Despite initially being marketed in the R&B-pop mould on her debut in 2000, with her second album Missundaztood, P!nk firmly repositioned herself as a pop rock queen with a party starting comeback...
The Story of Pop: 2002 (Chapter 3)
Author: Alex the Pensmith
Thirtysomething. Essex born and bred. Son. Uncle. Dreamer. Writer and blogger. Pop music, books, VW campers and comedy. Fanboy of many things. Makes an excellent cup of tea. Likes bacon.
The Story of Pop: 2002 (Chapter 2)
Following her tragic death in a plane crash just months before, the legacy of Aaliyah as one of R&B's most gifted young stars was kept alive with a posthumous number one record...
The Story of Pop: 2002 (Chapter 1)
Making the move from indie to dance pop following her turn on Spiller's chart topping "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" was completed by the release of Sophie Ellis-Bextor's biggest hit to date...
Alex’s End of Year Prizes 2021
Happy Boxing Day - hope you've all had a good, safe and peaceful Christmas so far! As is annual tradition on this corner of the web, today is when I hand out my End of Year Prizes, where I name my favourites from the world of music, TV, books and podcasts from the last 12 … Continue reading Alex’s End of Year Prizes 2021
My Grate-ness List
Hello everyone, Once again I know this festive season is looking different for a lot of people when they hoped it would be approaching something more normal. But I hope with this little poem I have written about my "Grate-ness" list (a Christmas Gratitude List, if you will) that I have encapsulated the reminder that, … Continue reading My Grate-ness List
A definitive ranking of all of Blue’s singles.
20 years ago. That is exactly how long it has been since British boyband Blue released their debut album. When I first learnt of this on Instagram a week ago, I had two immediate reactions.Firstly, I am that mature now (I was 12 in 2001 for reference, date fans). Secondly, after cranking up that album … Continue reading A definitive ranking of all of Blue’s singles.
#CrazyStupidAlbum: JLS (@JLSOfficial) – ‘2.0’
Just over two years ago in 2019, when we wrote our 10th anniversary blog for the release of their debut album, we confidently predicted (or at least hoped) that JLS would both get back together and return to the UK and Ireland's arenas in December 2020 to tour and mark the occasion properly. Whilst the … Continue reading #CrazyStupidAlbum: JLS (@JLSOfficial) – ‘2.0’
Olly Murs singing “Dance With Me Tonight” with The Muppets is the greatest X Factor guest performance of all time: discuss.
Olly Murs in rehearsals for The X Factor with The Muppets, November 2011. Image credit: Idil Sukan / Draw HQ With The X Factor finally given its official resting by ITV earlier on this year after 18 series, the dust has largely settled on the obituaries that said it should have happened sooner being delivered, … Continue reading Olly Murs singing “Dance With Me Tonight” with The Muppets is the greatest X Factor guest performance of all time: discuss.
Remembering Sarah Harding: pop’s walking primrose
I am deeply saddened to be hearing and thus writing a post about the news that Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding has passed away this morning at the age of 39, following a year long battle with terminal cancer. Although I never met her or knew her, the news has hit home today in a big … Continue reading Remembering Sarah Harding: pop’s walking primrose
Self Kindness / an update.
Hello all, I hope this post finds you safe and well. It may not have escaped your notice that the last post I did on this blog was just under a month ago. Anyone who reads this blog with any kind of regularity may have thought that very unlike me. And indeed, it is very … Continue reading Self Kindness / an update.
The Niche Reference 