Welcome, 2007!

So 2007 is here - and what might we expect from it? One thing that most seem to agree on is that, as the last months of 2006 showed, there will probably be a resurgence of dance music (possibly in the form of euro-trance) and electro-pop. The latter has been bubbling under the surface for a while and, as the two are not incompatible by any means, both might become mainstream again in 2007. If that is true then it will be likely led by Scandinavian and German influences, as both are traditionally strong here.
If it takes a British turn then this might also involve 'trip-hop' and other 'ambient' dance, which would certainly not be a bad thing either, and with the current penchant for French lounge-jazz, and also the sexy pop-rock that Latin America now does so very well (both of which it borrowed from, heavily from the former and tacitly from the latter, before their recent resurgence) , fits well with this theory and the pan-European success of Brazilian band CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) in 2006 was therefore probably no fluke.
Returning to UK music and one theory has it that 2007 spells doom for the recent spate of male singer-songwriters that were so prominent in 2006 ... James Morrison, Jack Johnson, Paolo Nutini, and James Blunt amongst others; that concept will be tested to the max when James Blunt releases his second album and there will no doubt be others too. Another lament of 2006 was that there was a surfeit of female singer-songwriters and, while I don't see it as a problem myself, it looks likely to remain as such for those that do in 2007.
Two UK artists - Natasha Bedingfield and Joss Stone - that have been away for some time, both successfully doing the near impossible by conquering America, are likely to return with new albums. American singer-songwriter Norah Jones is set to release her third album, Not Too Late, in the spring.

It might do something to redress the trans-Atlantic balance that could otherwise have been be upset by the release of Lucie Silvas' second album, The Same Side, at about the same time.

As yet largely unknown in the US, but unlike Norah Jones already rather more so in Japan, she can belt them out like Koda Kumi but in English and she also happens also to be a rather good pianist and song-writer (often for other artists). She was once a backing vocalist and occasional keyboardist for Judy Tzuke and now her sister Mia does the same for her.

The one thing that is certainly not going to change in 2007 is the ascendancy of all forms of live music and all the above-mentioned are well-capable of that. From pub-bands to major festivals, and everything else in between, it is an area in which Britain excels! The Japanese may buy more music per capita than anyone else but, measured on the same basis, the UK not only records more of it but plays it live too!