Ronan was never going to have any drastic musical revamp, but you get the sense that "Destination" is an album born out of boredom rather than that driving need to get down the perfect 3 minute pop song down on tape. In the time that preceded the recent number 1 single "If Tomorrow Never Comes", Robbie has disappeared off to LA with Rachel Hunter and apart from Enrique there are really no viable competitors to compete with the Irish Prince Of Pop.

Again Ronan has teamed up with the writing partnership of Greg Alexander and Rick Nowels for "Destination" and its this formula that makes Stock Aitken and Waterman look the most revolutionary eccentrics to ever grace the pages of pop history. Its this sort of formula that all the best pop acts (Take That / Spice Girls / A1) have avoided and all the worst culprits (Westlife / Backstreet Boys / Boyzone) have somehow got away with by the skin of their teeth. In that sense its very telling that at least half of Ronan's core audience happen to be bored housewife's who find Kilroy and Trisha exciting.

It would be easy to blame Ronan for the current state of pop, but there's the simple fact that if people continue to buy it why change a winning formula. With the likes of Will Young and Westlife plundering to new depths of blandness it can't be long before there's is a counter revolution of shiny pop music that makes you get out of that rocking chair and onto the dance floor. In small doses the likes of "Blown Away" and "Pickin' Me Up" are fantastic pop gems, its just when they're placed together on a conveyor belt you realize you're digesting the same song time and time again. Saying that though the obvious choices for the follow u singles "I Love It When We Do" and "My One Thing That's Real" look set to continue Ronan's reign over the charts.

I'm sure that many people would have loved to see Ronan fall under the wheels of a car in the video to "If Tomorrow Never Comes", but for the time being I'll withhold my judgement. After all when the likes of the Lighthouse Family and Westlife exist, there are bigger fish to fry.

Alex McCann