Lopez Blogs

So there you are. Standing on the stage, singing your little heart out to an original song (Shayne Ward, Michelle McManus), a Westlife album track (William of Young) or some other idol cast off track (Leon Jackson, Leona Lewis) and trying not to swallow the ridiculous amount of ticker tape flying down into your warbling mouth. You are probably looking quite sexy (if you are Shayne Ward or William of Young), elegant (Leona Lewis), in need of a pie (Michelle McManus), like you are waiting for the "special bus" (Leon Jackson) or like you are waiting to feel up some 17 year old girl at the after party (Steve Brookstein). The whole world is at your feet - yet for some reason the world is not available to you unless you are Leona Lewis. It's not that i begrudge her the success around the globe, but it does grate a little that she is considered the best "idol" that Britain had to offer. Here are two others that should have done spectacularly, along with the American Leona....

Apart from the scary black gloves, there is no reason why Shayney should not be a huge star in the US. Sure, his first album was as boring as heck. Apart from Bleeding Love and Better in Time, frankly Leona's ain't that much more adventurous. But each time I dip into his second album I find such a treasure trove of delectable r'n'b tinged pop treats that it is impossible not to think "finally - a great pop star with international appeal has come from the X Factor"... I won't go on about the singles released so far - but I am quite disappointed that the label has decided to wait a whopping 7 months between releasing the second single (Breathless back in Nov 07) and the rumoured U Got Me So in June 08. What was wrong with plugging the gap (oo-er, plugging Shayne's gap :O ) with the broody Damaged, the effortlessly dancey Stand By Your Side or even the sultry groove You Make Me Wish (legal Richie Kidd remix available below!)? The album could easily yield about 7 decent singles and remixes and deserves a wider audience in America (there is a link somewhere where a grumpy Shayne bemoans that actually he is big everywhere else thankyou very much!)...

MP3: Shayne Ward - You Make Me Wish (Richie Kidd Sunshine Remix)

Why oh why William of Young (one of my top five male artists ever) didn't try and break the states is beyond me. One of those mixed together albums with material from his second and third sets would have been a stunning collection to behold. I'm not sure how he would have slotted into the notoriously difficult to crack (Will young - crack :O) american radio genres but I can't help but feel he would have had critical acclaim. Imagine picking up an "ego has landed"/"just my luck" type album filled with Leave Right Now, Your Game (now covered by co-writer Taio Cruz on Departure), Ain't Such A Bad Place To Be, Who Am I, Switch It On, Love The One You're With and probably padded with a couple of his covers - Your Love is King, etc... Sure you can make that yourself with the magic of mp3 players, but that's an album i would want in my sticky little hands as much as Alter Boy. Luckily new Will material is coming later this year and I'm eager to hear what it is....

More people should flock to Kimberley Locke. Her first album was pretty solid all the way through and was preceeded by perhaps one of the best pop songs to come out of the Idol machine - Eighth World Wonder (a song so ace, Deborah Gibson says she wished she wrote it)... Her second album Based On A True Story seems to have been largely ignored - possibly because it lacked that huge lead off single a la Bleeding Love. However, as an overlooked alternative to the Leona promotion trail, it's an incredibly enjoyable piece of work that I have found myself rediscovering big styl-ee this very week. Criminally, the album's weakest song ~ "Supawoman" ~ (hate that spelling) was serviced to radio as the first single and probably caused all sorts of untold damage. Next choice Change was a VAST improvement and proves that Kimberley is best when she serves straight up pop that doesn't veer too far to current trends or ott melodrama. It's just pure enjoyable solid vocals and lovely melodies. Uptempo tracks like Any Which Way represent what I was expecting from the third Kelly Clarkson album, while I Don't Wanna Know is a radio hit waiting to happen if only she could get an appearance on Oprah or get radio to hammer down those prejudices. However, it's her cover of Band of Gold (that quite rightly has been a massive club smash) and gorgeous gorgeous country tinged ballad Fall that serve the album best and provide a welcome respite before I start singing Bleeding Love once again...

LINK: Purchase Based On A True Story here

OTHER IDOLS OF NOTE:

• Kym Marsh (Don't judge but her two singles, Sentimental and Tempted are all great ignored pop classics)
• Michelle McManus (I jest mainly, but i still think Once In A Lifetime and Meaning of Love are great ballads that deserve their day in the sun)
• Darin (Since i bought his first two albums in 2006 he has yet to put a foot wrong. Break out of Sweden and hit the UK charts with Insanity please)