Oh yeah. Imagine how shocked I was when I was looking at the UK singles chart today, not expecting any surprises as it has been pretty boring of late. James Blunt is still #1 with You're Beautiful. I have a love-hate relationship with that song! At #2 is the ever-gorgeous Mariah Carey, moving up 1 notch with We Belong Together. And the highest debut stomping in the UK chart at #3 is none other than Lee Ryan 's Army of Lovers. I had no idea that he had new material! And to think that I was always at the frontlines of Britpop!
Lee Ryan of Blue with his first solo single! I think I kind of like Lee Ryan as an artist more than I like Blue. He's a person who's bubbling with character and all the powerful ballads were so good because of him. Remember the jaw-dropping long note that he sang in Breathe Easy when it changed key? His instantly recognisable voice and undoubtedly excellent singing prowess will serve him well in his solo career of making good pop songs.
I'm quite excited about his solo effort. Forget Ben Adams (whose debut came in at a floptastic #18). When I saw the title Army of Lovers, I wondered how the song would sound like. After getting stuff from my sources, it is indeed a slice of pop perfection. In fact, it sounds more grown up. A bit more like Will Young than any of Blue's previous singles, it's a classic-sounding love song.
Although it's on the short side (it doesn't even reach 3 minutes), I liked it the moment I heard it. It doesn't have the thrill and suspense of Breathe Easy, (which you can tell is probably one of my fav Blue songs) which climaxes twice and has an astoundingly attention-grabbing change of key. Instead, it's sounds quiet and soothing; listening to it is like one of the small pleasures of life.
Here's what TOTP (Top of The Pops, a Brit mag cum music show) has to say about the single:
Blue were one of those bands you either loved or hated and if you didn't like them, chances are that Lee Ryan was the main reason. Lee was definitely 'the character' of the bunch - the one who went on about sleeping with aliens. The one with the speeding fines who liked a scuffle with the odd photographer or two. But for all his faults, there's no doubt that Lee was the singer. When it came to the key-change-belt-it-out moment, Lee was your man. So it's a bit of a surprise that his first solo effort should be such a bland (in a pleasant way) pop ballady thing where Lee doesn't seem to make much of an effort at all. It's a shame because a few of his trademark warbles would lift this track from three stars to four. Maybe Lee's producer misunderstood him when he said he wanted to "save the wails"?
TOTP Rating: 3/4 stars
At 22, he's one of the young singers to look out for. Cementing his position already on the arena of Pop music, and with fantastic live performances to look forward to, I think this guy will be able to stand the test of time. I've got Blue's DVD and the performances inside there really blow my mind. The fact that they sing live is one of the best things that there is to look forward to (unlike my favourite pop princess who mimed every single song in her concert other than Everytime and Shadow). The dancing's good; the theatretics impressive.I can't wait to hear the subsequent singles off his album for I'm sure they'll be gems, with him singing the kind of music style that is, well, him. He's one of those artists that draws me to listen to his works so I'll be waiting in eager anticipation!
Enter http://www.lee-ryan.org/index2.php, the best fanstite of him around and there're a few downloads of his live performances already. Check it out for yourself!
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