Jason Derulo - Fight For You

Of all the ridiculous overblown R&B-dance-pop Jason Derulo has released (and some of it has been great - some less so...), new single Fight For You really takes the biscuit.

Riding high on a massive fuck-off hook ripped straight from Toto's 80s classic Africa, the song is so gloriously super-produced, so ceremonially pumped through a million miles of autotune that it becomes so bad it's actually rather endearing. The sonic equivalent of Snakes on a Plane so to speak.

The thing is, Derulo is a dab hand at knocking out a great pop melody and Africa is one of the all time great pop melodies. So putting two and two together, you could never really have gone wrong with this bonkers smash-up. I'm loathe to use the word guilty pleasure to refer to a pop track, as pop should never be a guilty pleasure - but Fight For You really is. It just is.

And just as good 'ol Jason took such joy in blasting out the Banana Boat Song, he now takes to riffing through a bit of cod-African chants, because, well... the song is about Africa. In the world of Derulo-pop, this is how literal things get.

Fight For You is released on the 28th November.

Cher Lloyd - Playa Boi

The reviews of Cher Lloyd's debut album are slowly filtering in and taking a brief glance over the assorted tracks, there's one that immediately stands out for us.

Yes, that's right, Cher Lloyd's take on Neneh Cherry's Buffalo Stance is one of the best song on debut Sticks + Stones. Cher retitles the track Playa Boi and gives it a glossy re-work, bringing it up to date in a way only a product of the X Factor hit-factory could do.

The joy is though, she's kept enough of the original for it to tap into all the wonderful nostalgia. It's by no means a straight-up cover, but it's getting on for that. You get the sense Cher is a fan of the original too, a feeling that this is a far more genuine track than Swagger Jagger ever was. Her rapping is relatively lightweight here, but with Buffalo Stance's classic chorus, we can forgive that.

Cher Lloyd's album Sticks + Stones is available to pre-order on Amazon now.

Some very nice video stills from Leona's Collide...

What with all the attention afforded to the rather unsavory dispute between Leona Lewis and Avicii over 'that' sample, it's easy to forget just how good a track Collide actually is.

The more you hear it, the more it grows on you, just as the track itself builds and builds within itself to a jaw-dropping crescendo.

Listening to it on some flash speakers or headphones, you can really appreciate that thundering bassline in all its majesty - and above it, that piano riff soaring and crashing like waves breaking on a distant beach... which leads us nicely on to the first of these gorgeous stills from the track's upcoming video:

Stunning! The full video premieres later this week - we can't wait! As many others have commented, Collide is kind of what you imagine Coldplay would come out with if they 'went all dancey' - and this is a very good thing indeed.

What's more, Leona has always been in possession of a truly peerless vocal, but on Collide - removed from the epic balladry of her first and second albums - you appreciate new subtleties, new textures to it.

Here's another shot - Leona looking very hot as she takes a ride in a sporty classic car. Nice!

Colette Carr - (We Do It) Primo

What do you get when you add a stunning blonde, a Keane sample (amazing!) and Frankmusik (also amazing!) all together? Well, you end up with Colette Carr's new single (We Do It) Primo, that's what.

Hailing from Malibu, California (can we live there please? It sounds really sunny!), Colette is a feisty electro-popping rapper whose previous single Back It Up reached Number One on MTVMusic's Top 100 back at the start of 2010.

The closest thing I can really compare Primo to is Miley Cyrus's Party In The USA; it's got that same youthful exuberance, that real hands-in-the-air vibe. On one hand you have the glorious 'pop' of Colette's vocals and bouncy synths; on the other hand, a real urban credibility.

Artists like Jessie J have helped open the door wide open for quirky, forthright female artists to make it big and Primo is precisely the kind of track ready to take that opportunity and really make a go of it.

Of course, there's always a danger when sampling a song as popular as Keane's Somewhere Only We Know that it could alienate fans of the original - but Primo cleverly only uses the briefest of moments of the song, cherry-picking the catchiest hook of the chorus; a cornerstone that the rest of the song can launch from.

As for Colette herself, she's obviously got a keen sense of style too, presenting herself in some really eye-catching, glamorous outfits that match up to the striking, individual sounds on offer in her music. It's well worth checking out her rather amazing blog too, complete with smileys and a hell of a lot of pictures. Very colourful, super-bright, and like Primo itself, immensely fun.


Colette Carr - (We Do It) Primo by CherrytreeRecords

Wretch 32 feat. Example - Unorthodox

When devising a future smash hit set to dominate the airwaves, it’s all about the hook.  That key element to every song, that snatch of musical magic that will stick in someone’s head and get them parting with their hard-earned cash to download a piece of that pure delight.  And in terms of brilliant hooks, you don’t get much better than the bassline from The Stone Roses’ 1989 classic Fools Gold.

Enter Wretch 32, AKA Jermaine Scott, the latest hyper-talented youngster to burst onto the UK rap scene.  Taking up that irresistible Stone Roses hook, he’s crafted it onto a classy slice of urban lyricism.  With Example helping out on vocal duties in the chorus, it’s a winning formula that would be just at home blaring out of the car speakers on a sunny day as it would pounding away in a club.  The perfect follow up to previous single Traktor, which shot straight into the UK top ten.

Growing up in Tottenham, Wretch 32 honed his marketing skills early; selling over 15,000 copies of mixtapes.  Clearly he’d make an ideal candidate on The Apprentice.  Wretch 32’s credentials come with some hefty references too; man of the moment Tinie Tempah hails him as ‘one of the best lyricists in the game’.  Strong praise, but with tracks as good as Unorthodox, Wretch 32 is definitely deserving of it.