I should've cherished you more instead of closing the door

As much as I'm looking forward to getting to write about a1's Make It Good, I'm going to have to interrupt the a1 special for one, maybe two days. Today will be just a random conglomeration of upcoming pop songs.

If you haven't already read the Chartrigger banterview about Upper Street, the boyband made up of members of previous boybands (try designing your own ideal line-up sometime--it's pretty fun) that's launching itself with reality TV show Totally Boyband, you absolutely must. Now, since it seems to be that the more hotly anticipated the music, the earlier it leaks*, that means we can probably expect Upper Street's new single "The One" to leak...oh...five days after it actually comes out. Which is a shame, because I think I like it. Until then, we'll just have to make do with this shabby rip from the video.

A clip of another Matt Willis song has leaked. I really like Matt's music, even if I can't understand half of the words he sings. You can download or listen to the thirty second clip here; I think it sounds very promising, especially the first fifteen seconds--typical bouncy, sort of rocky Matt. Plus, there's something to be said for downloading a song that talks about dowloading mp3's, don't you think? (Full credit to Matt Willis Zone for the clip.)

I liked former Blue member Simon Webbe's second single "No Worries," so, when I heard that he has a new single coming out in late October, I was intrigued. The single is "Coming Around Again" (just a radio rip) and, if you've heard Simon's past singles, you won't be surprised by this one at all--it's maybe a bit like a more uplifting version of "After All This Time," but better. I like it; though I'm still not sure if I'll buy a whole Simon Webbe album, he does know how to do a certain type of song very well, and sometimes that type of song is a pleasant, refreshing, relaxing break. How very Adult Contemporary of me, I know. (Credit to this site, which may possibly have gotten it from this site, in which case, thanks to both.)

Do you remember A*Teens? Of course you do! After giving us a huge amount of top-class pop songs, the group split up. Dhani was the first to launch his solo career; he released "Girl Talk" (which I liked, but it didn't do too well) and was supposed to release a follow-up single that, though performed, never materialized. Marie Serneholt went on to release Enjoy The Ride, an album with great pop songs like "That's The Way My Heart Goes" and "I Need A House." Apparently, Amit (the brown-haired boy, who no longer looks like this, but I couldn't figure out how to use the picture of him from here) is preparing for a solo career that will start in spring 2007, but he's already begun performing live. You can listen to/download one of his demos; though he says "caught in the middle," it is not a cover of the a1 classic. He seems to be pursuing a direction different from that of A*Teens, Marie, and Dhani--it's a little more singer-songwriter sounding (and it has a guitar! Instant credibility!). I like it--nothing overwhelming, but it's good.

Finally, I have to recommend two blogs that I've just added to my links section: PopEatsPop, which everyone is probably reading already but which features often-rare tracks centered around the concept of cover songs that you don't really know are cover songs (it's very educational, in that sense, but not boring! Certainly not with PinkieDust running the place), and Digital Technique, a blog with phenomenal taste in music (I am constantly amazed by how much I like the songs posted there--songs I've always wanted to hear and songs I've never heard of but inevitably adore--a must-visit!). Oh, and if you haven't already gone to #1 Hits From Another Planet (which, once again, you all probably have already), there's no better time to do so than now, because you absolutely must hear the song "Fascination" by Alphabeat--a guy and girl's voices mixing in a hand-clap-filled, too-happy-to-be-believed song which, from the moment it starts to its ridiculously catchy chorus to its epically building middle 8, is pop perfection.

Next up: possibly back to the a1 special, but more likely it'll be one more day of something else (an album review of a not-really-good album, maybe) first.

*OK, I realize that isn't always true...or even necessarily true most of the time...but if no one cares about an album, no one bothers to leak it.