UK Release: 25 October 2010 / Label: Syco / Tracklisting: 1. Ambitions; 2. Someone Wake Me Up; 3. Superman; 4. Real Late Starter; 5. Until The Stars Run Out; 6. Feel The Fire; 7. Farenheit; 8. Wide Awake; 9. Smile; 10. Love Is War; Bonus Track 11. The Climb

Crisis! The coronation single fell victim to a Facebook campaign and the follow-up stalled just outside the Top 5… is Joe McElderry in trouble already? Will he tumble into oblivion like the vast majority of other male soloists the show has produced?

On the back of debut album ‘Wide Awake’ we certainly hope not. An amalgamation of Mika, Scissor Sisters, Hoosiers, and the recent Gabriella Cilmi output; it’s loaded with fault-free vocals, irresistible pop hooks, and enough decent moments to earn the South Shields lad a long-term spot in the music industry.

It’s been said in many an interview that the album was originally going to be largely ballad-heavy until ‘Ambitions’ came along and prompted a major overhaul; but a handful have been left in for good measure, and they’re pretty amazing. ‘Superman’  is the flagship Very Big Ballad that manages to make the the lyric “I’m only a man in a funny red sheet” sound passable; and the awesome title track is an emotional ode to the one that got away. In fact the only ballad that misfires is the infamous ‘The Climb’, but its placement on the end of the disc as a Bonus Track forgives its obligatory inclusion.

As for the more uptempo tracks, note especially ‘Real Late Starter’, a jaunty cover of an underrated Nerina Pallot single; the lovely’n'romantic ‘Smile’; ‘Farenheit’, which could easily be an offcut from any Scissor Sisters album; and of course ‘Ambitions’, that incredible lead single that deserved to do so much better than it did. The best track of all however is ‘Someone Wake Me Up’, a midtempo hands-in-the-air anthem that milks the “stop signs” and “red lights” metaphor to death and works a guitar riff akin to Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’. And is just as amazing.

For some reason there’s needless autotune on the otherwise pleasurable ‘Until The Stars Run Out’ which spoils things a little, and a couple of tracks carry too many poor lyrics to be anything above average. But Joe’s endearing vocals and a handful of well chosen, mature pop tracks keep the LP afloat; and even though we have a strong suspicion that ‘Wide Awake’ will be outsold by the forthcoming Olly Murs effort, we certainly hope Joe won’t be filed alongside Leon Jackson in the collection of ‘X Factor’ flops anytime soon. No offence though, Leon.