Gina G's Next 2 U: The Verdict

Ever since I showed no apology for loving that half-naked Australian dance queen sparkle, flick and strut on the Eurovision stage as a typical 11 year old boy with a thing for spectacular eurodance tunes back in 1996, I have been salivating for the unique flair, style and Hi-NRG excitement of Gina's music: classics such as the lavish I Belong To You, flamenco-flutter of Ti Amo, the emphatic Ooh Ahh, the jittery anticipation of Rhythm of My Life (and its amazing lyric "my brother doesn't like you, my sister thinks you cool"); the frisky innuendo of the title track Fresh!; the rampant dance binge of Gimme Some Love; and the more plaintive exotica of It Doesn't Mean Goodbye. There might not have been much material since, but if I am honest this has probably only enhanced her myth and status. However, there have been highlights such as her trance-formation on the very Riva-esque Heaven (her biggest hit that never was), and a certain atypical delight in the form of a song called Next To You that was leaked via her facebook page in order to quench her fan's thirst for more tunes, and probably just to settle their nerves in such trying times of uncertainty. Its style was minimalist, almost like La Roux serving up a song for a 90s Nintendo computer console: what remained were the singer's trademark gushing vocals and excited lyrical topic of cute boys (is there anything else worth talking about in life? I don't think so). Gina released her belated follow-up to Fresh! called Get Up & Dance, and a few of its highlights have been remixed for a future release, including a re-vamped Next To You, now cleverly re-named Next 2 U in order to appeal to people who can't spell. Throwing her spell-checker out the window, this gem has now been given a glossy make-over, the wistful melody is now enhanced with rainbow-sprouting synths and glistening piano keys. In other words, it's pretty amazing. Check your iTunes and support Gina G's latest comeback. Hopefully I shall post a youtube clip of it soon.

Rating:
9/10

Gee Whiz, Gina G is Back ... Again!

Just buy the thing when it's out next week!

Gina G is back again!

Well DP me with chainsaws, coming hot off her heels from the unforgettable UK #57 Hi-NRG flamenco-flutter Tonight Is The Night, Gina fucking G is back! She is back for the very first time since 2006, with 3 flashy new tracks and a remix on her re-rouged myspace profile: Reinvented is a sparse high-speed electro delivery every bit as good or bad as a La Roux/Little Boots/whomever-thinks-they-are-the-shit track, with a tumbling drum loop as she incredulously scorns a crap ex-lover; Friday has a faux-lesbian rock attitude that is more Mel C than Gina G, and doesn't offer much. Looking far brighter (and faring far more feminine than her new pic), she revives her vibrant pop promise on the glitzy Next To You, which is the best of this lot and up there with Undone - very cutesy and made up to the 90s. 'Kissing you is like candy, mmm delicious' is a classic Gina G lyric that brings back fond memories of her former excessive gidiness - 'my brother doesn't like ya, my sister thinks you're cool' being her adrenalised peak from album shade Rhythm of My Life. The nintendo-style influence of the backing track is utterly adorable, the perfect backing for Gina's gushingly coy delivery whereby she paints herself in a Super Mario Bros world, as Princess Daisy seeking her 'superhero' - her blushing articulation regarding the anticipation of some fit guy is like Shakespeare.

Above: Gina G's imeasurably kitsch image was years ahead of celluloid sirens such as Rita Hayworth who waited until the 1940s to shoot such inconic photographs.

My heart swells when I think of Gina G: Next To You is simply divine, and like she sings, 'don't get me started' is my own pre-nuptial demand for her to follow this through and give me a fucking album! As on her best Fresh! cuts, I can honestly say I get the same feeling with Next To You, that this pop princess' heart is pumping ecstatically and is ready to strut her stuff at Pride celebrations all over the UK. Such a driven performance is well worth investigating for curious casual fans. These tracks are marvelous to have, and even if she can't realistically chase after the Motiv8 dream, she has hooked me back in with her effortless charm as if it were 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 or 2005 and 2006 again.

Gina's facebook has all the answers.