It’s my favorite day of the week: New Music Monday!  And this Monday is one of the best yet with some really exciting new music.

1. Mika is BACK!

Mika bas been releasing songs online lately to start hyping his forthcoming second album and while I haven’t been too impressed with the songs that have been released on his site at this point all of that is about to change!  The actual first single from the second album is now here!  The track is called “We Are Golden” which is also the name of the album which will be released this September.  Note:  When you sing “We Are Golden…”  You must sing it with a British accent.

The track is very dramatic and high energy in typical Mika fashion and it’s designed to ensure maximum audience participation during his live shows which are AMAZING.  I was worried about how he would follow-up his wildly successful debut but after hearing this track the only thing I feel is excitement over the rest of the album.

Mika – We Are Golden

2.  ABBA ARE BACK!?

Ok that’s not true but it’s the closest we’re ever going to get to ABBA coming back.  The song was written and produced by Benny Andersson from ABBA and the vocals might as well be from the original band.   But instead the song is performed by the Benny Andersson Band which is made up of 16 different musicians.

I absolutely love this song… it’s everything a new ABBA track would sound like if they got together again.  The lyrics are beautiful, the music is full of different layers and there are different sounds that you don’t hear in the typical song being released right now.

Benny Andersson Band – Story Of A Heart

3.  Industry go for 2 number ones in a row.

The newest band to crack the Irish charts after their debut single went number 1 there have their sights on doing it again with their second single – Burn.  It’s a bit of a change from the debut single and it will be interesting to see how this does in the charts.  That being said the song is definitely going to help the bands image as it’s ‘cooler’ than “My Baby’s Waiting” and it shows of their vocal chops.  If the track is received well it will help make Industry a credible pop act rather than a bubblegum pop act.

Check out a clip of – Industry – Burn

4. The Midway State and Lady Gaga?!

If you read my blog regularly you’ll remember that awhile back I gave some love to Canadian band – The Midway State.   Well the band have paired up with label-mate Lady Gaga for their new single – Don’t Give Up.  The track is a cover of the Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush track which was a top ten back in 1986!  The best part is at 2:37!  UGH… I LOVE The Midway State.

The Midway State Feat. Lady Gaga – Don’t Give Up

When Jeanette released Undress To The Beat I wasn’t too impressed.  It sounded to me like she was doing her best Lisa Scott-Lee impression with the lead single and so I didn’t bother giving the album a real chance.  But at the urging of a friend and fellow pop fan (You can check out his poptastic radio show here) I decided to give Jeanette a second chance and boy am I glad I did.  Her new album is an electro-pop journey and there are definitely a few highlights on the album that are worth checking out.  The two singles that were released really didn’t do a good job of ’selling’ the album which is proven by its mediocre chart performance.  In particular ‘No Rules’ which is begging to be released as a single, ‘This Love’ which is hard hitting and full of attitude and my personal favorite ‘Walking Through The Fire’

Jeanette – Walking Through The Fire

Pop music continues to thrive across the globe with some big releases on the horizon!

Ola is back to give us another summer hit single with his new one – Sky’s The Limit.  Like a lot of you I was worried that Ola would decide to give us a “cool” album filled with R&B inspired tracks.  Instead he follows up with Feel/Good Pt. 2 which is very fun and summer sounding.  He’s also debuted a new image for this album… very 80’s chic/geek.  His single cover includes a photo of him with large black geeky glasses complete with green tape in the middle.

Ola – Sky’s The Limit

Did you hear the news?!  Industry came in at NUMBER 1 in the Irish charts with their debut single – My Baby’s Waiting.  The band aren’t wasting any time and will have their second single out to radio in the next week!  With a sound like theirs it’s easy to dismiss them as a talentless pop band but while on the road promoting the single the band have put to rest any talk about their talent.  Watch them perform an album track – Burn from their forthcoming album.

Industry – My Baby’s Waiting