Natalia Kills - Wonderland

If you don't already know about Natalia Kills then you will soon. If you search back through the years with a crystal-ball type device (or Wikipedia/Google) you'll find a whole heap of stuff on the beginnings of her TV/music career. But in terms of her recent material, it all really kicked off with her being discovered by Will.i.am in 2008, who swiftly signed her up to Interscope/Cherry Tree Records.

Natalia describes her own sound as "darker sounding pop music", and for a woman with a track called Zombie on her album, it's a fairly accurate representation of what she's about. Think Gaga's The Fame album, and with first single Mirrors being produced by Akon, there's more than a little of Just Dance about much of her material. But in terms of relative 'darkness', it strays away from the sound Gaga went on to pursue on The Fame Monster. Indeed, Natalia's music follows a more pure brand of pop and she has a remarkable knack of honing in on infectious choruses.

And in new single Wonderland she does precisely that. The track is full of the pure, unchecked attitude and swagger that defines so much of Natalia's work. But added to this is a real sweetness to her voice; as a pop persona she appears far more accessible and open than many of her contemporaries. Harsh mechanical beats and dirty bass in the verses contrast with the soaring synths and guitar of the chorus, painting the sound of a fantasy landscape full of untapped pleasures. The song is a means of escape from the hum-drum of ordinary life to that special 'wonderland' that exists in all our minds.