Will Young - Losing Myself

If you'd have asked someone a few years ago if they'd ever have thought Will Young would re-invent himself as an angelic synth-pop artist, you'd probably have been greeted with silence.

But that's exactly what Will managed to achieve this year, and it's resulted not only in some of the best material of his career, but some of the best pop music around at the moment.

Where previous singles Jealousy and Come On felt futuristic and reflective, new track Losing Myself has its feet set firmly in the 80s. The production is pure bliss and Will's soulful vocals suit it perfectly. This could easily be something off a late 80s George Michael album, but imbued with all the maturity and electronic glory of something New Order or Depeche Mode would have been proud to call their own.

Some people dismiss electronic music as cold and dispassionate, but Losing Myself is wrapped up in such warmth, such delicacy and nuance of emotion that it packs the intensity of any hard-wrought campfire ballad. As 2011 turns into 2012, Will Young has proven yet again he stands as an artist of continuing relevancy and one of the prime examples that reality TV prodigies can be forces for good in music.

Losing Myself is released on the 19th March.

The chart battle is on - Olly Murs vs. Will Young

I can still remember the day, ten years ago, when I rushed out to buy Will Young's debut single Anything Is Possible/Evergreen (back when Woolworths stocked the entire Top 40 singles). Fresh from Pop Idol, Will had ushered in a brand new era of pop - the age of reality TV dominance. He set the stage for X Factor to follow, and the UK charts have never been the same since.

In the 10 years since his victory, Will has also released some absolute gems - from the eternally popular Leave Right Now, the lovely Who Am I, right down to the soundtrack to a million Natwest adverts: Grace.

His new track Jealousy is something tantalisingly new and exciting - delving into the world of shiny synth-pop with top producer Richard X, the track is a storming exercise in why Will very much still deserves his place amongst pop's higher echelons of stars.

Currently, the track lies at Number 4 on iTunes - a remarkably strong showing considering so many of Will's contemporaries have long since faded away. Standing at Number One however is a male reality star of a newer age - and standing between these two, the makings of good old fashioned chart battle.

As it stands, Olly Murs is undoubtedly the true winner of X Factor 2009 - while Joe McElderry has spiralled perilously first out of the charts and then into reality tv doom via Popstar to Operastar, Olly has nabbed himself three Top 20 singles and a double platinum debut album.

Very well done indeed. To be honest, he remains one of the more likeable X Factor contestants - his early audition of Superstition remains one of the show's high points and his everyman honesty and charm without a doubt played a part in his snaring the Xtra Factor presenter role this year. Oh, and his songs are half-decent too.

New single Heart Skips A Beat is easily Olly's most adventurous record to day, spinning his cod-reggae off on a dance-pop tangent with a guest rap from Rizzle Kicks. Oh, and the track is co-written by Preston from The Ordinary Boys.

It's like an exercise in laddishness - in the month where The Inbetweeners movie has surged to such immense success in cinemas, it seems only right that a song of such boyish enthusiasm and sturdy love-cliches is on its way to the top too.