Jessie Malakouti – Trash Me (Watch)
Ex-Shut Up Stella member Jessie has already got further than her old band ever did, as she has actually managed to make a video! I have to say I’ll be quite surprised if Jessie does well, as she’s really going for a pop sound and image without any serious pretentions to rock or r’n’b, and that just doesn’t work in the USA unless you have Disney affiliations these days. The song is not stellar (ha) either. She reminds me of a lot of European Britney wannabes, and although these kinds of acts have produced some brilliant pop songs in the past (think Marie Serneholt, Jeanette Biedermann etc.), I don’t think this is one of the better ones. I’d be happy to be proven wrong, though.
73% Poptastic!
David Archuleta – Crush (Listen)
I loved adorable David on American Idol this year, so I’m pleased to find his debut single is much better than I expected. The verses are a bit dull, but the chorus is very catchy, reminding me most of all of the songs from another surprisingly good album, Nick Lachey’s What’s Left Of Me. David sang With You by Chris Brown on AI, and although that performance wasn’t his most complimented, he seems to have taken the style of that song and reimagined it as the kind of song a David Archuleta should sing. I’m certain this will be a hit in America, and it could easily do well in continental Europe (Rix FM will lap it up), but I don’t think it’s distinctive enough for the Brits to go for it, and that lack of individuality is the main problem that David must overcome in order to become an enduring success.
85% Poptastic!