Jen's Music Review

Jenness Mitchell • Published 4 Jul 2012 09:30 0 Comments

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Cheryl: A Million Lights (Deluxe Version)

It's been a crazy year for Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole. First she was sacked as a judge on The X Factor USA and then she was replaced by N-Dubz's Tulisa Contostavlos on the British version after apparently snubbing a peace offering from Simon Cowell. The former Mrs Ashley Cole lay low, shying away from the spotlight for many months. The public had to go cold turkey as prior to this you couldn't switch a TV or radio on or buy a magazine without seeing her face plastered over it or hear her music blasting through. Having licked her wounds and taken refuge in the studio, the cheeky Geordie lass has now returned with her third solo album. Cole once said that she didn't want to change her surname back to Tweedy as it would make her seem ashamed of her marriage. Clearly wanting to distance herself from her former footballer husband without going back on her word, she has dropped Cole and will now rank amongst the few one-word stage-named musicians. It's a bit of a risk, especially as it's an instant comparison to the likes of Cher, Madonna, Adele and Beyoncé. While the mezzo-soprano can sing, she's not always performance perfect. As what we have come to expect, Cole has continued to lean towards R&B and dance (with a little dub-step thrown in for good measure) on A Million Lights. While she has helped to write a couple of songs on the record (Under The Sun and Craziest Things), she has turned to the likes of Calvin Harris (Call My Name), Taio Cruz (Mechanics of the Heart), Jim Beanz (Sexy Den a Mutha and All Is Fair), manager will.i.am (Craziest Things) and indie-favourite Lana Del Rey (Ghetto Baby) to make this a Chart success. Sadly, there's nothing here that's groundbreaking. While it's worth of a summer spin, it won't go down in the history books. With pop competition from the likes of Katy Perry and Jessie J, Cole is going to have to up her game. If she can't - that's when we'll see a Girls Aloud reunion.

Spotify Playlist Recommendation:

Snow Patrol: Hands Open. Florence + The Machine: Shake It Out. Feeder: Hey Johnny. Tribes: We Were Children. Emeli Sandé: Next to Me. Two Door Cinema Club: What You Know. The Maccabees: Pelican. We Were Promised Jetpacks: Circles and Squares. Alt-J: Taro. Nicki Minaj: Starships. Bombay Bicycle Club: Bad Timing. Twin Atlantic: Edit Me. The Subways: Celebrity. Dog is Dead: Hands Down. Kasabian: Where Did All The Love Go. The Stone Roses: I Wanna Be Adored. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds: If I Had A Gun…

Whether you're staying at home to watch the highlights or heading to Balado, here's a sweet playlist to get you into the mood for T in the P.

Festivals:

T in the Park (Snow Patrol, The Stone Roses, Kasabian) takes place the weekend of 6-8 July. Sat and Sun Day ticket £77.50, Weekend (No Camping) £179.00, Weekend & Camping £189.00 and Thursday Weekend & Camping £199.00. For tickets, go to www.ticketmaster.co.uk or call 08444 999 990. For more information, go to www.tinthepark.com.

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (Travis, The Wombats, Frightened Rabbit) will take place on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 August. An adult weekend camping ticket costs £95 and includes up to three accompanying children under-12 for free. For more information, go to www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk.

Videos to check out:

Jess Wright, Dance All Night: www.youtube.com/user/SteveAATW

General Fiasco, Bad Habits: www.youtube.com/user/generalfiasco

Fast Years, Young Heart: www.youtube.com/user/fastyears

Doldrums, Copper Girl: www.youtube.com/user/EndlessDoldrums

Lilygreen & Maguire, Ain't Love Crazy: www.youtube.com/user/lilygreenandmaguire

Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Mayhem (feat. Kano): www.youtube.com/user/marfomedia

Gig updates:

Lights, The Arches, Glasgow (4 July)

The View, ABC, Glasgow (12 July)

King Tut's Summer Nights, Glasgow (12-26 July)

We Are Scientists, King Tut's, Glasgow (1 August)