When a person wins a reality tv singing competition watched by millions every week, it's quite a scary step to take when you release your first single outside of the hype machine. Particularly when you're Matt Cardle. The former painter in his late 20s falls into what I'd call "the perfect X Factor winner" stereotype. He appeals to a different kind of audience. The older demographic that's less iTunes-savvy, more "oh this lad's got a lovely voice, I think I'll vote for him", but this fanbase isn't a strong fanbase to fall back on.
Also, while you may have heard of Leona Lewis or Alexandra Burke who've all gone on to do rather well for themselves, you have the male winners who've all been screwed over by Simon's label and either faded into the darkness (everyone minus Joe McElderry and Shayne Ward) or found other ventures to go into (Joe McElderry - opera singing. The boy's got a good voice, you can't deny that).
So who's to say this bearded chubby guy with a rather bland personality (if I'm being totally honest) will do otherwise?
Introducing Run For Your Life, the first single lifted off his debut album Letters. The Gary Barlow-penned track talks about not being good enough for the one you're with. Perfect if you're lovesick and having messy emotions then. But the track itself feels more like a theme to a movie like Twilight or the kind of song that gets played in the background on The Vampire Diaries. It's a good song, but it's not great. But for those that thoroughly enjoyed his X Factor coronation single When We Collide and wanted more mushy big ballads from the mushy big guy, they've gotten their wish.
Labels: MATT CARDLE, MUSIC VIDEOS
