Category Archives: Music

The Friday Five: Timeless Summer Jams

Every year, it seems one song and one alone must be anointed the “Song of the Summer.”  While this year’s SOS is still under debate (we’ve already shared our picks!), we prefer those songs you can play year after year that will instantly transport you to summer.

1.  LFO – “Summer Girls”
This was a huge hit for the Lyte Funky Ones in the summer of ’99.  The lyrics made no sense, but that’s part of the beauty of this song and it’s educational pop cultural references. (Macauley Culkin was in “Home Alone.”)  We wonder how many guys have tried the line “you look like a girl from Abercrombie & Fitch.”

2. New Kids On the Block – “Summertime”
Jones Beach 1998.  Come on! New Kids on the Block have a bunch of hits, like their first official single after their reunion 2008!  This was one of the most exciting things to have ever happened in fan girl history.

3. Aaron Carter featuring Baha Men – “Summertime”
Nothing screams summer like AC and the Baha Men hangin’ with the honeys and enjoying the sun. 

4. Selena Gomez – “Summer’s Not Hot”
The temperature says 99 and it can get much hotter so come on over Romeo and Vamos a la playa!

5. Jessie James – “Boys In The Summer”
Because we totally agree, boys DO look so much hotter in the summer.  The video for this is everything summer should be – swimming in a lake with your friends and driving around in an open top jeep singing at the top of your lungs.

Hunter Hayes To Perform on The Today Show August 22nd!

We are so excited that Hunter Hayes will be back in NYC in August! Hunter was just added to the lineup for the Today Show Toyota Summer Concert Series on August 22nd.  Make sure you tune in at 8AM to watch, or if you’re in NYC head to Rockefeller Plaza (early!) to catch the concert!

Not in NYC?  Hunter wants to give you a chance to come to the show, too!  You can enter to win the ultimate summer concert experience:  a trip to New York to meet Hunter and catch his Today Show performance in person!  All proceeds from the contest will go to the Grammy Foundation, to support music education, and you can get rewards like a signed lyric sheet or campaign t-shirt.   Watch Hunter’s contest announcement below!

Visit Prizeo to learn more – you can enter until August 6th!

If you’re not an early riser, you can also see Hunter Hayes in NYC at the US Open Arthur Ashe Kids Day on August 23rd with The Vamps!   (Or you can go to both.  We are.)

Be sure to follow Hunter Hayes & Secret Fangirls on Twitter for more updates!

Artist To Watch: Derik Fein

It’s still early in Derik Fein‘s journey into the pop music world and he’s already crushing it!  The Miami, FL native recently performed on NBC,  has a loyal following of over 260,000 “Feiners” on Twitter, and his newest single “Funeral of Hearts” has been enjoying some serious success lately.  Derik blends some unique influences creating incredibly catchy Jason Mraz meets Adam Levine pop music.  The acoustic guitar driven “Funeral Of Hearts” showcases Derik’s guitar work and ability to craft an unforgettable song.  We found ourselves singing along by the end!

Watch the official video for “Funeral of Hearts” below.

You can catch Derik on tour this summer, check out the dates below!  Pickup a copy of “Funeral of Hearts” on iTunes now!

Derik Fein Summer 2014 Tour Dates
July 19th – Bamboo Gardens – Vincentown, NJ – Buy Tickets
July 20th – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – Buy Tickets
Aug 1st – Six Flags Great Adventure – Jackson, NJ – Buy Tickets
Aug 2nd – Inferno Limits – Newark, NJ – Buy Tickets

Be sure to follow Derik Fein & Secret Fangirls on Twitter for more updates!

Jason Mraz Announces Yes! NYC: The Five Boroughs Tour

Jason Mraz released his brand new album, “YES!” on Tuesday and this September, Jason Mraz is taking his friends in Raining Jane across all five NYC boroughs in a week. That’s right, they’re playing six shows across the five boroughs in one week!  Only two other artists have done this before and Jason is saying YES to making history.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, July 21st at 10AM EST, and fanclub presales start today!  Check out YesTourNYC.com for additional tour & fan presale information. Grab your tickets now because this is not something you want to miss!

Jason Mraz YES! NYC: The Five Boroughs Tour Dates
Sept 17th – Walt Whitman Theater @ Brooklyn College – Brooklyn – Buy Tickets
Sept 18th – Lehman Center for the Performing Arts (CUNY) – Bronx – Buy Tickets
Sept 19th – Colden Auditorium @ Queens College – Queens – Buy Tickets
Sept 20th – St. George Theater – Staten Island – Buy Tickets
Sept 22nd – Radio City Music Hall – Manhattan – Buy Tickets
Sept 23rd – Radio City Music Hall – Manhattan – Buy Tickets

Or, you can grab The Five Boroughs Golden Ticket which gets you into each concert, as well as seat in the first 20 rows of each show.  Get yours HERE while you still can!

Be sure to pick up a copy of Jason Mraz’s brand new album “YES!”  on iTunes now!  Watch the video for his latest single “Hello You Beautiful Thing” below.

Follow Jason Mraz and Secret Fangirls on Twitter for the latest updates!

Hunter Hayes, The Vamps & MKTO To Perform at US Open Arthur Ashe Kids Day!

The only we thing we love more than music is tennis.  Our favorite summer tradition is the US Open, which takes place in NYC for a glorious 2 weeks at the end of August.  After spending months cheering for our favorite players on TV, we can’t wait to finally get up close to the action.  

Lucky for us, the US Open kicks off with an amazing event that combines both tennis and music:  Arthur Ashe Kids Day!  It’s one of our favorite events of the year, as they always do an outstanding job booking exciting young artists.  The event also raises money for charity, in the spirit of event namesake Arthur Ashe, as professional players and amateur youngsters from around the country compete in fun challenges to benefit various foundations. There are 2 stages at the event:  The main show in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which requires a ticket, and the Hess Express Stage on the grounds of the USTA, which is free and open to the public.

Musicians (Arthur Ashe Stadium): Ticket Required
Hunter Hayes
The Vamps
MKTO
Madison Beer
McClain
Shawn Mendes ***

Players (Arthur Ashe Stadium Stadium): Ticket Required
Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal

Musicians (Hess Express Stage): Free Entry!
Kalin & Myles
The Bomb Digz

***Shawn Mendes was moved from the Hess Express Stage to the Main Stadium — you’ll need a ticket to see him perform, tickets start at $10.

Arthur Ashe Kids Day 2014
Saturday, August 23rd
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY

Gates at 9:30am; stadium show begins at 1:00pm
Buy Tickets
Info on Grounds Admission

The grounds at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center are free and open to the public!  Activities around the grounds include exhibition matches, beat the pro challenges, face painting, tennis lessons and more!  If you’re lucky you just might catch your favorite player hitting the practice courts!  Rising artists are also featured on the Hess Express Stage.  Gates open at 9:30am.  Visit AAKD.com for more info!

Not in NYC?  You can watch AAKD on CBS Sunday, August 24th!

You never know what can happen at Arthur Ashe Kids Day .. check out Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance of “Call Me Maybe” from 2012, featuring Novak Djokovic!

Be sure to follow Arthur Ashe Kids Day & Secret Fangirls on Twitter for more updates!

5 Seconds Of Summer Release “Everything I Didn’t Say”

As the US release date fast approaches for 5 Seconds Of Summer’s highly anticipated debut album, more tracks are being released for pre-order downloads.  Now, when you pre-order the album on iTunes in the United States, you get “Everything I Didn’t Say” instantly!

Don’t forget to tune into the Today Show on July 22nd to see the Australian punk rockers perform live in the plaza.  If you didn’t get a fan pass, you can still show up to see them perform live! The earlier, the better.

Listen to the audio of “Everything I Didn’t Say now!

Pick up a copy of the “She Looks So Perfect” EP on iTunes and pre-order your copy of 5SOS’s debut album on iTunes now!

Be sure to follow 5 Seconds Of Summer and Secret Fangirls on Twitter.

AJR To Release Debut Album “Living Room” September 30th!

After months of anticipation, we finally have a confirmed release date for AJR‘s debut album!  “Living Room” will be released on September 30th by Warner Brothers Records & AJR Productions.   Why “Living Room?”  Brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met wrote, produced, mixed, and recorded the entire album from their living room in Chelsea.

The band shared the news on Twitter, so their fans would be the first to know.

We’re hoping it includes crowd favorites like “Alice By The Hudson,” “The Green and The Town,” and “Married On a Hill.”  And of course we can’t wait to hear some new tracks!

**UPDATE: “Living Room” has been pushed back to 2015, but AJR are releasing the “Infinity” EP in the meantime, out 9/23!  Check out a message from the guys below:

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AJR will also be performing on the Today show on July 29th!  Make sure you tune in at 10AM!

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The band has a few more surprises coming your way this week, so stay tuned for the latest updates, and be sure to follow AJR on Twitter & Facebook!  While you eagerly wait for September 30th, you can download the I’m Ready EP on iTunes now!

Nick and Knight Premiere “One More Time!”

This news still sounds almost too good to be true:  As we told you back in April, Nick Carter and Jordan Knight are teaming up for a joint album and tour this fall.  Nick & Knight just released the lead single from the album, which is due out September 2nd.   Listen to “One More Time” below!  And just remember that this is Nick Carter and Jordan Knight SINGING A DUET.

You can download “One More Time” on iTunes now! The album is also available for pre-order at NickandKnight.com.

Tickets to the tour are on sale now, and trust us, you don’t want to miss this one!  Based on our professional fangirl opinion, Nick and Jordan are the ones that consistently BRING IT each night on stage.   They add their own flair to the choreography, and aren’t afraid to get down and move it all around.  And we can’t wait to see what will happen on stage when they team up!

Be sure to follow Secret Fangirls & Nick and Knight on Twitter for more updates!

Austin Mahone Debuts New Track “Say My Name”

Austin Mahone surprised his fans by posting a previously unreleased song called “Say My Name” to his Twitter account yesterday.  Listen to the audio below!

Austin has been busy with rehearsals for his headlining tour, which kicks off on July 25th in San Antonio!  Check out all the dates here and pickup a copy of “The Secret” EP on iTunes now!

He also had a private show last week in NYC for some lucky fans at the P.C. Richard & Son / iHeartRadio Theater.  Watch his performance of “Next To You” below!

Be sure to follow Austin Mahone & Secret Fangirls on Twitter for more updates!

 

Rixton: The Broken Heart Tour

Full disclosure:  We used to think Rixton’s “Me and My Broken Heart” was a Maroon 5 song.  Until we got to the chorus and started singing  the words to “I don’t wanna be lonely no more” and then got confused when Rob Thomas wasn’t singing along with us.  But it’s exactly these influences that have made Rixton such a success in the US with their first single.  And the track was actually co-written by Rob Thomas, so don’t feel bad for them ripping off “Lonely No More.”  That hook was just so good the first time around, why not remix it?

Rixton are heading out on a major headlining US tour this summer!  They’ve already sold out dates in New York and Los Angeles (but don’t worry, they added additional shows in each city!)   Although the 4 lads in Rixton hail from the UK, you an actually get their EP on iTunes in America now!  UK fans won’t have to wait much longer – it’ll be released on July 13th on iTunes for you!  (Don’t we usually have the opposite problem here? ahem The Vamps…)

The guys just released a cover of “Problem” by Ariana Grande.  Check it out below!

Rixton’s The Broken Heart Tour Summer 2014 US Tour Dates

July 30th – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA – Buy Tickets
Aug 2nd – Irving Plaza – New York, NY – SOLD OUT
Aug 3rd – Irving Plaza – New York, NY – Buy Tickets

Aug 5th – Theatre Of The Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA – Buy Tickets
Aug 6th – The Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD – Buy Tickets
Aug 7th – Mod Club – Toronto, ON – Buy Tickets
Aug 11th – The Garage –  Burnsville, MN – Buy Tickets
Aug 13th – Ready Room – St. Louis, MO – Buy Tickets
Aug 15th – Gothic Theatre – Denver, CO – Buy Tickets
Aug 18th – The Rio Theatre – Vancouver, Canada – Buy Tickets
Aug 19th – The Crocodile – Seattle, WA – Buy Tickets
Aug 21st – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA – Buy Tickets
Aug 23rd – El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – SOLD OUT
Aug 24th – El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA – Buy Tickets

 
Be sure to follow Rixton & Secret Fangirls on Twitter for more updates!