New Pop on the Block

Jade Ewen – My Man (Listen)
For her first single after her reasonably successful Eurovision entry, Jade cleverly decides to alienate anyone who might have liked It’s My Time by releasing a proper R&B song, which surely would appeal only to those who wouldn’t be caught dead watching Eurovision. It’s not terrible by any measure and it’s growing on me with further listens, but I can’t really see it doing well in the charts or getting any radio play. She would have been much better, I think, going for the kind of R&B sound that will be played on local radio stations. The Jordin Sparks/Beyoncé/Shontelle sound would be perfect, and there are plenty of songwriters churning out tracks in that vein at the moment. I’d like to be proven wrong and see Jade be given a fair chance, but the stigma attached to Eurovision is not likely to allow for it.
76% Poptastic!

Flipsyde – A Chance (Listen)
Who would guess that of all the acts RedOne has worked with, he would give his poppiest song yet to Flipsyde? A Chance is not a pop masterpiece like Just Dance or American Cowboy, but it’s nice to hear a song from RedOne which isn’t the exact same formula, although it’s still close enough to what we know him for that no fans will complain. Flipsyde are morphing steadily into a Black Eyed Peas tribute act, since they have a blonde girl and 3 blokes, and I’d say this is a mixture of Where is the Love and Big Boys Don’t Cry, with a hint of Jordin’s One Step at a Time. It’s got a really nice chorus (almost country-ish actually!) and a generally pleasant vibe about it, which is what I find lacking in the BEPs songs, so I’m definitely favouring Flipsyde at the moment. I wonder if they’ll finally release anything in the UK? I’d say they have a good chance of success if they do.
88% Poptastic!

Sugababes – Get Sexy (Listen)
When the Sugababes travelled to the USA to work with top R&B producers, I expected them to come back with a more American sound, but not to actually sound indistinguishable from their American equivalents. If I didn’t know this was the ‘Babes, I’d think it was the Pussycat Dolls or of those other slutty, vacuous girlbands. Its only redeeming feature is that it reminds me of Sexy by Cat5 (they’d be better off covering that, in fact), although it is equally reminiscent of I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred, which is certainly not a good idea. It would be nice to see the Sugababes doing well in America, but if that means transforming into the kind of band they are not known for being, then it’s not worth it in my opinion. I suppose there might be a RedOne song on the album, though, which would be one advantage to this new direction at least.
55% Poptastic!