In Maroon 5 members out of 5!
Portobella – Covered In Punk
This is my new favourite song. It’s electropop meets punk meets Shampoo and the result is insanely cool and catchy. The lyrics are also fantastic, including “Look at me I scream like a banshee, God save the drag queen, God save the drag queen!” and other such genius. This deserves to be massive but I think it’s one of those tracks that people will either love or hate (most of you poptastic people will be the former I suspect).
Jesses out of 5: 
N*E*R*D – Maybe
Shockingly, this is quite good! The Neptunes have made some great tracks for other people but until now I’ve not thought much of their own music and particularly disliked The Way She Moves. This new song is actually a little Maroon 5-esque and although admittedly it took me three listens to like it, now I very much do. The video even looks a bit like This Love, with a similar colour scheme, the performance part and a girl on a bed.
Ryans out of 5: 
Mania – Looking For A Place To Go
Mania are a brand new girl group made up of Giselle Somerville and Niara Scarlett and are a project of the people behind hits by Girls Aloud and Sugababes among others. I had high hopes for this single and this isn’t quite as sparkly and ace as I expected, it’s still a great, simple yet catchy pop song and I love the sound of their voices. I’d really like this to do well as I’ve heard lots of good things about their other songs, this is growing one me with each listen and the girls look like lovely, normal people.
James’ out of 5: 
Candice – Hello
Candice is apparently quite popular in her native South Africa, but I doubt she’ll be able to stand up to the might of Michelle Branch or even Avril who she’ll no doubt be compared to. She looks like an Olsen twin wearing too much make-up and sounds like Avril with a little Billie Myers (remember her?) thrown in for the “hello” bits. There is one ace bit where she shouts “Sports car, swimming pool, baby’s in a private school, everybody says she’s a perfect ten”. I don’t think we’ll be hearing anymore from her, although this will probably turn up on Hilary Duff’s next album.
Adams out of 5: 
Helicopter Girl – Angel City
This is a really unusual song and video as the whole thing is very old looking – if I hadn’t known it was new I’d never have guessed. I have no idea why the singer is called Helicopter Girl, she doesn’t look like a helicopter or even sound like one. She does have a nice voice and the song is lovely, although a bit Radio 2 for me. The video is a bit like Liz Phair’s Why Can’t I, with the lyrics popping up around the girl. She is dressed like she should be in the 40s or 50s and looks quie old herself (though not old enough to be alive in the 40s!). I can’t see this doing well but it’s not rubbish so you never know.
Mickeys out of 5: 