Welcome to Poptastic Confessions! This blog is dedicated to glorious, unashamed alternative pop music! We hope to share new music with you that you might not have heard before because it is usually overlooked by the masses. Of course, we'll always encourage you to buy the music legally to support the artists. Enjoy! —Davearama, editor of Poptastic Confessions
Dear Poptastic Readers, Poptastic Confessions now has a Facebook page! Hooray!
Why do we need a Facebook page? Well, to reach more people. I'll be posting all of the blog entries on the Facebook page, making it easier for you to visit the blog as well as share it with your Facebook friends. The history of the Facebook page goes back a bit. I used publish a Fanzine dedicated to the pop group Bananarama. The fanzine was called Pop Life that was named after their 5th studio album. I had made the Facebook page initially for the Pop Life fanzine. The fanzine was long out of print, and since it was published before Facebook came around. I thought I would create a Facebook page to feature it.
Last week, I changed the name of the Facebook page from Pop Life to Poptastic Confessions so it will feature both the fanzine, as well as new updates about pop music. So please "like" Poptastic Confessions on Facebook! Poptastic regards, —Davearama
Hello Poptastic Readers, As you might remember, I love the British girl group Sugababes. Well, they've been on hiatus since their last single in 2011 called "Freedom." It was a great song, but unfortunately the single campaign was not handled correctly. You can read about that here.
Sugababes current lineup: Jade, Heidi and Amelle
And, if you don't know about the history of the Sugababes, let's just say the current lineup isn't the original lineup. Read about that here.
Sugababes lineup 2006-2009: Amelle, Heidi and Keisha
And the original lineup announced last year that they were back together calling themselves by their first names: Mutya Keisha Siobhan, since they no longer own the band name Sugababes. However, all the hype they had last year has taken a toll as they still haven't released any new music.
Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan were the original Sugababes,
but two of them quit and one was let go.
In the meantime, Amelle from the Sugababes is finally getting ready to release her long-awaited solo efforts. Again, this is taken far too long! A demo of hers was leaked last year and it was scheduled to be released. It even got lots of good press and some buzz. But the single never happened.
Amelle
The song was called "God Won't Save You Now" and it was a wicked. Not sure what the status is of the song, but you can hear it here.
By the way, Amelle is the only Sugababes to have a solo UK #1 in 2009. It was a duet with rapper Tinchy Stryder called "Never Leave You."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFSO9B1K_xw
So the big news is that Amelle recently did an interview with a website called No White Noise. You can read the whole interview here. Amelle was asked if we will ever see a Heidi, Amelle and Jade (the Sugababes) reunion. And this was her answer ... "I think so. We’re still talking about it at the moment. We all wanted to venture into our own things since we all had our little projects in our mind but also in our heads we have been thinking that we’re going to get back together. Even when I’m in the studio writing, there’s definitely a couple that I think “oh, that would be good for us,” as in us three. So I’ll put a couple of tracks to one side. I’m pretty sure it will happen by kind-of next year." (Quote taken from http://nowhitenoise.com)
My Queens: Jade, Heidi and Amelle ... the Sugababes!
It seems we can at least look forward to Amelle solo efforts this year. Maybe Mutya Keisha Siobhan will get around to releasing something. And then we can look for the Sugababes next year. Let's just hope they return by the end of this year. We need some Heidi, Amelle and Jade back in our lives! Hooray!
Hello Again! The Pet Shop Boys are back with a new album in June called "Electric." And the first single is "Axis."
This is the artwork for the single cover.
The album is a return to their dance roots, as the last album was more mid-tempo reflective.
This is the artwork for the album cover.
About the single ... I like the music ... it's awesome! But where is the melody? This might be a grower. Not bad, though. Very dancey!!!!! The single is available on iTunes now. The album comes out June 16. Here is the video ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDCU17wXktY
The good news is that album is supposed to be very good. And they are touring the US. I've never seen them in concert and now I have tickets to see them in October! I'm so excited!
Hello Poptastic Readers, My friend Aug Stone let me know this week that he has done a remix for a new song called "Fesitval" by Victoria and Jacob. And it is free!
Who are Victoria and Jacob? I don't really know. They have a website and a blog, but I didn't see a bio. It seems that Victoria is the singer. They have some really cool art direction going on so do check them out.
Aug's and Danny Gold's remix of "Festival" is very nice. It's not a club remix with intro and outro beats. Instead, it's quite nice, fresh and poppy. It will make you want to tap your foot. The single will be available on iTunes on May 27. Get your free remix here. Enjoy!~
Dear Poptastic Readers, Mika is back with a new song called "Popular Song." The song is a duet with Ariana Grande. The song is an updated cover of the song from the musical "Wicked."
Mika had a fantastic debut album called "Life In Cartoon Motion." That album featured the wonderful songs "Grace Kelly", "Love Today", "Relax, Take It Easy", "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)", "Billy Brown" and "Happy Ending." His second album contained the hit "We Are Golden." "Popular Song" tackles the topic of teenage bullying. And it has some interesting lyrics. The video is cute. But I'm not all that crazy about the dinner party scenes, or even the twist at the end. What do you think?
Dear Poptastic Readers, It's been a quiet month for new popstastic music. Lately, I've been listening to an artist who stopped making music a couple of years ago. Listening to the back catalogue has me wanting to do feature. So watch for that soon. But for now, Dream Beats is back with a new song called "Beneath The Lights" featuring Molly.
Now you might remember that Dream Beats is made up of Felix and Märta from Le Kid, as well as music producer Anders Hansson. The three of them worked on Alcazar's 2009 album "Disco Defenders."
Funnily enough, Dream Beats first single "Feel 4 U" in 2011 featured Alcazar. Their second single "Love Stuck" in 2012 featured the English trio The Face, which broke up after the single.
So it appears that Dream Beats will probably do a single a year. And this is it! I like it. But I will admit it was a bit unexpected. It's a bit darker, but it quite lovely, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZQeIvjo4d8
Who is Molly? I didn't know. But some quick online research ... I found out that she is an English singer/songwriter Molly Smitten-Downes. I've not heard of her before. But if you are interested, I suggest that you like her official Facebook page. Let's hope we hear more from her in the future.
Dear Poptastic Readers, It's been awhile since I wrote ... Sorry, life gets busy and sometimes it can be a slow time for some fun, poptastic music. It's also been a sad week with the horrible bombings in Boston. The people hurt and the family and friends of those killed are in our thoughts. Life is short, and we must cherish the fun times. Which is precisely the theme of Le Kid's new video for "We Are Young."
I first wrote about the song last month, and you can hear the song on Soundcloud on that link. Le Kid's new video is, like many artists these days, a bit homemade. But homemade isn't bad. Just look how it has worked for Bananarama and Annikafiore. It seems that Le Kid have been working on this video for some time as there are many clips in different places. It is wonderful. It's full of fun and shows just how much fun they were. This proves you don't need a big budget for a wonderful video. Enjoy!~
Congratulations, Helena, Johanna, Märta and Felix! Le Kid is our favourite Swedish band! "We Are Young" might not be available in your country for download, but they are working on it. Hopefully it will be soon!
