Another Year In Pop: 45

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Blimey! A bumper crop of new entries this week, with four lovely ladies barging their way into the top ten. None of them have knocked off the X Factor mess at the top yet, but give it time...

[Poll #1294584]

Bizarre re-entry watch: last week a competitive singing television programme had a disco theme which explains Blondie at no.91, but why is 'Mr Brightside' by the Killers in at 60? In the battle of the 'Hero's, Enrique is now ahead of Mariah (94 and 100 respectively), but expect that to change after Mariah's triumphant pulverising of everyone else on Saturday's X Factor...

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Diva special! Rather odd that all these lead singles were released in the same week...you'd think the record companies wouldn't want them all going up against each other.

BEYONCE - by far the standout, how the hell is this not No 1? Am slightly obsessed with it at the moment. Beautiful vocal performance, beautiful video. It's weird to think that ballads were once B's weak point - the charges (levelled by idiots without ears or hearts) against R&B ballads were actually true in her case - but

BRITNEY - ehhh, lazy rewrite of 'Ooh Ooh Baby' right down to whatever that song ripped off in the first place, OK I suppose. I got to hear half the album on Friday but I am forbidden from discussing it anywhere online until tomorrow!

LEONA - this...is such a disappointment, it's so absolutely characterless and unmemorable - it's bad by Akon's standards, let alone what I expect of Leona. I'm still very pro-Leona but she really really needs another good song - a modern standard it may be, but 'Bleeding Love' can only carry one so far - and this doesn't really give the impression that anything great is imminent. And her new album being a reissue of Spirit is not the best sign either.

ALESHA - this is fine, though I'm voting more for the terrific Crazy Cousinz remix, which excises that dreadful "when he dances not to the beat" line. AARGH it's so clunkily phrased! It's such lazy songwriting - oh, is that Xenomania I see in the writing credits? Quelle surprise - and it could have been so easily avoided. "When he dances all offbeat" would scan just as well without sounding like it was written in an EFL class. Everything else I've heard from The Alesha Show is safe, dull fare, and very dispiriting when you cast your mind back to Mis-Teeq's glory days.

XTINA - I ticked this because the video is AWESOME, and the song sounded loads better following the Leona dullness, but really it's just outdated schaffel recorded in a spare five minutes, probably while Xtina was changing her son's nappy, because she hasn't done any other new material in an age and her Greatest Hits collection needed a single. Think will probably untick.

WILL YOUNG - this is pretty good, did anyone pick up his album? Much much better than the bland lead single, spirited without seeming forced.

T.I. - this has grown on me slightly, more for T.I.'s verses than the horrid maiahiii sample and the over-Autotuned Rihanna chorus. Sucks that this will be his crossover UK hit though...though hopefully 'Dead And Gone' will be the next single, it's absolutely immense. 'Let My Beat Pound' is still the best T.I. item of recent times though, and it was inexplicably left off the album.

BELLAMY BROS/SCRIPT - don't know don't care

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS - go fucking stab yourselves. This band are actually the worst current active band in the world, right?

[infov0re.livejournal.com]

This band are actually the worst current active band in the world, right?

Just about - but the View have got a new single out which can only mean a new album is around the corner!