George Barnett (a.k.a. AKA George) ranked up tens of millions of YouTube streams with a mix of his own material and superb covers. This got him the attention of every publisher and record label in the UK, but he decided that didn’t feel right. He subsequently tore down everything he had created on the internet, losing all of those tens of millions of views in the process. Then, he started again.

This spring, AKA George released his album First Friday on his own record label, but he is already writing his next album. Talking about that process, he says: “I’m not interested in writing small songs that live on the internet. When I write, I write big pop songs that will sound amazing at Glastonbury. That’s my measure: Does it sound huge?”

Listening to the first fruit of that upcoming album, the track Stone Cold Classic, one can only conclude: yes, it does!

Tom Robinson said about AKA George: “He is one song away from superstardom.” This could very well be that one song, and to help it just a tiny bit more, I made it this week’s Carte Blanche Music Wildcard…

Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.