‘212’ might be the breakthrough Azealia Banks deserves. I just discovered this track as it’s currently B listed on BBC Radio 1. Initially released last December, it has taken awhile to grow its fanbase in Europe. The track appeared on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Tracks of 2011 ahead of the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z and Adele. It’s dubbed ‘2012’ after the area code of Harlem where Azealia Banks grew up. It features the rapper Lazy Jay and has so far racked up more than 5.7m views on YouTube.
Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ is the most successful winner ever in the history of Melodifestivalen. With 670,551 votes according to the news daily Aftonbladet, the singer easily took home top honors last night ahead of Danny Saucedo’s ‘Amazing,’ and is now set for Azerbaijan’s Baku this May.
Visitors from Almost 50 Countries Search for Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’
I’ve had visitors from almost 50 countries, ending up on my blog after a Google search for Loreen and/or ‘Euphoria’! This includes the UK, Netherlands, Norway and non-Euro countries such as the US and Ecuador.
More Than 2m Viewers Followed Melodifestivalen Last Night
Melodifestivalen hasn’t been this popular since Carola won with ‘Evighet’ (dubbed ‘Invincible’ in the Eurovision). More than 2m viewers watched the contest according to news daily Dagens Nyheter, where Loreen both won the hearts of the international jury as well as the Swedish tele votes.
Loreen is currently working on her debut album, which is slated for release this September. I was disappointed in ‘Euphoria’ ‘only’ making it to No.12 in its first week, the single vaulted to No.1 on Friday, adding another week on the digital songs chart Digilistan.
International Jury Chose Eric Saade’s ‘Popular’
Letting an international jury vote for a winning track is a clever way of getting acceptance in the Eurovision. Last year, ‘Popular’ managed to win bronze and already Sweden is a top favorite with international betting companies. The use of ‘Euphoria’ in the Spanish promo for Gossip Girl, is just one indication that the track has a pan-European potential.
I will make sure to cover Loreen’s way to Baku and hopefully she will take the Eurovision by storm. I predicted that ‘Euphoria’ was the path to success upon Loreen winning the first heat in Växjö last month. Sure hope that you agree with me.
Expect ‘Rumour Has It’ to become British singer-songwriter Adele’s next Hot 100 chart-topping single when it’s released later this month. ‘Turning Tables’ charted following its inclusion in Glee (where Gwyneth Paltrow performed it), yet it was never officially released as an Adele single in the US. A bit disappointing if you ask me, the track was issued as a single in Italy and the Netherlands for instance.
Haven already placed ‘Rolling in the Deep,’ ‘Someone Like You’ and ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ atop the Billboard Hot 100, this new single has already started climbing US charts. I’ve blogged about Adele’s hugely successful “21” album ever since the countdown to the original release back in January 2011. Back then, ‘Rolling in the Deep’ had just been announced as the first new single preceding the set.
Currently climbing the charts with Chris Brown on the remix version of ‘Birthday Cake,’ Rihanna will perform at the annual Peace and Love festival in Borlänge this summer. According to DN, this will be her only concert in Sweden this summer. The festival will be held between 26-30 June. Skrillex, Kent, Bloc Party, Turbonegro, Veronica Maggio and Lars Winnerbäck are other confirmed acts. A year ago, I wrote about Jay-Z’s participation at the festival at Peace and Love 2011.
Rihanna returned last year with “Talk That Talk,” which was preceded by the worldwide chart topper ‘We Found Love’ (featuring Calvin Harris). The follow-up ‘You Da One’ just missed the Hot 100 Top 10, while the title track is yet to reach the Top 30. ‘Talk That Talk’ will be released as a single in the UK mid-March.
In other news, Rihanna premiered a remix version of ‘Birthday Cake’ at the end of February. The track features Chris Brown and coincided with Rihanna’s 24th birthday. The original version was a 1:18 length interlude and was actually recorded at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Copenhagen in Denmark. I haven’t covered Rihanna properly since her collaboration with Nicki Minaj on ‘Fly’ last September.
