Will there be a morning after, should I stay, or should I go?

Remember that Fame Factory special I started a while back? No, probably not--I really will finish it one of these days, but consider this a random installment in it. Annis was on the final season of Fame Factory, the one Sandra Oxenryd won and Linda Bengtzing was part of. She released the song I'm posting as a single in 2005, shortly after the show, but if her MySpace is to be believed she's finally got an album coming out this year, and she's worked with people like Aleena Gibson (as a songwriter) and Titiyo (as a singer).

One Suitcase--oddly enough (for me), I think this song might benefit from having a slower and slightly less "produced" arrangement, one that provides time for the emotion of the lyrics to sink in, one that takes time for pauses which match the hesitation experienced by the narrator and plays up the melancholy just a bit more--or gives us time to recognize it, at least. It's already had the opposite treatment applied to it: Mexican singer Fey gave it a dance treatment and released it as "Aquí Estoy," the lead single from her 2006 album Faltan Lunas (which was just a SILLY decision made even more frustrating by the next and even more unsuccessful followup single choice; when you have the adorable "Me Has Vuelto Loca," one of the three happiest songs of 2006,* in your pocket, why on Earth you wouldn't be selling that to the largest audience possible I have no idea [though apparently that's a cover too, but from what I've heard it's a huge improvement on the original]). It's still a good song even in this version, though, though given that the song's speed (which is still no more than mid-tempo) means the lyrics are slightly less likely to hit home at first, a lot of the "heavy lifting" in conveying the angst and emotion of those lyrics falls to Annis and her slightly country-tinged voice, which luckily is more than up to the job.

You can get Annis's "One Suitcase" on Fame Factory Vol. 10, which can be purchased here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: I may have fallen madly in love with a Swedish synth-pop song, but I probably won't write about that until a few days from now--maybe a British boy band?

*Incidentally, the other two were Alphabeat's "Fascination" and Magnus Carlsson's "Lev Livet!".

I'm standing on the sun with nothing else to hide

Are you all ready? Today: the brilliance (and tragedy) of Mexican singer Fey's album Vértigo.

I've written about Fey once before, but then had only heard her adorable most recent album, Faltan Lunas (which is still a great album). Since then, I've started to do a bit of catching up (though I'm still far from hearing all of her work), and wow--it's a complete shame that she's not more famous in the U.S. and Europe. Since I'm still new to her, if I get any of the following information wrong, please correct me!

Fey began her career as a '90's pop sensation with a series of albums that were huge sucesses--her first album went triple platinum, her second album went diamond, and her third album went five times platinum (now, granted, those weren't the U.S. standards for platinum, but that's still huge success, since you really have to look at the size of the markets she was releasing in). Then, worn out by all the work and touring, she retired in 1999.

In 2002, she returned, with a goal of finally breaking Europe and the U.S. as well as, of course, still doing well in her home country and the rest of Latin America. Vértigo, the new album, marked a change in direction for Fey--more mature, more electronic, and often darker. It came in two versions: a one disc version, all in Spanish, and a two disc version, which included a second disc in English that was mainly English versions of the original songs but also several other songs. It is, in all seriousness, one of my favorite albums, and I've only been listening to it for a couple of months.

So what happened to this masterpiece of an album, the album both critics and fans viewed as her best ever? It sold one time gold, and then disappeared, with only one single, "Sé Lo Que Vendrá" (or "The Other Side" in English, though that's not what the title actually translates to), ever really launched. Promotion for the second single was poor and Fey broke up with her long-time manager and record company. (One fan site says that the album was later relaunched and sold platinum--does anyone know? Most sites don't mention that.) It's such a shame that this album isn't better known--there's a lot on it I think people would really enjoy.

Post-Vértigo, Fey has released two albums, one, La Fuerza Del Destino, featuring covers of Mecano songs and one that I've previously mentioned, Faltan Lunas, which is that pop-electronica mix filled with really adorable songs.

The Other Side--the lead single. Fey's English isn't unaccented, but, if you don't mind Eurovision, then it should be no problem whatsoever, because she speaks it much more clearly than many contestants in that do. "The Other Side" is still pop, but it's also heavily influenced by electronica and dance. The backing is just gorgeous--I don't even know how to put it into words--spinning and remote and just generally amazing; it's like dancing in outer space. In all honesty, I think "The Other Side" might just be perfection encapsulated in song form (small side note: there are many kinds of perfection; McFly might create a perfect song, too, but it would sound nothing like this).

Dressing To Kill--choosing the second song was so difficult--do I go with one of the sweet, beautiful songs? The darker songs? A slow song? A fast one? Ultimately, I chose "Dressing To Kill" because it's immediate and catchy, but trust me, these two songs can't even begin to show the depth and breadth of this album. "Dressing To Kill" (or "Noche Ideal" in Spanish) was the second single and, while "The Other Side" reached #1 on the charts, "Dressing To Kill" only made it to #67. "Dressing To Kill" might not be quite as gorgeously sweeping as "The Other Side," but there's no reason, quality-wise, there should have been that great a disparity between their chart performances, which to me shows that something really must have (I know, the fallback explanation for all underserved music failures) gone wrong with the promotion.

You can buy Fey's two most recent albums on iTunes (Faltan Lunas seems to be available in most of the countries, and some of the songs on it are just so cute and happy that they are must-buys; "Me Has Vuelto Loca," "Faltan Lunas," and "Tres Razones" would be good starting points), but Vértigo isn't available there (I'm guessing it's because of the record company switch). I'm still not sure where you can buy the special Mexican two-disc edition besides hoping to get lucky on eBay, but you can get the single disc (all in Spanish) version here (physical). I really can't recommend it enough!

Next up: maybe an American "group" I've written about once before.