This Week's Singles

It's quite a week for new singles with several big names all releasing this week. Unfortunately, most of them are just rubbish. The gruesome pairing of Leann Rimes and Bryan McFadden being perhaps the worst, managing to do the impossible and out-bore Lemar's latest single. "Everybody's Someone" (no stars) is quite simply the most wishy-washy, dull and so inoffensive-it's-offensive record of the year and I defy anyone not to fall asleep while listening to it.

The Streets continue their descent into self-pitying parody with "Prangin Out" (**), US5, the most ridiculous and mis-timed pop group of all time attempt to break the UK with the laughable sub-Ricky Martin latin-pop of "Maria". (no stars) And OK Go's "Here It Goes Again" (*) is the complete opposite to the new Girls Aloud song. Great video, awful song.

It gets a bit better with The Pussycat Dolls who release what seems like the sixty-fourth single from their debut album but is actually only the fifth with "I Don't Need A Man" (***). They may be the most non-descript girlband around (would anyone really notice if the four who never actually sing were replaced by cardboard cut-outs?) but they sure know how to put out some pretty decent pop songs. Unlike most fifth singles, which usually sound like the bottom of a barrel being scraped, this has enough energy to be a lead single and indeed, single of the week.

Paolo Nutini is yet another dull singer-songwriter riding on the crest of the colossal James Blunt wave. Just because he plays the guitar and has long hair, it doesn't make him any more worthy than say, Will Young. He also sounds like he couldn't be bothered on "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" (*). James Dean Bradfield's "An English Gentlemen" (**) is much better but that's not saying much. And how Lionel Richie hasn't been filed a lawsuit for "I Call It Love" (**) is beyond me as it is basically a carbon-copy merge of Ne-Yo's last two singles.

Lily Allen's "LDN" (***) is just as charming as her last single, Lil Chris from Rock School's "Checkin It Out" (***) is surprisingly half-decent despite some bizarre wobbly vocals and former Destiny's Child member LeToya's "Torn," (**) unfortunately not a Natalie Imbruglia cover, is classy but still rather tiresome R&B.

Evanescence still seem to think it's 2003 again. "Call Me When You're Sober" (**) makes no attempt to even slightly change the overblown nu-metal pop sound of their debut, and therefore sounds already quite dated. Chris Lake's "Changes" (**) is another generic dance "anthem" which goes absolutely nowhere and All American Rejects enter the Bon Jovi power-ballad market with "It Ends Tonight." (***) Corny it may be but I kinda like it.