Got one more video coming up and, as opposed to the first one, it's not a copy/paste-job from 2016, so brace yourselves!
Featuring the first MASSIVE drop for an act. Ouch. (With about 400 more acts featured than last time around dropping is inevitable, but this is definitely more than average)
Let me be the first to say: she deserved better. Apart from her carreer crashing head-first she pretty much has everything it takes to be an amazing popstar. She was on my longlist, but the lack of recent material pretty much destroyed her chances (though there's acts on my list who have been out of the game for much longer, but they had nostalgia working for them). Still, very much a case of 'if this is what's going out this early in the game, there better be some really good acts coming up after this!'.
YES to Me'shell and Anouk being on this list (although Nobody's Wife > Urban Solitude) and Shannon seems fun. But I'm genuinely surprised to be losing my #40 right at the beginning. Poor Alexandra. I honestly thought more people would have put her on the list as she is the best actual popstar to come out of a British talent show in terms of vocals, dancing and overall performance ability. Unfortunately she got pushed down my list by some of my American and Canadian faves who have larger discographies and can beat her at her own game on a good day.
Are you dutch as well? Nobody's Wife is of course unforgettable, but Urban Solitude just has a stronger personal connection for me. Also love your enthusiasm for Me'shell, who I never heard of before this countdown and I've started to dive into. One of the (many) great things about this countdown is discovering mutual love for acts you never even considered other members might have heard of! I'm sorry, she was sooo close to my list! If I'd focussed less on personal favourites and their discographies and more on 'who has what it takes to be an amazing popstar' she would have made it. I really enjoyed being reminded of the amazing song The Silence is though. This performance still is proof of what an amazing popstar she was: Also: kinda grateful you voted for her, cause with 87 votes it feels any popstar not making the list kinda messed up, and Alexandra sure didn't!
I don't even really listen to Alexandra's music much anymore. There was a time that I was low-key obsessed with a handful of songs though. This is certainly a bit a shock because how well-loved I thought she was on Popjustice.
It definitely shows what a few years can do. I'm sure plenty of people would give her a good score if this was a rate, but she was already outside the top 100 in 2011 and she hasn't done much (chartwise) since. Londonrain was one of a few new voters though, so in the original 2016 countdown she would have completely disappeared. What a difference 1 point can make!
She hasn't done enough beyond it to warrant a place on my list, but The Silence is THAT song. Should have been a multiple week number one, it is one hell of a ballad.
Yeah, even though there's acts on the list who have been gone for much longer, or even released less material, I fear for many people she was 'great at the time' but noone's really remembering her much these days. One of the things I love about this countdown though, apart from discovering completely unknown acts, is being reminded of my love for so many acts. Just watching the video for The Silence I thought 'damn, how did I not vote for her?' but then there's only so much space in a top 40! (She definitely deserved to be above Paris Hilton though! But yeah.. there's still so many great acts coming, who did even greater things for a longer while)
I'm not Dutch - I just happened to pick up on Anouk when Nobody's Wife was a crossover hit (tapping into that whole Meredith Brooks/Alanis Morissette/Natalie Imbruglia pop/rock era) and so I've been peripherally aware of some of her later singles. I Don't Wanna Hurt is gorgeous. Re: Alexandra - I was lucky enough to see her in The Bodyguard (the stage musical) last year and she recorded the soundtrack to it, so in that sense she's still had a recent release that I've listened to. It's a tough job taking on Whitney but she did a good job - and she's a solid actress.
That reminds me of the dutch singer who once won a talent show for impersonating Whitney, who should totally play her in a biopic:
I never was aware Anouk 'crossed over' internationally, apart from her Eurovision performance, but last year I did a little montage of some of her carreer highlights, and though personally I've never been the biggest fan of her her discography is undeniable.
Childish Gambino riding a ferris wheel with a teddybear is the cutest. Meanwhile, I'm listening to the full Blizzards song because it's so catchy. A bit random for me!
That one hit me as well as 'not my type of band, but oddly catchy nonetheless'. The guy in the video kinda creeped me out though.
