A couple news items:
Emerging British girl group, Red Blooded Women, are cool for many reasons. One being they named their band after Kylie Minogue's genius song Red Blooded Woman. Also, among their many influences are 80's music, ABBA, and the artists of today (Annie, Girls Aloud, Sugababes). They just released their debut EP called You Made Your Bed which is a hypnotic dance track. It is a grower. I didn't like it at first, but now I think it's great. The song of theirs I want to focus on here though is the amazing Synthesizer. I kind of knew I would like this song even before I heard it because I love synthesizers. The beat is nasty awesome, and the guitar just rips deliciously through the song. Also, "take my money now, feel it pumping through my veins" is a great lyric.
Girl duo alert! Electrovamp (genius name!). They are from Cardiff, UK, and are super sassy. This song came out a little while ago, their first single, and it's called I Don't Like the Vibe in the VIP. It's a super fun and funny song. It bounces along, and gets stuck in your head. The beat in the chorus reminds me of that in Put Your Hands Up for Detroit which I love. Here's the video.
British band Keane always impressed me with their beautiful, melodic piano ballads and soaring vocals. They return this October with their third album, Perfect Symmetry, with a newer, poppier, synthier sound, and I love it. This is the first song I heard from the album a few weeks ago. It's called Spiralling, and it is insanely amazing. I love the "Oooo" in the beginning, and at various points in the song. The guitar part is sick. And I love when he says "Did you wanna be in love?" Then continues the thought instead of going back to the original chorus and sings "When we fall in love, we're just falling in love with ourselves." Genius song.
Since its Olympics time, I decided to spotlight some future lovers. As a sidenote, I'm really sad the Olympics are ending today because they have been amazing and really exciting.
Swedish singer Juvelen makes awesome 80's tinged pop-funk songs.
One of my favorite new bands, Alphabeat, performed on England's The Charlotte Church Show the other night, and they did a cool, funky rendition of Sam Sparro's Black and Gold.
Demi Lovato, Disney's latest spawn, released her debut single a few weeks ago. It's called Get Back, and surprisingly, it's really good, and rocks pretty hard. The beginning sounds very Jonas Brothers, but Demi really makes the song her own. Her voice is very impressive. She has a real rock and roll voice which is surprising for a Disney star. She also knows how to sing the different parts of the song. Instead of just constant belting, she lets her voice die down at points then come roaring back. Her voice is better than Miley's, and she seems like a cooler person. The video was released the other day, and it's kind of boring, but she sells the song and wears cool red gloves. This ties with Miley's genius See You Again for best song from a Disney star.
Ladyhawke is a New Zealander who sings 80's esque pop-rock songs. This is her second single that's being released in England, Dusk Till Dawn. This song is completely 80's, and I love it. The chorus is so simple with its "doo doo doo doo doo doo", and "Bang, bang, bang on the wall from dusk till dawn" lines, but it gets stuck in your head. The video is funny with all the crazy monsters. Her album will be released here on September 30.
Calvin Harris, a British producer and singer, released an album called I Created Disco last year. This was a single off of it called The Girls. It's funny, but also an epic song to dance to. It's ridiculously catchy. YouTube wouldn't let me embed it, but here's the link to the quirky video.
Swedish songstress Lykke Li releases her debut album, Youth Novels, in the US today! Check her out. I posted some of her songs a few weeks ago. Her voice is very soft and almost delicate sounding, and she's also a wicked good dancer.
Lady GaGa, singer of ferocious summer song Just Dance, is releasing her debut album "The Fame" this fall. Here's the fierce cover art. Love it!
Blogger of all things celebrity, Perez Hilton, had a chance encounter with one of his recent targets, Ms. Miley Cyrus the other day, and she had some words for him. This whole encounter sounds really funny. She's a little deeve! Check it out!
Solange Knowles, Beyonce's younger sister, has been putting out some amazing songs this year. I don't think anyone was expecting that from her. Her songs have an old school vibe to them, and are much more daring and original than Beyonce's. Solange's second single off her awesomely titled album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, is the upbeat, sunny Sandcastle Disco. The video is full of bright colors, cute images, and beautiful dresses. Solange looks amazing. The feathery yellow outfit at the end is fierce. This song, like first single I Decided, takes a listen or two before you realize how great it is. I'm really loving it.
I saw a trailer for a great looking movie today. It's called Happy-Go-Lucky, and it stars British actress Sally Hawkins who gave a great performance in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream earlier this year. This is a big starring role for her. She plays a London girl named Poppy who has a very optimistic outlook. It's about her adventures, and her encounters with people who aren't as enthusiastic as she is about life. It looks very funny and sweet. Kate Nash's Merry Happy is played in the trailer which makes me love it even more.
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson took US Women's Gymnastics to victory last night in Beijing. Lukin took the gold and Johnson took the silver. The floor, beam, uneven bars, and vault were all very intense and exciting. I am continually amazed at these gymnasts who can do the most awesome things with their bodies. Johnson is so friggin' cute. I love her. She and Nastia were really well spoken and sweet when interviewed by possibly toupeed Bob Costas. I really enjoy the commentary and general zaniness of Bela Karolyi, the former Women's gymnastics coach. He loves the sport so much and has so much amusing energy.
Swimmer Ryan Lochte who lives in the shadow of Michael Phelps, who continues to be an inspiration for all of America, won his first gold medal in the Olympics ever the other night in the 200m backstroke final! He beat teammate Aaron Peirsol who came in second. I love Lochte, more than Phelps. Congrats!
This year has graced us with the return of New Kids on the Block with the catchy yet somewhat creepy single "Summertime" and their follow up "Single", a good slow song, featuring luscious lipped R & B crooner Ne-Yo. The Jonas Brothers have taken over the country and become pop idols with their pop-rock anthems. Then, the UK has graced us with a new boy band, Avenue (below), that is actually really good based on their first song, the bouncy "Last Goodbye" (posted here last month). The lyrics feature some details and nuances and aren't that cliched. 
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is one of those summer movies that you go to with your friends and you laugh and you cry. It's going to be cute and a bit cliched you know before you even walk in, and I am completely alright with cliche. Well, for this second movie, the gals are back together or at least at a few points during the movie. It's the summer after freshman year in college and the girls return to do their ritual with the pants only to find they will all be parting ways this summer. This is news to Carmen (America Ferrara) who wants to keep the tradition alive with the ritual, and she quickly realizes she has to find something to do to. Bridget (the gorgeous Blake Lively) goes on an archealogical dig in Turkey, only to realize she needs to go see the grandmother she hasn't seen in years. She is partly guided to this decision by the leader of her dig, the Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo with the crazy low frog-Jabba the Hut voice. She is my new favorite person. So Bridget goes to find her grandma (Blythe Danner, rocking a Southern accent) in Alabama, and she finally comes to terms with her mother's suicide. Carmen goes to Vermont to help out at theater festival thanks to her semi-bitch Yale actress friend who's really tall where she ends up getting a part in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale thanks to a British boy with ridiculously perfect hair (Tom Wisdom). Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) spends the summer in New York, writing a script and experiencing a pregnancy scare after a night with her fiiiiiiine boyfriend, Brian ( Leonardo Nam). This is a really great plotline because both actors portray their relationship wonderfully. Lena (the porcelain-skinned Alexis Bledel) is talking a figure drawing class at RISD, where she has a fling with the model for the class (the fiiiiine Jesse Williams) which leads to some funny moments. All of this results in a trip to Greece that is a nice way to close the film. As you can tell this movie is epic. Their are so many things going on, I never felt like I was ever getting comfortable in any of the girls lives. Those girls are wonderful though. America Ferrara brings her usual heart and soul to her performance as Carmen, and watching her come out of her shell is nice. Blake Lively, current It Girl, gets lots of chances to emote, but thinking about it, she is the only current young actress who could play Bridget. Amber Tamblyn is the standout with her funny, sarcastic, and sad performance as Tibby. Her expressions convey so much, and Tibby becomes a complex, lovable character, much more of a complete person than she was in the first movie. Alexis Bledel, as Lena, is simply stunning, the most beautiful she's ever been. Her skin is a delicate pale, and she is put in classy summer dresses. Her story is sweet, and Bledel gets to show off some of her comedy chops. Though the cliches are present, these girls are so lovable, you don't mind.
A Girl Cut in Two-A wicked intense and suspenseful-looking French movie, about a weatherwoman and her two lovers (one older and the other a crazy young thing). The movie stars Ludivine Sagnier as the girl. She gave a terrifc performance in the French musical movie Love Songs. Here's the trailer!
The new Sugababes single, Girls, premiered on a radio show in England this morning, and it is fantastic. I didn't love it after the first listen, but then, it just got better and better. It uses a sample of a soul song called Here Come the Girls, that was used in a British TV commercial last Christmas. The song still keeps that soul sound present with the horn parts. The "here come the girls" part is very catchy. The song will be released October 6 followed by their sixth album on October 20. YESS! 
Scarlett Johansson or Scar Jo as she is called in smaller circles was on the Jay Leno show last Friday night to promote her new movie with Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and she was very funny and pleasant. I want to be friends with her. She has a great sense of humor. Check it out. It's a good interview.
I just heard this great new British band called Late of the Pier. They are ridiculously awesome.
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Joshua Allen, the adorable, barely trained street dancer, won SYTYCD last night. I really wanted him to win. He had the sweetest, most genuine personality. He is truly an inspiration.
Here are trailers for two movies I was reading about today:
Pop diva, Kylie Minogue, makes me so happy with her disco-electro-synth-80's-pop songs. Here is a song from her 2000 album "Light Years". It's called "Spinning Around", and it is just so fun. Pure modern disco genius. She also looks amazing in the video especially in them gold hot pants!!
Here are some photos of teen stars at Monday's Teen Choice Awards.
Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick, the deliciously nasty couple on Gossip Girl, rock it out on the carpet. Leighton is the shiz!
Welsh soul singer, Duffy, made her Boston debut on Tuesday night and yours truly was there to witness it (notice the lovely photo taken on my camera phone). Duffy took to the stage for a short set that was the perfect length. Coming out in a polka dotted romper she looked like a 40's pinup. She was sporting her signature red heels that can be seen in the video for her hit "Mercy". Her voice was amazing live, better than on the record. She has a kind of awkward yet lovable dance moves personality to her. My personal favorite part of her performance besides the singing would be the many times she would swing her microphone around on its wire (sassy DIVA). She would also strike some divatastic poses. She was so cute. I love her. The thing that marks the true success of a concert especially a concert with a new artist where you only know a few songs is whether they can get you into their other songs. Duffy succeeded with this. I had listened to clips of her other songs, but that hadn't grabbed me as much as "Mercy", "Warwick Avenue", and "Delayed Devotion". Then, when she sang them, her beautiful voice turned them into yearning, soulful love songs. She sang a great version of "Rockferry", and "Syrup & Honey" was a superb, aching vocal performance. "Serious" bounced buoyantly along, and "Warwick Avenue" soared. Duffy performed "Stepping Stone", the jubilant"Distant Dreamer", and a great, upbeat B-side to "Mercy" called "Tomorrow". "Delayed Devotion" was lovely and "Mercy", the last song before the encore, made me smile with its infectiousness. She was fun having the audience respond to her saying "Hello, Boston" repeatedly because she loved saying it. A wonderful set by a rising star.
