SingStar Summer Party: Hands On

By Sam Waldron

Yet another Singstar title has emerged, and the song remains the same.

We get thirty new tracks to sing, mumble, or hum along to. And, of course, not a novel gameplay feature in sight.

At least there are a full thirty songs.

However, Singstar Summer Party is a little hit and miss with its choices. Some are perfect material, like 'Mambo #5' and 'Mysterious Girl' (remembering how ridiculous Peter Andre looks is worth several songs on its own). 'Hold the Line', by Toto, brings old-school sing-along rock to the party. And modern hits like Rihanna's 'Umbrella' will obviously please pop fans.

But there's also this trend now towards choosing sensible songs: legitimate bands; popular artists with good songs. And it's really not a brilliant direction to head in. This isn't the place for great music. Singstar isn't about the songs people love. It's about the
songs we love to sing. Sometimes those groups intersect; but a lot of the time they don't. This is karaoke! My point is that it should be fun. And it doesn't have to be good.

I'm a fan of rock music, but Singstar Rocks! wasn't nearly as much fun as Singstar Pop. Summer Party wins with Mysterious Girl, but it loses with a lot of other, more respectable, more forgettable, content. I'm also failing to see the theme come through here in any substantial way. It has 'Summer Sun', and various songs that could probably be described as "summery". Seriously, though? They just didn't want the (accurate) picture of mediocrity and repetition that is painted by "Singstar 12".

But make up your own mind with the tracklisting below:

Adele - Chasing Pavements
Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry on their Own
Blondie - The Tide is High
Blue - Girls & Boys
Booty Luv - Shine
Chesney Hawks - The One & Only
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out
Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead
Dodgy - Good Enough
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
Five Star - System Addict
Girls Aloud - Call the Shots
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict a Riot
Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet
Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of)
Madness - House of Fun
Mel and Kim - Respectable
Mika - Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl
Plain White Ts - Hey There Delilah
Pulp - Disco 2000
Razorlight - In the Morning
Rihanna - Umbrella
Sugababes - Red Dress
Texas - Summer Sun
Toto - Hold the Line
Wham - Tropicana
Yazz - The Only Way Is Up

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