Darin ft. Kat DeLuna - Breathing Your Love

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

My fellow Scandiphiles will certainly have heard of Darin, as he's one of Sweden's biggest artists and now on his 4th album at the age of 21. He is a Kurdish Swede who made his name on the first series of Idol. His first single was written by Robyn, and he's also worked with Max Martin and Linda Sundblad among others, but most notable now is his work with RedOne. You may know RedOne as the producer of Just Dance by Lady GaGa, as well as recent hits by major US acts such as Akon and Kat de Luna, and now he has been hired to produce Michael Jackson's new album... but his first big success was Darin's 2005 single Step Up. His new album Flashback is produced by RedOne, and includes 2 particularly interesting things. Firstly, the duet with Kat DeLuna (below), and secondly, a version of Just Dance with different lyrics, called Girl Next Door. I'm very interested to see what people who aren't immersed in the Swedish pop scene think of these songs, especially those of you who love American r'n'b music. How does Darin compare? Personally I've enjoyed his output over the past 4 years as much as all other male r'n'b acts put together!

Another Year In Pop: 51

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I imagine most of you are off on holiday somewhere at the moment, but for those of us wearily pressing F5 at work, here's this week's chart poll, which includes the least surprising Christmas No.1 ever and a Beyonce track from last year.

[Poll #1320352]

Remember, all the chart polls are open until the end of the year, so if you've changed your mind about anything you can go back and tick/untick the polls here. Also, don't forget to send your top 10s of the year to leagueofpop@gmail.com!