On My Turntables for LGBT Pride 2015

It's Pride Month with NYC's Pride Day coming up a week from Sunday. Here are the latest promo remixes to come across my desk:

Ricky Martin's back, but with Pitbull. I think I could do without the rapper but I think that's the market the song is geared toward. I have to say this is a huge disappointment after 2011's "Freak of Nature (Mas)." In fact, I found this whole thing a cacophony and very annoying.

Carlos Gallardo's remix does rise above the deep-house murkiness of most of the efforts I listened to; something more on the hi-nrg side. I don't think most gay dance-music fans will embrace this mess, though.

Britney Spears and Iggy Izalea's "Pretty Girls" is another hot mess and remixers can only do so much for it. I actually cringed. No re-working can make these pretty girls perky. Pity since Britney has been a roll lately. This song was like listening to a car crash.

Ralphi Rosario's "Forever" is more to my taste out of this bum --not bumper -- crop of club music. His original mix is definitely geared toward big-rooms, and femme vocalist Frankie's voice soars in true diva fashion. Those vocals are upfront in the Majik Boys mix before it crescendos into a well-done nu-NRG mix. Best for money, however, is the upbeat Twisted Dee remix bound to motivate you to join the dance floor and move your money-maker.

Holly Johnson, of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, returns in top voice with remixes from the UK album. Europa. Phil Harding gives the beautiful "In and Out of Love" a classic, hands-in-the air flare that is perfect for Pride, as is Richard Cutmore's remix of Holly's "Heaven's Eyes."

See you at the march and at the clubs!

Billboard Dance Chart's Poor Show for Pride

Sadly, so little to enthuse and inspire us this Gay Pride Month on the week's Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart.

Daft Punk with Pharell Williams drop to 4th place this week after holding on to the #1 spot with the disco-funky "Get Lucky."

Tony Moran and Deborah Cooper's "Heartbeat" temporarily hit a wall, stalled at #6. But Abigail's "Surrender" soars from 12th place to #9, which is very good news for lovers of quality, melodic dance music. This is the real deal!

And, finally, the fantastic Chaka Khan is back with a brand new hit on the Billboard Dance chart, sharply rising from last week's 28th place, up 7 spots to #21. Again, Ralphi Rosario's remix is tops.

Get out and dance on your Pride Day, wherever you are. Maybe you've already done so and, in that case, I hope you had a great time. Let me know what really brought you up to boogie on the floor, everyone! Don't be shy to comment on this blog!

And thank you Italy, Australia, Ukraine, Ghana, Ukraine, Philippines for your increased viewership over this past week. Happy LGBT Pride to all! Madison, if you're reading this, check my reply on your blog comment.

Peace, love and disco! Over and out.

Buddy B's Dish on the Latest Dance, Disco and Diva Tunes in Time for Pride

Believe me, nobody's going to accuse the latest Tony Moran/Deborah Cooper dance song, "Heartbeat," of being verbose. And its minimalist lyrics are not all that's indicative of the laziness inherent in modern house music; it has virtually no melody and relies too heavily on its calculated and clumsy beat. This producer and singer are capable of so much better, together and individually; we know because they've done so in the past. And this Heartbeat is half-heartedly cynical, released during international Pride month and hoping to exploit the credentials of its talents to a target audience. It is #6 on the Billboard dance chart, and got there in eight weeks. I think that's a sad statement about the current dance-music scene and the power of payola.

Yet, there is hope! The disco-funky "Get Lucky," by Daft Punk featuring vocals by Pharrell, hangs onto the #1 Billboard club/dance position, which is a very promising sign. In the #12 spot: the return of the simply sublime Abigail, the UK's brilliant hiNRG songbird, here in a kind of trancey, dreamy mode. The Bouvier & Barona-produced number is called "Surrender" and I believe you'll surrender to it if you give it a listen at the YouTube link below.

Canada's groovy diva, Annie, returns with a catchy dance tune, "Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts." Another biggie on Dj Buddy Beaverhausen's current play list. I love the FNM remix especially. Also rather beautiful is a promo I received for the song "Disco Compilation," a well-produced number with a virtual wall of sound surrounding songstress Serafina Steer's strong vocals. I highly recommend it and will be spinning it, especially the Jarvis Cocker remix.

I also received a dance remix of Agnetha Faltskog, essentially a bootleg remix, from her new album, A. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/05/agnetha-faltskogs-a.html  The song is, surprisingly, "When You Love Someone," a mild ballad on the album, but it works in this "Alias" mix as what could be a club floor filler.

Finally, there are no words to describe how fierce the Ralphi Rosario remix rework of Chaka Khan's new "It's Not Over" is! It will positively lift you to the disco floor. 

Love, peace and disco! And welcome, to the island Mauritius, to my blog!

Gay Pride Anthem 2013?

With Memorial Day weekend nigh, Gay Pride events will be launched, lasting through the month of June. And what will the club anthems be on the floats, decks and dancefloors this year? Who will our Pride 2013 divas be?

Christina Aguilera's strong pipes send "Let There Be Love" up the charts. It is #2 on Billboard's Dance/Club and looks bound for #1 next week despite its less-than-memorable melody.  The very same criticism can be said about dance mixes of Kelly Clarkson's club charter, "People Like Us." The tune is meant to be anthemic, yet all that really registers is its hook. There is something cold and robotic about this "anthem," too. Kelly's vocals are strong but punched across without much genuine feeling; a technical exercise.

Sometimes, it's all in the remix. Chris Cox works wonders with Kat Deluna's "Stars," letting the young diva's vocals skim above the haunting electronica that's sure to draw you to the dancefloor. The disco-influenced Jump Smokers remix of Rod Stewart's "Sexual Religion" also brings that '70s "diva" back to the limelight. Nice work, Jump Smokers! And people, do you want Rod's body? Still?

Celebrating 40 amazing years in the industry, Chaka Khan has a new release to drop just in time for Pride. And her new body's looking very sexy, indeed. "It's Not Over" is a well-written, soulful tune with a powerful hook that is bound to chart and make you want to move onto the dancefloor. Ralphi Rosario's remix is distinctly the cream of the crop. And, yes, when Chaka socks it to you, it's from the gut.

But the true club divas rule. Ultra Nate's latest tune, "Everybody Loves the Night" is a dancefloor-designed beauty produced and mixed by Brinsley Evans, RedTop, Bill Coleman and Count DeMoney with back-up vocals by Inaya Day, joe DNA, Lisa Molina, & Toni Seawright. Irresistible!

Inaya Day has her own new club song out, done with Dj Escape, "Make Some Noise!" And she does make noise. Beautifully. These are the divas who may dominate this year's Pride around the world. Check them out. And download. MP3s available from Amazon.com.

It's time to party!

Billboard Blab and Promo Winners

Toni Toni Toni!

Let's talk highlights of the Top 25 Billboard Dance Chart ending the week of June 16, shall we?

While poppy little boppers One Direction took over the top nook with "What Makes You Beautiful," Rihanna sinks like yesterday's beleaguered Battleship to 4th place while Toni Braxton's "I Heart You," however, nicely keeps up its momentum, going from #6 to #3, hopefully on its way to #1, where it deserves to be.

"Dance Again," also once #1, stays put at 8th place, a hit for sure with eight weeks on the chart so far. If I were into numerology, I'd give Missy JLo a head's up about the number 8. Behind it, "Menergy," the Ralphi Rosario remake featuring Shawn Christopher, leaps from 15th place to 9th. Pumping menergy for sure! Many a dj likes Eva Simmons' "I Don't Like You," now in the 10th spot. I don't like her (or it).

Canada's Carly Rae Jepson is at lucky number 13 this week with "Call Me Maybe," babies.  But Katherine McPhee's "Smash" hit, "Touch Me" steams its way up the Dance chart from #24 to #13! Can't touch her, she's smoking hot!

Ok, I didn't need a deadline for my "NYC Pride Anthems 2012" promos (my oversight not to establish one) because I received three correct answers shortly after I announced the totally free giveaways.  The promo-only cd-r's mail out Monday to:

AJ, USA
David, USA
Lucho, Brazil

Congratulations winners & thanks to all who participated!

And Happy Gay Pride to everyone on the planet, damn it!

Buddy B Eyes the Billboard Dance/Club Chart

Can it truly be the very end of May already? I am eyeing the Billboard Dance/Club chart ending June 9 and feel like I'm being swept through time like a blossom on a summer breeze.

And, more like a heat-seeking missile through the hot summer's air of Cape Canaveral, Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" hits #1 on this week's Billboard, where it seemed bound by its swift trajectory up the Dance/Club chart over the past 16 weeks. Jennifer Lopez further tumbles from that perch, to #5, but still making us want to "Dance Again." At sixth place, Toni Braxton's "I Heart You" catapults from 12th, all in only six weeks. Good show, Toni, you're back!

Last week's #1 dance tune was "Brokenhearted" by Karmin, which now finds itself at 11, a rather precipitous fall. Ralphi Rosario's new version of Patrick Cowley's "Menergy," featuring the vocals of Shawn Christopher, is lifted to the 15th spot from #17 last week. I guarantee you'll be hearing this at Gay Pride festivities everywhere in the upcoming months, and it is included on my brand-new "PRIDE: NYC Anthems 2012" promo cd. Competition to win a free copy to come soon, details on this blog. (NYC's original Pride march and celebration are on Sunday, July 24, incidentally.)

And, in its second week on the chart, another track on my promo-only Pride cd makes it into the top 25. Katharine McPhee's "Touch Me," from the NBC-tv series Smash (Buddy B's favorite new series), is already a smash by leaping from 36th place (now #24) after being on the the chart a mere two weeks. (Remix also featured on my Pride promo.) (Note: my cds are for promotional use only & not for sale. Winners of my competition receive cds and postage free of charge.)

Hear Ralphi's Space Disco Club Mix 2012 on this YouTube link below, where you can download the song:

Billboard USA's Club Chart, December 8, 2011

Beyonce's "Countdown" stalled, in this week's Billboard dance countdown, in the #2 position as Enrique Iglesias, featuring Pitbull & the WAVs, snatches the numero uno spot away from her ascendency to the top of the heap. Anjulie's "Brand New Bitch" is up at 3 followed by "Buy My Love" by the always-of-interest vocalist, Wynter Gordon, at 4.

The rest of this week's Billboard Top 25 Dance/Club Songs chart shows promise. Traci Lords scores a new hit as she makes rapid progress in six weeks of release with "Last Drag." This is not the first time at the rodeo for the ex-underage-porn star (hey, ya gotta start somewhere). In 1995, she scored big on the music scene with the house-music track, "Fallen Angel," which went to #2 on Billboard that year. Well, praise the Lords, she's back at it with a fresh new number to have us all in a twirl!

Right behind her is recent club fave Erika Jayne with "Party People." Ms Jayne has a number of hits under her garder belt, most notably "Rollercoaster" and (my fave) "Pretty Mess." Check her out online at www.erikajayne.com.

"Give," by LeAnn Rimes, reaches #17. Favorite mix for this one? The Almighty remix, of course. "Whenever," by Zarkana, is on my latest cd-r dj club promo ("Fagtastic Too"). Zarkana is a show by Cirque du Soleil, from which this is based, and it features both male and female vocals in a driving house production that'll make you shake your money-makers. You'll want the extended Ralphi Rosario remix, trust me. The song broke into the Top 25 at 22, jumping from 27 last week.

Laura LaRue, so entertaining around Pride time with "San Francisco Is My Disco," returns with the new "Un Deux Trois" (#23) and the fabulous Rosabel with Tamara Wallace round out the chart at #25 with "Let Me Be Myself" (hey, didn't Leslie Gore sing that line?), up all the way from 37 last week. So check out these artists and support them by legally downloading the songs that make you move.

Till next my chart chat, enjoy the music, come together. Love, peace, happiness, out!