SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #17

• Channel 7 confirmed with us this week that the live post-show wrap called 'The Xtra Factor' will be part of their programming when The X Factor hits our screens next month. 'The Xtra Factor' will screen live on 7TWO after the main show.
• Looks like Lady Gaga is on her way to another hit here in Australia, with her latest single 'Dance In The Dark' being added to the 2Day network last week. B105, 2DayFM, FoxFM, SAFM, 92.9 - even NXFM in Newcastle all added the new track, putting in good stead for a 'most added' position come Monday.
• Sydney classical outfit Aston keep kicking goals with their intriguing take on contemporary pop songs. Their latest (a cover of La Roux's 'Bulletproof') is now live, and they've now collectively clocked up more than a million hits on Youtube.
• Ellen Degeneres has announced that she's quitting the American Idol judging panel after just one year. In a statement, the popular TV star said, "While I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings."
• Reports coming out of the UK suggest that Girls Aloud will only be 80% of their former selves when they come together to make their next LP. It's reported that they'll carry on as a foursome after falling out with Nadine Coyle.
• In the US, Eminem and Rihanna have held onto their No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, holding off Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' and a fast-surging Taio Cruz with 'Dynamite'. Katy Perry's new single 'Teenage Dream' is in with a bullet at No.20.
• And Eminem holds firm at No.1 on the US albums chart too, with Rick Ross debuting at No.2, Sheryl Crow in at No.3 and Kidz Bop Kids debuting at No.5. Jonas Brothers' 'Jonas LA' soundtrack debuts at No.7.

DAN BLACK WINNERS

The lovely team at Liberation came to the auspOp party last week with five copies of their sensational release from Dan Black called '((un))'. It really is a brilliant pop record and its Aussie release has been firmly welcomed. So of course, we gave away five copies of the LP to you, our unsuspecting readers and five lucky people have each walked away with one. (Well of course they don't literally walk away with it - though they might walk from their post boxes to their houses, so techni...) anyway...
We have five winners - and those winners are;

Marin from Jerrabomberra in New South Wales, Amy from Bardon in Queensland, Sue from Sale in Victoria, Adam from Magill in South Australia and Ron from Wantirna in Victoria.

Congratulations, lucky duckies - a copy of Dan Black's scintillating new album '((un))' is winging its way to you shortly. And as always, a very big thankyou to everyone who entered the competition.
Don't forget, there's another prize now live (the Emilia De Poret packs) and with a piece of exclusive jewellery in them, they're quite the prize! Click HERE for the guff.

TOURING : Crowded House

Michael Coppel have this morning announced that the boys from Crowded House are hitting the road again later this year for a (so far) five date tour which will include a date at the beautiful Sandalford Estate in the west and a Day On The Green show in the Barossa Valley. It all kicks off in Melbourne on November 05, and the band will perform tracks from their back catalogue as well as songs from their latest album 'Intriguer'.
Tickets for all shows are on sale on Tuesday August 10.

November 05 : Melbourne (Rod Laver Arena)
November 06 : Sydney (Hordern Pavillion)
November 09 : Brisbane (Convention Centre)
November 13 : Barossa Valley (Peter Lehmann Wines) ADOTG
November 14 : Swan Valley (Sandalford Estate)
November 16 : Wollongong (Entertainment Centre)

AT RETAIL ON FRIDAY JULY 30, 2010

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Avenged Sevenfold – Nightmare
Bliss ‘N’ Eso – Running On Air
Buckcherry – All Night Long
Buckcherry – All Night Long (Deluxe Edition)
Ghinzu – Mirror Mirror
Tom Jones – Praise And Blame
OST – The Waiting City
Melinda Schneider – Melinda Does Doris
Semi Precious Weapons – You Love You
The Temper Trap – Conditions (New Version)
Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History (Tour Edition)
Various – The 5CD Megabox : 90s
Various – Anjunabeats Vol.8
Stan Walker – Choose You (CD single)
Washington – I Believe You, Liar
Washington – I Believe You, Liar (Collectors Edition)

GAB FILMS DEFENDER

Aussie songstress Gabriella Cilmi has been a busy little beaver over in the UK of late, not only traipsing up and down the country performing countless live shows, but also putting the finishing touches to the forthcoming single release of 'Defender', the tender ballad lifted from her most recent album 'Ten'. The singer reveals via her latest blog post HERE that the video "follows a girl (that would be moi) leaving behind one world, stripping back everything that hides who she truly is and then going into battle to protect someone or something she believes in".
No word at this stage on when Warner might take this one to digital retail locally.

INERTIA GETS SIDETRACKED

It was released in the UK earlier this week, but soon it will be Australia's turn to get 'Sidetracked' with La Roux as they take us on a musical journey into some of their favourite pop places with this new compilation album.
On it, Elly and Ben showcase some of their favourite tunes from over the years, including numbers from Heaven 17, Tears For Fears, Blancmange and even Gerry Rafferty. But for La Roux purists, the album also features the band's take on the Rolling Stones song 'Under My Thumb'.
'Sidetracked' will be released in Australia through Inertia on Friday August 27.

PINK LADY POP

Teen solo sailor Jessica Watson sailed around the world earlier this year and into the hearts of a nation, whose eyes were all glued on the heads of Sydney Harbour to watch her tiny pink boat finally ending its momentous journey. But what we don't know are the songs that kept her company on that long and dangerous journey.
Which is where Sony Music is stepping in, releasing a compilation of some of the songs that got the 16 year old by, though the tracklisting for the disc is still unknown.
Its release will be followed a week later by a documentary DVD called '210 Days - Around The World With Jessica Watson', which will document her incredible journey from her departure in October last year to her arrival home in May.
'Songs From The Pink Lady' is out August 13, '210 Days - Around The World With Jessica Watson' is out August 20.

UPDATED AUGUST 02 : Tracklisting is listed in the comments section (below)

ASHCROFT CANCELS PERTH

News just through from Frontier Touring Company is that former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft has cancelled his forthcoming concert in Perth. The singer was due to take the stage in the West Australian capital next Wednesday night at the city's Metro City, but extra commitments in Japan have forced organisers to cancel the show, his last on Australian soil during this visit. His shows at Splendour In The Grass over the weekend, along with his Melbourne and Sydney concerts this week are unaffected. Credit card purchases will be automatically refunded, while refunds at point of purchase are available to those who used cash.

DAN BALAN : Chica Bomb

Remember O-Zone and their incredible all-conquering 2004 smash 'Dragostea Din Tei'? Well one of the young chaps behind it, Dan Balan, has only gone on and recorded one of the hottest tracks of the European summer - and it's got an incredibly hot video to match. In fact, it's so hot that the young lady he's got to star alongside him in the video appears to have stripped down to the very bare basics in order to simply survive.
And now it's Australia's turn to fall under the 'Chica Bomb' spell. The track will go to radio on Monday, the video will drop digitally on Friday August 13 and the digital single will hit on Friday August 20.

BOB'S NEW CHAPTER

Legendary Irish singer songwriter (and onetime member of the Boomtown Rats) Sir Bob Geldof will release a long-awaited new album in Australia in October. And with it's title, it seems he might be taking a swipe at the number of high profile formulaic songwriters who've been dominating the charts of late. It's called 'How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell' and it's his first LP since 2001's 'Sex, Age & Death'.
The album is said to be "full of love, hope and joy" and will see an Australian release on Friday October 08.

FREE MIKE POSNER

Things are starting to heat up on the Mike Posner front, despite his single 'Cooler Than Me' still languishing around the No.100 point on the Aussie iTunes chart. The singer's debut album '31 Minutes To Takeoff' is due for release in Australia on August 20 and to celebrate, the team at Sony have directed us to a little webpage where his fans can download two glorious Mike Posner mixtapes totally free of charge.
Mixtape No.1 ('A Matter of Time') was independently released by Mike in March last year. Mixtape No.2 ('One Foot Out The Door'), also independently released, was out back in October. Both show the progression of an artist who's been enjoying huge success Stateside.
Head to www.freemikeposner.com to nab yours today!

THE AUSTRALIAN CD NEW RELEASE SCHEDULE

August 06
BARB – BARB
VV Brown – Travelling Like The Light
Troy Cassar-Daley – Wanted Man
Stephen Cummings – Good Bones
La Spina – Always You
Lil’ John – Crunk Rock
Manins – Latitude
Ocelot – No Requests
OST – Scott Pilgrim vs The World
The Runaways – Best Of
Slash’s Snakepit – It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere
Usher – DJ’s Got Us Fallin’ In Love (CD single)
Various – 80 From The 80s
Various – Running Trax
Various – Songs To Make You Smile

August 13
Clare Bowditch – Modern Day Addiction
Clare Bowditch – Modern Day Addiction (Collectors Edition)
Greta Bradman – Forest Of Dreams
Sam Clark – Take Me Home
Custom Kings – Great Escape
Sarah Harmer – Oh Little Fire
Marques Houston – Mr.Houston
Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier
Cyndi Lauper – Memphis Blues
The Models – Essential Hits
Papa vs Pretty – Heavy Harm EP
Queens Of The Stone Age – Rated R (Deluxe Edition)
Savage – Savage Island
Slash – Slash (Deluxe Edition)
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Greatest Hits
The Subs – Subculture
T.I. – King Uncaged
Various – Beaut Ute Anthems
Various – Beer Blokes & BBQs 3
Various – Story Songs Vol.2
Various – This Is Dubstep Vol.1
The Verses – Seasons

August 20
Apocolyptica – 7th Symphony
Kasey Chambers – Little Bird (CD single)
Charice – Charice
Chk Chk Chk – Strange Weather, Isn’t It?
Ray Charles – Live In Concert
Example – Won’t Go Quietly
Freelance Whales – Weathervanes
David Gray – Foundling
Adam Harvey – Best So Far
Adam Harvey – Best So Far (DVD)
Jonas Brothers – Jonas L.A.
Klaxons – Surfing The Void
Raul Malo – Sinners A Saints
Miami Horror – Illumination
Miami Horror – Illumination (Deluxe Edition)
Mogwai – Special Moves
Mike Posner – 31 Minutes To Takeoff
Leo Sayer – The Greatest Hits
Secondhand Serenade – Hear Me Now
Tiesto – Kaleidoscope (Special Edition)
Various – A Song For My Father
Various – At The Movies
Various – Classic Rock
Various – Dad’s Jukebox
Various – Music From The Man Cave
Various – Original Hits : 50s
Various – Original Hits : 80s Pop
Various – Original Hits : Jazz
Various – Original Hits : The Girls
Various – Pop It Rock It 2
Various – Skitz Mix 35
Stan Walker – From The Inside Out

August 27
Jimmy Barnes – Rage And Ruin
Jimmy Barnes – Rage And Ruin (Deluxe Edition)
Children Collide – Theory Of Everything
The Count & Sinden – Mega, Mega, Mega
Elvis Costello – Pomp & Pout
Disturbed – Asylum
DJ Fresh – Kryptonite
Goo Goo Dolls – Something For The Rest Of Us
La Roux – Sidetracked
Maximum Balloon – Maximum Balloon
John Mellencamp – No Better Than This
Katie Melua – The House
Menomena – Mines
Ocelot – No Requests
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream (Deluxe Edition)
The Pretty Reckless – Light Me Up
Ringo Starr – Live At The Greek Theatre 2008 (DVD)
Tarja – What Lies Beneath
Various – Best Of Blues And Roots
Various – Dinner Party Songs
Various – The Country Box
Various – More Music From Mad Men
Various – Speaking Out
Brian Wilson – Reimagines Gershwin

September 03
Andy Bull – The Phantom Pains EP
Chicago – The Ultimate Chicago : Tour Edition
Estelle – All Of Me
Brandon Flowers – Flamingo
Megadeth – Rust In Peace Live (DVD)
OST – Despicable Me
Scarlett Belle – Scarlett Belle
Usher – Raymond V Raymond (Deluxe Edition)
Various – The 5CD Megabox : Aussie Rock Classics
We The Kings – Smile Kid

September 10
Chromeo – Business Casual
Phil Collins – Going Back
Grinderman – Grinderman 2
Interpol – Interpol
Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns
Little Red – Midnight Remember
Anika Moa – Love In Motion
N.E.R.D. – Nothing
Old Man River – Trust
Röyksopp – Senior
The Script – Science And Faith
Underworld – Barking
Various – NOW : Spring 2010
Various – Unforgettable

September 17
Kasey Chambers – Little Bird
Chief – Modern Rituals
Leonard Cohen – Songs From The Road
Leonard Cohen – Songs From The Road (DVD)
Kid Rock – Born Free
Maroon 5 – Hands All Over
OST – Camp Rock 2 : The Final Jam
OST – Sweet And Sour
Santana – Guitar Heaven
KT Tunstall – Tiger Suit
Various – Complete Country
Various – Complete Memories
Various – Complete Party
Various – Complete Rock
Weezer – Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition)
Wons Phreely – Tonight (CD single)

September 24
Ben Folds – Lonely Avenue
Michael Franti & Spearhead – The Sound Of Sunshine
The Holidays – TBA
John Legend & The Roots – Wake Up
Liza Minnelli – Lizas At The Palace (DVD)
Robyn – Body Talk Pt.2
Mark Ronson – Record Collection
Soundgarden – Best Of
Tricky – Mixed Race
Various – Running Songs

October 01
Bag Raiders – Bag Raiders
Clinic – Bubblegum
Elvis Costello – National Ransom
Gin Blossoms – No Chocolate Cake
Hilltop Hoods – State Of The Art Live (DVD)
Jimmy Eat World – Invented
John Lennon – Power To The People : The Hits
John Lennon – Gimme Some Truth
John Lennon – Signature Box

October 08
The Police – Singles Box Set
Cliff Richard – Bold As Brass
Sparkadia – TBA
Various – At The Movies
Robbie Williams - In And Out Of Consciousness – The Greatest Hits 1990 – 2010

October 15
Paris Wells – Various Small Fires

October 22
Catcall – Cardiac Arrest
Bryan Ferry – Olympia
Good Charlotte – Cardiology
Potbelleez – Destination Now
Taylor Swift – Speak Now
Various – Gods Of Guitar

All release dates subject to change & list is updated weekly.

HANDS OFF HAYLEY

Well we were going to show you the brand new video for last year's Australian Idol runner-up Hayley Warner, but given there are no embed codes, no Hayley video love here. Instead we'll just show you the artwork for her new single - the first since her debut 'Good Day' at the end of last year. The Hayley project is starting to heat up again, with the release for the digital single apparently scheduled next weekend.

JOE IN THE STUDIO

Last year's British X Factor winner Joe McElderry is taking his sweet time with his debut album, which is due for release in the UK later this year, but as this picture shows he is indeed in the studio, laying down tracks for the highly anticipated follow-up material to his No.1 single 'The Climb'.
He's been working on his new music with legendary producer Dallas Austin and John Shanks - who produced Take That's amazing comeback record 'Beautiful World'.
Says Joe of the experience, ""I'm having so much fun being in the studio and working on my album. The producers I have been working with are amazing and I love the whole process of being creative and making my own record. It's so exciting."
No word on an Australian release.

THE HOOSIERS : Choices

Sony Music Australia is soon set to get the ball rolling locally on the latest project from UK outfit The Hoosiers, with their latest single 'Choices' being serviced in a couple of weeks time. It will be followed by the release of their new album 'The Illusion of Safety', due later in the year.
But the official video for the single is a heck of a lot of fun and has already been viewed by quarter of a million people in the last month. It illustrates beautifully that fantastic British sense of humour that we love and follows the band from drinking 'Burning Sun' to mock bloopers to some crazy Asian people who the band decide to try and outrun. They're finally cornered, but will they get away?

ZOE BADWI : Freefallin'

Can we just say, we've caught CityRail quite a number of times and never have we discovered the secret little tunnel that Zoe Badwi seems to have happened upon in the video for her scintillating new single 'Freefallin'. Yes, she's hopped off the train, she's meandered through a couple of gates and wouldn't you know it, a dance party's happening right there in the subway. Naturally, she decides it's the perfect opportunity to launch into her brand new single and judging by the reaction of the scantily clad assembled crowd, it's a hit.
And let's face it, 'Freefallin' is a hit.
It's a great song with a strong clip which contains some truly amazing cinematography.
But its success on the ARIA charts can only be assured by Australian radio deciding for once to support one of its own (yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen - hello The Temper Trap and Daniel Merriweather to mention just two).

EMMA'S NEW TRICKS

Once upon a time, there were two young men in a local pub who were a bit of alright with their musical prowess. There they were playing to all and sundry, when all of a sudden, their tunes were noticed by an A&R person from an independent record company who said something along the lines of 'by gosh, I like what you do - how would you like me to hand you a piece of paper that will contain words like 'contract' and 'recording' (not necessarily in that order)?'
Well how could they say no? They went into the recording studio and came up with five fab new songs, all of which are included on the band's debut label EP 'Boat Afloat'. Ironically, they're also using the title track from the EP to hopefully find some love at radio.
The EP is available digitally now.
www.trickingemma.com

SAM REVEALS ALBUM

Things on the musical side of Sam Clark's career are about to get a whole lot more hectic with the impending release of his debut album 'Take Me Home'. The ten track album (cover art pictured) has been in the works for the past year, with the singer launching three singles at us since the start of the year - 'Broken', 'Send Me A Sign' and the new single 'Devastated'.
He's been putting the finishing touches to the LP in between filming commitments for long-running Channel 10 soap 'Neighbours' (on which he plays Ringo). But the culmination of all the hard work, endless rehearsal and writing sessions will be the release of 'Take Me Home' on Friday August 13.

01. Never Should Have Left
02. Devastated
03. Save Us Tonight
04. Broken
05. Send Me A Sign
06. Come So Far
07. Lay Me Down
08. Catching Up
09. Messenger
10. Take Me Home

ROBYN LOCAL DATE CONFIRMED

Gosh - more Robyn news than you can poke a stick at of late! Universal Music Australia has today announced the official instore date for Robyn's highly anticipated new album 'Body Talk Pt.2'. The buddy to 'Body Talk Pt.1' is the second in a trilogy of albums the Swedish songstress is releasing throughout the course of this year.
The lead single from the album 'Hang With Me' (the video of which we posted overnight last night) will be serviced to Aussie radio on August 16, hitting digital retail one month later.
Robyn will perform in Australia as part of the Stereosonic festivals around the country kicking off in Sydney on November 27 and 'Body Talk Pt.2' will be released down under on Friday September 24.

HURTS : Wonderful Life

Aaah we see what they've done there; Manchester duo Hurts released a video clip for this single last year, but it's only now that it's about to get the official UK release. As such, they've consulted with Glinda The Good Witch who's granted them enough pound sterling to come up with an entirely new video - though given the minimalistic nature of it (four dancers by a poolside), we reckon they've come up with something rather stylish on a rather small budget. We're really liking what Hurts has offered up thus far and can't wait for the debut album to drop later this year.

JLS HIT AMERICA

Out of their four UK singles so far, X Factor boyband JLS (runners-up to Alexandra Burke in 2008) have garnered three No.1 hits. 'Beat Again', 'Everybody In Love' and their most recent track 'The Club Is Alive' all made it to the top spot in their homeland, while earlier this year, they picked up the Best British Breakthrough Act and the Best British Single at the 2010 Brit Awards.
But in the midst of recording for their new album, the boys are turning their sights across the Atlantic, readying their debut eponymous EP (pictured) for release in the US next month. The six tracker is a combination of five songs from their debut album (including the singles 'One Shot', 'Everybody In Love' and 'Beat Again') as well as their new single 'The Club Is Alive'.
It's released in America on Tuesday August 03.

GIVEAWAY

Okay kids, here's another sprightly new giveaway - and this time around it's one of those 'money can't buy' adventures. A couple of weeks back, we told you about Sweden's Countess Of Pop Emilia De Poret who has a brand new single out called 'This Ain't A Love Song' (check it out HERE).
But what we have here is one of FIVE sensational little promotional packages that we have to give away to you with thanks to Emilia's Australian publicists. And these promo packages are mighty fine.
Contained within the custom printer folder (pictured) are Emilia postcards, Emilia business card, bios, a selection of Emilia black and white promo shots (pictured, right), a copy of the promotional CD single PLUS, a very exclusive piece of Japanese AMBUSH jewellery contained within it's own pouch.
Now we're told that these pieces are incredibly rare - and it seems they're a little bit pricey too (check THIS).
And while we can't guarantee that the piece in each pack is the same as the fluoro yellow Beethoven ring pictured here (we've only opened this one for display purposes), there'll be a piece in your pack should you win.
What a brilliant giveaway!
Remember, we have FIVE Emilia De Poret packages to give away, so get enterin' now!

To enter, send us an email containing your name and postal address to auspOp@ymail.com with the subject line "Ambush'n Emilia". And you'll be in with the chance to snare one of these very exclusive, very rare little packs thanks to Emilia's Aussie publicists.

Competition closes at 11:59pm on Monday August 09, 2010. Strictly one entry per person. Winners drawn at random. Five lucky so and sos will win a brilliant Emilia De Poret promotional package containing bios, postcards, business card, black and white press shots, promotional CD and piece of exclusive AMBUSH jewellery in a pouch. Winners' first names, suburbs and states will be published on the site on Tuesday August 10, 2010. And once again, we never pass on your details to anybody unless we say so here in the 'small print' - we take your privacy (and our pop music, as a matter of fact) very seriously.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

NEWS WRAP

• As mentioned yesterday, Miami Horror's hot new single 'I Look To You' is one of a select few singles that have been serviced to Australian radio this week. It's the third single lifted from the band's forthcoming album 'Illumination'.
• Other singles EMI has taken out this week are Chiddy Bang's 'Truth', Swedish House Mafia's 'One (Your Name)' and Goldfrapp's newy 'Believer'.
• Hussle has serviced New Zealand singer Dane Rumble's new single 'Always Be Here', with confirmation that he'll be here next month for promo, as well as the Carl Kennedy/Tommy Trash single 'Blackwater'.
• Warner's taken out Serj Tankian's 'Left of Centre' and Sony has serviced Buckcherry's All Night Long' and the new Amy Meredith single 'Young At Heart'.
• Speaking of Sony Music, they've revealed via their most recent release schedule that Scarlett Belle's self-titled debut album will be released on Friday September 03. Another single is expected at radio prior to the CD's release.
• Kylie fans won't have to wait long to hear her new single 'Get Outta My Way' on radio, with a Warner insider suggesting to us that the track will be serviced to radio "within two weeks".
• Universal has snapped up a team of very unlikely pop stars - an order of Benedictine nuns from a remote region of France near Avignon. The nuns' debut album, with self-produced artwork, is set for release later in the year.
• Thousand Needles In Red have changed the location of their September 24 gig. Previously at the Oxford Tavern in Wollongong, it's now shifted to the Kiama Leagues Club.
• On the UK singles chart, Sydney outfit Yolanda Be Cool vs Dcup have hit the top with their single 'We No Speak No Americano', ahead of Eminem and Rihanna's 'Love The Way You Lie' and last week's No.1 B.o.B. The week's highest debut comes courtesy of Usher, all the way down at No.20 with his new single 'DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love'. Things aren't looking so crash hot for Jedward's new single 'All The Small Things', however. Their Blink 182 cover debuts at a worrying No.80.
• And on the British albums chart, it's Eminem all the way, holding Professor Green (with his new album 'Alive 'Til I'm Dead' debuting at No.2) at bay. A new Earth Wind And Fire best-of debuts at No.9.

INCOMING : Lior

Inertia has announced the highly anticipated new album from Lior. The new LP, the singer's third is due to hit retail in mid-September and follows up 2008's 'Corner of an Endless Road’.
The first single from Lior's new LP is 'I Thought I Could Sing On My Own', a track the singer describes as “a somewhat playful revelation that it is the people, rather than the place, that defines experience. The journey to “meet your dreams” so laden with expectation, turns out to have a hollow centre without the people you miss and crave”.
'I Thought I Could Sing On My Own' was serviced to radio just yesterday, with the new album 'Tumbling Into The Dawn' due in September.

ROBYN : Hang With Me

Swedish popstress Robyn has moments ago revealed the official video for her new single 'Hang With Me'. And it seems she's decided to take a little bus trip to celebrate. Here she is belting the number out on said bus, in a motel room, at an official instore, in a tunnel, an office - and even in a studio.
She pops on a rollercoaster, has a dodgy looking breakfast, smiles to a man in a purple shirt, hits the nightclub, heads out into the country where she almost runs over a horse.
And she does all this while drawing us in once again with her sweet Swede vocals, great production and finely tuned, silver dangly earring-adorned pop ear.

AUSSIES CONQUER BRITISH CHART

Sydney outfit Yolanda Be Cool vs Dcup has made it all the way to the top of the UK singles chart this week with their single 'We No Speak Americano'. The track has been charting well in Britain throughout the past few weeks, hitting as high as No.2 last week. But as widely predicted throughout last week, the track has now ascended to the No.1 throne, despite a strong challenge from Eminem and Rihanna.
'We No Speak Americano' has already achieved top ten success here in Australia, as well as No.1 placings in Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark and Holland.

HORROR MONDAY

The countdown is on to the release of Miami Horror's debut album 'Illumination' on Friday August 20. And its instore date seems a step closer today with the release to radio of another single from it - the Kimbra vocalled single 'I Look To You'.
The new single is an up-tempo '70s-esque disco romp with a funky baseline that sounds not dissimilar to Chic's classic 'Good Times'.
It's most certainly another step in the right direction for Miami Horror, who have already brought us the brilliant pop of 'Sometimes' and 'Moon Theory'.
Meantime, the band have also announced a series of live dates in addition to their turn at Splendour In The Grass this weekend. They'll see the band head to the United States in September for seven shows across the country.
'I Look To You' is released digitally this Friday, with the album 'Illumination' out on August 20. A deluxe edition with bonus remixes disc is also due.
More details at the Miami Horror Facebook.

CHART WATCH

Eminem clocks up the biggest No.1 single sales in a week since Usher with 'OMG' back on June 07, while on the albums chart, he's still holding Kylie at bay from the No.1 position by a long, long way.

SINGLES : Sssh! If you're really quiet, you might be able to hear the wind whistling through the massive sales gap between the No.1 and No.2 positions on the Aussie singles chart this week. Eminem and Rihanna are more than 7000 copies ahead of Enrique with their collaborative single 'Love The Way You Lie'. It sold a very healthy 23,422 copies this week, and by the time you're reading this, it'll have surpassed the platinum mark within four weeks.
Enrique is most certainly no slouch in the sales department either - he's sold 16,134 copies of 'I Like It' this week, with Katy Perry another 1999 copies behind in spot No.3.
Adam Lambert notches up a second top five single success with 'If I Had You'. It's up to No.4 this week with 11,666 copies down, while B.o.B. and Hayley Williams slip to 5 with 'Airplanes'.
Debuting in the top ten is Newton Faulkner and his surprise Hamish & Andy/Horgs hit 'I Hate Mondays'. It sold an impressive 8976 copies within the week after his appearance on the 2Day Network's Hamish & Andy drive show last Monday.
Usher's also in the top ten mix with his brand new single 'DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love'. A No.10 debut comes on the back of 8111 sales.
Taio Cruz will be one happy fellow - three of his singles are now in the Aussie top 20 including current US hit 'Dynamite' - up to No.14, the Ke$ha-featuring 'Dirty Picture' up to No.18 and 'Break Your Heart' down to No.20.
Mark Ronson also heads into the top 20 with his new single 'Bang Bang Bang' - up eight spots to No.24 with 4907 sales.
Local singer Michael Paynter is making an impact with his hot new single 'Love The Fall'. It's bulleted into the top 50 this week at No.33 (up 19 places on last week's position) and enjoys a further 2830 sales, while Lady Antebellum continues their rise - up to No.37.
Jason Derulo debuts at No.47 with 'What If' (1948 sales), Professor Green with Lily Allen are a new addition to the top 50 at No.49 with 'Just Be Good To Green' (1892 sales) and Alexandra Burke pops her head back into the top 50 at No.50.
Outside the top 50, Brandon Flowers' new single 'Crossfire' is heading the right way, close to breaking through at No.52, Ciara is in at No.75 with the Bei Maejor Remix of 'Ride' (1156 sales), Nickelback debuts at No.78 with 'This Afternoon' (1136 sales) and the ABC News Theme remix is rising again - up to No.80.
30 Seconds To Mars heads in at No.85 with 'Closer To The Edge' and David Guetta's former No.1 'Sexy Bitch' re-emerges at No.95.

ALBUMS : Okay, so the Eminem and Kylie chart battle continues this week, with Eminem once again emerging as the victor. But as with last week, he's done it by a long, long way. In fact, the gap between Eminem and the pop princess has widened again; this week there are more than 8000 copies separating No.1 from No.2.
Eminem sold 12,399 copies of 'Recovery' and Kylie sold 4328 copies of 'Aphrodite'.
In what is an otherwise desperately low sales week, just 2000 copies of your album would have got you into the Australian top ten. Sadly, this is the lowest number of copies required for a top ten album in Australia since we started reporting chart statistics 18 months ago.
The Twilight Eclipse soundtrack moves up three places to No.3 with 2519 sales, but it's just three sales ahead of Glee 3, 167 copies ahead of Justin Bieber and 176 copies ahead of Enrique in position No.6.
New in at No.12 is Basement Birds with their eponymous album - a healthy chart position, but sales of just 1758 copies.
Usher surges to No.13 with 'Raymond V Raymond' (a deluxe edition is due at the start of September), Ke$ha's 'Animal' also surges after it's repackage, Adam Lambert's album has the new international cover art and combined with a new top ten hit 'For Your Entertainment' surges to No.25.
Sting's 'Symphonicities' debuts at No.40 with a mere 803 sales (also the lowest sales number for the No.40 position since we started reporting sales), M.I.A. slumps to No.43 and Ed Kowalczyk debuts at No.44 with 'Alive' (730 sales).
Outside the top 50, there are three lowly debuts - Dangermouse & Sparklehorse at No.94 with just 402 sales, Professor Green's 'Alive 'Til I'm Dead' at No.98 with 385 sales and Dan Kelly at No.100 with 'Dan Kelly's Dream' (a mere 381 sales - the lowest No.100 sales since August 2009 when Hillsong's 'Faith + Love + Hope' sold 375 copies for a No.100 spot).

OFFICIAL ARIA CHARTS

ANGUS & JULIA AT THE APPLE STORE

This one's a bit short notice, but brother and sister duo Angus & Julia Stone will hit the Apple story in Sydney tonight for a very special iTunes live performance.
With their latest album 'Down The Way' now way past platinum (70,000 sales) and their new single 'Big Jet Plane' now impacting at local radio, the twosome will pop into the Apple Store in George Street to perform free of charge from nine o'clock tonight.
But customers are being advised to arrive early due to the strictly limited number of people who'll be granted entry.
The star siblings hit the road in August for a national tour.

WARNER GOES AUBURN

No doubt this little slice of US pop will find its home quite nicely on Australian radio as it's a very now sound that will fall seamlessly into the mix of pretty much everything else that's on our charts. Warner Music has this morning serviced 'La La La' - the debut single for 21 year old US singer Auburn. Featuring a guest vocal from her labelmate Iyaz, the single also features a sample from the 2000 A.T.O.C single 'Around the World (La La La La La)', a top 20 Aussie hit.
JT Rotem is on production duties, and the single has already bagged more than 30,000 sales since its US release early last month.

MOST ADDED

RADIO'S MOST ADDED
WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY JULY 26, 2010

01. THE POTBELLEEZ : HELLO
02. KE$HA : TAKE IT OFF
03. B.O.B. FTG. RIVERS CUOMO : MAGIC
04. LADY GAGA : DANCE IN THE DARK
05. STAN WALKER : CHOOSE YOU
06. PARAMORE : CAREFUL
07. ZOE BADWI : FREEFALLIN'
08. NICKELBACK : THIS AFTERNOON
09. MICHAEL PAYNTER : LOVE THE FALL
10. ED KOWALCZYK : GRACE

Most added tracks to Australian radio courtesy of The Music Network.

BUUREN MELBOURNE-BOUND

Incredible white party Sensation may have taken the Victorian capital by storm over the past two new years eves, but Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren has thrown a little something extra into the party mix, announcing that he'll be hitting Melbourne this new years eve with his one and only Australian show 'Mirage'.
Future Entertainment is bringing the superstar DJ to the country for this one-off event, making Melbourne one of the first cities in the world to experience his new show.
The Mirage tour is set to complement his new album of the same name, which is set for release later in the year. It's also due to feature a swag of guest vocalists.
Though venue information was not released by Future Entertainment, the DJ's OFFICIAL WEBSITE states it's to be held at Etihad Stadium.
Tickets are on sale soon.

ASTON ARE BULLETPROOF

They've tried their hands at Kylie, they've covered Rihanna and Lady Gaga and now the gang from quasi-classical outfit Aston have turned their attention to La Roux's global hit 'Bulletproof'. And with the visual aid of an empty carousel in the clip and some pretty stirring violins, bright percussion and impressive tinkering of the ivories, this version song (like its predecessors) just works. It's available now on iTunes.

ALESHA DRUMS UP A NEW SINGLE

She had a little belated chart success here in Australia with her single 'The Boy Does Nothing', but nothing else from her last album 'The Alesha Show' fired locally.
But the former Mis-teeq songstress is ready to launch again, revealing her brand new single 'Drummer Boy' over in the UK.
The track begins with a booming clatter of percussion, before powering into a minimal but edgy chorus that doesn't sound unlike something Britney Spears may shake her lady garden to. Sadly, it's not out until September 05, giving fans plenty of time to get sick and tired of it before being able to legally buy it. Check it out HERE. No word yet on a local release.

LOOKBACK

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & E.L.O. : Xanadu

Can you believe it? 'Xanadu' - the theme song to the movie of the same name, by ELO and vocalled by Olivia Newton-John - is now an incredible 30 years old. But somehow, as if by the power of a magical roller-skating muse, it still manages to remain timeless. While ONJ may have had bigger chart success with tracks like 'I Honestly Love You', 'Have You Never Been Mellow' and another soundtrack favourite, 'You're The One That I Want', 'Xanadu' remains a standout from her extensive back catalogue. And the video (this one reaching close to 5,000,000 hits on Youtube) pinches directly from the film itself, with Farrah Fawcett hairdo Liv followed by kitchen foil-clad ethereal goddess Liv followed by home-girl Liv. That dancing - those rollerskates, the choreography, the fashion, the special effects. GOLD!

THE auspOp DIARY

WEEK COMMENCING JULY 26, 2010

Jul 26 : MELBOURNE – Band Of Horses (Corner Hotel)
Jul 26 : MELBOURNE – Foals (The HiFi)
Jul 26 : MELBOURNE – Scissor Sisters (Festival Hall)
Jul 26 : SYDNEY – LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip (Hordern Pavillion)
Jul 27 : ADELAIDE – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Fowlers Live)
Jul 27 : MELBOURNE – Alberta Cross (Corner Hotel)
Jul 27 : MELBOURNE – Band Of Horses (Palace Theatre)
Jul 27 : MELBOURNE – Foals (The HiFi)
Jul 27 : SYDNEY – Scissor Sisters (Luna Park Big Top)
Jul 27 : SYDNEY – The Temper Trap (Hordern Pavillion)
Jul 28 : ADELAIDE – Kasabian (Thebarton Theatre)
Jul 28 : MELBOURNE – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Billboard)
Jul 28 : MELBOURNE – The Magic Numbers (Corner Hotel)
Jul 28 : MELBOURNE – Mumford & Sons (Palace Theatre)
Jul 28 : MELBOURNE – Thirty Seconds To Mars (Festival Hall)
Jul 28 : SYDNEY – Foals (Manning Bar)
Jul 28 : SYDNEY – Winterbeatz (Acer Arena)
Jul 28 : SYDNEY – Yeasayer (Metro Theatre)
Jul 29 : ADELAIDE – Two Door Cinema Club (Uni Bar)
Jul 29 : BANKSTOWN – Guy Sebastian (Sports Club)
Jul 29 : MELBOURNE – LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip (Festival Hall)
Jul 29 : MELBOURNE – Mumford & Sons (Palace Theatre)
Jul 29 : MELBOURNE – Winterbeatz (Rod Laver Arena)
Jul 29 : MELBOURNE – Yeasayer (Prince Of Wales)
Jul 29 : SYDNEY – Band Of Horses (Enmore Theatre)
Jul 29 : SYDNEY – Goldfrapp (Luna Park Big Top)
Jul 29 : SYDNEY – The Strokes (Hordern Pavillion)
Jul 30 – Aug 01 : WOODFORD – Splendour In The Grass
Jul 30 : BRISBANE – Goldfrapp (The Tivoli)
Jul 30 : CAMPBELLTOWN – Guy Sebastian (The Cube)
Jul 30 : LAUNCESTON – Thirsty Merc (Hotel New York)
Jul 30 : MELBOURNE – Richard Ashcroft (Palace Theatre)
Jul 30 : MELBOURNE – The Strokes (Festival Hall)
Jul 30 : PERTH – Kasabian (Metro City)
Jul 30 : SYDNEY – The Magic Numbers (Metro Theatre)
Jul 30 : SYDNEY – Thirty Seconds To Mars (Hordern Pavillion)
Jul 30 : TIX ON SALE – Birds Of Tokyo (Nationally)
Jul 30 : TIX ON SALE – Jason Derulo (Sydney)
Jul 30 : TIX ON SALE – John Farnham (Nationally)
Jul 31 : HOBART – Thirsty Merc (Republic Bar)
Jul 31 : MELBOURNE – David Campbell (Palais Theatre)
Jul 31 : PERTH – Winterbeatz (Burswood Dome)
Jul 31 : SYDNEY – Richard Ashcroft (Enmore Theatre)
Jul 31 : SYDNEY – Midlake (Metro Theatre)
Aug 01 : MELBOURNE – Delphic (Corner Hotel)
Aug 01 : SYDNEY – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Metro Theatre)

ROBYN'S BODY ROLLS AGAIN

Some people on planet pop are still reeling from the release of Robyn's long-awaited 'Body Talk Pt.1', but no sooner have they had the chance to get used to the LP and all it's glittery pop goodness ('Dancing On My Own' is still on high rotation here), than Robyn has announced part two in the trilogy, 'Body Talk Pt.2'.
The eight track album features pulsing pop lead single 'Hang With Me', but at the time of publishing, there's no word on a local release date.

01. In My Eyes
02. Include Me Out
03. Hang With Me
04. Love Kills
05. We Dance To The Beat
06. Criminal Intent
07. U Should Know Better ftg. Snoop Dogg
08. Indestructible

SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #16

• The gang from UK outfit Kasabian rocked the house on Thursday night in Melbourne for a very special show as part of Channel [V]'s Live concert series. They wowed the exclusive 450 strong crowd with their back catalogue, as well as songs from their latest album 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'. The rest of us can catch the concert when it premieres on Channel [V] on Saturday August 21 at noon.
• Sydney outfit The Holidays have announced a national tour. The band, whose debut album 'Post Paradise' will be released on September 24, will visit Brisbane, Coolangatta, Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne and Geelong in August, with full dates and ticketing information available on their OFFICIAL MYSPACE.
• General Pants Company's music division Major Label has announced three new signings - they are Sydney surf-rock trio Step-Panther with their track 'Jimmy', Melbourne outfit The Kremlin Succession with their song 'Time' and 17 year old Bundaberg native The Harry Hart Chrysalis with his track 'You Are Not A Rarity'.
• Sydney outfit Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup, who brought us the top ten smash 'We No Speak No Americano' look like they're about to hit the big time in the UK, with pundits suggesting the single is on track to tip over into the No.1 spot on the UK singles chart come Monday. The track has already achieved No.1 success in Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark and Holland, with No.1s on the iTunes chart in Germany, Spain and New Zealand.
• The release date for KT Tunstall's new album 'Tiger Suit' has changed - it's now scheduled for a September 17 in-store appearance.
• Warner Music has announced that classical songstress Katherine Jenkins will be visiting our shores in August for a promotional tour. Though no dates have been confirmed, she'll be spruiking her October tour dates, her latest album 'Believe' and her upcoming role in the evergreen Doctor Who.
• Good Charlotte have signed to Capitol/EMI. Locally, EMI Australia has announced that they will release the band's brand new album 'Cardiology' in Australia on Friday October 22.
• Lady Gaga's new single 'Dance In The Dark' seems to be finding favour at Australian radio. It appears among next week's 'Most Added' tracks, just days after it's official service.
• On the UK singles chart, B.o.B. and Paramore's Hayley Williams did what they couldn't quite achieve here in Australia - a No.1 single. But Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup (as previously mentioned are knocking on the door. There's a No.5 debut for Professor Green ftg. Lily Allen and a No.6 placing for Mark Ronson.
• On the British albums chart, Eminem replaces Kylie in the top spot, Eliza Doolittle debuts at No.3, and there's another debut for Bombay Bicycle Club at No.8.
• Over the pond, Eminem and Rihanna have made it to the No.1 spot on the Billboard singles chart with their collaboration 'Love The Way You Lie'. The week's highest debut is from Usher - down at No.19 with 'DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love'.
• And on the Billboard album chart, Eminem remains stuck at No.1, with Korn debuting at No.2 with 'Remember Who You Are'. There are five more top ten debuts - at Nos.4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for Newsboys, Sting, Jerrod Niemann, HellYeah and M.I.A. respectively.

KATY PERRY BREAKS COVER

EMI Australia has today serviced 'Teenage Dream' - the title track and second single from Katy Perry's forthcoming album - and here we are unveiling the official single cover art.
It's got massive shoes to fill too, with its predecessor 'California Gurls' nabbing the No.1 airplay spot at Aussie radio, the No.1 singles spot on the ARIA singles chart and the No.1 video spot on both iTunes and Bigpond.
'Teenage Dreams' the single will be released on iTunes Australia on Monday.

NEWTON NEWS

Sure it's slipped out of the iTunes top ten now, but expect some official ARIA chart action this Sunday for the Newton Faulkner track 'I Hate Mondays' (pictured).
Born from a challenge on the 2Day Network's Hamish & Andy drive show, Newton recorded a song from lyrics penned by Hamish & Andy's friend (and regular guest on the show) Horgs (he's the one superimposed into the boat).
A combination of the duo's millions of regular listeners and the quick uploading of the track to iTunes saw it hit the No.2 spot on Tuesday.
It remains in the Aussie iTunes top 20 now.

ERIKA WINNERS

Huzzah! Here we are just yesterday whacking up our rather lovely chat with the EMI songstress and now we're announcing the winners of last week's competition - where we gave away five copies of Erika Heynatz's debut album 'Sweeter Side' with big thanks to the team at EMI.
We've chucked a heap of raffle tickets into a bowl and have pulled them out one by one to reveal our five lucky winners.
And so congratulations are due to the following lucky popsters;

Artin from Castle Hill in New South Wales, Jordan from Bondi in New South Wales, Effie from Dingley Village in Victoria, Damien from Mount Ousley in New South Wales and Troy from Northcote in Victoria!

Congratulations to you lot! A copy of Erika's album will be winging its way to you shortly. And as always, a big thankyou to everyone who entered our competition.

2010 ARIA AWARDS

The team from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) used yesterday's ARIA No.1 Chart Awards event in Sydney to officially unveil the date and venue for the 2010 ARIA Awards.
And this year, instead of traipsing all the way out to Homebush in Sydney's west, the awards are moving right into the heart of the city - to the iconic Sydney Opera House.
Channel 10 will telecast the awards from both the Opera House forecourt and the Concert Hall, with a broadcast set to contain eleven awards and six electrifying live performances.
ARIA Chairman Ed St John couldn't hide his excitement with the new venue.
"The last eight years at Acer Arena have been brilliant," he said, "But it’s now time to take this event to a whole new level. The ARIAs at the Sydney Opera House will be utterly spectacular, and it could only be possible with the commitment of Network 10 and the generous assistance of Events NSW.”
The 2010 ARIA Awards will be held on Sunday November 07.

September 28 : 2010 ARIA Awards Nominations (Sydney Conservatorium Of Music)
October 11 : 2010 ARIA Fine Arts Awards
October 27 : 2010 ARIA Hall Of Fame (Hordern Pavillion)
November 07 : 2010 ARIA Awards (Sydney Opera House)

AT RETAIL ON FRIDAY JULY 23, 2010

Birds Of Tokyo – Birds Of Toyko
Dan Black – ((un))
Celtic Thunder – The Show
Celtic Thunder – The Show (DVD)
Sheryl Crow – 100 Miles From Memphis
Dire Straits – On The Night (DVD)
Itch-E and Scratch-E – Hooray For Everything!!!
The Like – Release Me
The Magic Numbers – The Runaway
OST – Step Up 3D
R.E.M. – Fables Of The Reconstruction : 25th Anniversary
DJ Sir-vere – Major Flavours 5
Tokio Hotel – Humanoid City Live (DVD)
Various – The 5CD Megabox : 80s
Various – F*** Me I’m Famous Vol.6
Various – Kitsune Ponystep
Various – Rage : Adults Only (CD/DVD)
Roger Waters – The Wall : 20th Anniversary (DVD)

GIVEAWAY

We've been seriously pumped to see this album finally given a local release - and thanks to the gang at Liberation Music, our wish has been graciously granted. And to make sure we're kept happy little pop vegemites, they've given us three awesome bonus tracks for our troubles.
Dan is most certainly the new black - an uber-cool new purveyor of pop who's quickly been developing a name for himself the world over as someone who most definitely thinks outside the square.
His album '((un))' is out today. And to celebrate, the gang at Liberation have given us FIVE copies of it to give away! And if you'd like to win a copy, it's a pretty simple process.
Send us an email containing your name and postal address to auspOp@ymail.com with the subject line "DAN IS THE NEW BLACK" and you're in with the chance to win a copy. Could it be any easier!?

Competition closes on Thursday July 29, 2010 at 11:59pm AEST. One entry per person. Winners drawn at random. Five lucky winners will each receive a copy of Dan Black's new album '((un))'. Winners first names, suburbs and states will be published on the site on Friday July 30, 2010. We never pass your details onto any third party unless it's printed in these here conditions! They're kept safe and sound. We're good like that.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

TAIO CRUZ : THE FANS HAVE SPOKEN

Australia's Taio Cruz fans have spoken - despite Universal Music servicing Taio Cruz's Ke$ha-laiden single 'Dirty Picture' to radio just four weeks ago, their hands have been forced, seemingly due to people power.
While 'Dirty Picture' languished outside the top 30 on this weekend's ARIA singles chart, 'Dynamite' (the most recent US single) plopped into the top 30 and has been out-performing 'Dirty Picture' on the iTunes chart all week, placing as high as No.3.
It's forced Universal Music to seemingly back away from 'Dirty Picture' and they've now officially serviced 'Dynamite' to Australian radio.

INCOMING : Mike Posner

Sony Music has finally officially confirmed the Australian release for Mike Posner's debut album '31 Minutes To Takeoff' (pictured). The 22 year old singer has already achieved top ten chart success on the Billboard charts in his homeland, but has so far struggled to make an impact on the Australian charts, though he's often teetered around the brink of the iTunes top 100.
But to minimize the sales damage importing might do to Mike's long-term Aussie sales, Sony has announced that '31 Minutes To Takeoff' will be released in Australia on Friday August 20

INTERVIEW : Erika Heynatz

Model. Actress. Winner of Channel 7's 'It Takes Two'. Papua New Guinean born beauty Erika Heynatz is what they call in the industry a 'triple threat'. With her combination of good looks and warm on-camera presence, she decided that the timing was perfect to branch out into a long-lusted after singing career when the offer to appear on the TV singing competition presented itself. After walking off the show victorious, she disappeared to create a debut album, 'Sweeter Side'. It's release last Friday, however, comes almost four full years after Erika won 'It Takes Two' in August 2006. We sat down for a natter with Erika about the album's release, and she defends the long wait.

"I don’t know if it’s a long time by my standards," she says, "For someone who’s not spent a lifetime devoted to music, for me to have only had three years to start the songwriting and to do the production and then a secondary lot of production…
Three years I think is a good solid amount of time. I think if I had have spat it out any earlier it would have been a rush job. It’s really important for me to have the best experience and pour as much of myself into it rather than trying to meet deadlines set by peoples expectations."

It's this incredible honesty, combined with a relaxed coherency that makes our conversation so refreshing.
Erika goes on to say that she's always been fascinated by music, but it took her a little while to get around to doing something about making a start in the industry.

"I’ve been making noise from a very early age," she says. "This has been something I’ve been passionate about, but I’ve certainly gone about it in a long-winded way. I studied graphic design at university and it was at that time that I got into modelling and I always had the passion to get into the entertainment industry. It’s evolved quite naturally for me - from modelling into television, then acting, then finally into music.

"I think the skill set that I’ve gained from each of those careers really supported and nourished the work that I do now. All of those skills from business and performance I think have really served me in the process of making this record. There’s been a bit of unlearning to do as well. I think some of the grooming and the composure that comes with being a model – we’ve needed to kick some of that to the side so that there’s a spontaneous outpouring of performance and storytelling through songwriting."

After watching Erika on our television screens for a number of years, firstly as host of Australia's Next Top Model, then on Channel 10's ill-fated The Hot House, she hit the boards on the talent show 'It Takes Two'. But Erika can't get past our mention of The Hot House - let alone that someone actually watched it.

"Don’t tell me you watched The Hot House!? The germ of the idea came about around the time of Big Brother, so it really was the beginning of the end, wasn’t it? The start of us polluting television with reality shows. But it was definitely an interesting experiment and it was a fantastic experience for me. That was where I cut my teeth in terms of television. I was on set, I was involved in production. I loved it. That show was crazy, but I loved it."

It Takes Two was the first time Australia had heard Erika's singing voice - and we liked what we heard. Teaming up with David Hobson, she powered through the field to finally win the competition against former Olympic swimmer Sarah Ryan. We ask her if it was the call from the producers to take part in the series that was the catalyst for her move into the musical arena.

"I’d been doing some stuff on the side," Erika says. "I’d been doing some songwriting. It’s something I’d been passionate about for a while – I’d been devoting time to it, but the opportunity to get into the industry is so difficult and at times it seems like an impossible dream. But when the opportunity came (and it meant I had to take a pretty big step away from what I was doing and it was a big departure and it was certainly a step away from something that was perceived to be quite a safe job for me), there was really no hesitation for me in as far as I thought ‘this is going to be perfect, this is a really wonderful opportunity for me to explore this and really see…’.

"It’s one thing to have the passion, it’s another to see whether or not you’ve got the capacity to be able to do it, and doing it in a very public way like that certainly meant that the experience was loaded. But what I loved about it was that it was under the guidance of a mentor and with a very nurturing network. (Channel) Seven is, by nature, quite nurturing and the show had a couple of very strong female producers and I thought ‘this is perfect – I get to explore all of these different genres, depending on when I’m kicked out, but I get to do it with a mentor nudging me along or slapping me on the side of the head – whatever was required'.

"It was a real test, but it was also a great feel to a fire that had been burning for a while and I thought, ‘I don’t want to do anything else – this is absolutely where I want to be’. So I think that sometimes you really do have to wait for that special moment when the planets align and something happens where you think ‘this is where I get to grab the bull by the horns and go for it’."

After being snapped up for a recording deal with EMI and spending time with the powers that be working on ideas for her debut album, the decision was made to connect Erika with a selection of top-notch writers. Phil Thornalley is on board, so too Chris Braid - even Australia's own Mark Sholtez gets a co-write. The journey of writing for 'Sweeter Side' had begun.

"It’s one thing to noodle away when you’re on a train in the middle of Europe – it’s another when there’s additional pressure that comes with having a record company behind you. It means that there is a time line and you do have to produce," says Erika.

"It was very challenging. I’m sure you’ve probably heard from lots of people that whole situation with virtual strangers in studios squeezing your soul for ideas, being very careful not to have the editing switch off and trying to get that creative flow going. It took a little while for me to hit my groove, but I worked with some of the most fantastic people," she says.

Erika mentions that out of all the people she worked with on the record, her favourite would have to be Brisbane singer/songwriter Mark Sholtez, who's also just popped out a new album.

"I love Mark Sholtez! He was probably one of my favourite songwriting sessions. A big part of it boils down to the chemistry that you have quite instantly with the people that you meet. It’s not really whether they’ve written a million hit songs and they have that hit factor or anything, it’s just that personal chemistry and he’s such an open hearted an cruisey and respectful person. I think he tries really hard to get the essence of you and together we wrote one of my favourite songs on the album which is called ‘I Didn’t’. So I must admit I am a little biased, I do love the Aussie songwriters because I think there’s a real wealth of talent here that sometimes gets overlooked."

Erika's debut single was 'Kingdom' - a track she describes as "joyous, raw and cinematic", but she's followed it up with a slight deflection in sound - a track she's always wanted as single No.2 - 'Bullet'.

"I’ve loved this song from day dot and was very passionate about having it as the second single ‘cause I wanted something that was a complete diversion from the first one. I know from my personal experience that I really want to explore a lot of different personalities within the album and make them as strong a difference as possible. So ‘Bullet’ is a lot more playful, it’s a bit sexy and it’s certainly very sarcastic which is why I think we’re allowed to have so much fun doing it – and again, this is a song that I’ve produced in Australia and I got to use live strings and that’s a once and a lifetime thing. Or hopefully not a once in a lifetime thing…. Next time it’ll be an orchestra," she jokes.

The video for the single sees Erika taking on different personas - and different wigs - as a movie house temptress, attempting to seduce the ticket man.

"Well that’s the thing about having a background in fashion, you never really tick off that passion for fashion. It’s like, ‘can I dress up as much as possible? But the gorgeous thing is that Gemma Lee (the video's director) was saying ‘you know what, we can have so much fun with this. We can play five really empowered, strong, villainesque type roles from the ‘50s Vargas girl pin-up to the film noir to the bad-ass ‘70s biker girl'. So we wanted something that was tongue in cheek, but I think that we were able to push things a little bit visually and it was a opportunity to really play. I think as an artist it’s really important to have that. It can’t all be serious, looking skywards and reaching for the air."



The clip almost seems to be challenging peoples perceptions of just who Erika Heynatz is, even taking to using the motorbike used by Hugh Jackman's character in the movie 'Wolverine'.

"I think that was my favourite, but all the classic film lovers were really happy with the film noir – the black widow look, because it was such a huge departure from the way that I’ve been perceived in my normal roles, so that was a great amount of fun," she says. "It’s good to have those opportunities to really slip into a different mode and on-set it was interesting listening to peoples reactions.

"I think one of the many things I’m just relishing so much about this is that I am constantly evolving – and it happens really quickly," Erika says. "That three years seems like a long time for other people, but the amount that I’ve learned and the fact it’s felt like accelerated learning… It’s dependent on the artist, but for me to get in there and to travel and to write and to do part of the production with Andy Zulla in Texas and the other part with John Alagia – there’s a lot of production knowledge that I needed to get my head around and the language that I could have set my ideas and steer the session to get the sound that I wanted – that part of it took the best part of three years. I’m learning and changing as I go – it’s great."



"What I’ve really enjoyed about this is that in terms of some of the themes and the sentiment in the song writing process, there’s the resilient and courageous and strong and positive, hope filled and joy-filled part of my nature, but I’m also honouring the slightly softer and more vulnerable side by looking at areas like self-doubt or loneliness or loss or betrayal and I think that probably previously in other occupations or maybe earlier in my life I haven’t been as upfront about that. A big part of my role has been to have that sense of composure and that veneer of being strong all the time. Not that that’s a bad thing - I think there’s something really nice about as woman celebrating that. I know that people relate to it – it’s not me saying there’s no tragedy or weakness in there – there’s a real strength in revealing some of that softness as a woman."

ERIKA'S SINGLE 'BULLET' (ALONG WITH REMIXES) IS AVAILABLE DIGITALLY NOW.
ERIKA'S DEBUT ALBUM 'SWEETER SIDE' IS OUT NOW.