Something Kinda Ooooh – Girls Aloud – 2006

It’s time for one of my guilty musical pleasures… although why I should feel ashamed for enjoying five beautiful women, I’m not so sure.

Say what you like about this quintet of British girls (and a lot of musical snobs do), but I would argue that – pound for pound – the catalogue of Girls Aloud is up there with the best pop music of the last fifteen years, and Something Kinda Ooooh is one of my long-standing favourites in their collection.

It’s an uptempo three-and-a-half minutes, with a catchy chorus, a memorable bass line, and – in the accompanying video – fast cars and bedroom eyes. Seriously, what more are you looking for in a pop tune? Sure, the lyrics are typically throwaway fluff, but (for me, at least) words are not a particularly important component of the genre.

Yes I know, it’s not The Beatles or Beethoven, but then… it doesn’t try to be. It’s not progressive, and it isn’t reinventing the wheel either. What it is, however, is a great pop song that ticks all the right boxes and hits all the right beats along the way. Pop music is supposed to feel uplifting and Something Kinda Ooooh is about as good an auditory anti-depressant as you can get.