Joey Moe - Skakmat (DEN)

As you may already know, outside of the U.S. and UK, most of my readers are from the nation of Denmark and I've grown quite fond of their music scene over the last couple of years. Joey Moe is one of Denmark's biggest pop stars and he's just released his third album Fuldmåne (Full Moon). The single Skakmat (Checkmate) really caught my attention the first time I heard it and oozes of emotional pop 'n B. In addition, a rather beautiful music video was shot for the single.

Clare Maguire - The Shield & The Sword (UK)

Clare Maguire's debut album Light After Dark was released earlier this year, but has not succeeded in setting the charts on fire like many had predicted. No, that honor goes to the likes of Jessie J. and Adele. I'm not sure where her label plans on going with her given these less than desirable results, but The Shield and The Sword is superb listening material.