So this Pick of the Week is coming to you one day late because of that dreaded beast known as the "common head cold." I spent the whole of yesterday trying to understand how to stand up without getting dizzy let alone blogging about a new artist. But now's the time! Let's take a look at M.A.D…
M.A.D consists of Dan Lewis from South Wales, AB Pryer from London, and Michael Sutthakorn from Northern Ireland. The band just recently wrapped up a 7-date UK tour that was a huge success. The M.A.D fans came out in full to support their favorite up-and-coming boyband.
M.A.D: From left-Dan Lewis, Michael
Sutthakorn, AB Pryer
The hype around M.A.D just continues to escalate as new music and announcements about tour dates are popping up left and right. These boys are not slowing down anytime soon as they have indicated with their excitement to post teases of covers on their Facebook page and urging all of their devoted fans to plug their latest single everyday. Speaking of their latest single, Fame & TV by M.A.D has taken off across the UK. The band hosted a number of CD single signings and earned themselves a comfortable #32 in the Top 40 charts in the UK as of Sunday. The single is available worldwide along with 7 other versions including a unique and original solo version from each of the members, a piano version, and more. I highly recommend checking all of these out! *My personal favorite is Dan's Welsh version, I mean talk about swoon*
If you're just now finding out about M.A.D, no need to worry about missing out on their last tour because they are announcing all new tour dates this Friday, February 28th. I anticipate that these will be UK dates but for all of us in the US and beyond, we may have to wait a bit longer. But at the rate these boys are going, it may not be long at all. Basically Dan, Michael, and AB seem to be doing it right…whatever "it" is. They've already got nearly 100,000 likes on Facebook and even more of those eager fans waiting for their next release. These boys are on the fast track towards being the next "it" band and I, personally, can't wait to see what is in the cards for this trio next.
Micky Parsons. What can I say about Micky Parsons…
This week I really wanted to shed some light on an artist I think deserves so much more recognition than he's been getting. Micky Parsons is a 19-year old singer/songwriter who has been currently working on some solo projects after the split from his group, District 3 (formerly known as GMD3).
*Cue awesome music intro transitioning into background info*
GMD3
From left: Greg West, Dan Ferrari-Lane, Micky Parsons
Micky was a part of GMD3 for 3+ years. The band consisted of Parsons, Greg West, and Dan Ferrari-Lane, long-time friends who decided way back when to make use of their love of performing and become a 3-piece harmony group. GMD3 started out doing covers of songs such as "In My Head" by Jason Derulo, "Price Tag" by Jessie J, and "Payphone" by Maroon 5 (just to name a few). I was personally a HUGE fan of this group because I thought they had a different sound and it was refreshing to see them remastering songs and adding twists to popular songs over the years. Basically to summarize, the group decided to enter into the 9th season of the X Factor UK. After they were eliminated during week 6 of the competition, things got a little rocky for GMD3. They did release a self-titled EP but shortly after called it quits. West and Ferrari-Lane went on to form a singing/comedy/entertainment duo called Fright Club. Micky on the other hand…
It was said that the group was having disagreements over management which caused the split. Who really knows though, right? All anyone knows is that Micky is a solo act now…and a good one! His voice has always been one to stand out but he seems much more comfortable performing his own songs than he ever did doing covers with GMD3. There's a sense of freedom and Parsons-esque style that can be seen in his covers and music videos that was apparently hiding behind the GMD3 curtain for years.
Micky has so far posted 3 original songs on Youtube and has eagerly made note that there will be many more to be heard soon. Among his originals, he has posted a cover of "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and "Wonderful World." Even though it has taken some getting used to seeing Micky as a solo act, I see a lot of potential in his R&B/pop/soul sort of style. There's just so much to expect from him! Look forward to lots of Micky Parsons in the future. His flawless vocal performances never disappoint so definitely keep him on your radar as one to watch!
Every Wednesday I will be posting a "Pick of the Week" where I will introduce you to an artist I think you should know about. These artists will either be ones that you've never heard of or ones that I think deserve more recognition….
This week it's all about MIDNIGHT RED! Midnight Red is a five-piece boyband consisting of Colton Rudloff, Anthony Ladao, Joey Diggs Jr., Eric Secharia, and Thomas Augusto. If you don't know about this group of talented young guys then KEEP.ON.READING. When I first came across these boys I had the initial reaction that I think most people do being "oh *sigh* another boyband." I'm not going to lie though, I've always been a sucker for a good boyband and when I saw that these guys had raw, natural talent I was automatically hooked. Nowadays, it seems that every new band that comes along is manufactured and singing the same old tunes we've heard a thousand times. I'm going to give you five reasons why you should absolutely LOVE Midnight Red.
From left: Anthony Ladao, Joey Diggs Jr.,
Eric Secharia, Thomas Augusto, Colton Rudloff
1. They're absolutely genuine.
There are a lot of bands out there that go around blindly doing whatever and singing whatever management wants them to. When this happens, there's hardly any room to get to know the people behind the photoshopped faces. One thing that really stuck out for me when I first listened to Midnight Red was that, apart from their catchy pop tunes, they sounded original. This is something we don't really find too often anymore. Yes they sing pop music but there is an element to their style that makes you really feel the music and understand the meaning behind it.
2. They can sing. I mean REALLY sing.
It's no secret that a majority of boybands are no stranger to autotune. It sort of comes with the stereotype. What I personally love about these boys is that they can do the "boyband thing" but when it comes down to it, they can sit and sing their songs with passion and astonishing natural talent that completely throws the autotuned boyband stereotype out the window. All of their voices are unique and also unlike other bands, they ALL sing. That may sound weird but when you think about it, there's always those one or two members in the band that sort of just sway in the background and look good. This isn't the case for this band. They eliminate expectations left and right. Also, did I mention, they occasionally sing in spanish?! Check out this video of them doing just that.
3. They have personality!
Going back to what I've said about them not being manufactured or basically acting like robots…all you have to do is watch an interview or video of them just hanging out and doing their thing. They enjoy each other's company and it is clear to see that they are really great friends doing what they love. They all have awesome personalities and never fail to make me laugh *I dare you not to giggle at least once*. They're not afraid to be themselves which is rare to find in the entertainment industry now, unfortunately.
4. They're choreographed…
Say what you want but what girl isn't a sucker for a choreographed boyband? Don't deny it. I know what you're thinking and, yeah, a bunch of guys dancing to pop tunes is so 1990s. Let me just say this, if a band wants to dance, let them. If they want to sing while dancing, let them. If they actually CAN sing while dancing, by all means let them do whatever they want because that takes talent. There's no way I could keep a beat let alone pull off some riffs and sweet harmonies at the same time. Respect.
5. They're passionate.
This is one of the main reasons why I really got caught in the Midnight Red craze. Whether you've been a fan for a year or a day, you never feel out of the loop. I've been following these guys for a long time and it doesn't matter how many new fans come along, they never change and they are always dedicated to putting out new material for anyone interested in it. They're always excited about whatever big project they have coming up and it's nice to see that kind of enthusiasm in people that are actually putting everything they have into doing what they love and actually manage to do it well.
Midnight Red are sure to be an up-and-coming act in 2014 with the release of their debut album set to be out this year. They will be touring with Austin Mahone on MTV's Artists To Watch Tour and have said that they will be opening for The Wanted on their Word of Mouth Tour happening in the spring. Make sure to get your tickets because you will not want to miss their shows! I'll be seeing them on the 15th of May and making a post of just how amazing I'm sure they will be live! Hope to see some of you there!
Now before reading on I'd like to advise you all to take a deep breath. In…out…in…out.
You good? Good. Yes, it's true. The Wanted have just recently announced that they are "taking a break." I want to repeat this. A break. A break. A BREAK. A few of the band members have stressed that this is simply that. A break. The guys of The Wanted have decided to take a bit of time off to pursue individual projects but they assure their devoted fans that they look forward to many more TW endeavors in the future. Tom Parker made it clear on Twitter last week saying "This is not the end. You can't get rid of us that easily." So for all of you die-hard TWFanmily, don't stress. Of course it will be difficult to say goodbye temporarily to the weekly vlogs and mailers but The Wanted boys are not disappearing off the face of the earth, that I'm sure of.
From what I figure, Scooter Braun *currently running for best manager of the age with Bieber arrested and the TW split* will probably do his best to make Nathan Sykes the next big solo act. I mean c'mon we all remember the Nariana/Jariana drama ending in a great duet and many enraged Janoskianators and TWFanmily. Scooter isn't doing too hot in the eyes of thousands of teenage girls right now but maybe he's hoping to save himself with this new Sykes craze….*cricket**cricket*.
The Wanted guys probably won't do too bad on their own considering they already have had so much success simply because of TW. Max George has his Buffalo Jeans campaign, Siva Kaneswaran with his modeling *I mean wow that bone structure*, Tom Parker recently started doing some DJing and isn't half bad, and Jay McGuiness with his….um…uh oh.
Don't worry. Everyone's favorite curly-headed McGuiness will be just fine. I'm sure he will carry on with his usual antics and it will probably seem like he doesn't even realize that the band has taken a break. The Wanted have been on the grind for a very long time so it's understandable that they want to take a bit of time for themselves. On the plus side, with this news, their Word of Mouth Tour is bound to be even more amazing than ever thought possible.
THE WANTED SPLIT~AS TOLD BY MADS
Thanks for reading!
