Should Be More Successful: Samantha Jade

Happy Australia Day! While many Aussies today will sit around and celebrate indy music on the Triple J Hot 100 (Go Taylor), I want to celebrate some wonderful pop. Time to focus on an Aussie I love but is not getting the attention she certainly deserves. Samantha Jade has an interesting pedigree. She started her career in the United States where she was signed by JIVE records, the label responsible for Britney, Backstreet Boys and N SYNC. Her solo releases, even though she had the title track to the hit film, "Step Up", didn't manage to chart. She wrote some songs for some mid level pop stars and then came home to outback Western Australia. Then she went on X-Factor and won.

First thing first, Samantha Jade is a wonderful singer, she looks like a pop star, why isn't she more successful? Sure, her debut track, "What You Did To Me" went to number one, but since then things haven't been as good. Her tracks have been less successful, second single "Soldier" went to 9, singles three and four went top 20 and the latest single, the sweet, "Sweet Talk" only hit 38. Things are not looking good unless she has a major overhaul.

So what is going wrong? It's not the vocals, they always sound great. The songs? Maybe. They are good pop songs, consistent. Songs I have played many times, enjoyed and had stuck in my head. But maybe they're not excellent. Maybe what Jade needs is some great writers and producers to take her to that next level. Other former talent show talents have stayed relevant by updating their sounds, think Sebastian and Mauboy who are genuinely making interesting music. I'm a Samantha Jade fan, and I truly believe she could, should and deserves a bigger and better career. And some radio support would be lovely!

Let's talk about her first five singles:

What You've Done To Me

This is a pretty amazing song, and one of the best winner singles released from any talent competition - no dodgy inspirational ballads here. It was just a kickarse pop song with a catchy hook and some great vocals from Jade. This is the kind of song Dami Im wishes she could have had. I hear this song and I still want to start dancing. A very good start and a well deserved number one.

Firestarter

This was Jade's second Top Ten track. It's a good track, the beat is a little harder and again the hook is great. This was a solid second song, though it may have been just a little too similar to "What You've Done To Me". Though I do love hearing Jade purr "Firestarter". Great pop.

Soldier

While a good song, this would probably be Jade's weakest song. I think the problem here is that Jade's producers have tried to use a similar formula from her first two songs. All that aside, this track is a great showcase for Jade's great vocal range. This is catchy pop, reminiscent of some great 90's tunes.

Up!

Now while it be a little like her other tracks, this is one Jade's strongest, probably my favourite after "What You've Done To Me". This is a very catchy song, I actually found myself singing this for days, not realising what I was singing. This only reached 18 on the Oz charts, and deserved to be so much higher - especially when you consider that an awful song like "Cheerleader" sits atop the Oz charts right now, and that "Albatroz" song is top 5. This seems like a crime against pop!

Sweet Talk

Now this is something a little different from Jade. This is more a mid tempo pop track with a sweet sound. This song is more of a grower, but once it gets there, it'll stick in your head too. What a shame this song only hit 38 on the Oz charts, this deserved some more airplay and certainly deserved to be a bigger hit.

Samantha Jade will soon release her first post X-Factor original album and I for one am excited, let's hope she excite the rest of the country!

Tell me below, what's your favourite Samantha Jade track?