Rising British acoustic soul star Ed Sheeran released the first track from his joint EP with Yelawolf and he spoke with Bark + Bite about his collaboration with the Slaughterhouse MC in our recent interview with him.
Now, the pair have released a trailer (above) that shows them working in the studio on the project. The song that plays in the trailer features Ed interpolating the classic "London Bridge" nursery rhyme into a haunted warning: "London bridge is falling down, falling down / And if it don't stop falling, then all of us will drown."
Sounds like we can expect the unexpected from these two when the full EP drops later in February.
Acoustic soul. It's a boldly single-flavor proposition in a top 40 landscape that rewards decadent synth lasagnas and electro pop layer cakes. But then again, given the recent success of Adele, a singer who has racked up eye-popping record sales with nothing but good ol' fashioned soul, it's clear there's a market out there for music fans who'd like to feast their ears on much simpler aural dishes.
Ed Sheeran has leveraged his unique brand of acoustic soul to wild success in the UK. His debut album + debuted at #1 in the UK, earning him the highest UK sales for a debut artist ever. He's also up for numerous awards at the Brits this year, including Best Album, and he has the support of a few showbiz VIPs like Elton John and Jamie Foxx.
We had the chance to catch up with the British wunderkind as he prepares for an extended campaign of the US. Will he be able to cast a spell on the US as he's done in his home, the UK?
When La Roux had its breakthrough in 2010 with "Bulletproof," the world was Elly Jackson's oyster. The curiously coifed redhead curried the favor of music critics and she set the airwaves ablaze with her bittersweet, '80s-inspired, electro pop survival anthem "Bulletproof."
After the success of "Bulletproof," La Roux toured the States and collaborated with hip hop legend Kanye West. He appeared on a remix of "In for the Kill" and she repaid the favor by lending her voice to his superstar chorus on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy's "All of the Lights" and pitching in along with Charlie Wilson on Watch the Throne's "That's My Bitch."
2011, however, was largely a year of hibernation and recording for La Roux. The good news is that the band is finally ready to reemerge in 2012, with Digital Spy reporting that the sophomore set will drop sometime in May this year. Also, we're apparently all in for something a little sexier this time around.
"The music is a lot sexier. A lot of music that's quite sexual is aggressive, but the music itself doesn't sound sexy - it's more people shouting, 'Look at my bum! Look!' I'm not turned on by it, I'm terrified," Jackson told NME, according to Digital Spy.
Sounds like Elly prefers her sexy with a side of mystery. So don't go getting too many ideas about her crawling around, nude and covered in body paint for the lead single's video.
In fact, Jackson recently took to her Twitter account to express disdain for the state of female sexuality in pop music while responding to a remark about Rihanna's crotch-first "You Da One" video.
British singer V V Brown is ready to take a few chances this go-round. If you thought the only trick the singer had in her bag was pin-up girl retro revivalism, her next moves might surprise you.
In an official press release from her record label, V V Brown told the story of her journey in creating the follow-up to her debut, Travelling Like the Light.
”I felt like I was maturing as an artist,” V V says. “I set up a studio in my flat, with just me and my engineer, and started going a bit mad with music. It was all part of the process of getting to where I am now. I had to re-program and learn who I was again.”
The first single, called "Children," was produced by Chuck Harmony, one of the men responsible for Rihanna's chillingly dark Rated R single "Russian Roulette."
“The song was written about a generation that has uninspiring aspirations and believes material wealth is what happiness is,” V V says, adding that the song feels particularly topical given the summer riots in London. “You have to give people a voice,” she says. “Everyone has to be heard, because otherwise they will make themselves heard.”
“Children” will be available on September 20th. While we wait for the official release of "Children," V V is teasing fans with short video clips, the first of which features footage of ice cream on a cone melting in reverse. Is the melting ice cream an omen? That good things don't last for long? Or perhaps a positive message, encouraging us to seize the day and enjoy life while it lasts?
In a scene straight off of an E! special, two men were arrested in connection to a plot to murder singer Joss Stone Wednesday after being taken into custody earlier this week.
According to BBC News, the pair, ages 30 and 33 were originally arrested for being in possession of “offensive weapons” and “being equipped to steal,” but were later discovered to have swords, a body bag, forensic –style overalls and plans of the singer’s home in Devon, England.
Wednesday morning, officers patrolled the area and questioned households in the area to gather more information, the singer is reportedly fine and “getting on with life as normal.”
"Our officers are currently carrying out reassurance patrols and it's important to stress that no properties have been burgled and no individuals have been harmed," Detective Inspector Steve Parker, of Devon and Cornwall Police, who is leading the investigation told BBC News.
Twenty-four-year-old Stone is one of the wealthiest young pop stars in Britain. She has been popular since her British debut in 2004 and has gone on to win numerous awards including two Brit Awards.
Those old timers often have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to the younger generations. And it would appear that Elton John is no different. In a recent interview, he railed against the current trends in pop music and assailed what he saw as cesspool of "pretty awful" songwriters. Ouch. But with songs boasting empty, vacuous lyrics like Ke$ha's "Tik Tok," Enrique Iglesia's "I Like It" and Jason DeRulo's "Ridin' Solo" scoring time and time again on the charts, does he have a point?
"It's important they (pop stars) write their own songs, so they're not at the mercy of anyone," John, whose real name is Reginald Dwight, told Britain's Radio Times magazine.
"Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same. Contemporary pop isn't very inspiring."
We'll have to agree to disagree with regard to pop stars being required to double as songwriters, as Aaliyah, who considered herself more of an interpreter of words than a wordsmith, has shown it's quite alright to play just the entertainer role. Not to mention Whitney Houston, one of the grandest voices of our lifetime, who is also not much of a songwriter.
But with regard to everything sounding the same in pop music today, Elton's not far off the mark. And many would likely agree. So if we all agree pop music is getting dull, predictable and repetitive, why do we keep rewarding the same formulas and expect different results?
Oh, you thought it was a wrap for Estelle after "American Boy," huh? It's a fair assessment to make. Her follow up single to "American Boy," "No Substitute Love" didn't register on the public's radar. She even released a Cee Lo collabo, "Pretty Please" that didn't go over well either. Yikes. The question began to emerge: Is Estelle doomed to one-hit wonderdom?
If there's any justice in the world, hell no! Estelle has found her groove again with her new collaboration with Sean Paul, "Come Over." The video for the track was just released, so please take a look.
The song itself is a breezy, light, sensual love song about desire, longing and lust. It's got a slow whine to it and it'll have you turning out the lights faster than Michael Jackson at a kids-only slumber party. If you think Estelle sounds at home in the Caribbean groove, it is in part thanks to her roots. Estelle's papa was a native of Grenada and Estelle's rap side has always been heavily influenced by Caribbean styles. As for Sean Paul, he could do this song in his sleep, but he thankfully puts in some work and really brings home the male/female dynamic which makes the song click.
Now all of those compliments I paid to the song don't translate to the video. Look, I know they're cutting budgets for videos. I'm not expecting a million-dollar, green screen, Star Wars-type music video. But damn, all artists seem to be doing these days for their music videos is renting a mansion for a few hours and walking around in the damn house and posing on furniture. And for all the warmth that Sean Paul and Estelle generate on the song, it doesn't show in their physical interaction. Estelle seems stiff and intimidated, while Sean is in creepy rough sex mood, biting his lip and smashing his face against Estelle's. Damn, homie, it's supposed to be a music video, not a softcore Cinemax skin flick.
I expected Estelle, being part Caribbean, to put some whine on her moves during the dance floor scene but she looked like she ain't know what to do with her lady lumps.
And though I love Estelle, I've got to say it: Did you see Estelle's JACKED UP grill at the end of the video? She was giving us straight-up Mr. Ed with her protruding gums and beastly teeth.
Is there anything that can be done about horse mouth syndrome? I'm doubtful. In the words of Mr. Ed: a horse is a horse of course, of course.
My image of an attorney has been completely colored by my life in the US, so to me, an attorney's uniform was a suit and tie. Nothing more, nothing less.
So imagine my surprise when I began watching Nigerian movies (they're hilarious, you should watch them) and I saw Africans acting out courtroom dramas with musty, ratty, 18th century wigs perched on their heads. My first reaction was: WTF? Why are these grown-ass men playing dress up with historically European costumes in their courtrooms? And those wigs looked really hot, cause the actors wearing them were sweating like crazy in these flicks too. It looked like Niagra falls was running down their faces.
So I began researching why the hell my Nigerian brothers were putting themselves through the torture of wearing colonial wigs from the white man's hey day. I perused the Internets and stumbled upon the history of the barristers and the practices of British law. Apparently, the lawyers and judges of olden times saw the wigs, which are made of horse hair btw, as a sign of respect, status and intimidation. Yeah....intimidated is exactly how I feel when I look at grown men walking around with curly carpets on their heads. Good one, guys. Just to give the benefit of the doubt, perhaps this argument held some weight in the 18th century when bathing was infrequent and people were shorter and smaller. But how the hell can you make that argument with a straight face in the 21st century?
Well, the Brits are finally wising up...somewhat. The judges have decided that they will no longer be wearing the fugly, old-fashioned wigs in family and civil court, sparing us all from the ridiculous spectacle. CBS News has the report.
The barristers still think they're pretty nifty though. For some strange reason, Tim Dutton of the Barristers Council thinks that the wigs provide the lawyers with a layer of anonymity. WHAT? Has he seen those things? Since when has a wig ever worked as a disguise? Britney Spears has worn pink wigs, black wigs and blonde wigs, she still looks like Britney Spears. Give me a break, counsel!
I want to know when the Nigerians will wake up and drop the silly wigs too. Blonde works on very few black people, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce being the exception, and the whole getup is just out of this time period. This is one instance where America's got it right.
