CONTROLRadioUK Picks 5 Songs You May Not Have Heard Of

Here at CONTROLRadioUK we're always on the look-out for music be it for the playlist, or just because we think the tracks are pretty neat so check out our picks below.



This song has a minute sample in the chorus, and this is a serious bop. She's got a great voice, I like the story to the lyrics & this fast became one of my favourite lyric videos as I love the style & mix with cartoons. The chorus however is a bit of a let down for me. It's usually the verses that have the slightly repetitive lyrics & lead into a great chorus but here it's the other way round, and it also doesn't have as big as a bang as I would like. Madilyn Bailey is an American singer/songwriter & her debut EP 'Wiser' is out now.



The beginning of this music video does not agree with my computer & I originally came across Tayler after hearing 'Technically Single' (such a great song btw) & I'm pleased to say this is just as great. The music video doesn't do a great deal for me, but I love how chilled the music is, the lyrics are quite good as well & I'm looking forward to listening to more of her music. Tayler is a singer/songwriter & you can stream her songs on Spotify & buy from iTunes.



I've been listening to Zack's music for a while now & I'm glad others here at CONTROLRadioUK HQ finally developed a taste to agree this song is fantastic. I am not ashamed to say by the time the chorus hit we were all dancing away & we didn't want this song to end. Scenery wise this video is also beautiful, I absolutely love the music, especially how it leads out of the song & the lyrics are good to. Zack Knight is a British singer/songwriter/producer & you can get 'Love Controller' on iTunes & Google Play.



Grouplove are fast becoming my favourite new band of this year (that's bands I've recently begun listening to NOT bands who are brand new). This song is fantastic lyrically, musically & the video's quite imaginative to courtesy of Genero. I could talk all day about why they're so great, but why do that when you can watch the videos yourself & then buy or stream 'Big Mess' which is out now. Also the climax of this song is beautiful beyond words. Ok! I'm done now, promise.



Never make the mistake of showing a song you're not overly keen on to other people, because they will turn out to like the song & it'll end up here. Ok I'm being harsh (and extra snarky this week! Thank you flu for finally leaving me) because there's nothing overly wrong with this song & Icona Pop have given us some smashes over the years (including 'I Love It') Lyrically this is ok, musically I do like it & after a few more listens it'll probably get stuck in my head, but I am not a fan of the chorus. Like with Madilyn, I was expecting this to go a lot higher than it actually did so it does for me let the song down. Also someone commented the beginning sounds like a remixed version of Coldplay's 'Fix You' and I can't get that out my head either.

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CONTROLRadioUK Halloween Special

Happy Halloween everybody! It is not my favourite holiday of them all (the furore over clowns this year doesn't help). For every Halloween that passes us by I think people forget what the true meaning of Halloween is; a day dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hollows), martyrs & all the faithfully departed. Many Halloween traditions originated from Celtic harvest festivals & have Pagan routes. Yes trick or treating, dressing up in costumes & having parties has always been a part of Halloween, but these days people tend to focus way too much on that part (along with scaring the crap out of each other) than the part where you celebrate those who you've lost.

So bearing all this in mind when I was asked if I wanted to do a Halloween Music Video special picks for CONTROLRadioUK my answer was a firm no. Yes I may like the occasional thriller movie & watch some exceedingly bloody shows (RIP Banshee you were great until s4). That doesn't mean I want to watch a bunch of music videos that will freak the crap out of me (Looking at you Thriller which I've still never watched in full & don't plan to)

So instead I bring you 5 of my favorite themed music videos. Anything from devil horns to skeletons, masks to haunted houses. Have fun & enjoy laughing at my big wussy butt!



Yes we're starting off with OneRepublic and no that's not because they're one of my favorite bands & their new album is hooked to my music player. I love masquerade parties. I love music videos that mix the present with the past which they do excellently here, with the song, style and some of the instruments modern whilst everything else is Edwardian (which is one of my favorite periods in History due to amongst other things advances in technology).

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It's not Halloween without this bop! Oh just me? Well feel free to thank me for your musical education. I shall reframe from an essay here, but basically whilst I like Kylie's version of this song, Steps are what made it fantastic (no bias here at all I swear). This version's just so fun & the devil costumes, red lights, dancers & choreography make this quite a good concert video considering today's standards. Again no bias here! Nothing to do with the fact I had this choreography down before the song ended. Nope, not at all!

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Everyones favorite haunted house. Seriously this song is still so good it had everyone here at our darling CONTROLRadioUK HQ singing along when I brought it up for consideration (That's right people! We have a whole group of staff here that judge my taste in music just as much as you do!) I love the music which has a really great sinister note to it. Lyrics are a little tongue in cheek, Michael Jackson features in the chorus (so there's a nice little Thriller link for you) & this is the closest to a scary music video you're gonna find here.

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It aint Halloween without the Ghostbusters! I still know all the lyrics to this song & I still sing along with all the belt in my chest. I have my own stupid dance routine that accompanies this song & includes a crazy air guitar solo. The video also includes clips from the original movie which in my opinion hasn't exactly aged well & the new Ghostbusters film is still my favorite of them all (though the multiple versions of this song can go home). Have a fun Halloween & enjoy making your dentist's Christmas which your candy overload.

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CONTROLRadioUK Presents Throwback Thursday: 1999

Hello and welcome to the next Chapter in our Throwback Thursday series. We've traveled through 80's Pop/Rock/RnB/Reggae/Dance. Now we're having a stop-over in the 90's. It was a glorious 10 years for fashion, technology & of course music. Some songs changed the landscape of music forever whilst some were unfortunate one-hit wonders & for the next 2 weeks we'll be bringing you 5 great songs.



The Artist: Backstreet Boys
The Song: Larger Than Life
Released: 1999

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: I know, it's hard to believe we're almost at the end of our 90's journey. It's been fun right?! But rejoice, we're not quite there yet! We've still got 2 more weeks of memory lane and what better way to start that off than with this song? It charted quite well but didn't quite set the world alight (probably because it was too awesome to handle). Funny fact though? The video here was directed by Joseph Khan who also directed 'Everybody's Back' and there are similarities between the songs and the video. It's also 14th on the Guiness Book Of Record for most expensive video which not a lot of people can claim. The video whilst fun isn't what I remember or love most about the song. No, that praise is reserved for the music & lyrical content. 9yr old me enjoyed dancing and singing along to this at the top of my voice. 26yr old me agrees with 9yr old me that this song is quite fun, but also thinks if you go beneath the surface it is actually quite uplifting. Plus did I mention I loved Backstreet Boys as a kid?!

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The Artist: The Chemical Brothers
The Song: Hey Boy Hey Girl
Released: 1999

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: My favorite song from The Chemical Brothers is 'Do It Again' (and if you have no blessed your ears with that beauty I don't know what you're doing) But this isn't a bad song. Before I knew music The Chemical Brothers were just someone I'd always hear on the radio, like the songs & have no idea who they were or what my ears had been blessed with. This peaked at #3 on the UK Chart & remained there for 10 weeks which is quite a feat to achieve. Do I think a song which only has one line of lyrics which reads 'Hey girls, b-boy, superstar DJ's here we go' is completely beyond the realms of basic? Absolutely. But the music! The Chemical Brothers make pretty bloody awesome music! Considering I'm still rocking out to this in 2016 & never get bored of 'Do It Again'? Gonna let them have this one.

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The Artist: Steps
The Song: Say You'll Be Mine
Released: 1999

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: What more can I say about Steps? Well unless you fancy reading a 50 page dissertation (which I could easily write) we're gonna choose the safe option of nothing. This reached #4 on the UK Charts. I knew the chorus dance moves after studying this video meticulously for a week. It's a really fun song. The video's even better. I knew the lyrics off by heart within a day of exhausting the CD on my record player (which can actually be said about every Steps song). Steps made my childhood fun and I will never be ashamed of being the only kid in school to know all their songs, whilst everyone else was singing (and then crying) over other bands.

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The Artist: S Club 7
The Song: S Club Party
Released: 1999

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Ok yes Steps owned my late childhood, but I did listen to other bands to (I know! Massive shock) One of said bands was of course everyone's favourite Backstreet Boys (see what I did there) & S Club 7. I was glued to Miami 7 & L.A 7 on my returns from school. I bopped the heck out of this & 'Don't Stop Movin' like there was no tomorrow. This reached #2 on the UK Chart & even today? I will bop the heck out of this. I may also like S Club 7 so much because my school was one of those chosen to sing on the Children In Need version of 'Never Had A Dream Come True' (nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds. I was also a brief fan of S Club Juniors/S Club 8 but that didn't really last long. Also a rarity here? Everyone in my school loved S Club 7 as much as me! That's right, we all sang along like the gloriously adorable kids we were to their songs & danced like there was no tomorrow. It was a nice break from listening to my Steps album in the corner. Attempting to compare the two bands for a brief second here, Steps were a band you religiously knew all the lyrics & dance moves of & nearly injured yourself running into the living room to get a first look at their latest video. It wasn't until after they split, I got into new music & then rediscovered my love for them that I really appreciated their music. S Club 7 on the other hand I didn't know the dance moves & lyrics religiously & don't listen to them outside of 'Don't Stop Movin'.

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The Artist: Destiny's Child
The Song: Bills, Bills, Bills
Released: 1999

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: I've spoken about my mother here before. She was a very strict, very protective woman in my childhood. She knew the world better than I did, she knew what was appropriate for me and whatnot. Except she refused to let me listen to Destiny's Child. When 'Bootylicious' came out I saw the video and thought it was funny. I asked my beloved mother if I could have it. She took me to the record store, made them play it all the way through 4 times, and the decided it was too sexual & inappropriate for a child to listen to. The other girls at school listened to their music religiously which my mother had no control over. But if she heard me singing any of their lyrics? Grounded for a month. All fun & games until you trick her into buying 'Survivor' & then you end up grounded for 2 months (still got the record so I won't complain there). 'Bills, Bills, Bill's' reached #1 in the US & #6 in the UK, so clearly not everyone was as illogical as my mother. Yes she probably had a point that some of their songs had undertones that weren't exactly U rated. This song here? Not one of them so I shall enjoy this along with the rest of Destiny's Child & indeed Beyonce's collection. This was my first proper foray into RNB music, I loved it then & I love it now. But mostly this is here so everyone else can joy me in questioning my mothers logic.

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CONTROLRadioUK Picks 5 Songs You May Not Have Heard Of

Here at CONTROLRadioUK we're always on the look-out for music be it for the playlist, or just because we think the tracks are pretty neat so check out our picks below.



Kicking off this gloomy (and flu-ridden) Monday is the beauty. As always I am weak when you give me such a pretty music video. It's got a very chilled, techno sound to it which I like and the lyrics have a good story to them as well. It feels moody without being overly depressing and did I mention it's really pretty? I talk a lot about songs & videos needing meaningful lyrics & a story to them (both of which i stand by) but scenery is also really important, especially when you're possibly lacking on one of the above. The Japanese House is an English singer/songwriter and you can pre-order 'Swim Against The Tide' now.



This song has a sample in it I can't quite place, but aside from that annoying me, this is quite the tune. The lyrics aren't by any means perfect, but they're also not the worst that's ever met my ears. The video's a little simple for me & doesn't really have a story to it, plus I'm not a big flower person (sorry, they're pretty but not for me). Curiosity is what drew me to this song & the music's what kept me here because this is so pleasing on the ears. Some people make songs that attack you from the second you press play which is ok, but I'm more of a slow build person; give me enough to press play & then wow me with the chorus. Through the parts of this song leading up to the chorus there is an underlay that's just waiting to break free, and it does so well in the chorus. The backing vocals also mix well with the music to give a type of haunting vibe. Maty Noyes is an American singer & I'm very intrgued to see how well she does in the future.



Ahh Astrid. It's been a few months since we last met (and I had 'Hurt So Good' on repeat for weeks) so boy was I glad when this popped up. This lyric video's getting extra points for the fact I love water (and have watched way too many documentaries about the ocean) but honestly where the song's concerned I can't say one bad thing about it. The lyrics leading up to the chorus are a little repetitive, but overall the lyrics have a story to them I can connect with. Musically this is absolutely sound with another nice slow build up which leads to a chorus that knocks your socks off. Honestly Astrid is one of my favourite new artists & any time I come across an undiscovered song is a joy to me. But no bias at all. Nope! Completely, 100% proffesional critic here. If you need a quick refresher or missed the previous picks, Astrid S is a Norwegian Singer/Songwriter & her debut album is available to buy & stream now.



Gonna be honest; I know absolutely nothing about this band & this is here partially because the songs good, but mostly for the video. It's fun, some at CONTROLRadioUK were cheering on the dear elderly and commenting on how they had moves on them. A quick search tells me Set It Off are an American Rock band from Florida, and this song is quite catchy and bouncy. But that's all I got.



Like the above I know absolutely nothing about Tessa and this is here because the songs fun. Video does absolutely nothing for us here at CONTROLRadioUK, the songs got a minor sample & I really like the music. Tessa Violet is an American video-blogger & song-writer best known for her Youtube Channel, so this is 2 weeks in a row where I've found Youtuber that don't make me want to throw the computer out. I'm gonna take that as a win & continue dancing to this song for the rest of the week.

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CONTROLRadioUK Presents Throwback Thursday: Pop Of 98

Hello and welcome to the next Chapter in our Throwback Thursday series. We've travelled through 80's Pop/Rock/RnB/Reggae/Dance. Now we're having a stop-over in the 90's. It was a glorious 10 years for fashion, technology & of course music. Some songs changed the landscape of music forever whilst some were unfortunate one-hit wonders & for the next 3 weeks we'll be bringing you 5 great songs.



The Artist: Aqua
The Song: Barbie Girl
Released: 1997

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Aww Aqua. My mum hated you. In the words of one 'It was extremely inappropriate having kids at school parties singing and dancing along to this'. Yes! She still feels quite passionate about this even if I am edging closer to 30's these day. In the defense of us 90's babies, like with 'The Beautiful South' we had no idea what this song meant. We thought the video was cute. For the longest time I thought 'undress me everywhere' was 'and dress me everywhere' & why wouldn't you? Unless you're really focusing on the lyrics (which we certainly didn't) you can think it's people just talking about playing with dolls. Yes it annoyed our parents & our school's got told off for reasons we didn't understand, but I think 90's music really coined the phrase 'ignorance is bliss'. You do still get songs that are filled with puns these days, but unlike the 90's they're far more blatant with it which takes the fun away. To my mum's further annoyance this was amongst the first songs I bought & something I listened to religiously (but she won out on refusing to let me listen to Destiny's Child until I was well into my teens) . This song also hit the top 10 charts in over 15 countries & has been certified Platinum & Diamond in various countries as well. The joy.

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The Artist: The Verve
The Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Released: 1997

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Ok so everyone probably remembers this as the final song to play in 'Cruel Intentions'. Since I was banned from watching that film until I got to age where I couldn't be banned from anything, I randomly came across this song one day on the music channel & whilst I have since watched 'Cruel Intentions' (and count it amongst my favorite moves sorry mum!) my love for the song came from that random viewing. You wouldn't think a video where a guys walking down a pavement & refusing to move in his path (and almost gets hit by a car in the process would work, but it really does. I absolutely adore the music & the lyrics resonate well. It wasn't a song that was a massive seller though it did hit Gold, Platinum & Silver but it's still one of my favorites.

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The Artist: Backstreet Boys
The Song: Everybody (Backstreet's Back)
Released: 1997

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: I couldn't not include this song in a Throwback Thursday 90's Special. They might have released their first album in 1996, but they didn't come to the UK until 97 where we were treated with this beauty & I am not ashamed to admit I was a huge Backstreet Boys fan. Everyone in school was and this video, it freaked us 90's kids out good (some music channels wouldn't even play it before watershed) but the lyrics? They're in your head, you're singing along 10yrs later & you're dancing & jamming till the sun goes down. Yes, some of the lyrics were still considered minorly inappropriate by the parentals (along with 'Hey Mr DJ') but we did not care! We already had 'Barbie Girl' taken from us! We were jamming to Backstreet Boys like no tomorrow! Do I still find elements of this video creepy? Well yeah! It's a horror parody & horror is not my best friend, but it's the videos uniqueness that makes it so good (along with that dance routine) The song was of course a hit around the world & there was never more joy than when you were on a school bus going somewhere really boring, and someone randomly broke out into a Backstreet Boys song.

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The Artist: Dannii Minogue
The Song: All I wanna Do
Released: 1997

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: So occasionally I have to include songs here I'm not partciularly fond of because others at CONTROLRadioUK are, but I still think up nice things about them right? No chance here! Dannii Minogue ruled my household when I was a kid. There was never not a poster of her in my mum's room, or a song of hers in the CD Player. That's all cute right? Except for the fact her songs were a tad more suggestive than my poor old 'Aqua', 'The Beautiful South' & 'Backstreet Boys' (ok probably not the case in 'The Beautiful South') but still you can get the point. I knew all the words to Dannii Minogues songs because i was forced to hear them so much & it's ok for me to randomly sing about I wanna touch someone, but not ok to sing about dressing dolls?! There's a massive case of favoritism there (which I do enjoy bringing up). Putting that minor issue aside I did & still do enjoy some of Dannii's music. Maybe it's the source of forced enjoyment turning to actual fun, but I like this song here for the music. The video reminds me of everything I loved about 90's (both with the decor & the clothing you can thank my 'Mise En Scene' scriptwriting class yesterday for that observation) The song wasn't a massive hit but performed decent enough.

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The Artist: Hanson
The Song: MMMBop

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: I feel really bad putting this in the category of a 'One Hit Wonder' but none of their songs since this have lit up the charts. This was also one of those songs I constantly heard on the radio, didn't know all the words (I still don't) but i still danced & sang along in incoherent mumbling (and it was the best ever) This song went #1 around the world & has been certified Gold & Platinum. Musically this song is really fun & the video goes with that tone. It is worth looking up the lyrics because when you do, you'll find this song is actually surprisingly (if slightly depressingly) deep. Like 'Aqua', 'Backstreet Boys' and another band I'm forbidden from mentioning here, Hanson ruled the school disco with this song & again even if I only sung along incoherently, this song still ruled.

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CONTROLRadioUK Picks 5 Songs You May Not Have Heard Of

Here at CONTROLRadioUK we're always on the look-out for music be it for the playlist, or just because we think the tracks are pretty neat so check out our picks below.



Yes this is here just so I have an excuse to talk about the album. Sorry Bastille, I've grown to like you but I've been a OneRepublic fan longer & Oh My MY has slayed me. Since I got it I've only taken brief breaks in listening to it because it is just so good. It's one of those where no matter how many times I've played it, I'm not bored of the songs & everytime it comes back around I find something new that I like about it. Top 3 tracks are 'Better', 'Oh My My' and 'A.I' but really they're all amazing. I love the music & the lyrics (especially 'Better' which has an alternative string version that is also fantastic) because there's always a story to them & I absolutely love watching these guys in live performances. They have so much energy about them that goes vibrates through the whole crowd & people at home, that you just can't help dancing and singing along with them. You may know OneRepublic (how could you not?!) and you may know Oh My My is available now. Album of the year, do your ears a favour and buy it.



I've featured Hayley here in the picks once or twice (ok it's more than that but whatever) because I appreciate what musicians like her do. Lyrically this song isn't the best, but music wise it's BAMF & it has an excellent video to accompany it. This shouldn't be a thing that I have to point out but it's rare (at least in the music videos I've watched which granted is limited to TV unless something online comes up interesting) to have a POC in a music video & not be a thug or end up dead. Even rarer? Having a transgender person. It just doesn't tend to happen unless the songs an uplifting anthem about loving ourselves & even then they only get a 5 second slot. Here we have a music video that's about a friendship created from coming to a person's aid during their time of need. No angsty love stuff/relationship drama/video with no story that takes you away from the song. Just two people having a bad night, one coming to the aid of the other & that's it. Simple and beautiful. Hayley Kiyoko's album CITRINE is out now & it is good.



Thing I've noticed about Walking On Cars? They give us fabulous music & beautiful videos which tend to be really sad. Ok that's not a thing I've noticed but rather a general comment from CONTROLRadioUK HQ but I do think my fellow colleagues have a point (even if they make comments about my musical taste in the process). Gorgeous scenery aside (which is really hard because it is so pretty) the videos got a powerful story to it which I won't spoil (aside from saying we were a bit emotional at the end), I love the music (inlcuding the backdrop in the chorus) & the lyrics are great if again, a little sad. Honestly since I got into Walking On Cars after hearing 'Chasing Cars' (still one of THE best songs I've ever heard with a great chorus again) they haven't dissapointed me. The album Everything This Way is out now.



I'm really into my ballad's this week. I'm gonna blame the fact I was virus ridden which has now translated to a cold. I'd never heard of Charlotte let alone one of her songs before so I wasn't sure what to expect, and now this song has been in my head for the last week. So I think it's safe to say I'm a fan (not like I don't have enough music queued on my media player). I'll be honest and say the song does more for me than the video which isn't a criticism; sometimes when you come across an honest the song & imagery click together & sometimes they don't. I can see the videos got a good concept to it, probably after a few more plays I'll understand it more. The lyrics are great and I love the backing vocals in the chorus which really add to the song (and are what kept me originally listening). Charlotte OC is a British Singer/Songwriter who has been quiet busy since 2008 and her second album is due out later this year.



Confession time; I usually don't like Youtubers/Viners/Whatever else you wanna call them. They're just not my thing & I can never understand how they're so popular. When this video came up I was expecting to hate it (I even said as it was buffering I was gonna hate it but played it just so everyone else could hate with me) Ended up coming away from this dancing along with the rest of CONTROLRadioUK HQ. This isn't the greatest song I've ever heard, in fact I'd probably catergorise it as just being ok. Lyrically it's not fantastic but given his age I'll let him off, the videos colourful and Trevor can certainly dance. I've said before here that as long as I can enjoy a song, it's doing its job & that's what Trevor's done here. It's certainly not as annoying as some songs I've heard so that's another + to him. Trevor Moran is an American Recording Artist/Singer/Youtube Personality and previous XFactor Contestant.

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Amongst Fresh Music

Here at CONTROLRadioUK we bring you a lot of fab articles. Be it our wonderful 5 picks, Throwback Thursday Specials & TV Reviews. But we also like to focus every now and then on the awesome Artists we playlist. So below you can check out the Fresh Music from some of the Artists on CONTROLRadioUK

Paul Varney

Paul's career in music has spanned over 20 years, working both sides of the glass as an artist, songwriter, producer & session musician.

His first musical TV appearance was in the 1980's when his school formed band 'Second Nature' performed on the popular BBC Saturday morning program Saturday Superstore after reaching the finals of the Search for a Superstar competition & performing 'Astro Collision', one of Paul's earliest compositions, however this wasn't his first TV appearance having already starred in a series of TV adverts as 'The Milky Bar Kid'.

Throughout his teenage years Paul continued to perform with bands whilst funding the building of his first home recording studio with the proceeds from his successful acting career, starring in numerous West End theater productions & TV shows including ITV's Children's Ward Series.

At the age of 18 Paul was introduced to Simon Cowell who paired him with Daniel James to create the Pop duo 'Yell!' Yell's debut single 'Instant Replay' reached No.10 on the UK charts in January 1990. Although this was to be their only top 40 UK single, their debut album 'Let's Go' (recorded in London & Los Angeles) was successfully released in Japan before the band split in 1991.

Paul continued to record & release records throughout the 90's including 'If Only I Knew' & 'So Proud Of You' (PWL Records) 'Open The Door To Your Heart' (Jive Records) 'You're The Only One' (Edel Records), but he was also enjoying success as a songwriter & producer, In May 1999 'Say It Again' written by Paul & performed by girl band 'Precious' represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest & gained a top 10 UK chart position.

Paul's love of recording & production led him to set up recording studios in London & Berlin where he continued to write & produce records for acts including Bell, Book & Candle (SPV Records), Sita (Jive Records), Ryan Ferrada (NZ Records), James Sampson (Sony), as well as working with music for TV & Film plus providing backing vocals for acts including Boyzone.

Today, Paul lives in Surrey with his wife & 2 children. Kiss And Make up features remixes from Andy Sikorski, Macca D and Tony King.

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Bruno Alexander - Vampire Bites

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, but raised between Portugal, Spain and the U.S., Bruno Alexander considers himself “a citizen of the world” — and the singer/songwriter’s musical influences are no less diverse. Drawn to American Pop/RNB sounds as well Eurodance, he doesn't fit into any one genre, nor does he want to.

Rather, his goal is to create his own style by daring to be different.

His big break came when he was chosen as the featured vocalist on producer Jake’s club hit, “In Love We Trust.” After that, Bruno was featured on The Record Maka’s jam, “Meteors,” dropped his own debut single, the sexy “Nothing But the Music On” (which UK music blog My Fizzy Pop!! called so hot, “it should come with a warning!”), follow-up “Puppet” and the can-do anthem “Fearless,” (which was later remixed by Ricardo Autobahn of the Cuban Boys and Spray).

His new single, "Vampire Bites," was produced by Ricardo Autobahn, and written by Mark Smith and Halloween nut Charlie Mason, who also co-wrote the amazing Eurovison Winner “Rise Like A Phoenix”. Vampire Bites is accompanied by dark and gory video that will appeal to fan of Buffy and The Vampire Diaries!

This release on Energise, features the ultimate mix for Halloween, delivered by Europop maestro “Matt Pop”, in which every Halloween effect is stirred into the mix to great effect and gives the record a huge sense of fun. The original mix is altogether darker in tone, and made for clubs of 2016.

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Sean Smith Turn Me On

September 23rd sees the release of X Factor Superstar Sean Smiths debut single “Turn Me On” and its tipped to top the charts! With a sizzling club beat, catchy lyrics and a steamy video to accompany the song, Sean shows the world he has matured into a sexy solo artist with much more to come!

Alongside sister Sarah, Same Difference were the darlings of the massive ITV show, wowing the crowds with feet tapping numbers that fans young and old embraced, resulting in two successful albums.

The duo’s popularity has endured, but now Sean steps out on his own with his forthcoming new track.

Simon Cowell’s X Factor protégé Sean has made sure his hot new sound matches a hot new physique, spending as much time hitting the weights as hitting the studio, and is in the best shape of his life.

Already planning the release of his second single through Energise Records, a British Independent Label established in 1993, who also represent and have recorded with such musical heavyweights as Hazell Dean, The Three Degrees, Rozalla, and Sinitta, Sean’s new sound will be a hit with not only the fans he gleaned during his time on the X factor but a much wider fan base.

With his album well underway, hot new image and many more exciting ventures in the pipeline, Sean makes going from bubblegum to bubbleYUM look easy!

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CONTROLRadioUK Picks 5 Songs You May Not Have Heard Of

Here at CONTROLRadioUK we're always on the look-out for music be it for the playlist, or just because we think the tracks are pretty neat so check out our picks below.



Ahh Busted! Whilst all the girls at school were fawning over McFly I was loving Phantom Planet in between spinning the Busted CD. I still count tracks from both bands amongst my favourite songs and enjoyed Matt/Charlie solo stuff, but I wasn't really interested in thesuper-group. So the news that Busted were coming back together was greeted with excitement by me and this single here doesn't let me down. A thing that seems to bother fans is when Artists/Bands grow up and evolve their sound & I never understand that criticism. When you're in your 30's or whatever, you're not gonna be singing about a girl from Year 11 or how much you liked the milkman. The video doesn't do much for me, but I am looking forward to giving the album a listen. Busted are an English Pop/Rock band and the album 'Night Driver' will be released on 11th November.



First up in our 'Severely under-rated Artists' this week is Haley. I've featured her here a few times because she is an a great singer (I shall refrain from commenting on the acting). Picking a track from the album to feature here was quite difficult, but I settled on Palace. I like how moody the track is, I love the chorus & whilst I like the lyrics to nearly every song Haley does since they all have their own story? The lyrics here really stick out to me. It's a song that stays with me long after I've finished listening, her voice is perfect for these types of songs & the instruments are right on point here - not too much but not too little. If you haven't given Hayley a listen yet i strongly recommend it, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a bad song. The album 'Citrine' is available now for streaming & purchase.



BASTILLE! Oh how I never knew how much I'd grow to love you! I've been talked into doing a triple album review of Stables, Bastille & Meg Myers (which you can look forward to reading very soon) & even though this isn't my favourite track from 'Wild World' (that title belongs to blame) it is still a fantastic song. I've yet to come across a song of Bastille's that I don't like which is extremely difficult to achieve. Again this isn't my favourite, but it is pretty high on the list. Once again I adore the lyrics, the music & the fact Bastille have such a unique sound to them. The video's certainly got an interesting concept to it as all Bastille's videos do which is again! Another thing I love. 'Wild World' is out now for purchase and streaming.



Slowing the pace down a little bit here, we've got JoJo. You may remember her as the girl that gave us the monster that was 'Leave (Get Out)' & 'Too Little Too Late'. She's had a bit of a break since then but she's back & oh how I've missed her. I'll admit I'm not a big fan of 'Fuck Apologies' simply because I don't like rap added into songs, but 'Mad Love' is a fine tune & so is this one here. You don't always need a massive power ballad with loads of instruments to make a song - sometimes you just need a piano, voice and strong lyrics. JoJo has all three here & the video? It's again so simple yet it tugs at your heartstrings & made me listen to this song over and over again. Which is what a video's supposed to do. JoJo is an American Singer/Songwriter/Actress and 'Mad Love' is out on 14th October.



Finishing off this week is Two Door Cinema Club. I will admit I've spent my whole time listening to this song & watching the video completely unaware that it was an interactive 360*, meaning you can use the arrows on the screen to look around the room at various members of the band. Much better than just looking at the guys in black on keyboard/guitar and the drums (I'm gonna blame my bad eyesight for this one) This song like 'Are We Ready' & 'Bad Decisions' os perfection. 'Gameshow' is out on the 14th October and I really need it to hurry along so I can add this to my growing 2016 list. This year may have had a lot of ups (and mostly) downs so far (and that could get even worse) but one thing that hasn't let me down so far is music.

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CONTROLRadioUK Presents Throwback Thursday: Music Of 96

Hello and welcome to the next Chapter in our Throwback Thursday series. We've traveled through 80's Pop/Rock/RnB/Reggae/Dance. Now we're having a stop-over in the 90's. It was a glorious 10 years for fashion, technology & of course music. Some songs changed the landscape of music forever whilst some were unfortunate one-hit wonders & for the next 4 weeks we'll be bringing you 5 great songs.



The Artist: The Cardigans
The Song: Lovefool
Released: 1996

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Ok so I first heard this song during the masterpiece that was Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (and I thank that version for getting me through a rather hard English Literature paper) The song reached #21 on the UK Chart & #1 on the US. It's since been used in a number of shows/movies, as well as the odd cover over the years. This song isn't out of this world spectacular, but some of the best songs just need a good beat & a great chorus - and this ticks both boxes.

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The Artist: The Prodigy
The Song: Firestarter
Released: 1996

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Ok so 6 year old me found this video very scary because 6 year old me found everything scary, but this song is a belter. It hit #1 on the UK Chart & #30 in the US, which I don't think is too bad. In defense of my 6 year old self, some channels refused to show this video before the watershed because Ketih Flints appearance & the stark black + white were considered quite scary. Bearing in mind this is the same era that deemed 'The Lion King' & 'Bambi' to be suitable kids films. If they were released in this dag & age they'd probably be given a 15 rating but no! All we got was a lousy little sticker on the bottom of the video to suggest we watch with parents as some scenes may be a bit much for us. I did not go into a cute & cuddly children's movies to be greeted by THOSE death scenes (which I still can't watch). Where 'Firestarter' is concerned, the music is what makes this song as great as it is. Such glorious, bonkers, 90's rave music we all enjoyed dancing along to even if we ran a mile from the video.

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The Artist: The Beautiful South
The Song: Don't Marry Her
Released: 1996

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: I have been looking forward to writing about this song for weeks. I've mentioned before the 90's was great for songs with an indirect adult nature our young heads didn't grasp. This song is my absolute favorite example of that. After hearing the song on the radio and catching it on TV before it got turned over, we'd get the lyrics in our head and sing along randomly at school. This freaked the hell out of our Teacher's. Why? Because unbeknownst to our darling, innocent ears, there is an uncensored version of this song which a quick Internet search can take you to. As a 6 year old we had no absolutely no idea of this, and thought it was a nice, cute sing-along. Oh how wrong we were & of course we never understood the panic. This song was obviously altered for radio play & spent 10 weeks on the UK Chart, peeking at #8. But I will always love this song for freaking out my Teacher's, mum and being amongst the first explicit song my completely oblivious 6 year old self heard.

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The Artist: Peter Andre
The Song: Mysterious Girl
Released: 1996

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Ok, I have never been a mega Peter Andre fan and this is mostly here because others at CONTROLRadioUK HQ are. Even if you're not a fan though, you know this song as soon as it plays, and you know the lyrics, singing along quietly so as not to alert other people to your shame. Considering it hit #2 on the UK Charts when it was first released, that's a shame quite a number of people are feeling with you, so don't judge your musical taste too much. In all honesty Peter Andre isn't the worst person I've ever listened to, and I have liked listening to some of his more recent songs. But apparently these Throwback Specials & indeed 5 Picks aren't all about praising my musical catalogue. Nope, I have to ask other people what their favorite songs are and then spend hours rooting through for a semi-decent song. So. Much. Fun.

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The Artist: Alanis Morissette
The Song: Ironic
Released: 1996

CONTROLRadioUK Thoughts: Jagged Little Pills is one of the best albums of all times. My favorite song by Alanis is 'You Oughta Know', but 'Ironic' is more iconic. It hit #4 on the US Chart, #1 in Canada & #11 in the UK. The music video's iconic. The lyrics are iconic. The music's brilliant. It's one of those rare songs that connects with you regardless of your music taste. 'A death row pardon two minutes too late' 'rain on your wedding day' 'free ride when you've already paid' 'good advice you just didn't take'? Every lyric in this song is fault free & genius and the song never bores you. No, it lures you in with a nice soft start before attacking you in the chorus and by the end, you're singing and dancing along. Even more fantastic? When this song first came out there was an uproar of people saying 'ironic' was used improperly in the song. Even the Oxford English Dictionary got involved! So the next time someone comes at you with Political Correctness, or accuses you of using a word incorrectly? Remember the great 'ironic' debate.

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CONTROLRadioUK Picks 5 Songs You May Not Have Heard Of

Here at CONTROLRadioUK we're always on the look-out for music be it for the playlist, or just because we think the tracks are pretty neat. My sincerest non-apology for the essays this week, I'm deep into my studies on Media Theories, Audience & Influences because no! Media Studies is not all about making podcasts, interviewing people and producing a short film. It's also about analysing what media is on a whole, questioning the social construction of life itself & discovering a whole bunch of words you can't even begin to spell aloud. Fun!!



So to kick off the week, another song from Tegan & Sara. I've said it before but every time I come across another track from them it bears repeating; giving them a listen is one of the best musical decisions I've made this year. Doesn't matter if it's a ballad or pop anthem, their music is just full of so much energy it's impossible not to like them. The video doesn't seem to have a story to it which is a minor letdown, but lyricall and musically this song is solid. Their album 'Love You To Death' is out now



By now you may know I'm a big fan of The Naked And Famous fan. You may also know that I cannot wait for theirs & OneRepublic's albums to be released. Every time I get a notification that they've got another album promo song up I get very excited & I am never dissapointed. Where The Naked And Famous are concerned, like Tegan And Sara, their songs have so much energy in them. The lyrics never dissapoint me, the lyric videos are beautiful and the music is just stunning. 'Simple Forms' is out on October 14th & I absolutely cannot wait; it's a very good month for music.



I have at last found a Karmin song I can stand. This is a monumental achievement! I don't mean that in a bad way, but I am not a fan of songs being overplayed. That's exactly what happened when 'Brokenhearted' took over the airways in 2012; whilst others at CONTROLRadioUK HQ loved it I couldn't stand it (and it really seems like a longer period in time than that). Since then I've heard various songs by Karmin & whilst I've thought they sounded ok, they weren't powerful enough for me - I was either let down by the chorus or just didn't feel the song went anywhere. I've kept listening to them every now and again though, and finally! We have a song here I can not only stand to listen to, but I actually enjoy it! I can connect with the story the lyrics I telling, i love the chorus & the climax of the song, and the videos cute enough. Karmin are an American music duo & their new album 'Leo Rising' is out now.




Ok this videos weird as hell. I have no idea what's going on with it & attempting to watch it through gave me a headache. I like the music and the lyrics are ok but when you have a dance band/duo featuring a vocalist on their song, it lives and dies with the vocalist; if they're strong it's a smashing success & if they're weak well the whole song falls apart. With this here Susanne Sundfør is what makes the song. Similar to The Chainsmokers who earlier this year released 'Don't Let Me Down' which featured Daya; it was a smash because of her & whilst follow-up's have been ok, they haven't quite hit that same level. This song's somewhat of a throwback to the 80's, which I'm not exactly hating either & this will be glued to my phone for the next few months at the very least. Röyksopp are a Norwegian electronic music duo & Susanne is a Norwegian singer/songwriter.



This songs chorus is catchy as hell, but it's featuring here because of the video. I challenge anyone to watch this video and not find Ken Leong hilarious. I've never even watched his show 'Dr Ken', but this video's tempted me to. Where the song's concerned I'm again loving the music here. Lyrically the songs a little simple but given Laura's age I'll forgive that, especially since the chorus is so damn catchy! Like seriously it makes the whole song really infectious & I can't stop replaying it. But I'm mostly here for Ken. Without him I don't think the song/video would pull me in as much as it does. That's right people! It's not just the music & lyrical content of a song that sells it to the audience, but how it's presented. Sometimes serious, thought provoking videos work. Sometimes one with a story. Sometimes one that has nothing to do with the song but is really pretty to look at. And sometimes a really funny person, with the singer not appearing at all does it for you. Laura Marano is an American actress and singer/songwriter

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