The Next Big Thing?

Soundgirl
Girls Can’t Catch’s seats on the pop bus are still warm yet there’s a new three piece girlband taking their place, again aiming to fill the ‘we need a new Sugababes now no-one likes the old one’ gap in the market. Soundgirl are signed to Mercury Records, going on tour with labelmate Pixie Lott in November, and currently recording their album with some big name writers, such as The Underdogs and, if Popjustice’s suspicions are correct, the amazing 90s popstar Betty Boo! The songs on their website are quite average, although Walking On Air has a good chorus, but the girls sound and look great and that’s a good start. My only concern is that they might be a bit bland – I don’t see much individuality between the girls, and the style of music is nothing new. It’s exciting to have a new major label girl group and I will be following them closely, but I’m not totally on board quite yet.
Hit potential: 76% Poptasticness: 74%

Labrinth
I’ve heard this guy’s name mentioned more and more recently but didn’t get chance to research him until now. It’s quite difficult to work out what he’s all about (he sings, writes and produces for himself and others), but it’s clear that he’s very talented and he’s going to have a massive launch in the coming months. Much like every non-guitar-playing male artist these days, Labrinth sits on the border between R&B and dance music, as you can hear in his debut single Let The Sun Shine. Personally I was expecting something a bit more edgy, but this radio-friendly sound makes a bit more sense of the Simon Cowell involvement. I get the feeling Simon just wanted his own Taio Cruz, and he may just succeed. The single isn’t as innovative as I was expecting, but it’s sweet, catchy and uplifting and makes me very interested in hearing more from this project.
Hit potential: 91% Poptasticness: 83%