New music: Mr Hudson - Supernova.

When we last saw Mr Hudson, he was writing sepia-tinged musical postcards about suburban British life. Songs like Picture Of You and Ask The DJ marked him out as a talented singer-songwriter in the vein of Aqualung.

But then, somehow, Kanye West "discovered" him and has groomed him into being a 21st Century robot superstar. Out goes the band's idiosyncratic "and the library" suffix, in comes autotune and bling.

It should be a recipe for disaster, a hideous clash of brash American braggadocio and subtle British sensitivity, but Kanye proved on 808s and Heartbreaks that he has a cuddly, sensitive side - and, it turns out, a lot of that was down to Ben Hudson's influence.

"I thought he had a great voice and his melodies. He just had a cool sensibility for hip-hop," West told Zane Lowe last night.

On Mr Hudson's new single, Supernova, West returns the favour - giving some much-needed oomph to the plaintive warbling. "It’s kick them in the nuts time," he jokes. He's not wrong. The song is huge.

Have a listen to the whole thing on the BBC iPlayer or check out this clip. Stick around to the very end. It just gets better and better.

The song is taken from Mr Hudson's second album, Straight No Chaser, which is out in August. Until then, there's a free mixtape up on his official website.

Update: Kanye West just posted a free MP3 of the song on his blog. How generous.

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