Found it perfect, although some did not agree

This is Darin Zanyar, or Darin, runner-up on the first season of Swedish Idol and an amazing popstar. Look at one of his videos! And another! There's real energy! Breaking things! Posing! Exaggerated gestures! And, most importantly (and unlike, say, Rihanna, who was content to make the fabulous "SOS" and then spend the video pressing up against glass, standing in front of plants, and sending text messages), Darin includes DANCING! Dance breaks, dance offs, choreographed group dance routines...we need more music videos like these.

Stand By Me--A ballad, but a catchy one; it's sort of mid-tempo-ish. It's from Darin's first album, which I don't own all of, but should probably buy, because it seems great.

Step Up--Jim Verraros, who we discussed earlier, does dance-pop. He does it well. But Darin--this song is what dance music is about. Jim's songs are great, but I think the focus on "sexiness" means that his music is, oddly enough, always restrained in some way; he's so busy trying to sound sexy that he can't go all the way with his music. Darin's music is in your face, whereas Jim's is maybe more whispered in your ear. For sheer power, fun, and danceability, I don't know if any Idol contestant can beat this song.

Want Ya--Having used up all my weird metaphors for the last song, I'll just say this: more Darin danciness. Try to resist. Different from "Step Up" a bit (I think I prefer "Step Up" more, though the lyrics in this song may be slightly better--as if lyrics were a focus here), but still powerful.

Who's That Girl - The Attic Remix (Radio Edit)--Originally a ballad, this song has been remixed to make it dancey. Since it wasn't originally designed as a dance song, it doesn't have the power of either of the previous two songs, and it's not my favorite remix in the world, but I like what it does to the song.

If you want to buy Darin's music--and how could you not?--you can get it in physical copies (first album The Anthem or second album Darin) or digital tracks (first album, second album, or B-sides).

Next up: I suspect there are a lot of good ex-Idol Swedish popstars out there (I especially think Ola's album might be good), but I don't have any songs from them, so a new country will be up next--Germany, where we'll look at an Idol whose first album I also don't have.

darin idol