ops

I got a call from my bank today because they wanted me to confirm that the debit from my account for the pledge was legitimate. Any other pledgers might want to keep an eye and an ear out for similar contact, particularly those not from the UK. Edit: And the goal has now been officially met!

Nice little two-page article in The Times. Here's some scans. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Really rude, Ryan.

Angel Olsen's LP was released in September, but it totally snuck up on me over the past few days and I'm absolutely loving it. Here's a couple of songs: sxkosKmPwLc Though truth be told I think I prefer her EP from 2010: Wl72ARbdzDM

We don't know this, though, since we don't know the percentages. My assumption, personally, is that Tate absolutely crushed everyone else in Week 2, and the fear of him walking it is what pushed them into revealing the votes. But this week, he and Carly Rose were very close in the vote.

It is a really cool theme idea, but I think it would be meaningless on the UK version since it's so completely producer-driven.

Bella was amazing this week! Her best since auditions at least, maybe even better than that!

Pretty lengthy clips of the studio performances: WfIuscb1UTs Pledgers will get the full versions.

Also, the pledge receipt says "Janet Devlin has pledged to fulfill all exclusives by 15 April, 2013 unless otherwise stated." The gap makes sense, after the drive ends it'll take time to get all the more intensive rewards prepped and sent out.

PledgeMusic campaign for the album is up.

Like, every chosen one that would be ill-suited to an uptempo ever? James Arthur did it just this past week on XF UK.

Aaaaaaaaa.

It's brilliant isn't it. The followup single is even better in my opinion: Album in just a couple weeks now! Based on those two tracks, I could easily see it as my album of the year.

In case anyone doesn't know yet, anyone worldwide can vote for contestants on Facebook: ht tps://www.facebook.com/thexfactoraustralia/app_102818363206654 (still can't post a link quite yet...) Voting opens at or around 12:30 pm (UK) / 7:30 am (eastern US) on Mondays, and closes around 3:00 am Tuesday (UK) / 10:00 pm Monday (eastern US). So just check it Monday afternoons if you're interested. Edit: Looks like it's showing on Tuesday/Wednesday next week instead...

Just checked out a few songs by each of the nominees, definitely going to dig deeper into Lianne La Havas, Django Django, and Alt-J. Might do the same for Jessie ware, Ben Howard, and Field Music. Not sure if my taste is shifting or if it's just an anomaly of a list but I've found a lot more to like about this list than in previous years.

Just discovered Bella, she's absolutely amazing! Shiane is pretty good too. I won't be able to watch it live like I can UK and US due to timezones but I'm definitely following this now.

01 (03) CHURCHES – Lies [4wks] (22-11-3-1) Good to see this continue to rise, probably my favourite debut single of 2012 02 (02) Kyla La Grange – Walk Through Walls [5wks] (6-2-2-2-2) 13 (08) Purity Ring – Fineshrine [5wks] (19-8-6-8-13) 17 (26) MS MR – Hurricane [2wks] (26-17) 27 (18) Charli XCX – You’re The One [7wks] (39-31-21-14-14-18-21) 35 (39) Frank & Derol – Baby I Love You [2wks] (39-35) Is this actually 'Barely Love You Too' or do I just not know about this song yet? 36 (32) Purity Ring – Obedear [16wks] (29-20-15-11-3-3-3-4-5-9-9-15-21-26-32-36) Great chart.

01 (01) Ellie Goulding – Anything Could Happen [1-1-1-1] 08 (05) MS MR – Hurricane [12-7-6-8-7-5-8] 12 (08) Lana Del Rey – Summertime Sadness [10-8-8-12] 20 (17) Charli XCX - You're The One [4-7-7-5-2-1-2-3-7-12-17-20] 21 (xx) Calvin Harris – Sweet Nothing (ft. Florence & The Machine) [21] Well, it's better than Spectrum... 22 (18) Lana Del Rey – National Anthem [25-3-1-1-2-4-6-11-13-18-22] 36 (29) Amelia Lily – You Bring Me Joy [29-23-26-17-15-19-29-36] 37 (31) Marina & The Diamonds – How To Be A Heartbreaker [3-6-10-10-16-22-31-37] 38 (39) Little Boots – Headphones [20-19-25-6-5-4-5-9-15-19-18-21-29-33-39-38] 40 (35) Marina & The Diamonds – Power & Control [21-16-18-17-21-28-28-29-28-33-31-35-40] Great chart.

Early second album era demo:

Thanks, glad to be here. Thanks for commenting as well. Thanks. 01 - Hey, you liked it more than I thought you would, that counts for something. 02 - Honestly I don't think you'd like it much anyway. This particular song is pretty rocky and there's not much on there, if anything, that's as poppy as Hyperventilating and Annoying. 08 - I still think it's a step down from most of Lights and Bright Lights (and even then I like those less than I used to), but it's nice enough. A Marina could well be in the cards if Calvin Harris ends up popping up, or if Billboard does anything beyond Hanging On on the record. Fair warning. 13 - I would recommend it if you like Obedear. Everything is pretty similar to it, so you'll probably like it, but still different enough to be an interesting listening. On balance I think it's a BIT too samey though.

http://i.imgur.com/WsQq4.gif 01 Prince Rama (as Rage Peace) - So Destroyed http://i.imgur.com/VE2QY.gif 02 Ronya - Major to Minor http://i.imgur.com/iF0iM.gif 03 Churches - Lies http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 04 Kyla La Grange - Walk http://i.imgur.com/A7PYn.gif 05 Purity Ring - Obedear http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 06 Moulettes - Sing Unto Me http://i.imgur.com/uEZc8.gif 07 Marina and the Diamonds - Teen Idle http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 08 Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 09 Little Boots - Headphones http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 10 Kyla La Grange - Vampire Smile http://i.imgur.com/sq4DI.png 11 Las Robertas - Seconds Away http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 12 Bluebell - Cinderella http://i.imgur.com/A7PYn.gif 13 Purity Ring - Belispeak http://i.imgur.com/VE2QY.gif 14 Ronya - Hyperventilating http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 15 Bluebell - Normal Heights http://i.imgur.com/uEZc8.gif 16 Cate Le Bon - Falcon Eyed http://i.imgur.com/iF0iM.gif 17 Amy MacDonald - Pride http://i.imgur.com/oPt38.gif 18 Moa Lignell - Whatever They Do http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 19 Charli XCX - You're the One http://i.imgur.com/2rizk.gif 20 Little Boots - Every Night I Say A Prayer SA1-QKleHTM

Yes I too am SHOCKED that a teaser video isn't racking up the views after the full video has been released.

Tour dates announced: The Forum Hertfordshire - 14th November 2012 O2 Academy Islington, London - 15th November 2012 The Old Firestation, Bournemouth - 16th November 2012 Scholar Leicester - 18th November 2012 O2 Academy Birmingham - 19th November 2012 O2 Academy Sheffield - 20th November 2012 O2 Academy Liverpool - 22nd November 2012 Tickets go on sale Friday at Ticketmaster, Ticketweb, Ticketline, and Gigantic for £8.50.

1 Little Boots 2 Kate Bush 3 Marina and the Diamonds 4 Lady Gaga 5 Lana Del Rey 6 Ellie Goulding 7 Florence Welch 8 Siobhan Donaghy 9 Nicola Roberts 10 Cher Lloyd Bitchslap Jessie J

Was obsessed with her back in 2010 but I just found out about the EP. Guillotine is of course still brilliant, and Gold is still right behind it. Sahara Heart is great too. Paper Rose is a cut below but still nice enough. Can't wait for her LP.