"Over-exposed" may be your first response to Ordinary Boys frontman Sam Preston, since his relentlessly public Celebrity Big Brother romance with Chantelle this year. He's certainly been cashing in on his new-found fame as the band's sales have soared, with their re-released single Boys Will Be Boys and their ska/hip-hop collaboration with Lady Sovereign, 9 To 5, both becoming top ten hits.
So, not surprisingly, the new single reflects on Preston becoming a household name overnight. The naked ambition is upfront: "Fame, I wanna live for 15 minutes," but the reaction to the downside of embracing celebrity culture seems incredibly naïve: "I didn't realize I had so many close friends, nameless and shameless with history to sell."
The musical style of Lonely At The Top itself is unashamedly poppy and brashly commercial. The band has definitively turned its back on cult status and gone all out for the mainstream. And as a pure piece of pop it's pretty irresistible, with effortlessly catchy hooks, an instantly memorable chorus and a driving, bass-led beat. In bemoaning the fickleness of fame Preston may be having his cake and eating it, but who cares when the music sounds this good?
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