Love Machine

In part one of our REAL Sound Of 2012 we looked at already established and establishing artists, but in part two, we’re all about the newbies. These acts are the ones we’re supporting in 2012 and hoping they’ll go all the way to the top. 

BUBBLING UNDER

OH MY!

Alex and Jade have been on the pop radar for the better part of the year, but they are yet to make their big splash which is why we’ve categorised them as Bubbling Under. The girls did a great DJ spot at Club Love Machine which proved that if nothing else, they certainly know a great pop tune or two, but they’ve also more than impressed us with their first single ‘Dirty Dancer’ which is one of the best pop songs of the year. Hopefully their connections with mentor Example will see them smash the mainstream in 2012.

JESSIE AND THE TOY BOYS

Jessie Malakouti used to be a Xenomania act and supported The Saturdays on tour. She then reinvented as Jessie And The Toy Boys - which is less a band and more Jessie and a bunch of mannequins - and started releasing some really punchy electropop. Earlier in the year she joined Britney Spears on her US tour and after that we’re not quite sure what’s going on. The music is more than decent though - check out ‘Push It’, ‘Money Makes The Girl Go Round’ and ‘5 O’ Clock’ with Doctor Rosen Rosen.

SIMON CURTIS

We were quite taken with Simon’s single ‘Superhero’ earlier in the year, and the album it was taken from, R∆, was a decent listen too. As far as we can tell, Simon now has management but still no label, so who knows what will happen for him in 2012. He hasn’t done too badly as an “indie” popstar, releasing his first album as a free download and accumulating a solid fanbase. There aren’t that many male popstars doing what Simon is doing, and we’d like for there to be, which is why we hope things will kick up a gear in 2012.

BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT

Still obsessed with ‘Disco Moment’ probably until our dying day. We know that there’s an album on the horizon, and that all the loose ends are being tied up probably as we speak, but when will it actually be released? We’re in the dark :( Bright Light Bright Light (aka Rod Thomas) is a master at creating big, theatrical epics through his music, which is why we like him. You know those end of the night songs that have you making dramatic poses and singing along at the top of your voice while holding back the tears? That’s what we’re talking about here.

BREAKOUT STARS

LUMINITES

Luminites have us very excited. Their song ‘All Dressed Up’ is very good and the band are incredibly talented. They have a beatboxer! In all seriousness, we know very little of what they have planned for their attack on 2012 but they have partnered with Centrepoint to raise money for homeless young people this Christmas with their cover of ‘Streets Of London’ which is slightly cheesy but highlights the fact that they can really sing. Of everyone on our REAL Sound Of list, we’d most like Luminites to do well for themselves.

MNEK

Whether or not 2012 will see MNEK become a star in his own right remains to be seen, but certainly in the backstage magic areas of songwriting and production, all signs point to a good year. Having already landed a #3 single as co-writer on ‘All Fired Up’ on The Saturdays and been named by The Guardian as one of the 10 producers of the new generation, things can surely only get better?

LAWSON

The music is suitable for grown ups, but Andy, Ryan, Joel and Adam are so good-looking that it’s no wonder they have a strong female fan showing. They went the “indie” route by uploading acoustic videos to YouTube and playing as many gigs as they could, before signing to a major label and looking set to take over in 2012. Their pop rock leanings aren’t exactly tailored to a Love Machine audience (there’s more guitar and no synth, for a start) but at the same time they have a big stadium-pop sound with great sing-a-long hooks that we find irresistible.

DARE TO DREAM

RACHEL STEVENS

We heard a rumour (read a random article) that suggested Rachel Stevens was back in the studio and looking to record new material for her legions of unsatiated pop fans who thought Come And Get It was basically the Holy Grail of music. The next thing we knew, there was new Rachel Stevens material but it wasn’t anything we would ever want on our iPods because it was literally music for children. We’d LOVE a Rachel Stevens comeback, even if she is the most boring woman in pop. The music was great, and that’s all that matters.

S CLUB

If Rachel hasn’t been in the studio for her own purposes, maybe she has been secretly getting things in gear for the S Club reunion which is definitely a real thing and not media fabrication based on the Steps comeback making everyone nostalgic for that early 2000s sound. An S Club return would probably be tainted a little bit by S Club 3’s “career”, but we’d still embrace it wholeheartedly. Especially if they could also reform the Juniors. With Una from The Saturdays having to take some time off to have a baby, Rochelle and Frankie would surely be able to commit, right?

GERI HALLIWELL

We know you’re probably staring at us like we’re crazy for wanting Geri Halliwell to return to music, but allow us to remind you that this is the woman who glued the Spice Girls together, performed at the Brit Awards once in a dress made out of a teatowel and a further time on a pole between giant inflatable legs and achieved four consecutive solo #1 singles on the UK chart - a feat no British female popstar has been able to match. Not even her more talented band mates. Geri Halliwell’s return to music (aided by long-time collaborators Absolute) will either be so bad it’s so good, so bad it’s bad…but still good, or actually genuinely fantastic. Where she slots in on the pop landscape right now is, well, nowhere, but for the novelty of nostalgia, we are truly anticipating this.

GIRLS ALOUD

It’s the reunion EVERYONE wants, desperately craves, dreams about even when they’re not asleep, would give their right arm for… Just us? Okay, well we know you guys want it too. Just maybe not as much. That’s cool. Now there’s nothing concrete confirmed (when is there ever?) but the tenth anniversary of the greatest British girl band since the Spice Girls will be rung in on November 30th 2012 and we’re hoping that we’ll be celebrating it in style with a brand new Girls Aloud song, with a new studio album in the works and a big long tour planned for the summer. The world is scheduled to end 21 days later, but wouldn’t they be the most glorious 21 days ever?