Lisa Loeb is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who was the first unsigned artist to have a number one platinum-selling single, her hit “Stay (I missed you),” without a recording contract.
TWELV Night - Paloma Faith's British Invasion
Her name means nothing to most Americans, but Paloma Faith has the spirit of fame. Her burlesque theater pop has already attained star status in her native UK, and just recently hooked the attention of American music luminary, LA Reid. Last Wednesday night, a swarm of music biz insiders entered a private, promotional performance at Manhattan’s Edison Ballroom with the hopes of sucking up the next big starlet from across the shore. By the end of the night, it seemed a mystery that Paloma Faith had been silent to the Americas before now.
At 8 pm, LA Reid himself grabbed a microphone to introduce his newest protégé. “She’s not the next this, or the next that…”, he warned, but any doubts were tossed to the wind once the ginger-haired beauty appeared. As applause roared, she sent sparkle-eyed glances into the spotlight that Tyra would approve of.
In truth, she has qualities comparable to her other contemporaries; white, British, female, soulful, and whatnot. But she’s funnier than Florence, happier than Winehouse, and more theatrical than Adele. Her aesthetic folds in Rita Hayworth’s fluffed hair, gleeful flapper fashion, and a small dose of drag queen camp. But her voice has no double, and she draped those velvety pipes over every tune from her new release, Fall to Grace. A trained actress, Paloma moved gracefully across the stage, and even climbed atop the piano with her red patent platforms.
The show would be nothing without her Hackney charm. She filled the silence between songs with witty prods about her dislike for “everything that happened after 1973”, as was evident in her baggy satin dress and oversized pom-pom headband. An anecdote about her unrequited obsession with a common busker sent the audience into reels of laughter. For her final song, tentatively titled “Me and My Cellulite”, she led the crowd in a jiggling revolution. Let’s see Lana Del Rey try that one.
Paloma Faith doesn’t wear designers or sell sex, and it makes her all the more exceptional. This appearance was the pilot for her American debut, and judging from the outcome, Paloma Faith will be a household name within the year. Cellulite and all.
Check out photos from the event, by Nao Takagi.
Paloma Faith’s new album, Fall to Grace is out now via Epic.
Watch the “30 Minute Love Affair” video.
By Aaron Lindenberg
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