EliZe's Japanese Makeover

EliZe is the Dutch Dannii and I mean that as a massive compliment! EliZe was a child star in Holland, who was best remembered for singing about growing breasts - "Het Tietenlied" - literally, "The Tit Song" (!) until she became an international pop sensation and one of my favourite trashy divas upon the release of her brilliant anthem "Automatic". That song is Euro-pop at its absolute finest - driving beats, catchy lyrics and a slutty "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" inspired video. EliZe proved that she was a diva to be reckoned with by following "Automatic" with a string of fabulous hits ("Into Your System", "Shake", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and my favourite, the amusing J. Lo inspired "No Latino") and an exceptional debut album, "In Control". While desperate UK divas like Rachel Stevens and Lisa Scott-Lee tried and failed to launch careers as second rate Kylie impersonators, EliZe embraced the trashy goddess within and just stole blindly from everyone - with truly fabulous results!

I had high hopes for the international prospects of "In Control". The quality of the music is consistently excellent and EliZe is not exactly hard on the eyes. "Automatic" was released around the world (including Australia) but "In Control" is still difficult to find outside her home country. That is until the album's recent Japanese release. I've always been slightly jealous of Japanese music fans. Album covers are often changed (for the better) and bonus tracks are usually added to the tracklist. As you can see, the Japanese version of "In Control" boasts a far more appealing cover than the original version (below) and it has been enriched by a couple of wonderful remixes.

The first time I heard the Japanese remix of "Automatic" I was appalled. EliZe's Euro-pop classic has been transformed into a trashy trance anthem, which sounds like a cross between Cascada and Alex Gaudino's "Destination Unknown". However, by the second listen, I was too busy shaking my arse (with lots of class) to care about the song's lowbrow makeover. In fact, I kind of love it. Apparently, trance is still very much the leading dance genre in Japan and the remix is a shrewd move to appeal to the Japanese market. I wish lovely EliZe every success.

You can purchase the Japanese version of "In Control" from HMV Japan or order it from Chaos but expect to pay around $40. If you're a casual fan, the standard version of "In Control" is now available to download from iTunes and wont leave you bankrupt. "In Control" is highly recommended. Check out EliZe's website for more details.

A big THANK YOU to Nori for all his help with this post!

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