Sigma - Coming Home (Featuring Rita Ora)

Sigma blew up the charts when they hit number one with 'Nobody to Love' in the spring of 2014. The song went on to become a summer anthem and then they got hold of Paloma Faith, stuck her incredible vocals atop 'Changing' and BOOM, had themselves a second consecutive chart topper. Since then they've collaborated with 'Earthquake' hitmaker Labrynth and Xfactor contestant Ella Henderson, but now it seems they've got the top spot in their sights once more with new single 'Coming Home', featuring vocals from talent show judge adulteress and occasional song releaser Rita Ora.

Ora's donated her vocals (she's probably paid very handsomely) to the likes of Iggy Azalea, DJ Fresh, and Charlie XCX in the past with great results. Coming Home is no different. It's a heady, escalating Drum & Bass - pop concoction with a sweet sentiment and Ora's vocals are emotive, emotional and convincing throughout. The song really comes into its own on the chorus, easily identifiable as a Sigma arrangement with Ora's voice layered atop a choir (or lots of very good backing singers) as the beat drives you upward into space. Very good stuff.

5/5

Fleur East - Sax

When Fleur East finished second to Ben Where Haenow in the 2014 Xfactor final I wasn't as angry as I thought I would be. I expected sparks to fly from the foot shaped hole in the flat screen, but it remained unscathed. The format has a habit of crowning winning failures and its eliminated alumni surpass the performances of their vocal chord stretching assailants (ref. Rebecca Ferguson). I knew, when that silver medal was handed over (there are no medals), that this was in fact a win for Fleur's future in the music business and going by how amazing she is as a pop star in training, a win for pop fans all over.

Now she's finally here, with her first ever single 'Sax' in tow. Lifted from her upcoming debut album Love, Sax and Flashbacks, it's a euphoric brass explosion, bursting with sass, snappy verses and a breakdown Mark Ronson would be proud to call his own. It's certainly reflective of 'Uptown Funk', a song Fleur actually put on the map (kind of), but the similarity isn't an issue when it's such a brilliant result. It'll be interesting to see if this is a one off success, because it will be a success. I really hope it is a sign of great things to come though.

5/5