We review this week's biggest music releases | 10/03/17

With so much new music floating around, we've taken it upon ourselves to get down to business with reviewing the songs that have premiered this week. With big new releases from Louisa Johnson, Nicki Minaj and Steps (!) to name just a few, it's time to do what we do best and spill the tea...

Louisa Johnson - Best Behaviour

It's hard to know what route an X Factor winner will be taken down in the early days of their career - whether they're given the chance to flourish like Little Mix or thrown in at the deep end with a cheap Mothers Day covers album which sets them up for a fall from day 1. With Louisa, they're clearly not taking it safe. It'd be easy to jump on the bandwagon of the tropical house trend or channel The Chainsmokers like many other artists in the game but Bad Behaviour shows that Louisa is much more bolshy than this. The aggressive and robotic vocals that fight against the feist of the production present something that feels somewhat futuristic.

We didn't particularly expect that little ol' Louisa, who belted out ballads like Christina Aguilera on X Factor, would be able to pile on such natural sex appeal and sass in her records but her sultry nature is at complete ease here. Bad Behaviour marks a definite progression from the fantastic So Good but transports Louisa from a throwback sound to something very much in the now with surprising dancehall influences, displaying her arsenal of talents fantastically. This wouldn't go amiss as a Zara Larsson track and that is certainly a compliment. This is on repeat at Spill The Tea and we're now so ready for Louisa's own album to come. ASAP.

NICKI MINAJ (FEAT. DRAKE & LIL WAYNE) - NO FRAUDS

Music releases from self-proclaimed queen of rap Nicki Minaj always seem to come like buses. You wait years for her to mark her return and when she does, she fires out three hot new tracks all at once. But it's No Frauds that has got people talking, acting as the hotly anticipated diss track responding to Remy Ma who threw out "Shether" which tore Nicki to shreds just a matter of weeks ago. As a diss track, is this particularly special? It's slightly weak lyrically. However, Nicki Minaj herself has said "we don't do diss records, we do hit records" and that much is for sure. No Frauds stands alone as a track ready and waiting for the clubs and the features from Drake & Lil Wayne who appeared on her fantastic "Only" certainly help to boost the track.

Ms Minaj sure as hell knows a hook when she hears one and we defy you not to be bopping as you sing "I don't want no frauds, I don't want no... drama when you call". Nicki always seems most comfortable when she's free to roam lyrically over a simple hip hop beat as she is here and it shows in the lyrical flow that feels so quintessentially Nicki. Simple, effective and a bop that gets us ready and rearing for whatever else Nicki has got up her sleeve ahead of her fourth studio album.

STEPS - SCARED OF THE DARK

We can all admit that we've thrown our hands in the air to Tragedy in a club once in a while, whether you class it as a guilty pleasure or a pop classic, right? Well, while you may have thought you'd left Steps behind in 2001, you'd be mistaken as the five-piece have well and truly marked their comeback with the announcement of this new single which is assisted by a sell-out tour. If you like your cheese in great doses, you'll fall head over heels in love with 'Scared Of The Dark' which skips over any trend of the last five years and picks up where they left off with a retro disco banger.

This is completely to their credit, they could (as we said with Louisa) have tried to jump on a sound that already does well in the charts but we know full well, it'd have been cringy of Steps to do so. Instead, they've done what they do best and deliver a floorfiller fresh from 1998 which defies you not to dance. And that's not even the best part... they included a key change. We love pop just trying to be nothing else other than pop and we love Steps for staying loyal to their sound in 2017, coming back with an almighty bang even if it's not for those cool kids who have moved on to much cooler things like dad-dancing Drake and the "oh so relatable" Ed Sheeran.

STARGATE - WATERFALL (FEAT. SIA & PINK)

There's a fair chance you've stumbled across this review and asked "who the hell are Stargate?" but in reality, you're very familiar with their work. These are the guys who produced songs such as "Only Girl (In The World)", "Firework", "Irreplacable", "Black Widow" and err.. "S Club Party". You know, just a few minor hits. This time however, they fancy being in the front seat of the car getting full credit themselves but they've brought along pop heavyweights Pink & Sia for the ride - the only shame is that they forgot to pack a bloody good song. 

That might seem a little harsh as the song isn't exactly bad but when you've managed to bag two of the best female vocallists in the business for your track, expectations are bound to be high. Yet, somehow, this track feels pretty limp and we know all three parties are capable of much better. The verses showcase both of their vocals perfectly and feel as if they're building to something big but when the chorus lands, there's very little to get excited about at all. Solid, perhaps, but unremarkable.