Olly Murs is due to release "Troublemaker", the first single from his third album Right Place Right Time, on 18 November (the same day as Girls Aloud's new release!). The track features US rapper Flo Rida, and is yet another quirky pop song from the Xtra Factor presenter.
It sounds ever-so-similar to Maroon 5's greatest hits of 2004 (mainly the funk-pop influences), and also has a similar song structure to one Ms. Britney Spears's "(You Drive Me) Crazy"! It keeps what made Murs's last album fun though, and the chorus is one of his most instant. Flo Rida's rap is less annoying/in-your-face than his own recent efforts though, but the song would definitely flow much better without it (although they can keep his intro!).
The music video, however, is far from his best. It features Murs as his usual "cheeky-chappy" self, with a less-than-convincing actress playing the 'troublemaker', especially as there's no sign of the 'wild side' which he confessed she is supposed to have. Check it out below (or don't - just listen to the song!) and share your thoughts too!
Leona Lewis released her third studio album since leaving The X Factor this week, and what an album it is! Featuring more of her beautiful vocals that made us fall in love with her six(!) years ago, and a greater level of production than her previous two sets saw (thanks to executive producer Fraser T. Smith on those accounts).
The album kicks of with the lead single, "Trouble", which tells the tale of Lewis's ex-boyfriend and childhood sweetheart and was co-written with Emeli Sandé. It's another big Leona number, with an infectious hook and production. This is not of two, but three versions of the song on the album (the other two including a rap by Childish Gambino and an acoustic version), but it's by far the best.
"Un Love Me" follows this, and features more of Leona's beautiful vocals, but they are more restrained on this track. It's a song which builds as it gets further into it, with continued great production, that wouldn't sound out of place on Lewis's own début album, Spirit.
The third track, "Lovebird", features what could only be identified as classic Leona; the organ intro which was famed in her international #1 hit, "Bleeding Love". The song itself is a bittersweet midtempo number, further referring to a break-up of one of Lewis's relationships.
The pace of the album changes track when it gets down to "Come Alive", a song which was first heard when Lewis performed it at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend in June of this year. It's the first of two dubstep/drum-n-bass influenced numbers, with Lewis singing "I'll see you when I come alive" over a dark drum-n-bass beat during the chorus. It's definitely the "heaviest" track that we've ever heard from Leona, with newfound energy and empowering lyrics
"Fireflies" is one of the most laidback tracks on the album, with a piano riff not too dissimilar to the one heard in Leona's controversial 2011 single "Collide" (which missed the main tracklisting due to its underperformance). A minute before the end of the track, a gospel choir joins Leona to sing the final chorus, similar to her live performances of tracks such as "Run", to great effect.
"I to You" is another track penned by Sandé, and features a dark production, similar to that of "Trouble", and is like nothing Lewis has done before, featuring a string orchestra to accompany her smooth vocals. It's definitely one of the quirkier tracks on the album, taking a while to fully 'click', but completely worth it for the power and message delivered.
Immediately following this up is the uptempo pop/dance number, not too far away from "Outta My Head" which appeared on Lewis's previous album, Echo. The song was written by Darkchild ("It's Not Right but It's Okay", Whitney Houston and "Say My Name", Destiny's Child), which means there's no surprise to hear elements of 90s bubblegum-pop, along with some 80s disco-pop with this being the moment that Leona really lets her hair down on this album.
The next three all tracks fit into the same category: lighter production than the rest of the album, with piano riffs and drumbeats. They'd all fit right in on Lewis's previous album, Echo, also. "Stop the Clocks" shows off some of Lewis's more laidback vocals, along with some of the best on the whole album during the middle eight section. "Favourite Scar", also about Lewis's break-up, and despite the song being about pain and heartbreak, Lewis manages to make it into a fun, happy mid-tempo number. "When it Hurts" is a rare Leona song to feature guitar (of the electric variety), and follows the theme of her bittersweet relationship.
Next up is "Glassheart", the title track, and a song which was first heard in Autumn of 2011 as Lewis performed it at G-A-Y. It's a very welcome change in pace after the last few songs, and is another song to feature elements of the dubstep genre, and again is like nothing Lewis has ever recorded before. The structure is similar to another song of the pop genre which dipped into the dubstep area, Britney Spears's "Hold it Against Me", which is by no means a bad thing.
"Fingerprint" is the final non-bonus track on the album, and you may be familiar with it if you watched Channel 4's Stand Up to Cancer telethon on Friday night, which Lewis performed beautifully. It's a classic Leona moment, featuring her lower register before building into falsetto for the chorus, also not far from past moments like "Run".
Overall, the album is very strong, featuring some bits of classic Leona and some new styles which work very well with her voice. It is by no means a perfect album, with some of it playing a bit too safe, but are necessary so as not to alienate her original fanbase. After a couple of listens, however, I can definitely see it becoming my favourite of her three albums. Below is the audio of my favourite track, "Shake You Up", so feel free to give it a play and post your opinions!
...are back! Girls Aloud recently premièred the first single from their upcoming comeback, "Something New", and what a comeback it is! Full with all of the attitude that made their previous releases great and yet another unusual song structure (as far as I know it goes bridge-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus-verse-verse-chorus-bridge).
The song, electro-pop stomper, written and produced by the band's long-time collaborators Xenomania, and is not too different from the Calvin Harris releases of the past two years, but if by that you take it to mean "faceless" - it definitely isn't. Including a female empowerment rap section, sung by Cheryl and Nadine, the song cements them as the definitely girlgroup of the 21st Century.
The group are due to make an announcement live on YouTube and their website tomorrow morning from 10am. Make sure you're tuned in, but until then take a listen to the track below!
