Dappy feat. Brian May - Rockstar

The UK is in dire need for another properly successful male solo star right now (someone that isn't Ed Sheeran basically). And as far as contenders go, Dappy's current stock is in pretty fine fettle.

Plying more of his singy-rappy thing on new single Rockstar, Dappy follows the foundations he set down with No Regrets pretty closely, but throws guitars into the mix too. Lots of them. Just like No Regrets, it's neither the worst pop track you'll hear this year, or the best, but it breathes success from every pore. Just as Dappy himself exudes a kind of uber-bravado, so too does Rockstar feel like the makings of an easy Number One single.

Serious kudos to him for managing to get Brian May on board though. Clearly even the Queen legend can't resist a bit of Dappy.

Rockstar is released on the 13th February.

Dappy announces exclusive fan tour pre-sale

Everyone's loving a bit of N-Dubz's Dappy at the moment. Just as his bandmate Tulisa is riding high on the X Factor, Dappy himself has nabbed himself a Number One record with No Regrets. Hurrah!

Tickets for his upcoming December tour go on sale tomorrow (28th September) at 9am, so if you want to book some, better set that alarm clock!

The tour dates are as follows:

December 2011

09 Norwich, UEA
10 Birmingham, Institute
11 Manchester, Academy
12 Sheffield, Plug
13 Liverpool, O2 Academy
15 Glasgow, ABC
16 Bristol, O2 Academy
17 Oxford, O2 Academy
18 Cambridge, Junction
19 London, Indigo2

Tinchy Stryder feat. Dappy - Spaceship

Pixie Lott, Holly Willoughby, 'Rochelle from The Saturdays'; all get a cheeky name-check in Tinchy's new track Spaceship. Pop culture references are always a winning point with me and in terms of giving Miss Pixie a mention, this ranks up there with Professor Green's Monster - we assume she's still drinking Lotts of milk...

The first single from his fourth album, Spaceship sees a return to the rougher intensity of Tinchy's early material like Stryderman; somewhat refreshing after the glossyness of tracks like Let It Rain. At any rate, the record is a fitting tribute to the rapper's success, with Dappy from N-Dubz adding a frenetic burst of speed to the song with his lightning-quick raps.

The track feels suitably in line with the sci-fi themes its title invokes, robotic march-like beats banging out a mechanistic, club-ready stomp. Packed with the confidence of two artists who know they've made it, the song's hooky chants ripple with natural swagger.

Spaceship is released on 12th June.