FRONT ROW SEAT: Kiwi singer Zowie performs with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton watching on.

Stuff.co.nz  He predicted Lady Gaga’s success and foresaw Katy Perry’s rise to fame. Now celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is picking a Kiwi musician to be the next big thing.

Hilton named Zoe “Zowie” Fleury as one of the top five artists to watch in 2011 after posting her first single Broken Machine on his website late last year.

And after she was confirmed to play music showcase SXSW in Austin, Texas, the internet king personally requested she play at his exclusive showcase.

“He asked us to play and it was a really good show. He was standing side of stage singing along the whole time,” she told Stuff.co.nz.

“He’s really lovely, really nice. He’s really cheeky and nice.”

Zowie, formerly known as Bionic Pixie, says the idea of being pinpointed alongside the likes of Lady Gaga is hard to take in.

“It is surreal. It’s very, very cool and it’s awesome to have his support. But it is a weird feeling. He is very good at predicting the future.”

Since Hilton posted her video on his gossip blog in August, a whole new audience has opened up to her space-inspired pop, she said.

“There have been lots of fans from the States, fans on Facebook and plays on MySpace – everything has just gone crazy. He’s got a lot of power and he’s such a music lover so it’s been awesome for us.”

She says SXSW, an international music showcase featuring hundreds of international bands and musicians, was like nothing she had ever seen before.

“It was insane, I can’t even explain it. It’s so weird and cool. It just kind of felt like a Big Day Out sort of jammed into about five streets, with bands every five metres. It was really, really cool.”

She says the feedback has been resoundingly positive since the show on Saturday.

“It’s been so good. I’ve been reading some really good reviews and the way they’ve received the Zowie project has been really cool, like “Ziggy Stardust space child” and things like that, so I like that.”

Zowie is in the final stages of finishing her debut album, which she says should be released towards the middle of the year.

Currently up on Perez Hilton’s website is Zowie’s lates video- Bite Back

Until next time keep rockin’
The 0800 Jukebox crew.
www.0800jukebox.co.nz