Danielle - Underneath The Radar

Danielle belongs to that most terrifying species of diva - a Big Brother housemate turned pop star. Hitching a ride to the top of the charts courtesy of BB is still relatively uncommon in Australia but occurs with disturbing regularity in Europe. Who could ever forget transsexual Nadia's UK top 40 hit "A Little Bit Of Action" or Christian's German smash hit "Es ist geil ein Arschloch zu sein" (translated - "It's cool to be an arsehole"). Apart from Danielle, the only other Australian example I can think of is Sara-Marie & the Sirens amazing cover of "I'm So Excited" - however Sara Marie actually left all the singing to the Sirens, only contributing her "bum dancing" expertise!

I guess that makes Danielle Australia's first legitimate Big Brother pop star and against all odds her 2006 debut single was rather fabulous. A nifty dance remake of Underworld's 80s classic "Underneath The Radar", Danielle's version immediately won me over but only tickled the charts at #41. Sadly, Danielle is yet to release a second single but her Myspace claims she is working on new material. I only hope Danielle comes up with another tune this catchy and effortlessly entertaing.

Find out more about this stunning talent on her glamorous website and Myspace.

Bottom Of The Barrel?

A novelty song by an ex-"Big Brother" contestant, whose lasting legacy was her ability to jiggle her flabby buttocks, may be construed by some as scraping the bottom of the musical barrel. Well, I really couldn't give a fuck when the bottom of the barrel sounds this good! Sara-Marie Fedele might be best remembered for her "erotic" bum dancing or possibly for having a breast lift on national television but these stunning accomplishments pale in significance to her contribution to the Australian music industry.

Sara-Marie featured on the first season of Australian "Big Brother" in 2001 and developed a cult following for her outrageous behaviour. When she was finally evicted from the house, some bright spark threw a record contract her way - despite Sara's complete and utter lack of musical talent. The resulting single, a dance cover of the Pointer Sisters' classic "I'm So Excited", should have been unbearably awful. The single version, which includes Sara-Marie calling out "bum dance" instructions, was terrible in a memorable sort of way. However, the "bum dance" free mix that I have uploaded is a trashtastic classic. In fact, listening to the song now, I can't help feeling that Sara missed her calling.

Sadly, Sara-Marie's trash classic is not available on iTunes. It might be worth keeping an eye on Australian Ebay for a physical copy.

The Return Of Girlband

Those tragic bitches from Girlband are back and, surprisingly, their latest single isn't that terrible at all! In fact, "Electric" is actually rather fabulous. For those (ie. most of the nation) who missed the (still-)birth of Girlband last year, they were the result of a brief reality series that ran on Channel Ten. Patrice, Jessica, Renee Armstrong and Renee Bargh were thrown together to form a girlband and then filmed recording their first single, the stunningly awful "Party Girl". Given the quality of "Party Girl", a #43 chart placing isn't really that bad. However, I suspect that would have been the end of Girlband if the Young Divas' debut album hadn't surprised everyone by remaining in the top 10 over the busy Christmas sales period. Sony have obviously realised that pop can still be profitable and thus poured significantly more money and effort into this single.

"Electric" is a staggering improvement on "Party Girl". This is a pumping electro anthem which should be dragging poofs to the dancefloor for months to come! The new club sound suits the band and their vocals are as impressive as ever. I've only heard "Electric" on the radio a couple of times, so it will be interesting to see how the single performs on the charts. Hopefully Girlband can emulate some of the Young Divas' success. I'd love to see a pop revival in Australia. I've uploaded the album version of "Electric", which is slightly different to the excellent radio edit. I'm so excited that there will actually be an album! The release date is still a mystery but the title is apparently going to be "Coming Out Fighting".

If you like what you hear, you can purchase the single from Chaos, Sanity or iTunes. The single includes a couple of fierce Kam Denny remixes and Girlband's contribution to "Songs Of Hope & Journey", an interesting cover of "By Your Side". The girls also have a glamorous new website, which is worth checking out.