He can’t sing’ is a typical blithe dismissal of an X-Factor hopeful’s dream.
Would you do any better? Well, there is one way for every wannabe pop star to find out a little about whether or not they actually have a note in their head: SingStar. The past five years has seen singing slightly dated pop sings at a screen while your friends watch mushroom into something rather large.
Dublin now has more than its fair share of Karaoke establishments but it is in home entertainment that the craze has really taken off. Everybody is playing SingStar, so much so that in Germany, the game is considered to be still driving extraordinarily strong PlayStation 2 console sales. And – surprisingly – Irish people have matched their less easily embarrassed Euro-cousins.
On PlayStation, this Christmas is all about one particular release: Take That.
How do I know this? Basically, it’s because ever since SingStar Take That became a little rumour, I have been badgered by people who might easily mistake a Playstation 3 for a washing machine.
Finally it arrived (oh, happy day).
Does it deliver? Well, all the classics are present and correct – unless you’re a particularly big ‘How Deep Is Your Love’* fan. Early numbers such as ‘A Million Love Songs’ represent the usual stiff test of wondering how most of the song goes while trying to sing along, until you get to the hook at which point you’re so happy you mess it up too. Ever wanted to sing Lulu’s part in ‘Relight My Fire’? Well, now you can (harder than it looks).
The recent slew of hits are also on the songlist with ‘Patience’, ‘Shine’ and ‘Rule The World’ representing all parts of the difficulty scale. For the record: ‘Rule The World’ is easy and fun, ‘Patience’ has a bit of both and ‘Shine’ is a real test of, well, patience.
Actually, SingStar almost makes you think that those popstars may actually deserve fame and fortune after all although at least you don’t have to rap on this one. Watching other people try to rap (or sing a song they have never heard of) is, of course, lots of fun.
This release also proves, as if there was any doubt, that Gary Barlow knows how to write a tune.
The highlights are, of course, the big two: ‘Back For Good’ and – the one that caused the most squeaky excitement among the hen party I had SingStar TT tested on, just to be sure – ‘Never Forget’.
Manic falsetto, bumping bass, killer hooks – a SingStar classic.
Of course, SingStar isn’t easy; especially for those of us, eh, ‘cursed’ with deeper, lower pitched voices. Safe to say, the girls still have the advantage for the majority of songs. But it’s great fun – a brilliant way to extend a pleasant evening well into the early hours of the morning and re-energise a party, and Take That is among the best of the bunch.
It will rock your Christmas. 90%
* A Bee Gees song: we know!
Brendan Cole
