91Èȱ¬

(. She's got a lot of fans.)

So, hats off to the production house Stargate for giving Alexis - a graduate of both the America's Got Talent finishing school AND the university of YouTube - something to sing which might actually appeal to all ages. It's a soft-boiled trancey dancey thing, which spends ages wending its way through the verses; stopping off for a little "hurry hurry" moment here, building up slowly there; before rising sharply to a startling peak and then gently tumbling down the other side.

And what a peak! The "Hah" of "happiness" has got to be in the Top 10 of ecstatic pop moments of the year, surely? And the "piy" and "nessss" aren't exactly trailing far behind.

And it's not just a case of low expectations being exceeded easily, either. If Madonna had put this out, it would be hailed as one of the best songs of her long and varied career. And she possibly would struggle to get the crystal purity of those top notes, which means Alexis is officially Better Than Madonna.*

Mind you, it is another one of those songs isn't clear about what it wants you, the listener, to do when you hear it. Slightly too soft and slow for dancing, slightly too upbeat and lively for seated listening. Good for a nod-along, I suppose, but if that makes it sound like a passive listening experience, well it isn't.

What it demands is that you melt with joy. That's the appropriate reaction, at the appropriate moment. And if you can't manage that, you're not listening properly.

Download: Out now


91Èȱ¬ Music page

(Fraser McAlpine)

* Not officially.

"Just be careful because you'll have "I got to hurry hurry hurry now, quick quick quick" stuck in your head for weeks!"

"It really does give you this youthful sound that is very refreshing."