NEW RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS
KANYE WEST – ‘The Good Life’ (Universal)
Having released one of the greatest albums of 2007 and crushing 50 Cent in the album-sales war along the way, Kanye West follows up the excellent ‘Stronger’ with another party anthem declaring why his life is so good. With its luxury-soul sound and an excellent sample of Michael Jackson’s ‘PYT’, ‘The Good Life’ musically exemplifies the settling in to a life of wealth and leisure all delivered with Kanye’s trademark tongue in cheek style. Featuring the man himself and featured guest T-Pain, the video is exceptional and was directed by Jonas & Francis, the team behind MTV Video Music Award winner ‘D.A.N.C.E.’ by Justice.
Find the single ‘The Good Life’ in Nightlife lists: HAPPY_HOUR, WARM_UP, CLUB_RnB, HOTEL_MIX, JUKEBOX
TIMBALAND F/ONEREPUBLIC – ‘Apologise’ (Universal)
In reality, this song seems more like a OneRepublic song remixed by Timbaland than it is his own as an artist. However, it will guarantee incredible exposure for OneRepublic, a MySpace favourite signed to Timba’s Mosley Music Group. Don’t let the marketing tactics put you off, ‘Apologise’ is one of the most beautiful mainstream pop tracks of the year with Timbaland contributing an airy vibe that echoes the feel of Nelly Furtado’s ‘Say It Right’. Aside from that, the song has already made history in Australia by becoming the first track to hit the ARIA chart with sales based solely on digital sales (and not including physical). Debuting at number 10, the track is one of two in the top 10 – the other being ‘The Way I Are’ sitting pretty in the number one slot.
Find the single ‘Apologise’ in Nightlife lists: SMOOTH, HOTEL_MIX, LITEnEASY, TOP_100, JUKEBOX
DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP – ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’
(Central Station)
Remember Morrissey? Of course you do, the man could sing a newspaper and he’d make it sound like fine literature. Now Scroobius Pip and beatmaker Dan Le Sac have been startling audiences across the world with the danceable commandments and highly quotable laptop poetry. On the brilliant ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’, the duo hit a nerve or two by slagging off Coke, Nestle and UK magazine NME all delivered somewhere between spoken word, rap and biblical brimstone over a lo-fi electronic production.
Find the single ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’ in Nightlife lists: CLUB_HARD, HOTEL_MIX, ALT_SOUNDS
BAT FOR LASHES – ‘What’s A Girl To Do?’ (Virgin)
Bat For Lashes is the creation of Natasha Khan, a Pakistan-born, Brighton-based songwriter who has just released a brilliant record by the name of Fur And Gold, an ethereal, cinematic, fantastical album that was recently nominated for the coveted Mercury Award (actually won by Klaxons). As beguiling as Bjork, as stunning as Sinead O’Connor and as dramatic as Kate Bush, it is her voice that dominates these mature and gothic sounds that are for those willing to be whisked off to a beautiful faraway land.
Find the single ‘What’s A Girl To Do?’ in Nightlife lists: ALT_SOUNDS, HOTEL_MIX, UK_POP
 Ben Preece - Music Programming |
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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: IDOL BOYS
Australian Idol: you may have heard of it. Since its debut screening four years ago, it’s been a consistent ratings winner for Channel 10 and spawned a plethora of Idol merchandise.
Of course it isn’t all about the small screen entertainment, the show produces some excellent Aussie talent who have ended up topping the charts. This week we spotlight three of the boys of Australian Idol.
He may have sold a staggering half a million records already, but Guy Sebastian is back with a third album, feeling much more confident, self assured and completely at ease with his place in the world and his sound. Guy, you may recall, was the inaugural winner of the hugely popular television series. His dominance on the show translated instantly to the charts with record breaking sales for his debut album Just As I Am. The success carried effortlessly into his second album Beautiful Life, where Guy took more control of his craft with self-penned hits ‘Out With My Baby’ and ‘Oh-Oh’ seducing radio stations and fans across the nation. A sell-out live tour showed the country he was more than just an as-seen-on-TV star with big hair, he was a genuine musician who oozed talent.
Anthony Callea didn’t win season two’s Idol competition but he has still gone on to become one of the most popular young singers in Australia today. His rendition of the operatic ‘The Prayer’ won over Mums nation-wide to become both the highest and fastest-selling Australian single of all time. Following on from the chart-topping success of his self-titled, multi-platinum debut album, A New Chapter sees Anthony step forward as a musician in complete control of his art and destiny, co-writing virtually everything on this new album and personally over-seeing every aspect of the recording.
And the winner of Australian Idol 2006 is… Damien Leith! Music is in Damien’s DNA. In fact, even if the charismatic Irishman wanted to escape music, it would not be possible. Damien was raised by an extremely musical family and performed with his siblings throughout his teenage years. Up until his triumph of this year’s hotly contested series of Australian Idol, Damien was consistently surrounded by musical workmates even whilst working as a chemist in Sydney. But for a lad who has passionately pursued his musical dreams, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
