Charley says VIDEO! City To City – The Road Ahead

‘The Road Ahead‘ by City To City.

Just because. Things are changing.

Charley says SONG! Yannick Bovy – She’s Even More Beautiful

As in previous years, the instore sound system at my summer job is doing a terrific job. While this year’s theme seems to be Beyoncé singles from the ’4′ era and the odd Spice Girls ballad, one of my favourite musical moments was the reintroduction of Yannick Bovy.

Some time ago I posted how Yannick, who in 2007 recorded ’Better World Without You‘ with Milk Inc.’s Regi Penxten, was trying to find the right people to help him become a Belgian Bublé. A year later, he’s finally completed that mission.

The demo he’d been working on with songwriters Michael Garvin and Patrick Hamilton got him signed to Universal. The finished result is ‘She’s Even More Beautiful‘, the gorgeous track that’s been making waves at radio stations and, well, my summer job’s instore playlist.

Unfortunately I can only offer you this live rendition radio station JOEfm put up online. However, considering Yannick’s great vocal performance, it might as well have been the studio version.

See also: Charley says ARTIST! Yannick Bovy & The North Side Big Band
See also: Charley says LIST! Songs I Heard At Work Today 23/06/2010

Charley says ARTICLE! Romy & Marjon, The Forgotten 2 Unlimited Members

The year was 1998. It had been about two years since the departure of Ray and Anita left 2 Unlimited without its two singers. The people behind the scenes, however, were not going to let a good brand go to waste.

Enter Romy and Marjon. Two Dutch girls who had some pretty big shoes to fill and a legendary dance group to carry on with. Despite sounding more pop than ever before, the relaunched 2 Unlimited managed to make an impact with ‘Wanna Get Up‘. Two more singles, ‘Never Surrender‘ and ‘Edge Of Heaven‘, were to follow, taking the group back to their club roots.

Unfortunately, this failed to boost album sales. The patchy ‘II’ only spent four weeks in the charts. The number 55 peak was even more disappointing considering the last studio album of the original line-up had been their second to hit number one. Despite their releases doing slightly better in Belgium, 2 Unlimited 2.0 would not live to see the year 1999.

2 Unlimited – Edge Of Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubtumLXzx04

Now this is where today’s post comes in. If, like myself, you find yourself on a rainy Wednesday morning wondering what Romy and Marjon are up to, worry no more. It pleases me to say that both are still doing what they love, if maybe not on the world stage 2 Unlimited gave them. Rumours of a reunion under the name ’2′ or ‘II’ aside, both have been keeping busy with solo endeavours.

Marjon van Iwaarden seems to have moved in a more jazz oriented direction. Her website lists the many projects and live bands she’s involved in, as well as informing us of her work as a vocal coach.

Romy Snoeijers turns out to be a hardworking lady as well these days. As a voice-over she’s done commercials for the likes of Disney and DKNY. On top of that she’s working as a model, doing corporate film productions and tv hosting. Finally, her site has an entire section on her music career with audio samples to bring you up to speed.

Romy’s post-2 Unlimited highlight is surely ‘Don’t Break My Heart‘. In October of 2004 the TMF Awards needed an official anthem. Romy teamed up with Dutch DJ Cor Fijneman on what was to be the opening act of the night. The song may only have managed a spot on the Belgian Bubbling Under chart, but even just the slightly distorted “Don’t go breaking my heeeaaarrrt baaaaaabe” at 1:47 is enough to make it a hidden gem in my books.

Charley says ARTIST! Kate Ryan’s Mystery Guest Vocal

Kate Ryan celebrated her birthday by treating her fans to an exclusive snippet of a brand new track.

Despite the more pop oriented direction of Kate’s upcoming ‘Electroshock’ album, ‘Broken‘ takes the Belgian diva back to her full-on dance roots. Joining her on the track is a mystery male whose identity is the source of much speculation.

Charley says POP!’s official guess? Narco!

The name might not sound familiar, but a couple of months ago I introduced you to ‘Venus vs. Mars‘. Narco provides vocals on this David Latour and Hi-Mode produced track from upcoming dance label La Musique Du Beau Monde. The single shot to number 16 in the charts, getting the attention of many international labels and… a certain singer by the name of Kate Ryan.

Yes, when ‘Venus vs. Mars‘ first started making waves Kate posted the video on her Facebook account, expressing an interest in working with the musical trio. Did they take her up on her offer? It would certainly explain Kate’s return to dance and that vocal does sound rather similar, no?

See also: Charley says VIDEO! David Latour, Hi-Mode & Narco – Venus vs. Mars

Charley says VIDEO! Twarres – I Need To Know

Dutch folkpop duo Twarres, most famous for ‘Wêr Bisto‘, with ‘I Need To Know‘ from their 2002 sophomore album.

Just because.

Charley says ARTICLE! Life After Jameerah

Tanja Dexters had been trying to make it in the music business for years.

While her early noughties dance cover of ‘Born To Be Wild’ is still her highest charting single to date, she’d never really recovered from a disastrous attempt at Eurovision glory in 2002.

That is until 2008 when this Belgian blonde wanted to prove once and for all that she could sing. The Thomas G:Son penned ‘Addicted To You‘ got her a place in the Eurosong 2008 final and finally kickstarted her musical plans.

Tanja decided to form Jameerah, an international celebrity girl group. Originally called Models & Misses, the group consisted of Tanja, herself Miss Belgium 1998, Belgian Topmodel contestant Elisa Guarraci, Dutch actress Jasmine Sendar and former Miss Germany Nelly Marie Bojahr.

The summer of 2009 saw the release of Jameerah’s first hit. Catchy pop tune ‘All Eyes On Me‘ had previously been recorded by boyband MaddHouse, but with Bill Padley on production duties Tanja & co. were the first to take it to the charts.

Jameerah – All Eyes On Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MCD6eGXmas

After their first single peaked at 25 the girls got themselves another top 50 hit with ’Stickup‘. Two versions of their sophomore video were made, one for the Les BoyZ remix and one for the main radio edit.

This is where things started falling apart for the foursome. Promotion for ‘Stickup‘ was interrupted by Tanja’s pregnancy. Rather than get on with a third Jameerah single after her maternity leave, their manager got Tanja her own post-baby reality show.

In the end she and manager Dany Peleman could no longer agree on their plans for the future. The two parted ways after eleven years of working together.

Tanja’s first project without a manager was B-A-B-E, somehow short for Blonde Ambition Babes. She was joined by model Griet Vanhees and Lesley-Ann Poppe, best known for her prominent cleavage on the Belgian version of Come Dine With Me. The trio recorded the cheeky ‘(Itsie Bitsie Boe) Geef Maar Lekker Toe!‘. Naughty lyrics, a (literally) homemade choreography and a 2011 beat with some Luv’ influences thrown in for good measure got B-A-B-E a whole lot of press. Sales however were less than stellar and the trio got dropped by their label shortly after.

B-A-B-E – (Itsie Bitsie Boe) Geef Maar Lekker Toe!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yDYL1ccfv8

Still keen on a proper pop career, Tanja was hoping to pick things up with Jameerah where they left them in the summer of 2010. However, since their former manager owns the group name, the four girls were forced to reinvent theirselves.

Tanja, Jasmine, Elisa and Nelly finally decided on the name Fourlicious. New music from the band formerly known as Jameerah isn’t online yet, but their Twitter and Facebook accounts will keep you updated on their progress.

If, however, one fourth of the group is enough to tide you over until the first Fourlicious release then you’re in luck. Elisa Guarraci is making a third foray into solo stardom, having previously been a contestant on Topmodel and Eurosong. On ‘The Last Goodbye‘ the Belgian/Italian singer has teamed up with Philip D, producer of ‘Stickup‘ and the ‘All Eyes On Me’ video edit. Together with David Vervoort, formerly behind Lasgo, he wrote Elisa her own trance anthem.

Elisa really delivers on this ‘When Love Takes Over’ inspired track. I wouldn’t have minded ‘The Last Goodbye‘ being a Fourlicious song one bit. In fact, let’s just edit in some shots of the other girls and BAM, you’ve got your big Fourlicious hit!

Charley says VIDEO! Jeronimo ft. Stay-C – I Am No Superman

If you’ve ever found yourself hoping for a Dutch Eric Saade doing a Mohombi sounding song then you’re in luck!

Jeronimo van Ballegoijen is a Dutch actor and tv host. For his first release since singing the theme to his movie Timboektoe he’s enlisted the help of Stay-C, David Vervoort and Patrick Renier.

Stay-C, who you may remember from 90′s eurodance group Twenty4Seven, is there to drop some rhymes, while former Lasgo member David Vervoort and Patrick Renier are the co-writers of ’I Am No Superman‘. Patrick was behind a truckload of Belle Perez songs, which explains why Jeronimo’s summer hit has a slight resemblance to ‘Me & You‘ by Belgium’s favourite Latina.

Album track ‘Renaissance Man’, for which Jeronimo made a test video,  and the song playing throughout this vlog suggest that Holland’s next teen idol might be heading for a more R&B influenced pop direction in the future.

So far, however, the tropical beats of ’I Am No Superman‘ seem to be doing the business just fine. The single is steadily climbing the Dutch charts and has been signed for release in the States, Canada and the UK.

Ralf Mackenbach better watch his back!

Charley says SONG! Peter Luts ft. Lynn Larouge – Hands Up

When I talked to Lasgo producer Peter Luts last year he was keen on doing more solo stuff and getting his own name out there. With the success of ‘The Rain‘ and ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling‘ he has been doing just that. The former was a proper top 10 hit and the video for the latter was popping up on music channels every five minutes.

‘Hands Up‘ is now set to follow suit.

The name Lynn Larouge might not ring a bell for most of you, but Peter enlisted the help of an old friend for this track. You may remember her as Lien Vervoort, the former Can You Duet and Let’s Go Lasgo contestant who provided vocals on Peter’s ‘The Rain‘.

Keep checking Charley says POP! for a soon to be posted update on what Lasgo singer Jelle Van Dael is up to this summer!

See also: Charley says INTERVIEW! Peter Luts
See also: Charley says VIDEO! Peter Luts ft. Lien Vervoort – The Rain

Charley says SONG! About E – Dysfunctional

I’ve been wanting to point you guys towards this song for a while now, but it was nowhere to be found on YouTube until some kind soul uploaded it for you to hear.

Back in 2007 sisters Tillia, Lori and Demi competed in the first and only season of Belgium’s Got Talent. Despite winning, the girls failed to become household names and decided to try their luck on Netlog, the Belgian equivalent to MySpace. The songs they put up on their profile landed them a spot on various tv shows and eventually a record contract with Sony.

The label managed to give About E a Pixie Lott / Ke$ha co-write to record, but unfortunately it hasn’t quite made waves in the Belgian charts so far.

Here’s to hoping we hear more from these three ladies as I’m never one to turn down a proper new pop act!

PS: If you happen to have a Netlog account yourself, make sure to friend About E as they’ll send a free download of ‘Dysfunctional’ your way if you do!

Charley says LIST! Meanwhile At SonicAngel…

The people at SonicAngel have been busy!

Axeela finally released her second single with Maurice Engelen’s record label.

Back in May of last year Axeela got herself noticed at Tom Dice’s album launch and a couple of months later the Junior Eurovision alum had her very own single out. I got a chance to talk to her then about ‘What Do You Want From Me?‘, what the future has in store for this young popstar and how Christina isn’t copying Gaga.

The best thing about ‘Hump Hump’, Axeela’s new song, is having the anthemic chorus blast out of your speakers. In it she tells us: “I’m a saint and a sinner, a virgin and a stripper, dangerous like the Jack Ripper…” That about covers it all, no?

Right before that first chorus Axeela tells us “Let me introduce myself” and to have as many people possible hear her introduction, ‘Hump Hump’ can not only be heard on www.axeela.com, it’s available as a free legal download there as well!

From one child star on to another. If you’ve seen the excellent JESC documentary ‘Sounds Like Teen Spirit’ you may be familiar with Bab. She may have missed out on going to the 2007 international final in Rotterdam, but her ‘Laat Mij Gerust‘ became a tween favourite. A couple of singles followed and eventually an album was given away with a magazine. It’s a shame more people didn’t get to hear it as second single ‘Zo Is Er Maar Één‘ was far from the only rockin’ pop tune on there.

Having outgrown the tween rock, Bab is now signed to SonicAngel and has settled herself nicely into the singer/songwriter niche.

Bab – Wounds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgI3rASyiL8 

‘Wounds‘ is her first single through her new label and her first in English. I’m in two minds about this one. On the one hand it’s a gorgeous laid back track, but it doesn’t scream ‘big comeback single’ to me. And why is it called ‘Wounds‘? That title doesn’t really trigger any specific bit of the song when thinking of it. I guess I just expected a little more instant-ness.

That being said, I’m curious to hear what else Bab and SonicAngel come up with together!

Continuing our theme of talent show acts, I’ve been meaning for ages to write an update on Simon Sins.

Since we last talked about the Wannasing? winner he got signed, but has already left the SonicAngel family again. Let’s hope we somehow get to hear some new music from him soon anyway!

In Simon’s place have come  a whole bunch of new signings, including Rodwan Belkaïd and Koko Moon (aka Karim Lequenne). Between the addition of these two and already having Tom Dice, Alice Avery and Mathieu & Guillaume on their roster, it would seem that SonicAngel have nearly every X Factor 2008 contestant signed up!

There’s one more popstar you should already be familiar with that has reinvented herself and is trying her luck through this label, but I’ll be giving her a special post of her own. Be sure to watch out for that sometime soon on Charley says POP!

Right, that about concludes this update on SonicAngel.

I’ll be leaving you with the very first Airis video. Laura Van Den Bruel, as she’s known in everyday life, sang her way to a record contract in teen magazine Joepie’s Talent Booth competition. Her YouTube rendition of Celine Dion’ ‘I’m Alive’ won her the chance to record ‘Wonderful‘, the song that should make her Belgium’s very own Taylor Swift.

Enjoy!

See also: Charley says ARTIST! Axeela
See also: Charley says INTERVIEW! Axeela
See also: Charley says ARTIST! Simon Sinnaeve