Kristian Leontiou - Some Say
Conventional pop music is in a state of disarray in this day and age. Sex (in the Christina Aguilera sense, rather than the Madonna sense of the word) and ‘bling’ are what’s selling the singles at the moment, gone are the days of innocent boy bands, great disco dance tunes and music for kids, it seems. There’s a few saving graces, though few and far between, like Rachel Stevens, whose ‘Some Girls’ is probably the top-ranking pop anthem of the last five years. And now it is, not only our dear Rachel, but Kristian Leontiou too who’s trying to reinstate some forgotten chart values; a little luscious melody and loved-up lyrics back into pop.
‘Some Say’ is somewhere between Ronan Keating and Craig David in terms of style, at least in the verses, the chorus is a tad more credible, a bit of David Gray thrown in for good measure. It conforms more to the 1998 standard pop format than the blueprint of today’s mainstream sound, which makes it a welcome break from the saturation of urban Usher tracks, boring Beyonce numbers and ‘dirty’ Christina Aguilera songs. However, it doesn’t stand up to the grooving classics of this year such as the Shapeshifters' ‘Lola’s Theme’, Eric Prydz’s ‘Call On Me’ and Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘These Words.’
The record is OK, employing some phased drum loops at the beginning which do not, regrettably, appear later in the song and a strange pause in the middle followed by the grandiose resurgence of Leontiou’s chorus vocal. It doesn’t inspire enough interest though to win it any major acclaim, nor does it entice your eardrums entirely that you’re left craving more.
No, unfortunately, this is pop-by-numbers at it’s most average and, instead of standing up defiantly to the R&B heavy charts of now, it’s left sounding just a little out of date. Let’s be fair though, for those searching for a more palpable and friendly pop sound, Kristian Leontiou has hit the snail on the head with ‘Some Say.’ Worth a squirt…