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After a week of surprises and position changes, the results have ended up both a little bit predictable and fairly one-sided. Fans have voted in force... and all for the same nominee. But if you ignore the winners (even though it was a competition) the rest of the results were close, hard fought battles, where some very worthy nominees picked up "best of the rest" titles.
The "Yeah, That Was Pretty Decent" Single Award
Winner
Taking an astounding 70% of the votes, Radioactive by Marina and the Diamonds was most likely YOUR choice for single of the year. And if these awards were in any way important, 679 Artists would over the moon because...
Runner Up
Taking second place is Crave by Spark with a relatively impressive 10% and in my opinion, deservedly so. Hardworking and very talented, she is without doubt, the perfect recipe for success.
Missing out by just one vote on the runner up spot was Queen Of Hearts with Shoot The Bullet, someone who has a lot planned for 2012 and is worth keeping an eye on.
Also dominating her category with 70% of the votes was Ida Maria with her album Katla, I don't think anyone could argue that she's not earned it.
Runner Up
Taking over half the remaining votes (16.67%) Alice Gold finishes runner up, with my personal favourite, Seven Rainbows. It's a beautiful album that everyone should own and it's clear that many of you agree.
Third Place
Another album that everyone should own proves the massive feat achieved by our winner and runner up as Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine comes third, claiming almost all of the remaining votes (10%)
You're probably now used to the fact that it's 2012 and looking forward to all the music that it's got to offer, but let's take a step back for a moment. Are you really done with 2011? Can you really afford to let that album gather dust because it's so last year? Should you really be embarrassed to listen to that single because it's sooo old that your gran was getting down to it? NO! What's wrong with a classic? Who hasn't introduced an older relative to something modern? And that's what the "Yeah, That Was Pretty Decent" awards are all about. Well, that and appreciating a year of hard work by those with twoscoreaphobia. This years award ceremony is being held in a top secret location called... Oh, I'm not falling for that again. Anyway, once we got in touch with the nominees, they were very excited and only had one question: "Is it an open bar event?" It wasn't, and it was on this revelation that every single nominee announced they were "too busy to attend". But that won't stop me and my gran, we'll have a blast and party on into the early evening. Here are the Categories: (Voting is found directly under the nominees, rules are found at the bottom)
The "Yeah, That Was Pretty Decent" Single Award:
Nominees:
Spark - Crave
Being released for free download, Spark made it perfectly clear, that there are bigger and better things to come.
Being released for... Well actually, you have to pay for it. But seriously, it's worth it. With a striking resemblance to Bat For Lashes, it's hard to deny the quality of this song.
The queens of free music, expect nothing less than the king of the dance floor, and if you can't win them over to this track, you may as well just give up.
The first installment of Electra Heart and proof of Marina's incredible ability to write a song that can be sung to any backing. If you've got a floor that needs filling, this is your godsend. If you're looking to get teary eyed, however, the acoustic version (available to fans for free download) is just the thing.
My Tiger My Timing - Written In Red
Despite having an incredibly packed year, playing at Glastonbury as well as touring, the Tigers have still managed to produce several top quality songs, so good in fact, two of them were nominated.
And speaking of things too good to choose between, it's Queen Of Hearts! She claims 2012 will be her year, and you won't catch me telling her otherwise.
Released right back at the beginning of the year, if it wasn't as good as it is, you could have very easily forgotten about it. But if legends like Dave Grohl are fans of The Joy Formidable, there's really no excuses.
The Kills - Blood Pressures
Contrary to the album title, this album is much more relaxing than it's predecessors and embodies many of the qualities of a modern hit.
Florence and the Machine - Ceremonials
With Florence there are no half measures. She does things BIG. Even people living in caves know all about this album.
Jokers Daughter - May Cause Side Effects
Possibly the least well known nominee of the awards, if you pick just one person out of everyone here to become a new fan of, there's no one who deserves it even a tenth as much.
Ida Maria - Katla
Released in Norway in November 2010 but makes to cut due a seven month wait for international release. A wait which was definitely worthwhile.
The Subways - Money and Celebrity
Possibly the best live band according to many respected critics and this album's added more than a few to their formidable set list.
Kate McGill - Replaced
The only thing this album is short of is songs! But I guess all good artist should leave you wanting more.
Alice Gold - Seven Rainbows
Truly sensational. An incredible voice with brilliant songs, and although it's not on the album, I urge you to listen to this acoustic version of Cry Cry Cry.
Vote Here:
Rules
Each person should only be permitted to vote once in each category
Artists who are nominated more than once will have their votes totaled in order to eliminate advantages caused by biased voting, however, should the total be a winning score, the more popular song will take all the glory
In the event of a tie in any form, I can do whatever I want and see fit
If you have any queries or concerns, please make them known as soon as possible via any medium, preferably the comments though
Voting closes at some point on Friday the 20th of January 2012 (subject to change)
So, it's Christmas - or Xmas if you're not Christian - and there's more than a little bit of chill in the air, in fact, as Frank Loesser so rightly noticed, Baby, It's Cold Outside. And with that seamless link out of the way it's time to talk about that very song - with a modern twist. Ed Drewett and the name reverting Katie Sutherland (formerly Pearl and the Puppets) recorded this modern classic last year but waited until last month to share it with the world. This song has had a lot of versions but this is easily my favourite; it's one of the few songs that I'm absolutely desperate to sing along to - something which isn't true for any of the other versions - and it really gets me into the festive spirit (although someone should probably tell Katie that doesn't mean mulled wine). If you're looking for something upbeat to play whilst waiting the eternity for your Christmas dinner, or even enduring the eternity of making it!, this is definitely the song for you, and with Katie releasing her debut album next year you may want to check out her pledge campaign in which you can pre-order the album or even bag yourself some once in a lifetime opportunities while helping the CHAS charity at the same time!
From romantic duet to romanceless duet, Oh My! sing about nearly spending Christmas alone The Waitresses style. With a few changes to the lyrics, this winter wonder-song embodies the girls' personalities brilliantly, leaving you with a massive grin on your face and then slightly disappointed that it's all over so quickly. However, short and so very, very sweet - and I'm talking about the song too, not just Jade - is exactly what you get from Oh My! and it's very possible that any more and it might just lose it's charm. I was slightly confused though, by how they managed to forget their stuffing? Is it possible that The Waitresses mistake was at the forefront of their minds as they were doing their Christmas shop or did they just not bother with the cranberries whatsoever?! We'll never know, but one thing we know for sure, with this pair giving out so much brilliant music for free, you'd be mad not to check them out before they go huge and you miss your chance. I especially recommend signing up to their mailer to make sure you don't miss a thing - it's genuinely the best mailer I'm signed up to (not half because of all the free tunes, some of which are exclusive to mailees).
(In tune to Dirty Dancer) Oh, My! What decade was your hair done, and how'd you make it look so slick?
If you were looking for something more emotional, My Tiger My Timing may be the answer. As is the way with all of their music, this song will send you into a trance and the three minutes will literally feel like a matter of seconds and although I'd hate to sound like I'm exaggerating, this band are a few thousand fathoms further ahead than anyone of a similar sound. Even the Written In Red remixes take priority over all non-vital functions, I'd even go so far as to suggest that they make it a double disk album as so to include some of the truly sensational remixes on it. This band could be taking turns punching me in the face and I couldn't care less nor feel a thing so long as their music was playing. I was a bit reluctant to jump the gun but after listening to their last couple of songs I am absolutely certain that their debut album will be one of the best of the decade and even of the century so far. But this is supposed to be about Christmas so I'll simply leave you by saying that it'll be a very merry one indeed with the Tigers on your playlist.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 wantsome related updates her recent activities.
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.
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.
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.
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
Having already featured on the soundtrack for "Made In Chelsea" it's clear that Vela, formerly the lead singer of Soft Toy Emergency, has the potential to achieve great commercial success and Warrior, the latest addition to her résumé, certainly backs this up. Like a modern Soft Toy Emergency, its brilliance may at first be subtle but grows more obvious with every listen. It's the kind of song you can have on repeat and not get tired of but instead get slowly sucked into until it blocks out everything around you and nothing else matters. This song should come with the warning: Dangerously Addictive however due to the fact that it's a free download - see below - it's obviously intended to be so and should be successful in the apparent aim of drastically increasing her fanbase, should it receive enough exposure.
Most likely to follow its predecessors and hit playlists on popular TV programs as well as clubs and very likely, the trendier clothing shops as well, Warrior brings one very clear message: Vela's here, prepare for the big things to come. With its unique familiarity Warrior will have no problem making itself at home in most people's music collection and it is for this reason that it earns a well-deserved 91%. You can stream Warrior and watch the video as well as share your opinions below but due to excessive demand you'll have to follow
this link to download Warrior.
As if being signed to 679 Artists - of which several other female pop sensations such as Little Boots and Marina and the Diamonds are also signed to - wasn't enough of an omen to success, these girls also have strong support in the form of Example. Then you just have to add the plentiful supply of media exposure and a supporting slot on The Saturdays upcoming tour and you're on to a winner without even mentioning the music!
With each track released sounding more polished than the last it was inevitable that sooner or later a song was going to come up with the potential to climb the charts. With lyrics that are harder to forget than remember and a beat that has its own VIP pass onto any clubs playlist these two girls are rising to fame faster than Louie Spence on a 80's themed club night. Their vocals are improving leaps and bounds with every song and compliment each other perfectly on this track, no longer sounding like two friends at karaoke (in a good way, not like some of those X Factor auditions) and more like a professional pop duo. Scrufizzer also makes a welcome appearance which adds a whole new level to a song that already has a lot going for it. However, one thing that certainly isn't going in its favour is the timing, being released on the 14th of November they are still relative newcomers and this song would definitely perform a lot better if they were to release it as more established artists.
With more dance moves and costume changes than... Louie Spence... there's something of a less in your face Louie Spence about the accompanying video which also features many inflatable props and even a chameleon! This song, which gets stuck firmly in your head (as well as anything you associate it with), is likely to find its way onto repeat and therefore earns itself a rating of 89%. Should you, after watching the video, disagree or have something to add, feel free to do so below.
Already having made the transition from cult hit to a household name, Marina has now decided to make the same switch with her sound. While still keeping the powerful and clever lyrics and vocals that all her fans have undoubtedly come to love, she's taken a step into a more electronic realm and has done so with great success, surging straight up the charts from release. With the kind of sound that will always get a good reaction on the dance floor as well as plenty of airtime from some of the biggest radio stations, such as BBC Radio 1, it's no understatement that this could well be my track of the year from one of indie music's current biggest names.
Not forgetting what got her to where she is though, Marina also recorded an acoustic version of the song to share with her loyal fans, which she has in great abundance. By removing the upbeat electro-euphoria Marina does something in such a manner only she is capable of in producing an intensely emotional journey with just the aid of a piano.
If this song is anything to go by and with her ability to produce enough dedicated diamonds to comfortably put Orapa to shame, her next album could well see a prolonged stay in the charts and is certain to create a lot of buzz. To me this song is absolute pop perfection in one form and an intensely emotional epidemic of beauty in the other and as such i'd rate it at the otherwise unattainable 99%. If for some reason you don't agree or much more likely, if you do, share your opinions below and if you haven't heard both versions yet, they're both below too.
Should this have left you wanting more or even converted you into a die-hard diamond, I recommend you check out websites such as http://marina-diamandis.net which has almost everything any diamond could hope for and http://marinaandthediamondslive.com providing the rest.
