It's official. Starlight + album being released in the UK

*pinch me, i must be dreaming*

Starlight is going to be released on the 30th of May, followed by the Sophie's long awaited fourth album, Make A Scene, on the 6th of June. Here is what her official website says:

We're very pleased to announce that Sophie will release her new single ‘Starlight' on 30th May, followed by her new album ‘Make A Scene’ on 6th June.

‘Starlight’ is a perfect chilled dance anthem that is instantly catchy with a soft but edgy beat. It is a track that can easily take you from sun lounger by day to nightclub by evening and is the perfect summer anthem.

Sophie’s new album ‘Make A Scene’ is an exciting and energetic pop juggernaut on which Sophie was heavily involved with all parts, including co-writing much of it and working with an in-demand team of writers and producers that includes Freemasons, Greg Kurstin, Calvin Harris, Cathy Dennis, Metronomy, Hannah Robinson, Richard X and Armin Van Buuren.

The countdown starts here…

Although, nothing is stated about which label she is on currently. U-Music Russia handled the release of TTLF previously, and they are releasing Make A Scene in Russia. But we're not sure if she is still with Polydor Records. Sophie may have been shifted on to some other label under Universal who might handle this release in the UK. Details yet to come...

Peter PopJustice Robinson made Starlight the song of the day and called it "A nice song". His exact words were as follows:

It is so much easier being a Sophie Ellis-Bextor fan once you accept that she is never ever going to have another hit single.

Once you learn to live with that fact, and once you are able to leave behind questions like 'will Radio 1 play this?' (NO AND NEITHER WILL RADIO 2), 'will she promote it properly?' (SHE'LL DO HER BEST BUT NOBODY'S REALLY INTERESTED) and 'will it get into the Top 10?' (NO), all you are left with is one question: 'is the song any good?'.

And the answer here is 'not as good as some of her other songs but generally yes it is a really enjoyable listen and her voice is rather nice as per usual'.

Peter is probably annoyed with all the delays, but lets not ignore the fact that the song is The Song Of The Day. Here's hoping that the song gets good reviews from everyone. Buy the single or download from iTunes on 30th of May. Also, you can import the album from Russia after the 18th of April, if you want.

LINK TO ARTICLE ON THE OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.sophieellisbextor.net/news.php?id=329
LINK TO ARTICLE ON POPJUSTICE: http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5387&Itemid=279

Sophie on Alan Titchmarsh

Sophie performed her new single with Armin Van Buuren, Not Giving Up On Love on Alan Titchmarsh.

You can view the performance right here, thanks to Renzo and Paul.


Sophie had a cold, so there was a minor glitch in the performance, but she still sounded very good. The back-up dancers are finally in sync and the performance on the whole was very pleasing. Well done Sophie + dancers.

Sophie wore a crystal daffodil brooch to support Marie Curie's Great Daffodil Appeal this March. You can wear one too. Visit http://www.kleshna.com/ for more details.







Sophie mentioned that her album, Make A Scene, will be out in May. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for a release date soon.

Unreality Shout reviews "Not Giving Up On Love"

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://unrealityshout.com/blogs/single-review-armin-van-buuren-vs-sophie-ellis-bextor-not-giving-love

It certainly is a sad state of affairs when the saying "out with the old, in with new" rings true for someone like Sophie, who, at the height of her fame (2000-2003) narrowly missed out on four BRIT Awards despite being one of the most successful pop peddlers in the UK since Kylie Minogue. However, the Americanisation of our own charts has dictated that we move on from people like Sophie and listen to younger artists with more current music - Ke$ha, GaGa, Rihanna, Katy et al. People seem to have forgotten that, back in the day, Sophie gave us some monster smash hits that still find their way - in original or remix form - into clubs across the whole of Europe, save the UK and Ireland. Over there, she really is like their Cheryl Cole, only with more musical talent... and the ability to sing.

It's also quite a concern that many people seem to place her in some kind of "non-relevant" category, along with a lot of other British female artists like Amy MacDonald, Paloma Faith and so forth who are, in many more ways than just one, much more talented than the likes of Pixie Lott, Cheryl Cole and Ellie Goulding.

Ask around, and people couldn't tell you any of the songs Sophie's released in the last year - 'Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)', 'Bittersweet', 'Can't Fight This Feeling' - since she's had her child, she doesn't seem to be included in the media fodder category that milks "popstars" for the very innards of their personal life, hence her musical downfall to irrelevance.

And so we move on to the fourth single from an album that still hasn't been released despite being slated for August of last year. 'Not Giving Up On Love' sees Sophie team up with European trance DJ, Armin van Buuren. It would be unfair to claim this is Sophie's best work - 'Catch You' and 'Bittersweet' spring to mind when that statement arises. But make no mistake - her super-seductive voice still shines with the stunning clarity of white ice and rings with the beauty of a siren call over Armin's glacial synths and towering melodies. There are many catchy moments, and the song is simply destined for the club scene. However, it may not find it's way to the chart despite being quite a strategic release: it's clearly trying to latch onto the tail end of the mini [insert experimental sub-genre(s) here] rage that's grown in popularity and saw many a D&B/dubstep/nu-wave track find it's way into the Top 40.

It may just do it, if it had airplay. And I see no reason why it shouldn't have airplay - Radio 1 probably being exclusive with the playlists again. Those chart fanatics among us will know that 'Not Giving Up On Love' has already peaked at #1 in Poland and charted within the Top 10 of many other countries, so it's not like it's an impossible feat if were it to get airplay.

Here's the video: It has a boat. (video insert) Watta lovely boat.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is still a mighty force on the continent, and should rightly be recognised where she originally started - the UK. A bit more effort with the promotion, a little more airplay, and 'Not Giving Up On Love' will soar. Unfortunately I feel it may be another underperforming single, leaving Sophie no other alternative than to cancel or rush release her long-awaited comeback album.

Rating: 4.0 STARS

Download: March 6, 2011 (OUT NOW)

Featured Album: 'Make A Scene'

Interview, Performance and other stuff

Sophie has been promoting her new single "Not Giving Up On Love" with Armin Van Buuren on Radio and TV. In fact, the single is already out on iTunes. Support Sophie, please buy the single.

Sophie was on LORAINNE where she was asked about the new single, being a mum and the usual. She also performed the new single, which sounded excellent, actually. Thanks to Paul and Renzo for the videos.





Recently, Sophie was also on T4 to talk about the new single and play Celebrity Squares. You can watch the show right here.





Also, Sophie has been picked by Erasue to support them on their tour in June. So maybe we can expect the album out before that. Hopefully this support tour will do some good for her. So if you couldn't catch her on her Straight To The Heart tour, you can go see her live now. Here are the tour dates
Fri 10 June Thetford Forest, Nr Brandon, Suffolk.
Sat 11 June Bedgebury Pinetum & Forest, Nr Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Fri 17 June Sherwood Pines Forest Park, Nr Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire.
Sat 18 June Westonbirt Arboretum, Nr Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
Fri 24 June Cannock Chase Forest, Nr Rugeley, Staffordshire.
Sat 25 June Dalby Forest, Nr Pickering, North Yorks.
Fri 1 July Delamere Forest, Delamere, Cheshire. (Note: Sophie Ellis-Bextor will not be appearing in Delamere Forest)

Here's a video from T4 - Sophie Ellis Bextor Style Masterclass

Sophie & Armin are #2 on MTV Dance.

So i have been voting religiously, and i hope everyone else have been voting as well. Sophie & Armin FINALLY entered MTV Dance at #2. Please keep voting for them so they stay at #1 for a long time. Help promote Sophie's new UK Single - "Not Giving Up On Love"

VOTE FOR SOPHIE:
@ Gaydar - http://www.gaydarradio.com/
@ MTV Dance - http://www.mtv.co.uk/channels/mtv-dance/chart

Not Giving Up is the second single from Sophie's fourth album

I don't know why they didn't go with "Not Giving Up On Love". I'm going to hate the puns.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a223927/ellis-bextor-switches-single-plans.html

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has changed the identity of her next single, Digital Spy can exclusively reveal.

The pop singer originally planned to release 'Off & On' as the third trailer from her upcoming album, Straight To The Heart.

However, she has now decided to release a collaboration with Dutch DJ/producer Armin van Buuren instead.

"It's called 'Not Giving Up' and I'm really excited about doing it. I'm filming a video with him very soon," she confirmed at yesterday's BAFTA TV Awards.

Ellis-Bextor also insisted that she was happy with the performance of her most recent single, 'Bittersweet', which peaked at number 25 on the UK singles chart last month.

"You know what, I'm totally at peace with it. I still love the song. This might sound like something you only say after something hasn't done fantastically, but I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that I've had a long career and I don't get bogged down with that kind of thing," she said.

Bittersweet - The review

Put together Blue Monday '88 (by New Order), Strangelove (by Depeche Mode), Sweet Dreams (by Eurythmics), One Word (by Kelly Osbourne) and The One (by Kylie Minogue), mix those with Sophie's bittersweet vocals and what you get is...well..."Bittersweet"

Bittersweet, which is first single from her fourth album recently titled Straight To The Heart, is produced by the Freemasons & Biffco and co written with them and Hannah Robinson. The nearly-9-minutes long orgasmic mix by the Freemasons, which leaked a couple of days ago, boasted of the Eurythmics meets Depeche Mode "oh-holy-shit-mother-of-all-riffs" all through the mix, with hints of New Order on drum snares. Everyone raved about how good the mix was and how it blew them away, but little did they know that there was more to come... The Radio Edit of the song which recently hit youtube surpasses the Freemasons Extended Mix in almost every way possible. Almost, yes.

The arresting riff, which got a usual clubber to go "oh fuck hell yeah" at it's premiere, is safely hidden under the verses of the Radio Edit? Why they chose to overshadow that is a mystery to me. But the Radio Edit is far more beefy - in that it has lots of lush strings and synth, and layers of sounds that completely make up for the lack of the riff. But wait, there's more. The 80's style disco anthem, drawing influences from some of the recent hits by K. Minogue and K. Osbourne, oozes elegance and melody in a gentle yet strong manner. The lyrics and the delivery are perfect, as usual, with Sophie experimenting her part-silk-cushion-part-scorched-lizard vocals - elongated words, high pitched "ooohs", meandering melody, whispers (oh my god!)...and just when you think you have heard it all, the feline siren comes back mewing "so here i am". DigitalSpy rightly calls this moment as three seconds of pure pop loveliness. Indeed!

If you haven't already wet your pants, then try this, but i warn you - you may get insanely addicted!
Bittersweet (Radio Edit) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WvGElFmZYI
Bittersweet (Freemasons Extended Mix) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiOqkkv8tT4
Bittersweet (Jodie Harsh Remix) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT_O6c-EDDE

Sophierazzi gives a thumbs up to the Freemasons and Biffco, and salutes Sophie, the rightful pop Goddess.
Bittersweet (Radio Edit)- 10(0000)/10
Bittersweet (Freemasons Extended Mix) - 9.9999999/10
Bittersweet (Jodie Harsh Mix) - 7/10

P.S. - People, please don't forget she also has a single with Junior Caldera which is out; the video will premeire soon. Keep your eyes peeled. Love, Kx.

Sophie MAY be shooting not one, but two videos!

Now, we're already aware that Sophie is going to shoot the video for Bittersweet in London. She might also have another video.....for Can't Fight This Feeling:

"My new single, Can't Fight This Feeling, feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor is now available on iTunes with remixes by Avicii, Soulshakerz etc. The single will be released on March 29 in France! We should shoot the video with Sophie in middle March in Paris, we'll keep you updated... e later, we'll add some pictures on this page." said Junior on his Facebook.

*jumps around with excitement*....
Thanks for the heads-up Eden

EDIT - Sophie and Junior are in the French top 40, sitting at #37. I hope this does well in France. It could cement a foundation for Sophie's fourth album. Afterall, she used to be famous there (thats what i've heard)
SOURCE: http://www.lescharts.com/weekchart.asp?cat=si&year=2010&date=20100220
#1 Tik Tok - Kesha
#3 Bad Romance - Gaga
#4 Rude Boy - Riri
#8 Memories - Guetta & Cudi
#20 Fight For This Love - C. Cole
#23 Rain - Mika
#26 Rock That Body - The Peas
#30 Sweet Dreams - Bey
#32 Fireflies - Owl City
#37 Can't Fight This Feeling - Junior and the Bex-monster

the hype continues...Bittersweet

I'm going to copy-paste a post i found on PopJustice. I got a little excited, jumped around a little bit, but i'm going to keep calm until i hear a snippet of the song.

Hi All, OK, just got a VERY reliable tweet from someone very much in the know... The single has indeed been chosen and a pre-lim date was set for early April'10.... HOWEVER!!!! A certain Ellis-Bextor has only gone and dropped one mother-****** of a killer track to record exec that the commercial music scene is raving about.... 'Bittersweet'.... again ft Freemasons Record exec's (and prob Camp Kylie is the truth is told) do not want a re-run of Ellis -vs- whoever. Plans are now underway to either push the release forward (making my tweeter very much busier, which was the subject of our chat) .... or at worst the album is pushed right back till the end of summer, in which case will the current vibe/trend of the new material be over??? 'Bittersweet' is already being predicted to be the unforgetable song of the '10's (i.e 2010 - 2020... maybe the CGYOOMH for this new decade). Just though I'd share..... ....And this is VERY reliable, be sure of that!

Oh and BiffCo tweeted:

"Blasting Freemasons Remix of Sophies 'Bittersweet'. It's Heartbreaks bigger louder Brother!" and "Your Love is Bittersweet"

Official Catch Up (2010) - Part One

Hello Sophie, how are you?

I've had a busy morning. Lots of workmen have been turning up.

What are you having done?

Some of them were trimming these quite tall trees we've got at the bottom of our garden, and then the others were repairing some massive cracks in our walls and doors.

Could you not have DIYed it?

Not really. Some of them are quite significant cracks and I'm not really up to that. Although I did successfully put up a flatpack yesterday. I went to Ikea in the morning. Oh God. I always start off thinking "This is great, I love it", then by the end I'm ready to kill somebody.

There's something in the air at that place.

There really is. I was in a foul mood. The journey home was awful too. We'd got too much stuff and we had the buggy with us, so I was sat in the passenger seat with the buggy wheels up against me and the seat pushed right forward to fit in all these boxes behind it. It just wasn't worth it.

Is it bad even on a weekday morning?

Well that's the thing. I was like, "Well, I know why I'm not working right now - cos I'm a pop star and I don't have normal hours! But why are the rest of you here?!" Who are all those people? It was hellish.

Aside from Ikea hell, how are things with you?

Really good, thanks. The album's all done, which is a nice position to be in.

So, what's the timeline from here?

I'm hoping to get my first lot of video treatments in today and I will be filming a video at the beginning of February. And then the scheduled release for the single is the beginning of April. We're just choosing photographers for the artwork and doing a brief for the direction and that sort of thing. Fun stuff.

Will the album come shortly after the single?

No, I think we're going to do two singles and then the album, actually. In fact, it'll be almost three, because I've got Heartbreak on there as well.

Did the album get finished without too much drama?

Yeah, this has been the easiest one by far. Definitely. And the most fun. With the least pressure. It's been a very pleasant experience. My theory is that the third album is the hardest.

Why so?

Because the first album introduces you and you've got that thing of being a new person. And everybody likes new things. Then the second album you think you know what you're doing, and the record probably is more cohesive, but it tends to not do as well as the first one. So that's a bit of a bump back down to earth. Then for the third one, you're really aware of what you had and what's at stake. But I think if you make it through your third album you've got a career. That's the really tough bit.

So, after four albums, you're the godmother of the current wave of synth-pop ladies.

Yeah! This is my tenth year with my label.

Do you get a special anniversary gift?

Um, no, I don't think so.

My brother works on the railway and just got £100 of M&S vouchers for reaching ten years service.

Really?! Wow. I'll drop the boss a line and ask for mine.

The official site will post the second installment next week. Stay tuned.

The mixes for Can't Fight This Feeling

Unfortunately, the mixes have leaked.

1. Can't Fight This Feeling (Avicii Universe Mix) 6:42
2. Can't Fight This Feeling (Junior Caldera Remix) 3:49
3. Can't Fight This Feeling (Junior Caldera Remix Radio Edit) 5:42
4. Can't Fight This Feeling (Junior Moonlight Remix) 3:02
5. Can't Fight This Feeling (Mischa Daniels Instrumental) 6:54
6. Can't Fight This Feeling (Mischa Daniels Original Mix) 6:53
7. Can't Fight This Feeling (Mischa Daniels Radio Edit) 3:52
8. Can't Fight This Feeling (Original Version) 3:34
9. Can't Fight This Feeling (Soundshakerz Club Extended) 7:32

Go out and buy the CD or download from iTunes. Support Junior. Support Sophie.

Sophierazzi will not upload mp3s any official release. But you will find the CD for download in all obvious places.

I can't decide what i like on the single cos they're all pretty good. Junior's Moonlight Remix is probably what the song initially started out as. Its a beautiful slow track with piano and Sophie on the vocals and a simple beat. Brilliant! I never thought Can't Fight This Feeling would appeal to me as a ballad, but wow! His other mix of the song has a more electro sound with an arresting bassline. He also has an edit of the same mix which is horrible because he has changed the structure of the chorus. Not too fond of the mix edit, but the 5+ minute version is very good!

We were already treated to Mischa Daniels mix of the song earlier. There is a shortened version of the same mix on the CD, which is equally brilliant and an instrumental version of the same mix.

The Avicii Mix didn't really appeal to me. Something about that makes it sound a little...rough. I haven't really heard any of their other mixes, but judging just by this, i'd say they're not really good.

The Soundshakers Club mix is ace! A typical 7+ minute club banger.

Buy the CD, even if its just to listen to what Sophie sounds on the song without the auto-tune and vocoders. Sophierazzi gives a 5/5 for the Moonlight Mix - must listen!

Listen to the Moonlight Remix on youtube

Seems like Sophie may have another single before Bittersweet

Can't Fight This Feeling might be Junior Caldera's next single in France. It's about time that he released the song. It did manage to get a lot of good responses from fans. I hope he makes a new mix and then releases it.


Do i wish Sophie would feature in the video? Hell yeah! But who knows if that will happen.


By the way, i love (what seems to be) the artwork.
Listen here

and then she tweeted.....

"the new single's about when you can't resist something that you know is bad for you. a guilty pleasure. like watching celebrity big brother."
Lol. I find the comparison quite hilarious. So it's a song about guilty pleasures. I'm glad its not another heartbreak on the dancefloor.

"out early april, heading to radio early february"
oh. I was hoping for January, but i'm still quite excited. February is not far away.

"the new single is called Bittersweet. it's written with those lovely Freemason's again (and lovely biff and lovely hannah too.)"
Freemasons/Biff/Hannah/Sophie. Wow. Its like nothing can go wrong. But i suspect this was more of a Fascination move. Heartbreak did well and stayed for a long time, so why not use the same formula and spice it up. Oh well, i'm still on board. I hope it is as "massive" as Fascination deemed it to be. *fingers crossed*

more tweets follow

SophieEB - in studio with dimitri tikovi and ed harcourt and live strings. sounds so delightful. great start to 2010.

JordanJayBlue - @SophieEB - just emailed you new mix! x
SophieEB - @JordanJayBlue - thanks will have to listen to it later after studio session. it's sounding great here. x

Okay i honestly have no idea about whats going on, but all those tweets got me insanely excited. i'm on board, whatever you're doing Sophie. I'm so on board!

Oh and Fascination have listed "Bittersweet" on their playlist, which means that is the official title.

Now excuse me while i go scream around and rejoice this bit of news

*yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! wooooo-hooooooooooooo*

the second Sophie/Freemasons song is called Bittersweet

and the Freemasons debuted the song on New Years Eve.
According to a PopJustice poster:
"The mix wasn't a bit harder than most of their other stuff, but still better than 90% of house mixes out there. It was probably more along the lines of their recent Eurythmics remix for Here Comes The Rain Again than Heartbreak."
The song should be everywhere in a few days. Keep your eyes peeled

New Tweets

so looking forward to filming video in january for new single... woo!

filming the video in moscow a good idea. n'night pop tarts. x

All these tweets suggest that the new album is finished and the new single is ready. Any further delays can be blamed on the record company, lol. Crossing my fingers and hoping for a monster of a song! Sophie is performing in Moscow tonight. Not sure if it is going to be televised, but if you're reading this and you're going to attend the show, then please carry a camera with you. And give us a review.
*fingers crossed she performs the new single tonight*

the new single is supposed to be MASSIVE

Fascination's recent tweet:
"Playing friends highlights from the forthcoming Sophie Ellis-Bextor album! The new single is MASSIVE! Wooo-hooo!!"

An inside source's comment:
"Her new songs are better than anything she has done till date. This album deserves to be a hit"

A PopJustice poster's comment:
"I've only heard the supposed first Sophie single ONCE a month ago and I can say it's not only massive, but I can still sing the chorus in my head after that. I consider that such a rare thing. It deserves to be everywhere."


Let the hype begin. Roll on 2010

oh. and Wiki calls the album "Another Love". Highly doubt the title. I wish we get some gigantic idiom/phrase type title

Starlight - Live At The B1 Club, Moscow (and a little teaser)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJewkBEt_qI&feature=player_embedded

According to the person who posted that video:
"Sophie Ellis-Bextor premieres her new song 'Starlight' during her concert at B1 club in Moscow on October, 22d 2009. She said it may be one of her upcoming singles, but not the first one."

So long as its a single, i'm happy! Thank you Sophie. Your performance was brilliant, and i love the song.

Love Heist is not a new song at all

Well, according to fascination
"‘Love Heist’ is actually a demo from Sophie’s 3rd album. This is definitely NOT her next single"

Well, there you go. Officially confirmed, not on her 4th album. It was a good track though. I really wish some of these songs are uploaded on iTunes or Napster. This idea has been suggested several times on Sophie's official website, on PopJustice.

Sophie's fans are all willing to pay for the unreleased songs. I wonder why the label hasn't considered this idea at all... If they do consider this, i would love to hear these:
Love Heist - cos the song is amazing!
Dontcha Wanna Get Crazy - i've been crazy about this ever since the title was revealed
Fake Love To Me - doesn't it sound amazing!?
Revenge - i love this song. I would love to hear Sophie's voice on it

FASCINATION please release these on iTunes...

Thanks Wextor for confirming this with Fascination

Sophie Ellis-Bextor ft. Junior Caldera - Can't Fight This Feeling

Thanks to Kaz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v6Q6z2grdY

The original version of CANT FIGHT THIS FEELING is out on youtube. Sophie sounds brilliant. Can't wait for the single to come out, its supposed to come out sometime in March. Sophie's own single is probably out sometime in June/July/Aug. In the meantime, she's got this song and the Freemasons single to hype her.. This is a solid dance song. Junior Caldera has done a really good job on the song!

Here are the lyrics:

Standing in a crowded room
But all I see is you
Like a spotlight follows where you are

Do you know I never want to leave your side
Desire swallows up my pride
I can't say no, I want you,
So I've got to see this through

'Cos I just can't fight this feeling
We should be lovers. We should be lovers
No I just can't fight this feeling
We should be lovers. We should be lovers
Now I just can't fight this feeling
My head is spinning. I think its winning
Now I just can't fight this feeling
And it's beating me down

Falling on you took a moment
Your kiss charged my heart
Just a touch could never be enough

Do you I know I'm overboard and can't be saved?
I pray the night time makes me brave
I have to show I want you
So I've got to get to you

'Cos I just can't fight this feeling
We should be lovers. We should be lovers
No I just can't fight this feeling
We should be lovers. We should be lovers
Now I just can't fight this feeling
My head is spinning. I think its winning
Now I just can't fight this feeling
And it's beating me down

Why don't you, why don't you,
Why don't you come to me?
Why don't you, why don't you
Why don't you come to me?