But you stood by my side, night after night, light up the night – you loved me back to life

Posted in Artist to Watch, Commercial, Europe, Music, Pop, To Look Out For, United States with tags , , , , , , on May 19, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

In 2006 Australian singer Sia caught my attention in a big way when she released the best ballad to have ever been recorded in my opinion, titled “Breathe Me”. It was not long after this that she announced that she was done with music and I was disappointed that she hadn’t received the international attention she deserved. Skip to almost seven years later and she didn’t quite give up on her musical passion as anticipated, though she did start focusing a bit more on the writing side of things. I’ve really enjoyed hearing her vocals on radio hits “Titanium” (David Guetta) and “Wild Ones” (Flo Rida) but I give her top credits for writing and giving back-up vocals to one of the biggest songs of the last year - Rihanna‘s “Diamonds”. 

While it has been a while since she’s put out a single by herself, I am excited to hear that she might be working on some material for a new solo era. A track of hers that I want to share with you today is a demo that (rumour has it) was passed up on by a couple of big pop names in the industry, though I’m not quite sure why. “Loved Me Back To Life” is a song I stumbled across this past week and I have been hooked on the melody in the chorus since first listen. As with “Diamonds”, the song finds a perfect combination between emotional vocal and a solid beat. This has worked time and time again on an international level and in my own songwriting I have changed my approach as a result of following her writing style closely for the last year.

I draw quite a few comparisons to this song and “Acid Rain” (Alexis Jordan) and I do hope that it will end up somewhere with an artist that will be able to do something special with it. My first thought was that it should go straight to Def Jam (Rihanna) but I also don’t know if it’s quite the right fit for her. Maybe I’m just too infatuated with Sia’s vocal on this one that I would like for her to put it out by herself. I guess only time will tell!

Keep an eye out for Sia in the coming months as word is she’s been in studio with No Doubt and Katy Perry so I imagine there will be a lot of her going round on international radio as we head into the latter stages of 2013.

What do you think about “Loved Me Back To Life”?

Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @conradwashere.

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Through the fire, through the flames, ya hey – you won’t even say your name, ya hey

Posted in Artist to Watch, Commercial, Europe, Indie, Music, To Look Out For, Top 40, United Kingdom, United States with tags , , on May 19, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

I have a new musical obsession in the form of Vampire Weekend! I’ve always kept an eye on the New York based band but never as much as the last couple of months and I’ve been dying to post about them for you guys. Their latest album, Modern Vampires of the City was released just this week coupled with singles “Diane Young” and the song I want to share with you today, which is called “Ya Hey”. I’ve been listening to it on repeat not only for it’s quirky wordplay but because the chorus is just so bizarre and addictive. The whole feel of the song reminds me quite a bit of Passion Pit‘s “Take a Walk” and also “Midnight City” by M83 (potentially a mixture of these two tracks). I am definitely a fan of this sound and I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of their new album.

Critical reviews of the album have been strong already, so it seems the wait from 2010′s Contra will have been a worthwhile one to fans around the world. I’ve read that the guys are taking a couple of experimental risks with this project and from following PDE you’ll know that I’m a fan of bands taking that approach for the sake of progressing with the times and keeping relevant. Hopefully the album will debut strongly on Billboard this coming week and I’m looking forward to seeing how the guys promote “Ya Hey” going forward. The live performances could prove quite interesting. Keep an ear out for this project and make sure you support the era by buying your copy of their new album.

What do you think about “Ya Hey”?

Let me know in the comments section or drop me a tweet @conradwashere.

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Singing Radiohead at the top our lungs, with the boombox blaring as we’re falling in love – got a bottle of whatever but it’s getting us drunk, singing here’s to never growing up

Posted in Artist to Watch, Commercial, Music, Pop, To Look Out For, United States with tags , , , , on May 19, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

And she’s back! Avril Lavigne is prepping for the release of her fifth studio album later this year and what I have to share with you today is the lead single from the project – a song called “Here’s To Never Growing Up”. Co-written by Lavigne, David Hodges and Lavigne’s husband-to-be Chad Kroeger, “Here’s To Never Growing Up” is Avril at her radio pop best. Reviews have been positive all-round even though similarities have been made to previous smash singles “Raise Your Glass”, “Cheers” & “We R Who We R”. When I first heard a snippet of the song I immediately thought to Rihanna‘s “Cheers”, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Currently the song is at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it is one to watch in the next month considering the music video was just released, and it has raked up over 10 000 000 hits already. The video depicts an Avril Lavigne looking similar to her “Sk8er Boi” days and it’s amazing to think that she doesn’t really look any older than the teenager we were introduced to on “Complicated”. I’m definitely a fan of this song and I hope you are too, so be sure to get your copy of it via iTunes if you like what you hear and support Avril by requesting the song on your local radio station.

What do you think about “Here’s To Never Growing Up?”

Let me know by leaving a comment or tweeting @conradwashere.

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I have these thoughts, so often I ought to replace that slot with what I once bought – ’cause somebody stole my car radio and now I just sit in silence

Posted in Artist to Watch, Commercial, Electro, Music, To Look Out For, Top 40, United States with tags , on May 19, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

It has been a while since my last post, and in the time since my last one I’ve discovered a couple of amazing new artists that I will be sharing with you going forward! The first of these is Ohio based band Twenty one pilots, who burst onto the scene a couple of months ago thanks to a song I’m still playing on repeat called “Holding on to You”. Signed to Fueled By Ramen, these guys are definitely a band to watch and I am particularly interested in getting a hold of their full length major debut Vessel, which was released back in January.

While you should definitely check out “Holding on to You” I’d like to draw your attention to the latest single from the project today – “Car Radio” hasn’t been serviced to radio just yet but it is definitely also a track to keep an eye on in the next month or so. Starting as a piano ballad, the track progresses into an electro breakdown that is something unique and special. The video is a little intense and while I don’t think it is the strongest song lyrically I do like what I hear and I like the direction these guys are going in. I’ve always said that a mix of genres is the way to go for any artists and these guys are bringing a fine balance of pop, rock and electro through their released. I’m excited to see what they do next.

Make sure you request the band on your local radio station and be sure to keep an eye out for them, as rumour has it that they are already working on a new album, due early next year.

What do you think about “Car Radio”?

Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @conradwashere.

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And I don’t even know – back down, to get together

Posted in Music with tags on March 22, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

Seattle based Telekinesis is someone I stumbled across on the internet today, thanks to the interesting music video concept for a song called “Ghosts & Creatures”. I enjoyed both the song and the video on first listen and I figured I would share it with you on this Friday morning. Fronted by 26-year old Michael Benjamin Lerner, the Telekinesis project has been a work in progress for the past five years.

While little information is available regarding the project in general, I do know that he is preparing for the release of a new LP called Dormarion in 2013. I’m looking forward to keeping an eye and an ear out and getting a feel for this guy and his sound as we head into the middle stages of this year. Be sure to support it if you like what you hear by requesting “Ghosts & Creatures” on your local radio station in the meantime.

What do you think about “Ghosts & Creatures”?

Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @conradwashere.

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There will come a time where you will need your friends tonight – where you will need someone tonight

Posted in Artist to Watch, Europe, Indie, Music, Music Videos, To Look Out For, Top 40, United Kingdom with tags on March 22, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

Noah & The Whale is back and ready to promote a brand new studio album! The English indie rockers are prepping to start promoting Heart of Nowhere this year and today I am excited to bring you the song and video for “There Will Come a Time”, the lead single from the project. Traditional fans of the band (who were on board with “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N”) will appreciate this one as a solid effort and so far fan response has been generally positive. The single premiered officially on BBC Radio 1 yesterday to fairly positive reviews and I’m hoping it makes the A-playlist sometime in the coming weeks. The music video concept is quite an interesting one and the execution is decent. I’ll leave it to you and your opinion.

Be sure to support these guys if you like what you hear and keep an ear and an eye out for Heart of Nowhere a little later this year.

What do you think about “There Will Come a Time”?

Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @conradwashere.

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I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22 – everything will be alright, if you keep me next to you

Posted in Artist to Watch, Commercial, Music, Pop, Top 40, United Kingdom, United States with tags , , , on March 22, 2013 by Conrad Schwellnus

Having sold 4 million copies in the US and over 5.4 million internationally, it seems Big Machine is in no mood to slow down the promotional era for Taylor Swift‘s Red. Singles “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” were smash hits on pop radio across the board, but this month a new track is being serviced to the mainstream/Top 40 format. “22″ is the official next single from the project. Produced by Max Martin and Shellback, “22″ is radio gold for Swift and I am doubtful that anyone will bet against it reaching the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’d like to share it with you today considering the video is already sitting on 12 000 000 views after being online for just a week.

In an interview with Billboard magazine, she had the following to say about being 22, which I found very interesting:

“For me, being 22 has been my favorite year of my life. I like all the possibilities of how you’re still learning, but you know enough. You still know nothing, but you know that you know nothing. You’re old enough to start planning your life, but you’re young enough to know there are so many unanswered questions.”

The young singer is showing no signs of slowing down and I would urge you to get your copy of the song on iTunes or Amazon if you like what you hear.

What do you think about “22″?

Let me know in the comments section or tweet me @conradwashere.

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