• British singer songwriter Newton Faulkner has this week seen the title track of his most recent album ‘Write It On Your Skin’ delivered to Australian media. The track was the lead single from the LP in the UK and it’s hoped that it’ll help reignite interest in the album, which is the the singer’s first to miss the ARIA top five.
• ‘Write It On Your Own Skin’ was joined at local media this week by Kate Alexa’s ‘I Deny’, Andrew De Silva’s ‘Your Paradise’, Bella Ferraro’s ‘Set Me On Fire’ and Titanium’s ‘I Won’t Give Up’, among others. For a more comprehensive list of the tracks serviced this week, check out our FACEBOOK page (the list posted on Thursday on our wall).
• With another updated version of his album ‘Nothing But The Beat’ now at retail, David Guetta has revealed his very own Spotify app. The ‘Play Guetta’ app has been described as “an innovative listening experience like no other”, which allows fans from across the globe to connect with each other – and to the man himself. Check out a video of the features HERE.
• And it would appear that Mister Guetta’s not the only big name artist in on the new technology, with Spotify themselves revealing that a whole raft of big names are on board and sharing their favourite music. Artists like Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, One Direction, Bruno Mars, our own Dannii Minogue, Ricki-Lee, Sam Sparro, Sarah Blasko, Matt Corby and Justice Crew, along with US President Barack Obama are sharing what tunes they’re listening to via the new “follow tab”. The “discover tab” is also new and represents a raft of changes to the popular streaming service.
• Also launching in Australia this week was Spotify competitor Deezer. The streaming service will commence operations in Australia this Tuesday. Funded by advertisements, Deezer is offering users an initial 12 month unlimited service, after which they’ll receive two hours per month of free listening. Further details on the roll-out of the service are expected shortly. Get the deets on Deezer HERE.
• We’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Swedish pop singer/songwriter Darin. And it seems the Swedes just can’t get enough of him. He’s currently got three tracks inside the iTunes top ten in his homeland (including the No.1 and No.2 spots), with a further two songs inside the top 30. The singer’s new album ‘Exit’, the follow-up to 2010’s excellent ‘Lovekiller’ LP, is due for release in his homeland on January 30.
• Sony Music has revealed there’s more Glee on the horizon. And soon. The third volume in the hit TV show’s Christmas series is being released in Australia this Friday.
• There are a lot of pretenders out there in the world of Facebook and it seems like ‘X Factor’ runner-up Jason Owen just isn’t cutting through with his official page, so in the interests of giving everyone a fair go, HERE is Jason’s official Sony-sanctioned Facebook page. His single ‘Make It Last’ barely scraped into the ARIA top 50 last week, debuting at No.47.
• Aussie dance supremos Pnau are set to see in the new year in style, headlining this year’s ‘On The Harbour’ event in Sydney. The superstar duo, who this year collaborated with Sir Elton John on the excellent ‘Good Morning To The Night’ album, will hit Cargo Bar in Sydney for the event and will be joined by Ajax, YesYou, Elizabeth Rose and more. Get all the guff HERE.
• The boys from One Direction performed on last night’s edition of David Letterman, which went to air in the US just hours ago. They were in New York for a concert and a global fan event, at which they met fans from across the globe who’d flown in to meet them in the city that never sleeps.
• In tour news, legendary singer songwriter Carole King has added another concert in Melbourne to her upcoming tour. She’ll now play the city’s Plenary on February 19, with tickets on sale this Friday. Only limited tickets remain for her original date the previous night.
• Robert Plant is headed down under for both Bluesfest in Byron Bay and the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival in Fremantle, but he’s announced this week that he’ll play extra dates while he’s on the ground. Shows have been added to the schedule in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Launceston, with tickets for the four shows hitting the sales desk on Monday.
• Warner Music will release the new album by US singer songwriter Devendra Banhard in the new year. Entitled ‘Mala’, the album is his first with new label Nonesuch Records and is due in Autumn here in Australia (second quarter of 2013).
• British singer Olly Murs has spent a second week on top of the UK singles chart with his single ‘Troublemaker’. The track has also been performing strongly at Australian digital retail. Bruno Mars’ ‘Locked Out Of Heaven’ has improved seven spots to No.2 and Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’ is also shining – up to No.3. Ke$ha’s ‘Die Young’ is the week’s highest debut at No.10, but Girls Aloud’s ‘Something New’ suffers a second week slump – down from No.2 to No.14.
• It’s not just the UK singles chart where Olly’s shining. His new album ‘Right Place, Right Time’ premieres at No.1 here on the UK albums chart too. He holds off One Direction’s album by doing so and knocks Rihanna’s ‘Unapologetic’ from No.1 to No.3. A Neil Diamond best-of is in at No.8 and Girls Aloud’s ‘Ten’ is in at ‘Nine’.
• Over the pond, Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’ remains wedged in the top spot on the Billboard singles chart, but how much longer can she hold off Bruno Mars’ ‘Locked Out Of Heaven’? Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl On Fire’ is also in a hurry – rising ten places to No.11, while the week’s highest new entry (will.i.am ftg. Britney’s ‘Scream & Shout’) is placed right behind her.
• On the Billboard albums chart, Alicia Keys notches up her fifth US No.1 album with ‘Girl On Fire’, after selling almost 160,000 copies in its first week. Elsewhere, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Rod Stewart’s ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ rises three spots to No.3, with other festive favourites from Michael Buble, Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton also amongst the top ten action.
• Meanwhile, get the lowdown on what’s happening in this week’s ARIA top 100 singles and albums charts every Sunday morning from 9am AEDT with our weekly Chart Watch segment.
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