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John Barrowman - 'What About Us'

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Fraser McAlpine | 09:50 UK time, Thursday, 13 November 2008

John BarrowmanChalk this one up to experience, I guess - you're given a list of songs you have the option of reviewing, and of course you select the one by John Barrowman because you find his very existence intrinsically hilarious, so reviewing one of his songs ought to be a laff riot, right? Until you sit down to write the review and realise you now actually have to listen to it, and suddenly it doesn't seem quite as funny.

Anyway, I could go on for ages about the video (which features both a heterosexual couple and a homosexual couple, and is therefore the music video world's answer to Torchwood, or something), but that's not really what we're here for.

Regrettably the song is not a cover of Brandy's hit from 2002, because that would have been brilliant - instead it's an original song written by Gary Barlow, sounding very much like you'd expect a song written by Gary Barlow which he evidently decided was not of sufficient quality for his own group to sing might sound: functional, but hardly life-altering.

Admittedly the public's enduring love for John Barrowman is a bit of a mystery to me because I don't really rate him as a singer or an actor, though I was at least very appreciative of the fact that he had the good sense not to want Jessie to win I'd Do Anything.

This song doesn't really do anything to change my opinion; it's sung competently enough, but after repeated listenings I still haven't really found anything in there that passes for emotional engagement - it just all seems a bit empty and jazz-hands. Despite his best efforts to adopt a serious and meaningful face in the video, I can't stop myself picturing him singing it while sporting his biggest, cheesiest musical theatre grin.

It is, at least, not the horrorfest I worried it might be when I first sat down to listen to it, and I'm sure that if you have previously enjoyed the music of John Barrowman, you will love this. Otherwise, it's probably best to give this a miss and put the telly on instead. Keep flicking channels - he's bound to be on one of them eventually.

Two starsDownload: Out now
CD Released: November 17th

(Steve Perkins)

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