SONG OF THE DAY: HIIO ft Abigail Bailey – “Waiting for the Night”

If Chuckie calls it “loud and proud,” you know it’s got to be energetic. South American duo HiiO follows up their recent club hits “Something About You” and “Meant to Be” with “Waiting for the Night,” a big room electro stomper equally balanced between massive energy and chilled-out dropouts. What makes this track stand out (aside from the amazing vocal performance by Abigail Bailey) is the way the dropouts aren’t completely beatless and have a groove that will keep the dancefloor. The rhythm is quite memorable but driving my trainspotter brain crazy, I thinks it’s a bit of Lee and Cabrera “Shake It” mixed with Deep Dish “Flashdance” in there. The lyrics are quite strong, also taking a different direction on the same theme recently explored by Armin van Buuren & Fiora. If the lyrics could be fleshed out into a complete verse/chorus/verse structure, this could be the basis for quite a strong pop song in its own right. As it is, watch for “Waiting for the Night” to be a big room club smash for most of the summer and festival season.

Image Courtesy of InCharge/Be Yourself Music.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): GIMM+ICKY – “Shake That”

More proof that there is more than country in music city.? Nashville-based pop duo Gimm & Icky made an explosion on the club chart earlier this year with the infectious “Shake That.”? The ode to female grinding is a combination of sung/rap vocals over a radio-friendly dance groove with a rock feel. Unlike other tracks of this nature that might be considered to be demeaning to woman, “Shake That” is much more celebratory and respectful with a bit of the tongue-in-cheek, snarky sensibility of their other tracks like “Dump Me” and “Serious Face.”? The plethora of remixes by Jump Smokers, Lynnwood, Dirty Freqs, and Papercha$er take the song in many aggressive electro directions while keeping the fun of the original in place.?

Image Courtesy of Hitshop/Warner Bros.

INTERVIEW: MIKA NEWTON (2013)

Ukranian pop star – that’s not something you hear every day.? Mika Newton is an accomplished star on the Ukraine pop scene with several big soundtrack hits, and after major success at Eurovision 2011 (she came in fourth) ?she moved to Los Angeles and signed with the Randy Jackson music group.? Her debut single “Don’t Dumb Me Down” received support from MTV, and remixes by Steve Cova and Ray Roc garnered club play.? For “Come Out and Play,”? she worked with the legendary Paul Oakenfold to resing the lyrics for the remix.? Along with Kerli and Hannah, Mika is one of the Eastern European pop stars are taking over the world!

Ron Slomowicz: I first heard of you a couple years ago when you were on Eurovision and you had the sand girl with you, how did it feel to be chosen to represent the Ukraine?
Mika Newton: It was an honor and very hard to get there, there was a lot of competition. I had a crazy, busy life for about six months and when I got to D?sseldorf it was really nice. I realized that I had to be myself and do my best for three minutes during the song.

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