Surprisingly good demo alert

Ping! A demo track by new recording artiste Talay Riley has just landed in my inbox. You might have seen him supporting N-Dubz on their recent UK tour, but don't hold that against him, everybody has to make a living somehow.

Anyway, young Mr Riley (he's just 19) has signed a deal with Jive Records, home of such stellar artists as Britney, JLS, Justin Timberlake and Outkast. Of course, Jive also has Apocalyptica, Raheem DeVaughn and Hot Chelle Rae on their roster, so it could go either way, but I reckon Talay is destined for big things. Here's why:

1) His sound, described by a PR as "really futuristic urban pop", is so achingly current that it's given me a migraine.
2) He has been working with Ryan Tedder (Bleeding Love) and Claude Kelly (My Life Would Suck Without You).
3) He is not exactly a minger.

If I was being cruel, I would point out that Talay is basically a slightly-less-irritating clone of Taio Cruz. But there is one crucial difference.


Talay: Arms up


Taio: Arms down

This critical, focus-grouped decision on limb elevation will undoubtedly help Talay stand out in a crowded market. His songs may also do the trick. Here is that demo I mentioned, called Heartbreaker.



Not bad at all.

Talay's first official single, Humanoid, comes out later this year. Until then, he's keeping busy by working on the new albums by JLS, Jamie Foxx and Tinie Tempah (it says here).

Consider yourselves warned.

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