this pandora OUTSOLD i fear x

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P.s. thanks for the love in here so far for the Swedish Eurodance drottningen 👑 ❤️

Wish I was there to vote for it.

The 'keep on believing' bit of the rap sounds very inspired by Shamen - Phorever People ❤️

Congratulations to the happy couple

Two contests after we originally confirmed it, two years after we first heard it on Now Yearbook: The Vault 1983, and 44 years after it was first released, we present one of the best kept secrets from the 80s (at least in the UK) in the shape of I Melt With You by Modern English.

The new wave/post-punk love song was originally released in 1982 to little fanfare in the Essex band’s home country, failing to reach the top 75 in the UK. Things went a little better in the US where it made it all the way to No.78 the following year, before ultimately peaking at No.76 there when it was re-released in 1990.

Despite its low chart peaks, the song became an 80s classic in the US and has racked up over 140m streams on Spotify between its album and 7-inch versions. It also became a pop girl favourite, with Natalie Imbruglia covering it on her Male album and Kelly Clarkson also covering it on her talk show. Olivia Rodrigo said this summer that she would even have it as her wedding song in an interview with BBC.

And you can see how her own music is influenced by this track, being quite close in sound to The Cure while also clearly being a sonic influence to some 90s Britpop music, like Babybird.

Ricardo Delta explains the entry choice: “Ever since we first heard I Melt With You, we have lamented the fact that it never charted in the UK and is barely known outside the US.

“It is such a great 80s alternative love song that deserves a wider audience, and while we may have landed in semi Barbie here in beautiful Neliönoir, without many of the voters this track might on the face of it hope to appeal to, the song is in essence a pop song at heart, and a big favourite of many of the world’s biggest pop females who have covered it or speak very highly of it. So we hope the pop semi hear that magic.”

I Melt With You peaked at No.1 in FSR Rontvia this summer after an Olivia Rodrigo hype resurgence swept the nation.

I'm one of those that have heard the song years ago. In my mind, the song title is longer than it actually is. 😆

I don’t think I knew this before. It’s lovely anyway.

Lunar bunny

Rounding off a year of very erratic fortunes for FSR Rontvia that has seen five top 20 smashes (including three top 10s!) and four DNQs, Retrovia are sending our fourth entry in a row to be released prior to this year. Following an 80s alt track last time, we move forward by just over a decade to 1993 and one of the great electronic tracks of the period, O.B.E. (Out-Of-Body Experience) by Rabbit In The Moon.

Hailing from Tampa, Florida, the act consists of members David Christophere and Bunny and they were known for being one of the first acts to mix theatrical stage performance with rave music. Better known as remixers, they remixed tracks for acts ranging from Garbage and Sarah McLachlan to Orbital, Delerium and The Smashing Pumpkins.

O.B.E. (Out-Of-Body Experience) is considered a classic electronic track and was picked for inclusion on the famous dance compilation Northern Exposure by Sasha and John Digweed, which was recently re-released and topped the UK compilation charts, interrupting the neverending run of KPop Demon Hunters and Now releases. The track samples the piano and vocals from the song Precious Things from Tori Amos' 1992 debut album Little Earthquakes. It is expected to make a big impact on the Rontvian charts next time they are released.

Ricardo Delta explains the entry choice: "We first came across this recently when checking out the surprise chart-topping compilation Northern Exposure. This was our favourite song on it and really impressed us with its great Tori Amos sample, the building atmosphere throughout and the effective piano motif from Precious Things, and then the breakbeat section. We fell in love instantly and felt that we had to share this one."

This is brill

Great tune. Just recently bought the Northern Exposure re-edition.

I need to get the physical, have only checked so far on Spotify but it’s a great compilation.