Mercury
Pop, 2000

She may be only 16, but don’t lump this Australian lass with Britney Spears and the Teeny Tart Brigade – Vanessa Amorosi is actually a lovely lass who just wants to cheer you up with her brand of feel-good music. And in her debut, The Power, she succeeds half the time.

Hence, the ridiculously cheerful Absolutely Everybody that makes me wave my hands and go “Everybody, every-boh-dee-eee-eee!” – it just misses the new millennium celebrations, but its chorus with its catchy, repetitious hook creates a sense of let’s-throw-all-away-and-party-like-we-never-had-before atmosphere. Likewise, the title track creates the same effect. And when she turns the pace down with Shine and Steam, it’s still Deepak Chopra on speed moment. Pure fun.

Then she goes heavy R&B and techno in nondescript fillers for the rest of the album. I take up the player and switch on Absolutely Everybody once again. Everybody wave your hands and shake your booty: “Everybody needs a human touch, everybody eh-v’ry-boh-dee-eee needs… absolutely everybody, everybody everybody…”