Out of the American Idol final two this year, I’d have preferred Blake Lewis to win. Jordin Sparks was alright, but Blake brought something unique to the competition that we hadn’t seen before.

Better still, he took risks with his performances and did some innovative re-interpretations of classic songs (his Bon Jovi cover was particularly brilliant).

Anyway, all this is a very wordy introduction to the news that Blake is releasing his first post-American Idol single, Break Anotha. The single is taken from his debut album Audio Daydream, which will be released (in the USA) on 4 December 2007.

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After what seems like an eternity, Alicia Keys graces us with a new single, No One. I heard this on Jonathan Ross’ show a couple of Friday’s ago when she closed the programme with the song.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the appropriately-named piano-botherer from New York. She’s all grown up now and her performance (both live and in the No One video) are much more mature.

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Craig David has come a long way since his days as the darling of the garage music scene (remember that?). Hot Stuff marks a further shift away from that edgier sound to a more pure-pop style which he seems to be growing increasingly comfortable with.

If you think there’s a bit of an 80’s pop vibe to this tune, that’s because it borrows heavily from David Bowie’s Let’s Dance. Not to mention part of the video borrow’s heavily from MC Hammer. But we won’t talk about that.

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Funniest story of the day is the news that Kate Moss apparently has writing credits on four songs off the new Babyshambles album, Shotter’s Nation. By the way, if Shotter’s Nation doesn’t sound like the title of a 1970’s British sitcom, I don’t know what does.

Anyway, it seems Kate co-wrote the songs while in bed with Pete Doherty. News sources don’t say if the songs were written in blood or other bodily waste matter. But given Doherty’s involvement, it’s unrealistic to think it was done with a biro.

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Despite spawning a number of massive singles, Timbaland’s Shock Value album hasn’t been a critical success. We’ve trawled the web for quality reviews of the album and that many music writers were left cold by the quality of the album.

Should Timbaland stay strictly backstage? Read on and find out.

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How many times have Backstreet been back in their career? Lost count? So have we.

Tell you what, we still can’t tell the difference between AJ and Howie D.

Anyhoo, they’re back and they’ve brought all those classic Backstreet video moments including clutching at their chest like they’re singing through a massive heart attack. And the ladies’ favourite – the wee blonde one framing his cutsey lil’ face with his index fingers.

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Funny how a great track can totally pass you by. I Write Sins Not Tragedies has been getting a load of radio play recently, so I assume it’s a new tune in the Fall Out Boy tradition.

Wrong. It was actually released in February and October last year.

I could write about how this sounds so like Fall Out Boy that it’s almost emo-by-numbers, but the truth is the song just rocks. What greater pleasure is there in life other than screaming “haven’t you people ever heard of/closing the goddamn door” at the top of your lungs?

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Bleeding Love is the single everyone’s talking about this week, as Leona Lewis releases her first ‘proper’ single since winning X Factor 2006.

When we first heard the song about a month ago, it was admittedly hard to like. The style is very cutting edge R&B with stark, distorted drums and a simple organ accompanying the tune for most of the song.

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After listening to lead single, The Pretender, I decided to find out what the web’s saying about the new Foo Fighters album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. So, I’ve trawled the web in the name of rock and brought you guys the best reviews of the new record….

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I’ve been hearing Apologize all week on the radio, and it’s got to be the best track off Timbaland’s Shock Value album.

Apologize is the first slow song to be released from the album. It’s a remix of OneRepublic’s original version, retaining Ryan Tedder’s vocal. And in keeping with anything Timbaland does, it’s completely genre-busting, avoiding any hint of cliche at all.

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