Kevin Courtney'sguide to singles, downloads and free audio streams.
Charlie used to be in sparky boy-guitar band Busted, but he gave it all up to be in this plodding emo-lite outfit. Sorry? He will be when the world ignores this plastic metal tune. You can hear it on www.fight starmusic.com, but you may regret it.
NE-YO Can We Chill Def Jam/Mercury
No, we can't, you wet, insipid r'n'b muppet. We can kill, though.
Is there anyone out there who can follow the greatest band of the 1970s? I refer to Smokie, of course. But Lo! Here come two brothers from Devon who dare to emulate the genius behind Livin' Next Door to Alice. They can't hope to succeed, of course, but maybe Roy Chubby Brown might give them a leg-up.
Where'd she get her humps? Not from her dad, that's for sure. Black Eyed Pea Will.I.Am gets a smart answer to a stupid question, and hopes to follow Fergie to solo chart success. Take your mama out dancing to this one.
He is, says his major record label, UK songwriting's best-kept secret, but you can be sure they'll be letting the whole world in on the secret. Earle does emotional, heartfelt pop pretty well, and this tune plinks along plaintively before going into a big Snow Patrol chorus. Hope he has other bows to his strings, though. Get the feeling on www.benearle.com.
Everyone from George Michael to Dixie Chicks have tried and failed to stop the war in Iraq, so it's time to bring in the heavy guns. Iano is joined by Sinead O'Connor for a two-pronged attack on US/UK foreign policy. Play this crushingly dull tune loud outside the White House, and Bush will surely surrender.
