Sneak peak: Delilah performs Breathe live

Delilah's exquisite new single, Breathe, is out next week. To celebrate, we've been given a video of her playing the song at a sold-out gig in London's Koko club last month. Given that Breathe was kept back 'til the encore, this is a surprisingly measured performance - but one that really shows off the Londoner's smoky and supple vocals.

There's a full review of the concert on The Independent website (top quote: "she sang a variety of songs") but the video tells you everything you need to know.



If you liked that, Delilah's debut album From The Roots Up is out on 30th July. The cover art is breathtaking.

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My, My, My Delilah

20-year-old Delilah is shaping up to be one to watch in 2012. Her first single, Go (the one that reworked Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody into a spooktastic moodyfest) was rush-released in September due to popular demand.

The follow-up is called Love You So and it's a macabre masterpiece, slowly drowning in minor key strings and apocalyptic drums. Delilah has a beautifully understated, hushed vocal style. The effect is to make lines like "I'm pointing a gun at my oldest friend" eerily chilling, where lesser singers would oversell the sentiment.

Very good all round. And there's a polar bear in the video.

Delilah - Love You So


Interesting fact: Delilah's real name is Paloma, but she had to choose a new stage name after Paloma Faith became famous. It would clearly have been better if Delilah had changed her name to "Paloma Hope", persuaded Cher Lloyd to change her name to "Paloma Charity" and formed an entirely dreadful supergroup.

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The new generation of mousy-haired pop singers: A cut-out-and-keep guide

It's that time of year when record labels start to wind up the campaigns for their Sound of 2012 hopefuls. At this stage, it seems a fairly safe bet that Lana Del Rey and Ronika are headed for the Top Five. There'll also be something unlistenable from the post-dubstep "genre", an indie band we never hear from again, and an influx of ginger women with big confessional ballads. The industry loves a trend.

Coming up from the rear, however, are three genuinely talented pop singers with spookily similar hair. In order to avoid confusion, I have prepared this handy cut-out-and-keep guide. You are, as always, welcome.

DELILAH

Real name: Paloma Ayana Stoecker
Age: 20
Nationality: British
Has toured with: Chase & Status
If her music was a soft drink it would be: Cherry Cola
"Interesting" fact: Paloma's granddad Karl designed Roxy Music's album covers
Hyperbolic blog quote: "When I heard ‘Go’ I shed a single tear at the beauty of what I had been lucky enough to bear witness to." (Kwa.me)
Her single sounds like: The unholy marriage of Chaka Khan and Katy B
She says: "If I could be anything apart from a person I would like to be a Pencil." (Pyromag)

Delilah - Go




AMANDA MAIR

Real name: Amanda Mair
Age: 16
Nationality: Swedish
Has toured with: No-one
If her music was a soft drink it would be: Ginger Beer
"Interesting" fact: Amanda lives on an island, like Robinson Crusoe
Hyperbolic blog quote: "Impossible not to be amazed" (Hits In The Car)
Her single sounds like: Florence and the Machine on mood stabilisers
She says: "My parents have a bakery and I can make seven types of cookies." (Popjustice)

Amanda Mair - Doubt




SUNDAY GIRL

Real name: Jade Williams
Age: 23
Nationality: British
Has toured with: Ellie Goulding
If her music was a soft drink it would be: Lucozade Sport
"Interesting" fact: Jade had hypnotherapy to overcome her stage fright
Hyperbolic blog quote: "Probably cooler than anyone we’ll ever know" (Sugarscape)
Her new single sounds like: A cover of Suncreem's Love You More.
She says: "I’d love to do a gig at the National History Museum in one of the display cabinets with the stuffed animals." (There Goes The Fear)

Sunday Girl - Love U More

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Some news from Roz at Atlantic Records

What makes a good press release? I'll tell you what makes a good press release: A totally irelevant picture of two Basset Hounds.

So thanks to Roz at Atlantic Records who has (a) made my day and (b) achieved the goal of gaining exposure for her artists on the UK's 2,772,923^rd most-popular music blog^TM.

First up is Ed Sheeran. He's been around for a while. So long, in fact, that he's deleted an embarassing teenage biography from his website. Here's what the Google cache of that document reveals:

"Ed shares his time between living in London, where he writes, records and gigs, and his home town of Framlingham, Suffolk. Since winning the 2008 Next Big Thing competition in East Anglia, Ed has attracted the attention of drum and bass legend, Goldie. After seeing him play live in London, Goldie commented: 'I think he's going to be giant.'"

Gigantism hasn't quite caught up with Ed yet - but his new One Shot EP might trigger the required growth spurt. It's trending on Twitter and everything.

The reason for this is his latest video: A looped, a capella version of traditional British folk song Wayfaring Stranger, as arranged by Jamie Woon.

Ed Sheeran - Wayfaring Stranger


After that tiny triumph, the press release moves on...

"In about 6 months, remember that I sent you this song," says Roz, pointing to a luscious track, by Chase & Status vocalist Delilah.

It's called Breathe, and has that blissed-out summer vibe that Sia captured so well on Zero 7's debut album. An absolutely perfect headphones track for when you're falling asleep on a picnic blanket.

Delilah - Breathe


The press release tails off a bit at this point. There's something about the inexplicably-popular Rumer, and the release date for James Blunt's new single. After that, frankly, I gave up.

PS: Roz, who is genuinely very nice indeed, is on Twitter - @Rozzerm. Let's all send her a message asking for James Blunt's autograph.

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