What really goes on at the X Factor auditions? →
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This week I went to watch the X Factor auditions being filmed and it was a fascinating experience. Here’s what happened…
May 2012
Popping the Question: Is it time for Europe to reclaim Europop? →
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My latest Popping the Question investigates why Europop has declined in quality since it became a worldwide phenomenon.
This Must Be Pop brings you Future Pop! (Issue #30) →
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This week’s Future Pop features Fazer, Ren Harvieu and Kindness.
Sunday Night Quiz: Guess the Eurovision star! →
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Test your Eurovision knowledge with this week’s Sunday Night Quiz.
Song of the Day: Loreen - My Heart Is Refusing Me
If you love Euphoria you need to check out Loreen’s previous single, which was a contender to represent Sweden in Eurovision 2011. It’s just as good!
Song of the Day: TV Girl - Benny and the Jetts
Some lovely Californian indie pop for this sunny day - and no, it’s not a cover!
Free Mixtape: Download Now That's What I Call Poptastic! Vol. 2 →
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As a way to get their music heard by new audiences, artists are giving away some of their best songs for free these days. I’ve collected some of my favourite recent free download MP3s to create the second ever Now That’s What I Call Poptastic! compilation, a mixture of great pop songs from a variety of genres and countries.
Song of the Day: Bluebell - Cinderella
After over a year we finally have a new song from Bluebell, which will be released as a double a-side single with the first track she posted online, Normal Heights. Cinderella is much more of an instant pop sound, which is always a positive for me, and the video is very interesting. If you like Marina and the Diamonds or Imogen Heap, you should definitely pay Bluebell some attention.
This Must Be Pop brings you Future Pop! (Issue #29) →
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This week’s Future Pop features Loreen, The Neighbourhood and Vazquez Sounds.
Sunday Night Quiz: True or false? →
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Do you know your pop trivia? Test your knowledge with this week’s quiz!
Review: This Must Be Pop Live ft. War of Words, Poppy & the Jezebels and EBRU →
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On Tuesday night This Must Be Pop Live returned to the Queen of Hoxton for another poptastic night of live music, drinking and dancing!
Song of the Day: Cover Drive - Explode
I like all of Cover Drive’s singles but I don’t love any of them, so I was surprised by quite how much I enjoyed their album. It’s definitely worth listening to for all pop fans. There are loads of great tracks but Explode was my instant favourite.
Song of the Day: Adriiana - We Are Young
From the same label that brought us Alone Again by Alyssa Reid, the laziest and least inspiring pop hit of 2012, we now have another unknown Canadian girl with a generic urban-pop song taking its chorus from a power ballad (Love is a Battlefield)… but I have to say I quite like this one! There’s nothing intelligent here but it’s a cute pop song that’s not trying to be cool. It sounds like mid-2000s Europop and that’s a sound I’ve been missing lately.
This Must Be Pop brings you Future Pop! (Issue #28) →
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Featuring Violet, Lulu James and Haim, three bands I discovered at last weekend’s Great Escape festival.
The Great Escape 2012: My top 10 acts →
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This weekend I attended The Great Escape Festival down in Brighton, and although the music is quite indie overall it’s definitely my favourite festival. There’s so much choice that you can curate your own unique festival experience, and it’s a chance to see some of the acts everyone is talking about and make your own opinions about them. Click above to read about my top 10 favourite performances I saw.
Song of the Day: Reptile Youth - Speeddance
When I read a description of this band as “post-rock” my expectations were low, but I gave them a listen anyway and in fact they are very much pop! Speeddance begins with a ridiculously infectious “doodododoo” section and the song has great energy, a strong Danish accent (always a plus for a Scandiphile like me) and brilliantly silly lyrics. Sometimes when I find a song I like that’s in a genre I’m not normally into, it actually makes me like it more as it’s so different to everything else I listen to. If you’re impressed too you can see Reptile Youth at the next Ja Ja Ja night at the Lexington later this month.
Sunday Night Quiz: Guess the headline! →
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Can you work out which pop stars’ names have been removed from these headlines?
Song of the Day: Jeronimo - One Kiss
Here’s a very sunny pop song for a sunny Sunday! It sounds like it was inspired by the worldwide (except for English-speaking countries) megahit Ai Se Eu Te Pego/If I Catch You by Michel Telo, and I hope it’s the first of many songs to take inspiration from that track. It’s time for European pop stars to get back to what they do best, happy-go-lucky unashamed pop, and this is a great example. Jeronimo is adorable too! I’ve been keeping an eye on him for a while hoping he would eventually come out with something special, and here it is.
This Must Be Pop Live: Introducing War of Words! →
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It’s only 5 days now til the next This Must Be Pop Live! That means it’s time to find out more about the performers, starting with ace pop duo War of Words.
Sunday Night Quiz: Guess the talky bit! →
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Can you recognise these talky bits from a selection of amazing pop songs?
