Interview: Eefje de Visser
29 June, 2011 8:59 PM
Eefje rose to fame after winning the 2009 GPVN, which didn't only made her an act to watch but also a really popular one. The folk acoustic singer, mainly known for her soft and sweet vocals, often accompanied with a slow guitar melody, then went to release her debut album, "De Koek" on January 7, 2011, which charted #35 and lasted 12 weeks on the charts. With great catchy sounds and a cool lyrical style, Eefje stands out from your typical singer/songwriters and that's why I like her! She's not about making a deep confusing song, she's all catchy fun and well written tunes. And I can't help loving such a feel good artist! Eefje recently answered some questions for me and you know the result is amazing.
Interview and videos after the JUMP ...
The Voice US 2011: Top 4 Perform: The Final!
28 June, 2011 10:54 PM
UPDATE: Javier Colon is the winner! Dia Frampton was the Runner Up!
We saw the best contestants advancing last week from each team, quirky Dia Frampton, soulful Javier Colon, folkish Vicci Martinez and rocker Beverly McClellan. With the judges scores being completely useless and the results being incrediblly predictable, given that the contestants each were the one which had charted better of their team. Tonight, the top 4 will perform an origial song and they will be duetting with their mentors! Who will be crowned the winner?.... This is The Voice!
Comments, ratings and videos after the JUMP ...
X Factor France 2011: The Final! Marina D'Amico vs Matthew Raymond-Barker
6:18 PM
UPDATE: THE WINNER IS MATTHEW RAYMOND-BAKER!!!!! Marina D'Amico is the runner up. And let's thank Chansong once more, who provided the translations every week! See you next year girl!
This is finally it!! Last week, the jazzy quirky Maryvette Lair was cut coming at 3rd place leaving the youngsters to battle it out in the final show. The big voiced pop star Marina D'Amico vs the dancing acoustic guy Matthew Raymond-Baker! Who will be crowned the winner after tonight??! ... It's time to face the music!
This is finally it!! Last week, the jazzy quirky Maryvette Lair was cut coming at 3rd place leaving the youngsters to battle it out in the final show. The big voiced pop star Marina D'Amico vs the dancing acoustic guy Matthew Raymond-Baker! Who will be crowned the winner after tonight??! ... It's time to face the music!
Comments, ratings, videos and translations after the JUMP ...
My Top 50 Reality Singers: Quirky Countdown
26 June, 2011 5:43 PM
Are you ready for a new section? I am! I know I sometimes start a new section, or just say I will, and never actually finish them or even start them. But that won't be the case here! I will start and finish this section! Even if it takes me 4 or 5 months, which probably will. Haha. Let's hope that doesn't happen though.
So, what's this section about? Well, you all know that I'm a heavy watcher of singing reality competitions. I've watched since Idol to X Factor to The Voice to Got Talent in the hopes of finding this quirky amazing undiscovered talent. And I'm confident to say I've found a bunch! This will be a list type section in which I'll post my top 50 contestants in every singing competition that exists based on Idol/XF/The Voice/Got Talent formats. Yeah, you've heard it right, every single one of them! And no, I'm not lying to you, I've watched all the contestants I could, more than a 1000 and selected the ones that impressed me enough for this list.
Yes, that was both super hard and I got really overloaded by this people. All contestants that made it to the semi finals were elegible for this list, so that was extra hard. I narrowed the more than 1000 people to 660 aprox, still a huge number of people. So how did I whittle this number to just 50? Well, I selected the contestants that I remembered and where quirky enough for the next cut, and I ended up with 130 or so contestants. Then a ranking and I ended up with the 50!
So if I haven't already bore you, I'll expand a bit more on what I considered when choosing this contestants. The basis is the weirder the better! I love the weirdos, I can't help it. For females, I love the crazy contestans with unique recognizable voices, with this quriky distinctive thing. And for males, I tend to like this intense sort of acousitc folkish guys, again with really recognizable voices. So this list will have lots of that!
Obviously, this list is extremely biased and I bet that you'll be left with a major WTF? after looking at the rankings. This contestants would not even make it to the final postitons of any similar lists. I like to say that this list is unique, as the contestants on it, cause I've not seen any list that considers every contestant in the world nor selects them considering how crazy they are. That said, the contestants select are all a bit new, 2007 to 2011, but that doesn't mean that I've not watched past seasons. The fact is that in recent years, quirky contestants have been more common than in the past, where diva types where the only popular contestants. I'll be updating this list once a year, or every 6 months after it's posted, with the new talent that appears every year!
Below, there's a .txt file to prove that I actually watched all this people with a list of the 660 people that I originally chose. I'll be also providing clues on each of the contestants before I post them, for example, there will be a clue on who is 4th in the 5th placer post. I'd like to see what your guesses are!
Ok, I won't keep talking, I'll start with my Honorable Mentions. And one more thing, I want to know what you think about it, so COMMENT!!!
Download the full list with 660 HERE
Dutch Week: Introducing: Lake Montgomery
24 June, 2011 8:00 PM
Lake Montgomery, which is actually her real name, was born in the small town of Paris, Texas but now is residing in Amsterdam while trying to have a carrer in the music bussines of the dutch scene. With a really appealing vibrato, her voice sounds really unique in her music, which is folk without doubt. Lake is now part of the Popronde 2011, a tour around the Netherlands which features many promising new artists and is prepairing to release her debut EP, which is already available for pre-order. I guess moving to Amsterdam actually paid off for her! I wonder how she would have done in the american market, but considering this one is much bigger, the dutch one, which is considerably smaller is great for her. Let's see how well it goes for her after her EP is out, but right now, things look really good for Lake!
Videos after the JUMP ...
Dutch Week: Introducing: Annalou the Brave
7:25 PM
Site HERE
MySpace HERE
Definitely the most enigmatic artist in the list. And you are probably asking why now. Well, cause there's nothing about her anywhere! The only things we know is that she's dutch and comes from Utrecht ... and that's it! So why writing a post about her? Well, cause she's super interesting! The only song she's, titled "The Weaving Loom", shows a folky, very bluegrass influenced sound, with her charming and intriguing vocals. She's an artist to watch. Let's see what else she brings us but I see a lot of promise here!
Video after the JUMP ...
X Factor France 2011: Top 3 Perform
3:17 PM
UPDATE: Maryvette Lair is cut! Marina and Matthew are in the final!
Losing Sarah Manesse last week was a huge loss for the show. A three girl semi final would have been amazing but instead, we've got Matthew. He's not a bad singer but the girls outsang him. Tonight each contestant will sing three songs, two new ones plus their original audition song. Who will be going home tonight? ... It's time to face the music!
Comments, ratings, videos and translations after the JUMP ...
Interview: Krystl
2:27 PM
Site HERE
Twitter HERE
Facebook HERE
Raising artist, Krystl is one of the biggest dutch promises of this year. Signed with Universal and winner of several awards, such as the 3FM Award for Best Newcomer, the jazzy singer has just released her debut album, "Rolling", this past May and has already recived a lot of praise for it, charting at #8. The album is definitely one of the highlights of the year, with it's soul pop sound, very similar to Anouk's but with a much softer vibe. The "Bottles" singer recently answered some questions for me and the result is super interesting, so be sure to read the interview!
Interview and videos after the JUMP ...
Catching Up With: Florrie: Experiments EP + New Music Videos
23 June, 2011 5:12 PM
The great Florrie finally released her second EP, "Experiments", on June 14, 2011 instead of the planned May 26. Well, I can tell you that this delay was worth it! Despite reciving some big offers, she's still unsigned, basically cause she wants to have total control of her work, a good move for now if you ask me. Once more, she delivers some really strong material all in her characteristical 60s retro vibe matched with some fresh electro beats. I hope she gets her deal soon and releases a much better album!
Music videos and EP link after the JUMP ...
The Voice US 2011: Top 8 Perform: The Semi-Final!
1:57 PM
The semi final is starting!! Two contestants from each team will perform tonight and only one of them will advance to the final based on the audience score and the judges score. Who will be the final four? .... This is The Voice!
Comments, ratings and videos after the JUMP ...
Catching Up With: Sarah: New Single, Okay + Wedding?
22 June, 2011 7:09 PM
Site HERE
UPDATE: MUSIC VIDEO ADDED! So I officialy like this song much more after watching this video!! Sarah does an impressive job and the video/song relation and the message it has is great. Plus I love the way it's filmed. Sarah, I can say I'm officialy a fan! Haha. Can't wait for that album!
Back in March we saw the teen lesbian Sarah being crowned as the 4th winner of the Danish XF. The youngster had impressed everyone, but me, with her throaty hoarse voice and an incredible knowledge of who she was. Her first single then went to top the danish charts and now she's back with her newest single, "Okay", which was released on June 17, and is already at #4. I don't doubt it will go to #1 by the end of the month. Still not a fan of her singing in danish but she's getting better, I like it much more than her debut. Her voice definitely sounds more powerful and I'm starting to like it's sound more but I still found this song a bit boring, it lacks some momentum, it all goes a bit flat for me. Waiting for her album sitll, which comes out on August 8, 2011 and is already available for pre-order. On other news, Sarah is apparently getting married to her girlfriend, Frederikke, after Sarah proposed to her and she accepted. Aren't them a bit to young? I think so, but congrats! I guess.
Listen and buy "Okay", plus pre-order the album after the JUMP ....
Interview: Yori Swart
19 June, 2011 5:17 PM
Yori Swart is one of the most promising dutch acts of this past years. Winning several awards and compiting in major ones such as the GPVN, this folk soul singer is set to take the world by storm with her upcoming debut album, which is set for release on October. With a similar sound to Annie De Franco meets Brandi Carlile, Yori is already showing a lot of promise with her raspy voice and her cool guitar skills. With only a few songs out, such as "Secretly Sleeping", which she wrote in an hour, this raising star, if not a breakthrough act, answered some questions for me some weeks ago in which we discussed her style, her past and her album. So be sure to read about such an interesting artist!
Interview and videos after the JUMP ...
Music Video: Bright Light Bright Light: How To Make A Heart
18 June, 2011 3:36 PM
When I first spotted him, I called him the new Electro King. He then was the runner up of the MDS Sound of 2011. Now, Bright Light x2 is presenting us his new muisc video, "How To Make A Heart", from his upcoming album "Make Me Believe in Hope". The music video has a futuristical approach and is sole animation. With this song, Rod brings us once more his shiny musical style. It's an incrediblly catchy tune, specially it's chorus, with his amazing vocals, a rare thing in electro music. This song is definitely an instant favourite and if all the songs in his album are going to be like this, I can tell you now that it will be amazing.
Video and free download after the JUMP ....
The Voice US 2011: Top 16 Perform: The Second Quarter Final!
17 June, 2011 11:52 PM
The live shows kicked off last week with a not so impressing start hosted by Team Blake and Team Xtina. Tonight Adam's and Cee Lo's contestants will battle against each other to stay in the competition! Plus, we've got results from last week show! Who will advance? And most importantly, who'll impress tonight? .... This is The Voice!
Comments, ratings and videos after the JUMP ...
Interview: Lucky Fonz III
11:15 PM
Otto Wichers, known as Lucky Fonz III, has been gaining a lot of hype in the Netherlands recently. Winner of prestigious awards such as the Grote Prijs van Nederland, one of the biggest actually, his music combines folk music with classical elements, plus a really unique mix of instruments. He recently answered some questions for me and the results were really interesting, such as it's name meaning, Dolly Parton and Afrikaans?
Read the interview, buy his albums and check some videos after the JUMP ...
Music Video: iamamiwhoami: ; john
10:38 PM
MDS Sound of 2011 winner is offically back!! After a 6 moth absence, which killed a little of the initial hype imo, the wierdness is making it's return with the great "; john". I could describe the whole video to you, but nothing describes it better than a single word, wierd. And that's what this project is about, being as strange as possible but all following a really intriguing story arc which you have to follow since the start to have a chance of understanding it, and even doing so, I tell you it won't be possible. If "Lost" was a singer, it'll be iamamiwhoami! And as I didn't understand the series finale, I doubt I'll understand this one either.
Video after the JUMP ...
Music Video: Alex Winston: Sister Wife
8:11 PM
With one of the most unique and quirky voices of the MDS Sound of 2011, it wasn't hard for me to love Alex. Now, being recently signed by Island Def Jam, she's back with her new amazing music video for her song "Sister Wife" of the EP of the same name. It's hard to understand the video meaning. Like, why there's a cat spitting blood in her face? Why is there a tornado inside her house? Leaving the really wierd aspect aside, the video is really enjoyable cause you never know what is going to happen! And her voice? Given that she's channeling Kate Bush while fighting against paranormal events, I can say it's lovely.
Watch the music video and buy the album, plus a chill inducing acoustic "Locomotive" after the JUMP ....
X Factor France 2011: Top 4 Perform
5:29 PM
UPDATE: Sarah Manesse is cut!! Why France??? WHY??!!! Maryvette was B2.
We finally got rid of the boring Florian last week, who ruined his chances with his sleepy song choices and his mediocre pronunciation. Now we have four amazing finalists! Two amazing girls, an Over and a boy! The quirky Sarah, jazzy Maryvette, soulful Matthew and perfect Marina. Who will fail tonight? Plus Cameron Diaz is judging the kids in the first half! ... It's time to face the music!
Comments, ratings, videos and translations after the JUMP ...
Interview: Ape Not Mice
11 June, 2011 8:24 PM
Site HERE
Fronted by jazz singer Diede Claesen, Ape Not Mice is one of the coolest new bands coming from the Netherlands. With a retro sound that evoques the sound of jazz legends, the band, who has just released their first album "Every Stain Tells a Story" this past May, are coming strong making a great impact in the dutch music scene. Wether you love them or not, (and if you don't something is wrong with you, but that's another story), be sure to check this amazing stuff, you won't regret it. After all, with such an interesting name, nothing bad can come from them!
Read the interview, buy the album and check some videos after the JUMP ...
X Factor Netherlands 2011: Top 2 Perform: The Final!
10 June, 2011 6:57 PM
ROCHELLE PERTS WINS!! She got the 73% of the votes! Wow!
It's the final showdown. Rochelle vs Adlicious. The rapper full of swagger vs the amazing group with a lot of sass! Who will take the crown tonight? Neither have been in the B2 before, so it's anybodys game. Let the finale begin! ... It's time to face the music!
Comments, videos and ratings AFTER THE JUMP ....
The Voice US 2011: Top 16 Perform: The First Quarter Final!
07 June, 2011 10:23 PM
After the exciting and refreshing blind auditions and battle rounds, well, at least the first one cause after it, despite being enjoyable, all of them lacked singing and were drama stuffed, covering 1 hour with four performances is really hard after all. Tonight, The Voice goes live for the first time!! 8 performances and a 2 hour show, Team Christina and Team Blake will perform tonight. Adam's and Cee Lo's the next one. Let's see if the talent is good enough to do it though .... This is The Voice!
Comments, ratings and videos after the JUMP ...
X Factor France 2011: Top 5 Perform
10:23 PM
UPDATE: Florian Giustiniani is eliminated!! Matthew was B2.
A guy was finally eliminated last week. Unfortunately, it was Raphaël Herrieras, who had been tipped to win it all since the start, instead of much inferior Florian. Tonight, the remaining 5 contestants will perform two times to impress the viewers and make it into the top 4! One will be sent packing. Will it be frequent B2 landers Sarah or Maryvette? Or will it be a newster like Marina, Florian or Matthew? ... It's time to face the music!
Comments, ratings, videos and translations after the JUMP ...
Interview: Shoes and Socks Off
06 June, 2011 9:51 PM
Site HERE
With such an unusual name, this english artist music will certainly leave an impression on you. With a folkish acoustic sound, Tobias's soulful voice and his witty lyrics all make the great musical project he's been developing for a while. He was nice enough to answer some questions for me recently, such as the meaning of his name and his albums meanings.
Read the interview, buy his music and watch some videos after the JUMP ...
Read the interview, buy his music and watch some videos after the JUMP ...
X Factor Denmark 2011: The Ratings!
05 June, 2011 2:52 PM
Now that almost three months have passed, it's time to look once again at the latest season of the danish XF, which saw teenager Sarah taking the crown with Annelouise as the runner up. But did the right person won? Where did each contestant ranked in my list? And where did they charted in bong's? I want to know what you think too!!! Comment!!
Ratings and videos after the JUMP ...
Interview: Goodwin Sands
1:07 AM
Site HERE
Acoustic and intimate music always works better, and more if it's folk, so why not taking that same sound to the studio? Well, that's what Goodwin Sands is all about! With such an unique name and an interesting mix of dutchs and english, the result can't be anything but a great band and they definitely have the sound I love! And without further introduction, here you have our interview!
Read the interview and watch some videos after the JUMP ...
Interview: Hanneke Willems
04 June, 2011 5:32 PM
Site HERE
YouTube HERE
With one of the most memorable auditions of this years dutch XF, Hanneke Willems was seen cut just before making it to the liveshows. Still, that initial audition was enough to impress me and many viewers and now that some months have passed, I interviewed Hanneke to see what was going on in her life now. A new band, an EP and getting married is what's next for her! Want to know more?
Read the interview, watch her audition and some new videos after the JUMP ...
X Factor Netherlands 2011: Top 4 Perform: The Final Countdown
1:33 AM
UPDATE: Sim'Ran is cut at 4th! Rolf Weink is cut at 3rd! Rochelle and Adlicious advance to the final!
We said goodbye to Pyke Pos last week, the last remaining Over, leaving us with two groups, one girl and one guy. Tonight, not one but two contestants will say goodbye, with only the best to advancing to last weeks grand finale! Who's excited? I am!... It's time to face the music!
Comments, videos and ratings AFTER THE JUMP ....
Album Review: Anouk: To Get Her Together
03 June, 2011 11:36 PM
Site HERE
YouTube HERE
With already ten albums under her sleeve, Anouk certainly knows what success is. With seven of her albums charting #1 and the majority of them going platinum, she has positioned herself as one of the biggest dutch stars. Her newest album, "To Get Her Together", was released on May 20 and having already gone platinum since then, it won't dissapoint.
Read the review, buy the album and check some songs after the JUMP ...
X Factor France 2011: Top 6 Perform
01 June, 2011 3:17 PM
UPDATE: Raphaël Herrerias is eliminated!! Sarah was B2.
2nde Nature was finally cut and we all laughed in joy when Padovani lost his final act. Tonight, the remaining 6, a great top 6, will battle once more to stay in the competition. 3 guys, 2 girls and an over. How great is that? ... It's time to face the music!
Comments, ratings, videos and translations after the JUMP ...
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