Today's Pick

British pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor's solo career isn't as hot as it once was, but the sound of her sophisticated, posh warbling is still in super high demand in nightclubs across Europe, so she's teamed up with Dutch trance producer and DJ Armin van Buuren to release a music video on local Dutch television this week for their joint trance track "Not Giving Up on Love," the second single taken from Ellis-Bextor's fourth solo studio album, "Straight to the Heart," and the second from Buuren's new album "Mirage," which will see the light of day on September, 10. The new track just released digitally worldwide on Friday.
According to Buuren, "Not Giving Up On Love" is a melodic, electro-sounding vocal beauty with real drums, a piano line and an absolute feel-good sound to it. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Born in Leiden, Holland to a musical family, Buuren indulged his passion for music from a young age. Being the official World's Most Popular DJ is just one of his many achievements, but the driving force behind his success is an overriding passion for dance music. "This is just what I really want," says Buuren. "It's not just love for music, it's my passion. It goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it's about a way of living. Music is essential to my life."
The video was shot on party-island Ibiza, Spain and features shots in club-mayhem Amnesia by British director Sophie Muller, just seems to be her constantly lolling about on a boat. Ellis-Bextor's timeless elegance is really on full display in the video. As stated by Ellis-Bextor on an interview, "We've got a really beautiful location. And we'll be on a boat. It's going to be directed by Sophie Muller. And then I'm going to perform with Armin at the Amnesia club, where he has a residency," Ellis-Bextor shared to us. "It's going to be so much fun. I like Ibiza, it's really beautiful. San Antonio is not really my cup of tea but the rest of the island is gorgeous."
The 31-year-old Ellis-Bextor's music is a mixture of mainstream Pop, indie and disco with 1980s electronic influences. She is noted for a strong English accent even while singing. We're never quite sure whether Ellis-Bextor has gone away or not. Every single seems to be a sort of come back song, and "Not Giving Up On Love" isn't any different. As per usual with collaborations between DJs and disco divas, the producer just had to go and inject himself obnoxiously dancing about at his turntable. Those dancehall moments ruin the magic a bit, though not entirely: This is still Ellis-Bextor's game, and she looks nothing less than her usual, statuesque self, standing and posing effortlessly in front of various summery locales. Her voice, which has spent the good part of the last decade wistfully sweeping across dance floors everywhere.

The UK disco-light loving diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back after a three-year break, a time period she spent focused on motherhood instead of pop tunes, and premiered her brand new video on Popjustice last Tuesday for the lead single "Bittersweet" off her forthcoming fourth studio album titled "Straight To The Heart," is due to release in July on Fascination Records. Ellis-Bextor looks gorgeous, per usual, very stylized, and the effect pops at the right music hits make it perfect for video bars.
"Bittersweet" is a slick piece of electro pop, merging Visage's "Fade to Grey" and "Blue Monday" by New Order with an incredibly catchy chorus. It was co-written by the Freemasons, Hannah Robinson and Ellis-Bextor, and premiered on the radio station Gaydar on March 8, and the first live performance for song took place at the Little World Festival in Méribel, France, on March 17. The Multi-Platinum selling pop star Ellis-Bextor talking about song through her Twitter that it is "about when you can't resist something that you know is bad for you. a guilty pleasure. like watching celebrity big brother." It's a great electric dance pop track set for digital release on May 2 in UK!
30-year-old brunette beauty's music is a combination of mainstream pop, disco and 80s electronic influences. I'm really starting to fall for her harder, and more dance-oriented sound. Her best-selling single "Murder on the Dancefloor" in 2001 stayed on the charts for 23 weeks, and became the most played song of 2002 in all of Europe.
The video for the song was filmed in London on March 12th. It was directed by Chris Sweeney. The video features sequences of Ellis-Bextor getting smacked in the face with buckets of colorful paint and glitter. Continuing with the minimalist theme of the "Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)" video, including her fabulously choreographed back-up dancers, "Bittersweet" is the definition of what it takes to become a modern disco diva. After the release of the album she plans on releasing a hits compilation then possibly heading in a new musical direction.