It has been a while since we updated the PJ Almighty. We should really start doing these more regularly, shouldn't we?
But here's what's amazingly good, really good, very good, very much above average, really rather enjoyable, and totally shit right now.
1. Demi Lovato
The first point here is that 'Cool For The Summer' — which is amazing — is simply the sort of song nobody in the UK is making. So in a way Demi's A&R team are as deserving of this PJ Almighty top spot as Levato herself, but she's the conduit for it all and she's probably got better hair than her A&R pals, so she gets the glory. You can file Carly Rae Jepsen here as well, if you like.
It's funny, isn't it: ten or twelve years ago it felt like the UK was making all the adventurous and exciting pop music, while our American pals were playing it safe. Was it the Timbaland album that changed everything? Either way, what a difference however many years it's been can make. Demi's making a Girls Aloud record and here in the UK we're so obsessed with trying to make everything sound like Rudimental, Disclosure or Gorgon City that the balls-out pop thrill of a track like 'Cool For The Summer' is off limits to the majority of our homegrown artists.
Guys, Charli XCX can't do this on her own.
The second point is that Demi's really going for it. Look at the artwork that's accompanied this release. Here's an artist who's not messing around. This isn't someone who's resting on her laurels. Truth is, Demi doesn't have very many laurels. At this stage she probably has five laurels to her name. That's not a disastrous laurel count, but nor is it an abundance of laurels. Still, a laurel shortage will often force an artist to come out fighting, and that's what we have with 'Cool For The Summer'.
There's a third point as well but when we wrote it down it got a bit out of hand so we'll probably do it as a separate blog about that tomorrow.
2. Halsey
That song's probably going to be a hit isn't it. And quite right too, it's tremendous.
The other stuff's alright too in a Lorde-meets-Ellie-meets-everyone-else kind of way.
3. The Delta Goodrem Single
We write these words knowing that, having seen the words 'The Delta Goodrem single', the majority readers will already have gone to the next entry. Who in 2015 has time in their lives for a new Delta Goodrem single? In fact, and we mean this in the nicest possibly way, who ever really gave two shits whether 'Goodo' ever released another record? This is not an artist whose absence has been widely noted outside Australia and/or messageboards.
So naturally we ignored the various mentions we saw of her new single, 'Wings', at the end of last week. Turns out the single's great, largely because it doesn't sound anything like a Delta Goodrem single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIqVwQbNYsw
4. Spotify's Discover Weekly playlist thing
When we wrote about Apple Music's actually-quite-spot-on algorithms earlier this month we 'noted with interest' that they were far better than the usual "you like pop music so here's some Hootie & The Blowfish" offerings you tend to get from online music services.
But Spotify have pulled a really plump rabbit out of the hat with Discover Weekly, a playlist that brings you a load of newish stuff based on what you've already listened to combined with what people who listen to your favourite songs have also been listening to.
Naturally each user's playlist has the potential to be slightly different so we've saved our one from this week in a playlist you can look at and maybe even listen to. It's good.
5. Léon
We should have written about 'Tired Of Talking' when it appeared a few weeks ago but something else happened instead and we didn't, so here it is now.
She's Swedish (obviously), and obviously amazing. Keep up with her on Facebook if you like.
666. 'Sam Smith'
OH LOOK AT ME I'M SAM SMITH WITH MY VOICE AND MY HAIR, LOOK AT ME I'VE MADE AN ALBUM, LOOK AT ME I'VE WON LOTS OF AWARDS, LOOK AT ME DON'T LOOK AT ME I'M VERY PRIVATE, LOOK AT ME ON THE UNDERWHELMING NEW DISCLOSURE SINGLE, LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME.
Anything you'd like to see on a future Almighty? Let us know, we like finding out about stuff.