Q. Is this the cover art for the forthcoming Pet Shop Boys album? 
We find ourselves in the playground with a very Jennifer Aniston-looking Kelly Clarkson playing on the swings (bless). All of a sudden, our attention is diverted to two youngsters playing on the roundabout, having a little tiff before making up and hugging. We're assuming the filmmakers are trying to trick us into thinking that this is Ms Clarkson and a life-long love. Flash-forward to the present day and Kelly's tormenting the poor young man, flushing his keys down the porcelain express - it's clear they're having issues. She rips a magazine out of his hands and throws it out the window (she likes him), then she drops his clothes out the window (she REALLY likes him). He reciprocates with one of Kelly's yellow check numbers (let's face it, that deserved to go) and threatens to drop an acoustic guitar. The moral of the story? Life's not all swings and roundabouts (BOOM-TISH).
We knew this was on the horizon, but Ms Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper has most certainly impressed the pants off us with the clip to her new mash-up single 'Girls Just Wanna Set Your Heart'. It mashes her massive '80s anthem 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' with the first promoed single from her album 'Bring Ya To The Brink', 'Set Your Heart'. And she looks amazing, with her platinum blonde hair standing out dramatically against a black backdrop and amongst a bevvy of black-bobbed Japanese girls. It's far from a glorious megamix of the two tracks, so we guess we'll just have to settle for a 'minimix'...
With a new album due in-store at the beginning of April, UK indy outfit The Doves have announced they're giving one of the tracks from their forthcoming album away totally free of charge. The track 'Jetstream' is the opening number from the band's fourth album 'Kingdom Of Rust', which will hit stores locally on Saturday April 04. Fans wishing to download the track free of charge can do so for the next two weeks from the Doves' OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
Can you believe it!? Michael Coppel has added yet another concert to Pink's mega-selling 2009 Australian tour. After the four concerts went on sale this morning (one in each of Melbourne and Brisbane and two more in Sydney), the 12th Melbourne concert has already sold out. They've reacted immediately by putting on an extraordinary 13th show at Rod Laver Arena - on Wednesday July 15. Tickets for this show went on sale a short time ago. Pink will now play an unprecedented 45 concerts during the Australian leg of her tour.
You know the weirdest thing about the video for Take That's new single 'Up All Night'? It's so British it could almost alienate anyone from any other country that takes a look at it. That said, we remember with great fondness dressing everything up to the nines in the red, white and blue for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 (geez, we must be getting old!) and it was pretty much like everything in the clip here. It's quite folky, so whether the British public get behind it or not remains to be seen. The clip's okay and they all look completely happy to be there, but for an outsider looking in, it's probably not what we were expecting and it's also probably not what you'd call completely epic, by any stretch of the imagination.
EMI Australia has announced that they're on the verge of releasing new expanded versions of the classic Radiohead albums 'The Bends', 'Pablo Honey' and 'OK Computer' in mid-March. There will be two different new editions of each album with a 'Collector's Edition' and a 'Special Collector's Edition' being released for each. The 'Collector's Editions' feature the original album on disc one and a second disc filled with rarities, live and demo recordings, while the limited 'Special Collector's Editions' are set to feature a bonus DVD which contains the video clips along with live performances and television appearances. All three albums are set for re-release in Australia on Saturday March 21.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the comfort of your couch after a staggering 43 concerts in Pink's forthcoming Aussie tour (the three latest of which go on sale tomorrow morning at 9am (Jan 30), along comes Michael Coppel to put a little spanner in the works. Such is the anticipated demand for tickets to Pink's 9th Sydney show on July 17 that they've announced a tenth date (on July 18) will also go on sale first thing tomorrow morning. It takes the number of shows during Pink's tour of the country to an extraordinary 44. Let's see how long it takes for these new dates to sell tomorrow...
Rumours about a September visit by US megastar Madonna have intensified today with speculation that the star has booked four Australian dates as part of her Sticky And Sweet world tour. It will be the first time the singer will have performed on Australian shores since late 1993. Reports suggest two dates have been locked away for Sydney's mammoth 83,000 seat ANZ Stadium and another two for Melbourne's 56,000 seat Telstra Dome. The dates being suggested are September 26 in Sydney and September 29 in Melbourne.
The Frontier Touring Company has today announced the return to local shores of US rock outfit The Fray. The band last toured Australia in 2006 and with the No.1 single in the country this week, the team at Frontier couldn't have timed the tour's announcement any better. Along with dates in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, the band will also cross the Tasman for one date in Auckland. Joining The Fray on their tour of the countr(ies) will be Californian act Secondhand Serenade, which has been doing good things on the local charts over the past six months. Tickets for all dates will go on sale on Monday February 09.
The all-conquering Cat Empire, about to tour the country with dates throughout Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia, have just announced four new dates. EMI Australia is today crowing that the band has (to date) performed a staggering 666 live dates, with the new shows taking the total to 682. They're expected to break the 700 gig mark by the middle of the year. Meanwhile, the band's live CD 'Live On Earth' and live DVD 'Live At The Bowl' will be released into stored on February 21.
Independent Australian outfit Belle Roscoe is a band on the move in 2009. After cutting their teeth performing sell-out shows in Europe, the three piece (a brother - Matty and twin sisters Sarah and Julia) is about to give the big bad world of Australian radio a crack. Their first single 'Young And Fearless' is now at radio and is already finding favour with independent media, but is yet to make any inroads with the commercial networks. The band is also booked to make an appearance on iconic Aussie television soap 'Neighbours' in the coming months. Belle Roscoe's sound is quintessentially Australian, a touch of the 'Crowdies' and all the while harking to the glory days of Fleetwood Mac. So after wowing audiences in France and Romania, let's hope there's a little room on local radio for this exciting new three-piece. Their self-titled debut album is already available on iTunes.
Well it would appear that Mister Flowers' wardrobe continues to get more flamboyant by the day. Looking like a cross between a sunburnt cyborg and Margarita Pracatan, Mister Flowers appears from his egg-like space pod and struts confidently through a Christmas tree plantation before reaching the bottom of a set of stairs. But where do they lead, we ask? We watch on... He ascends said staircase and stumbles upon a gathering of people from all walks of life, whereupon he continues to sing a little song called 'Spaceman'. He moves up a second flight of stairs (let's call this the mezzanine level) where we find a gentleman with a goat mask playing a harp (like you do) before pausing, singing some more and ascending the final flight of stairs where we find an over-sized skull with horns growing out of it. If he was clever, he could recycle the whole kit and kaboodle as The Killers' Mardi Gras float! Very decadent and most definitely flamboyant.
Presenting the second single/clip from former Mis-teeq star Alesha Dixon's latest album 'The Alesha Show'. It follows up from her previous single 'The Boy Does Nothing', released last year and we're pretty sure it'll more than likely precede her next single. Like the cover art, the clip is a lovely black and white affair in which she heads down the local for a nice cup of tea at the same time as caressing a pole (and we're not talking a boy from Poland). If we were, we fear it would be curtains for him 'cause she's taken off her ring right there in public. Never mind though, 'cause lurking in the depths of her bag, there's a lovely headband which somehow matches perfectly her (until now) concealed sparkly silver dress. And off she pOps down the street looking every bit the showgirl/callgirl. Sweet.
In a sure fire sign that the days of CD singles are indeed numbered, Will Young has announced that this, the third single from his latest album 'Let It Go' will be his last on this format. The single is due for release in the UK on March 02 and will feature two live b-sides, 'You Don't Know' (lifted from his latest album) and a Joni Mitchell cover 'Help Me'.
* The 2009 Brit Awards, to be held at Earls Court in London on February 18, will be telecast on Pay TV in Australia. To be co-hosted by our own Kylie Minogue, the awards ceremony will be broadcast on Channel [V] on Thursday February 26 from 7:30pm. 
Former Universal Music Australia recording artist and wife of swimming legend Grant Hackett, Candice Alley has unveiled new remixes of her debut single 'Falling' and she's aiming it fair and square at the US club market, with a limited edition four track CD single being released Stateside on boutique label ProMotion. The disc features four remixes by Swedish production outfit The Attic, while remixes by French house producer Fred Falke have also been completed and are available digitally from Beatport. No word on local release on this at the moment, but for more information on what she's been up to, head on over to her OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
SINGLES : Wow! Little Jessica Mauboy who occupied the No.1 position just last week finds herself four places down the chart this week at No.5, while US rock act The Fray moves up a startling five places to bump her out. The Ian Carey Project moves ever further up the chart to No.2, while there are further musical chairs throughout the top ten. The All American Rejects make a massive jump from No.34 to No.15 with new single 'Gives You Hell', while Kelly Clarkson moves into the No.16 position on downloads alone. Global Deejays come in at No.33 with their Rozalla cover 'Everybody's Free', being used in Channel 10 promos and there are debuts further down the chart for Saving Abel (No.48) and Ladyhawke (No.49).
With Californian outfit Counting Crows spending their time supporting supergroup The Who on their forthcoming Australian tour, it was only Victoria's capital Melbourne that would miss out on seeing them, on account of The Who performing solo at the city's Formula One Grand Prix. So the boys have announced their one and only Australian sideshow will take place in Melbourne on Friday March 27 at the Palais Theatre. A new single 'You Can Count On Me' will go to radio in the coming weeks to celebrate the band's return to Australian shores. Tickets for the Melbourne sideshow go on sale on Tuesday February 03.
Okay, so technically it's not pOp, but when ten good looking young men with voices like this announce a national tour, we feel it's only right that we report the facts. The ten lads will be performing tracks from their 2008 album 'Nostalgica' and will perform dates in almost all states and territories (bar WA and NT). Tickets for all shows go on sale on Friday February 06. 
Are you thinking what we're thinking? There's some strange kind of deja vu happening here at the moment - did we NOT show you a video clip for this new single 'Could This Be' from Adelaide twosome Lovers Electric just yesterday? Well yes, but they've just unveiled the proper, real, genuine video clip for their new single. It's very simple, elegant and... erm... orange. Eden looks as delicious as a Ferrero Rocher in her little gold number but wait... It's changing colours! Now it's PURPLE! Ooh! And there's a hint of GREEN! And BLUE! With clocks! A simple, effective, colourful clip.
Fans of UK dance pioneers Basement Jaxx and hot Brazilian electro outfit CSS will be as giddy as a schoolgirl at the news that both bands have announced Sydney and Melbourne sideshows during their Australian visit for the Future Music Festival. Basement Jaxx will play their two shows in early March, while CSS will play one in late February and the other in early March. All four shows will go on sale to the public on Monday February 02.
Delightful little pOp pOppet Kate Miller-Heidke has announced a national tour. In support of her second album 'Curiouser' and the stirring and emotional second single from it, 'Caught In The Crowd', Kate will embark on a score of dates throughout the country, including (and this is quite rare these days) three dates in Tasmania (Hobart, Launceston and Devonport)! With some 27 dates announced as part of the tour, there's bound to be a show near you. For further details, log onto Kate's OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
The 2009 Brit Awards are just under a month away and the final list of nominees has been announced in London this week, with Welsh songstress Duffy and British group Coldplay the big winners with four nominations apiece. auspOp faves Girls Aloud bagged themselves two nominations (British Single and British Group). The Pet Shop Boys will be honoured with the 'Outstanding Contribution To Music' for their extraordinary achievements during their 25 year career. They'll perform on the night, alongside Kings Of Leon, Girls Aloud, Coldplay, U2, Duffy and Take That. The awards ceremony, to be co-hosted by our own Kylie Minogue, takes place at London's Earls Court on February 18.
Aussie guitar hero Josh Pyke impressed and inspired many with his boating skills earlier this year, piloting this rather fetching craft (left) on Sydney Harbour during filming for his clip 'Make You Happy'. And make you happy he will, with news through that Josh plans to auction the world-famous craft on eBay to raise funds for the Indigenous Literary Project. The auction for the SS Maton will go live on eBay on February 02 and will be conducted over a ten day period, up until the commencement of Josh's national tour.
We've told you a little bit about sassy new Aussie pop/rock singer Cassie Davis, but her debut video clip has JUST hit the web on the eve of her debut single officially hitting the stores, so let's have a little gander, shall we, and make some points? 
It was bound to happen sooner or later, and it seems that the all-conquering 2009 Australian tour by US rocker Pink is just going to keep selling right up until the time she arrives in the country in May. And with more than 430,000 tickets already sold for the tour, Michael Coppel has today officially announced three more concerts, taking the total number of shows to 43.
So we've been trying desperately to track down the name of this new Aussie girl group since we heard about them launching themselves at Sydney's Oxford Arts Factory in early December. We even emailed the publicist for the group at the time without a single reply. So now, finally, the news is officially out about the new four girl group Sultry Sally and their debut single, a cover of the Crystal Waters classic 'Gypsy Woman'.
The band's debut single (as previously mentioned) is this - the cover version of the 1991 Crystal Waters hit 'Gypsy Woman' and the official clip is featured below. The girls are all dressed in '50s sex-siren style black strapless dresses with primary-coloured accessories. The girls hop between coloured boxes and a funky red convertible, before finally taking to the stage in coloured dresses to perform to a silhouetted audience. It's a cute clip, and even though the girls look like they're having the time of their lives, we can't help but feel that young Anne looks a little uncomfortable throughout. All in all though, not a bad effort to introduce Australia's newest pOp girl group. 'Gypsy Woman' is available on iTunes now.
Adelaide outfit Lovers Electric are currently riding high on the Australian club charts with their new single 'Could This Be' and although the CD single of the track has been out in the shops since before Christmas, the track was sent to radio this week. David and Eden have even unveiled a tasty little video clip for the song - and it all revolves around a club where there's lots of dancing, spookily enough called 'Danceclub'. And we watch as John, Penny and Jeremy make their individual ways to an old tin shed, wherein they get their groove thing on. WARNING: Gratuitous shots of lycra contained within.
Welsh songstress Duffy is headed down under in March and April to play the all-conquering V Festival throughout the country, but it's been announced that she will also play one very exclusive, very intimate show in Sydney on January 31. Details of the concert will be made available exclusively through Myspace and fans wanting to find out more or be part of the concert will have to log onto the MYSPACE SECRET SHOWS PAGE and become friends with the site in order to find out venue information. Tickets to the one-off show are also offered on a 'first come, first served' basis, meaning that once venue capacity is reached, no more patrons will be allowed in. Oh it's a cruel world!
EMI Australia has today confirmed via their latest release schedule that they will release the Pet Shop Boys' new album 'Yes' locally on Saturday March 21. The album, co-produced with pOp geniuses Xenomania, is the pOp duo's tenth studio outing and will be preceded by the release to radio of new single 'Love Etc', within the next few weeks.
Melbourne five piece Dukes Of Windsor (GREAT red jacket, by the way) have announced they'll be hitting the road in early March for a series of performances and festival shows. They'll be kicking it off on Queensland's Gold Coast on March 07 at the Quicksilver Pro Show before wrapping up on March 28 at Brisbane's 'The Zoo'.
Single No.3 from album No.2 sees the Sneaky team getting back to what they do best - classy Australian dance-pOp. The clip, however, is a simple montage of live shots from their various (and most fabulous) live gigs. Let's hope Australian radio gets behind THIS single, shall we?
25 year old British soul singer V.V.Brown has been causing quite the stir of late, with her debut single 'Crying Blood' garnering critical acclaim from far and wide. Signed to Island Records (distributed here in Australia by Universal Music), V.V.'s album 'Travelling Like The Light' will finally be released in the UK in mid-March and it's already one of the most anticipated releases of the new year. The new single is 'L.E.A.V.E.' and as you'll see and hear from the clip below, it's clever, stylish, exciting and very 'now' pOp. We don't know quite how she pulls off that box trick, but we assume that mirrors are somehow involved. If 2007 was the year of Amy Winehouse and 2008 was Gabriella Cilmi's year, 2009 will surely belong to V.V.Brown.
Blistering UK electronic trio The Prodigy is back - with the first single from their forthcoming album 'Invaders Must Die'. 'Omen' is the band's 18th single from a music timeline that has spanned almost two decades and the opening few seconds of the video clip (below) provides a succinct taster of what to expect during it's plus-three minute journey. It's loud, it's brash, it's laced with xylophone and it's all that The Prodigy does best. 
It's a track that's been setting the airwaves of the Nova network alight for the better part of a month, but just who's behind this brand new track? It's Grammy Award winning writer Victoria Horn and alongside Mathias Wollo from Swedish superstar songwriting team Murlyn, she's hell-bent on 'teaching the people of the planet to dance'. Australian dance label Vicious will release the track to iTunes at the end of the month, with a physical single release also planned, though not confirmed. The clip's a bit of fun, the track's as catchy as custard and we reckon this is going to be Vicious' second crossover chart hit in as many months. It's hot.
There's been a slight change to one of the dates for Eric Clapton's forthcoming Australian tour. Michael Coppel has announced that the musician's Melbourne concert, originally scheduled for Wednesday March 11 at Rod Laver Arena will now take place the day earlier (Tuesday March 10 for the slow ones) at the same venue. They advise that if patrons are unable to attend the new date, they can obtain a full refund from their local Ticketek agent before Wednesday February 04.
Irish supergroup U2 has officially unveiled details for the band's forthcoming album 'No Line On The Horizon' and by the looks of the cover art, there's not one line on the horizon, but two. The album is scheduled for release worldwide on Saturday February 28 and the 11 tracks featured on it are listed below. The album is preceded by the single 'Get On Your Boots', available digitally from this Saturday and on CD single from February 14. The album is due for release on four formats, on vinyl, standard album, digipak album and a limited edition deluxe box. For more information about the formats and what you'll get for your hard earned, check out U2's OFFICIAL WEBSITE.SINGLES : Well looky here. After coming so damned close with her debut single 'Running Back' (featuring Flo Rida), young Jessica Mauboy has finally got what many were predicting, nabbing the No.1 single with her second solo outing 'Burn'. Her album also moves ever closer to the top ten over on the album chart. But more of that later. Elsewhere on the singles chart this week, Kevin Rudolph also has an awesome jump - up seven places from ten to No.3, while The Fray makes a big splash in the top ten, also moving up nine places from No.15 to No.6 with their new single 'You Found Me'. And Natalie Bassingthwaighte scores her second top ten single with 'Someday Soon' pOpping into the No.9 position on debut. Empire Of The Sun moves back into the top 20 with debut single 'Walking On A Dream' almost topping it's peak so far of No.16 and there are debuts at No.34 for the All American Rejects, No.38 for Taylor Swift, No.43 for Eric Hutchinson, and No.46 for rumoured next Pink single 'Please Don't Leave Me'.
