Darius became known as the ponytailed crooner who appeared on Popstars and did things to Britney songs that would make the pikey pop princess drop her Twinkie in shock. However, shorn of his long locks, his cheesiness - like Samson's strength - miraculously disappeared, and he has since managed to put out a couple of credible singles. He's returned to the fickle pop fray with an album that veers between upbeat American retro-influenced singles (the jaunty number Kinda Love) and sensitive power balladeering (songs such as Live Twice). He panders to the increasing popularity of Sinatra-esque crooning on the utterly bland track Devil In You, which is best avoided, despite his best Harry Connick Jr impression, but the rest is inoffensive enough. This album is the musical equivalent of a quite nice, relatively filling sandwich - give it a go if you're a bit peckish, but not looking for anything too spicy.

Released : 25th October 2004
Label: Mercury

Buy The Darius - Live Twice (£8.99) from CD-Wow!