Music Video: Cro - Einmal um die Welt

One of the reasons I have always loved doing this blog, albeit in fits and starts, is because there are some awesome tunes out there that simply never cross over into the English speaking world.  Last fall, "raop" (a self-named cross between rap and pop) star Cro hit it very big in the German speaking world, with his second album "Raop" hitting Number 1 in the German and Austrian charts and Number 7 in the Swiss charts.  Yet here in America. . . nothing. 

Well, that's why I'm here.  Today I bring you one of Cro's big hits from this mega-hit album, Einmal um die Welt.  This song perfectly puts on display exactly what Cro means by raop.  It has the lyrical drive and density of rap, while having an uptempo beat that makes it hard to sit still.  Having had the chance to listen to Cro's other music, this theme carries through well, and makes him an artist worth following moving forward.

Music Video: Locas in Love - An den falschen Orten

I will admit to having an affinity for bands with female bassists.  I don't know why that is, and I certainly don't know why I am telling the world this, other than to use it as an eye-catching way to introduce Köln, Germany's band Locas in Love.  Fortunately, Locas in Love is more than just a band with a female bassist.  For over 10 years, they have been successfully producing insidiously catchy pop tunes, like their most recent single, An den falschen Orten.

As usual, non-English language pop gets little play outside of whatever country it comes from.  If there was any justice, though, Locas in Love would have a solid underground following in the U.S. or the U.K.