Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love (Listen)
In the words of Darren Hayes, who would have thought? Leona sounds like Delta Goodrem on record! Well, that’s when she’s not sounding like Celine, Whitney etc. with a touch of Lucie Silvas and, most surprisingly, Siobhan Donaghy! Let’s just hope she doesn’t ruin her life by dating someone from Westlife, if there are any straight ones left unmarried anyway. Actually she’d be quite a good match for Gareth Gates – just imagine the intellectual debate at their dinner parties! I like the song at the moment but I might get bored of it. I can’t deny my love for power ballads, though. In fact, I’m going to make up a power ballad playlist as soon as I’ve finished writing this.
83% Poptastic!
Amy Diamond – Is It Love (Listen)
I’d heard that Amy was going in a new direction with her new single, so I was quite intrigued. And I guess she has gone in a new direction, but the only name I can think of for it is ‘boring’. It isn’t really very much different to her other songs either (kind of like a slowed-down version), although I suppose it’s hard to change your style when your singing voice is as distinctive as Amy’s is. Hopefully it will be a grower and I’ll be begging her forgiveness in a few weeks when I’m obsessed with this song. We’ll just have to wait and see. It’s not awful, I just expect more from the first single from an album.
74% Poptastic!
Celine Dion – Taking Chances (Listen)
Rather than putting up a fight as Leona tries to take her place as top pop warbler, Celine has decided to go in a new direction. Unlike Amy Diamond, it seemed like Miss Dion really was going out on a limb with her comeback album, having worked with Timbaland, Ne-Yo, Evanescence, R. Kelly and Linda Perry… so why does the first single sound just like her usual music? Perhaps even more boring! It gets a bit guitarry later on, but it’s hardly Rammstein. It was actually written by Kara DioGuardi and Dave Stewart (aka Platinum Weird), who I personally find a bit overrated compared to the Swedish pop-rock writers, although Kara has contributed to some amazing proper pop singles like I Want It That Way, Spinning Around and I Knew I Loved You. I don’t think any of Celine’s mum fans will be very upset by this new direction.
56% Poptastic!