BUBBLING UNDER: Cady Groves, Martin Solveig, Frank Ocean, Gotye

Today is my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom! ;)

CADY GROVES - "This Little Girl"

Oklahoma youngin' Cady Groves was already two self-released EPs deep into her country-flavored pop career prior to her very recent EP release, This Little Girl, her debut major label bow. Her drive and ability to craft singable songs on her own minus the label help is what gained her an intense amount of public interest, a slot on the Bamboozle tour and a deal with RCA.

Her first single, "This Little Girl," (brilliant hook of "Every girl is capable of murder if you hurt her" and all) still has a slight country bend with a pop sheen and is a promising nugget of what could be coming down the pike. She's already logged time in the studio with Cheiron alumn Kristian Lundin. Fingers crossed. I mean hey, it worked for Taylor Swift. And in my humble opinion, Cady's unique voice is just as pleasing (if not more so)...and pop friendly.

MARTIN SOLVEIG - "Ready 2 Go" (feat. Kele)

Quirky French DJ Martin Solveig was first introduced me to the lovelies in Dragonette (another artist that deserves so much more!) with 2010's "Hello". It appears the gears are really starting to turn in Martin's favor in terms of mainstream success, as his dance single "Ready 2 Go," off his fifth album Smash, has charted in France and the UK, and sounds hand-crafted for America's new found dance meets dubstep obsession.

Oh, and did I mention the fact that he was recently announced as a producer for Madonna's upcoming MDNA album?






JAY-Z/KANYE WEST - "No Church In the Wild" (feat. Frank Ocean)

The song hasn't even technically been released as a single from Watch the Throne (yet) but it was far and away my favorite song from the album when I first heard it. The song was recently featured in a trailer for an upcoming Denzel Washington movie, which could contribute as to why it popped into the Billboard Hot 100 this past week.

No matter the reasoning -- this bass-heavy thudder immediately commands attention (hence its use as the opening cut in the album itself). It also features Frank Ocean on the hook, who's name has been tossed around for several months now as a potential "next big thing". He's already written cuts for Queen Beyonce, Brandy and John Legend, and was runner up in this year's BBC "Sound of 2012" Poll. His formal solo release is expected in early 2012, but for now, he's been touring in support of his mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra.






GOTYE - "Somebody That I Used To Know" (feat Kimbra)

Gotye (go-tee-eh) is hardly a new artist down under (and he recently hit #1 in the UK), but on the back of the hype surrounding the excellent hype single "Somebody That I Used To Know" with Kiwi artist Kimbra, he's starting to gain traction in the States. Once again, American jumps on the bandwagon late, as the song has already scored the coveted 'Single of the Year' title at last year's ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Awards (the Australian Grammy's). (It should also be noted that Gotye won Best Male Artist, and Kimbra won Best Female Artist.)

The minimalist sound featured in "Somebody That I Used To Know" definitely stands apart from the surge of loud, in-your-face brash dance music that is soaking our charts, and has gained him comparisons to Sting. Heavy stuff indeed. What drew me in to the song was the story told through its four minutes -- it's proper crescendo build-up of instrumentation perfectly melding in counterpart. I'm also a sucker for a creative use of an "odd" instrument (xylaphone anyone?).

His rise to relevancy in America is of the meteroic kind, and makes me lament that this very well could be the kind of 'One Hit Wonder' success that many international acts are subject to. Whether or not that is the case, at least we'll always have Gotye with "Somebody That I Used To Know".