Lovely little Gareth. From the first moment he stammered into the nation's consciousness triumphing over adversity with his angelic rendition of 'Flying Without Wings', you knew he was destined for the Pop Idol final, and even though posho Will Young won the title, it was clear that Gatesy was the real champ. Now that Karaoke TV is at saturation point - thanks to new lows mined by Fame Academy and in particular their wretched version of 'Dancing In The Moonlight', making you feel almost - at least for a second or two - sorry for Toploader - Gareth has already expressed concern at being usurped by the up and coming new talent.
Which is understandable, however, but with a wealth of young'uns such as Ms Dynamite, The Coral, The Streets and Electric Soft Parade showing that you don't have to sing a LeAnn Rimes number whilst phone numbers flash beneath you to be a star, is it any wonder Hear'Say got spat at in Argos?
It would be very easy to hate this album, and whilst it's certainly not the cup of tea of anyone between the ages of nine and 38, it'd be rude just to totally dismiss it. Sure, kicking off with covers of 'Unchained Melody' and 'Suspicious Minds' is frankly asking for trouble, but once you get through them and the rest of the sugary stuff, you'll find Gareth giving it some George Michael on lite R&B numbers such as 'Downtown', 'I've Got No Self Control' and 'Sentimental', proving that there's the potential for him to replace said fruity madbloke.
At over an hour, 'What My Heart Wants To Say' can be hard going. Halving the tracks here would make this a more impressive and palatable affair, but how come 'The Long & Winding Road' is missing? It's as much his number one as it is Will's, it's also a bit more memorable than his other chart-topper 'Anyone Of Us'. The title track and the nice 'With You All The Time' are the least keep-a-bucket-handy ballads, elsewhere it's atrocities all round with the Westlife-tastic 'That's When You Know' giving you the most difficulty keeping your lunch.
He's foxy, a good popstar and there's a lot there to be corrupted. Time will tell if he makes it through the next 12 months without having eggs thrown at him in his local B&Q or can resist the 'charms' of Jordan. Give him a nervous breakdown, maybe a sex scandal and an interest in Polish cinema and we could well have the next Scott Walker on our hands. Until that time, gel boy gets a...
