Marcus Collins new single 'Seven Nation Army': First listen

Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 3.30pm, we were invited over to Sony's offices to listen to the new Marcus Collins single.

Like a lot of you out there, we too were slightly concerned by the news that he was leading his post-X Factor career with a cover - and one of a classic White Stripes song at that.

That said, we'd be lying if we weren't pleasantly surprised by what we heard. In a nutshell, it's three minutes (two minutes and 58 seconds, to be exact) of big, ballsy brass that almost immediately put a smile on our faces.

What we mean by that is it sounds fun without trying too hard to sound fun, i.e - not in that annoying "in-yer-face" way some artists are guilty of doing. The production is clever and slick, and Marcus appears to be having a good time, which will please those concerned about artist welfare.

After listening to it a full two times over we decided that releasing a cover is probably his best option at this stage. Yes, it's "in his comfort zone" (we're never quite sure why that's a bad thing), but the fact that it sounds like something he could have easily performed during The X Factor should easily hook in a large audience, giving him a decent platform to launch all his original, Bruno Mars-esque songs he's no doubt been working on.

For those extra eager to hear what the song sounds like, you'd do well to give the (very) similar but slightly quieter version by Ben L'Oncle Soul a spin on YouTube.

'Seven Nation Army' is released on March 4. The album follows on March 12.

Update! Listen to the track in full below:



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