“Tom’s Diner” was Actually Seinfeld’s Coffee Joint

Suzanne Vega wrote “Tom’s Diner” back in 1981, but the track wasn’t issued commercially until 1987 when it was included on her album Solitude Standing. The song was original as it’s one of few international a cappella hits. A recent documentary on Swedish television revealed some interesting facts about this song. For example, the diner is actually the coffee joint featured in Seinfeld. Upon its single release in 1987, “Tom’s Diner” reached No.16 in Ireland and a meager No.58 position in the UK.

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In 1990, a white-label record where a dance beat had been added to “Tom’s Diner” was surfaced. It was even picked up by Radio 1, although they do not usually play non-officially released tracks. The production team behind the remix called themselves DNA. As Suzanne Vega’s career halted, the vocalist cleared the official release of the version. The track immediately became a worldwide success, much greater than the original release.  The DNA remix version reached No.2 in the UK, No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100, No.1 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Suzanne Vega’s latest album came in 2007, when Beauty & Crime was issued.

“Ice Ice Baby” Returns to the UK singles Chart

Owl City’s “Fireflies” remains atop of the UK singles chart in its fifth week. The single was initially released in July last year and has so far topped the charts in the US, Australia, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands. The UK version is slightly shorter as the record label has chosen to shorten the intro and remove the first chorus. Expect “Vanilla Twilight” to be the follow-up hit.

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The highest new entry comes from the Irish duo John & Edward. They have recorded a mashup of The Queen’s and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby.” Not an amazing feat, as the latter was built on Queen’s 1981 hit. Vanilla Ice reached No.1 in both the US and the UK back in 1990. So, who are John & Edward? Well, we’re not done with X-Factor 2009 as the duo performed this song on the program in November last year.

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Timbaland and Katy Perry moves 17-3 this week with “If We Ever Meet Again,” pushing the Glee Cast’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” 2-4.  As WelcheMusic predicted, Alicia Key’s ballad version of “Empire State of Mind” has cracked the charts as it moves into the top five this week.

The second highest new entry comes from Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah”  at No.11. Welsh act Marina and the Diamonds enters at No.12 with her second single “Hollywood,” lifted from the debut set The Family Jewels.

Keri Hilson’s German No.1 to Break in the Rest of Europe

The American r’n’b singer Keri Hilson surely isn’t the first name that pops up when you think of artists secretly breaking it big in Germany. Born in Georgia back in 1982, Keri Hilson had already established herself as a credible songwriter before her breakthrough came as  guest vocalist on Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” and “Scream” in 2007.

Her debut album came in 2009 when In a Perfect World… collected hit singles such as “Knock You Down” and “Energy.” So, how come that she topped the German singles chart last December? Strangely enough, the song “I Like” is the hit single off the soundtrack to Zweiohrküken (Chicken with Two Ears).  It’s a German romantic comedy revolving around the a yellow press reporter  and his girlfriend.

Keri Hilson’s hit single was written and produced by David Jost and Robin Grubert and will be featured on a re-issue of the In a Perfect World… album. The track has already been added to the German version of the set, and “I Like” was recently released in Sweden (it currently sits at No.46 on the singles chart). There are two versions available of the track, the Jost & Grubert mix as well as a Manhattan Clique remix.

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In a Perfect World… has so far produced five hit singles. “Energy,”  “Return the Favor” and “Turnin’ Me On” were released back in 2008, while “Knock You Down” preceded the immediate release of the album in March 2009. A fifth single, “Slow Dance,” was released in July 2009. This January, Keri Hilson and Akon released the charity single “Oh Africa” to benefit underprivileged youth in Haiti. According to Wikipedia, “Tell Him the Truth” is also slated for single release in 2010.

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