Yasmin - Finish Line

I have to say, Finish Line has somewhat crept up on me. It's only now, on its week of release that its suddenly just hit me, that moment all truly great songs have, where everything suddenly clicks and you realise what an amazing piece of pop mastery you're dealing with.

Yasmin represents one of the brightest stars in UK music this year and what I love most about her is she's doing completely her own thing - and in a market getting increasingly crowded with strong, independent female vocalists - that more than works in her favour. She comes too with an inherent sense of style and credibility, painted for all to see on the cover art of her singles. Model-like in her fragile beauty, there's also a fiery determination behind it all that seems to leap from that exclamation mark daubed in pink paint.

Finish Line's real strength comes in its timeless quality - by incorporating a little bit of this, a little bit of that, it somehow sounds like everything and nothing at once. 80s synths in the chorus, those lush, Massive Attack beats that made On My Own so lovely, the glossy 21st century production - the track as a whole could slip effortlessly into the musical landscape of anywhere in the past three decades. Just when you think the song is going down one avenue, it takes a right turn and shoots off on another tangent, culminating in that immensely uplifting chorus line.

It's here too that you realise what an incredibly talented vocalist Yasmin is. She has one of those voices that never allows the track to become dominant - those vocals remain clear and pure from the very start to, pardon the pun, the Finish Line. Part passionate clubland diva, part airy pop princess, Yasmin's vocals draw the best from both these camps.

As I write this, Finish Line stands in the top 15 on iTunes, testament to the all encompassing appeal the track possesses. So many try and fail to touch base on a wide range of musical scenes in an effort to achieve mass popularity. You can't blame them for want of trying, but it's a damn hard thing to do.

What makes Yasmin and Finish Line so beautifully wonderful is that they do this without even breaking sweat. The cool is effortless, the appeal is pure charm. No pretentiousness or sense of strained egos here, only the sound of definite quality and an assured smash hit.

Finish Line is available to download on iTunes now.