Around the World, UK - Wales

We're leaving behind Scotland and heading to Wales; home of Tom Jones and Catherine Zeta Jones and... and... and...


So they've got that funny Cymraeg language (aka Welsh) going for them too. Let's just meet the team, shall we?

TEAM WALES

Male Artist - Tom Jones

What's new pussycat? It's not unusual to choose Tom Jones, is it? Some say he's a sex bomb. I say... he's the only Welsh male singer that I could think of.

Female Artist - Duffy

Duffy vs Adele vs KT Tunstall is a pretty epic UK lady showdown.

Group - Stereophonics

I'd pick Marina & The Diamonds... but she's not even a real band. It's like Florence + The Machine, it's all  a lie. They just didn't want to perform as Marina Diamandis and Florence Welch. Anyway, Stereophonics will do.

Around The World, UK - Scotland

The lovely Miss KT Tunstall...

Yesterday we met Team England and now it's time to go up north, enjoy the freezing cold, find the Loch Ness monster, wear a kilt, avoid local cuisine, drink some Irn Bru, struggle to understand people, make fun of English people (if you want to not get punched, glassed or potentially Glasgow smiled) and drink to the point of vomiting. We may even have time to check out some sweet, sweet Scottish music. Maybe.

TEAM SCOTLAND

Male Artist - Paolo Nutini

I'd love to pick Malcolm Middleton, but Paolo Nutini's much more likely to put on a show. Then again, we could always put Calvin Harris in. That could be interesting.

 

Female Artist - KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall needs a bit of a kick to revitalise her lagging career, and what a kick this would be. Performing in front of the world, representing Scotland.

Group - Franz Ferdinand

You'd prefer The Fratellis? I'm just kidding... they're alright. But no Scottish band can match the coolness levels that Alex Kapranos & Co. bring to the stage.

England and Scotland down, next stop... Wales! We're heading into Tom Jones country... ... ... ... be afraid. 

Around the World, UK - England

When last we met on our amazing musical adventure we were in South Africa... wasn't that magical? Moving right along, we're heading to one of the hottest spots for forward thinking musicians who are releasing some of the best music today (and throughout history... I guess). Where are we going? Well you should already know, it's in the post title. Do try to keep up. Yes, we're going to the UK! With all the talent in the UK, it seems right to do this by country, so today we'll look at England before heading to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. So who's going to be representing England? Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Girls Aloud? Um... no! Maybe next year? No! Ok, let's meet the contestants!

TEAM ENGLAND

Male Artist - Dizzee Rascal

If you can remember, Jay-Z is representing the USA... who better to take him on than Dizzee?

Female Artist - Adele

Because Winehouse is too unpredictable. You know it and I know it.

Group - Kasabian

Loved in the UK, relatively unknown in the Americas... this could be Kasabian's chance to make it big. They deserve it.

Around the World - South Africa

South Africa has had quite the year. The eyes of the world (that care about soccer - yeah, I said soccer) turned towards it for the FIFA World Cup. Shakira had you, not me, singing for Africa... this time. And some crazy, alternative hip-hop group named Die Antwoord had the music industry buzzing about South African talent. So, who could represent South Africa in music's World Cup? Let's take a look...

Around the World - Mexico

It's been quite some time since I've featured a country in Around the World. What, with all the 80s-ness and Halloween playlists, it's easy to forget the semi-regular features I've used in the past (eg. the Don't You Forget About Me feature... don't expect to see one of those anytime soon). But, at least for now we're back on the road, or more accurately in the air, to go to Mexico City, Mexico! Mexico... MEXICO!! Grab some burritos, a jug of sangria and enjoy the show...

TEAM MEXICO

Male Artist - Frankie J

Female Artist - Paulina Rubio

Group - Mana

Because while Carlos Santana is Mexican, not everyone in Santana the band is.

Around the World - Italy

Yeah, I forgot I was doing the whole music around the world thing. Luckily for you, I remembered (you scream, "Yay!"). If you've forgotten what's going on here, we're visiting a different country or two each edition and meeting a local male artist, female artist and group that will represent their country in the biggest imaginary music battle of all time. When you're done reading this, look for the tag down the bottom that says Around the World and you can meet the teams from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and the USA! Alright, are you ready to meet Team Italy?

TEAM ITALY

Male Artist - Andrea Bocelli

He'll be challenging Canada's Michael Buble for the love of mother's throughout the world. He's got one of the best male voices and can hit high notes most male singers can only dream of hitting without being castrated. Expect him to sing 'Ave Maria' or something else a) religious and b) in Italian to win some extra votes.

Female Artist - Laura Pausini

Great voice, great look and ability to sing in English. Laura Pausini is Italy's premier solo female artist and the exposure from an event like this could send her straight into music charts in the west, and music repertoires of over-dramatic young female singers.

Group - Lacuna Coil

Adding Lacuna Coil will ensure Italy offers a diverse mix of artists. A classical singer, a modern singer-songwriter and a cooler than cool rock band. If you haven't heard of Lacuna Coil, they're like Evanescence without the commercial popularity and constantly rotating roster of band members. Female vocalist Cristina Scabbia is also smoking hot.

Another country down and three new acts introduced. Italy looks like a potential threat to take the imaginary prize but we're not done yet. See you next time... who know where in the world we'll end up!

Around the World: United States of America

We've been all over the (developed) world over the last couple of weeks. We've been flying from as far away as Australia to most recently Denmark, meeting the teams that will be representing each country at the biggest (imaginary) music battle of them all. Now, we've landed in the country that will arguably be frontrunners to win. America. Home of the brave, land of the free... and all that jazz. I loves me some USA and all the good things it has blessed my daily life with. McDonald's and KFC. Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Baywatch, Grey's Anatomy, Glee, Buffy the Vampire Slayer... if I list all the American TV shows I love we'll be here for quite some time. There's also the people. I love Americans, so don't be haters y'all. All this and we haven't even touched on why we're here; American music. With such a huge array of stars, you just know that America will be putting some big names forward to compete with the rest of the world. That's who I'll be introducing you to very shortly; one male artist, one female artist and one group. Make yourselves comfortable in one of the finest American lay-z-boy chairs, help yourselves to the soda pop, chilli dogs and donuts and enjoy the show.

Male Artist - Jay-Z

If anyone's to choose a rap artist, it's going to be America. And who better to represent them than Jay-Z? Sure you could go with Eminem, but he's not as classy or likeable as Mr Beyonce. Utilizing respected and likeable stars will be the key to America garnering votes. If they pick people that are kind of jerks it will only give people more reasons not to vote for the most powerful country on the planet.

Female Artist - Beyonce Knowles

You thought I was going to pick Gaga. HA! Not so predictable now, am I? Moving along... why Beyonce? Superstars don't come more likeable (or sexier) than the Queen B. Because it's a 2-for-1 deal, I'm also saving America some money because they can share the same hotel room. You've got to be economically smarter these days.

Group - Dixie Chicks

Before you move to the bottom of the page to leave some sort of snarky comment (trolls) hear me out. They've got a lot of respect from the music community and general population for Natalie Maines speaking her mind on Dubya before it was the cool thing to do. While Americans (in the South) were burning their CDs to keep their shanties warm, the rest of the world was starting to like them more and more. Instead of laying low until the heat died down, the Chicks went to work creating their best album yet, Taking The Long Way, which won them Grammys for Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Record of the Year. Country music is always huge in America, so it would be nice to put forward an act to represent that. As an alternative though, we could put forward the Kings of Leon. You'd just want to hope that it isn't an open air theatre and no birds are in the area. Just watch the video above, start to finish, then you can leave whatever comments you like.

Well... that's America done. Where should we go next? "When will this madness stop," is probably what you're really asking yourselves. The answer... never. See you next time kids!

Around the World - Denmark

Welcome to Denmark, the land of chocolate! No wait... that's Belgium. Welcome to Denmark, the second happiest, safest and least corrupt place on earth! It's where Metallica's Lars Ulrich was born and more importantly, it gave us one of the most critically lauded, groundbreaking groups of our time... Aqua! What are we doing here? Well kids we're back on our world tour, finding one male artist, female artist and group to represent different countries in an ultimate battle for musical supremacy. So far we've made stops in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Germany. Today, it's all about the Danish, so grab some delicious pastries and enjoy the show...

Male Artist - Claus Hempler

This dude's pretty cool. When he goes for high notes he looks like David Bowie. That's good enough to get him a spot on the team and will likely earn him points from judges too. Everyone loves Bowie.

Female Artist - Tina Dico

Tina Dico seems like Denmark's answer to Laura Marling. A beautiful, folky singer with catchy tunes. 'No Time To Sleep' is an incredible song and was featured on Grey's Anatomy.

Group - The Raveonettes

Unfortunately, Aqua was unavailable, so we decided to settle for The Raveonettes. They've been busy making a name for themselves since 2002 and the alternative duo dropped their last album, In and Out of Control, last year.

You've met the contenders, so, how do you think Denmark will do when the eyes of the world are watching them perform? Do they stand a chance against the countries we've already covered? And, do they stand a chance against our next team... the USA?! See you next time gentle viewers...

Around the World: Sweden & Germany

Sounds like... The Sounds!

We're making two stops today, so it's double the fun! Or something. First up is Sweden, home of Abba, followed by Germany, home of Nena. That's right, it's 'Dancing Queen' vs '99 Luftballons.' But it's not. Sorry for getting you all excited there. To make it up to you, let me introduce you to the male artist, female artist and group who will be introducing our two countries of the moment.

TEAM SWEDEN

Male Artist - The Tallest Man On Earth

Aka Kristian Matsson, who's been getting a lot of good coverage lately for his progressive folky tunes. He released his second album, The Wild Hunt, earlier in the year to positive reviews and there's plenty more to come. There definitely would be if he ended up playing at the world's biggest imaginary music competition and I'm sure Sweden would be proud to have him representing them.

Female Artist - Robyn

Was there ever any doubt? She's arguably the coolest pop star in the world who just isn't popular enough. MTV had the perfect opportunity to introduce her to a wider audience at the VMAs and blew it by having her play during an Ad break. Seriously? You give Justin Bieber air-time and not one of the most critically acclaimed (AND COOLEST) acts of the year. Seriously? Ms Carlsson can find solace in the fact that she'll be performing to her largest audience ever, even if this whole competition is only in my mind.

Group - The Sounds

Yes, I could have gone with Royksopp or The Knife. But I didn't. For one, The Knife probably wouldn't even do it, and two, The Sounds should be huge, but it seems like they get less attention every time they release something new. At least David Letterman's a fan.

TEAM GERMANY

Group - Rammstein

I think it's good to showcase talent from a wide array of musical genres. Germany can have metal. And there's just something about Rammstein playing 'Du Hast' to a billion people that tickles me.

Female Artist - Lena

As the 2010 Eurovision winner, Lena already has experience winning music competitions that pit countries against each other. She's not bad and her song 'Satellite' is awfully catchy.

Male Artist - Alexander Klaws

DSDS Alexander - Maniac - MyVideo

Hahahahahahahaha...... I'm sorry Germany. But seriously, the guy deserves a chance to make up for how bad he was on World Idol. Second chances blah blah blah. Yeah, I admit it. I struggled with Germany. But it gave me an excuse to post his amazing rendition of 'Maniac.'

Germany fans, you must forgive me. But, I suggest you help me out... who would be better than these guys to rep Germany? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. That's another two countries down. We've covered Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden and Germany now. Where should we head to next? OH! And posted below is a special treat for reading through to the end.

'99 Luftballons' owns 'Dancing Queen.'

Around the World - Canada

Oh Caaaanaaadaaaa! We've taken the long flight from Auckland to Toronto to have a meet and greet with the male singer, female singer and group that will be representing the second largest country in the world (clearly not population, duh). Will they be French Canadian like Celine Dion? Or normal Canadian like uh... everyone else? While you're here, try the Canadian bacon with maple syrup... mmm bacon.

Male Artist - Michael Buble

Can't go wrong with a bit of jazz. Not only can he belt out a tune, he makes ladies swoon... maybe even the lady judges presiding over the music world cup. The USA will likely utilise their sexiest stars, but I see Canada being a bit more subtle about it.

Female Artist - Feist

Yeah, so I picked Feist because it feels like it's been at least twelve years since she released her debut album. You know the one... it had '1, 2, 3, 4' on it and got her nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys. I can't think of a better place for her to debut something amazing than an imaginary music competition. Can you?

Group - Arcade Fire

They're at the height of their popularity right now and this would only catapult them into superstardom.

Short and sweet this round, but to make up for it, next time we're going to be making a couple of stops. Sweden and Germany!

Around the World - New Zealand

Welcome back to It's My Kind of Scene's world tour, in which we'll be selecting one male artist, female artist and group to represent each country in a battle for musical dominance! On our last stop we met Team Australia (Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins and The Presets). Now we're taking the short flight to New Zealand to meet our second group of contestants. Are you ready to find out who will be representing the Kiwis?

Male Artist - Liam Finn

Liam Finn is a cool guy, pretty much destined to become a rock star in his own right (his Dad would be Neil Finn of Crowded House) and would be the best man to represent New Zealand. He'd definitely put on a show that could see him earn many new fans from around the world.

Female Artist - Bic Runga

Ladyhawke would be an excellent choice, but no other female artist from NZ can do a better live performance than Bic Runga. If you can get past how cool the TV presenters are in the video above, you'll understand why I chose her over the aforementioned Ladyhawke, Gin Wigmore or even Brooke Fraser. Plus, she deserves to be known for more than contributing 'Sway' to the American Pie soundtrack.

Group - Crowded House

Who else? They're the biggest band in New Zealand's history and currently on the comeback, with their 6th studio album, Intriguer, released in June of this year. Not content with just being crowd pleasers, they'd probably be the emotional high point of the show.

Well, that's Team New Zealand. Where should we look to next? How about... Canada! See you next time boys and girls.

Around the World - Australia

Another day, another new random feature here on It's My Kind of Scene. This particular idea goes all the way back to World Idol in 2003. Do you remember World Idol? Maybe you're lucky and found a way to blank it from your memory. Why would you do such a thing? Because it was rubbish. Memorable moments included Kelly Clarkson's massive WTF when she didn't win and the German dude that sang 'Maniac.' That wasn't actually memorable, it was hilarious (not the intentional kind). So, I'm watching World Idol thinking how cool it would be to see a music world cup with, you know, real music stars. How about running it like tennis' Hopman Cup, where you put forward a man, woman and group? Eminem, Beyonce and Kings of Leon vs Jose Gonzales, Robyn and The Hives. Or Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga and The White Stripes vs The Tallest Man on Earth, Lykke Li and The Knife. Those are some USA vs Sweden rounds I could get behind. As a television competition, it would be amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to put it on at this time but give me a couple of years and we'll see. What? No, I am not a crazy person.

So, unless you've got a way of helping me to make this happen, you're just going to have to settle for me choosing contestants that I think would do a fine job of representing the places they call home. Over the next couple of weeks you'll be introduced to some artists from different countries that you (and I) have probably never heard of before, probably because they're not singing in English. We're going to kick things off with the greatest country in the world... Australia! Alrighty then, let's meet our lucky contestants...

TEAM AUSTRALIA:

Male Artist - Bernard Fanning

Fanno! Bernard's got a very distinct voice that could very well separate him from his competition and leave a lasting impression in the minds of judges and viewers around the world. With Powderfinger sadly saying goodbye this year, it's about time their lead singer went back to the studio to record his second solo album. If he's got enough time, he's got the ability to write a song that couldn't lose.

Female Artist - Missy Higgins

MIGGINS!! I can see Australia wanting a real "Aussie" presence at the competition and they don't come more "Aussie" than Missy Higgins. Like Fanning, she's a pro singer/songwriter, she's very likable and would do her best to do Australia proud. While she's achieved some success in the USA, singing at an event like this would (finally) launch her to the rest of the world... and they'd be better for it.

Group - The Presets

Why? Because they would kill it. That's why. I want to see what they could do when they know the whole world is watching. If you've seen them live, you know it would be amazing.

Who could you see representing Australia? Would you rather Sarah Blasko to Missy Higgins? Nick Cave to Bernard Fanning? What about Silverchair or AC/DC instead of The Presets? Let me know what you think and stay tuned because next time, we're going to New Zealand!