MICHELE McManus warmed the nation's hearts as the heavyweight Glaswegian gal who saw off 20,000 hopefuls to be crowned the second Pop Idol and prove it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.
On the back of this success, first single All This Time reached number one. This CD is likely to sell well for the same reason. Ballads are the key ingredient here, and there are some tracks with single potential - the poppy Emotional and Invincible, written by the ubiquitous Diane Warren.
Michelle's big voice suits ballads but, disappointingly, the raw edge of her voice - the soul- searching, if you like - has been polished out in the saccharine production process. Her cover of Nina Simone's Feeling Good was knock-out on telly but here it is a wash-out.
Top writers including Gary Barlow (Take That), and Cathy Dennis (Kylie's Can't Get You Out Of My Head) have contributed to this record, but the end result is a mediocre medley which doesn't do Michelle justice. In the end, she sounds like she should be auditioning for Eurovision.
Updated: 08:59 Thursday, February 19, 2004
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