Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes
It's been two years since Sam Smith's last release, his Oscar-winning Bond theme, and yet this is all he could come up with as a comeback? A very polite, gentle breakup ballad that sounds like every other song from his debut?
ZAYN & Sia - Dusk Till Dawn
And here's another artist releasing pretty much the same song all over again. Sia's teamed up with ZAYN for this one, but as a duet it's simply the two singers straining to be heard over each other. The cinematic video is a fun heist, but the song doesn't warrant such hefty, expensive treatment.
Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It?
I don't think anyone was ready for this new Taylor Swift. Popstars revel in reinvention, but this is just such a shockingly awkward change in sound. As with LWYMMD, this second track from 'reputation' is a hard-edged hip-hop tinged hot mess that's simply out of character. And in her pursuit of cool, Swift seems to have forgotten how to write a melody, something she's undoubtedly known for. There's actually an enjoyably dreamy pre-chorus in here that deserves to be attached to a much, much better song.
Tove Lo - Disco Tits
Only Tove Lo could release a track called Disco Tits. Only Tove Lo could sing lyrics like "I'm fully charged, nipples are hard, ready to go" with conviction. Honestly, this NYC disco track isn't her best - she seems to be drifting further away from the brutal intimacy of her debut to aggressive feminism that's musically less interesting - but if there isn't a drag queen catwalking to this right now then society has failed her.
Kelly Clarkson - Love So Soft
Considering Clarkson is responsible for the likes of Since U Been Gone and My Life Would Suck Without You and basically the whole of 'Breakaway', this is a disappointment. She's one of the strongest singers to have graduated from American Idol, but the rap-sung chorus doesn't do her voice justice and the horn-soaked R&B sound stinks of Meghan Trainor.
Nina Nesbitt - The Best You Had
"How does she taste, is it sweeter than mine was?" Not a lyric you'd expect from cutesy folk singer Nina Nesbitt. But that singer is long gone, replaced by a popstar singing dark love songs underpinned by electronic production (see also: Kyla La Grange, Gabrielle Aplin). But the candid lyrics of The Best You Had are what sets it apart, along with its compelling mix of vulnerability and brutal honesty.
Priest - White Wing Dove
This is the first track from the Orlando-based duo's forthcoming debut EP 'Lost Lions': hard synths, hypnotic melodies and 80s-tinged futurism make for quite the chilling concoction. Maybe not the most original of sounds, but the euphoric Depeche Mode-esque chorus is pure magic.
Nadine - Go To Work
As the best singer from Girls Aloud, it's a shock that Nadine Coyle hasn't had a strong solo career. But tracks like this don't help. She's little more than a featured vocalist on her own single here, belting over cheap funky house production. Technically proficient, but lacking in personality.
Loote - Out Of My Head
You know when someone just gets you? This cute little electro-pop song from New York duo Loote is in my head in more ways than one and doesn't show any signs of leaving.
Michael Jackson - Blood On The Dance Floor X Dangerous (The White Panda Mash-Up)
You know when someone just ruins your favourite artist?
