Yes, I realise that Lady Gaga’s debut is long-since released, number one-d and on its way down the charts again. But I never reviewed it, and now I feel bad :(

You see, over the past fortnight, I’ve totally fallen in love with Just Dance. From Lady G’s rallying call of “red wi-ine” at the start to the brilliant lyric that is “I love this record baby, but I can’t see straight anymore”.

Is it an anthem? I’m beginning to suspect it it.

As for the lady herself, there’s no denying that Gaga is a slightly trashier version of Christina Aguilera, right down to those big doe eyes. And as for the video, well we’ve seen plenty of house parties in pop videos before, but why does this one remind me of a sinister version of one of Mika’s videos?

Anyway, top bloody marks to Gaga and her mate Colby O’Donis (surely not an Irish name?) for an excellent debut single. She’s got our attention now, hasn’t she? Can’t wait to see what comes next!

While I strongly doubt that Dr. Meaker is any sort of real doctor, he certainly knows how to knock out an album’s worth of amazing music.

Described as a blending of “Massive Attack’s progressive beats with Amy Winehouse’s soulful sounds”, Meaker’s debut album A Lesson from the Speaker – is an impressive fusion of funky drum n bass and sultry vocals. Check out the lead track, Moving & Grooving for proof.

The music is eclectic, mixing up jazz, soul, reggae and urban influences to create something infectious and fresh. Need Love reworks the classic Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime, and the current single Bad Boy Calling features a brilliant combination of cheesy trumpet riffs and busy beats. Check out the video for this below – watch out for the line “My big booty ass goes boom boom boom”.

She’s The Spider takes the mood to a darker place briefly – gangsta-style rapping with a brooding, rumbling bassline. A slightly unexpected track for this album, but I love it. I’m the fly – she’s the spider.

Rather than go through this and namecheck each song individually, go and check it out for yourself. I’ve included a little player below to let you browse the album tracks.

Track Listing

1. Moving & Grooving
2. Need Love
3. Bad Boy Calling
4. Double Bass
5. Freed
6. All For You
7. She’s The Spider
8. Smokey
9. Summer Stepping
10. He’s Angry (hidden track)

A Lesson From The Speaker is now available to buy on iTunes. Pick up a copy if you like what you hear here.

So, you’re in the club, chatting up a girl you’ve met. Next thing she’s wearing your bloody Rolex. Happens me all the time, folks, so I’m glad Wiley wrote a song about it.

Seriously though, tracks like this are taking over the charts, and with good reason. There’s been an explosion of UK urban talent recently. Not that guys like Wiley haven’t always been around – it’s just that they’re crossing over into the mainstream in their droves. It’s practically an invasion.

Wearing My Rolex has all the ingredients for a big hit: sleazy electro basslines, seductive female vocal and a hard as nails vocal delivery from the man himself.

Best yet, the nation now has a new checklist for a good night out. Been drinking? Check. Been dancing? Check. Been bubbling? Er…what’s that, Wiley? Someone please explain…

Anyway, this is an irresistible slab of urban music, one of the freshest things to hit the charts in recent memory. Massive thumbs up for Wiley.

We haven’t seen her since All Saints disappeared from the scene in 2006, but Shaznay Lewis is back with a banging* new collaboration with Wideboys.

Daddy-O isn’t just catchy. It’s one of those songs that gets lodged in your subconscious and won’t come out. In fact, Daddy-O proves Lewis should ditch the dead weight in the Appletons and the other sexy All Saint, and go it alone.

It’d be rude to do the review without mentioning Wideboys, the garage duo behind the track. Check out some of their other stuff on their MySpace page, Snowflake looks like another winner – one to listen to.

By the way, Shaznay’s looking hot in this video – check it out.

[I checked with our lawyers and apparently I can say 'banging', even at my age.]

You’ve got to admire the sheer nerve of Fragma – they’ve been re-mixing and re-releasing Toca’s Miracle since the original came out in 2000. But that’s alright in my book, because it’s simply one of the best damn dance tracks ever.

The 2008 reworking is probably a much slicker effort, but the beats are a little more restrained and the vocals aren’t quite as dramatic as Coco’s original. I suppose it’s like when you’re familiar with the original version of a song, no cover version can quite match up to it.

What we’re most interested in of course, are the videos. Well, for this outing of Toca’s Miracle, they’ve spared no expense on the babes, but slashed the underwear budget so they’re mostly in their skimpies. Here’s the video for your viewing pleasure:

In the interests of good music journalism, I watched both videos repeatedly last night and have come to the conclusion that I prefer the original version. It’s less moody, and the female football team is a bit more subtle than half-naked women being thrown at you. And Coco in the video is very attractive in a dirty-girl kind of way. Still is.

I know which version I prefer – what’s your favourite?

Oooh, I’m liking this new direction from Craig David. His new single, 6 Of 1 Thing is a continuation of that pure pop style he launched a couple of months ago with Hot Stuff (Let’s Dance).

The Urban Review blog made an interesting comment about Craig, saying that he’s “been a star for quite a while but never really gained that ‘musical respect’ that some British artists have.”

I guess that’s what’s so refreshing about Craig at the moment – he’s having fun with the music, doesn’t seem to have any cravings for industry recognition. Gone is the super-slick kid from years ago and in his place is a beefier Craig David with less pretentious tunes and a smile on his face.

As I say, don’t expect miracles from this tune – it’s very much in the same mould as the last single. But it’s a catchy, chartworthy effort at the same time. Kudos, Craig, keep it up!

We’ve been a bit hard on Kylie here at Unreality Music lately. 2 Hearts didn’t light a fire under us, and we felt she might have gone off her game a little bit.

However, her new single Wow is a bit of a return to form. It’s a classic Kylie floor filler, one of those giddy pop songs like Spinning Around which seems to center around some hot-bloke-inspired delirium.

Where 2 Hearts was a disappointment, Wow has all the ingredients for a dancefloor smash, plus plenty of scope for the by-now obligatory remixes.

The video’s a colourful, energetic affair featuring Kylie in a very dodgy wig. Is it just me, or does every other Kylie Minogue video feature weird folks in futuristic clothing and an overindulgence in the neon light department? Or has somebody on the creative team for the video got a Daft Punk fetish?

A step in the right direction for Ms Minogue. Now watch the video:

Wow is the second single from Kylie’s 10th album, X. It’s released on 15th February.

Work is the single where Kelly Rowland finally steps out from the shadow of Beyonce Knowles‘ formidable ass and stands on her own. Well, almost. The BBC Chartblog has taken the time to compare the original version versus the Freemasons’ remix.

Needless to say, the the Freemasons version of Work is far superior. But where other people are hearing an ethnic-influenced riff, I can only hear a variation on the Knight Rider theme. That’s not a bad thing, just an observation – the Knight Rider theme has been used successfully in pop music before.

Anyway, Work sees a more mature, self confident and sexual Kelly Rowland. There’s suggestive lyrics about putting things in, whatever that means *blush*.

With this latest single, you can see Kelly amassing her own catalogue of hit singles – including Dilemma with Nelly and Like This with Eve. If I have one criticism of Work, it’s that her vocal phrasing is more than a little like Beyonce – maybe she needs to work on distinguishing herself in that respect.

All the same, the Freemasons have turned this into a fantastic floor-filler, at the same time as Kelly’s image is morphing from clean-cut to sexy babe. Needless to say, I approve!

Rihanna returns with new single Don’t Stop The Music, borrowing a line or two from Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Startin Somethin along the way.

If this single proves anything it’s how diverse Rihanna can be with her releases. Sure, she’s firmly grounded in pop, but she can handle the low-key hip-hop of Umbrella, flip to classic balladry like Unfaithful through rock like Shut Up And Drive and then to a thumping club track such as Don’t Stop The Music.

You all know I’m a big Rihanna fan anyway. This isn’t my favourite track, coming in a little monotonous for my tastes. All the same, it’s one of those tracks that has a great foundation for endless club remixes.

No video to share today, because although Universal Music Group are clever enough to put the video on YouTube for free, they’re too damned primitive to allow us to put it on our site. Grrr.

Don’t Stop The Music made our list of the Top 5 Rihanna Singles. Check it out and tell us if you agree.

How best to describe Booty Luv? They’re a disco-pop juggernaut, I suppose. I’ve lapped up everything they’ve released to date, and I might – wait for it – throw down some dough and buy the album. (Yes, you’d think they’d send it to me for free. They might after this review!)

Some Kinda Rush is… wow. Just awesome. And guess what, it’s their own work. While they’ve worked their magic on covers up until now, Some Kinda Rush is ORIGINAL MATERIAL. And it may just be the best thing Cherise and Nadia have released to date.

Featuring the girls in a bright yellow sports car, my only criticism is that Some Kinda Rush would have been a far bigger hit in the summer. Instead it was released on Christmas Eve.

This is pop music at its most perfect. No joking. Reviewers are tossing around adjectives like bodies at an orgy – explosive, amazing, turbo-charged, BETTER THAN AMAZING. I think I need to sit down for a minute…

The BBC are describing the girls thusly: “With the Sugababes now little more than a pale imitation of Girls Aloud, Popland is crying out for some talented ‘gals with attitude’ and Booty Luv seem the perfect fit.”

Moreover, Digital Spy correctly point out that if Kylie had released this song, she’d have wiped the floor with Leona Lewis in the December charts. Ah well, hindsight’s a wonderful thing.

Here’s the video, featuring the Booty Love gals cruising around in a yellow sports car. Remind you of that old ATC video anybody?