HELP! Three Electropop Divas Simultaneously Announce Fall Tours; Anxiety Level = High

Two festivals in, one would think that I’d be more adept at handling my concert conflicts with grace and dignity. NOPE. Three of my ultimate favorites in the genre of electropop—Jess Glynne, Marina & The Diamonds and Tove Lo—announced headlining Fall Tours this week and I find myself in a pickle (not even thinking about the fact that tickets for Mikky Ekko, Lianne La Havas, and Joywave ALSO go on sale at the SAME TIME). While the tour dates themselves do not conflict (THANK GOD, COULD YOU IMAGINE?), tickets go on sale at precisely the same day and time (Friday, June 26th–NOON) and, given my tempestuous history with Ticketmaster, I KNOW each show will sell out in under 1 minute (hence my dilemma). What do I do?

Now I’ve pretty much decided that, come this Friday, Jess Glynne will be my first choice as far as tickets go. I’ve been waiting for the chance to see this smokey-voiced siren live since “Rather Be” first started blowing up across the pond. When I heard she played an intimate (INDUSTRY-ONLY) set at The Box I knew that a U.S. break was imminent, so it was only a matter of time before a full-fledged U.S. tour was announced. And whataya know! We got one!The 25 year-old Glynne kicks off her FIRST headlining North American tour on September 14th in Washington D.C.—just 3 days after dropping her debut album, I Cry When I Laugh (September 11th / Atlantic Records). For a list of tour dates, check out the official website.

To call Jess Glynne‘s solo debut “eagerly anticipated” would be the understatement of the year, to be honest. Featuring the worldwide SMASH “Hold My Hand” (which debuted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for 3 consecutive weeks) I Cry When I Laugh was produced by Starsmith (Ellie Goulding, Kylie Minogue, Betty Who) and Steve Mac (Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Ella Henderson) and includes collaborations with Gorgon City, Clean Bandit and UK singer/songwriter Emeli Sandé. Sounds very promising.

After the STRATOSPHERIC-level of success she has had with “Rather Be” (a Grammy Award-winner for “Best Dance Recording,” not to mention a Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten) and with “Hold My Hand” already hitting Top 20 on Billboard‘s Dance/Electronic Charts, I think it’s safe to assume that Jess Glynne is going to be a household name in T-MINUS…ASAP. This is partially why, Jess Glynne is at the top of my “MUST-SEE-LIVE” list for 2015. Check out the Emil Nava-directed clip for “Hold My Hand” below. And for a completely different vibe, check out Glynne singing a brand new album track, “Ain’t Got Far To Go” acoustically which premiered earlier this week on The Fader. Download “Hold My Hand” (iTunes) now.

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Next up—Swedish electropop darling Tove Lo. Tickets for her  upcoming “Queen Of The Clouds Tour,” which kicks off September 28th in San Diego, go on sale Friday (also at NOON). As an added bonus, fellow Swede and Music Is My King Size Bed FAV Erik Hassle will be opening for Tove this tour so you KNOW I need to be there. For the full list of tour dates and to snag tickets for yourself, check out the official website. The 27 year-old singer/songwriter continues to promote her stunningly synthfull pop debut, Queen Of The Clouds which dropped September 30th of LAST YEAR. Featuring the singles “Habits (Stay High),” “Not On Drugs,” “Talking Body” and her latest, “Timebomb” the album is flawless from start to finish (AKA – NO FILLER). Believe me when I tell you, Queen Of The Clouds might be my favorite album of 2014.

Tove Lo is one of those artists I SHOULD have been up on at the beginning of her career because now, even just one album in, she’s IMPOSSIBLE to see live. I nearly had a ticket to see her perform at Manhattan’s Highline Ballroom, but foolishly hit backspace to try and snag a SECOND ticket and in a POOF of glitter and gold dust they were gone. SOLD OUT in under a minute.  Now, when I say Tove is “IMPOSSIBLE” to see I don’t mean that literally of course. I just mean, if you’re of a certain age like me (*ahem* over 30 *ahem*) you’re likely OVER dealing with the obnoxious, young, aggressive fangirls with selfie sticks that her shows now attract. That being said, I am HELL BENT on seeing her live at least once, and my guess is this is her last tour with this album so now is my chance.

Earlier this week, Tove Lo premiered the gorgeous Emil Nava-directed video for latest single, “Timebomb” (which you can catch below). The video features couples of all ages, races and sexual orientations, beautifully set against a peaceful and serene oceanscape. The clip showcases the emotional highs and lows experienced within each relationship, in turn tugging heartstrings left, right and upside down for all those watching. In addition to the video itself, Tove created a campaign website (www.weareatimebomb.com) specifically for the “Timebomb” video, inspired by the 2009 Chatroulette phenomena, where fans can watch the video with a complete stranger. The singer has been surprising fans sporadically by playing along herself, watching the video and posting the SQUEE–FILLED results online.

In case you haven’t already, pick up Queen Of The Clouds (iTunes) out now via Island Records. Tune in to Conan July 1st where Tove Lo will be performing “Talking Body” live.

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Check Out Tove Lo Online

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Last, but CERTAINLY not least—synthpop’s very own Carmen Miranda—Marina Diamandis (AKA Marina and The Diamonds). The 29 year-old Welsh singer/songwriter announced the next leg of her latest live endeavor, the “NEON NATURE TOUR,” which commences October 12th at Houston’s House Of Blues and concludes November 9th at Terminal 5 in New York City. While tickets to the general populus don’t go on sale until this Friday (yep AT NOON *grumble-grumble*) a special fan pre-sale begins today, followed by credit card pre-sales on Thursday. The tour is in support of Marina’s third studio album, FROOT out now via Neon Gold / Elektra. For complete details and ticket info, check out her official website.

FROOT—released back in March—debuted at an impressive No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Diamandis’ highest charting album here in America (2012’s Electra Heart peaked at No. 31) and top overall sales week to date. Rather than mixing and matching producers and songwriters, FROOT was written entirely by Diamandis herself and produced by David Kosten (Bat For Lashes, Everything Everything). To date, the album has produced four singles (each of them STUNNING) including lead single and title track, “FROOT,” “Happy,” “I’m A Ruin,” and “Forget.” Check out the video for my favorite of the bunch, “I’m A Ruin” below.

A photo posted by Marina and The Diamonds (@marinagrams) on Jun 23, 2015 at 11:04am PDT

While I only just saw Marina and The Diamonds (for the FIRST time) at Governors Ball I need more. I was left utterly captivated by her performance, and based on the reviews, it looks like I wasn’t alone! Of her GovBall performance, Rolling Stone declared her set the festival’s “Best Sing-Along” and one of “The 25 Best Things We Saw At Governors Ball.” SPIN continued the love fest in their own “Governors Ball 2015: The 15 Best Things We Saw,” asserting that “few performers all weekend had crowds dancing as furiously as Marina Diamandis.” Marina has been a busy girl this year, playing headlining shows and festivals all over the world, kicking things off at this year’s Coachella Festival before hitting up Boston Calling, Columbia (Maryland)’s Sweetlife and Toronto’s Field Trip.  Up next she has some European festivals to play before returning to North America for Montreal’s Osheaga Festival (July 31st) and Lollapalooza in Chicago (August 2nd). Needless to say, once is NOT enough when it comes to seeing Marina and The Diamonds live. Friday is going to be a tough one. I’m going to need all the luck I can get.

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