' a reference to her  performance at Judges Houses on the X Factor where she couldn't finish the song due to losing her voice and messed up some of the words.


What do you think of the song and video?


From PerezHilton.com

Nicola Roberts: Lucky Day Teaser (Listen)

Update: Full Video now out!


I just can't get enough of Nicola Roberts at the moment. Today she released another Through Nicola's Eyes  feature, which has a teaser of her second single 'Lucky Day'. 


I think this one is going to be HUGE! It's a brilliantly catchy pop song that has a real summery fun feel to it. I hope that her record label gives up on On Air On Sale to give this a chance of doing well in the charts.


Check it out below!


Update: Nicola's record label have taken the Through Nicola's Eyes feature down as apparently it was released too early. Damn them!... Oh well you'll just have to make do with an unedited version of her video instead....massive thanks to the original uploader.

Song of the Week: Emeli Sande - Heaven

Ever since I heard her amazing voice on Chipmunk's 'diamond rings' and later Wiley's 'Never be your Woman', I have been waiting to hear whether Emeli Sande would release some solo material. 


Well thanks to We Are Pop Slags I see that she is due to release her debut single 'Heaven' in the next few months. Apparently Zane Lowe championed it on Radio 1 and one Youtube commetator called it the 'song of the year'.


Update: video now added. 



Heaven is a brilliantly powerful and haunting song set of over a drum-n-base beat, which showcases her voal talents to great effect. On the one hand there are hints of Leona Lewis's pitch in places, but with a whole load more attitude. On the other Emeli sounds completely unique.


I think Emeli Sande is going to be one of the next big hot UK female singers when this is released later in the year. And I am loving her hair too.


Check out some of her other material below, including a brilliant accoustic performancea of 'Maybe' and 'Kill the Boy'.

Beth Ditto Goes Solo: Beth Ditto EP

 

I absolutely love Beth Ditto's new self-titled EP, her debut solo effort, and since downloading it I have played it over and over. It's small but perfectly formed and consists of four brilliant tracks produced by British electro kings 'Simian Mobile Disco'.

Although her distinctive vocals are unmistakable, Ditto has shown a different, softer side to her. The tracks are less 'rocky' and have an eighties disco and early nineties house feel to them, with Ditto going into full diva mode on 'I Wrote The Book'.

Here is a breakdown of the tracks below:

First up is my favourite track on the EP, ‘I Wrote The Book’, a fabulous up-tempo track with an old school house sound. Ditto’s voice works perfectly on this and the song gets me up and jumping around my living room, TV remote in hand, giving it ‘all that’.

There is also a fantastic video, which I can't show on here because it's through Vevo, which has Ditto in full blow Madonna appreciation mode, borrowing from ‘Justify My Love’ and ‘Vogue’, in particular.

Things slow down on the second track, Goodnight Good Morning, an end of the night track for those that still don't want to leave the dance-floor. Featuring retro synth sounds and a repetitive drum-beat, it is left to Ditto's vocals to gently carry you along, which she does with ease.

The pace picks up slightly on Open Heart Surgery, the most retro inspired track of all, in my opinion. There is a synth overload, in a good way, on this song that builds progressively and reaches a crescendo of brilliant Ditto vocals.

Do You Need Someoneis the track that made me decide to check out this EP, after hearing on the radio a few weeks ago. A dark and deep song, which for me has the most obviously 'Produced by Simian Mobile Disco' sound. Ditto's voice is brilliantly haunting on this track particularly in the chorus. It was a tough call but this track was just edged into second place for me.

So what do you think of the EP? What do you think of video? Which is your favourite track? Let me know in the comments below.

Sell A Minute Of Your Time - Part 1

Today I popped into Brixton Village market, in South London to sell a minute of my time for a pound. I had heard about this intriguing proposition over at the Londonist and decided to check it out.


The purchaser of my time was artist Brian Lobel, who has pitched up at the Brick Box cafe as part of his project Carpe Minuta Prima (seize the minute).


Each person gets to step into a darkened room with a camera and can do or say anything they like for a minute. At the end of the week Brian will collect all of the snippets together and produce an installation, from which people can buy their minute back (for a pound) or, interestingly, purchase the time of a complete stranger (burned onto DVD).


I was minute number 81 and Brian had been there since Monday, so by the end of the project on Saturday there should be lots of time collected.


Brian says that the project, "explores themes of economy, the value of our time and our work, the over-documenting of our lives and what it means to sign away your soul."

Brian Lobel: source the Londonist

I don't think my minute was particularly interesting, I am sure there were far more interesting uses of the time. I talked about my new passion for writing, an article I have just finished (about Brixton, co-incidentally) and finding my 'voice'. 


I think when I go back next week I'll purchase the time of a stranger and post the DVD up here for Part 2. It does sound a bit strange, I'll admit. That person may not want to feature on my blog - but to take part we each had to sign something saying we gave up any rights to that minute of time. We had sold it (you do actually receive a shiny £1 coin). So the purchaser of my time, if anyone buys it, will be able to do whatever they like with it. An interesting concept.


Brian is at Brick Box from 10am to 6pm until 26 February. Visit from 4 to 10 March to see the installation. Or find out more here. Brick Box, 41 Brixton Village, Coldhourbour Lane, SW9 8PR.

Amazing Artist Paolo Troilo: See Him In Action

A few years ago, I wrote on my old blog about an amazing artist I came across when holidaying in Positano, Italy. 


His name is Paolo Troilo, he's from Italy and his work still gives me a tingle down my spine whenever I see it. When i came across this video (below) showing him painting I just had to feature him on my blog again.




Paolo Troilo paints with his hands, creating for me the most powerful self portraits I have ever seen. 


His work is so physical and emotive and I could never tire of looking at his many paintings, each one telling me a story of anguish, struggle and frustration. 


It's interesting to see in the video how he goes about creating something so powerful and using his hands instead of a brush adds to the rawness of his work. 


I hope Paolo exhibits in London one day, so I can see more of his work up close. They may look amazing on the screen but look even more mesmerising in real life. 


It is still my ambition to own one of his pieces and two years after seeing that painting in Positano, he is still my favourite artist.

Rihanna: Pop's Hardest Working Star?

Rihanna Fenty, the seriously sexy Barbadian superstar has released the video for her new single 'S&M' from her latest album 'Loud' and it's sure to join her growing list of hit songs.


Featuring pink latex, blow-up dolls, lace stockings, whips and Rihanna seductively eating a banana - the video might sound tacky but it's actually playful and fun and I love it, although it will probably split opinion (for those that care). Check it out below:





While most stars are content with releasing three or four tracks from their albums, Rihanna seems to be trying to break some kind of record for the number of singles she can release from any one album. And boy does she pump the albums out - five in five years, with a total of 40 tracks (and counting) released across them all. That doesn't mean that her albums are full of fillers either - the vast majority go on to become huge sellers. 


So is Rihanna at risk of over-exposure? Well no it seems. There is no shortage of stars wanting to collaborate with her, she has recently appeared on songs with Eminem, David Guetta and Kanye West as well as working with the likes of Drake and Nicki Minaj. Phew.

                  

            

Rihanna is never out of the charts in the UK, nor in the US, and not content with just one top ten single, she often occupies multiple positions at the same time. If she is over exposed then the public doesn't seem to notice, or mind. 
Her video shoots, single promotions, endorsments, round the world headlining tours and her charity work must mean that Rihanna is surely the hardest working girl in pop?