Nadine Coyle - Sweetest High

A new single for a new, American album campaign - and with it, a new sound... of sorts. A hefty slice of Eurodance wouldn't perhaps be the first port of call for everyone looking to break into the States, but then again, the dance market has exploded over there in recent years - just look at what the likes of J Lo and Chris Brown are doing.

Nadine's powerhouse vocals remain largely unchanged from her Insatiable album, though perhaps this time round there's more of a raw, 'live-ness' to them. Nadine sounds less confined, more like she's actually having fun singing the track. And on a song called Sweetest High, you imagine fun would be central to that experience.

Hectic, bouncy, packing an irresistible synth riff; Sweetest High spills from the definition of summer anthem. All in all, it sounds like an intriguing move for her and we wait with baited breath to hear more from Nadine 2.0...

Nadine Coyle - Sweetest High by FreedomDevelopment

Nadine Coyle - Nadine 2.0 (What we know so far...)

Just when you least expect it, just what you expected least... Today is Nadine Coyle's birthday, and while us Girls Aloud fans were all getting excited over the fact Nicola and Nadine had tweeted each-other for the first time, some other very exciting news was getting ready to make an appearance.

Yes, that's right - Nadine Coyle is releasing a second album. Just a year after Insatiable, her new record Nadine 2.0 is already in the works (we think that's what it's going to be called anyway, going by the noir-styled teaser website...).

With that futuristic font, black & white photo of the lovely Miss Coyle and currently a countdown till we get to hopefully hear one of the new tracks - entitled Sweetest High - we literally cannot wait.

Written and produced with New York DJ's Vito Fun and Damian Major, judging by the date on Nadine's website - it looks like the track could even be released as early as the 22nd of June.

Kimberley 'calls the shots' on Cheryl, Nadine, Simon AND Olly

If you're not already aware, Girls Aloud's delightful Kimberley Walsh writes a very entertaining column every week in OK Magazine where she lets us, the dear readers, know what she's been up to. She also uses it as a platform to share her views on various celeb dilemnas and to clear up any important Girls Aloud-related issues when they arise.

The new issue of the magazine is out today, and I've got to say, this week's column is Pure Win. It's literally jam packed with everything you could want. Let's have a little run-down:

Cheryl and The X Factor - 'Cheryl's fine - it isn't a huge deal for her'. This is very good to hear - we like to know that everything is all ship-shape and hunky dory in CherylWorld.

'From a selfish point of view, I'm glad I can pop round again for a cup of tea!' - What will it be? Milk and two sugars Chezza?

Nadine and Jason's split - 'Nadine is a strong person and a strong woman in relationships so I know she'll be ok' - This is also very reassuring. This is the GA girls sticking together and backing each-other up - they are, after all, a force to be reckoned with.

Simon - 'Simon displayed some almighty hevage recently' - OMG what is hevage?! I have to thank Kimberley for introducing this word to me - because reading this about Simon had me in fits of laughter. It's so true too! I think every one of us who's ever sat down to watch Britain's Got Talent or X Factor has been full of critique over Simon's 'style' choices, so it's fun to imagine our Kimba sat there too doing the same.

Olly Murs - Here Kimberley talks about those rumours that she was being considered for a role on the Xtra Factor. She says 'I think it would've been fun but I couldn't have seen myself doing it with Olly'. Yes - Because we all know Kimberley and Matt Edmondson would have been the best combo by far for the show.

Nadine Coyle in the US - her new single Runnin'

Over here in the UK, things have been relatively quiet in the Nadine Coyle camp compared to her fellow Girls Aloud girls - Nicola's currently all-systems-go with her own solo material and as for Cheryl, well, you'd have to have been hiding under a rock not to have heard the jaw-dropping X Factor news this week.

Many Nadine fans felt underdone by the way her UK album campaign unfolded, the second single Put Your Hands Up ultimately only surfacing as a remix on a dance compilation. It's fantastic to hear then that things are hotting up again with Nadine charting highly in the Virgin Media Music Awards 'Best Single' category. Even more exciting though is the fact that one of the stand-out tracks from her album, Runnin', is being released over in the US!

So what's in store over the coming weeks for Nadine in America? Well, she'll be checking with key DJ's in New York to help promote Runnin' as well as making a number of personal appearances at glamorous parties. A new photoshoot is also in the works - We can't wait to see the new pictures! I hear that Runnin' has been picked up by some key stations over in the US so this bodes very well - America has always been held up as the real touch nut to crack, but looking at the success of artists like Adele over there recently, there's never been a better time than now to make a go of it.

Runnin' has always been one of my favourite tracks from Nadine's album - and makes for a great single choice too; it's something very different from both the feisty rock vibes of Insatiable and the punchy R&B/Dance fusion that is Put Your Hands Up. What we're given instead is a shimmery slice of majestic beauty and a classic Nadine vocal underpinned by a low, almost menacing synth bassline.You need only look to Girls Aloud's landmark single Call The Shots to see how easily a dreamy mid-tempo track like Runnin' could shoot to success - an interesting little pop fact for you too here; BBC Radio 1 have been using the track for literally ages as a sound-bed for their news stories.

If anything, Runnin' serves to back up what a real pop gem Nadine's solo album is - both the record and her dazzling performance at London's GAY club last year really showcasing just what Nadine is capable of as a singer, and as a star in her own right.

Runnin' is due for a summer release including remixes of the track by Vito Fun and Damian Major.

INTERVIEW - Boyz II Men

FROM NOVEMBER 2009

So, you’ve got your new album Love out now – What was the inspiration behind recording it?

Well, basically our record label presented us with a deal to do two albums of covers. We had already done the Motown hits album, but this time we wanted to do something a little different and encompass love songs from a variety of genres of music. A lot of people know us from singing R&B, but growing up we’ve been inspired by so many types of artist and so many genres and we wanted to capture that as much as we could. So these songs are ones we used to listen to when we were growing up as well as tracks by artists that we like, and we just wanted to put it all into one big collection. There were a lot of songs to choose from but we narrowed it down to these and we felt it best represented not only the theme of love itself, but it gave people who are familiar with our music and sound something else to broaden their horizons.

And when you’re not recording, what kind of stuff do you like to get up to in your spare time?

We don’t tend to get much spare time nowadays. That said, we all like to have our down-time when we go on holiday, we like to chill out. Me personally, I like to scuba dive. I’ve been doing that for the past 12/13 years so I love to do that. And when I’m home I like to hang out in my photography studio that I opened about 4 and a half years ago, so that’s kind of like my new creative hobby. So we’ve got a lot of different things we like doing.

You’ve been together as a band for over 20 years. Do you feel the music industry has changed much over that time?

Oh, definitely. It’s changed in a big way. Obviously the internet had a lot to do with that change and it took a while for the industry to adjust. The industry also has a way of ‘fixing’ itself though and right now I think it’s at a point where it’s learning how to integrate into the new regime of internet music listeners and artists. Loads of artists are using the internet to their advantage now and a lot of people get record deals that way. I think it’s kinda cool! It still allows artists to express themselves without necessarily going to a major label and equally it gives the public something new to listen to. They can check out these artists’ MySpace or Facebook pages for example and instantly hear their music. So I think it’s a good thing in that sense.

Speaking of the internet, there’s been a lot of talk on there about a version of Back for Good you did with Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle. What was it like working with her?

We thought it was a great opportunity and that it’d work really well. It’d be good for her and us as her and her group’s fanbase is enormous in the UK at the moment. Our fanbase is big in America, so we thought it’d be a great kind of trade-off, helping each-other out. Unfortunately the business side of things didn’t quite work out and the track isn’t on the final version of the album. The song’s really good though!

In your time in the music industry do you have one specific career highlight? One moment you look back on where you really felt like you’d made it.

Well we’ve had so many great moments it’s hard to choose! We’ve done so many amazing things, worked with so many people. Performing at the Olympics in 1996, working with Michael Jackson... Mariah Carey. It’s a lot of highlights! It’s been a cool ride and the ride continues, we hope that there’s more in store for us in the future – we’re just enjoying it as it comes. I guess in a way the highlight of our career so far has been our career. Being able to still be around and to have people enjoying our music, it’s great.

With your new album being a collection of love songs it’d make the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day. Describe your perfect Valentine’s Day.

I would say the best ideas for treating your special someone are those spontaneous ones that they wouldn’t expect. I always like to stay four or five steps ahead of my partner about what they would like or what they want to do. If you’re in tune with the person you’re with, surprises always work.

You’ve won multiple Grammy Awards over the years. What’s it like receiving that recognition of your music and do you still get excited about attending award ceremonies?

We definitely do still get excited! I guess because we haven’t been in the public eye to a certain extent for such a long time, especially in that capacity, just being around our peers and seeing people we remember and them remembering us too is always an exciting factor. In terms of winning another Grammy or anything like that, we don’t know what the future holds, but just in case we never do, we’ve already got four!

On your album you’ve also got a collaboration with Michael Buble, how did that come about?

Michael’s a cool dude and he’s become a great acquaintance of ours. We did a song on his album called Comin’ Home Baby and it was just one of those songs that displays every aspect of ability we have inside of us - The vibe was really fun. Michael’s one of the coolest dude’s you’ll ever meet so when we came to do this album we wanted someone on there that could really rock the house and all it took was a phone call to get him on one of the tracks.

What other singers and bands are you liking at the moment? People you might want to collaborate with in the future?

A favourite of ours is Prince, we’d love to work with him, he’s incredible. There’s a few other artists we’d like to work with that we haven’t done anything with for a while, maybe another Mariah duet, or something with Beyonce or Whitney Houston. Really anyone who’s talented, able and ready to be creative, we’re down with it. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a major artist, just someone who can hold their place in the songs we do.

When you’re on stage singing live what kind of emotions go through your mind seeing all those people cheering for you?

We feed off that energy the audience gives us. What they give us, we give back. We’re going to do our job regardless simply because we love to do it. But for the most part, if the crowd gives us love, we’re going to give 125,000 percent love back.

Randy Jackson produced this album for you. What kind of guy is he - Easy going? Intense? What’s it like working with him?

Randy’s a lot of fun, we’ve known him for a long time and he’s been someone we’ve always respected. Because of his American Idol fame being so prominent right now a lot of people forget he’s actually a musician – he used to be in the band Journey – so he has a lot of musical understanding. So going into a studio to record with him, he totally knows his stuff, he knows the right elements to bring in so we capture the right sound.

So, speaking of American Idol – and obviously the X Factor too – do you think these kinds of shows are good, giving people big breaks in the music industry the way they do?

Yes! It’s good for artists that might not have been able to afford to record a demo tape or been able to get the attention of a record company executive. So it’s a good platform for young singers to get their career started. These people that are on these shows have to fit to a tight schedule and what they have to do week by week to stay in the competition, it’s a gruelling process and definitely something that helps the artists – grooming them and getting them ready for performing and a career. So once they do win or continue on with singing in any respect they have a lot of information and experience at their fingertips.

As a band you’re hugely popular worldwide. What do you think is the key to having international success?

Well, one of the main things is making sure you go to all these places and promote yourselves enough so that the people there remember you. I think people remember your personal abilities and talent from seeing you right in front of their faces – they thrive off that and we feel that is the key to our success in different countries. So it’s definitely that, added to the fact we also have incredible songs written by incredible producers that become these classic hits people know us for.

And if you could have any job aside from singing, what would it be?

Being an executive sitting in an office, doing absolutely nothing! Wear a suit every day, go to work and the money comes in – Perfect, right?

Girls Aloud Forever - A tweet from Nadine to Sarah H

As a collective, Girls Aloud fans across the world went AWWWWW! <3 What could be more adorable? After what seems like uncountable millions of years, pop darling Nadine Coyle finally said a little about one of her bandmates on Twitter. Blonde bombshell/Gothic queen Sarah Harding is having her engagement party tonight and Nadine sent a little tweet to let the world know why she couldn't make it. It's like the ultimate 21st century digital RSVP.

And so, for one day perhaps, the tabloids and celeb mags will be hushed about that apparent 'rift' they seem so keen on chatting about when it comes to Girls Aloud.

And so, to our 'lovely Sarah H', have an absolutely awesome party. And to the ever-charming 'Nadineworldwide', thank you for that tweet. You've warmed the hearts of Girls Aloud fans everywhere.

Alexis Jordan - Good Girl

I can't rave enough about this song. Every month there will always be one song that I fall in love with more than any other. And in February, this is most definitely it. Now, I saw Alexis last year at GAY opening for Nadine Coyle and was charmed with her highly endearing pop sweetness as well as the fact Happiness is rather amazing.

And where Happiness began, Good Girl follows - all dance-pop lightness with just that edge of pushing the boundaries. There's a number of reasons why the song works so well. For starters, that funky strutting beat and rubbery bass sound is utterly infectious. You can't not move your feet to it. Remember that Alexis is an American Idol winner, and then listen to the Euro-disco shimmer of her tracks and her awesomeness reaches all new levels.

Then comes the fact this song has fifty-million different choruses. There's that catchy 'I like...' bit, then the tears on the dancefloor moment of 'You might mistake me for a heartbreaker...' and then the chorus-proper as it were of 'Good girl... but I've been bad before...'  - If one of them doesn't hook you, the others will.

Now, most good pop songs would be happy to leave it there. But Good Girl goes further, just listen to those swirling guitars and strings, all swept up into one hypnotic pulse - those chord changes are simply divine. Some songs just have IT... that moment where something just feels so right.

Alexis Jordan. Good girl? She certainly is. And this song is very, very good too.

Nadine Coyle - Put Your Hands Up

February 21st sees the release of Nadine Coyle's seconds solo single Put Your Hands Up, a song many fans latched onto as one of her albums definite highlights. Whereas the title track and lead single saw Nadine tackling those rock vibes, Put Your Hands Up is an intriguing blend of R&B and dance - resulting in a song that you could almost imagine fitting just as easily on Cheryl's Messy Little Raindrops. With a sexy, sultry chorus, some cool little brass sections and a floaty, ambient instrumental section that sounds like it could have come straight out of some Ibiza trance club, this track really does have it all.

It's well worth checking out the Dave Aude mix of the track too which transforms an already dancey song into an all-out club banger. Here, any vestiges of 'adult-contemporary' Nadine are stripped away and replaced by an empowered dancefloor diva (a side of the star I know many feel is her best). It's mixes like these that show just how vesatile her voice actually is, soaring above the thumping beats and grinding synth basslines. You get the feeling that coming from some anonymous dance outfit, the likes of Radio 1 would be all over a club anthem like this, but ah well... Only time will tell if the next stage of the Nadine/Tesco is a success, but with tracks as good as Put Your Hands Up, it more than deserves to be.

Put Your Hands Up is released February 21st.

A very happy engagement for Sarah Harding

I’ve always loved Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding, so when I heard she had got engaged, I was over the moon for her. Sarah had been a bit quiet in the Girls Aloud stakes recently, what with all the Cheryl and Nadine news, so it was a great time to remind us all what an awesome person she is. I’ve always adored her feisty attitude, the way at times she could seem a law unto herself, and then on other occasions displaying a more subtle, emotive side. Sarah is the Girl that, come an interview, you can always count on to pop up with some genius comment or memorable quote. Her acting roles are dead cool too, especially the film Bad Day (which more people need to go and see, because it’s awesome).

Sarah’s a girl who’s unabashed love for the likes of Primal Scream and the Stone Roses might seem out of place in a traditional girl band, but then again, that’s what made Girls Aloud so amazing, that they were so much more than that. Sarah brought that indie cool to the band, attending NME award shows and hanging out with the Arctic Monkeys. There’s something defiantly British about her and the ever-changing length of her hair is always a source of fascination. Whenever I’ve been to see Girls Aloud live, Sarah and Cheryl were the always the ones you’d have the most eyes for. They just knew exactly how to work the crowd.

So here’s three cheers for Sarah and Tommy, the prospect of two Girls Aloud weddings in a year is very exciting (and who knows, we might even have three if Justin pops the question to Kimberley too...).

You can also catch Sarah on Living TV’s Dating In The Dark very soon!