Download or Ditch: Megan & Liz – ‘Release You’
Hello once again to Download or Ditch, where we give you the lowdown on the latest and hottest singles 
to be hitting your ears in the coming weeks.
Megan & Liz who? Exactly, dear readers – unless you’re a special sort of pop music fan, chances are you won’t have heard of this sweet American duo consisting of fraternal twins Megan and Liz Mace. Fortunately though, their brand spanking new single is getting a bit more global attention and rightfully so.
They’re a sweet little-known girlband from the other side of the pond but they’ve unveiled an absolute stonker of a tune for the summer – ‘Release You’. Penned and helmed by master-of-radio-hits Dr Luke, the song ‘Release You’ sounds like the lovechild between Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen and Karmin, all mixed together and providing a perfect upbeat summer ditty.
The song is all about letting a bad boyfriend go and it’s pretty damn happy and euphoric about the whole situation, so much so that the girls sound like dumping this loser is the most fun ever! A cracking chorus of “I re-leeeeease you!” is instantly addictive and will (trust us on this) stick in your head all week. Add some beautiful harmonies make this a song more refreshing than cold lemonade on a hot summer’s day.
Our verdict? Download all the way.
Listen to ‘Release You’ below:
Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran to perform at Britain’s Got Talent Final. POP BITS.
POP BITS. Since Taylor Swift is busy writing songs about One Direction, and Ed Sheeran is busy writing songs for them, it was only a matter of time before they teamed up. T- Swizzle and E- Sheer (this would be their names if they were Hip Hop artists) have finally come together to produce the beautiful ballad ‘Everything Has Changed’. The pair are due to set the Britain’s Got Talent stage alight when they perform the song together on Saturday. The Korean pop sensation, Psy, will also be performing but we are hoping that he won’t be joining in on Taylor and Ed’s duet. The BGT Final sounds like it’s going to be the most pleasing results show on telly since Christopher Maloney got booted off the X Factor. We’re not sure what we’re looking forward to most: Seeing the performance of ‘Everything Has Changed’ or watching the Luminites work their musical magic again?
You can watch the video for ‘Everything Has Changed’ below. POP BITS OUT.
5 Things That Will Make The 1D Film A Box Office Smash!
The One Direction movie is looming ever closer! Harry, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn will be popping up on our big screen for their cinema debut this summer. 1D3D ’This Is Us’ is an access all areas documentary that promises to give us a good look at what went on behind the scenes of the ‘Take Me Home’ Tour. We’re sure the film will be a global success but here are 5 things that we reckon would ensure the flick is a global box office smash:
Zayn/ Perrie Duet
Everyone loves a good love story and Zayn and Perrie are the best love story going on right now in the world of pop. In movies there is only one way to express your love and that is through song, which means a duet is crucial. We are thinking something like ‘You’re The One That I Want’ from Grease or maybe even a ‘Whole New World’. Awww.
Fisticuffs With The Wanted
Batman has the Joker. Luke Skywalker has Darth Vader. Harry Potter has Voldemort. One Direction have the Wanted. We are hoping for an all out war with The Wanted complete with slow motion punches, dramatic music and samurai swords. Hopefully no one will get hurt and no ones hair will get messed up too badly.
Taylor Swift Stalking Harry
Like a blonde Phantom Of The Opera, we are totally expecting Swifty to be lurking around behind the scenes. The mask and cape are optional (we think she’ll opt for rhinestone ones personally) but we are sure she’ll be following Harry around, knocking lights on top of innocent crew members or at least singing angry songs at the 1D heartthrob from behind a stage curtain or two.
1D Nudity
One way to ensure high viewing figures is nudity and one way to ensure your ticket sales go through the roof: Naked One Direction. Perhaps Louis could do a ‘Titanic’ and paint Liam “like one of his French girls” or the boys could have a Magic Mike-inspired fantasy sequence. Or maybe even something like the shower scene in Psycho, minus the psycho. We can dream, right? *sighs*
Directioners, and lots of them!
One thing that already guarantees this movie is going to be massive are One Directions loyal fans, the Directioners. Directioners would go see this film even if it was an hour and a half of them on the loo (and some would prefer that, let’s be honest). 1D love their fans just as much and we are expecting loads of crowd shots of screaming (and swooning) fangirls.
We can’t guarantee that all these things will happen in the film, but we can but hope. However we do know that, in the words of Chezza, we will be “thoroughly entertained”. ‘This is Us’ hits cinemas in the UK on August 23rd.
Five pop stars still waiting for their first #1
When their 13th single ’30 Days’ bombed out of the charts after approximately 30 seconds, it looked like The Saturdays were forever doomed to girl-group bridesmaid status. But with the help of a TV series, a cameo from Sean Paul and their catchiest release in a long while, they’ve finally broken the curse and can now stand proudly alongside the likes of The Spice Girls, Girls Aloud and Sugababes as bona-fide chart toppers. About time too!
So, who does that leave still on the waiting list for entry into the Number One club? Here are a few of the most high-profile residents of planet pop who haven’t quite gone the distance yet…
- He may be the biggest teen pop icon on the planet, but Justin Bieber's highest-charting UK hit, Boyfriend, was held off the top spot by his own support act Carly Rae Jepsen.
- Still, at least Justin can say he's done better than ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez. She's only cracked the UK top 40 once so far – when Naturally rose to #7 back in 2010.
- Taylor Swift has had two singles peak at #2 so far – Love Song and I Knew You Were Trouble. But she's still waiting on that elusive first number one.
- Ellie Goulding's cover of Your Song was a massive Christmas hit in 2010, but it couldn't quite sneak past the X Factor Finalists annual charity single 'Heroes'. She's had plenty of hits since, but never come so close to hitting the top.
- The 14-single wait for a Number One might have felt like a lifetime for The Saturdays, but pop diva Janet Jackson racked up an amazing 34 hit singles between 1986 and 2006 without ever getting higher than #2. So take heart Bieber & co. You're in pretty good company…
Taylor Swift’s ’22′ Video Is Finally Here
Taylor Swift has brushed aside all her boy troubles and opted for a girlie get together in the new video for ‘22’. Warning: May contain traces of real-life friends. Yes, that’s right. Taylor Swift might be super famous, have been linked to some of the hottest men on the planet (and Ed Sheeran) and be on the cover of every magazine in the world but she hasn’t forgotten who her real friends are- Altogether now… “Awww”. Taylor invited all of her bezzies to Malibu to shoot her brand spanking new video for ‘22’. Thanks for the invite Taylor *sadface*.
The 23 year old songstress and her mates have an awesome getaway whilst munching on cake, sunbathing by the pool, frolicking on the beach (who doesn’t love a good frolic?), watching the sunset and other friend related activities. The video looks even more fun than Katy Perry’s ‘Last Friday Night (TGIF)’ vid, with lots of pom poms, a glitter cannon, silly dancing, singing into kitchen utensils, trampolining, trolley pushing and most importantly matching hats! And what pop party anthem video would be complete without a slow-mo walk into a party just before the chorus kicks in again? This video has firmly pushed Taylor to the top of our list of ‘People we need to become friends with by the end of 2013’.
‘22’ is out on April 1st (or as it’s more commonly known April Fool’s Day, or less commonly known as Susan Boyle’s birthday) and we cannot wait to get our mitts on it. But if you can’t wait that long, why not listen to it on her ‘Red’ album which features other amazing pop songs like ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ and ‘I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In’? Alternatively you can watch the video over and over and over again, like us. In the words of Will.I.Am “Check it out” below and let us know what you think!
We’re pretty sure the two-fingers sign is just a little lost in translation (it’s not offensive in the States) but Harry Styles will see it. And he’ll know.
Taylor Swift’s new video headed it’s way tomorrow. POP BITS.
Taylor Swift is set to show off the video for her next single ’22′ tomorrow. It’s premiering in America at 8:30am ET – which we’ve worked out to be the much more reasonable time of half one in the afternoon in the UK.
It all comes before Taylor and her alleged new boyfriend Ed Sheeran – is he a BF or just a BFF? – kick off their American ‘Red’ tour.
Will the video send any digs to Harry Styles, Taylor Swift’s other on-again, off-again boyfriend? We really really hope so.
We’ll have the video and our thoughts on it tomorrow. POP BITS OUT
MP’s Fit Awards – Best Single
The Brit Awards 2013 contains far too many dull popstars, and far too many dull categories, so we at MP! have decided to create our own awards. Rather than rewarding dullness, we’re rewarding the things that really matter – brilliant hair, odd trousers, fanatical instagramming and omnipresent nipples. We’ll be announcing the categories and the nominees over the next few days and will announce the results alongside the (now largely irrelevant) Brit Awards results on Wednesday.
BEST SINGLE
This past year we’ve seen some impressive pop couples. Perrie Little Mix and Zayn 1D (Payn?) and Mr. & Mrs. Marvin JLS (Marchelle?), and Jelena. And who can forget Styft (– is that right – we’re not sure?) But this award goes out to the most eligible bachelor/bachelorette in pop.
- TAYLOR SWIFT – She likes to dress like a hipster & talk about her exes but currently Taylor is single. For now. Let's hope she remains so until Wednesday otherwise we'll look pretty stupid.
- NIALL HORAN – Thankfully for womankind, our Irish lothario remains single. He's got a lot of love to give. And the luck of the Irish. he was rumoured to be dating Selena Gomez but remains on the market.
- HARRY STYLES – DING DING – Styles Vs. Swift – Round… erm… What round are we on? Round 5? Round 6? Harry and Taylor's yo-yoing on-again off-again relationship suggests maybe they're not very good at being single. But Harry has past form. Ask Caroline Flack.
- JAY MCGUINESS – Another STRONG contender. If this guy gets many more notches on his bedposts the whole thing will collapse. We're sure he's just waiting for the right person (us)
- MAX GEORGE – Following the break-up with Michelle Keegan Max is enjoying being single. And recroding the new album. And looking good in vests.
VOTING CLOSED
Taylor Swift to perform at the Brit Awards – POP BITS
POP BITS. The star-studdedness of the Brit Awards show just got a little bit more star-studded. We’ve just heard that Taylor Swift will be performing live at the Awards show in the O2 Arena on February 20th.
Taylor is the final confirmed act, joining Robbie Williams, Muse, Ben Howard, Mumford & Sons, Emeli Sandé, Justin Timberlake and most interestingly, her on-again off-again ex-boyfriend Harry Styles’ band One Direction.
Can we expect sparks to fly between Harry and Taylor backstage (or even better on stage)? We certainly hope so!
POP BITS OUT.
Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber – a guide to pop stars on Twitter!
- Lady Gaga: (@ladygaga) / Followers: 31 million / Follows: 137,000 / Famous follows: Barack Obama / Sample tweet: good story: monster in brazil gave me a necklace engraved with lyrics from The Manifesto of Little Monsters. Have never toured there :) / Conclusion: Gaga clearly loves her fans and uses it to engage with them all over the world. Top tweeting marks here.
- Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) / Followers: 30 million / Follows: 122,000 / Famous follows: Everyone from Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to Charlie Sheen and Kanye West, Justin has serious follower swag / Sample Tweet: "6 years ago today u all started to change my life. Thank u. Love u. #stillkidrauhl" / Conclusion: He may be the biggest teen idol on the planet right now, but Justin clearly hasn’t lost touch with his Beliebers. All those re-tweets clogging up your feed could get annoying though.
- Katy Perry (@katyperry) / Followers: 29 million / Follows: 117 / Famous Follows: Mostly fellow celebrities; Taylor Swift, Ellen DeGeneres, Lana Del Rey etc. / Sample Tweet: I think this lil' lady is going to be massive so if you haven't discovered her yet, jump on board: Jessie Ware. / Conclusion: With just 117 followers she’s a bit of a twitter snob, so you’ll be lucky to get a response from her, but her tweets are quite interesting and she has great taste.
- Rihanna (@Rihanna) / Followers: 26 million / Follows: 889 / Famous follows: Chris Brown / Sample tweet: My 3rd fragrance Nude will be available in the US at Macy’s next FRIDAY! / Conclusion: Lots of updates from her time on the road, plus plugs for her latest products. She’s not the most revealing tweeter, but good at keeping her fans in the loop.
![Britney Spears [@britneyspears] / Followers: 23 million / Follows: 411, 000 / Famous follows: Loads of fans but Rihannas a pretty good ace in the hole / Sample tweet: Spending a quiet New Years Eve in with my boys and little miss@hannahspears. Let's hear some interesting resolutions for 2013? / Conclusion: Fun, frequent and while theres nearly not enough about her music (and quite a few we reckon courtesy of her management team), shes still essential Twitter following.](http://www.maximumpop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/twitter-britneyspears-150x150.jpg "twitter-britneyspears")
- Britney Spears [@britneyspears] / Followers: 23 million / Follows: 411, 000 / Famous follows: Loads of fans but Rihanna’s a pretty good ace in the hole / Sample tweet: Spending a quiet New Years Eve in with my boys and little miss@hannahspears. Let's hear some interesting resolutions for 2013? / Conclusion: Fun, frequent and while there’s nearly not enough about her music (and quite a few we reckon courtesy of her management team), she’s still essential Twitter following.
![Britney Spears [@britneyspears] / Followers: 23 million / Follows: 411, 000 / Famous follows: Loads of fans but Rihannas a pretty good ace in the hole / Sample tweet: Spending a quiet New Years Eve in with my boys and little miss@hannahspears. Let's hear some interesting resolutions for 2013? / Conclusion: Fun, frequent and while theres nearly not enough about her music (and quite a few we reckon courtesy of her management team), shes still essential Twitter following.](http://www.maximumpop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/twitter-britneyspears.jpg "twitter-britneyspears")
- Taylor Swift (@Taylorswift13) / Followers: 20 million / Follows: 82 / Famous follows: Ed Sheeran, Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol, Lily Allen / Sample Tweet: Walked into my AMA dressing room and there was this little bowl of candy in there. Literally shrieked with excitement. Need to tone it down. / Conclusion: A fun tweeter who really shows off her quirky personality, and seems to be well connected to the Britpop pack.
Back in the days of yore (i.e. the 90s) if you had a burning desire to get in touch with your favourite pop star, you had to find their address, write them a letter, buy a stamp, find a postbox and hope that their secretary wouldn’t just toss it out with the takeaway menus when it arrived. Tough times dear readers, tough times. We remember many a time sitting, waiting for a sign of affection from A1 or Steps but to no avail… *sigh*
Nowadays, of course, it’s so much easier. All you need to do is log in to twitter and you’ve got the entire celebrity world at your fingertips. But is your chart topper of choice likely to get back to you, or will you end up like us back in the 90s, still waiting for that postcard from Geri Halliwell? The lovely people at clickitticket.com have created a guide to the top tweeters in pop. Here’s what we learned when we took a peek…
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:
