Do you plan to release anything or play any gigs in the UK?
The plans so far is to release our debut album in Denmark and to tour here over the spring and in the summer. Sorry, but we don't have any plans about the UK so far.

When will your album be out in Denmark & what can we expect from it?
It will be released on the 5th of March and it's an album of 10 pop songs - some new and some are older! It's 10 pop songs, some are cheesy, some are jolly and some are just pop songs... can't say anymore.

What are your musical influences?
We are influenced by lots of things, time ages and several artists. We do not always agree on what we think good music is and that is also the reason why our music is a twist of lots of styles. We like the late 60s, the 70s disco, the cheesy 80s, the even cheesier 90s and we combine it all with a modern pop sound.

How did you all meet and when did you decide to form a band?
Four of us met in 2001 and formed a rock band. Since then, the keys were added and our female vocal, Stine joined the band in 2003. From then we have played lots of gigs in Denmark and there's several more to come.

Will there be any sad songs on the album or are they all hyper-jolly like the great ones on your MySpace?
It's going to be a pop record, although pop can be lots of things - but mostly happy and jolly! That's the way we like it!

Does it get confusing having three members all called Anders?
Not at all... nicknames are good.

What can we expect from the video to 10,000 Nights of Thunder?
Can't say much about this. It's a bit of a secret but it's gonna be fun.

Check out Alphabeat's MySpace here for some amazing songs!

Ch!pz - Cowboy (Watch)
I said that Ch!pz should give it a go in the UK but I was really thinking it should be with one of their good songs. Still, they're here and this could work. Well, if LazyTown's terrifying single went top 5, and High School Musical mania is still gripping the country, they must have a chance. Contrary to what most people think, we do need another Vengaboys in this country! Listen to 1001 Arabian Nights instead.
60% Poptastic!

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry (Watch)
I should hate this, and I did at first, but I am really quite concerned to find that it has grown on me, even if it's just the screeches of "haang me up to dryyyyyyyyyyyy", the washing metaphor and the bouncy bits surrounding it. They do get stuck in your head, whether you want them to or not. It is quite pop when you get over the fact that it... isn't!
68% Poptastic!

The Duke Special - Freewheel (Watch)
If you are looking for a cross between Snow Patrol and Placebo (well, someone might be) then you are in luck cos here it is and it's actually rather wonderful. If you're bored to desperation with Chasing Cars and Run I definitely recommend giving this a go cos it really is very very lovely. Adorable video too, just a shame they look so scary in real life. He also sings a bit like Rufus Wainwright or the guy from Live as well, if either of those appeal to you (I'm pretty sure the first one will, or you're a bit lost on this site).
88% Poptastic!

Tom from North & South on American Idol! Better not mention those gay rumours anymore. Erm, oops... Anyway, here's an old North & South video so those of you with the power to vote (i.e. actual Americans) can decide for yourselves if he deserves your support.



Amazing, I think you'll agree. For those of you who've seen it all before, here's something you probably won't have seen - Tom giving a guided tour of the New England Aquarium!



And if that's not enough, let's go and see some whales! But remember, he's a man not a boy...

People are finally paying attention to my commands, and it's about time too. The highlights of the new midweeks:

1 (3) Mika - Grace Kelly *DOWNLOADS ONLY*
2 (4) Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes
4 (6) JoJo - Too Little Too Late

Amazing!!

It looks like this week's no.1 will be a fight tot the death by Mika and Just Jack, my two biggest and bestest tips for 2007, and artists I have been following since they both first had any media coverage. If this is a sign of things to come, by the end of year BWO will have Xmas no.1, the Backstreet Boys will be the Take That of 2007 and Darren Hayes will be the new Robbie. Excellent!

The Delays have signed a new record deal (with Fiction, home of Snow Patrol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and are planning to release a new album by the end of this year! As I was worried that the end may have been nigh for this acetastic band, this is very good new indeed!

You should be at Enthusiastic But Mediocre, reading Edward's epic top 100 countdown of 2006. He does it every year and it never fails to be both the best-written chart and the one with the best songs in it. I always read it wishing I'd remembered each song he mentions that wasn't in my chart, and I usually end up re-evaluating several songs I'd previously discarded. Best of all he introduces us all to a whole load of amazing songs which only he could find, and I want to start my chart again to include them. He's only half-way through and I've only read up to about no.90 so there's a long way to go but it will definitely be worth it.

Ripchord - Lock Up Your Daughters (Watch)
These bouncy Wolverhampton-based indie kids (all are under 20) are Arctic Monkeys meets Kaiser Chiefs, strong accents with a jangly punch, and their star is rising fast. They won a competition on Midlands Today (a local news programme) for bands from local schools to get a day in a recording studio and a song played on Radio 1. Now they have a single coming out, earning plenty more radio play, and they seem like great fun so I think they're going to do quite well. They could be the Indie Busted!
73% Poptastic!

Los Campesinos! - We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives (Watch - but studio version is much better)
Very cute chorus (although if you pay attention the lyrics are really quite disturbing), but the verses could do with more of the girl and less of the boy. Hopefully she'll sack him soon. They're from Wales (formed at Cardiff Uni - where I visited but decided against immediately when I found there were no CD shops) and they have an EP called Hold On Now Youngster and they are quite jolly but not excessively so. They are a bit like The Research, but they'll need to write their own Lonely Hearts Still Beat The Same before they win my love. They should also leave Wichita Records, cos it is the home of the most rubbish indie bands.
62% Poptastic!

Tilly & the Wall - Rainbows In The Dark (Watch)
Sounding at a midpoint between The Pipettes and the Long Blondes, this is a very promising new single from this usually fairly ace but not mindblowing Nebraskan quintet. This track gets better and better as it goes along and also has a really fun video starring a singing sun wearing glasses, a dragon puppet with a very long tongue, and many other delights.
77% Poptastic!

The last one of 2006. The first whole year of counting down my monthly top 20 is completed. Songs with *s are released in 2007, the rest were out in 2006, brackets indicate where the song was released:

1. Kleerup ft. Robyn - With Every Heartbeat* (Sweden)
2. BWO - Chariots Of Fire (Sweden)
3. Just Jack – Starz In Their Eyes* (UK)
4. Alphabeat - Fascination (Denmark)
5. High School Musical - All In This Together (UK)
6. Guillemots - Annie, Let's Not Wait* (UK)
7. Keane - A Bad Dream* (UK)
8. The Automatic - Raoul* (UK)
9. James Morrison - The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore (UK)
10. Klaxons - Golden Skans* (UK)
11. Dima Bilan - See What I See (Bulgaria)
12. All Angels - Angels (UK)
13. Switches - Lay Down The Law (UK)
14. Ella Rouge - That's Me With The Gun (USA)
15. Lamont - Rather Do It (Sweden)
16. Ashley Tisdale - He Said, She Said (USA)
17. Universal Poplab - Heart Apart (Sweden)
18. The Sounds - Painted By Numbers (Sweden)
19. Revl9n - Walking Machine (UK)
20. Helena Paparizou - Teardrops (Greece)