Fanfair perform acoustic version of new track 'As I Am'

Our fave new girlband on the block Fanfair have turned out another great acoustic version - this time it's one of their brand new tracks As I Am.

Showcasing the girls' beautiful vocal harmonies, As I Am shows a real maturity to the group and positions them as a band with real substance as well as the good-time fun of their previous live track, The Vaccine.

A bittersweet ode to personal insecurities the track abounds with lines confessing the pressures a girl has to put up with these days: 'there's a woman in the mirror and I'm wondering will you love her... take me as I am because I can only be me'.

It's heartfelt stuff and we love this stripped back, sensitive take on the track!

Being busy girls, the band have also recorded some special how-to make-up vids in conjunction with leading brand Collection 2000. You can watch Roberta and Aimee's videos on the band's official YouTube page.

Rebecca Ferguson - Nothing's Real But Love (Acoustic Version)

More from one of our favourite X Factor stars - It's Rebecca Ferguson with her long awaited debut single Nothing's Real But Love.

What we like most about Rebecca is that she's the contestant that doesn't need any gimmicks, she doesn't have to hide behind a flamboyant persona or over-produced backing tracks - and never is this proved more true than on this gorgeous stripped back acoustic version of the song.

Nothing's Real But Love is released on the 28th November.

Fanfair - The Vaccine (Acoustic Version)

For the latest in the series of Fanfair's cheery acoustic versions, they take things right back to the start with a new version of the first song they ever recorded together.

If you've not heard The Vaccine before, it's a deliciously flirty number, all cheeky innuendo and bluesy guitar.

After all, it's hard not to like a song featuring a chorus of: 'we're loving daily fixes of your intravenous kisses'.

If after watching this, you find you've caught the Fanfair bug too, your next port of call should definitely be the girls' website - http://www.fanfairmusic.com/ - where you can listen to more of their tracks.

Parade party it up in Hoxton Square for Clean & Clear

The hottest new girlband around, a super trendy venue in East London's Hoxton Square, coupons for free soft drinks, some great pop songs... oh, and lots and lots of balloons.

This was the scene for Parade's exclusive gig for skincare range Clean & Clear. With the venue kitted out with what seemed like a thousand helium filled balloons, little green crystals and plenty of sample bottles of facial wash, Parade took to the stage; fresh from their weekend slot at V Festival.

The girls played a fun, intimate set-list featuring hit singles Louder and Perfume as well as fan favourite cover versions Forget You, Yeah x3 and new addition Swagger Jagger.

The highlight for me came with one of the first ever performances of the full studio version of Ticking On It. A stripped-back version of the song with Bianca playing piano has been part of the girls' set for a while now but here we got the track in all its sunny, energetic glory.

There was also a gorgeous acoustic performance of new song Weather Man with Bianca playing along on the guitar - talk about multi-talented! What with these two new tracks, it's getting us even more excited for Parade's debut album - you can pre-order it on HMV here.

Here's a list of some of the tracks that should hopefully be ending up on it - snippets of them have appeared in the two mini-mixes the band have previously put up on YouTube for fans to hear:

Louder
Shoes
Weather Man
Pretty Ugly
Ticking On It
Perfume
Stars
Knock On My Door
Yes You Are
Just A Girl
Like You

I'm hoping my personal faves Rollercoaster and Rokstar end up on the final tracklisting too!

Back to the Clean & Clear gig and the amazing goody bags everyone was given - just take a look at all the fabulous stuff inside them!

Jessie J's new tour dates

Everyone loves Jessie J right now. Even if you're not the biggest fan of her music, there's something so wonderfully charming and down to earth about her personality that you can't help but fall for her a little.

It's also fair to say she's had Quite A Lot of success this year already with her first three singles storming up the charts - her latest, Nobody's Perfect is finally out 'properly' this week with some bonus remixes/alternate versions on iTunes.

Best of all though is that the delightful Jessie has announced a whole heap of new UK tour dates. The rush for her last tour was absolutely mad; venues like London were sold out in under fifteen minutes - so if you didn't manage to catch her last time, now's your chance - just remember to be quick!

And just as a footnote, it's amazing to see Jessie already including an arena date on her tour like Cardiff - a real sign of how far she's already come.

The new UK tour dates are as follows:


OCTOBER


MONDAY 17 BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY
WEDNESDAY 19 DONCASTER DOME
FRIDAY 21 MANCHESTER O2 APOLLO
SATURDAY 22 LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY
SUNDAY 23 BOURNEMOUTH BIC
TUESDAY 25 EDINBURGH USHER HALL
WEDNESDAY 26 BRIDLINGTON SPA
THURSDAY 27 PLYMOUTH PAVILIONS
MONDAY 29 CARDIFF MOTORPOINT ARENA
SUNDAY 30 LEEDS O2 ACADEMY

NOVEMBER

TUESDAY 01 LONDON HMV HAMMERSMITH APOLLO
THURSDAY 03 BRIGHTON CENTRE

Architects - Heartburn

When it comes to songs about relationships, you're spoilt for choice really. But somehow, as the Architects' Sam Carter sings his heartfelt plea of 'I'll be the one to make you smile again', we feel like there's room for just this one more.

The third single from the band's The Here And Now album, Heartburn merits greatly from pursuing a more melodic angle than many of the other tracks from the LP. This one's all about the big choruses, that rush of emotion that swells through your body like a thing alive.

With refrains of 'lose all your inhibitions', Heartburn feels like the band letting their guard down, becoming softer, more aware of themselves. Bookended by lush swathes of acoustic guitar, the real meat of the choruses lies between.

This contrast of fast and slow, smooth and rough; it feels only befitting of a track singing the trials and tribulations of a relationship. But what makes it work so well is that common factor between the opposed halves, that shared interest. And so, like the perfect couple, Heartburn comes together in wonderful union.

Heartburn is available to download from Amazon now - the digital EP includes an exclusive acoustic version of the track.