europopped

What the fuck is happening in Holland, you ask? Things we cannot understand. Things we should not understand. Unspeakable things...such as men with machine guns playing field hockey. Things such as women kissing each other in a Delorean acting like "Back To The Future" is the best movie they've ever seen. But the best part of the track is how Yellow Claw reference "Disco Polo" at the start of the song. Not sure if it's about the Polish genre I've blogged about here over the past two years, or if it has to do with field hockey, but either way it's awesome. Score one for Holland (the song is only good in parts, actually, but the video is just insane and it's viral today in the Netherlands for its sheer madness).

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Fridays are always the best days here at Europopped. Not sure why, but this is always the day epic debuts happen in Europe. Today, the four girls from Fourlicious (a pan European girl group) released their anticipated clip for "Over You," which is their first video after they ditched their manager and decided to go it alone. And the ladies are off to a promising start with this new song and video (never mind the fact the vocal sync is slightly off towards the end, just know that the song is good and the video awesome looking, given the circumstances surrounding the end of the group once known as Jameerah). I'm equally in love with all of these women, but if I *had* to pick a favorite, it might be Nelly Marie Bojahr, former Miss Germany from 2007. Have a look at their brand new clip below, directed by Frank Molnar and shot in Belgium.

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Later this week in Holland, the Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival kicks off just north of Amsterdam in Groningen, showcasing the best and brightest talent from Europe (some old names and some new). One of the new-ish names playing the conference is a singer from Amsterdam named Chagall. Per her bio, the 23-year-old is "inspired by the energy of the dubstep beats of Alex Clare, by the raw pop sound of Trixie Whitley and the soulful intensity of Donnie Hathaway." In 2010/2011 she had a mini hit with "By Your Side," which was the title song for the acclaimed movie Tirza (nominated as the Dutch entry for the Oscars). Her latest is a song called "Alive." Check out the lovely video for the track from late last year below. (Also "Breathe")

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Belgian and Holland hipsters are vastly superior to American hipsters. There, I said it. Want proof? Look no further than this kitschy-yet-catchy retro-flavored offering from De Hoop called "Waar Is De Meisje." I have been hooked on this song all fucking week and cannot get it out of my head. EMI Belgium is also hooked on this song (first learned of it via their twitter feed) and they are now working the song in Belgium, it looks like. Very hard to gain any info on "De Hoop" at all (and I looked everywhere...you will not find any either, trust me). All I know is that an earlier version of this video dropped in July and now someone (maybe EMI) thinks it can be an offbeat hit, so here we have a new video. All of the comments on You Tube re: this clip have to do with the Dutch language, so I think the chorus is a riff on how certain people talk (or perhaps poking fun at a simple phrase kids study when they first learn Dutch at school?).

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Again with this nearly impossible task of choosing three top clips from Holland. Caro Emerald had an outstanding year and artists such as Marco Borsato released incredible videos. But for the purposes of this blog, let's zero in on three artists. First up is Laidback Luke's vibrant "Timebomb" clip. Not sure people in Holland realize just how huge names such as Laidback Luke and Afrojack have become in America. "Timebomb," with its retro-futuristic cool clip, helped Luke gain tens of thousands of fans in 2011 in the U.S. Next up is an artist actual Dutch people may be horrified to learn I've included on any 'best of' list, but I love Loona and don't care. "El Cucaracho" was awesome and remains awesome, cheesy fun. Finally, in early 2011 Holland's De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig dropped a just wild and suggestive clip for "Elektrotechniek" and it's better than Kraftwerk on crack.

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