The “X Factor Winner’s First Post-Show Single” is always a tricky hurdle to overcome. Whilst it can be a “Bleeding Love” (aka massive worldwide domination), it could also fade into the background faster than you can say “Leon Jackson”. Which is a shame, because he seems like a really sweet guy… Anyway, to avoid being added to the Simon Cowell “To Drop List”, you need a rockin’ first song. And I’m happy to say that Little Mix have more than delivered! I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I did, and it just really suits them and their style (which is a little urban, little pop, little R&B and other ingredients of in-between). A catchy chorus, optimistic lyrics, cool harmonies; hell, even the intro is better than most these days. You can actually tell their voices apart so they haven’t been merged into a single autotuned blur. It’s so unexpected as an “X Factor Winner’s First Post-Show Single” that it could create a Little Mix brand separate from the X Factor association…meaning they are established artists of their own right and accord. Oh, and there’s clapping too.

Newton Faulkner’s first and second albums are a happy and cosy part of my CD collection and always take me to a place with unexpected melodies and guitar riffs where he’s obviously showing off. And I love it. “Clouds” is an upbeat track that just oozes summer. It’s classic Newton and makes me want to smile at random strangers on the street. Yes, really. A feel-good summer anthem is right down my street, and it has given me expert advice too, should I ever need it: “Stop looking down at the ground, pick it out of the clouds. No one’s gonna put you down. Just let it out, let it out.” Amen to that, brother.

First of all, let me say this: "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a to-the-point phrase, but also a long one. So for all future references I’ll be abbreviating to "WANEGBT", and "WANEEEEEEEGBT" if necessary (never ever ever ever ever… that’s even more to-the-point). Taylor Swift is currently trending on Twitter, thanks to the news of her new album “Red”, and new single “WANEGBT”. If the album/single covers are anything to go by, she’s departing from the happy, bright, smiley bubblegum images of the past few records. So how does the single compare?

It’s different. It’s no longer “Taylor Swift, country star” but she does continue her now-signature theme of boys, break-ups and no-longer-love letters to the mystery ex. As evident from the title. I applaud her autobiographic lyrics and have done since the early tracks (Tim McGraw, Picture to Burn etc), so hearing “Then you come around and say ‘Baby, I miss you and I swear I’m gonna change, trust me’. Remember how that lasted for a day?” is refreshingly “Taylor”. There’s elements of shouty anger, heartbreak and then getting over it, and surprising empowerment. Like, the guy can beg/plead/call as much as he likes, but she’s not having any of it (ever, ever, ever, ever). 

From a first listen it sounds remarkably like an Avril Lavigne song, so I was half expecting Taylor to launch into a “hey hey you you I don’t like ya girlfriend”. The chorus has the ability to be an anthem for girls in similar situations, and the general Twitter reception seems to be just that; girls going “Ohhhh that is basically my life in a song!”. Which is what makes Taylor Swift so popular, now and for a long long time to come. Having said that, I have been a huge Taylor Swift fan for years – way before her music was released in the UK – and I’m therefore a huge fan of her country sound. I liked the way she made country music more accessible, especially to the younger market, and it made her stand out in a good way. The last album, “Speak Now” began her crossover to the country-pop market, but if the rest of “Red” follows the lead of “WANEGBT”, she may have sadly said goodbye to her unique country sound. 

I really hope she doesn’t get trapped into the autotune, mass-produced sound market (which alarmingly, most songs in the charts seem to be following these days!), but in the chorus of “WANEGBT”, her voice is almost lost in the whole production of it. 

H-o-w-ever, despite all that, I just can’t help replaying the song over and over again! If I had to describe the song in one word…catchy. Catchy catchy catchy.  The high-pitched “eeee” of “we” is catchy (but hard to sing; I’ve tried), the “never ever” is surprisingly catchy, the whole chorus is just catchy. Taylor Swift even manages to do include a bit of talking (“like, ever”) which I can just see people copying when it’s played on the radio. 

So… all in all, “WANEGBT” is perhaps different to the country sound I was expecting, but its sheer catchiness seems to cushion my slight disappointment. Its clear Taylor is heading in a new direction, yet it’s still surprisingly girly and retains much of the makings of a Taylor Swift song (country roots aside), and deserves the success and good reception it will undoubtedly receive.