Alesha Dixon: 'The Alesha Show'

Alesha Dixon was supposed to become a solo star after Mis-Teeq disbanded, but when her first two singles failed to crack the top ten, Polydor shelved her debut album and she found herself without a record deal. Since then - thanks mainly to her triumphant stint on Strictly Come Dancing, but also to the dignified way she handled the very public breakdown of her marriage - Dixon has built a reputation as an all-round good egg, that rare celebrity you'd actually invite over for Sunday lunch.

But put yourself in her shoes for a second - provided, of course, that you aren't cursed with two left feet. Her impressive comeback has all the makings of a great TV mini-series, but how on earth do you channel it into a career-launching pop album? Dixon's tack is to line up a diverse range of collaborators, including Girls Aloud hitmakers Xenomania, 'Mercy' co-writer Steve Booker and US production house RedZone, and try to cover all the bases.

She's described the result as a "pop record with broad strokes" and she isn't kidding. The Alesha Show is probably the first album to feature a Diane Warren power ballad and a brilliantly daft 'Mambo No.5' update on which a hapless male is berated for neglecting to do the housework. Elsewhere, Dixon tries her hand at everything from 60s glitz ('Cinderella Shoe') to synthy R&B ('Breathe Slow') to mellow ballads ('Don't Let Me Go'), managing more often that not to pull it off.

Highlights? Well, 'The Boy Does Nothing' and 'Let's Get Excited' are the sort of all-inclusive party songs that even Granny could have a bop to, 'Italians Do It Better' is sensual and seductive, and 'Chasing Ghosts' is a spookily atmospheric meditation on fame. "Hide me from the glitter," Dixon sings, perhaps fearing another sequin-encrusted number from the Strictly Come Dancing wardrobe department.

Not unsurprisingly given its relentless genre-hopping, The Alesha Show does feature a few misfires. 'Ooh Baby I Like It Like That' sounds like a Dannii Minogue B-side from 2003, while some of the ballads just aren't very memorable. Mis-Teeq fans, meanwhile, may feel disappointed that Dixon's urban pop roots have been trumped by her showbizzy Strictly persona - just look at that album cover. But these quibbles aren't enough to sink an album that's often as lively and likable as the woman who made it.


> Click here to read our recent interview with Alesha Dixon