brynchristopher-myworld music reviews Virgin Media
US telly gives helpful leg-up to British soul pretender
Ah, the art of product placement! Tyro Birmingham soul singer Bryn Christopher this summer saw his debut single The Quest used as the swelling soundtrack to the dramatic series closer of US TV hit Grey's Anatomy. The song's subsequent sales and interest catapulted Christopher's Stateside profile to a level that Robbie Williams has, to date, spent five years trying to achieve.
Is this precipitous ascent justified? Well, Christopher certainly has a fine neo-soul set of pipes and has surrounded himself with such a crack team - co-writer Jarrad Rogers and Jennifer Lopez/Nelly production team Midi Mafia - that world domination cannot be ruled out. His material is strong while rarely spectacular, but The Quest's reflections on his brother's military posting to Basra and a surprisingly lithe cover of Portishead's Sour Times are both genuinely moving. Christopher has everything to play for, then; just nobody mention Terence Trent D'Arby and it may all turn out fine...
More to try: David McAlmont: McAlmont Seal: Seal Terence Trent D'Arby: Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby
