Shazam Around The World: International High Flyers
The throne of Popular Music was conquered by two very different females in 2009: It was Lady Gaga vs. Susan Boyle. Luckily, around the world a few local artists have challenged their chart supremacy. Beginning in Germany with Peter Fox, a hip-hop musician member of the dancehall band Seed, whose solo career has provided two of the biggest selling records in Teutonic lands. His late 2008 debut ‘Stadtaffe’ ranked high in the end of the year Eurochart, having sold over 700,000 copies. It was rapidly followed up with a live album with Coldsteel as backing band.
Spanish heartthrob Alejandro Sanz arrived right before Christmas with his ninth studio album ‘Paraíso Express’. The songwriter – who still has the record for the biggest selling album in Spain after shifting more than a million copies of his sixth opus ‘El Alma Al Aire’- not only conquered his country’s Christmas market, but also reached number one all over Latin America. A few years ago he also broke the US Top 40 featuring in Shakira’s ‘La Tortura’. Now another high profile duet, this time with Alicia Keys, may turn into Sanz’s proper breakthrough in the US.
Aussie twins Lisa and Jess Origliasso – better known as The Veronicas - recently celebrated their 25th birthday and the excellent year they had. In 2009 they scored a first global smash with ‘Untouched’ and shared new track ‘Could’ve Been’ with their fans, while giving the finishing touches to their third studio album.
And on a less commercial note, Gallic critics have hailed the return of veteran troubadour Dominique A as the best French album of the year. The prestigious song-writer, famous for a unique mix of elements taken from the new wave, post-punk and chanson Française, crowned nearly two decades of music with a notable return to form.
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