Joe McElderry: Wide Awake – review

When Geordie poppet and X Factor winner Joe McElderry lost out on the Christmas No1, Simon Cowell unconvincingly deemed Rage Against the Machine's ascendancy a "David v Goliath" situation. In fact, the Goliath that McElderry faces on his debut album is a tidal wave of production, atop which his voice rides rather meekly. There are nice surprises, though, including the super-camp electro-pop of "Fahrenheit", but special mention has to go to "Superman", in which McElderry pipes: "I'm only a man in a funny red sheet/ Lookin' for special things inside-a me." Bless his Lycra socks.