Regular followers of this blog will be well aware of Shazam’s New Release Charts. Posted each Wednesday, the charts compile the most tagged new release records in the UK and USA and predict hit records weeks in advance.
For example, 85% of the tracks that go number one in the Shazam New Release Chart UK go on to reach the top 3 in the UK official charts in the following weeks. Shazam’s uncanny knack for highlighting hit records makes our charts an important tool for both music fans and the wider music industry.
You might not know, however, that Shazam also distributes an in depth list of charts to friends and music industry insiders. Delivered by email each Tuesday, these charts include deeper Top 200 charts for UK and USA, as well as the recently added territories of France and Germany.
If you’re interested in receiving these charts out, and discover new hits weeks before anyone else, all you need to do is complete the below form.
Having achieved multi platinum selling singles in several European countries including; France, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland & Sweden as well as top 10 hits in Canada & Japan, Mohombi prepares operation “Conquer UK” starting off with his latest offering “In Your Head” available to download now.
Hailing from Sweden, the self titled Afro-Viking of Swedish & African origin is the first signing to Uber-producer RedOne’s label. With a long list of powerful collaborations under his belt, Mohombi is able to outclass anybody in a name dropping contest-having already worked with some of the biggest artists in the world, including; Akon, Nelly, Pitbul & Nicole Scherzinger.
This is not the first taste of musical success for Mohombi. During 2004 and 2008-while a member of Swedish hip hop outfit Avalon, they sold half a million albums and picked up an African Grammy.
In 2005 he was elevated to prestige status after being shortlisted for Sweden’s annual broadcaster’s music competition “Melodifestivalen” having written and produced his own entry. South Korean boy band “Big Band” then picked up a number of songs written by Mohombi. The validation from their success introduced Mohombi as a credible writer of pop tunes.
After quitting his job in 2008-and moving to LA, he met RedOne, and the rest as they say was history. Shazam had the chance to meet Mohombi, see the exclusive Shazam interview in the video below
Due to high demand here in the UK, “In Your Head” is now available to download on iTunes. Get your copy Here
The Apple App Store is about to hit 25 BILLION downloads worldwide! If you’re the lucky person to download the 25th billionth app, you could win a US$10,000 App Store Gift Card (rules and regulations apply).
Let’s make sure the 25th billionth download is the (SHAZAM)RED App for iPhone and iPod Touch.
So come on! Go for the prize and fight for the end of AIDS while you’re at it!
A first glance at the title of Usher’s latest track suggests we’re in for some kind of innuendo-laden, R Kelly-esque slow jam. But while this will undoubtedly provide the soundtrack for a limitless number of booty calls, it’s a very different beast (with two backs) to something like ‘Bump’n’Grind’.
Much of this is down to the production, provided by dance mega-star Diplo. It’s a minimalist confection of spectral, skittering beats, punctuated by unexpected, acid-influenced splodges. There’s so much going on at a purely sonic level, it would probably work almost as well as an instrumental track. Credit to Usher then, that his contribution elevates things even further. He gives an impressively restrained performance, his tentative falsetto gradually giving way to an appropriately climactic crescendo where he finally cuts loose.
Lyrically, the track provides a dissection of a relationship at breaking point: “We’ve reached the climax/ We’re together/ Now we’re undone/ Won’t commit so we choose to run away/ Do we separate?” Sure, this is a love song, but it’s one coming at the subject from a slightly different angle.
Climax bodes well for Usher’s forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album, due out sometime in the spring, which sees further collaborations with Diplo, alongside Ariel Rechtshaid and Redd Stylez.
If one track in 2012 is going to embody the new breed of ‘stadium bass’ that’s emerged from the British drum’n'bass / dubstep / UK bass scene, it’s likely to be Friction’s track ‘Led Astray’.
Friction – real name Ed Keeley – has been a stalwart of the d’n'b scene throughout the 2000s, releasing huge tracks like Torture Chamber and Robocop, so he has plenty of practise in making massive rave-anthem-esque club bangers. Latest track ‘Led Astray’ has been getting plenty of airplay on the UK’s BBC Radio One (in January this year DJ Zane Lowe announced that the tune was his ‘Hottest Record In The World’!).
Having made a name for himself as a party time DJ, Friction recently made the switch from playing solely vinyl to using digital beats in his live sets. “Set-ups aren’t really capable of playing vinyl anymore,” he said in an interview with Bugged Out. “It’s a very tricky thing to use because you get feedback and jumping needles. It’s still my favourite format – hearing a track played on vinyl is the best way to hear a tune. These days, though, everything’s digital.”
He also commented on the rise of popularity of festivals as opposed to club nights for dance music these days. “Your standard club like Fabric will always be busy and will always do well, but there are less and less clubs like that as time goes on. But now there seems to be more one-off events with big line-ups. But Fabric is the only place now where you can go at five o’clock in the morning and it will be packed and everyone there is up for it.”
As well as releasing enormous floor-shaking tunes, Friction has a busy year ahead of him in 2012, as he’ll be taking over the drum and bass show on BBC Radio One from Fabio and Grooverider. Watch this space, as you’ll be seeing – and hearing – plenty more of the man…
We recently checked out Canadian electro pop duo New Look, who played a handful of UK dates this month. The band, signed to K7, battled through some sound issues to play to a sold out crowd. Their eponymous debut album has been a regular fixture in our office for months, with album opener ‘Nap On The Bow’ proving to be one of the standout moments.
Check out our exclusive photos from the night, by David Sutheran.
Given her recent well-publicised split from short-lived husband Russell Brand, it’s hard not to see Katy Perry’s latest track as a direct response to the spindly, quasi-Dickensian funnyman. Lines like: ‘You chewed me up and spit me out/Like I was poison in your mouth’ suggest that the couple’s parting hasn’t been quite as amicable as originally portrayed.
From its somewhat downbeat opening, the chorus sees the track morph into a slightly more triumphal shape. It’s an anthemic promise to resist the ‘bombs and blows’ with more than a hint of her previous omnipresent hit ‘Firework’ about it. It’s almost certainly going to be massive, so you might as well get used to it.
The track will be making an appearance on ‘Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection’, a deluxe reissue of Perry’s mega-selling 2011 album set for release at the end of March. The album already includes a grand total of six number one songs, a feat only previously managed by the now deposed King of Pop Michael Jackson with ‘Bad’.
Far from being a simple cash-in, Perry insists that the pimped out release represents a final lap of honour for her breakthrough record. “This is the complete story of Teenage Dream,” she said on her website. “It was an incredible honor to tie the King of Pop’s Billboard Hot 100 record, but I’m moving forward and had a few things left to get off my chest. So this is the complete special edition of my album for my fans.”
Alongside the parade of familiar hits, the new version of ‘Teenage Dream’ contains three new tracks featuring guest spots from Kanye West and Missy Elliott.
