Justin Nozuka
I’m not sure if he’s actually famous in his home country of Canada, but Justin’s acoustic-soul style could go down very well with fans of James Morrison. His new single Mr Therapy Man is my least favourite on his MySpace, but it’s not terrible (in fact it sounds like Hanson!) – I just like the others better, especially Golden Train, which is delicate and sweet with a lovely chorus reminding me of Ari Hest. I’ve seen him on The Box, and I think if Radio 2 picks up on him he could have some success, but not with this single. We’ll have to wait and see if the record label give him a chance to release something better.
Hit Potential: 65% Poptasticness: 70%
Flamboyant Bella
They’re unsigned but releasing an EP and seem to have a big following on MySpace. Get A Reaction is a bit drum and bass-esque for me, but the sound is at least different to other electro-pop. Second Minute Hour is an actual pop ballad duet, which is really nice and interesting, Absolutely Wankered reminds me bizarrely of the boyband V, while Crazy Cool and My Skies are great fun duet pop, a bit Alphabeat. I think My Skies is my favourite – in fact their earlier work (see also Absolutely Wankered and Crazy Cool) is generally better. They’re not quite polished enough yet for super-stardom but with a record deal and some money behind them they could be great.
Hit Potential: 55% Poptasticness: 85%