Samantha Jade - Firestarter

"You can be my fire starter"

The very deserving winner of last year's X-Factor Australia, Samantha Jade, has just unleashed her next single on us. For those unfamiliar with her, imagine if Kylie Minogue opened up a school for aspiring pop stars. Samantha would be valedictorian. She's like an honorary Minogue. I'm not sure I'm as into this song as her last release, but I have a lot of goodwill towards this girl and I really want to see her become a success. As far as I'm concerned, XF AU is three for three when it comes to their winners. It'll be interesting to see what happens this Fall with a (half) different judging panel, coincidentally featuring a Minogue among them!



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Midnight Boy and Nicole Saboune in concert!

I've got something a little different for today, because two of Sweden's (and the world's) most exciting new stars recently gave awesome, intimate mini-concerts in their home country and both are available to stream online! I was especially impressed with the unheard tracks from Midnight Boy. Sounds REALLY good, especially Security and Butterflies. I need to hear the studio versions ASAP. Hopefully, we'll get some news on when both of these acts' debut albums/EPs/etc come out. Sweden is on the rise once more!

Midnight Boy


Nicole Saboune

The Limousines - Scream Please

"I see you here and then away you go"

There are a few albums I've had on high rotation recently, yet haven't had much of an opportunity to write about on here. The Limousines' recent project is definitely in that category. I did feature their single, Love Is A Dog From Hell, a few weeks ago. It's still the best track on the album, but there are a few more standouts worth highlighting. Scream Please is one of the most instant, most melodic, and poppiest songs the band has recorded. It has a real warm vibe to it, with bright synths and a playful melody that sticks after one listen -- kind of like the work of Sweden's Tough Alliance. It wouldn't make a bad second single, actually.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.