Of Course You’re Our Number One, Princess

Of Course You’re Our Number One, Princess

WelcheMusic looks back and remembers one of the most charming tracks of the mid-’80s. “Say I’m Your Number One,” became the biggest hit in the career of Desiree Heslop who took the stage name Princess. Born in Britain back in 1961, the vocalist worked with the group Osibisa. The band was formed by four African expats and three Caribeean musicians and is recognized act within the world music genre.

Back to Princess. Her eponymous album was released in 1986 with the help of the production team Stock Aitken Waterman. The set included “Say I’m Your Number One,” which was issued in 1985 as well as three additional UK Top 40 tracks.

In 1987, Princess recorded the second album All for Love in the US. This time, she took the help of producers such as Glen Ballard and Richard James Burgess. Ballard is most famous for producing Alanis Morissette’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie in 1998, while James Burgess produced Spandau Ballet’s first two albums.

Princess participated on the ITV music show Hit Me Baby, One More Time where she performed her own hit as well as a cover of Kylie Minogue’s “Slow.” The show managed to attract pop stars such as Chesney Hawkes, Sybil, Cleopatra, Haddaway and Tiffany.

Donkeyboy is here to stay

Norwegian act Donkeyboy makes a giant leap on this week’s Swedish singles chart. “Ambitions” climbs 25-3 on the back of the Skavlan appearance last week.  The single spends a seventh week on the chart, but has never reached the top ten before. The recent breakthrough has also favored sales of the album, Caught in a Life, which jumps 37-16.

Sade Expected to Top Next Week’s Album Chart
According to Billboard, Sade is set to top the album chart next week as the new set Soldier of Love is projected to sell between 375,000 to 400,000 copies. A year back, Taylor Swift’s Fearless moved 92,000 copies the same week. As WelcheMusic previously wrote, Sade hasn’t released any new albums since Lovers Rock in 2000. The album has so far shifted 3.9m copies in the US.

The lead single “Soldier of Love” hasn’t made any serious impact on the charts. So far, it has peaked at No.58 on the Hot 100 chart. It did manage to top the Billboard Jazz Songs chart. The song has also made the top 40 in  Sweden.

Listen to Erik Hassle’s Rihanna Cover
Don’t miss out on this funky ‘70s flavour remix of Erik Hassle’s “Hurtful,” available on The Hype Machine’s blog. “Hurtful” was only recently released as a single in the UK and it received rave reviews. I hope that it will appear in the upper regions of the singles chart this week. Do also check out his cover of Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette.”

Hurtful (Penguin Prison Remix)
Russian Roulette (Erik Hassle cover)

R.E.M. issued “Everybody Hurts” in April 1993 as the fourth single from the Automatic for the People album. Little did they know that come February 2010, Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue and Rod Stewart would cover the track in attempt to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Less surprisingly, music entrepreneur Simon Cowell is responsible for the initaitive which could be described as the Idol generation’s Band Aid. Cowell’s “own” artists such as Leona Lewis,  Alexandra Burke, Susan Boyle and JLS collaborate on this charity single. The song has already sold 205,000 copies in the UK and is set to reach the singles chart this Sunday.

R.E.M, Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue, Rod Stewart, Simon Cowell, Band Aid, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Susan Boyle, JLS

Alicia Keys, Paolo Nutini, André Rieu, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ke$ha, Peter Andre, Hot Chip,  Midlake, Muse
Alicia Keys has finally made it to the top of the UK album chart with The Element of Freedom. The knocked off Paolo Nutini’s Sunny Side Up, but Alicia Key’s trailed by the classical violonist André Rieu’s Forever Vienna, which moves 4-2.  Rieu’s best known for creating an international revival in waltz music.

Corinne Bailey Rae’s the highest new entry with The Sea. The set is the singer’s second album, following her eponymous debut back in 2006. “I’d Do It All Again” was released on Feb.1, but is yet to chart. Bailey Rae’s most famous for her “Put Your Records On” single, which was released almost exactly four years ago. Lady GaGa spends a 56th week on the album chart with The Fame. Ke$ha enters at No.8 with Animal, while Peter Andre’s Unconditional Love Songs claims the N0.9 spot in its first week.

Hot Chip’s One Life Stand tops the dance album chart, Midlake’s The Courage of Others commands the indie album chart, Alicia Key rules the r’n’b chart while Muse’s The Resistance is the No.1 rock album of the week.

Miike Snow ‘is in for the Kill’
Miike Snow’s definitely a WelcheMusic favourite! Formed in 2007, the band consists of production team Bloodshy &  Avant along with singer Andrew Wyatt.  They’ve already earned worldwide critical acclaim and recently they paid Radio 1 a visit, performing live versions of “Sylvia” and La Roux’s “In for the Kill” on Live Lounge. Watch it here.

Miike Snow, Bloodyshy, Avant, Andrew Wyatt

Owl City, John & Edward, David Bowie, The Queen, Vanilla Ice, X-Factor, Timbaland, Katy Perry, Glee Cast, Alicia Keys, Ke$ha, Marina and the Diamonds
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 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.

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.

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.xx with her second single “Hollywood,” lifted from the debut set The Family Jewels.

Cowell’s Haiti Charity Project Remains Atop of UK Singles Chart

The No.1 track remains “Everybody Hurts,” the charity single initiated by Simon Cowell of X-Factor fame. The R.E.M. cover features the likes of Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Susan Boyle, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams. It was obviously a top contender for the No.1 position upon its release on Feb.7.

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 her breakthrough came as  guest vocaliston Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” and “Scream” in 2007.

Her debut album came in 2009 when In a Perfect World… launched 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.

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.

Keri Hilson, Timbaland, David Jost, Robin Grubert, Manhattan Clique, Haiti
R’n’b

Will Donkeyboy Enjoy Melody Gardot’s Skavlan Effect?

Raise a hand any Scandinavian who put on a Melody Gardot album before hearing her sing on the talk show Skavlan? We didn’t think so. Melody Gardot’s My One and Only Thrill immediately became a bestseller following her appearance on the TV programme.

Norwegians are already familiar with Donkeyboy. The group reigns from Norwegian Drammen and was signed by Warner Music upon being discovered on MySpace. The debut hit “Ambitions” topped the Norwegian singles chart for 12 weeks, only to be succeded by the follow-up hit “Sometimes.” Three additional singles from the debut set Caught in a Life have reached the top ten in their home country and now it’s time for the group to reap the fruits of success in the rest of the world.  “Ambitions” has already charted in Sweden, having already spent six weeks on the tally. It has, however, only reached No.25 so far. But, be prepared. The song tops the current Apple iTunes chart, following the appearance on Skavlan.  Anyone else who hopes for a Gardot effect?

Donkeyboy, Melody Gardot, Skavlan, Warner Music, MySpace,
r’n’b

“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.

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.

Suzanne Vega, Seinfeld, DNA