Once upon a time I pressed rewind… and then I pressed repeat, over and over and over again.

Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud fame has followed in the steps of fellow members Cheryl Cole and Nadine Coyle and taken the dive into solo waters, but when I say dive I really mean the ginger Queen has plunged DEEP into POP depths and entered a realm all her own.

From the delicious synth heavy title track “Cinderella’s Eyes” to the fresh electro-POP-ballad “Fish Out Of Water”, I am in love with absolutely every second of this stunning record. Roberts even holds writing credits on every track except for her cover of The Korgis song “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” which even that she does brilliantly.

Cinderella’s Eyes doesn’t rely on the surface POP that tends to feed the masses on mainstream radio, instead Nicola reaches for a completely honest approach to POP. Even on a record like “Sticks + Stones” where the message of bullying could be passed as an easy sell, she displays a sincerity that her POP counterparts all too often fail to give us (the track is actually as personal as it gets, the middle eight is about her issues when joining Girls Aloud, deeeeep).

Another standout is the 60’s styled, dreamsicle of a POP track “Yo-Yo”. Giving us one of the best choruses this year and a middle-eight on this baby which is beyond amazing, I will go bananas if this isn’t a single. Speaking of b-a-n-a-n-a-s, Nicola is taking the proper pages from POP books with “Gladiator” opening up like the Stuart Price produced Gwen Stefani hit “What You Waiting For” and “Take A Bite” echoing the sounds of The Fear by Lily Allen while maintaining a signature sound all her own.

On “Say It Out Loud”, you’re transported to the clouds and beyond the stars with it’s dreamscape production while “Porcelain Heart” brings a dark and bouncy synth record with an infectious chorus that thrills on it’s vox heavy “hea hea, heart” bits! “Fish Out Of Water” takes a risk and begins as something you might want to skip over if you’re not in the mood but the second she lets out “I’m a day, a day without the night” you can’t help but stay fixated on the track – without a doubt one of my top 3 for this album.

Working with producers as diverse as Metronomy (“I”), Dragoentte (“Lucky Day”), and Diplo(“Beat Of My Drum”), I was hoping Cinderella’s Eyes would deliver a wild musical experience from beginning to end and that’s exactly what it does. Perfect as it is unique, every track comes together beautifully, this is a POP MASTERPIECE!

Congratulations Nicola, you have just become a serious contender for Best POP Album Of The Year.

5/5 Stars

Listen to the Cinderella’s Eyes Megamix I created in appreciation of the album (I added the non-album track “Dance In The Rain” cause it’s so good)! Hope you enjoy and be sure to pick up the album as you won’t be disappointed. Cinderella’s Eyes is available today in the UK.

Nicola Roberts – Cinderella’s Eyes (Pop On And On Album Megamix) by POPONANDON

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