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The cynical might think that Kelly doesn’t stand a chance of attaining the kind of success daddy’s girl Beyonce has seen over the years, that’s not quite true. At the time of writing this, Like This has jumped to #4 in the UK pop charts.

Back in the Destiny’s Child days, I always thought of Kelly as the demure one. Well, she’s cast that image off to great effect with a sexy R&B track and a video that sees her looking f-i-n-e….

Like This actually has the sound of other stuff I’ve heard by Eve, and it has that Dr Dre trademarked smooth and infectious hip-hop sound. I love that booming bass drum that kicks the song off, and the chorus is going to be stuck in my head when I’m bored at my desk this week.

The guys over on Popwatch make a valid point though – it’s a bit of a stock single that any capable singer could have released:

the vocal could’ve been handled by pretty much any female singer on the charts today — from Ciara to Ashanti to that dreaded she-beast Paris Hilton. And shouldn’t a singer of Kelly’s caliber — who’s thrilled and delighted us on everything from “Survivor” to “Girl” — deliver something a little more distinctive for a lead single?

I suppose while that’s a very valid point – remember I said it sounded a bit more Eve than Kelly? – it’s a safe play that’ll get Kelly’s name out there again. With a bit of buzz behind this track (it’ll be great in the clubs), I can imagine perhaps a more unique sounding follow-up single would do quite well. The haters will be crossing their fingers for Kelly to disappear, but I’m rooting for her to come out fighting and perhaps show far cousin Beyonce and her performing ass have strayed from being entertaining lately.

Like This is the first single from Kelly Rowland’s new solo album Ms Kelly.

I’m not afraid to admit that I was an early fan of Destiny’s Child. There was always something aluring about their ‘independent woman’ attitude, infectious tunes and skimpy clothes. Beyonce could kick my ass to the curb any day of the week…

That all changed when Beyonce seemed to become a parody of her sexy self and turned into a loathsome clothes horse as displayed on the pages of Heat magazine every week. Then came the gangsta’s moll phase, when she hooked up with Jay-Z. The girlie Beyonce was replaced by a horrible soft porn version. Not nice.

With the release of Irreplacable, Beyonce seems to have gone back to her roots. And a welcome return it is.

The instrumentation is stripped right back: basically just guitar and a simple drumbeat carrying the tune. A very simple verse/chorus arrangement is enhanced by Beyonce’s most honest vocal performance in recent memory. Beautiful melody in the verses and a chorus so catchy it’ll take a lobotomy to stop you singing it.

Subject matter is a return to Independent Women and Bills, Bills, Bills territory – very much woman on top type of thing.

The video for Irreplaceable carries on the ’stripped down’ theme – Beyonce looking her most natural in ages. The storyline reminds me slightly of the Emotion single Destiny’s Child release a couple of years ago. There’s a little bit of posturing by Ms Knowles, enough to keep the lads happy without being as OTT as her other recent singles.

You mus’ not know ’bout a-me, you mus’ not know ’bout a-me….(contributed by Levee)