Naughty Boy: Hotel Cabana – review

Shahid Khan, aka Naughty Boy, has moved on from his days dreaming up beats as a pizza delivery boy and established himself as the latest go-to industry pop producer working with an all-star cast. This debut album's highlight is, predictably, La La La, a touching and catchy eureka moment which has already established itself as the biggest-selling British single of the year. Though there are deja-vu moments here (Tinie Tempah's brand-name checking raps; Ed Sheeran's acoustic mumbling), there is also evidence of thoughtful production: the most exciting moments come from unexpected pairings, such as Wiz Khalifa and Ella Eyre. Elsewhere, Khan prefers to play it safe, balancing powerful pop ballads with angry raps in the manner of a man who knows his market. From Emeli Sandé's relentlessly uplifting vocal swells on Lifted to the funky house baseline on bonus track Never Be Your Woman, this is a pretty decent time capsule of how British pop music sounds in 2013.