Taylor Swift announces new UK single!
Everyone’s favourite country-pop sensation, Ellie Goulding obsessive and #1 global smash superstar Taylor Swift is the girl who’s evolved from school to cool in the past few years, with latest album ‘Red’ being a bit of a pop smash. Fortunately for us, she’s decided to go and release promo single ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ as the latest UK release.
‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ is easily one of the best songs on ‘Red’, a throbbing dubstep, drum and bass and pop track that laments the hindsight that doing a douchebag and finding out about it later. The strongest comparison is to Leona Lewis’ ‘Glassheart’, with both songs making great and inventive use of dubstep .
Listen to ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ below:
Leona Lewis announces new single ‘Fireflies’: POP BITS
POP BITS. Leona Lewis has taken time out of her busy schedule of… errr… driving to announce the next single to be taken from her Top 3 album ‘Glassheart’ will be ‘Fireflies‘; and it’s set for a pre-Christmas release. Although we were hopping for ‘I To You’ or ‘Glassheart’ as the next release, the atmospheric, soaring piano-led ‘Fireflies’ is the perfect tune for colder nights and hotter chocolate. POP BITS OUT.
Leona Lewis Signing: Pop Diary
What: Leona Lewis will be meeting fans and signing copies of her new album ‘Glassheart’
Where: HMV Oxford Street (150, Oxford Street)
When: Monday, 15th October 2012 at 6pm
Full Details: Leona Lewis’ official website
Leona Lewis vs a Leek
Welcome again to everyone’s favourite pop-based vegetable battle royale – it’s Popstar Versus A Vegetable. This highly scientific experiment tasks itself with finding out the important answers to pop’s big questions. So who will emerge victorious today? Our competitors: in the red corner, X Factor champion and superb ballad-warbler Leona Lewis. In the blue corner, the humble leek. Fight!!
LOVE LIFE
Leona dated boyfriend and childhood mate Lou Al-Chamaa for several years before they split two years ago.
The leek hasn’t dated anyone. *sadface*
Leona 1, Leek 0
MARKETING
Leona’s done pretty well in the marketing stakes – she’s sold millions of albums worldwide, sold out arenas and is a pretty recognisable household name on both sides of the pond.
The leek, while not exactly the sparkliest vegetable in the world, has been around for centuries and even featured in a Shakespeare play or two. That’s longevity, folks. Plus you can’t put Leona in a soup. We’ve tried. It was messy.
Leona 1, Leek 1
LOCATION
Leona hails from Hackney, London. She returned home earlier this year to open the Radio 1 Big Weekend so we can assume she’s a cosmopolitan sort of girl.
The leek is pretty much a global “thing” – dried up leeks have been found in Egypt and even the Roman emperors enjoyed them. A globe-trotting veg, for sure.
Leona 0, Leek 1
CONTROVERSY
Leona has… erm… got a tattoo? There was that time she wore that kind of edgy, skimpy outfit. But no, she’s pretty much the de facto vanilla popstar – zero controversy to be found.
No controversy with the leek, either. Trust us on that one.
Leona 0, Leek 0
MORALS
Leona’s an ethical popstar – she famously turned an obscene amount of money to open Harrods because they sell real fur. She’s also been a commited vegetarian since she was 12. Kudos, Ms Lewis.
The leeks has no morals. Then again, it has no shame either. Like Frankie Cocozza on a night out. Or Frankie Cocozza full stop, actually.
Leona 1, Leek 0
TALENT
Leona’s talented, alright – she can blast out a ballad as well as any of her contemporaries (young and old) and even her club songs are pretty solid too. Some questionable fashion choices aside, she’s a good popstar and despite the teasing, we always love to listen to her.
The leek is a fairly adaptable vegetable, as comfortable in a salad as it is in a stew or a soup. We suppose that sort of versatility is helpful when it comes to Big Band Week. Apart from that, nada.
Leona 1, Leek 0
POPULARITY
Leona’s sold lots of albums and despite her relative blandness compared to the Gagas and the Rihannas of the pop world, she is accessible and popular in her own right.
The leek is fairly popular but it’s not exactly something you’d dip into a bit of Reggae Reggae sauce at a dinner party.
Leona 1, Leek 1
TOTAL: LEONA 5, LEEK 3
So Leona storms to victory with a 5-3 victory over the humble leek, clearly proving once and for all that X Factor winners are better than root vegetables (apart from Matt Cardle, perhaps – but that’s for another day). Check back soon to see which vegetable will be going head to head with a popstar!
X-clusive! Lucy Spraggan – the first interview!
Comments
We all saw guitar-wielding Lucy Spraggan spring through the auditions on Saturday’s X Factor, wowing the judges and the Manchester crowd with her quirky “beer fear” ditty ‘Last Night’, but ONLY Maximum Pop! grabbed a chat with the very lady herself!
Thank you! All I could see was that huge audience, the lights were very bright too, I just knew I needed to get rid of the nerves and start playing. I was so nervous and shaking quite a lot, but as soon as the audience started cheering and clapping along it felt amazing.
How did it feel when you got four YES votes to go through to Boot Camp?
You’d think it’d be a massive feeling of relief, but it’s quite the opposite. As of then it’s all real, and you realise how much you really want to make it. But initially, you are just happy and thankful that it went well!
Who is your favourite judge?
I couldn’t pick just one… I was a massive N-Dubz fan as a teenager, so it’s great to see Tulisa sitting there in the panel. But, at the same time, Gary Barlow is one of the most credible and respected song writers in the world. They’re all my favourite though, we’ll just say that!
What makes you different from the average X Factor contestant?
This time round I don’t think there is an average X Factor contestant; everyone that I have seen is so different. I’m just doing what I do and hoping people like it.
You’ve been writing your own material and gigging for years. Why did you decide to enter The X Factor?
I’ve always been the type to take every opportunity as soon as it comes around. I was told you could play an instrument AND use your original material this year, so there was no doubt in my mind as whether or not to do it. Considering the sheer amount exposure this show has to offer, it would be stupid not to. I have no regrets!
As a writer, did you have any worries about whether you’ll have enough creative control within the X Factor format?
This year, The X Factor is said to have been shaken up and stood on its head; it’s going to be different from the other years. Whether or not they are going to loosen the creative reigns is something we’ll see as the show progresses but I’m just going to go with the flow.
How will you make sure that you’re a Leona Lewis success and not a Matt Cardle-style flop?
I’m going to keep gigging like I have been for years. With music, you get out what you put in, and I’ve always given it my all. I’m not going to stop now!
Who were your favourite contestants from last year?
I liked Misha B and Janet Devlin most, and there’s always room for 2 Shoes in my life.
You could conceivably be Christmas Number One in four months’ time! What is your all-time favourite Christmas Number One single?
In 2004 I was a big fan of Band Aid 20 – my favourite bit was Dizzee Rascal’s rap!
Which song would you pull out of the bag in the final week to win the competition?
If I got to the final, I would be over the moon. I haven’t had a chance to even consider what I’m doing at Boot Camp yet!
Please summarise Lucy Spraggan in three words.
I hate describing myself! Short, 21, GSOH… just kidding! Probably happy, anxious and ready.
Finally, do you have a message for Maximum Pop! readers?
Thank you for all the support out there, keep your fingers crossed for me!
Thank you, Lucy!
Lucy Spraggan is on Twitter.
The X Factor is on ITV1 from now until eternity.
We can’t stop singing along to ‘Last Night’!
Leona Lewis ‘Come Alive’ Download or Ditch?
4Comments
Pop chirper Leona Lewis just premiered a new track from her long-awaited and even longer-delayed upcoming third studio album at Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend [watch live]. ‘Come Alive’ follows in the vein of ‘Collide’ and bangs together an enormo chorus with slightly creepy electronic verses. Single material? Probably not. Hinting at a great and slightly more exciting album from Ms Lewis? For sure. Now, Leona love, stop buggering around at animal sanctuaries and get yourself back in the studio please. Take a listen below and tell us – ‘Come Alive’ – Download or Ditch?
Alexandra Burke – Heartbreak On Hold album review
The second album from X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has finally arrived after eighteen months or so of re-releasing albums, promising single releases, delaying single releases… regardless, ‘Heartbreak on Hold’ is here and for the most part, it’s surprisingly good (good in a ‘avoiding second album syndrome’ way, mind you), if a little predictable and forgettable.
The two trailer singles aside (the divisive ‘Elephant’ and the uplifting, 90s-house-channeling ‘Let It Go’), the rest of the album is fairly solid stuff – the title track, ‘This Love Will Survive’, ‘Fire’ and ‘Tonight’ are all upbeat dance-pop bangers that do the job and are all toe-tapping enough to make the next pre-night-out prep sesh a little more fun. Best of all is ‘Sitting On Top Of The World’, an uplifting track that Robyn wouldn’t turn her nose up at and bonus track ‘Beating Still’ which should have earned a spot on the regular edition, it’s such a solidly pleasing number.
The more ballad-y ‘Between The Sheets’ and ‘Daylight Robbery’ don’t fare too bad either, giving a bit of a midtempo breather inbetween all the uptempo servings on offer – and if tracks like the 70s-sampling ‘Love You That Much’, the nice-but-filler ‘Oh La La’ and stripped-back ‘What Money Can’t Buy’ don’t exactly hit all the right buttons, it’s still a fairly impressive album that should bring Ms Burke back to the public consciousness after a fairly long hiatus. If Leona can do just as good a job, we’ll be happier than Piers Morgan when someone in America remembers his name.
BBC Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend: POP DIARY
BBC Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend concert will take place on the 23rd and 24th of June and the line-up includes acts like Dappy, Jessie J, Labrinth, David Guetta, Tinie Tempah, Lana Del Rey, Emeli Sandé, Leona Lewis and many more. Find out more and register for tickets here. We’ve listed this event in our pop diary. Hit like below if you’re going to attend.
