Ever Surprised at Ella ...

We're not usually ones to be fans of ex-X Factor contestants, but in the case of Ella Henderson, we've been keeping a close eye. She relatively recently announced her campaign for debut single, Ghost, and since then we thought we'd listen out, and the final result is something you won't expect, and may well love.
You may remember Ella as the girl who sounded a lot like Adele, dressed quite a bit like Adele, and wrote her own songs, that turned out to sound a little like Adele's. Well, she's cropped in with something which isn't a million miles from the aforementioned superstar, though, there's a wash over of some Leona Lewis, a lashing of Christina Aguilera, some Haim, a dash of Birdy, and even a bit of John Newman ... the end result being absolutely spectacular.
It's a little rough around the edges, we'll admit that, and the transition between the chorus and the verses aren't necessarily the smoothest, but this little jam isn't anything to be sniffed at. The production side is quite brilliant, with a great use of bassy, bursted riffs, and a lovely melodic that is surrounded by funk, piano, and soul.
Ella's vocal are completely on point. If you kept up with the show, you'll be absolutely chuffed to hear that they've pretty much kept her in check and not changed her to the high heavens like they have done to so many before. She has a real sincerity to her voice that you'll really enjoy and throughout the chorus, as we said, she is only rivalled to the likes of Leona Lewis whom, although she isn't much in the spotlight anymore, cannot be faulted for her voice!
The end result of this one is that you'll come over a little mystified and verily impressed. We didn't expect all that much, maybe a little number with a simple piano and not much in the way of production to beef it out and make it a hit ... but look what they've conjured ... we'll marvel in it for a while.
Paul.