It’s fair to say that Ghost has been the surprise hit of the year. A talent show contestant from two years back who many had forgotten, Ella Henderson has so far managed to transcend the X Factor with a bona fide smash. Yet she was clearly destined to be big. A song written by Ryan Tedder only fuelled the fire.
Power ballad Glow is only going to continue her
success (and the G's). Somewhere between Adele’s Set Fire To The Rain, Coldplay's Princess of China and the ecstasy of
Katy Perry’s Firework, it pairs her
soulful vocals with militaristic drums and touches of electronica, bringing a
modern edge to the gospel/soul of her previous single. This is a hugely confident second single from
an artist producing solid pop music.
You can see it now:
the return of the X Factor live finals, Henderson belting out her chorus of “we
are brighter” backed by a choir and a slew of pyrotechnics, wind machine
tousling her hair as Cheryl Cole (or whatever her surname is nowadays) quakes in her boots. Henderson may have come
sixth, but she’s already a popstar far beyond the usual X Factor fare *cough* James Arthur *cough*. Let’s hope the album can live
up to expectations.
4/5
Listen: Glow is released on September 14th,
with debut album ‘Chapter One’ arriving on September 22nd.
