Olly Murs - Right Place Right Time (Special Edition) (2013)

The third studio album from the runner-up of the 2009 season of The X Factor, 2012's Right Place Right Time features more of vocalist Olly Murs' soulful, R&B-inflected pop music. This time around Murs delves into even more of a funk sound, and tracks like "Troublemaker" (featuring rapper Flo Rida) and "Hey You Beautiful" bring to mind the sound of such similarly inclined contemporaries as Maroon 5 and the Wanted. Elsewhere, Murs touches upon some more organic sounds, as with the orchestral-inflected "Loud & Clear" and the yearning romantic anthem "Hand on Heart." This kind of balance between a brighter, slicker dance sound and a more uplifting singer/songwriter approach fits Murs nicely and brings him closer to such contemporaries as OneRepublic and Ed Sheeran. The fact that Murs' swaggering, cheeky personality comes through on what is on the surface a big, mainstream pop production is in large part what makes the album so appealing. Perhaps not surprisingly, Murs co-wrote most of the songs with a handful of producers, including Claude Kelly and Steve Robson, both of whom worked on Murs' 2011 album, In Case You Didn't Know. Also featured here are productions from Andrew Frampton (Natasha Bedingfield, Kylie Minogue), Darren Lewis aka Future Cut (Lily Allen, Shakira), and others. Ultimately, with Right Place Right Time, one might say Murs is maturing. Thankfully, that doesn't mean he's getting boring, and these songs are as pop-oriented and fun as anything he's done before.