Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Over the years I have already presented nine albums that have shaped my music taste including ones from Alice, Cyndi Lauper, Mango, Pet Shop Boys, Kate Bush, Madonna, Diana Ross, Jean-Jacques Goldman and Craig David. Time to dust the series! One of the most remarkable ones is no doubt Franco Battiato and his Fisiognomica . This was a #1 album selling over 300.000 within the first  two months of release..... The album, his 15th studio album, came out in 1988 following post-Eurovision pop album Mondi lontanissimi that I already loved, and two operas he had composed and this album has also hints of them as most songs were written the operas in mind but turned out too pop for them, as he has told. Battiato's love for the Arabic music is also present and he even sings in Arabic in Zai saman and in Sicilian in Veni l'autunnu. Included is also Juri Camisasca's (who I adore) Nomani , originally written for late Giuni Russo (who I love), but then recorded by my favorite fe...

It's time to dust this series. And we start with Craig David's 2000 release Born to do it . This album was a bit of a revolution for me. I hardly knew what 2-step garage was and didn't care for that so much, but the album's r'n'b, electrobeat and simply great melodies conquered me. I loved his voice, the sound and the arrangements and the album delivered hit after hit in the charts. Craig was still in his teens when this his debut was released and he wrote these songs. Before he had already hit the #2 with Artful Dodger and Re-Rewind (The crowd say Bo Selecta) and #6 with Woman trouble . His first solo singles Fill me in and 7 Days went to #1, Walking away #3 and  Rendez vous  #8. The album was re-released in the US including also fabulous Key to your heart .  The album sold over 8 million worldwide (over 1,8 million in the UK alone), making it one of the best selling r'n'b albums by an UK artist. It also debuted at #1 in the UK charts becoming...