The Liverpudlian beauty Rebecca Ferguson has finally arrived with her much anticipated album 'Heaven' and I am glad to report that it is brilliant! Peaking at #3 in the UK certified Platinum due to brilliant opening sales.
Lead single 'Nothing's Real But Love' really showcases her stand out voice, especially amongst all the dance tracks that seemed to have clogged up the charts as of late. Second single 'Too Good To Lose' is just as great, if not better, hopefully giving her a second Top 10 hit. However, I am hoping she is going to release some of her more upbeat songs such as 'Run Free' or 'Fairytale', as they tend to fare better in the charts currently.
Rebecca really is one of the most refreshing voices of 2012 thus far, along side Lana Del Rey.
An album where every song is as good as the one before is quite an accomplishment, and is surely going to aid her in her attempt at cracking America, a job British Female artists have been doing quite well at recently (Adele, Florence + the machine, Ellie Goulding & Jessie J).
Heaven:
Nothing's Real But Love
Glitter & Gold
Shoulder To Shoulder
Fairytale
Mr. Bright Eyes
Fighting Suspicions
Teach Me How To Be Loved
Run Free
Diamond To Stone
Too Good To Lose
I can't choose a favourite track as they are all great =]
Releasing a second album is always going to be a daunting task, not only do you have to live up to the success and standards of your debut album, but your expected to surpass it whilst bringing something new to the table, but not diverting too heavily from 'your' sound. Years often go into the making of a debut album, perfecting it without any time constraints or public pressure nibbling at the back of your mind. Artists often put their hearts and souls into their debut albums, delivering to the world their pride and joy, not to mention their blood, sweat and tears. When it comes to creating and releasing a second album you are on a very thin timeline, with the pressures of being current and memorable (there are only so many times you can re-release an album) it's a hard task and many have fallen short.
Is it simply a matter of re-inventing yourself or developing a new side of you? creating a male alter-ego like Lady Gaga and Rihanna? It would seem Marina of Marina and the Diamonds has gone down a similar path with the immersion of Electra Heart. Telling Popjustice "Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that’s the corruption of yourself. My worst fear - that’s anyone’s worst fear - is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you’re very ambitious."
Marina has teased her fans by releasing two songs that are likely to feature on her second album. 'Part One: Fear & Loathing' following the familiar footsteps of 'Family Jewels' whereas 'Part Two: Radioactive' bringing a very commercial, very different sound to Marina and the Diamonds.
Home grown treasures Kate Nash and Lily Allen had a tough time living up to their incredibly popular debut albums 'Alright, Still' and 'Made of Bricks'. Kate Nash's 'Foundations' catapulted her into the lime light with her witty and real lyrics whilst Allen's 'Smile' saw her stepping out from behind her webcam. Follow up attempts; 'It's Not Me, It's You' by Lily and Kate Nash's 'My Bestfriend Is You' failed to make a mark on the charts when released, despite relatively good feed back on both of their first singles. Lily Allen's 'The Fear' was an over night success, but forgotten in the morning and Kate Nash's ' Do-Wah-Doo' peaked at #15 on the UK charts.Their albums & singles, along with sales slowly fell down the charts.
Lily Allen has supposedly 'retired' at the ripe old age of of 26 and recently became a mum (well done). Kate Nash may have disappeared from our radars in recent years, however, she has been busy exploring other avenues; working with new band Supercute! as well as previously playing bass for Punk band The Reeceders. Have our cockney cuties befallen the 'sophomore slump' never to regain their former popularity? or are they carefully biding their time eagerly trying to tap into the popular music of 2011 which has blossomed and captured us Brits from the depths of the underground?
Kate Nash
Lily Allen
However,
2011 has been Adele's year, going from a popular London artist with debut album '19' to a world wide phenomenon and the word on everybody' lips thanks to her second album '21' becoming an instant hit. Not only has she WOWED the UK but she managed to have our friends across the pond on their knees begging for more, raking up numerous #1 hits with 'Rolling in the deep' and 'Someone like you'. She has captured the hearts of millions people, ever increasing. Four of her songs have currently been used on the hit show 'Glee': 'Rolling in the deep', 'Turning tables', 'Someone like you' and 'Rumour has it' (you've made it if you make it onto 'Glee'.)
Adele
Following Adele's success from a distance is Florence Welch from Florence + the machine, with second album 'Ceremonials' firmly making its mark here in the UK. Following 'Lungs' was always going to be a difficult challenge for Florence with hits such as 'You Got The Love' and 'Dog Days' (made ever popular by Channel 4's 'Slumdog Millionaire' adverts, so much so it was re-released.) she had a task on her hands. Florence brought something new to the table when it's contents were going stale, a fresh injection. Rising up the ladder Florence is ready to embark on her first arena tour in 2012.
Florence Welch
Now we are left wondering whether artists such as Katy B, Ellie Goulding, Marina (and the Diamonds) and Jessie J to mention a few, can break the curse of the second year blues and trump their first albums or will they fall victim, thus becoming a distant memory of "oh, I liked that song" when tuning into Heart.
