Hayes Goes For a Solo Spin
(Youth Quake, March 22)

But check out vocalist Darren Hayes' debut solo album Spin, following its break up two years ago, and you'll be forgiven for drawing a comparison between his music and that of Justin Timberlake (of 'N Sync).

Hayes' vocals will remind you of the boyband's lead singer: nasal-sounding, light and soulful. His trademark falsetto is still there, but he now seems to be having fun doing it.

At the listening party to launch the album at Sony Music recently, guests were treated to the music video from the album's first single, Insatiable, apart from getting a preview of the songs prior to the album's release on Monday.

Although he was not present, a pre-recorded interview with the singer in Hong Kong was played. It gave a surprising glimpse of Hayes' latest look: Brad Pitt-like blonde locks.

While the new image is a younger Hayes, the songs also seem to be formulated to appeal to younger listeners. it is best described as a snap-crackle-and-pop kind of effort.

Take the seventh track, the 1980s disco-meets-electronica tune Crush, for instance: "I got a little crush, ooh I just can't get enough." On the last track Spin, Hayes does what Britney Spears does best: seductive "oohs" and "aahs".

In Good Enough, he confesses to being a fan of Britney ("sometimes I listen to cool, obscure stuff/and sometimes I listen to Britney"). (note from me: a slight mis-quote of the lyrics there. lol!)

He says in the recorded interview: "On this record, I wanted to acknowledge the power of entertainment. I love the fact that I can engage the masses in some sort of public joy.

"I wanted to lighten up and bring people with me, to just drop that needle on the record and stop the fighting for the 3 1/2 minutes of a pop song. Maybe there's a message in that."

Recorded in San Francisco in the US where Hayes lives, the album was co-produced with Grammy Award-winning Walter Afanasieff (Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey). Other songwriters include Rick Nowels (Madonna, Dido).

On the opening track, the passionate Insatiable (also the album's first single), he showcases his forte: gliding comfortably from his choir-boy voice to a breathy falsetto.

"This one just flowed through me. It is absolutely one of my favourite songs I have ever written," he says.

Insatiable entered the Australian chart at No. 3 and is getting a high rotation on local radio stations.

The video, directed by Alek Keshishian (who shot Madonna's video documentary Truth or Dare), showcases Hayes's blonde look.

"The person whom you see today is a lot more complete. I was 22 years old then, but my hair was dyed black. My record company would freak out if I decided to keep to my natural hair colour."

"I do feel much more sincere now and I'm not interested in pretending. I want to be able to present myself as who I am and how I actually look. I don't want to be pressured to look a certain way."

Hayes, who rediscovered himself during the making of the album, also found the beauty of the music he enjoyed as a teenager.

"This record is true to the music I grew up listening to, whether it was Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson or Marvin Gaye. When I first wanted to sing and get turned on by music, that was what I would jump up and down to."

There is also fusion with tango music in some of the songs like Strange Relationship, while others such as Creepin' Up On You feature string instruments like violin.

"I had to apply that (music) to what I love about today's music: the electronica and R&B. I kind of combined them all but that was definitely a very conscious decision."

The difference between his solo effort and the previous two albums with Savage Garden (self-titled debut and Affirmation, which sold more than 20 million copies), he says, is that "this time it is funkier".

However, making the album without former Savage Garden member Daniel Jones was unnerving for Hayes that at one point he thought he was not going to make it.

"But you can choose to be scared of it or you could do what I did which is to take it on board. Now, every decision, every sound, everything, even the pay cheques that come to me, are all empowering."

On why he calls the album Spin, Hayes says it refers to the feeling he is in at the moment: "(It's like) I'm on this incredible merry-go-round and it isn't easy to know where to stop."

Other tracks in the album include I Miss You, Dirty, I Can't Ever Get Enough of You, Like It Or Not, What You Like and The Heart Wants What It Wants (bonus track).