Ahhh, the good old Alan Titchmarsh show - that last bastion of the pop TV performance. In all seriousness though, without it, we'd never be treated to performances of singles as good as this: Nicola Roberts' latest track Yo-Yo is if anything, the most representative of her album as a whole.
Whereas Beat of my Drum and Lucky Day were fun, feisty, fluffy - Yo-Yo falls far more in the camp of 80s-tinged synth-pop melancholia that characterises the absolute pop gem that is Cinderella's Eyes.
One of the lasting impressions the album gave me was just how much you believed and cared for every word Nicola sings, and never is that more true than here.
A song of ups and downs, of trials and tribulations - if the rest of pop music was always as brave and emotionally bared as this, the world would be a much more exciting place.
What could be even better than Nicola Roberts' stunning dream-pop single Lucky Day? How about a remixed, mash-up version courtesy of production supremos Thriller Jill (let's not forget they delivered that jaw-droppingly amazing version of Girls Aloud's Love Is The Key).
When it comes to a good mash-up, there's certain tracks you just can't go wrong with, and one of those is Snap!'s 90s classic Rhythm Is A Dancer. Even now, nearly two decades after its original release, if the track drops on a dancefloor, people will go absolutely mental for it. Guaranteed.
So, paired up with Nicola's Lucky Day, we have a new, pumped up version of the track - all bonkers 90s synths and the kind of perfect chorus us long-time Nicola fans always dreamed of her conjuring up.
Pop lovers, get your dancing shoes on - this is a good one.
Listen to the Lucky Day / Rhythm Is A Dancer mash-up HERE.
Us pop fans have always known how completely and utterly captivating Nicola Roberts is, but this new photoshoot for the cover of her debut solo album just takes things to a new level of gorgeous.
You can read all sorts into the 'kitchen sink' metaphor here too, Nicola herself precariously perched atop one in the shot.
Eclectic, with definitive hints of retro, but above all effortlessly cool - that's Nicola all over.
We've just got hold of the album's tracklisting too - take a peek!
1. Beat Of My Drum
2. Lucky Day
3. Yo-Yo
4. Cinderella's Eyes
5. Porcelain Heart
6. i
7. Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime
8. Say It Out Loud
9. Gladiator
10. Fish Out Of Water
11. Take A Bite
12. sticks + stones
Track 7, in case you're not up to date on your hits of the early 80s, is a cover of The Korgis track. We really like what Nicola's done with some of the track titles too, playing around with grammar and de-capitalising some of the songs.
While this might play havok with those of us who have consistent ways of tagging our songs on iTunes, it certainly looks cool. You need only look at songs like Yo-Yo and Take A Bite too to see there's going to be some pretty close to the bone emotional outpouring on the album.
In the latter, Nicola sings 'you push me to fight, everybody’s got a limit, so put ’em up', a sentiment everyone can empaphise with - that moment when someone just goes too far, makes that one comment that unleashes the torrent that's been building up for years.
Nicola's co-writing credits extend to every track on the album, except that Korgis cover, and she speaks a little about how she turned to her own life experience as subject matter for the record: “I had to feel like I would say and mean every single one of these lyrics. I would say, ‘I’d never say that in a million years, why would I put it down just because it rhymes?’ It’s as simple as this: I’ve been given an opportunity to make the album I want to make, so I’ve absolutely put every last bit of heart and soul into it.”
Cinderella's Eyes is released on the 24th September and can be pre-ordered here.
Today we have the pleasure of bringing you the video from the Girls Aloud star's latest single, and we think you'll agree it's every bit as wonderful and cute as Beat Of My Drum was.
Where Nicola's previous single was the spark and fire of a solo career bursting into life, Lucky Day takes that sound and allows it to blossom and grow into a fully fledged thing of beauty that really is the epitome of everything Girls Aloud fans have always loved about Nicola.
The video was directed by Stephen Agnew (he's previously worked with The Vaccines and White Lies) and sees Nicola taking a sunny stroll through New York's East Village.
With the help of some nifty little visual effects, Nicola paints a veritable rainbow of colour through the streets, stamping down that unique, lovely, effortlessly charming personality that is just so 'her'.
Co-written by Canadian electro-poppers Dragonette, the track definitely bears the hallmarks of their influence too - judging by the recent success of Martin Solveig's Hello, which featured Dragonette leading lady Martina, Lucky Day looks primed to follow in its footsteps to the upper reaches of the charts.
Snappy, feisty, Lucky Day is the song not only Nicola fans always wanted from her, but it feels, without a doubt, like the kind of music Nicola always wanted to make too. Cinderella's Eyes is her project, her life and soul, and it's already shaping up to be one of the best pop albums of the year.
The place - Metro Radio Live - and Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts is giving the audience an exclusive performance of the song which will apparently become her second solo single, following Beat Of My Drum.
Entitled Lucky Day, I hear the track was produced in collaboration with electro-poppers Dragonette. From what I can make out in this clip, it sounds far closer to the sound many expected from Nicola when it was first announced she was going solo; those big, epic synth-ballads she did so well as part of Girls Aloud.
We've already had a taste of extra Nicola with Beat Of My Drum's excellent b-side, Porcelain Heart, and judging by Lucky Day, her debut album looks set to be absolutely out-of-this-world-amazing.
