Alesha Dixon: 'Drummer Boy'

In case you'd forgotten that Alesha Dixon is first and foremost a popstar, a single listen to her new single should set things straight. After 2008's genre-hopping "debut", The Alesha Show, delivered a string of respectably-charting hits, the former Mis-Teeq singer is back and determined not only to up the ante, but also to have a crack at the US with her sophomore effort. But can The Nicest Lady In Pop TM carry off such a feat?

Well, she's certainly pulling out all the stops. “I think I need a better drum-mah," she wails in curious a cappella fashion on the intro to her new single. Irritating? Extremely, but it's sure to grab the attention of anyone within a 20m radius of your speakers. From thereonin, over a relentless stampede of tribal drums and parping horns, she commands her latest squeeze to "pick up your stick and hit me with your best shot". Like a boozy night out, 'Drummer Boy' leaves you feeling a bit disoriented, nursing a swollen head, and swearing blind you won't be doing this again. It'll definitely get Dixon noticed, but for all the right reasons? We're not so sure.


> Click here to watch the 'Drummer Boy' video