Hitz from Finland vol. 8
Apr. 9th, 2008 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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poptimistsThis week: Kemopetrol! I confess: I'm giving them a primer not because of any exceptional impact on the Finnish pop landscape -- tbh they are starting to be somewhat of a fading star, the height of their success and popularity having been early in their career -- but because of HUGE FLAMING BIAS. They're my favourite, you guys! (Well, okay, not quite. But they're in the top 5 [of domestic artists], anyway!)
And because I'm just that biased, this is Part 1 of 2:
The Singles
...well, the ones that also came with a video, anyway.
Kemopetrol never really managed to replicate the chart success of their breakthrough debut single, Child Is My Name: it hung around the singles chart for nine weeks, peaking at no. 6.
Although their singles over the years have often seen plenty of airplay, only two others (both early ones) actually charted, briefly and outside of the top 10. Instead their successes have lain with their albums: the first three have all gone gold, and even the more modestly performing most recent fourth one only missed the top ten of the album chart by a hair.
Their second album was the height of their success, building on the massive goodwill and critical kudos their debut album had generated. The lead single, Saw It on TV, was nonetheless their last single to chart:
Granted, it being the last may have something to do with the fact that follow-up Goodbye (embedding disabled) remained promo-only, because otherwise it was the one of the two that was all over the media. With reason! (Nb do check out the video, it is v. cool!)
Their third album was where their popularity started to wane; its stay in the album chart was only half of the previous albums', and although the lead single My Superstar (more disabled embedding) apparently did very well on Nordic MTV and was decently popular elsewhere as well, this never translated into any kind of official chart success. There was no follow-up single, not even as promo-only.
Their last album saw them finally fully embrace the flirtations with synth that had always been present in their work: the lead single Planet was a full-on 80s-flavoured synthpop anthem. Alas this did nothing to reverse their fall from the spotlight, and the album's tenure in the album chart was an all-time low, at only three weeks.
I have some hopes that the last promo single, massive totally-made-my-top-25-of-the-year Overweight & Underage, might have restored some of their old goodwill in anticipation of the next album, but this is probably just me engaging in some seriously hardcore wishful thinking. The gang are also currently making a go at the international market: we shall see how they fare there!
---
SIDEBAR:
Lead singer Laura Närhi has occasionally had other things going on on the side -- most famously this trip-hoppy track from the soundtrack of 2002 film Kuutamolla:
And most recently a guest spot on Accu single Out of the Blue:
---
Hopefully tomorrow, locked pt 2, in which I really let the bias run wild. :D
And because I'm just that biased, this is Part 1 of 2:
The Singles
...well, the ones that also came with a video, anyway.
Kemopetrol never really managed to replicate the chart success of their breakthrough debut single, Child Is My Name: it hung around the singles chart for nine weeks, peaking at no. 6.
Although their singles over the years have often seen plenty of airplay, only two others (both early ones) actually charted, briefly and outside of the top 10. Instead their successes have lain with their albums: the first three have all gone gold, and even the more modestly performing most recent fourth one only missed the top ten of the album chart by a hair.
Their second album was the height of their success, building on the massive goodwill and critical kudos their debut album had generated. The lead single, Saw It on TV, was nonetheless their last single to chart:
Granted, it being the last may have something to do with the fact that follow-up Goodbye (embedding disabled) remained promo-only, because otherwise it was the one of the two that was all over the media. With reason! (Nb do check out the video, it is v. cool!)
Their third album was where their popularity started to wane; its stay in the album chart was only half of the previous albums', and although the lead single My Superstar (more disabled embedding) apparently did very well on Nordic MTV and was decently popular elsewhere as well, this never translated into any kind of official chart success. There was no follow-up single, not even as promo-only.
Their last album saw them finally fully embrace the flirtations with synth that had always been present in their work: the lead single Planet was a full-on 80s-flavoured synthpop anthem. Alas this did nothing to reverse their fall from the spotlight, and the album's tenure in the album chart was an all-time low, at only three weeks.
I have some hopes that the last promo single, massive totally-made-my-top-25-of-the-year Overweight & Underage, might have restored some of their old goodwill in anticipation of the next album, but this is probably just me engaging in some seriously hardcore wishful thinking. The gang are also currently making a go at the international market: we shall see how they fare there!
---
SIDEBAR:
Lead singer Laura Närhi has occasionally had other things going on on the side -- most famously this trip-hoppy track from the soundtrack of 2002 film Kuutamolla:
And most recently a guest spot on Accu single Out of the Blue:
---
Hopefully tomorrow, locked pt 2, in which I really let the bias run wild. :D
no subject
Date: 2008-04-10 05:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-11 04:40 pm (UTC)Re: the wld make a great trip hopper -- there'a a guest spot track that's going in the second part that may well support this theory! Hee.