NEW GIRLS ALOUD!: girls aloud - models

girls aloud - models
after 10 years, the gals say goodbye to their fans. sadly, this single does not leave them on a high note...

WONGIE FM BEST OF 2012: guilty pleasures #16-30

WONGIE FM BEST OF 2012: guilty pleasures #16-30:
16. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop
17. P!nk – Blow Me (One More Kiss)
18. Girls Aloud – Beautiful Cause You Love Me
19. Little Big Town - Pontoon
20. Eric Church - Springsteen
21. Miss A – I Don’t Need A Man
22. Tulisa - Young
23. Adele - Skyfall
24. Kendrick Lemar – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe
25. The Wanted – I Found You
26. Die Antwoord – I Fink U Freeky
27. Frank Turner – If Ever I Stray
28. D’Banj – Oliver Twist
29. DJ Fresh feat Ms Dynamite – Gold Dust (Shy FX remix) / DJ Fresh feat Rita Ora - Hot Right Now
30. Monsta – Holdin On (Skrillex and Nero remix)

wanna hear the top 15 guilty pleasures of the year? click this link now!

VIDEO PREMIERE!: girls aloud - beautiful cause you love me

girls aloud - beautiful cause you love me
there's alot of wall loving, sexy sheet-ery in their latest glossy video (and cheryl cole isn't featured as much) but these gals are my kryptonite so there you have it.

VIDEO PREMIERE!: girls aloud - something new

girls aloud - something new
i'm sorry, this is basically a song that starts at 10 and doesn't go anywhere for 3 mins. at some point you just want to say, stop shouting at me... such a shame cause i truly like girls aloud. fail!

WONGIE POP SONG OF THE WEEK: cheryl - under the sun

cheryl - under the sun
ok is it just me or does it look like the town harlot (nay divorcee) is causing a scandal on main street in this video? the song is catchy as summer jam hell, but these videos where it's cheryl surrounded by turned on men is really just one dance step away from the scene from 'the accused'... i'm just saying...

Cheryl Cole Special: T4 special

cheryl cole - t4 special
[for those who missed it on friday, cheryl went on t4 and not only gave a lovely interview with host nick grimshaw but performed the track 'call my name', 'screw you' (with wretch 32), 'under the sun' and the now classic 'fight for this love'. check out the crazy tracking camerawork for the opening number alone!]

POP GAL: cheryl - call my name

cheryl - call my name
[the return of cheryl cole to the pop charts and it's kind of meh (like throwaway saturdays b-sides). what i do find interesting is that she now goes by 'cheryl' and i'll probably be sadly bopping to this next week and calling it 'genius'... oh the world of pop]

WONGIE COVER OF THE WEEK: nicola roberts - memory of you (girls aloud cover)

nicola roberts - memory of you (girls aloud cover)
[pop gal nicola roberts has gone and done something so smart for her (still struggling solo) career! she will be re-recording a few classic girls aloud (the girl band that she started with) b-sides for the hard core fans. interestingly enough, this electronic kylie-esque cover is actually good enough to be a proper single. perhaps a double A side release people?]

WONGIE POP SONG OF THE WEEK: nicola roberts - yo yo

nicola roberts - yo yo
[there's something almost exciting when you hear a nicola roberts tune for the first time. she's definitely found a smart group of songwriters who manage to set up a seemingly standard song structure then spins it on it's head. previous releases have challenged my pop sensibilities and 'yo yo' is no different. once again, the song starts off all doo wop ditty and then manages to climax with a falsetto bridge that makes you wonder if nicola has the chops to keep it up. it's all very wonderfully engaging if you ask me!]

VIDEO PREMIERE!: nicola roberts - beat of my drum

nicola roberts - beat of my drum
[yeah... it was kind of better when there was no video... now it just looks like a girl throwing a party that no one wants to attend. maybe single #2 will be better? thanks to ali's blog for the video!]

AUDIO LEAK: nicola roberts - beat of my drum

want to see the video? go here!

nicola roberts - beat of my drum
[it's the go! team meets m.i.a. all filtered through the most washed down tweeny pop vocals thanks to ex-girls aloud member nicola roberts. it's kind of good and kind of bad at the same time (the good comes from producer diplo throwing all of his tricks into the bag) and the bad... well... i think someone with more sass could probably do this song serious justice. looking forward to mocking the video in a few days!]

POP GAL: cheryl cole - fight for this love

cheryl cole - fight for this love
[this is kind of 'meh' but i'm a big fan of xfactor so there you go]

LIVE WONGIE: girls aloud - push it (tangled up tour)

girls aloud - push it (tangled up tour)
[does this fall under so bad that it's good?]

girls aloud - untouchable

girls aloud - untouchable

girls aloud - the promise (video premiere)

girls aloud - the promise [link 2]
[with girls aloud member cheryl making the x-factor must see tv in the UK, the release of "the promise" feels like perfect timing for her group to return. the song itself is not their usual brand of hot mess and instead a catchy 60's inspired pop ditty that you'll be able to sing along to in minutes. as for the video... um, fire the makeup people stat! the ginge one looks like a horror movie extra!]

we love pop! : leona lewis, celine dion, girls aloud

if you haven't figured it out by now, i give equal adoration to straight up pop as much as i do indie and other sounds. who cares if the cool factor is low in your books, i love pop! now check out three examples of good ditty's out at the moment that you'll be secretly singing in your shower for the next month.


leona lewis - bleeding love [link 2]
[last years x-factor winner gets a proper single release with the blessing of clive davis and sassy pants perez hilton. written by ryan tedder of one republic (see belew), the debut album spirit features collaborations with ne-yo, dallas austin and even jimmy jam and terry lewis. i simply LOVE this 1st single in it's simplicity and way too catchy chorus (though the video is a bit 'meh'). let the leona pop onslaught begin!]


celine dion - taking chances [link 2]
[oh no, you're not seeing things, our fave french canadian diva makes a return to the charts with her first english release since 2003 (helps that she's been sitting pretty at ceasars palace that whole time). the first single off the album of the same name is a dave stewart / kara dioguardi co-penned track that is actually very subtle and awesome! the video makes no sense whatsoever, but dave stewart does make a nice cameo in the end.]


girls aloud - call the shots [link 2]
[my favorite pop train wrecks comes up with a proper single that doesn't make me feel guilty for liking it. what gives?]

major thanks to ali's blog for the video tips!

girls aloud - sexy! no no no (video premiere)

girls aloud - sexy no no no [link 2]
[after teasing their fans for the past week and a half, girls aloud finally premiere the video to one of the strangest pop singles of the year. as i've mentioned before the muso in me wants to fight my love for these girls. but the over the topness of them all just continues to draw me in! thanks to perez hilton and kevipod for the video tip!]

train wreck or genuis leak: girls aloud - sexy no no no

girls aloud - sexy no no no [link 2]
[i can't quite understand my fascination with girls aloud. not only are they kind of ruff on the edges (pinup gal, cheryl tweedy went from bar brawling chick to a footballers wife), but weirdly untalented as a group (see their T4 live performance above). but something about their 'wrong-ness' keeps me coming back for more. case in point, their latest single once again utilises the seemingly 12 songs in one format (heck, the 1st verse doesn't clock in until 1 min. 10 seconds into the song!). and sadly i already know how to sing the song after 3 listens. beyond guilty pleasure, this is crack people, crack!]

red nose day 07: sugababes vs girls aloud - walk this way (world premiere)

sugababes vs girls aloud - walk this way
[as part of the UK comic relief charity red nose day, mega girl bands (all my favorites!) girls aloud and sugababes have collaborated for the 1st time on the classic aerosmith/run dmc track "walk this way". leading up to the march 17th live event will be a bunch of programs on television including a celebrity version of fame academy, the uk apprentice and also an episode of casualty written by my favorite screenwriter richard curtis. thanks to popjustice for the video heads up!]


ricky gervais red nose day 2007 dvd promo


ali g (aka borat aka sasha baron cohen) conducts the funniest interview with posh and david beckham from red nose day (comic relief 2001)

various covers

i've been feeling kind of guilty for my lack of posts here and i thought i'd ease my conscience with a batch of covers done by some unexpected performers.

i'm actually a big fan of cover versions only because when it's done right, you get to see a side of an artist that they may not be able to express through their own music. i'm also a big fan of the mashing up of genres (hip hop sung by an indie band, folk by a heavy metal posse etc...).

besides the blogs, another great place to find these covers is at jo whiley (which is where i found alot of these). here are a few of my faves of the moment:

ray lamontagne - crazy (gnarls barkley cover)
osunlade and erro - everything in it's right place (radiohead cover)
natasha bedingfield - somewhere only we know (keane cover)
arctic monkeys - love machine (girls aloud cover)
starsailor - push the button (sugababes cover)
david gray - smile like you mean it (killers cover)
belle and sebastian - the boy with the thorn in his side (live) (smiths cover)

and a classic:
communards - never can say goodbye (classical mix) (gloria gaynor cover)