The Rosebuds
They are classified as ‘Indie/Pop/Rock’ on MySpace, but the backing music in Get Up Get Out actually makes me think of disco! Their sound is unusual, but very jolly and enjoyable. I don’t know if there’s a market for it but the critical reactions have apparently been good so far. The male singer’s voice is typically indie, so the combination of it with the music is surprising. If a woman was singing the exact same song it would sound much more conventional, but still there is an odd mismatch between the singing and the music, so the most surprising thing is that it works. There is a female singer on other tracks and the sound is quite different, but equally ace. This is definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.
Hit Potential: 64% Poptasticness: 77%
Elliott Yamin
I loved Elliott on American Idol so I’m really pleased to see him starting to do well over there. His song is highly unoriginal (and bizarrely reminiscent of Never Had A Dream Come True by S Club 7… perhaps they can sue, they all seem to need the money) and very sappy, but it’s nice enough, and he does sound remarkably like AJ McClean on it. I don’t know why the AI contestants aren’t given better songs to release, perhaps just cos their labels know that the CDs will sell no matter what they sound like, but surely giving them really great music would cement their star status and they might last more than one or two albums. Kelly Clarkson didn’t get anything really good until her second album, so maybe Elliott, Katharine and co. will have the same fate, but it seems a shame not to capitalise on their current popularity to its full potential.
Hit Potential: 90% (in America, anyway) Poptasticness: 62%