Invasion of the Young British Songbirds: From Lily Allen to Amy Winehouse

The British are coming! Again! Unlike the psychedelic British Invasion of the sixties, this time, they're all cute, pop-singing young women. I like it again already. Though none of these birds are terrible, some are clearly better than the others. They've each got a single or two, but how do their albums compare, and who's got lasting appeal?

The Mediocre:

Kate Nash. From Harrow, England, Kate's debut album Made of Bricks was released August 6, 2007. A singer of fluffy pop songs, her big song is Foundations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Nash

Rihanna. From Barbados but her accent, age and look clearly place her in this group. She's slightly harder than the rest with more of a hip hop sound. Her big song is Umbrella. Very repetitive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna

Lily Allen. From London, England. Her big single is Smile. Playful and light but not a lot of substance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Allen

Corrine Bailey Rae. From Leeds, England, her biggest US hit is Put Your Records On from her debut album, Corrine Bailey Rae. Probably the best of the mediocre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrine_Bailey_Rae

All of these girls are good. But none of them are really stand-outs. If they could get together and form a band, it might be like a modern day, female Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. But individually, their music isn't what you'd leave in the stereo for an extended period of time. One gets the feeling they're being cheeky just for the sake of being cheeky. Overall, their music is over-produced, interchangeable pop. They definitely have potential, but judging from their current work, they haven't reached their full potential yet.

The Superior:

KT Tunstall of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her best album is Eye to the Telescope with the songs "Big Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" and "Suddenly I See". KT is shockingly good and I expect the Telescope album to eventually be listed among the best albums ever as even the non-hit songs are terrific. Her music is good on its first listen but after a couple of times through, you'll find yourself humming the songs you didn't realize you listened to that closely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KT_Tunstall

Amy Winehouse of London, England. Why, oh why are the good ones always screwed up? Are they good because they're screwy or does the fame and fortune just send them off the deep end? I don't know but I do know how sensationally good Winehouse is. The most truly original jazz vocalist to emerge in a long time. But not only is she pretty screwy but she's proud of it too! The theme of her big hit "Rehab" basically is how she's refusing to get help for her substance abuse problems. "They tried to make me go to rehab / I said 'No! No! No!'" Since then, she did hit bottom and did go to rehab. Be sure to check out this shooting star before she burns out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_winehouse

Bonus Singer:

Mika of London, England. Though not female, his first album Life in Cartoon Motion is just terrific. Somewhere between Freddie Mercury and Neil Sedaka, his songs "Love Today", "Lollipop", and "Big Girls (You are Beautiful)" are real pop winners. Though he hasn't really found his audience yet, I predict big things for him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mika_%28singer%29