New music from JLS and Katy Perry

Terrifyingly popular boyband JLS and fruity pop lady Katy Perry have both unveiled new tunes this morning. Both acts are beginning the push for their difficult second album, and both have to prove they weren't fluking it first time round. What's interesting is that this has pushed the two of them in completely different directions.

Perry is aiming directly at the heart of daytime radio with her track, California Gurls. A superlative piece of trash pop, it is direct, to the point, and utterly bulletproof. The chorus sticks in the brain the very first time you hear it, and the lyrics wisely play up to Perry's saucy persona.

Snoop Dogg is on there for the urban demographic, parodying his gangster credentials with a rap about the "west coast" - although, to be quite honest, it sounds like his encounter with Perry has left him dazed, bewildered and praying for a swift end to his pointless existence. I imagine she could have that effect on a man.

Here's a taster of what to expect (you can hear the full track on Katy Perry's official website)


Katy Perry - California Gurls (clip)

In contrast to Perry's play-it-safe comeback, JLS have gone a bit mental. They've nicked the chorus from The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music, put some boyband-standard rave noises and vocoder effects over the top, and changed the lyrics to "The CLUB Is Alive With The Sound Of Music".

If you ask me, a club should be alive with the sound of music. That is, after all, the whole point of a club. Unless it's a strip club. Or a caveman's club. Actually, a caveman's club that comes alive with the sound of music would be pretty awesome. Who wouldn't want one of those?

Anyway, JLS's single is full of terrible production clichés and will sound massively dated in about, ooooh, three seconds. But AT THIS PRECISE MOMENT IN TIME, it's pretty audacious for a band who should be churning out winsome ballads and filming sepia-toned videos with chesty women in a French boudoir.

Sample it for yourself with this "play" button.


JLS - The Club Is Alive (clip)

Now, I don't know what the vagaries of pop hold for these two acts (and, in all honesty, I've given up trying to predict things in a world where Taio Cruz is considered a viable artist) but I'm glad to have them both back. For now.

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