Alexandra Burke - Let It Go

I think it's fair to say that Alexandra Burke has decided she's usually at her best when banging out immense dance anthems, so, having promptly delivered Elephant into the hands of a nation of eager pop lovers, she's gone and done it again with new single Let It Go. But whereas Elephant fired away like a high-powered nuclear reactor of futuristic electro energy, Let It Go dips into the past - specifically, the 90s, and rides away on a bubbly Show Me Love-esque riff and shades of 2 Unlimited.

The good thing is, Let It Go is rather decent, if a little by-the-numbers - and that trancey chorus bit is DanceAlex in full-tilt. But the trouble is, will this be the track to finally warm the public to Alexandra again in the way Elephant only really half managed? I'm not so sure. There's only so long an artist can coast along in the Top 10 for without the backing and full support of the public and radio, and right now for Alex, this is looking particularly intermittent. We shall see...

Let It Go is released on the 28th May.

Hitler finds out that Capital won't play Alexandra Burke's Elephant...

Going by the Wednesday midweeks, Alexandra Burke's Elephant (which, suffice to say, is fucking amazing), is No. 2 in the charts - behind the seemingly never-ending dominance of Gotye. Some radio stations have done the 'ol sneaky and subtly added Elephant to their playlists (despite previously shunning it) now that its popularity has been proved. But Capital, it seems, a still being rather cautious, as this hilariously amusing video centres around.

Now, I've seen countless variations on the Hitler video, but this ranks up there as one of my favourites and neatly summarises many of my own issues with the politics of radio playlisting.

[Official Video] Alexandra Burke - Elephant

When you want to announce your come-back in style, you do it with a massive fuck-off knuckle ring and skimpy hot leather. That's how you go about things if you're Alexandra Burke anyway, and her video for Elephant certainly matches up to the dirty, gritty electro vibe of the track itself. Fierce only begins to cover it.

Elephant by pbax94

Alexandra Burke - Elephant

It's been one of the most anticipated pop singles in recent months, and with a number of shifted release dates, the first single from Alexandra Burke's second album was starting to look like it might falter before it even got started. But hearing the full radio version of the single blows all doubts away in an instant: it's a full-throttle adrenaline rush of a song that hurtles from hard electro filth to nuclear reactor synth blasts.

For me, Elephant is the ultimate in dance-pop allure - a dark, sensual ride of apocalyptic rhythms and teetering bass - it remains definitively commercial whilst re-positioning Alexandra as an uncompromising disco diva. When she goes in, she goes in to win.

And of course, Elephant wouldn't be an Alexandra Burke without a sky-piercing high note in the middle-eight where she gets to show off the true extent of vocal acrobatics she can accomplish. In short, it owns - Ok.Com?

Sure, it might lack the uber-refined nature of her classic singles, it more than makes up for it with its dirty electronic rawness. This is Alexandra at her most dancey to date, a Euro-smash monster to slay dancefloors across the country and beyond. It's the sound of an artist that has left the X Factor for dust behind her, moving ever onwards and upwards to better things - the sound of a proper popstar.

Elephant is released on the 12th March.

Elephant by CaptainGravity

Alexandra Burke - Elephant (Remix)

Alexandra Burke - she's been away a while, but any pop fan worth their salt knows that the wait will (fingers crossed) be worth it. You see, Alexandra Burke, for my money anyway, remains pretty much the best winning contestant from X Factor ever.

Bad Boys, Broken Heels, All Night Long - one of the best runs of singles in recent pop history - hell, even her perfunctory winner's single ballad was rather good; her cover of Hallelujah remains to this date one of the more tolerable songs to be released straight off the back of the show.

And so now we turn to the first single from her eagerly anticipated second album. For the moment, all we have of Elephant is this remix snippet premiered on Pete Tong's Radio 1 dance show, but from what you can make out, all the hooks are in place and it seems to be shaping up to be quite the 'banger'. We approve!

Elephant (Remix) by msc12

Cheryl Cole - Rare And Unseen - Pretty Little Newsclips

Rare and Unseen – Pretty Little Newsclips is a new unofficial DVD release featuring a selection of clips culled mostly from press events and red carpet interviews and provides a delightfully candid look at the evolution of nation’s sweetheart Cheryl Cole. Cramming a fair amount into just 45 minutes, the highly condensed collage-of-clips format works surprisingly well to give a snapshot of Cheryl as the superstar she has become.

Kicking off with a lengthy interview from all the way back in 2003, we see Girls Aloud on the cusp of releasing Jump from the Love Actually soundtrack. It’s quite charming really to see the girls in their jeans and t-shirts, so far removed from the hyper-styling we always see them in these days. It serves as a reminder of just how far they’ve come from those humble beginnings. Unfortunately, the interview is marred by some rather forceful questions about Cheryl’s conviction regarding the night-club incident and it’s frustrating to see the interview continuously push down this avenue. Thankfully the other girls step in to give Cheryl a helping hand and there’s some touching ‘Chim’ moments as Kimberley sticks up for her best friend. Cheryl is asked of her wishes for the future and she answers simply ‘to be happy.’ It’s a touching moment and a sentiment we can all subscribe to.

Moving swiftly on, the DVD whips through a 2006 Top of the Pops Reloaded interview where we see a ginger Fearne Cotton chatting to a blonde Cheryl. Changing hair-do’s and hair-colour are definitely a recurring theme throughout the DVD. With the overall feel of these largely quite unedited clips being very much random odds and ends that have been uncovered, you never quite know what’s going to crop up next. There’s footage from the 2006 V Festival and various glamorous red carpet affairs including a great shot where Nadine sticks her tongue out at the camera as she walks behind Cheryl and Sarah being interviewed.

As we reach the beginnings of Cheryl’s solo career on X Factor in 2008 there’s a fantastic bit just immediately following Alexandra Burke’s win. It’s here we get some of the best moments of the DVD: ‘I want to duet with Girls Aloud!’ exclaims Alexandra, only for Cheryl to retort with ‘No! You’d upstage us!’. It’s so charming in its sweetness and the clearly happiness on both Cheryl and Alexandra’s faces at having won – neither of them can quite believe it. One of the reporters asks Alex if she’d like Cheryl to be her manager; Alex replies ‘Oh My God! She already is.’ Even better is when a Freudian slip gets the better of Cheryl and she says that she did a ‘victory dance around Simon’s bedroom’ when her and Alex won. I was in stitches.

A smattering of clips from 2009’s Kilimanjaro Climb Comic Relief press shoot, the launch of Cheryl’s waxwork at Madame Tussauds  and the 2010 National Television Awards red carpet finishes things off. Perhaps the most iconic clip has to be the charity fashion show in 2008, for it was here that, in many ways, Cheryl achieved her true transformation into the solo star and national icon she is today. Walking down that catwalk, the cameras flashing and her smile lighting up the room, we fall in love with her again and again.

The DVD can be ordered from Amazon here.

Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor (feat. Pitbull)

I've lost count of the number of artists who've gone for a hip new dance 'angle' with their new single and thrown in a guest rapper for good measure too. It's easy to be cynical, but you know what, they do it because it works. And J Lo's new single On The Floor is the prime example.

With its staccato beats and rhythmic euro-trance synths, On The Floor is an anthem to the coming summer - the sound of a thousand dancefloors the world over beating as one. And that's the joy of tracks like these, they're just big dollops of ready-for-the-club anthem, precision tweaked to hit all the right buttons. So when you hear Pitbull's guest slot and think 'Isn't this a bit like what he did with Enrique, Alexandra Burke and Nicole Scherzinger', it's because it is like that.

This is the natural successor to all those songs; building on them, growing, snowballing... keeping the endless dance rolling on for another year. J Lo's last album Brave only managed to reach No. 24 in the UK charts, but propelled by On The Floor, her new LP Love? could very easily see itself shooting into the upper echelons of top 10.

I'm properly loving the whole Love? thing too, as if the album is questioning its own existence. It needn't though, as On The Floor is exactly the kind of life-affirming tune we want to hear from J Lo. It's hot, dance-able and without a doubt the future-soundtrack to many a night of shots at the bar. Bring it on.

On The Floor is released 27th March.

INTERVIEW - Parade

Parade are Bianca, Emily, Jessica, Sian and Lauren. The feisty five-some are the latest girl-band making waves in the pop scene and with their infectious first single hitting the shops this month, they’re making sure they’re heard loud and clear.

Hi girls!  Where did you get the name Parade from?

Well, we did this mood board right back at the start of the band.  We wrote down the names of people who were musical influences to us, picked out colours - stuff like that.  And we really liked this font that spelled out ‘Parade’ so we cut it out and it turned out to be from an 80s porno magazine!  That was rather funny!  But it was just slap bang in the middle of the board and we all loved it so we decided to go for it!

It makes me think of you guys flying the flag for British pop music!

Yes!  And we want everyone to join the Parade!  That’s our motto!

Your song Louder is currently being used on the Rimmel TV adverts at the moment, how does that feel?

It’s amazing!  We feel so lucky to be associated with a well-known brand like Rimmel.  When we first saw the finished advert on the TV it just felt crazy!

And how easy was it to get into the swing of the ‘popstar’ lifestyle?

We absolutely love it!  We’ve had about ten interviews today and done a bit of filming too!  There are so many girls and boys out there who’d love to do this so we feel really fortunate.

You’re all keen users of Twitter, how does that play a part of being in the band?

Twitter has been a brilliant for us; we’ve really been able to get to know our fans through it.  It really helps with building up your fanbase and it’s great that it lets you have that element of direct communication with people.  It’s just so reassuring to see we have all those really loyal fans out there – they’re hardcore!

You’ve just finished touring with Alexandra Burke; did she have any good bits of advice for you?

She was really lovely, we’d see her in the canteen before she went on stage and she’d come up and give us big cuddles and a little pep talk.  It’s great to meet someone who’s been so successful and who is just such a nice girl.  It was brilliant to see her show too; she’s such an inspiration for us.  It was an amazing experience and we feel honoured to have been a part of it.

You’re supporting Shayne Ward on tour too – so I take it you’re all big X Factor fans?

Yeah!  We had a few favourite contestants last series like Rebecca and Cher – it was a really strong year!

So when you need to get up early for a busy day, do you have any techniques to make sure you’re all raring to go?

Caffeine!  Energy tablets!

And when you’re not working, how do you all like to chill out?

We’re so busy at the moment we’re lucky if we get a day off ha!  At weekends though we like to catch up with friends or go shopping.  We just try and relax really, oh, and sleep if possible ha!

Seeing as your song is called Louder, are you all quite loud people?  Like a bit of a party?

YEAH!  We love a party!  Yes we do!  The louder the better!

And will we be getting an album from you guys later this year?

It’s hopefully due this summer!  We’re so excited for it!  We’ve got a few more things to finish off on it but it’s going to be fantastic, we can’t wait!

As part of your promo you went on a tour round schools across the UK?  Did that feel like a bit of an adventure?

The school tour was great!  It was really good to get a reaction from kids as they don’t hold back – they’ll stand up and scream.  We’d get them to come and sing with us on stage.  And then it was brilliant going from small schools to big arenas when we supported Shakira last December.

Who’s music are you listening to at the moment?  Are there any big influences on you?

We all love Jessie J!  Bruno Mars too!  Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry - they’re all amazing.

And as a band, what do you think is the key to being a successful group and all getting on together?

We actually all live together so we’re so tight; like family really.  Because we spend twenty-four hours a day together we know each-other inside out.  It’s nice as you’re sharing everything and if any of us is having an off day, we know we have each-other.  It’s like we’re sisters!

Parade’s single Louder is out to buy now.