The back halls of the industry are “a buzz” with several upcoming releases. You will have to wait till the Fall for these gems but there-a-coming!

Madonna is planning a more calculated return to the charts (November) with the help of “uber producer” Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. I must say, when I came across this startling news I was a bit disappointed. Madge has built her career on reinventing the pop landscape, playing the wild card, causing us to wonder, “what’s next?”. This seems like a desperate attempt from her camp to regain the chart success of yesteryear. NEWS FLASH – we expect more. More from the women who gave us the wickedly refreshing “Ray of Light” and brought the acoustic guitar to the dance floor on 2000’s glitch friendly “Music”. Times are obviously hard for the new queen of England. After two commercial failures (Stateside) it should be interesting to see what this new collaboration yields.

Ok you early 90’s Euro/Dance/Rock fans – he’s back! Who might you ask is “he”? Seal Henry III – or just plain ‘ol Seal to pop/rock fans worldwide. When his debut album “Seal” was released in 1990, we were introduced to a new breed of lushly produced Euro-pop. His big voice and the smart production of Trevor Horn (formerly of YES) were a welcome listen in a time where disposable dance music had become the norm for top 40 radio. The first single “The Beginning” failed to connect with a US audience but the second single “Crazy” connected the world over and made him an international star. Since his breakthrough, he’s continued to have chart success with hits like, “Kiss From a Rose”, “Don’t Cry” and the more recent “Waiting for You”.
On his forthcoming release “Sista”, we see the Brit return to his “roots”. From the short snippets I’ve heard, you can definitely call this a return to the dance floor. “When You Run” is the only confirmed track to date but this new offering should be a clear departure from his more recent “ballad heavy” material.