9

Kate Nash - Foundations

Sometimes I see Kate Nash less as a pop artiste, more as a friend. I just want to come alongside, put my arm around her and say "Kate, just be yourself... only not too much..." Anyway, enough of my (peculiarly unerotic) delusions. Thankfully, "Foundations" has all of my friend's storytelling skills and none of the shouting and swearing that's neither big, nor clever, young lady (now I'm her dad?). What's it about? Being a teenager and a relationship going wrong and making metaphors with citrus fruits. Come on Kate, pull yourself together...

Isaac H

No of votes: 23, Score: 124, Highest vote: 1st

7

The Fray - How To Save A Life

Step one: you say let's write a song
He walks, you say sit down it's just a song
A tune picked out on piano
A mournful vocal, slurred and slow
They're now sucked in, they took the bait
We're Christian rockers, God is great!
We'll build a fan-base on the net
This could be the biggest download yet

Where could I go wrong? I'll sell a ton
Stay in the charts for a million weeks
Some people think it's deep, some think it's shit
But I know how to write a hit.

Greg B

No of votes: 24, Score: 119, Highest vote: 1st

5

Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love

Artist link:22

When someone with a great voice and massive TV exposure records a single which is approaching credible, even cool, and shows a surprising level of musical maturity, not only is a huge hit pretty much assured but a new major artist is established. It's not the individual sales figures, it's the promise of sales going forward. Will Young experienced this with 'Leave Right Now' but Leona Lewis got it right at the first time of asking (excepting her contractual obligation to record 2006's Christmas number 1). Credit to Leona and her people - they waited until the perfect moment before releasing this; enough time for people to almost forget about her being off X-factor, just long enough for her to get promotional opportunities from the return of the series but precisely early enough to avoid being over-shadowed by a potential new Saturday night hero or heroine. But most importantly, time to get some actually really good writers and producers involved, not just the ones Simon Cowell had available on the one morning he normally gives artists to record debut albums. She's a great looking girl with a good presence and boy can she sing - it would be churlish to say she doesn't deserve success, even if you hate talent TV.

Danny G

No of votes: 24, Score: 171, Highest vote: 1st

3

Mika - Grace Kelly

Artist link:34 35

Is there more to Mika than meets the eye? Pop journos seem to have spent the best part of the past twelve months trying to scratch the surface of this Beirut born, Paris raised, London based singer and professional bohemian to see if there is anything of substance underneath. Judging from the lyrics of his infectiously poppy debut single (more contagious than the plague - fact!) he certainly sees himself as a bit chimera: he could be brown, he could be blue, he could be violet sky; he could be hurtful, he could be purple, he could be anything you like. He tried to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too sad, so he tried a little Freddie and, well, you know the rest. Time and a second album will tell whether Mika is something more than just a flash in the pan, but even if he is nothing more than a one trick pony, you have to admit, it's quite a trick.

Greg B

No of votes: 32, Score: 182, Highest vote: 1st

1

Rihanna - Umbrella

Artist link:24 36 39 46

So let's start with the stats - it currently (at the time of writing) holds the longest spell at number one in the 21st century, it's the second biggest selling UK single of the year, it also got the highest first week of downloads on iTunes. Now let's switch to the less salubrious elements - that rap at the start by Jay-Z, it's so inconsequential it barely even deserves a mention for his performing contribution as a "featuring" (so that's why you don't see it here when it should be included). But of course none of that really matters when you get past the prelude, the song itself is a gem, all sultriness and sex appeal. Then there's the "ella ella eh eh eh" at the end of the chorus, which, totally and utterly ridiculous as it is, somehow adds to it. People have tried to attribute it's success to that atrocious spell of weather(-ether ether eh eh eh) during the summer when we got battered with rain until the north and the west of England sank, but sod the meteorology, it won here because it's a superb blend of an R&B song with pop at it's heart.

Jason M

No of votes: 33, Score: 203, Highest vote: 1st