Lady Gaga Leads The BBC Sound of 2009 – So Far

Little Boots, La Roux, White Lies, Florence & Machine Top Hot List

Jul 11, 2009

The BBC Sound of 2009 listed 10 artists-to-watch including electro-glammers Lady Gaga, Little Boots and La Roux - so how have they measured up.

Back in December of 2008 when children were making their Christmas wish lists and music journalists scurried to finish best-of year lists, the psychics at BBC were busy predicting the hottest new artists to emerge in 2009.

The BBC Sound of 2009 survey, compiled by a team of over 130 music critics, editors and broadcasters, came up with 10 hot artists to watch this year including tough competition from electro-glammers Empire of the Sun and La Roux.

The list crowned Little Boots the winner, however, Lady Gaga has so far become the breakout artist of 2009 with two international number one singles and an album that has hit the top the world over.

The Sound of 2009 Top Ten Artists

Lady Gaga’s Love Game

Six months into the year, Lady Gaga, though only placing number 6, has clearly outperformed any of the other artists on the list. With both of her debut tracks, “Just Dance” and “Pokerface” claiming the top spot on music charts across Europe and North America, including number ones on the almighty Billboard Hot 100, the world has gone, …um, gaga for the Lady.

She’s currently in the top ten in both the US with “Love Game” and the UK with “Paparazzi”.

La Roux Paint the Charts Red

Just ahead of the Lady, British newcomer La Roux came out of nowhere to become one of 2009’s hottest acts. While lead single “Quicksand” tanked, the follow-up and first official single release from their debut album, “In For The Kill”, ploughed into the charts in May, climbing to a respectable runner-up position.

In July, in the height of Michael Jackson mania, the band managed an almost impossible feat of debuting at the top of the UK charts with their third single “Bulletproof”.

The duo, composed of shrilly lead singer Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid, released their debut album at the end of June 2009. Tight and focused with every song sounding like a single, La Roux not only prove they lead the pack of British newcomers, but also that it’s possible to release an album’s worth of quality tunes even in the digital download age.

Little Boots New in Town

Little Boots (Victoria Christina Hesketh) got the boot from Simon Cowell’s Pop Idol before singing lead with Dead Disco.

A talented musician as well as singer, Boots plays keyboard, piano, stylophone and the Tenori-on. After garnering attention with a handful of electro-charged singles and EP’s as well as a cult following on You-Tube, Boots released her debut album, Hands, in June.

The album peaked in the UK top ten and spawned the hit “New in Town” a more pop-flavored track than her ‘earlier’ more experimental cuts. “New in Town” just missed the top ten, peaking at number 11.

Florence and the Machine vs. Empire of the Sun

In July, another female 80’s-influenced electro-glammer, with a more ‘Souxie’ than ‘Human League’ sound, cracked the UK Top 20. Florence and the Machine dropped their first album Lungs in July, previewed by three singles, “Kiss with a Fist”, “Dog Days are Over”, and “You've Got the Love”.

But it took the fourth single to give them a charting hit. “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” rose to the occasion and peaked at number 12.

Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun also cracked the Top 40 across Europe and their native land with their hit “We Are The People”. They also had success with their debut single “Walking on a Dream”.

Likewise Kid Cudi and White Lies have had a chart entry each, but none of the acts listed in the top ten have so far matched the fates of Lady Gaga, La Roux and Little Boots.

While the list has come under criticism as a self-fulfilling prophecy based on bands tipped to be releasing albums in the coming year, the BBC has published its Sound of… survey every January since 2003.

The copyright of the article Lady Gaga Leads The BBC Sound of 2009 – So Far in Dance/Techno Music is owned by James W. Coates. Permission to republish Lady Gaga Leads The BBC Sound of 2009 – So Far in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jul 31, 2009 12:38 PM

Guest :

it's a little late for them to mark Lady Gaga as one to watch, isn't it? :p hahaha i really love "Paparazzi". it'll be interesting to see if she will experience chart fatigue before it gets to reach a peak.

will try to take lots of La Roux pics tonight :')

xx

W