The No.1 position of Gatfield, Bloom and Mottola marks the second consecutive year, in which A&Rs based in London and California claimed the No.1 spot for breaking a new artist worldwide. Linda Perry (Custard Records, California) and Max Lousada (Atlantic Records UK) were the No.1 A&Rs in 2006 for their work with James Blunt, whose album Back To Bedlam sold multi-platinum worldwide.
In an exclusive interview with HitQuarters, Island Records President and A&R Nick Gatfield described the initial signing of Mika to Island Records
“The songs were undeniable. When you hear the collection of songs, 'Grace Kelly', 'Love Today', 'Big Girl' and 'Happy Endings'. What you hear on the record is not a million miles away from the demos that he was playing.
There is something very unique about him, and about his presentation. There’s a real intelligence about him. Every great artist has to have intelligence. And that’s a thing that really immediately appealed with him.
I thought this guy is unique, knows what he wants to do, really smart, and also happens to have a collection of really great songs. The job that we had to do as a company was positioning him, because he is a very pure pop artist. Positioning him in a slightly leftfield, slightly alternative area, which we did successfully.”
The World Top 100 A&R Chart is compiled from worldwide sales charts and rewards A&Rs for their ability to sign and develop successful new artists.
To view the full World Top 100 A&R Chart, go to
http:/www.HitQuarters.com/
