Monday's Single Selection: Hot new tracks to get you through the week

It's a bonny, bobby dazzler of a Monday isn't it? The sun is out and shining, excellent singles by Will Young, JLS and Olly Murs are available in the "shops" (ie iTunes) and it's the reveal of the murderer in Corrie tonight (as well as the season finale of Pretty Little Liars). Life is grand. As if this wasn't super enough, here are some tracks below that are more than worthy of your attention this mad March Monday morning (I love a healthy bit of alliteration)! Now stop dallying and read on!!

• Sam Gray ~ All Of My Life: I remain extremely chagrinned that I have not written about the lovely Sam Gray before now - particularly as he was so effortlessly charming supporting The Overtones a few months back. This track is taken from his sparkling debut album "Brighter Day" which no doubt you'll find to be one of the most endearing albums of the year so far. All Of My Life is a gently flowing mid-tempo ballad that soars mainly due to the earnest, emotive vocal delivery that Sam provides. This, combined with a lovely, complementary instrumental, ensures that the melody is instantly memorable and the song moves you in a way that a less assured performance would lack. The real trick here is how likeable Sam is - it's difficult to project personality into a song, yet there is a definite connection with the listener that brings them into the song and leaves them hungry for more. Quite lovely then...
• Gabe Lopez ~ If You Could Stop Time: After becoming a firm fave on Sirius FM (due to his banging single, Boomerang) Gabe tones down the tempo for his latest track from Shine Like The Sun. It's a sweetly, lilting tune driven by an elegant piano accompaniment and a sincere vocal from the young Gabe. It sounds like it would be the perfect soundtrack to a tv montage on Grey's Anatomy or Gossip Girl - the type of storytelling song that often gets lost in today's auto-tuned, big beats pop world. It's nice just to take a breather and this is the perfect song to reflect and contemplate to. Mesmerising...

• Katherine McPhee ~ Touch Me: I'm smitten with Smash I am. I live in daily terror that the ratings will not warrant a renewal, but in the interim I am enjoying every second. I may be more Team Ivy (Megan Hilty) than I am Team Karen (the character Katherine McPhee plays) but this promo single for the show may well change all that. It apparently appears in next Monday's episode (26th March) and is a sizzling pop-dance jam (co-written by Ryan Tedder) ever so slightly reminiscent of Jordin Sparks' Battlefield and Kelly Rowland's Commander. It's got a persistent beat that creeps up on you almost unexpectedly so that you find yourself twirling away in a big pop stomper before you know it. Depending on how big the production number is in the episode next week, it may replace this as my favourite furiously hand clapping moment from Smash to date (Let Me Be Your Star notwithstanding). PS, who am I kidding. I'm team Dev all the way...:D
• Marina And The Diamonds ~ Primadonna: It's a big balls to the wall Dr Luke production, but the very essence of this new single is all Marina at the heart of it. What she does rather well is subvert all your notions about what a female popstar should be and push forward with her way of doing things. Primadonna could be the anti-teenage dreams, yet it is no less pulsating, no less catchy, no less essential. The song is an actual performance rather than a vocal delivery of a tune, which puts it miles ahead of (somewhat redundant comparisons to) Hold It Against Me. It's exhilarating and exciting. The album will be immense.

The less said about Britain's eurovision entry, the better eh??