The career path of X-Factor contestants used to be pretty simple. Record an album in a matter of weeks, half karaoke standards and half rejects, watch it sell by the bucketloads when it's released for Mother's Day, and then disappear back into obscurity before the next series begins. Since bucked the trend by releasing the transatlantic success , 's protegees have been handled with far better care and have had much more time and money invested in them. No one has been given more time than , whose debut album comes 18 months after she finished fourth in the 2008 competition, behind chart-toppers and , and the more forgettable . From her opening audition, where she performed 's it was clear from the start that the Blackburn singer was a little edgier than other contestants. So it's no surprise to see that features tracks written by the likes of , and , rather than the ubiquitous or . But despite its indie credentials, is still essentially a straightforward pop/rock album. Indeed, opening number a recent -penned number one, and second single certainly wouldn't have sounded out of place on the last album. Elsewhere, are the kind of piano-led reflective ballads that soundtrack the closing scenes of most U.S. teen dramas, while the swirling violins and soft rock chorus of echoes -era . But there are times when , particularly on the folky electronica of and the synth-heavy proves she can be just as convincing when tackling more adventurous material. Thankfully, her self-consciously kooky vocals have been toned down since her X-Factor beginnings, her icy and breathy tones now recalling a young rather than a poor impersonator. may not be as alternative as its songwriting credits suggest, but there's enough potential to suggest that the early / comparisons may not be so wide of the mark in the future. ~ Jon O'Brien