Jo Birchall - Wonderful

When it comes to dealing a card from the deck of life, you don't get much better than Mr Gary Barlow - surely as close to British pop royalty as you get these days.

And so the story began for aspiring young songstress Jo Birchall. Under the guidance of good ol' Gary, Jo also toured with Westlife and appeared on shows like Children In Need - so far it's sounding like a silver-studded ride right to the top, right?

But sadly, a series of unfortunate events led to Jo's career faltering before it had truly started. Through no fault of her own, the dream was put on ice, for the time being at least. With Gary Barlow off on his jaunts with the newly reformed Take That, it was time for Jo to go it alone.

Reinvigorated by the assorted setbacks, she set about recording her debut album Something To Say, intent on putting together a collection of 'real songs with real meanings and experiences'. Music wrote straight from the heart.

Lead single Wonderful is every bit the cheery, one-with-yourself ditty you'd expect then of someone so clearly determined and radiant in the face of everything - as light and as airy as a sea breeze, but with that inner heart of true emotion.

The likes of Wonderland and Taylor Swift have cornered the market on this kind of inoffensive, radiant pop of late - plenty of space then for Jo Birchall to add herself into the mix then.

Frolicking away in a floral dress to a backdrop of coastal scenes, Wonderful's video feels as quintessentially English as Birchall herself - there's a Richard Curtis movie plot in here somewhere, and Birchall is ready to step it up to the next scene.

Wonderful is released on the 21st August.