HAPPY THANKSGIVING!: robin skouteris - poplove 2012

robin skouteris - poplove 2012
while you're celebrating with your family the turkey love, why not blast this while you're prepping the stuffing and make it into a total happy bouncy pop moment for all? athens producer robin skouteris mashes up 24 pop artists of the year and gives us 6 mins of pure pop! happy POP thanksgiving y'all!
wanna know who's on this?
Mashup includes:
Kesha - Die Young
Owl City feat. Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time
Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me
Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
Calvin Harris - Feel So Close
Katy Perry - Wide Awake
One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
FloRida - Whistle
Kelly Clarkson - Stronger
Jessie J - Domino
Mika - Love Today
Psy - Gangnam Style
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
Dev - In The Dark
NeYo & Calvin Harris - Let's Go
Rihanna - You Da One
P!nk - Blow Me One Last Kiss
Ellie Goulding - Lights
Lady Gaga - Scheisse
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj & MIA - Give Me All Your Luvin'

POP TUESDAY: mika feat pharrell williams - celebrate

mika feat pharrell williams - celebrate
this is probably the 1st track from the upcoming mika album that i find remotely interesting. produced by nick littlemore of empire of the sun, it's a lovely harmless summer ditty that'll make lovely bbq background music. i'm just sayin...

WONGIE POP SONG OF THE WEEK: mika - kick ass (kick ass OST)

mika - kick ass (kick ass OST)
[this is a nice, surprising release by mika. released in conjunction with the highly anticipated action film of the same name, mika gets his aggro on thanks to a fine production by redone. hot!]

LIVE WONGIE: mika & danielle de niese - rain (live @ popstar to operastar) / blame it on the girls (live @ so you think you can dance uk)

mika & danielle de niese - rain (live @ popstar to operastar)


mika - blame it on the girls (live @ so you think you can dance uk)
[mika has been very busy this last week in the UK as he made two very high profile appearances on popstar to operastar and so you think you can dance uk. these two performances totally showcase his diversity and kind of re-ignites interest on an album that lost alot of steam when it was released last year. i'm sold (especially this fabulous pop/opera fusion of 'rain')]

NEW MIKA!: mika - rain / rain (benny benassi remix)

mika - rain


mika - rain (benny benassi remix)

sliimy - paint your face / wake up (digital dog club edit)

sliimy - paint your face
[from about.com
He is French, so that name is pronounced 'Slee-mee.' This new artist is lucky or in a tough place depending on your opinion of his top benefactor of the moment, gossip blogger Perez Hilton. Sliimy first came to widespread attention through a unique version of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" that spread on the Internet. Then Perez Hilton picked up Sliimy as the first signing to his new vanity record label Perezscious. Sliimy's real name is Yanis Sahraoui, and he is a 20 year old from Saint-Etienne, France. His music is playful, colorful, and it just might definitely appeal to those charmed by artists such as Mika.

Sliimy does have an album out titled Paint Your Face and enough recognition to get nominated for an MTV Europe award as Best French Artist.]


sliimy - wake up (digital dog club edit)
[personally i like this remix much better than the original]

NEW MIKA!: mika - blame it on the girls

mika - blame it on the girls

mika - we are golden / (calvin harris radio edit)

mika - we are golden


mika - we are golden (calvin harris radio edit)
[fan edited video]

on the radar 2008: david jordan - sun goes down

david jordan - sun goes down [link 2]
[london based singer songwriter david jordan could be this years flaming mika of the pop charts. already making the A-list of the influential BBC radio 1 playlist AND placed under the wing of over the top producer trevor horn (early seal, pet shop boys, art of noise), this particular track is all over the place... and i LOVE IT!]

new music wednesday: spoon, napoleon, great northern, the thrills, mika & beth ditto, calvin harris

spoon - underdog [link 2]
[the 1st video from spoon's 6th album release ga ga ga ga ga. personally, this is one of my favorite albums of the summer and i'm so happy that these austin rockers are getting the widespread props that they so deserve.]


napoleon - cleopatra


napoleon - i love my baby (but if anyone touches her i'll kill them) [link 2]
[calling themselves a swedish soul band, this 11 piece posse is going to be making waves throughout the summer as the happy birds to beat. due for US release later in the year, i jump the queue and tip you guys on this fun lighthearted band now! big thanks to ifmv and #1 hits for an alien planet for the intro!]


great northern - home [link 2]
[who knew that LA could be home to this lush indie pop quartet? initially recorded on 4 tracks, the band went through various incarnations before ending up with a four piece that could generate this dreamy sound. if you like what you hear, check out their debut album trading twilight for daylight out now.]


the thrills - nothing changes around here [link 2]
[the 1st video taken off of their upcoming album teenager. though the irish quintet have claimed neil young and the beach boys as past influences, this single sounds more like prefab sprout with a bit of seaside morrissey thrown in (i just made that term up, you like?)]


mika & beth ditto - sweet dreams are made of this (live)
[after a week of talking about it to the press, mika and beth ditto (gossip) finally combine their talents for an unfortunately lame duet of the eurythmics classic. add to the fact that mika totally hogs the vocals, i'm not quite sure i'd want to hear another collaboration in the future.]


calvin harris - merrymaking at my place
[um... this is sound of crap! i don't really understand how he's managed to get any play in the uk, but hopefully it will just end there.]

best of 2007: fave acts so far (1/2 year report)

this has been an amazing music year so far with new stuff coming at me daily (much that i've shared back to you). but amoung the batch, a few acts have filtered through and kept on returning to my personal playlists.

since it feels like such a slow week, i figured now is probably the best time to re-introduce some of the artist highlights of 2007 from january to june (in no particular order):

[for friends and fans of wongie, you probably know the class of 2007 (so far) pretty well. but for the rest of you, hopefully you can discover some gems from the list below. also you may have noticed that wongie faves mika, amy winehouse, gossip and lily allen aren't here (since they were loved in 06, i kind of took them out of the lineup just cause i'm a stickler like that!)]

tracey thorn - raise the roof
siobhan donaghy - ghosts
just jack - i talk to much
loney, dear - saturday waits
peter bjorn & john - young folks
feist - my moon my man (boys noize remix)
rufus wainwright - sansoucci
rihanna - rehab
glen hansard & marketa irglova (ONCE the soundtrack) - falling slowly
lil mama - lip gloss (absorb the lip gloss mash up remix)
kate nash - foundations
mia - boyz
cherry ghost - 4am
sara bareilles - love song
a fine frenzy - almost lover
roisin murphy - overpowered

mika - big girl (you are beautiful) (video premiere)

mika - big girl (you are beautiful) [link 2]
[i went to go see mika last week at the nokia theatre and this song was definitely one of the biggest songs of the evening. maybe this will be the track that will bring him into the US mainstream. thanks to popjustice for the video tip and pop music kingdom for the track.]

hear good music: sara bareilles

i have to admit that whenever i get a pr push for a yet another singer/songwriter, i tend to approach the artist with a bit of caution. but in the case of california gal sara bareilles, her smooth soulful alto (yes she was an acapella geek like me!) draws you in so fast that you find yourself a fan pretty quickly.

it actually took a pre-requisite college journey abroad that inspired sara back to her creative musical longings. the italian trip re-introduced her to the piano (which she hated playing while growing up) and also was the inspiration for many of the songs that you hear on her major label debut little voice.

according to xolondon, sara went through a major bump in her career with another label over creative differences. thank goodness her current label is on the same page with handling her dynamic voice (think fiona apple meets sarah maclachlan with a bit of lovely 70's inspired musicality thrown in).

natural and honest, try to check out sara on tour with mika at the moment:
6/12 Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
6/13 Boston, MA @ Avalon Ballroom
6/15 New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
6/17 Miami, FL @ Studio A

then with rocco deluca in july:
7/03 Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
7/06 Los Angeles, CA @Henry Fonda Theatre
7/08 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
7/09 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
7/13 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
7/14 Seattle, WA @The Showbox
7/20 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe
7/21 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
7/22 Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
7/24 St. Louis, MO @ Duck Room
7/25 Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century Theatre
7/27 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Hall
7/29 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
7/31 New York, NY @The Bowery Ballroom

if you like what you hear, remember you can buy her EP for only a $1.99 on itunes.


sara bareilles - love song (live @ pctv, sundance film festival)
[catchy ditty but i'm even more impressed that she managed to make this potentially dorky appearance into a gem!]


sara bareilles - gravity (live @ fillmore, san francisco) [link 2]
[this song is amazing! probably the tune that will bring her the largest fanbase.]

cannes 2007: les chansons pop du festival

it's official, cannes 2007 is finally over for me and though i will leave with less filmic highlights than in previous years, there have been a few surprisingly conventional films that i have a feeling will end up on my year-end list.

but since this is a music blog, i thought i'd share with you some of the pop songs that have been accompanying me (whether i liked them or not) during this hectic fest.


shym - t'es parti
[catchy mid tempo r&b track from one of the contestants of nouvelle star. looks like there's some buzz around this girl. truthfully i was too tired to find out.]


emmanuel moire - ca me fait tu bien
[cutie that sings songs that remind of the simplistic chinese ballads that i grew up listening to.]


enur feat natasja - calabria 2007
[this song was everywhere. using the calabria track and throwing on a completely new vocal over it, this one works so much better than that other version that features crystal waters.]


christophe mae - on s'attache
[from theater to the pop world, there is something wonderfully sweet about his voice. definitely works for me.]


superbus - lola
[kind of cool band with an indie edge, but not quite...]


christophe willem - double je
[last year's nouvelle star winner sings like the french cousin of mika and the scissor sisters. it's weird but i like it!]


lord kossity feat chico - hotel room
[absolutely nothing original here, but they play this song everywhere and it's filtered into my conscious. oh well...]

mika - relax (take it easy) (premiere)

mika - relax (take it easy)
[3rd single off of mika's life in cartoon motion sounds the most like the scissor sisters (and that is always a good thing)]

share day: mutya & mika & mark (ronson)

i'm on a mini break, so i thought i'd leave you with some new gems for the weekend!


mutya - out of control (song for mutya)
[recorded with groove armada, the boys were actually scared to record with her since mutya seemed like a well... have you seen what the girl looks like?]


mika - love today (acoustic)
[actually this version is pretty dire, but if you're a die-hard fan you don't really care do you?]



mark ronson feat robbie williams - the only one i know
[his album of covers is wonderfully orchestrated, but kind of mediocre in the vocal department (even my gal amy winehouse sounds 'eh' on her studio version of valerie!). here he is with good ol robbie doing the classic charlatans tune.]

in store wongie: mika performs at borders march 30th in columbus circle NYC

for many of us who missed mika's showcases last month, there's another chance if you live in the NYC area this week.

our friends at borders bookstore have managed to get a post sxsw performance at their columbia circle space.

so if you're free between 4-6pm go check out our mik-ster there. i know i will.

Friday. March 30
4:00pm to 6:00pm
BORDERS – TIME WARNER CENTER
10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019

by the way, just cause i'm nice, here is the now classic grace kelly mp3 just for you (and it's legit yo!).

mika - love today (world premiere)

mika - love today
[shot in quintessential sophie mueller style (which is a good thing), every time i listen to this song, i think mika sounds like miss piggy (which can also be a good thing).]

bbc live lounge: mika & natasha bedingfield rework some current classics

mika - hips don't lie (bbc live lounge with jo whiley)
[thanks to kevipod]






natasha bedingfield - chasing cars (bbc live lounge with jo whiley)
[thanks to natasha bedingfield fansite]

mika coming to a town near you... ok, maybe not all of you

with the US FINALLY releasing mika's debut album life in cartoon motion on the 27th, the good news is that some of you will be able to check out the mikster in a few selected cities near you.

besides a few gigs at south by southwest in austin, he's also going to make appearances at the troubadour in LA (mar 25th) and the gramercy (mar 29) in nyc. i'm definitely trying to get my grubby hands on the NYC show!

see you there.