Nicola Roberts - Beat of My Drum, Porcelain Heart & Dance in the Rain

So I was originally going to do a review for another song, but then I heard "Dance in the Rain", and I was like... MUST. REVIEW. NOW.

Everyone, I present to you—Nicola Roberts!

In 2009 the girl group Girls Aloud announced that they would be taking a temporary hiatus so that the members could pursue solo careers. (What is up with groups always wanting to do solo stuff? Is that just part of being in a group act?) To be honest I know nothing about Girls Aloud; from what I can tell the group is (almost) exclusively marketed to the European market, and up until recently I did not hear much about them. I'm not even sure how I first heard of Nicola Roberts, but damnit I'm so glad I did!

It all started with her first single, "Beat of My Drum". The Diplo (and Dimitri Tikovoi)-produced track is a 3-minute song of pure awesomeness. Diplo's style is written all over this song: just imagine Major Lazer mashing together Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" with some M.I.A. action and a piece of Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)". (Of these, only "Hollaback Girl" does not use Diplo's work.) Also, if I'm not mistaken, "Beat of My Drum" samples Major Lazer's "Pon de Floor" (or at least interpolates part of it). But unlike prior songs that sample "Pon de Floor" *cough*Run the World*cough*, this sample was done brilliantly and is more of a complement than a hindrance. Four for you, Nicola Roberts, you go Nicola Roberts!

So, here I am, jamming my butt off to this song, when Roberts releases another iTunes pre-order exclusive song, "Porcelain Heart". Before I could even finish jamming to "Drum" I was already hooked to this wonderful gem of a song. This darker sounding track features a more vulnerable side of Nicola (giving it that porcelain-like vibe), but at the same time her vocals are much stronger in this song compared to "Drum". Following the release of "Porcelain Heart", a demo of her "Dance in the Rain" reached the Internet. It has a similar sound to "Porcelain Heart", but in my opinion it's an arguably better track. After listening to these three songs, I could only think of one thing: Nicola Roberts is gonna be successful and a HALF, y'all. And a HALF.

So, listen to these three songs, and if you like them as much as I do, let's get together and have a jam session! 'Cause I WILL be jammin'!

"Beat of My Drum" video:


"Porcelain Heart" audio:


"Dance in the Rain" audio: