2012, The End of the World?

Many 'less rational' people believe that at 11:11am on the 21st of December 2012 (GMT) the world is going to end - damn, I was really looking forward to next Christmas too... - for a range of different reasons, some as simple as the Mayan calendar ending (wait, so it ending in 2007 was just a practice run?). To be honest, it really must be the end of the world if some mathematician can't be bothered plotting the dates for a time that is thousands of years away and also thousands of years after their world, as well as all of their kind's, ended anyway. Imagine someone having the intelligence to do all the things they did back then but not having the common sense to not waste their time on pointless things. Anyway, should you believe that the universe is going to spontaneously cease to exist because it says so in your horoscope, there are a few artists to put on your list of 'hear before my local Mayan calendar store closes down'.

In the modern music industry it's becoming increasingly hard to break through, regardless of talent, and even harder to predict these sporadic breakthrough artists. There is one thing, however, that you can be almost certainly sure of and that's that you'll probably definitely, most likely can put your mortgage on... maybe... the fact that you'll hear more of the following artists in the year to end all years.

First up, a girl who works and plays to apocalyptic proportions (metaphorically of course...), Spark. With top quality live performances and the ability to produce an impressive range of variation between every song, it's impossible not to fall in love, with sheer admiration of her. And when you inevitably do so, she can break your heart with her arsenal of weapons, including but not limited to, beautiful and emotional piano/vocal combinations or an invasion of attitude sure to eradicate your previous perspective on modern pop music and replace it with this potential viral epidemic. But as with everything, Spark needs the correct conditions to gain her maximum rate of growth and so in future it would be nice if this remix friendly - and just friendly in general - philanthropist could get the same promotional treatment from 679 Artists that it appears is given to all their other female phenomenons.

Fond memories, Jess?

Spark's Twitter


Spark's Facebook




Spark's Revolving remixed by Monsieur Adi

Pieces (LIVE) by Spark (sparkthemusic)

Try (LIVE) by Spark (sparkthemusic)

And Speaking of remix friendly 679 female phenomenons, next it's Oh My! With more buzz than a hive of bees, these girls' music careers are going uphill like they've perfected personal anti-gravity. Increasingly chart promising tracks and a slot supporting The Saturdays sounds like a match made in heaven but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't say anything negative, so I won't. No really, I won't... Oh go on then... As can be expected with such newcomers to the world of music they've not had all that much practice performing live which when you're on before The Saturdays will only be exasperated. And from my experience (old and low quality mobile footage) there was definitely room for improvement, though it should be noted they have had a lot of practice since then. If you're one of Oh My!'s dedicated fans you may want to follow the fan base below for some relevant tweets about Oh My!

Oh My!'s Twitter


Oh My!'s Facebook


Alex from Oh My!'s Twitter


Alex from Oh My!'s Facebook


Jade from Oh My!'s Twitter


Jade from Oh My!'s Facebook


"We Love Oh My!" Twitter


OH MY! Dirty Dancer (ft Scrufizzer) iTunes Nov 14th by OhMyOfficial

Next up is Vela, who is surging through the music scene and with the best of her work still to come, has the potential to go very far. Next year is when it's all expected to blow up (her music, not the world) and with her modern, perhaps even futuristic pop sound, she will be very highly anticipated.

Vela's Twitter


Vela's Facebook


VELA - WARRIOR by velaofficial

Having just won Best Newcomers at the 2011 NIMA there's not much doubt that Wonder Villains will be on the rise in 2012. The real question is will it just be Ireland or can their forthcoming success travel as well another NIMA winner and one of my 'Watch out for in 2011' picks Two Door Cinema Club. Their fun and unique take on songwriting will be very popular among certain groups of people which could create a cult following and also makes them my best bet for writing a light-hearted take on the whole end of the world business. Should you be so lucky as to have this lot performing near you, it's definitely not an opportunity to miss!




Wonder Villains' Twitter


Wonder Villains' Facebook


The Wonder Villains - Zola by AU Magazine

Now for a backtrack to all things almost certain: an album from Pearl and the Puppets in 2012 (I know, deep breaths). A contender for most talented naturally vs Spark, Pearl is definitely one to listen to if you like beautiful vocals accompanied by incredibly well written acoustic instruments. She plans on releasing a free download titled "With Her Or Not" on the 1st of December 2011 so make sure to look out for the review of that here in the coming weeks. Pearl also has a fan base should you want some related updates her recent activities.

Pearl and the Puppets' Twitter


Pearl and the Puppets' Facebook


"Pearls Puppets" Twitter


Sinner by Pearl and The Puppets

I Say Yeah by Pearl and The Puppets

Speaking of nearly completed albums, there's a lot of them. One of the albums you can expect to see emerge in 2012 is from the third installation of 679's 'female phenomenon' range, Little Boots. I know that, in my opinion at least, Little Boots has already broke through, but she will returning in 2012 to break through to Earth shattering proportions - like an Earthquake Stuck On Repeat - making her first breakthrough look like she was New In Town (sorry, if you leave an opportunity to globally publish writing in these Hands I’m bound to Meddle (sorry again...)). Keeping her cards fairly close to her chest, until recently she's made it fairly difficult to provide any evidence that it'll be the epic sell out tour providing sequel to 'Hands' that we all know it will be. She has also made a passing comment about a Christmas song so if she has any plans to share it with us it might be a good idea to do so this year, just in case... But the real proof in the Christmas pudding is her new song "Shake" which was released on the 13th of November and will be reviewed very shortly so make sure to keep updated to avoid missing out.

Little Boots' Twitter


Little Boots' Facebook


Little Boots - SHAKE by LittleBoots

Another returning artist is Marina and the Diamonds who is number four on the list of female artists signed to 679 that I’ve mentioned so far, you'd think I work for their publicity/marketing/whatever team but I don't, honestly (however, if they're willing to pay...). Marina may be the first to get her album out there as it's expected to be released in the opening months of next year though based her sales history, I’d suggest she releases a 'song of the year' contender quality song beforehand if we are to expect the album to dominate the charts like the level of artist she'd like to assert herself as. As far as I’m concerned there is no compare to Marina in terms of natural ability and the beauty of her music when she's sat at a piano performing an acoustic version of this or that but - and the same goes for Little Boots - she's already broken through and so is not eligible for the aforementioned most naturally talented title. And as is a semi-recurring theme; Marina has a fansite, well, many fansites really, one of which you can visit via the link below and follow on Twitter should you wish to do so.

Marina and the Diamonds' Twitter


Marina and the Diamonds' Facebook


"Marina-diamandis.net" Twitter

The last nearly completed album I'm going to talk about is one from The Good Natured. If you remember at the beginning of this short novel, I mentioned Spark's unforgettable live performances and The Good Natured make theirs equally memorable so when you get the two together you're sure to experience a once in a lifetime gig that would take a lethal amount of alcohol just to make your recollection of the night a little hazy. Although you're unlikely to catch the two together soon, The Good Natured are about to start touring with Oh Land which is definitely something worth checking out.




The Good Natured's Twitter


The Good Natured's Facebook


The Good Natured - Skeleton by The Good Natured

Obviously I can't mention everyone I'd like to and definitely can't go into any great detail about anyone at all (unfortunately) but there are a few others that I'd just like to namedrop so you can do your own research and they are Sunday Girl, My Tiger My Timing and Queen of Hearts. Should you desire a more detailed write-up of any of the artists mentioned or even want to request someone I've overlooked - of which there are many - then please do so in the comments below. To give a vague idea of the likelihood and extent of the breakthrough success of each of the artists mentioned I've also provided some odds which are purposefully harsh to underline the fact that it's not a sure thing for any of them and they are very unlikely to be the next Jessie J.

Sunday Girl's Twitter


Sunday Girl's Facebook


My Tiger My Timing's Twitter


My Tiger My Timing's Facebook


Queen of Hearts' Twitter


Queen of Hearts' Facebook


Evens --- Someone not mentioned (as in from the 'Others' category below)
5/1     --- Little Boots
7/1     --- Marina and the Diamonds
9/1     --- Oh My!
14/1   --- Vela
18/1   --- Sunday Girl
18/1   --- The Good Natured
25/1   --- Wonder Villains
25/1   --- Spark
30/1   --- Pearl and the Puppets
30/1   --- My Tiger My Timing
40/1   --- Queen of Hearts
100/1 --- Others